Pretty Fingernails Will Have To Wait
As I sat contemplating this week’s column, I couldn’t help but notice my fingernails. They’re long, they have shape and they’re clean. How I envy those who experience this every day. As I stared at them I couldn’t help but wonder why God gave fingernails to gardeners.
Within a week, my nails will go through a transformation. They’ll be ravaged by sticks and stones, assaulted by pine needles and thorns and caked with the good earth. Though gloves and special lotions and potions may offer some protection, these carefully manicured fingernails are no match for the elements of nature.
As the arsenal of garden tools comes out of hibernation, so comes the nail brush, file, vinegar, lemon juice and bandages. As my Mom said some time ago, “Perhaps there will come a day when dresses and pretty nails will take precedence over gardening.” I don’t think so. As long as there is soil to play in and seeds to plant, dresses and pretty fingernails will just have to wait. By the way, Happy 89th Birthday, Mom.
What’s growing
Thoughts turn to the Easter flowers this weekend - Easter lilies, pasque flowers and Lenten roses.
I have an Easter lily sitting on a small table inside the entrance of our home. Its heady, sweet fragrance just about bowls me over, even though there is plenty of space for the scent to dissipate. Many lilies are notorious for their strong scents. In a small room the fragrance can literally make you sick.
Because of this, here is a gentle reminder: Lilies of any type should never be sent to people who are sick or in the hospital. Their strong fragrance could interfere with recovery. When ordering a floral arrangement, ask the florist to withhold lilies from the bouquet.
The pasque flower is a delicate perennial anemone that blooms this time each year. Its light purple blossoms nod atop stems covered in green, thread-like leaves. The fuzzy leaves vanish once the flowers go to seed.
The purple pasque flower grows best in full sun and well-drained soil. It should be planted where it can be enjoyed from inside the house, since our early springs aren’t very conducive to wandering about the yard.
The other traditional Easter flower is the hellebore or Lenten rose. Its 3-inch blossoms in white, purple, rose or pink are clustered atop stiff stems. Though the blossoms appear delicate from a distance, it is obvious up close why the flowers are capable of handling the tortures of late winter and early spring. The flowers have a stiff feel, like the texture of soft wood.
Hellebores are undemanding. Give them a moderately rich, well-drained soil and filtered light. Hellebores should be available at most nurseries.
Start digging
Good Friday is traditionally the time to plant potatoes. The tradition is timed to the waning and waxing of the moon. Root crops, such as potatoes, are planted during the waning moon - when the moon moves from a full moon to a new moon. Crops that flower and fruit are to be planted during the waxing moon - when the moon moves from a new moon to a full moon.
Though there is merit to lunar planting, planting potatoes on Good Friday isn’t always a sound practice in our northern climate. Some years, Good Friday falls in the month of March. Our soils can be very cold and wet at that time. Since potatoes grow best when the soil is between 50 and 60 degrees, colder soils may cause the seed pieces to rot.
Since Good Friday is late this year, the soil should be plenty warm making it an excellent time to plant. But if you don’t get them dug in today, not to worry. You have until May 3 to plant, at which time the waxing of the new moon begins. Happy Easter.
Mark your calendar
The Inland Empire Gladiolus Society will host its annual glad sale Saturday at Northwest Seed and Pet, 2422 E. Sprague. The sale begins at 9 a.m. and continues until the glads run out.
The Spokane Master Composters will host a composting fair as part of the Earth Day celebration at Riverfront Park Saturday. Spokane County residents who participate in the workshop on composting will take home a new plastic compost bin (one per household). The hours of the fair are 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Please call the recycling hotline at 747-0242 for more information.
A series of three classes on Naturalizing Your Landscape will run Wednesday nights from 6:30 to 9 p.m. starting next week and continuing May 3 and 10. The series includes a field trip to Liberty Lake, May 6 at 9:30 a.m. The series is designed for people with acreage they want to preserve or yards they want to restore to a more natural environment. Learn how to landscape with native plants, how to attract and protect wildlife, which plants work best for streamside, lakeside and ponds; how to protect homes from fire and how to outsmart weeds in natural areas.
The fee for the class is $40 which includes handouts and study materials. Pre-register by calling 477-2048.
Composting 101 workshops will be held Monday at 7 p.m. at the Finch Arboretum, 3404 W. Woodland Blvd., and Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Valley Library, 12004 E. Main. For more information, please call the recycling hotline at 747-0242.
The Friends of Manito will hold a community clean-up of Manito Park April 29 from 9 to 11 a.m. Everyone is welcome; bring your gloves and dress appropriately.
The Friends of Manito will also offer a free tour of the Gaiser Conservatory, April 30 at 1 p.m. For more information, call 456-8038.
The Associated Garden Clubs will hold its annual benefit plant sale April 29 and 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Manito Park near the conservatory.
The Inland Empire Fire Chiefs, Department of Natural Resources and Fire Safe Spokane are sponsoring a free educational meeting on fire safety for those living in timbered residential areas. The meeting will be May 2 at 7 p.m. at Sunrise Elementary School. I will give a class on preventative plantings as part of the program. Contact 464-1086 for more information.