A tree grows in Smiths Falls

Smiths Falls - Submitted editorial@pdgmedia.ca

Eighty-five years ago when he was five years old, young Keith Salter, a middle child of five siblings, planted a beechwood tree in the middle of the backyard of his family’s home on Queen Street, near Old Sly’s lock. It was a small tree, a sapling, and with its planting came many hopes. They wanted it to grow tall, with many large long branches providing shade to the growing Salter family. Perhaps a swing from one of its branches for the three girls. Maybe a tire hanging or just a rope with a big knot in the end for Keith and his brothers.

Growing babies spent afternoons lying on blankets gazing at the sky. All of the family birthdays, at least those that took place in the summer, were en - joyed in that backyard.

Picnics, and especially the annual May 24 celebrations, where families all over town enjoyed fireworks, were spent under the leaves of the growing tree.

In the fall, squirrels hid nuts every place they could find, in the hopes of remembering where they had hidden them come spring.

The lawn at the back of the house was huge, stretching right down to the water, the part of the Rideau River between the big town lock and the small Old Sly’s, called The Reach. Can’t you just see everyone out there with croquet mallets in their hands?

That tree was half grown when Keith and Louise said their vows and began their own married life in that very house. One by one, their two boys were born and spent their time in the shade under the tree on their own blankets.

By the time the boys were grown and were forging ahead with their lives, the beechwood was huge.

Years went by. Keith cut the backyard grass each week and Louise tended to her garden. Before they knew it, the tree had matured and naturally so had they.

Louise went first, leaving Keith with so many memories. One son was far away but thankfully one nearby. Three of Keith’s siblings had passed on. His two sisters were nearby and tried to keep him occupied when they could. His eyesight began to worsen, and soon he could barely see anything.

The tree seemed to be at its full height.

Then, on October 26, 2021, Keith passed away at 90. And, today, the tree is dying…

Garden Matters: Roses

We have all, I’m sure, attempted to grow roses. Some are easy, just plant, and they will thrive. Others are more difficult. With roses, hardiness is the most difficult problem to take care of. Yes they do get insects and diseases but these are problems that can be overcome with a bit of effort. There are several native Ontario roses that are well worth trying. Some rose (Rosa blanda) is an almost thornless rose with pink to white flowers. Carolina rose (Rosa carolina )is a nice one that has rose hips all winter and prickly rose (Rosa acicularis) is another one.

Carolina Rose

With pink flowers. One problem would be to locate a source that sells them. Being native they are definitely hardy. What I want to talk about here are the three showiest groups that most people want to try, hybrid teas, grandifloras, and floribunda. The difference between them is the size of the flowers with hybrid teas being the largest and showiest to floribundas with smaller flowers in clusters on each stem. Most often they are grafted (or budded) on hardy root stalk. Because they are budded onto a root stalk suckering is often a problem. These suckers which are usually a lighter green colour and have more leaflets per leaf

By Paul Pietsch Master Gardener

are easily identifiable. These suckers must be removed completely. When these are planted, the bud union should be about an inch below the soil. This again is for winter protection.

Hybrid Tea Rose

Once you have bought the plants, remove any tiny spindly branches leaving three to five main stems.

These roses prefer full sun and a fairly rich soil with manure mixed in. Water well when planting. These roses will bloom on new growth sometime after June 20th. Once a particular stem has bloomed, cut the stem of the spent flower at a node where the leaf has

5 leaflets. It should bloom again by September. After that bloom is finished remove it in the same way but shorter this time to the first 5 leaflet node on that stem. With luck it will bloom again before a heavy frost. In late fall, once the ground has frozen slightly in the morning, hill the plant up with soil about a foot high. This soil is scooped up from around the rose to make the hill. Manure is then added into the depression around the rose. This protects the buds at the bottom of the rose bush. These buds will make the new growth in the spring. I would not prune anything in the fall except branches to reduce the plant in height so as to make working around them easier.

When the forsythia flowers in the spring, remove the soil from around the roses. This also puts the manure into the soil. The pruning should be done now. On these rose bushes, prune all the branches down to 3 or 4 nodes per branch. The top node will make most of the new growth and should be facing out from the center of the plant. Again keep 3 to 5 stems, getting rid of any spindly branches. And so it starts all over again for the roses to bloom on new wood sometime in June.