Friday, June 19, 1992 ~ North

WS —

17

Foxgloves look attractive In woodland garden

IT NEVER fails. The moment I suggest ihat we are in for
a long, hot, dry summer, the sky starts falling with a

BOOM and a SPLASH.

I stand by my predictions, how-
ever, even if I am standing
ankle-deep in soggy footwear.

You should not tet the deluge
we experienced last weekend lull
you into a false sense of security.
Two or three warm, sunny days
can rapidly deplete the moisture
that felf during the last set of
storms. Best results will be ob-
tained if your garden is watered
every other day, either by you and
your sprinkler or by the inevitable
rains.

The recent water works proved

me right in one way. Too much
3 ‘ger can be just as harmful as
“ g little. As least some of our
cants managed to survive in a
semi-upright condition. Even the
plant world has difficulty mz‘s
taining the vertical position 3'.<r
having too much to drink. _

The foxgloves seemed to have
weathered things a bit better than
other tall garden flowers. Those
that were planted in groups or
surrounded by a supporting troop
of slightiy smaller plants will have
stood better than most.

Although we see this plant
growing wild through many
coastal areas of the Pacific North-
west, we still do not consider it
a true wildflower. A native of
Western Europe that escaped
cultivation early after its initial in-
troduction into B.C., it seems
destined to be dismissed to visitor
status forever.

When does an implant such as

10

Geoff
Tobiasson

OVER THE GARDEN GATE

this attain the status of native?

According to authoritative
writers, if it arrived with the help
of us white folk, it is not native.
What about those that were car-
ried over by the First Nations?
What makes those plants that ar-
rived in the gut of some ancient
seagull more native than those
that migrated with us natives?

It seems to be just another case
of our species’ natural tendency to
see the world through subjective
eyes.

We continue to classify the
world in two distinct groups. On
the one hand, we have nature and

we have inan. What foolishness!
The sooner we include ourselves in
the stew, the sooner we will stop
stoking the fire.

So now thai f have had my op-
portunity to ramble on, let’s take
a closer look at the common fox-
glove (digitalis purpurea). Even
though they seem to like it here,
understanding their needs and
growth characteristics will help
you achieve better results growing
them.

While it is true that ideal condi-
tions can induce the odd plant to
return for successive years, fox-
gloves should be considered bien-
nials. Biennials require two years
to complete their growth cycle.

The first season produces
clumps of the large, oblong,
slightly hairy leaves which are
regularly mistaken for weeds by
the novice gardener. As such, they
are plucked from the garden be-
fore they can reward our patience
with the three- to five-foot spikes
bearing strikingly mottled flowers
in shades of mauve through pink
to white.

They are started easily trom
seed collected in the wild, or you
can purchase packages of the bet-

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4&6 A native of Western Europe... it
seems destined to be dismissed to visitor
status forever. 47

ter hybrid varieties. Look for D.p.
““Excelsior’’ which produces
five-foot spikes loaded with
well-marked flowers on all sides,
Op to bottom.

The shorter 2'2-foot spikes
produced by D.p. ‘‘Foxy’’ will
provide all of the pluses of the
taller forms bur will stand up to
heavy weather better. Another
benefit lies in this strain’s ability
to act occasionally as an annual,
coming fully into bloom in five
months from seed.

Sow seed in early spring in a
less visible part of the garden.

Move them to a more promi-
nent area in mid-fall for displays
the following summer. Use as ver-
tical accents to the rear of mass
plantings of lower shrubs, ds

CONCRE

n~t Bey

‘2 > a

clumps surrounded by ferns in the
woodland garden, or in combina-
uion with other tall plants such as
delphiniums or campanulas.

Foxgloves grow happily in full
sun or partial shade. They prefer
tich, moist soils that will not be
prone to drying out over the
summer months, Regular applica-
tions of wood ash around the base
of your plants will help to reduce
slug problems and provide a
valuable supply of nutrients as
well.

Use your spikes as cut flowers
before they have completely
finished blooming. This will pro-
mote the development of side
shoots that can push the flowering
season well into September.

Sow it grows.

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