by Carl White
Botanical Garden

As another gardening season comes to an end it's a good time to reflect on the many successes and possibly a few disappoint-ments that you had in your own garden. Time and experience are often the best teachers and you will learn more from trying things yourself (and visiting your Botanical Garden) than you will from watching Channel 45 or from reading a gardening column.

Doing it the "write" way

Try keeping a journal of what you did in your garden, and when. Things such as when you pruned your shrubs or when and how you fertilized the perennial bed, and the ensuing results, good or bad, are all learning experiences. If recorded, these experiences will help you in the future if only to remind you to never do it that way again.

Take a walk around and make some notes on what plants did well and what needs to be divided or moved to a new location. Often a plant that is doing poorly will benefit from being from being moved to a spot more suited to its growing requirements. Dates of your first and last blooms are also handy to know and will help you plan your garden during those long winter nights that are already upon us.

You may have to stop gardening but you don't have to stop being a gardener. Planning next year's work is a good way to stay close to your garden. A fun winter exercise is to design a garden that you never intend (or can afford) to build. Get out the seed catalogues (Park's and Stokes are good ones) and the gardening books and plan a fantasy garden where you can have as many different plants and features as you want. After all, fantasies are free, and it's a great way to get to know new plants and techniques.

Garden activities a success

We had a busy year at the Botanical Garden with new gardens being constructed, the new greenhouse coming on stream and many tour groups and students visiting. We grew 22 varieties of vegetables for a total of 581 pounds of produce that was harvested and offered for sale at the Field Centre. Our second Open House was a wonderful success with over 1,000 visitors taking part in the many events. The second Potato Festival, held on Oct. 9, was a great time for all involved with approximately 1,500 people taking part in activities ranging from a potato peeling contest to potato art to a celebrity potato salad contest. Displays on potato growing, potato recipes and pest and diseases rounded out this showcase for lovers of the humble spud.

Your Botanical Garden is not just another pretty place and, while it isn't the largest or best funded garden in the country, it is unique. Our "naturalistic" approach to display plantings, along with our large natural area of walking trails, make the garden a pleasing place for all our visitors. The many different themes of our display beds offer something for everyone, regardless of horticultural knowledge and level of interest.

Older visitors enjoy the Heritage Garden, which is filled with plants that have been grown in Newfoundland for over 60 years. People who grow their own take notes on our vegetable garden and greenhouse display. Birdwatchers along the three kilometers of trails have many close encounters with over 80 species of birds that have been sighted throughout our 110 acres.

Photographers use the trail system to get up close and personal with the 100 or so native species of plants that line the walkways. The building of a osprey platform resulted in a pair of these "fish hawks" returning yearly to fascinate visitors from all over the world as they feed their young with trout caught in Oxen Pond. Habitat enhancement has encouraged the seasonal stay of several species of ducks on the pond, and we have found that even the most jaded and disinterested kids love to feed the ducks. Local artists can often be found with their easels set up along the garden paths and many display their work in the Field Centre.

Our small and very busy staff will always stop to answer questions and we pride ourselves as being a very user-friendly facility. So plan to visit us next season and don't forget about your own garden over the winter. Remember, it's not dead, it's only asleep.

Have a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all the staff at your Botanical Garden.