Buds and Blooms: Make your January commitment to Mother Nature

By Medicine Hat News on January 20, 2018.

The rhythm of a newspaper is like the rhythm of a greenhouse. You always have to be focused on the months ahead to make the proper presentation. January, I want to write about our environment and some commitments we can all make to help get it right this year. In February, I’ll suggest ways to grow that perfectly delicious tomato in you own back yard, along with other veggies of course. March is spring and I will inspire you to think of fragrance! April, I will introduce you to the art of simply growing roses. You get my idea right?

The weather we have been enduring this winter is not at all appreciated by me. I have been hibernating and watching the wee birds puffed up on the branches outside waiting for some warmth. I am amazed at how tough they are. I know they like to dine in our yard because my husband is very attentive to the bird feeders. We even have a cock pheasant that visits.

The first part of December was so beautiful that I was wishing for a little snow for Christmas, then the cold hit us. My daughter picked up her friend, Raimar from the Calgary airport and they spent two very cold days exploring the Banff area. Raimar said the weather is comparable to his country, Estonia, which is south across the gulf from Finland. Much of the Christmas holidays were spent indoors and my young granddaughter was waiting patiently for the temperature to rise, as she is a snow bunny, and we were waiting for the snow to become “sticky” enough to build a snow family!

The temperature did rise, and fall, like a yo-yo. The ice on the local outdoor rink was slush. When it froze again it was unbearably cold for the children to go outside. Minus 27 is not fun. That is our Alberta winter and the reason so many gardeners lose so many roses and perennials.

January is the month we make commitments to our aspirations for change. Stop smoking; get more exercise; work more; work less; etc., etc. I want to encourage people to take more time to help our environment. First, don’t buy so much ‘stuff’ and try to buy Made in Canada ‘stuff’ so it doesn’t have to be shipped across an ocean. What you don’t want or use, RECYCLE. Don’t be hesitant to wander through our local thrift stores as they are full of treasures and they all carry an abundance of good books and magazines too.

When driving on garbage days I have noticed, many times, garbage bins with the lid ajar and a black plastic garbage bag tumbling over the side, or a huge cardboard box propping that lid open. People have to start thinking about what they are tossing to our landfill. This society should not be an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ society. All your garbage is building up around you, and we can certainly cut the amount by recycling plastic, tin, glass, newsprint and cardboard at the many convenient drop-off sites around our city. We have to stop being so lazy.

The uproar about the amount of plastics in our oceans is loud and clear. Take reusable fabric bags to the grocery store. Refuse to drink from a straw. Buy a reusable water bottle and a reusable go cup for coffee drinkers. Use containers instead of plastic bags to pack lunches. Go to the bulk section to avoid excess packaging when you can. And this list goes on and on.

Please make a commitment to Mother Nature. Come in to the greenhouse to talk about composting, which is good for you soil. Let’s talk about the pesticides killing our bees and butterflies. What about the chemicals sprayed on the foods we eat? We know and deserve better.

While Raimar was visiting we picked all the red wriggler worms out of my worm bin so I can use the worm castings (that’s worm poop) for healthier houseplants. From across the table he told me a story of how he and friends would hop fences at night during winter and build snowmen in people’s yards to surprise them come daylight. I was so happy the snow became ‘sticky’ before he left because I was left with one handsome snowman! Although with the weather at seven degrees today he has lost his hat, head and scarf.

As I finish writing this article, the blue jay took off with a peanut, two grey mourning does flew in to have their breakfast at the tray feeder and a speckled flicker is on the tree trunk waiting his turn!

Bev Crawford is the Perennial House Manager at The Windmill Garden Centre and John’s Butterfly House.