SPRING 2018

WORKSHOPS AND SEMINARS ARE CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE DUE TO THE COVID-19 CRISIS

During the spring gardening season Georama will hold a series of workshops and seminars covering a wide range of gardening topics. Expert staff members will provide informative and entertaining sessions Saturday mornings and repeated on Sunday afternoons. Registration fee of $5.00 with proceeds going to local charities, coffee and local baked goods will be served.

Register now for one of these interesting topics:

Sat. April 14 at 10am and repeated Sun. April 15 at 1pm 

     Pruning Work Shop

Gerry and Case will be covering all aspects of pruning, including fruit trees, roses, evergreens and more, includes organic controls, tools and much more.

Sat. April 21 at 10am and repeated Sun. April 22 at 1pm

     All about Perennials and Alpine Plants

Lyn will introduce the novice and expert gardener to a whole new world of exciting permanent plants, from Ajuga’s to Yuccas and everything in between, growing, dividing, pruning and more will be covered.

Thursday April 26 at 1:00 PM and repeated Friday April 27 at 10:00 AM

   Hanging Basket Workshop

This is our most popular hands on workshop, Imelda and Barb will be helping you with your very own basket, choosing from a wide range of containers and plants, be prepared to be creative! (containers and plants extra)

Sunday May 6 at 1pm

      The World of Japanese Maples

Join Bridget in a very interesting look at some of the plant world’s most amazing small trees!

Common Name: Japanese Painted Fern
Botanical Name: Athyrium niponicum ‘Pictum’

This low-maintenanc e perennial is one of the showiest ferns for shade gardens. Japanese painted fern performs best in well-drained moist soil with added organic compost or peat moss. It grows 18 inches tall and as it multiplies can make a clump more the two feet wide. This fern produces 12-to-18 inch fronds that are a soft shade of metallic silver-grey with hints of red and blue and makes an outstanding combination plant for adding colour, texture, and habit to landscape beds and containers. The magnificent texture and colour of the fronds electrify shady areas of the garden and make the fern a wonderful companion for a variety of shade plants. Japanese painted fern provides a nice contrast to other shade-loving perennials such as hosta, bleeding heart, columbine, astilbe and coral bells. No Kootenay garden should be with-out this superb plant which won the 2004 Perennial Plant of the Year Award!

Common Name:      Maries’s Doublefile Viburnum

Botanical Name:      Viburnum plicatum tomentosum ‘Mariesii’

Taking a walk around lower Fairview in Nelson with Imelda last week, we truly enjoyed the many plants and shrubs showing off their fall colours. One such shrub we noticed was a nice example of Viburnum ‘Mariesii’ and if you have a bit of room, this viburnum is absolutly one of the best multi-season shrubs you can grow! At this time of the year, it’s dark green leaves change to a most beautiful shade of deep, firey red. In springtime it’s strong horizontal branches are smothered with flat sprays of pure white flowers, giving the impression of snow-laden branches. These flat topped, lacecap-like flower clusters appear in two rows or files, hence it’s name.  Later in summer, clusters of red berries rest where the flowers once stood. During the late summer and early fall the berries turn black and make an excellent food source for many birds. This easy to grow viburnum loves full sun or even part shade, and prefers moist loamy soil, but will adapt to a wide range of soil conditions that we find here in the Kootenays. Do not let the soil dry out in the heat of summer as some leaf scorch will occur. Pruning to shape should be done immediately after blooming, and for smaller spaces consider removing the bottom branches to create a small multi stemmed tree. This viburnum is one of my favoruites, and will provide even the new gardener with a very easy to grow addition to the garden!