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The Virden Garden Club was pleased to welcome Gwen Beam as a guest speaker to their March 1 meeting.
Beam showed members of the club step by step instructions on how to create a drought resistant planter. Beam is an avid gardener who loves to use all different kinds of plants to create new planters.
One of the many types of plants she enjoys having in her garden are called succulents. Another plant she likes to include are hen and chicks. She commented, "There are over 4,000 different varieties of hens and chicks available to use."
Beam recommends when creating a new planter to plant all plants that have the same requirements for water and light together. She explained that plants such as succulents along with hen and chicks are low maintenace plants to take care of. These types of plants are able to sustain without a large amount of water during the summer months.
Drought resistant plants allows an avid gardener to get away for a holiday without having to worry about their plants while they are gone.
Container gardening is not only for gardeners who lack space or land, containers can transform hard surfaced urban areas, and city balconies into luxuriant gardens. Beam said that she has never used the same container for her backyard more then once.
When choosing a new container it is important to use a large container for larger plants to allow space for the roots to grow, and each container chosen should have drainage holes.
Beam recommends when using a larger container to not fill the bottom of it with soil but to put old pots in the bottom. Some plants only need eight inches of soil and putting less soil will make the container easier to move.
The soil Beam likes to use and highly recommends to other gardeners is called Seasoil. It is soil which is made of composted fish and forest fines from Vancouver Island. Before Beam's plants are added to her container she likes to add fertilizer throughout the soil.
Her first plant is placed in the middle of the container and then other plants are added around the centre plant. Some of the plants Beam includes in her planters are purchased and some of them are grown in her garden.
After all the plants have been placed in their position coloured stones, gravel, beach glass, or other decorative mulch can be added to complete the container. It is important to make sure your planters receive four to six hours of sunlight a day.
Successful combinations of plants to use for containers can become limitless. The variety of using a main vertical element, a hanging element and a central element can help to tie all the plants together.
To maintain your plants it is important to deadhead any blooms that have died and dried up, fertilize according to the plants needs and watch out for pests and diseases. Using drought resistant plants brings to a gardener a way to be environmentally friendly using less water. An added bonus is these plants provide more time for gardening.
Three members of the Virden Garden Club were lucky enough to win Beam's beautiful planters that she made. Those winners were first place Irene Rowand and second place Ken Wardle. Norma Nixon won patio lights as third place.
