If you’re looking for light, airy perennials with a naturalistic feel to mix in with echinaceas and ornamental grasses, consider sanguisorbas (a.k.a. burnets). Many varieties are hardy down to Zone 2. Depending on the variety, you can have sanguisorbas blooming from early May to early October. Lorraine Flanigan talks about a few favourite varieties in “Getting to know sanguisorbas.”
How to move roses
If a garden renovation or encroaching shade is creating less-than ideal growing conditions for your mature roses, now is the time to think about moving them to a better location. It can be done, and Judith Adam explains how to make the move relatively painless for them in “How to move roses.”
Virtual symposium on perennials
Here’s a chance to learn more about perennials from horticultural experts. The Canada and US Great Lakes Chapter of the Perennial Plant Association (PPA) will host a virtual symposium on Oct. 15 called “Perennial Professionals at Work and Play.” Six presenters, including Rodger Tschanz of the University of Guelph, Todd Boland of Memorial University in Newfoundland and Jon Peter of the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, will each talk about their 10 favourite perennials. That adds up to 60 recommended perennials — something for everyone.
Registration is open at perennialplant.org until Oct. 13. Cost for the day-long symposium is $135 (Cdn). There’s a discounted rate if you’re a member of the RBG, Landscape Ontario or a full-time student. The registration fee isn’t insignificant, but I’ve attended several PPA events and always found them worthwhile.
More garden news and views
Learn how installing a few row cover hoops can extend your harvest of vegetables and also deter pests. Good info on types of hoops and covers at “Row cover hoops for frost and pest protection” on Savvy Gardening. Although most of the advice relates to spring conditions, there is also info on what weights of cover material to use for frost protection in fall.
If you’re a fan of moss — on rocks, as a groundcover along a path, for adding patina to hardscaping — check out “The magical world of moss gardening” by Joe Lamp’l.
Ever wondered why so many common names of plants end with “wort?” There’s lungwort, St. John’s wort, bloodwort and figwort, to name a few. “Word of the week: wort” from the Master Gardeners of Northern Virginia delves into the etymology of the word wort. Great to know for gardening trivia games.
