It’s a good thing I got bored of guilt some time ago; otherwise, I’d be blush-pink with embarrassment over a neglected Red Lion blooming merrily in the family room.
I bought and potted the amaryllis bulb in November, 2011. The newly grower-fattened bulb produced a succession of three strong flower stalks, each bearing four mammoth, deep velvety red trumpet blossoms.
In the spring of 2012 I parked the pot on an old picnic table beside the back lawn. Through the summer the pot received regular dollops of water along with other nearby container plantings.
Once the fall rains began, amidst the flurry of pressing autumn gardening projects the potted bulb soon was forgotten — until the threat of frost, when I hurriedly retrieved the potted orphan-in-the-storm, cleared away the dead top growth and stashed the pot in the carport storeroom.
After about two months I noticed a fat nub of growth emerging from the bulb -- a new flower stalk (January 2013), which gradually elongated and bloomed at a cool, bright window. All I did was replace a shallow top layer of soil with fresh planting mix.
That the same minimal-care regime has yielded January bloom twice since then, in 2014 and 2015, speaks loudly in praise of this stalwart variety, one of the oldest still being sold. Long before there were early-blooming, double-flowering and novelty amaryllis varieties, there was Red Lion.
I’ve grown many of the newer ones, but none has been so enduring as Red Lion. Still, neglect has its limits. I’ll repot the bulb next winter.
It has occurred to me that my Red Lion experience suggests something for flower growers to think about, especially at this time in the year as new and novel flower varieties shout out to us from the alluring pages of new catalogues. In our eagerness to embrace the new and trendy we need not necessarily disdain the old and commonplace -- sunny nasturtiums and calendulas, the small, charming signet marigold, sprightly larkspur and other old-fashioned staples of yesteryear's flower gardens.
SSS and Seedy Saturdays. The 2015 seed list from Salt Spring Seeds opens with an uplifting message from Dan Jason describing the 2014 growing season as “my best ever,” in part due to the “practices of organic growing (that) do indeed work! I have never used pesticides, herbicides or chemical fertilizers and instead have kept my gardens thriving with compost, mulch, green manures, crop rotations and a diversity of crops.”
Now in its 28th year, SSS grows all its own seeds. All are open-pollinated, untreated and non-GMO. A few new listings and items of interest:
• Grains. This is a source for ancient and heirloom grains such as Red Fife, Tibetan Wheat and the ultra-nutritious and flavourful kamut (khorasan).
• Amaranth. Shiny Black Amaranth produces “black glowing seeds [that] smell like chocolate as they cook.” Amaranth greens and seeds are nutritional super-foods.
• Laurel’s Frilly Kale is a gorgeous and easily grown, tightly frilled variety, one of my favourites.
• Lettuce. Two new listings are Pomegranate Crunch, a beautiful romaine/butterhead in cherry red, and Tropicana, a crisp, ruffled lettuce with "the best bolt-resistance of any loose leaf type."
• Tomatoes. Indigo Rose, a marvellously tasty, near-black tomato, has been added to the tomato listings along with the hugely popular Paul Robeson. This is a source for the attractive, meaty Speckled Roman and a quirky Berkeley Tie-Dye Heart whose “big, lumpy, variable fruits” are wildly streaked with green, red, yellow and orange. The flesh is dense and meaty, “with outstanding flavour.”
You’ll find Dan Jason and his seeds at most Seedy Saturday events. Victoria’s is on Feb. 21 in the Victoria Conference Centre.
GARDEN EVENTS
VIRAGS meeting. The Victoria Rock and Alpine Garden Society will meet on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. in Gordon Head United Church, 4201 Tyndall Ave. Doors open at 7. The Annual General Meeting will be held, followed by three workshops. Paul Spriggs will discuss crevice gardens in small containers; Hans Roemer will talk about winter care of bulbs in containers; either Sue Lee will discuss hepaticas or Jeff Wright will speak about pests in pots. Visitors welcome.
Cactus meeting. The Victoria Cactus and Succulent Society will meet on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. in First Memorial (Funeral Services), 4725 Falaise Dr. in Royal Oak. Meeting rooms are at the back and can be reached by a path to the right of the parking lot or a ramp at the left side of the building.
