| As another Canadian winter eventually winds down to a close, I find myself longing for sunshine and rifling hopefully through seed catalogues while the hockey playoffs blare continuously in the living room. Gardening in Calgary is a defensive activity (not unlike our national pastime) – we have to battle hostile weather conditions including dry winds, an arid climate and unseasonal snow.
How to cope with this gardening challenge? Like that rare species, the native Albertan, who seems to breeze through Stampede in well-worn boots and a comfortable western shirt, native plants fare better here, too. So all you boomtown newcomers from B.C., Saskatchewan and Manitoba can adapt and thrive by committing to perennial plants.
I spoke to a couple of ace gardeners recently in a mad bid to investigate the best native plants for my downtown rental cottage. Who plants perennials in a rental unit? An Alberta gardener does. Perennial flowers are better adapted to our climate, says expert Pat Fedkenheuer from ACLA Native Plants Inc. She suggests choosing hearty native plants as an excellent tactical response to our unpredictable climate.
"They are versatile. Even if we get hail, or snow, they will come up in the spring. They are adapted to our Alberta weather."
Fedkenheuer, who collects and grows native plants, encourages newbies not to dig plants out of their natural habitat. She names several good varieties that can be purchased: "Oxytropis – they are a little flowering plant. Crocus, bluebells, gaillardia, prairie smoke, and shooting stars. Sleibane moss will attract butterflies and insects, as will asters... and goldenrod is wonderful for fall blooming."
Horticulturalist and co-author of The Prairie Gardener’s Sourcebook, June Flanagan is also keen on native plants – she thinks they provide a sense of regional identity in addition to their adaptive qualities. Flanagan has a new book in the works that addresses this topic (Native Plants for Prairie Gardens), but it won’t be ready for this season. She also cautions gardeners not to dig wild plants, suggesting that they contact a local native plant nursery to see their selection. Calgarians can check out the Alberta Native Plant Council Web site (www.anpc.ab.ca/) or visit Fedkenheuer at the Northland Farmer’s Market on Tuesdays starting in June.
For those of you without a green thumb, I have the perfect spring tonic – wildflower walks. You can take a leisurely Sunday afternoon tour of Nose Hill Park, or a guided alpine hike with the City of Calgary’s Nature in the City Program. Park naturalist Don Enright and his colleagues will be leading a number of programs and walks this summer (www.calgaryparks-rec.com/, 268-3800).
Enright also suggests the Bow Valley Park west of Calgary between Morley and Banff as a prime spot for wildflower viewing. "The mountain habitat is great for wildflowers. It has wetlands and sunny slopes. The bigger the variety of habitats, the more types of wildflowers."
In the city, Nose Hill Park provides a crocus carpet of prairie habitat early in the season. Wet terrain, according to Enright, is where you will find boggy plants like orchids. And the mountain zones are rife with arctic wildflowers like arctic willows and saxifrage. "You can find higher alpine plants at Ptarmigan Cirque in Peter Lougheed Park, and it is a drive-in, so there is less hiking to get at the alpine flowers," he says.
At this time of year, hikers can be on the alert for early buttercups, shooting stars in the foothills and moss phlox. If you find yourself bending over a flower for a closer look and wondering what it is, you can improve your hike by bringing along a pocket wildflower identification book. Enright suggests packing Wildflowers of Alberta by Kathleen Wilkinson in your knapsack.
If you really love the wildflowers on your hike, you can buy many of them from a native plant nursery and enjoy them all summer – when hockey season is just a distant memory and the only snowballs are just a strange flower variety in your garden. |
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