__ ™eReview Wednesday, January 24, 1990 — AI6 Gardening / News ) eee A mild winter beckons for spring It has been an absolutely glorious day, with so much sunshine I had to open the vents in the greenhouse so the plants wouldn’t get completely confused and decide it is summertime. While browsing about in there I discovered that both the clivia plants had buds on them, so they should be moved inside where we can enjoy their beauty. The problem here is that there really isn’t room for them. The only table available near a window is already laden with plants, but maybe a couple of them could trade places with the clivias. One of them, though, is an azalea I bought last Spring ... Just a potty little thing in a four-inch container. When it had ceased flowering I re-potted it into a six incher and left it outside for the summer. Now it is quite a handsome plant, and it, too, is in bud, so it has to stay. The primrose called Obconica which ‘“‘him- self” gave me last year has spent the so-called winter in the greenhouse, but it is also almost teady to flower so it has to come inside and be admired in its tum. We need a bigger house! A sad piece of news this week. One of our keenest local gardeners, Bruce Clackett, has died ... he was a grower of superb roses (among other things) and will be missed by all of us who knew him. Signs of spring are everywhere, and I’m trying awfully hard not to worry about it. I keep telling things to slow down and the next day they are up another inch! Today while making a trip out to the compost piles I observed that the delphiniums are up about three inches, which seems just crazy to me. Connie MacD. had a good idea for quick cover in case of severe frost. She said, “I'd just put a large pot over whatever was in danger, to keep the wind at bay.” For someone who doesn’t have a lot of leaves piled in a comer for just such emergencies, a pot would likely do the job. Katie Dawson returned from a bird-watching expedition carrying a spray of our common broom with a bright yellow flower on it, and after we’d gone on with our walk I found several daisies blooming in the grass, and a little further on, ina sunken area, a large clump of Shasta daisies stil] flowering. Katie told me that a friend of hers has a camelia blooming in her garden. Things seem a trifle mixed-up, wouldn’t you say? Irene Clarke asked why so many of her impatiens cuttings were dying. It sounded as though they were damping- off. Just too little light, and pethaps a little too much water, and this miserable fungus disease Starts. The suggestion here is to cut down on the watering, and to sprinkle either Benoyml or funginex over the soil in your pots. I am not going to attempt cuttings yet, of any kind, there just isn’t enough light quite yet, or so it seems to me. Mind you (Mary Limber, please take note) all the garden books suggest seeding geraniums, lobelia, pansies and snapdragons this month. One book suggests planting sweet-peas inside as well, moving them into a cold-frame when they are tiny, and into the garden in March. You might plant lettuce, parsley, cauliflower and Globe artichokes now as well, making sure they get as much light as possible, starting the seeds over bottom heat, and moving them into a cool bright spot when they have sprouted. Another thing that might be done this month is to prune your grape vines. All fruit will be produced on this year’s new growth, so the idea is to rid your vine of almost, but not quite all, of this summer’s growth. You should leave two leaf buds on each branch ... new growth will come from each of these. This year our grape-vine was trained along the top of our fence, one long vine going out in either direction. This year I will prune only the branches that grew from each of these main stalks, and hope for a bumper harvest. It is a delicious grape called Interlakken, green, sweet and seedless, and this is its third year in our garden, so maybe we will be lucky! You will have noticed that the bitter marmalade oranges are in the markets right now, but “him- self” has taken an easier route, bought the tinned concentrate, and yesterday tumed out seven jars of delicious marmalade. TRY again More than 230 community pro- jects were funded in 1989 under the provincial TRY campaign, the program to tackle substance abuse at the local level. Various organizations received more than $20 million during the first year of the program and Consumer Services Minister Norm Jacobsen said last week he’s “most impressed by the commit- ment and dedication of volun- teers,” involved in the program. ~ Our alcohol and drug problem can be beaten,” Jacobsen said last week. “Communities all over the province are sharing the responsi- bility of helping themselves and their neighbors.” TRY is a three-year program, calling for the spending of $137 million in the battle against sub- Stance abuse. Over the three-year period, $30.3 million are to be spent on prevention, $95.5 million on treatment, $5.3 million on com- munity initiatives and $6.1 million on research and evaluation. JUST US Ca ° CARPET CLEANING e UPHOLSTERY CLEANING Owner Wilf Dorman gives personal attention to all orders $570 Northlawn Terrace, Sidney, B.C FREE ESTIMATES Phone: 656-4754 - 30 Years Experience Dorman’s rpet Cleaners \e 4 : 2a, JANUARY mE SALE PRICES! 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Ormheim said Dickson rear- ended another vehicle at the Bow- erbank Road and Bradford Avenue intersection in Sidney July 5. Dickson left the scene but was identified by police through a wallet he had left behind. _ He was given a breathalyzer test. In 1987 he was convicted of impaired driving, Ormheim said. Defence lawyer Jim O’Connor said Dickson’s insurance was invalidated, so he will pay for the over $1,200 damage to both vehi- cles. Hubbard suspended Dickson’s licence for 12 months. Electric Plus Program Closed To New Customers The British Columbia Utilities Commission has approved B.C.Hydro’s application to close the Electric Plus program because of the diminishing supply of surplus interruptible electricity. Effective immediately Hydro can no longer accept applications for new customers on the program. Customers already on the Electric Plus program will not be affected. Please contact your local Hydro office if you need more information. 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