Our company, Pegasus Publications Inc., is a family affair. Shauna Dobbie, who is not the editor of Canada’s Local Gardener is company founder Dorothy’s daughter. Ian Leatt, now the president of the company, is Dorothy’s “adopted” son and Shauna’s “adopted” brother. Together, the three of them love to garden and in this episode, they look back at what worked, what didn’t, and why in the summer of ’21.
They also discuss the AAS (All-American Selection) winders which will be sure to appear in garden centers next year. Dorothy is excited about the new begonia, ‘Viking Explorer Rose on Green’, which received the national Gold Medal. This is a dragon wing type begonia with cherry red flowers that promises to be a stellar performer in both shade and sun this coming season.
There are three tomatoes to watch for: Tomato ‘Pink Delicious’ with an heirloom look and flavor but none of the problems; Tomato ‘Purple Zebra’, rich red with a green stipe which is “sweetly acidic”, and Tomato ‘Sunset Torch’, a sweet yellow. On the flower side there is a very nice sunflower, ‘Concert Bell’ five to six feet tall with a multi-floral stem, and ‘Bees Knees’ petunia, a rich yellow.
The three discus the pros and cons of the veggie pod planting system. Ian had great success, Shauna and Dorothy, not so much. Ian also is the champion vegetable grower taking 60 kilos of tomatoes and about the same number of cucumbers from his garden, not to mention the celery he grew.
The only insect problem anyone encountered was the cabbage worm that cleaned up Ian’s crop of cabbages, but for the most part there were very few insects last year. However, the heat was another matter, causing a fungal disease on petunia stems. ON the other hand, canna loved the heat and really flourished.
Of course, no garden show would be complete without a discuss about squirrels and other critters. They end with a list of the garden shows they plan to attend across the country this year,