Farewell Summer, Hello Fall

It is the season for gardeners to welcome Lucy Maud Montgomery’s “farewell-summers.”  Gardeners foreign to our shores may know them as “Fall Asters” or “Michaelmas Daisies.”  Wrong, dummies.  When in Canada, do as Canadians do!  No, not complain about the weather; call them “Farewell-Summers” and spare a thought for the lovely lady from Prince Edward Island who spent over half her life gardening in the 905 area.  Of course Maud, and other gardeners in Southern Ontario before and since, turn their thoughts to planting new bulbs in the fall. 

  The appearance of the large crocus-like flower at the front of flowerbeds about this time of year stirs such contemplations.  Some neophytes swear they must be artificial.  In shades of pink, purple and mauve; surely they are made of silk?  Botanists dubbed them for that part of the south shore of the Black Sea from which they arose in antiquity:  Colchicum.  Gardeners, a notoriously less formal crowd, variously know them as either “Naked Ladies” or “Naked Boys.”  Presumably the choice is directed by their proclivities.  Plant them now for a display in fall of 2001.  Buy one or two extra and leave them on your desk.  Within a few days blooms will spring forth to amaze your co-workers.  No pot, soil or water is necessary.  You should be aware though that they are poisonous.

According to Carol Cowan of the Netherlands Flower-bulb Institute in Toronto, in the spring of 1999 a panel of those Dutchmen with an interest in the trade decided to attempt one of the most difficult tasks conceivable.  To answer the question:  “Which are the best fragrant spring bulbs?”  Of course, being Dutch, tulips came first.  The early-blooming “Apricot Beauty” is a beautiful salmon rose with tinges of red.  “Princess Irene” is from the popular Triumph Group of the cultivated Tulipa. Its petals are flared with purple.  “Angelque” was introduced a few years ago, later flowering with shades of light and dark pink.  In the panel’s minds, hyacinths followed tulips.  The pink “Anna Marie,” the appropriately named “Blue Jacket” and the white “Carnegie” were their triple choice.

Planted over the next month or so, any or all of these half-dozen selections will bring perfumed glamour to next spring’s garden.  Whether they can be relied upon to do so season after following season is dubious.  Most fall bulbs demand hot baking dry conditions all summer after their foliage dies back.  Seldom do they receive such in local gardens where homeowners tend to be heavy handed with the hose.

Then again tulips and hyacinths are undeniably formal.  This does not appeal to the politically correct.  So we turn to what the novice calls a “daffodil.” and the informed a “narcissus.”  You too can sound experienced if you only remember that daffodils have long trumpets and narcissus short ones.  The latter gained their name from a Greek youth who, attempting to embrace the beautiful reflection he saw in a pool of water, fell in and drowned.  Served the silly sod right.  So enough of narcissistic Hellenic nuisances and we ask, “What do our redolent Dutchmen recommend?”  Narcissus “Bridal Crown” is a double-flowered white with, so our experts say, a “voluptuous” fragrance.  “Carlton” is an old favorite, everybody’s idea of the kind of yellow daffodil that set off Wordsworth; a wonderful poet but surprisingly deficit in the olfactory department.  Returning to the narcissus.  The confusingly named “Geranium,” white with orange center cup, is yet another to have delighted millions over the years.  Less well known is a pure white “Thalia.”

Much more on bulbs will be presented in a free illustrated talk at the Main Street Library, just south of Gerrard St. (Toronto), at 2 p.m. September 16^th by this columnist who also welcomes your questions (more info from (416)393-7700).  Those requiring a broader range of gardening information and having the willingness to pay a modest fee will find interest in “City Gardening”.  This course was developed by the writer over a dozen years ago and has been widely imitated since.  The genuine, down-to-earth version is conducted for 9 weeks commencing October 4^th at Rosedale Heights Secondary School, 710 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, at the Bloor Viaduct, opposite the Castle Frank subway.  For more information call (416) 393-1580, fax (416) 393-1586, or visit www.tdsb.on.ca.