PLANTS FOR A FOOD GARDEN

It starts here:

Fruit Trees

Fruiting bushes from Blueberries to Saskatoon Berries

Fruiting vines from Grapes to Tayberries

Exotic fruit: OlivesMedlars - Mulberries

Vegetable transplants

Tomato plants

Seeds - large selection

Assorted soils - Sea

Soil, container mix, bulk

Garden Booster

Fertilizers of all types

Advice is free

Catalogues Now Available www.dinternursery.ca

Hlocation. If a garden is not available, growing in containers is an option. Freshly grown food is healthier and gives one a sense of accomplishment. Successful gardening comes from experience, and it is never too late to start.

You can use any location that receives six hours or more of direct sunlight around the midday period. Good soil is important and if not present, can be brought in to supplement the existing garden beds, fill raised beds or containers on sunny decks. With good soil, water, and sunlight, you can grow food.

Analyze what kind of food you are eating and what can be substituted from the garden. An easy start is salads, with greens such as lettuce, spinach, kale, mustard greens, mescluns and more. Many of these are hardy and grow well in the cool spring we are currently experiencing. Replanting after each harvest allows one to gather food until early December. This is almost nine months of harvest!

Tomatoes top the list of high value crops but cannot be set out until the heat arrives in May. Get a head start by growing them indoors for setting out in space created by the harvest of early greens. Alternatively, grow tomatoes in 7 or 10 gallon containers.

If you have limited space, look to crops that you would use and rotate through several plantings. Root crops such as carrots can be seeded twice with the second crop staying in the ground for harvesting over the winter. Potatoes do well in grow bags that free up valuable garden space. Early planting of peas in cool spring weather can be followed by beans in warm summer temperatures. With careful planning a food garden can put something on your table yearround.

Planting Heat-loving Crops in an Unpredictable Spring

Lastspring was a tough one for heat-loving crops, such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, and squash. And this year’s almanac is forecasting a cooler spring again. This can make garden planning difficult, especially deciding when to plant out those heat-loving crops. The aim is to get them in early so that they have time to ripen in our relatively short summers, but plant too soon and they could struggle in a cooler spring. So here are some tips for navigating a cool, unpredictable spring.

Know your site

Here on our farm we grow a wide range of heat-loving crops for our own farm, as well as plants to sell to home gardeners. These include tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, zucchini, and basil. We aim to have these plants ready for early-mid May, but in some springs (like last year) this may be too early for planting in your garden. It really depends on your site: how much sun exposure does your garden have? Is it south facing with full sun, perhaps even with a wall creating a “heat sink” behind it? Or is it only partial sun? Maybe you live at a higher elevation that is more prone to frost? Perhaps you have a little greenhouse or cold-frame? If you are planting into a greenhouse or cold-frame, this should be enough to protect these crops in the spring. If not, then you can also construct your own little “cloche” to protect your plants after transplanting using a translucent 4L milk jug with the cap removed and bottom cut out. If your garden site tends to be cooler or shady you may also want to select plants that come in larger pots; this will allow you to keep them in their pots longer so that you can harden them off for a longer period, choosing the most opportune day to plant. Most heat-loving crops prefer outdoor nighttime temperatures of 10 degrees Celsius or higher.

Harden off plants

Hardening off plants means gradually acclimatizing them to outdoor temperatures before you actually plant them. When you bring plants home from the nursery keep them in their pots for a few days at least, putting them outdoors during the day and then bringing them inside (even just into your garage) at night. Do this for a couple days before planting them out, so that when you do plant they are more accustomed to the outdoor temperatures.

Keeping plants healthy in a cool spring

Sometimes despite all our efforts to harden off plants and protect them after planting, they can still struggle in a cool wet spring. After planting heat-loving varieties, make sure not to over water and avoid getting the leaves wet if possible. Also try keeping the base of the plant clear of debris (i.e. don’t spread mulch around them until later in the spring when the soil is warmer- this will also help with slugs!). If you notice the leaves getting spots or wilting, you can prune off the lowest leaves and give the plants a biological spray such as a compost tea or “E.M.” (available at most garden centers), which can help combat bacterial or fungal leaf infections. This can help get plants through until it warms up. One last tip is to grow a diversity of crops! When you grow a range of cool weather and heat-loving vegetables, some are bound to do well even if others do not. And remember to celebrate your successes and enjoy the literal fruits of your labour! Wishing you a happy growing season!

Tatlo Road Farm pring Plant Sale, Saturday May 6 and 13 10am-2pm 7871 Tatlo Road west.

Beauty in a Bottle

Robin Round is a Chartered Herbalist. Find her in her gardens or mixing up a new potion in her lab.

TheBliss has something new for Mother’s Day! Our new Botanical Bliss Wild Rose Hip Facial Oil offers intense hydration and skin healing which can help with the signs of ageing, including pigmentation changes, scarring, wrinkles, and unevenness. And it smells like heaven!

I start with wild rose hips picked by my partner and I in northern BC, add organic wild rose petals from India, then our own organic comfrey root and calendula petals grown on our farm. I steep them all in organic olive and grapeseed oils then add pure Rose essential oil from India. Unlike virtually all cosmetic products out there – there are no petroleum, parabens, phthalates or artificial scents here!

Rose hips are recognized as one of the richest plant sources of Vitamin C, which is antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and collagen-building on the skin. Hips also contain Vitamin A, bioflavonoids, vitamin E, minerals and B complex vitamins. Calendula and comfrey are renowned for their ability to strengthen and repair the skin. Rose petals have long symbolized love and are used to help heal a broken heart and find calm after stress, trauma and emotional upheaval.

Rose essential oil is one of the most expensive oils on Earth – it takes up to 10,000 lb of rose petals to make 1 litre of pure rose oil. I went to India and purchased the Rose essential oil directly from the producer after touring the facilities where it is produced. Essential oils can be adulterated and the incentive to do so is highest with the world’s most expensive oils, hence the need to know and trust your suppliers.

Rose oil is known as the Queen of Essential oils – it is powerfully anti-inflammatory, anti-depressive, anti-anxiety, anti-bacterial (fights acne), it heals scars, and may act as an aphrodisiac. The scent is intoxicating!

Rose Hip Facial Oil can be applied morning and night as part of your face care regime or used more frequently for dry or damaged skin. Find Botanical Bliss at the Duncan Market Saturdays – 9 – 2, at the Community Farm Store and online at botanicalbliss.ca.

Take a moment every day to stop and smell the roses and appreciate the gift of love they bring.

Grow and Go in 2023

Whether you are a gardening expert or the proud owner of a balcony jungle, the Mill Bay Community Flower and Garden Show will prime you for a season of gardening success. Please join us Saturday, June 03, between 9 and 2 PM at Cobble Hill Hall to celebrate gardening and raise funds for the local charities we support! Entry is just $2 (children free).

Established shortly after the end of WWII, the show brings Mill Bay, Cobble Hill and Shawnigan Lake together to share our common love of gardening and community. Grow!

Do you have a breathtaking Austin rose? A perfect snap pea? Ready to try your hand at a whimsical flowerarranging challenge such as “Mad Hatter”, “Sunshine” or “Bet Your Boots”? Beginners to experts – all gardeners young and old – are welcome. Download the exhibitors’ guide at www. millbaygardenclub. com/show to discover dozens of classes and a few simple rules for entries.

Go!

Help Support Local Charities

Looking for something practical? Or just fun? Bid on exciting products and services donated by local artisans, sponsors, businesses and club members. The Silent Auction benefits both local charities and the Mill Bay Garden Club bursary, which supports local students aspiring to careers in agricultural and horticultural studies. Shop at Our Garden Market and Enjoy Yummy Food Stroll through our outdoor market and shop for the bedding plants, flowers and garden paraphernalia you need to take your personal paradise to the next level. Celebrate spring at the South Cowichan Healthcare Auxiliary Strawberry Tea in support of the Cowichan District Hospital, Cairnsmore Place and hospice.

Learn More About Gardening

When to plant dahlias? Are fuchsias winter hardy? Is there a yellow rhododendron? Ask our Master Gardeners any question you may have –from soil to seeds to shrubs. They have the answers. Admire the Exhibits Roses, peonies, ferns, hostas and more – the glorious winners will be on display. Vote for the best and most creative designs to help decide the People’s Choice Award.

We have one of the largest collections of garden pottery on Vancouver Island! With one of a kind plants, beautiful home and garden decor and friendly, helpful staff. We can help you create the garden of your dreams.

Open Mon - Sat. 9:30-5pm & Sun10-5pm www.oldfarmgarden.ca I @oldfarmgarden

3 Top Trends for Your Garden and Patio this Spring

Garden pots are an easy way to update your garden, deck or patio this season to keep your space feeling fresh. Simply switching out pots of one colour or texture for another can elevate your space from “good enough” to your own personal oasis. It can sometimes be difficult to navigate new trends each year. Here are my top 3 garden pot trends to consider this season:

1. Natural materials. This is a major trend in interior and exterior design right now. Using natural materials helps to bring warmth to any aesthetic. Consider looking for neutral coloured ceramics and clay or opt for terracotta. Terracotta also pairs well with one of the number one garden trends of the year; Mediterranean.

2. Mediterranean inspired. It seems that everyone is looking to get away on a Mediterranean vacation. If sadly, like me, this is not in your near future, why not bring the Mediterranean to you? This trend pairs well with the first that I mentioned, but you can take it a step further and include textured clay pots, as well as glazed ceramics in black, green or blue as accents.

3. Bright colours. Another interior design trend that is making it’s way to garden and patio spaces is maximalism. Maximalism brings together bright patterns and colours in contrasting and exciting ways. You can incorporate this in your garden by pairing bright, rich hues of glazed ceramics with beautiful bold coloured flowers.

With so many beautiful trends to choose from it is simple to bring a fresh sense to your outdoor spaces this year. Follow your personal interests and let that guide you as you make your decisions. As long as you are keeping true to your style your space will shine with personality and charm.

Growing a Herb Pollinator Meadow

Thisspring, make an impact & grow a garden! Creating respite for pollinators & learning how to grow your own food is one of the most beneficial skills you can learn.

Looking for a low maintenance drought tolerant landscape? Try a herb pollinator meadow. This garden is filled with drought tolerant herbs, beneficial native plants & and attracts powerful pollinators to create a biodiverse landscape with depth & purpose. This beneficial mix of medicinal, aromatic herbs, edible flowers, native & pollinator plants in a soft, natural colour palette, brings an elegant twist to a meadow style garden. All plants in this garden design are drought tolerant once established & can be planted in full sun.

Top three plants to add: Lavender (Lavandula)Mediterranean herb - Medicinal, edible, aromatic, deer resistant, cut flower, dried flower, pollinator plant. Adding unique varieties of lavender can really elevate the garden.

For Spanish lavender, Anouk or Ballerina can be quite impactful. Alba is a beautiful white English variety, and for French; Goodwin Creek Grey may be the best of them all.

Pearly everlasting (Anaphalis margaritacea) - Native pollinator plant- Utilized traditionally in Indigenous cultures, this medicinal plant has antibacterial, antihistamine, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic & antiviral properties. It is dried and made into tea or steamed to help clear airways. A wonderful pollinator plant, it is a larva host for the American Lady butterfly. This is a great filler plant in the garden. It helps to create soft cohesive flow if planted throughout and allowed to naturalize.

Echinacea - A beneficial pollinator plant- They come in unique varieties in lovely colors like mellow yellow, hula dancer & white swan. Only three varieties are medicinal (Echinacea purpurea; Echinacea pallida; and Echinacea angustifolia). This plant is a focal flower in the garden and should be placed in spots where they can be seen and appreciated.

The plants listed above are summer blooming. For a more detailed plant list with

Meadow Wren Flower Farm & Garden Services

• Sustainable garden design & maintenance

• Garden planning & market garden planning

• Annual mason bee subscriptions

• Cut ower sales for weddings & events

• Seed & plant sales

• Workshops & more!

Reach out for a free half hour consultation www.meadowwren full seasonal colour, or if you have questions about your own garden, please check out my website or email at meadowwrenflowerfarm@gmail. com

Gardener and conservationist, Kyla strives to make a bigger environmental impact by creating more biodiverse and sustainable landscapes.

CFLA Garden Tour

The Cowichan Family Life Association (CFLA) is excited to announce the 27th Annual Garden Tour to be held on Sunday, June 4. “We are honoured that seven local garden owners have generously opened their gardens for the public tour this year,” says CFLA President Deanna Wrate. “The tour is a wonderful opportunity for the community to come together to appreciate the beauty of nature while helping community members who are going through difficult times. These are experiences to which we can all relate.”

Added features this year include a Tea Garden with an artist and musician, and once again the chance to purchase tickets for several raffle prizes made locally or supplied by local businesses.

CFLA provides affordable, if not free, mental health services for individuals and families of the Cowichan

Valley and has done so for more than 50 years. No one is turned away for lack of funds. Programs include training for volunteer peer counsellors, healing anger, seniors services, communicating with confidence, financial freedom and individual counselling. Other programs are in the process of development as CFLA responds to community needs.

The Garden Tour serves as a major fund raiser for the organization and tickets are now on sale at The Third Addition Toys and Gifts in Mill Bay, Dinter’s Nursery Ltd, Buckerfield’s Supply Store, Volume One Bookstore, Russell Farms Market and Garden Centre.

Tickets are still $25 each and includes a map of the garden locations. Raffle tickets will be available from Tina Short – Garden Tour Coordinator or through the CFLA office and during the garden tour itself at each of the gardens.

CFLA would like to thank the following sponsors who generously donated funds to assist with the Garden Tour promotion: Dinter’s Nursery; Country Grocers; Island Office Equipment; and HSM Insurance. If you or someone you know could benefit from mental health services, please contact Cowichan Family Life Association at 250 748-8281.

Encore Womens Choir Spring Concert

The women of Encore! Women’s Choir, under the direction of Michelle Weckesser with accompaniment by Eve Daniell, share their love of singing in their spring concert “Sing Me all the Way Home” on Saturday, May 13, 2023 at 7:00 pm at the Christian Reformed Church in Duncan.

Comprised of 24 dedicated and wonderful women, Encore! started in 2007. Choir Director, Michelle Weckesser is well known in the Cowichan Valley’s music scene through her work with the Cowichan Musical Society, Frances Kelsey High School, The Cowichan Valley Vocal Collective and Chalkboard Theatre. She has directed choirs, taught singing to individuals and worked as a solo artist. She comes to Encore! with a Bachelor of Education with a major in Choral Music from the University of Alberta. As she moves into her second year in front of the choir she enthuses “What a delight to work with such a warm and talented group of women!”.

From Bach’s “Suscepit Israel” and Mozart’s “Lacrymosa” to jazzy “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter”, she has put together a stimulating program which will delight listeners. She says, “I’ve chosen songs about Singing…how Singing can be with us when we are happy or sad, trepidatious or brave, fun- loving or worshipful.” “Psallite” by Kyle Pederson, “Fa Una Canzona” by Orazio Vecchi, “I Sing Because I’m Happy” arranged by Kenneth Paden and the concert title song, “All the Way Home” by Sarah Quartel reflect the different emotions that singing can bring. The program also features female composers from coast to coast with, “Your One and Only Life” by Novia Scotia’s Susan Crowe and “Possibility” by Encore’s composer-in-residence and choir member Deborah Sumner.

This program is sure to make you smile, to make you ponder, to make you both laugh and cry and maybe even make you sing yourself All the Way Home. Tickets are available from choir members, Volume One Book Store in Duncan, and at the door. For more information visit our website www. encorewomenschoir.com.

A Mid Century Modern Dream Kitchen

It’s so nice to be in business for over 34 years in Cowichan. It gives me so many chances to revisit our client’s homes and make long lasting friendships with them.

And this is a perfect example of that relationship and how we get inspired to work with them.

When my client wished to have her new home revitalized, it gave me a second chance to work with her again.

It was a whole house reno this time to a bungalow all on one level (my favourite). When I say favourite, I mean stairs are overrated and as we age, simple and somewhat level is good for the soul and the legs. And creating sight lines that meander all on one level to me is an adventure I like to repeat. The project required a completely new kitchen, two complete three-piece baths and hardwood flooring throughout. The painting was already underway with some daring dashes of deep blue walls in the den and master, contrasted by a soft gallery white throughout the common areas.

I wanted to trash the dark mahogany doors and small bevel trims as they so dated the home, but I knew it would domino into a complete trim package that would result in huge extra expenses for all the existing complicated windows and doors throughout, so I left until last and am so glad. It may even have triggered new windows which was not in the cards at this stage. I employed my design assistant of many years, Donna Burdulea (look her up under Donna Burdulea Design) to help with many of the myriad of details and finishing items. She was terrific! The wide plank teak flooring we chose supplied by End of the Roll tied the entire home together in such a warm and inviting way that these dark doors with pencil thin trim appeared simple and elegant like the Danish Modern furniture collection that existed throughout.

The kitchen was then a no brainer.

We chose McPherson Cabinetry for this project, and they did not disappoint.

Me being tired of the everpopular painted white cabinets, chose to go with that ‘MADMEN’ look of the early 60’s with rift oak in a flat panel and simple pulls.

My client had one request, her father was a renowned potter and she wanted somewhere to display his colourful work in an artful way, so we created open shelving and chose what looks like a handmade subway fashioned back plash with a pop of rich mossy green. The clean creamy white quartz tops presented a horizontal mirror for all the natural light coming through the existing skylights that lit everything up and put the cook and guests ‘onstage’.

Note one major fix was eliminating the cedar skylight wells that seemed so popular here in the 80’s but thankfully served their lifespan with a quiet and quick demise.

The ensuite and main bath were both created to have a spa like feel for the two female clients so bamboo vanities and vertically stacked subway again in a textured finish gives a warm and modern look but tips a hat to the style of the era. All on budget and mostly on time during a pandemic!

Now she is on her own, with her oldest daughter, so this goes out to all those mothers out there who finally get what they want.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Terence Miranda, AuD, RAUD, RHIP Doctor of Audiology Resonance Hearing Clinic

Ahhh, peace and quiet. Isn’t that something we all crave from time to time? Well, you may be surprised to learn that true quiet is not peaceful, but rather it is extremely disconcerting.

Much of what we hear is not sound coming directly from the source; it is actually sound that is reflected from various surfaces around us, therefore, if you want a quiet place, you must control not only the sources of sound but you must also eliminate the reflections. At Resonance’s hearing clinics, we have high quality sound proofed booths which, when you walk into one for the first time, feels and sounds

The Sound of Silence: The Anechoic Chamber

as though you have stepped into a recording studio. Our booths pass all standards for hearing testing but as quiet as they are, they are not absolutely ‘soundproof’. For this, one needs to construct an anechoic chamber.

An anechoic chamber is constructed on its own foundation and sits on giant springs to remove vibrations from the outside. The room itself is covered on all sides by triangular sound absorbers. There is no floor! Instead, a metal net sits on top of the sound absorbers to allow researchers to walk into the room.

When you are in a room with no sound, you become the sound. After a few minutes, you hear your heart beating, your stomach gurgling and your ears ringing. After several minutes in an anechoic chamber, one also has difficulty standing up as one of the ways we orient ourselves is through the echoes we hear when we walk. The experience inside an anechoic chamber is so unsettling that the longest time an individual has been able to withstand being alone inside an anechoic chamber is about 1 hour.

So, the next time you wish for some peace and quiet, be careful not to wish for too much quiet!

Sometimes...

Sometimesit’s the way the light comes through the windows, bouncing off the streaks of quartz in the soapstone counter, reminding me of how sunshine shimmers through river water to the rocks below. Sometimes, when I need to take a moment to re-group, it’s how the combination of the greens and the natural fir of the cabinets makes it feel a bit like the actual firs outside are coming in. Where does the kitchen end and the forest begin? It calms my soul.

It’s not just that this new kitchen feels like the surroundings are coming inalthough that was definitely the intention - it’s knowing that the materials used really were natural, locally sourced, and crafted by local hands. From the framing to the wood and the windows, from the stone to the clay plaster molded to the walls, it was a team effort. Forging these local connections was as fun and fulfilling as watching the project itself come together.

From the stage of inception, collaborating on our cabinetry with John of J.J Frith Design was a pleasure. John took the time to sit with us and figure out what was really important. Given that we were working on our dream kitchen for our forever homestead, getting it right was essential. John held the space for us to move from dream to design, stress-free, through as many thoughtful revisions as it took. His knowledge and extensive experience helped us make decisions that fit our ethos; his sage advice and a couple of fun little surprises along the way topped off the journey from design to installation. John connected us with the right materials and the right craftsmen, and the result is a delight.

Sometimes, with the right team, you can pull off

Custom Cabinet Projects

Expert Planning Production Installation

something that you might never have thought was possible. John brings form and function together into something that feels very much like art, and we are so very lucky to be able to live in it every day. If you have an eye on incorporating nature into your living space and are looking to bring together your own dream kitchen, give him a call. customer.