While the Garden is not yet open to the public for the year, there is still lots going on behind the scenes. Soon we will start the seeds from the various annuals planted around the Garden in the beds, containers and window boxes. Some vegetables like our giant onion and leeks are already well underway.
The Garden is fortunate to be able to participate in seed exchanges from other botanical gardens, primarily in Europe...Iceland, Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic are just a few of the European countries that provide seed. These plants are mostly alpines or small-stature plants that can be used in the rock gardens, alpine house or our new crevice garden. Some of these seeds needed a 'winter' or stratification period of several weeks. We accommodated these by placing them in our root cellar which stays around 4 C all winter. Others can be direct sown as you would annuals. Already there are plenty of little seedlings of these perennials coming along.
Last fall the Friends of the Garden propagated cuttings from various shrubs, conifers, rhododendrons, heaths and heathers. They are also responding to the lengthening days and are close to being ready for their first potting. Look for these in the FOG plant sale in the fall of 2011...yes it generally takes 2 years to get them from this size to a sellable plant...a long term investment for the Friends.
The Garden is involved in a project called Plant Watch (check out our website for more details). One of the plants on our watch list is white birch. Pictured below are flats of birch seedlings which will be grown-on as plugs for distributing to schools in the Province who wish to become members of Plant Watch.
It is only March 23 and incredibly we have the first flowers open in the alpine house! Amazing what a couple days of sun and relatively mild temperatures can do. Pictured are Aethionema oppositifolia, Saxifraga sancta 'Macedonica' and, almost in bloom, our native Saxifraga oppositifolia.
