We should be thankiul for our flora

7 : Pacific Northwest gardens are versatile

I LIKE the. Pacific
Northwest.

There is a natural energy here,’

a power that is the envy of BC
Hydro. You can see it in the way
that things spring out of the
round. It may be a simple com-
ination of rain, a temperate

climate and some occasional sun- .

shine, but I like to think of it as
green magic. -

Sure, Hawaii has its place. It
lies’ somewhere at the end of 2
“year of scrimping and saving, a
‘marathon’ session with a travel
agent, and a 5¥%-hour flight over
water.

Pm_ not knocking it. tt 4
great place to go to;. I
saying that Vancouver is th:

I like to think of as where I come
from.

1 like. the ‘flora here too; : Pil
leave the’ fauna: for- Hunter and

_proaching we are preparing -

to:take up. the garden,

nuich © and. Benerally. get |

‘prepare for. next year.A‘ time to
nial, tre ‘and ‘establish. new

tthe Vv: nidusen Gardens . Flora

in . Vancouver
D: from (1: p.m.

: Funds .
andusen Botanical Gardens and

’- slugs, snails, . weevils,

‘raised -.g0 - to support a

the Bulldog. The majestic cedars
and Douglas firs do a great job in
conveying that message of power I
spoke of earlier. Our hemlocks,
dogwoods, vine maples and more
are the envy of and grown by
gardeners around the world.

I will not fill these pages with
all of the names of all the
wonderful plants that are native to
this area; it is enough to say we
should be thankful.

And this says nothing of our
ability to grow the imports. I have
seen plants from almost every
corner of the globe growing hap-

-pily in the gardens of the North

Shore. In fact, the only area we
seem to have real difficulty with

. are the plants from the tropics.

This is a sad situation for those
poor old souls (POS) who fell in
love with Hawaii and haven’t
worked up the nerve (or the cash)
to move.. If you happen to be one

“and also: provide scholarship .

money and other financial
assistance to students. of hor-

. ticulture.

“It’s been a tough year ‘on our

: _gardens,’”. says Elke Knechtel, fall
sale’ coordinator.

i “Firstly,
very mild winter allowed many
pests which are usually controlled
by freezing temperatures to sur-
vive and flourish. Consequently
we have had a zeal plague of
cutworms
and caterpillars.

“And if that isn’t- enough,”
adds ‘Knechtel, ‘‘we’ve-also had

the drought and. resulting sprinkl-.

ing ban.””
‘Although specializing:

also. includes a full range of
garden plants in its sales. “We

the ©

in rare,
rock and alpine species, the Clud

of those odd folks who prefer the
warm, sunny skies and tropical
lushness of the Sandwich Isles
over the damp and the drizzle,
and the mould and the moss, this
one’s for you.

Good garden design is almost
always spiced with illusion. With
this seasoning, you could make a
small yard appear larger, cultivate
a place of peace and tranquility in
the middle of a bustling metropo-
lis or simply transport yourself to
a private place of dreams.

It is possible to simulate the
jungle look in our North Shore
landscapes. With a little ingenuity
and a lot of planning and. good

luck, you could have a garden

that would cure even the worst
case of Polynesia.

Let’s start with a simple but
important and often overlooked
concept; there is no such thing as
“close enough’? when you are

have about 700 members
worldwide, almost half of whom
live in our local area of the lower
Mainland, the Fraser Valley and
Washington state,’’ Knechtel
points out.

“Many of them have specific
areas of specialization such as
primulas, rhododendrons, native
species, ferns, woodland plants,

shrubs and trees, just to name a-

few,” she adds.
“This sale is a perfect opportu-
nity to restore our gardens and

repair the damage done by a year -
of bugs and drought, and to start:

new beds and rockeries as well.

_ In addition,’’ Knechtel con-
cludes, ‘‘it is also a chance to pick
the brains of some very ac-
complished horticulturalists.”’

Geoff
Tobiasson

OVER THE GARDEN GATE

talking about transporting some-

one to Hawaii. Just as your jong -

flight over water. would certainly
be less than fulfilling if it ended
almost there,

not. use our local granite or iin-

_ Ported’ limestone in. that .-all-im-—
portant water feature; it doesn’t’

fit. Call Quadra Stone and : get

some. large lava rocks: or, better ..
still, call up one of those concrete. _
sculptors: suck as Earth Design:

Group and have them ‘manufac-
ture an old lava flow on site. ee

falling. short of.

perfection with your illusion is a -:

one-way ticket to disillusionment. -
Leave no’ stone unturned.’ Do™.

Choose your location wisely.
Although there are many hardy
plants which emulate the look of
tropical rainforest, nothing works
like the real thing. There are a few
jungle specimens which might
survive our winters if you give a
little thought to placing thent in a
sheltered location.

Avoid northern exposures; a lit-
tle winter sup can sometimes ‘pro-|
vide just enough heat to ward off -
vegetable frostbite. --.”

Guard against winter winds; ‘the
freeze-drying . winds .of an. un-
sheltered. site~ can suck the~.
moisture right out of your plant -
and frozen roots. will not replace :.°
it. The result is: burnt or dead -:
tissue, even total destruction. A
- Lastly, keep your tender plants’
out. of ‘frost -hoslow. There is a
natural. tendency in this style of -
garden .to arrange our. plantings
along a. water course. The prob-
lem is that-water is not: the ‘oniy
thing that flows downhill; so does
cold air. Our North Shore stream.

beds. aré. the: perfect avenues:-for. ...
the. freezing’ cold “air. masses that
“move from: the .mountains : to: the...
séas If in their path;, ‘your ‘plants’.

are ‘more - likely to: -suffer * damage ~
than. if they were: planted. higher*
upon. the. banks of. the stream or.
depression. Le : ‘
/Next- week, will discuss: ‘some
desirable’ ‘characteristics in’ plants,
for..the simulated jungle.

f URNITURELAND

~ 411 East 3rd St.
North Vancouver. :

CLOSED SUNDAY

986-1361