Spotlight on Barberries

Emerald Carousel Barberry in the fall (courtesy of Oregon State University)

There are few plants like a barberry (berberis thunbergi) for colour in the garden.  Barberries were once prohibited for fear they carried rust to wheat.  Berberis thunbergi was developed specifically to be rust resistant and is not a carrier. Relieved gardeners can happily plant barberries once again.

Barberries offer colour all year round.  Early spring, the remants of berries from the previous year may remain on branches still.  Spring, they leaf out in reds, burgundies, yellows or greens.  Near the end of May here in Edmonton, the shrub will flower with the smallest little ball-shaped yellow flower dangled from each branch.  If you don't look close, you will miss them. (see photo above)

Gold Nugget Barberry

During summer they thrive in the heat and full sun.  Barberries prefer a well-drained and somewhat dry soil but you still need to water periodically.  I water once weekly unless it's rained a lot.  Of course, you have to determine your water needs based on location and weather.

Dwarf Gold "aurea nana" barberry

Late summer, early autumn, the barberry produces small red oval shaped berries in place of the flowers.

image from wikipedia

Rose Glow barberries in my front

Some barberries, like Golden Nugget or Sunsation take on red and orange toned leaf colour in the fall.  Emerald Carousel, while green during the growing season, changes to a glowing, iridescent red which is absolutely stunning in the fall! (see upper most photo)

Dwarf Gold "aurea nana" Barberry in the fall next to Summer Wine Ninebark

Care:  Site your barberry in full to part-sun.  Barberries like the Rose-Glow will have best foliage colour when planted in full sun.  After selecting your location in the garden, not in a pot, dig the hole twice the size of the pot, being sure to amend/replace sandy soil or heavy clay with peat moss or a planting mix with peat moss to increase drainage.  Do not use a potting soil with slow release fertilizer as, over time, this will increase the salt in the soil, burning the roots.  (Only use a potting soil with slow-release fertilizer for outdoor seasonal container gardening)

Plant at the same height in the garden as it was in the pot.  Upon filling the hole with soil and tamping it down, gently but firmly to remove air pockets, set the hose nearby and water at a slow trickle until soil is thoroughly moistened to the roots.  Barberries prefer a well-drained site where water will not pool around the roots.  For the first year, you may need to water twice a week until it becomes established.

A general all-purpose fertilizer may be applied early spring.  Barberries are not heavy feeders.  A slight trim in the spring of branches that may have died back in the winter is generally all the pruning that is necessary.  

Older shrubs can be rejuvenated with a pruning to a foot high in late winter.  Be sure to fertilize in the spring to encourage healthy growth.

Berries are edible.

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Linking up with Mosaic Monday at Little Red House.

*all images are mine unless otherwise stated

Edible Container Gardening Video

As a subscriber to the Salisbury newsletter, I had the opportunity to watch this video about container gardening which Rob Sproule just posted.  Take a look for wonderful plant combination ideas to make your edible container garden sizzle!!

Night Life: Entertaining in the Garden

“If a June night could talk it would probably boast that it invented romance.”

— Bern Williams

Summer officially arrives in less than two weeks - on June 21 at 5:16 pm, to be exact.  At this moment, the earth's axial tilt is inclined at its most towards the sun.  This is the longest day of the year.  Here in central/north Alberta, we are noticing and enjoying the lovely long evenings.  It's the perfect time to enjoy the garden, sit around a fire (when fire bans permit, that is), and just hang out.  As a family we love to enjoy the garden in the evening, to stay up on weekends and star gaze, sit by a cozy fire, and enjoy the gentle splash of the water fall.  

How can one enhance this experience?

1.  Plants.  I deliberately planted mock orange, snow in summer, hydrangea, white peonies, and Morden Blush roses for evening enjoyment.  The peony doesn't have much scent in the evening but the large white blossoms of Festiva Maxima mirror any light, brightening their spot in the garden.  The other flowers do the same, but the mock orange (Galahad Mock Orange) scents the air with a sweet orange blossom which reminds my kids not only of oranges but cotton candy. I would still like to add some Henrii clematis for their large white blossoms, and another mock orange (perhaps Minnesota Snowflake or Blizzard) with double blossoms near the deck.  If planting for scent, try the annual night scented stock (mathiola), heliotrope, evening primrose (pretty, but a spreader), annual alyssum, datura (angel's trumpet* caution - very poisonous), honeysuckle vines, nicotiana.  Some plants release their pollen at night thus attracting nocturnal pollinators, like moths.

Think light coloured flowers and foliage to brighten the garden at night.

2.  Think heat.  Sure you can add a chiminea or a firepit for that special ambience in the garden, but for effective heat on those chilly nights, try a patio heater.  Once only available commercially, now consumers have easy access to these propane powered heaters that are intended to heat a small area, like your patio.  A warm area in the garden or on the patio can extend your entertaining hours.

3.  Solar lighting.  Years ago our son, M, installed a nice little system that consists of a small (8" square, maybe) panel which is wired to a set of four lights.  The sets we have are intended to spotlight features within the yard.  We have a few focused on the waterfall and pond, one on a large rock by the pond, and some uplight a couple trees.  We also have a couple sets of solar powered lights which consist of a single lamp on a peg with a built-in solar panel.  Both sets have incredible longevity, as we've had them for several years now.

4.  Another thing to consider would be mosquito repellant.  While you can apply it directly to yourself. there are other means of keeping the pests at bay.  Try a few citronella plants in your entertaining area.  These work best if they are located so they will be brushed against which will release the citronella fragrance and oils.  You may also try floating citronella candles.  Take my word for it and shut off the waterfall before placing them in the pond. :0  Also available are citronella candles which can be sited in lanterns for safety.  I've heard also that tiki torches help in keeping mosquitos at bay, though I have never tried it.

Now, if we could only control the weather, we would certainly entertain outdoors more!

Surprise in Dryer Vent!!

Last week, as my son and I were doing some yard maintenance, and I was deliberating on from which bunch of hostas I should dig to provide a plant for a friend, I looked up to discover grasses emerging from the external vent to my dryer.  I called over my son and he, since he had on his gardening gloves, carefully removed what we determined to be a small bird's nest from our vent.  It can't have been there long and there were no eggs in it.

Lo and behold, our neighbour's dryer vent had one too!  So, M removed the nest from theirs as well.  The flapper had been lifted up to allow for access.  Hopefully, they will find a new nesting site.  One that doesn't involve house vents!

Word of advice, check your vents.  It is mating season for the local birds but your vent is not a good nesting site.  It can be a fire hazard to your home too if they nest in a dryer vent as these did.

Northern Alberta's Forest Fire - the Third Largest Ever

The forest fire burning in the Richardson backcountry area, north of Fort McMurray, is the third largest ever, covering more than 325,000 hectares.  A recorded  two other larger fires; the 1950 Chinchaga fire and the 1981 Keane fire, each of which burned 409,000 hectares are the only two to have been reported larger than this one. 

Firefighters from out of province are expected to arrive this weekend to assist in fighting the burning rampage.  The largest water bomber in the world, the Martin Mars, is flying in from BC to aid in this battle in the oil sands area.  The Martin Mars has a water capacity of 27,000 litres on each flight and will be based at Gregoire Lake.

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development officials say only essential personnel are being kept on site at the oil sands.  My husband, who frequently works in Fort McMurray, said he was told anyone with asthma had been told not to report to work in the oilsands due to the local smoke.

It is reported that no property nor lives are in immediate danger as the fire burns uncontrolled in the boreal forest, on either side of the Athabasca River.

Product Trial: Paper Pots

 I received this item a while ago to try out.   It's called Paper Pots:  the Perfect Patio Planter.  It is made of paper yes, but has a coating on the inside which makes it durable and leak proof.  It is just a rectangle bag and I wondered how it would stand and be stable.  Not to worry, once the soil is in place, the Paper Pot stands flat and stable.

This photo came with the Paper Pot and demonstrates the finished product.  You may fold down or cut the top to suit your needs, I chose to fold it down.

Here's mine planted with a lemon boy tomato.  The Paper Pot is quite large.  I filled it with a 28.3 L (4.8 kgor 10.6 lb) bag of soil, though it could hold a bit more. Stay tuned, I will let you know how I like this product in future posts.  For more information on this product see Paper Pots.

Frost Warning for Edmonton June3/11

It's a chilly day here again in Edmonton, Alberta.  When I woke around 6 am the temperature was 11 Celsius and that was today's high.  Environment Canada predicts lows tonight of 2 Celsius for Edmonton and surrounding area.  Time to cover the vegetables and annuals again! 

Those extra sheets sure come in handy.

There's No Time Like Dawn....

May 30:  Monday morning sunrise shortly after 5am.  Sometimes it pays to be up so early.  You may catch glorious sunrises like this one and the beauty of it is, no one else is up and the world is just awakening.  The chatter of the local birds accents the dawn while the early light slowly touches the earth, brightening dim corners and accenting the dew.  How I love this time of day!

Have a great day everyone!  May you catch a sunrise or two....

http://skyley.blogspot.com/

These Are the Flowers in My Neighborhood, In My Neighborhood......

This is so reminiscent of Mr. Rogers.  Remember his song, "these are the people in my neighbourhood, in my neighbourhood, in my neighborhood....these are the people in my neighbourhood...the people that you meet each day."  Yes, I watched Mr. Rogers with my kids when they were little and this little ditty comes to my recollection at odd times, like this Fertilizer Friday/Flaunt Your Flowers.

As my daughter and I were walking the dogs this afternoon, I just had to capture the beauty of some of the flowering trees in my neighbourhood (my son bought me a new camera so I had to use it, right?). So here you go, you can meet some of the flowers/flowering trees in my neighbourhood....

Flowering crabapples are abundant in this neighbourhood as you see here and below.

A lovely fragrant white lilac takes center stage in my neighbour's yard.

This is a blue bell type of clematis, though I don't know the exact species.  I like this one because it is an "A" category clematis, meaning it blooms on new and old wood which means no pruning!

On the left is a Crimson King Maple and in the neighbour's yard is an apple tree in full bloom.

Another flowering crabapple.

I couldn't resist a close-up of the gorgeous blossoms on the flowering crabapple tree.  This new camera has a magnificent zoom on it!

Until next time, that's it for now folks.  Hope you enjoyed the neighbourhood walk and the introductions.  My garden is in pretty much the same state as last week except the forsythia is finished blooming.  Thus, the adventure outside the garden.  Hope you enjoyed it!

Flaunting Flowers with all the lovely gardeners over at:

Tootsie Time

It's a Beautiful Morning

 Though the day was cloudy, the sunrise cheered me.

Photo taken Wednesday morning, approximately 5:45 am.

Sky Watch Friday is hosted at Sky Watch Friday Blog.  Swing by for a peak at terrific skies.