Crocosmia's

The Crocosmia is grown from a corm, native to South Africa.  It is a cousin of the Gladiola and part of the Iris family.  We have been growing them now for about five years and really enjoy them.  The corm is hardy to zone 5 - 7, so they have to be lifted in the fall and stored for the winter.  We treat them exactly like our gladiola corms, lifting the corms after frost has killed the foliage, allowing them to dry and storing in an onion sack hanging from the roof of our cold room.
They are great for cut flowers growing to 3' tall, with sword like foliage.  They require full sun.  Throughout the years growing the crocosmia, we found they do best in our climate, if they are started in pots in March.  This gives them a head start in the growing season and therefore they flower earlier.  When planted directly in the garden, the plants may not have enough time to produce flowers, if we have an early frost.  So we plant 3 bulbs in a 5-6" pot and once all danger of frost is past we plant them in the garden.
This year we have extra corms that we will be offering for sale through the Saskatoon Farmer's Market.  They will be available beginning the 2nd week of May.  We will have two varieties, Lucifer and Emberglow.

Emberglow - burning glow of orange, very prolific

Lucifer - large tomato red flowers, excellent for pots and cuts.

If you have a little bit of extra room in your garden, try them, you will not be disappointed.

Spectacular Colours

Fall, it is our favourite time of year, especially this year. The colours of the leaves are brilliant in various hues of yellow, orange and brown. The wind picked up yesterday and took all the leaves off some of the trees with it. We were in an urban area today and the trees were spectacular, so enjoy wherever you may be.

The birds are still busy enjoying the sunflowers, seeds and berries. There are a few robins still around, feasting in the gardens, as well as American Goldfinches, Sparrows and Chickadees. The geese are flying around in the area in large groupings. Lots of food around for them to eat as the farmers are only starting to harvest this week. The Red Squirrels, three of them in total, are busy harvesting for their winter diet. They enjoy the sunflowers the most, but also like the wheat. I have the wheat hanging in the greenhouse to ripen and any seeds they can reach, they help themselves. One has set up his winter nest in the quonset, but have not yet found the other's nest's. You often hear them scolding each other when they cross the territory lines.

Today we dug three tubs full of horseradish root, so we will begin cleaning, peeling and grinding tomorrow. Our first batch of horseradish sold out in one day. Will have more available for market on Saturday.

I have been cleaning out the gardens and moving perennials while Pat has been feverishly siding the house. The house project was started in Spring, but the busy season always put it on the back burner. He is making great progress and should be completed before the snow flies.

Enjoy the sound of the leaves crunching as you walk......just as much fun as walking in puddles.