The Vernon and District Garden Club held their annual Flower Show at the Village Green Centre May 28. This show is basically the only one in Western Canada featuring the beautiful iris.
Even though the rainy weather in the past week caused gardeners to cringe with a chance of damage to the flowers, 177 entries of beautiful blooms of iris along with other flowers, including roses, potted plants and floral art, was exhibited. The Best Iris award went to Faithe Prodanuk, Best Potted Plant and the Best Arrangement was entered by Florence Gaal.
Although this flower show is a project of the Vernon and District Garden Club, one does not need to be a member of the club to enter any exhibits. It is open to everyone, with no entry fee. The club meets monthly at the Vernon Community Arts Centre the fourth Tuesday of every month except July, August and January. Watch for information about next year’s Flower Show on the garden club website, Facebook and media advertisements in May 2017. — submitted by Faithe Prodanuk, Flower Show coordinator
If you missed the flower show, you still have the occasion of admiring lots of beautiful gardens this coming Saturday. The annual People Place Garden Tour takes place Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. These gardens are located in various sites in the Vernon area — a map is included with the ticket. You are free to tour the gardens in any order you wish during the open hours. Tickets are $15 each and are available at Blue Mountain Nursery in Armstrong, Briteland, Coldstream Willows Nursery, Swan Lake Nurseryland and the People Place.
People Place is currently home to 15 non-profit, social service agencies, providing support to people in the North Okanagan. The proceeds from the Garden Tour help the People Place to maintain low rental rates for all the agencies and provide meeting room space for many other non-profits in the community.
June 13 is our last Okanagan Gardens & Roses club meeting before the summer. Our June meeting is our bragging night. We have our mini flower show, with members in different locations in Vernon and out of town, and we never know what will be blooming in their gardens. This is a fun night and anyone wishing to drop by is welcome. We then get ready for our summer picnic and maybe gardens to visit. Meetings are held at the Schubert Centre at 7 p.m., the second Monday of the month except July, August and January.
At the end of May, I had a taste of a Black Spanish breba (early spring fig). It was very sweet. Now I am looking forward to the other varieties I have that will be ripening in late summer. Wish I didn’t have to bring all these pots inside for the winter.
A few years back I had a Larkspur sprouting in the front garden. Last year I saved some seeds but never got around to planting them. They need a cold period to germinate. However, I must have had seeds in some compost because this year they are all over, even in the backyard. They make a very good cut flower. I have the blue and white ones. They also come in pink. Maybe next year. You can have them in the sun or part sun and they are deer-resistant and drought-tolerant, two good qualities for the Okanagan.
For more information: please call 250-558-4556 or email plantlady1@shaw.ca
Jocelyne Sewell is an organic gardening enthusiast in the North Okanagan and member of Okanagan Gardens & Roses Club. Her column appears every other Wednesday.