A Spring Recap

Spring came and went in a hurry. It's always a hectic time for Gardeners- cutting down spent plant material, edging beds, applying soil and adding new plants to the mix. The tulips and daffodils pop up to let you know that it's time to wake up and get ready for the Summer. What a relief that pop of colour is! Needless to say, I've been incredibly busy in the gardens at Quilchena and I haven't had a chance to sit down and contemplate the season so far. A few items of interest that I recall were the island beds in the parking lot were planted with thousands of multi-colour tulips to brighten up the joint. The photinia hedges around the parking lot blazed there red new growth in symphony with the tulips. Azaleas and rhododendrons throughout the property lit up in celebration as well. It was quite the show. Additionally, the front entrance was decorated with Easter cheer. 

At the beginning of Spring, the female members met up to discuss business matters for the upcoming season. I was asked to give a quick talk on container gardening. To my surprise there was over forty members attending. Yikes! With my fear of public speaking I recall thinking forty people might as well be ALL the viewers of the Superbowl! Either way, despite my bumbling I got through it and I'm thankful that I was asked to participate in the event. I wanted to give a gift to the members who attended (for enduring my speech). I picked out juicy Ranunculus Spring annuals for everyone that attended and put together a few Spring planters as a prize. I snapped a shot of a faded coral coloured Ranunculus. How gorgeous is that?

To my greater surprise, I was asked to give a talk

on container gardening the following month. Interested members signed up at the Spring Fling.  It was a great day! I gave a quick introduction to the fundamentals of assembling a planter then everyone was set free to choose plants to fill there containers that they brought from home. There was a huge selection of vibrant coloured annuals to inspire some very creative planters. I was really impressed by the taste value of all the planters. Any of them could have graced the cover of any garden magazine. We have a bunch of green thumbs here at Quilchena. The clubhouse supplied mini quiches, fruit platter, coffee and mimosas (of course). The best part is that the sun came out to shine!  Here is a few pics from the event.