St. Albert’s premiere garden show is off to a bloomin’ start.
Enthusiasm and healthy plants are the only qualifications local green thumbs need to enter the St. Albert and District Garden Club’s 29th annual Flower and Produce Show, taking place Aug. 20 and 21 at St. Albert Place.
Most of the entrants are amateur gardeners with a passion for growing beautiful blooms. To add diversity and challenge to the show, the club highlights a different blossom each year, and this summer, the flower of choice is the dianthus.
“It comes in such a variety of colours — pink, white, rose. It’s a nice sturdy plant, about eight to 10 inches tall. It’s a proficient bloomer with lots of little clusters of flowers. You deadhead them and they keep going all summer,” says club secretary Lucy Krisco.
In keeping with St. Albert’s 150th anniversary, club organizers are also focusing a spotlight on a new section that features heritage plants once cultivated by early settlers.
“Earlier in the spring, the club gave away heritage seeds to our club members, St. Albert Botanic Park members, the St. Albert Heritage Garden and any other member of the public that phoned and requested them. The idea was to grow them, try them out and enter them in the show.”
A keen gardener, Krisco has planted numerous flowers and vegetables, including 44 tomato plants, 26 that are of the heritage variety. With over a century of plant breeding techniques that separate contemporary and heritage seeds, Krisco has spotted some noticeable differences.
“The heritage tomatoes have more of a weird look. The ones today are bred to be round and smooth. Heritage tomatoes look more lumpy, but they probably taste better.”
“Some of the heritage tomatoes take longer to produce. The Lemon Crystal is mild tasting with a yellow, round sphere. But it takes 75 to 85 days. If you don’t get them planted early enough, they may not mature,” adds Krisco.
She adds that, although this year’s rainy summer has had its benefits — no watering necessary — many sun-loving plants need more light and heat to reach their full potential.
Last year, 42 local gardeners exhibited 680 entries. About $1,000 was given away in prize money.
“We hope more people will enter, especially with the heritage seeds. We know a lot of people who are members of other garden clubs and we encourage them to enter as well,” Krisco says.
Gardeners are asked to bring their exhibitions down to St. Albert Place on Saturday, Aug. 20, from 7:30 to 11 a.m. Judging runs from 11:15 a.m. to 2 p.m., followed by public viewing until 5 p.m. On Sunday, viewing is from noon to 3:30 p.m. The award presentations top off the event.
The club is also hosting its annual perennial plant sale on Saturday from noon to 6 p.m. and will continue Sunday from noon to 3:30 p.m.
“There’s a little bit of the gardener in everyone,” Krisco says. “Coming to see all the flowers and vegetables on display provides some eye candy for everyone, especially those who do not have their own garden. And it’s a very special way to celebrate St. Albert’s 150th anniversary.”
For more extensive exhibit information, visit www.stalbertgardenclub.info.