Winding Down Another Year; Planning Nexts

Around our part of the country, Canada’s famed fall colours have been a disappointment this season. True, the honey locusts (Gleditsia) dropped their chlorophyll to reveal the bright orange-yellow carotenoids previously concealed in their foliage. These are the same group of chemicals that colour carrots, corn and many other comestibles. But we were eagerly awaiting the anthocyanins, those that bring out the red of our beloved maples (Acer). These require bright sunny days accompanied by cold snap to be activated. This year at least, it was not to be. Even the sumach seemed reluctant to depart in its usual blaze of glory. Scientists can explain how all this takes place but not why. How come the trees don’t simply drop their leaves and be done with it? Researchers have proposed several theories but as yet none have found total acceptance.

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Inevitably follows the cleanup. And rake up all those leaves we must. Left where they fall, they form a wet, soggy air-excluding mass that will choke lawns and borders. While most home gardeners lack a gas- or electric shredder a simple alternative is to rake the leaves into a pile, then run the lawn mower over them several times. The result makes excellent mulch for perennials, bulbs and shrubs. An alternative is to collect leaves in the ubiquitous green garbage bags, tie the tops and punch holes through the sides. Stack them in a back corner to break down into economical compost that will make an superior soil amendment.

Diversion No. 1

A Queensland, Australia woman has sued a city council for a sprinkler fall. Suzanne Marie Birch, 54, who tripped over an exposed sprinkler head on Magnetic Island is suing the Townsville City Council, alleging the fall caused her to have chronic pain, flashbacks and nightmares. She is seeking damages totalling $381,231.35 after fracturing her ankle after falling at Picnic Bay in the public park near the surf club [Source: Townsville Bulletin]

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Over much of the country favoured by Canada’s gardeners, reliable winter-long snow cover is something that can no longer be counted on. But to garden successfully in our climate, protection from the dread frost heaving is vital. Without it, the top layer of soil raises up, pulling with it perennial crowns, the top of the plant where the roots meet. Its tender parts thus exposed, many a valued specimen meets its demise. The layer beneath the blanket of snow, technically known as the ‘subnivium,’ forms a world of its own, protecting all that lies beneath it from the rigours of winter blasts. As a substitute, it is hard to beat good, thick organic mulch. Most modern gardens lack the facilities to make and store large quantities of compost, while commercial bagged offerings drastically drain the wallet. Straw bales are available at garden centres and make an ideal substitute – never ever accept hay, which is full of weed seeds. Spread at least three inches deep late in the day after the ground has first frozen. Sprayed with water, it will stay in place and can be pulled back next spring after it has done its job.

Diversion No. 2

Four Brit police officers smashed into home of grandmother Shirley Williams, 75, looking for a previous tenant who had vacated the property in Deganway, Llandudno, Wales weeks earlier, reported the Daily Mail. Two police officers later arrived at her home with a large orchid as an apology.

It is an almost invariable rule that in competitions for the biggest and best vegetables, the prizes will go to older male gardeners. Nine-year-old Molly Smith has proven that rules, like apple-pie crust, are made to be broken. The Tynsider from England northeast swept the board last month, coming in top in five out of 12 categories at this year’s Houghton Feast in Tyne and Wear, including the award for the most points overall. Specializing in leeks, onions and cauliflowers she has followed her keen gardening grandfather John almost as soon as she could walk, learning by watching him since Molly is deaf. The news swept first local newspapers such as The Northern Echo and The Sunderland Echo, was picked up by the national Daily Mail and from thence as far afield as the Georgia State News and The Israel Herald. The annual Houghton Feast dates back to the 12th century and is still going strong.

Diversion No. 3

Prince Charles is inviting paying guests to a “Christmas supper” in the Orchard Room at Highgrove House, his country retreat. For £55 per person, members of the public will be “welcomed with warming, organic mulled wine” before they are served a ”delicious hearty two-course supper served with mince pies and coffee.” The Prince of Wales does not say if he and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, will make an appearance, as guests “will be able to join in singing some favourite Christmas carols.” Oh come all ye faithful, perhaps?

Planning for next year’s garden and want to attract pollinating insects? Scientists at the University of Sussex in southern England have some suggestions for you. They say their findings from field studies show that insect-friendly plants are just as pretty, cheap and easy to grow than less pollinator-friendly varieties. Their results are published in the Journal of Functional Ecology. They found that borage, lavender, marjoram and open-flower dahlia varieties were very good for insects, according to the BBC. Marjoram, the researchers said, was probably the best “all-rounder.” In recent years we have seen a positive plethora of new plant varieties being peddled by retail outlets of every kind. Invariably they are higher priced – often much higher priced – than the old faithfuls that have served us reliably for decades, even centuries, and a few for millennia. The University of Sussex findings go to remind us that the latest is not always the best. In fact, when it comes to gardening very often are anything but.

Diversion No. 4

No kissing or singing in the rain for insects, suggests EurekAlert! A new study done in Brazil and Canada shows for the first time that insects modify their mating behaviour in anticipation of storms, an adaptation that may have favoured their survival through evolution [Source: PLoS One]. Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died, advised the late Erma Bombeck. Thanks to our local doctor’s receptionist, his waiting room resembles a lush jungle. This gives one confidence to enquire about over-the-counter herbal supplements popular these days. Anyone with a smattering of horticultural science should be suspicious of many of these and it turns out those suspicions are well founded. A team of researchers at the University of Guelph in Ontario tested 44 products sold by 12 different companies (no brand names were revealed). Almost 60 percent contained DNA from one or more plant species unlisted on the label. And over 20 percent contained fillers, again unlisted, such as rice, soybeans and wheat – all of which could cause allergic reactions. As if all this was not bad enough, some herbal products may not be what the innocent consumer would assume from their name they are. Steve Newmaster, the first author of this study and a professor of integrative biology at the University of Guelph, told The Canadian Press that alfalfa can be sold as gingko biloba because the two substances are indistinguishable in power form. The study appeared in the highly respected BMC Medicine journal. Many people believe that herbal supplements are “all-natural” and therefore “inherently good for you,” Timothy Caulfield, an author and professor of law and science policy at the University of Alberta told CTV’s Canada AM. But sticking to a healthy diet should provide all the necessary nutrients for the average person, he said. “In general, you don’t turn to supplements to live a healthy life.”

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