APRIL 2012 If you weren’t on the bus with us to Canada Blooms you missed a wonderful day! Canada Blooms is the most amazing show–there were so many different flowers, plants and trees on display. The National Home Show was on at the same time so there was something for everyone. There were numerous competitions for flowers, plants, arrangements and photography. There were lectures by television gardening and home improvement personalities, authors, and vendors galore. The floral highlight of the year was the “Medenilla Grandiflora”. It’s a beautiful tropical plant originally from the Philippines. They have finally made it to Canadian garden centres this year. I bought one in November and it has bloomed steady since. A slightly pricey plant, but well worth the investment.

We had “door prizes” given away on the bus and a 50/50 draw as well. Leann Hines was the lucky winner of the 50/50 draw and took home $80.00. Actually, I’ll bet she spent it all at the show! Thank you to Farr’s Bus Lines and their bus driver who delivered and returned us safely and on time. A huge thank you goes out to director Debbie Thomas for organizing this trip. Everything went off without a hitch, and we had so much fun. We will definitely have to do this on an annual basis. A special thanks goes out to Lori Maracle for being our emcee for the trip. Great job.

The Dunnville Home Show is fast approaching. It’s being held at the new Dunnville Memorial Arena & Community Lifespan Centre on Friday, April 20, and Saturday April 21st. Please plan to come and stop by and visit our booth. We are raffling off a beautiful arbour and a garden bench. You can’t win without a ticket, so please support the DHS by purchasing one. (or two, or three…) Our 2011 Trillium Award winners will be honoured at the home show with a photo display of the winning properties. Everyone worked so hard to make their homes beautiful and it’s so nice to be recognized for making Dunnville beautiful.

Our next General Meeting is Thursday, April 19th. Our guest speaker will be a representative of St. Williams Nursery & Ecology Centre. The lecture will be about companion and beneficial planting. In this day and age where pesticides are bad for the environment we can learn to plant different plants together to battle insect pests.

I hope you have been enjoying the beautiful weather that we had last month. March break was incredible! You certainly didn’t have to drive to Florida for some warm sunshine. Even though it was just a teaser, warmer weather is right around the corner. I can’t wait to see what decides to come up in my garden this year.

Garden tip of the Month: April is the month for planting summer flowering bulbs like dahlias, gladiolas and lilies. Mix bulb fertilizer, processed manure and peat moss into the planting soil. Tuberous Begonias and Cannas should not be set outdoors until all danger of frost has passed, so wait until next month.

When they have finished blooming, you should deadhead your spring flowering bulbs. Do not cut off the green foliage yet! These green leaves continue to grow for a few weeks, and provide the bulb with food for flowering next year. Hybrid Tea Roses should be fertilized prior to buds beginning to bloom. Using a systemic fertilizer will help prevent insect infestation later in the summer, as it feeds your rose. We’ve been waiting a long time for spring to arrive and it’s finally here. It may take a while before the weather stays warm but at least we can get outside.
Happy gardening!

Sue Mazi, DHS Corresponding Secretary.

Essential advice for the gardener: grow peas of mind, lettuce be thankful, squash selfishness, turnip to help thy neighbor, and always make thyme for loved ones. ~Author Unknown