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March 25, 2007
Trimming the Physic Garden Hedge
Back to wet, rainy weather and some garden clean up.
In between the various major project work that is being done to add extraordinary new collections to the UBC Botanical Garden, we are working hard to get on top of the usual upkeep that all gardens require. The surprising amount of snow that we received this winter really did a number on the yew hedge (taxus x media 'Hicksii') that encloses the Physic Garden. So much snow collected on parts of this hedge that the branches bent completely over, nearly touching the ground. The hedge bounced back quite well (much better that many other plants in the garden that were very badly damaged) but was still looking pretty scruffy until Brendan came along and tidied it up beautifully.
The Physic Garden is filled with interpretive signs that explain some of the medicinal or traditional uses of the plants. Here is what yew hedge sign says:
"The hedge around the Physic Garden is a hybrid between the English yew (Taxus baccata) and Japanese yew (T. cuspidata). The English yew was considered a useful ingredient in witches brews and was planted in graveyards, possibly because the great age of the tree was thought to give immortality. The wood was used for making bows by the Anglo-Saxons. The generic name Taxus comes from taxos, meaning bow. Taxol from the bark of the Pacific yew (T. brevifolia) is now being used to fight certain types of cancer."
Posted by Andy Hill at 6:31 PM
March 16, 2007
Sowing Vegetable Seeds in the Food Garden
A warm sunny day with clear blue skies – a perfect day to sow some seed.
There is always so much interest in what work is going on in the Food Garden in different seasons. Here, Tony is using a stick to create straight rows and a board to help limit soil compaction as he places Japanese choho seeds. It may seem a little early to be doing this but Tony says, "as soon as the soil can be cultivated in early spring (or late winter) you can direct sow cool season vegetables such as spinach, mustard greens, peas, broad-beans and radishes." If you are interested in learning how to grow your own food check out Tony's "Beginner's Guide to Vegetable Gardening" posted online here. You can also join the online discussions about food plants and post questions on the very popular UBC Forums here.
Posted by Andy Hill at 10:05 PM
March 10, 2007
New Horticulturists: Brendan, Chris and Jackie
Last month, three additional Horticulturists joined the garden's staff.
It is brilliant to now have Brendan Fisher, Chris O'Rourke and Jackie Chambers working here as Horticulturists. They are exceptionally talented individuals and we are very glad to have their fine skills and positive energy helping with the development of the UBC Botanical Garden. In just a few short weeks they have been busy removing wind-blown trees from the winter storms, planting the Carolinian Forest, building the rock walls for the Intermountain Habitat, pruning espaliered fruit trees in the Food Garden, planning the annual display for the entrance, and carefully grooming the gardens for our official opening this Saturday (March 17th). If you see them working, say hello!
Posted by Andy Hill at 8:25 PM
March 4, 2007
David Tarrant Retires from the Garden
Staff gathered on Wednesday to say "bye bye" to David Tarrant.
After more than thirty-five years at the UBC Botanical Garden and a near endless list of accomplishments and influence, this was the last week of work for David before he leaves for an early retirement in sunny Mexico. It has only been a few days now, and he promises to stay in touch, but we all miss him already. David is known around the world as "The Canadian Gardener" because of his long-running popular television show. (At the end of my first day of working at the UBC Botanical Garden, my father called -- not to ask about my first day at a new job but to find out if I'd met David.) We in the Garden are lucky to know him as a wonderful and generous friend, a passionate gardener, a talented teacher and a hilarious co-worker. We'll miss him so much.
Posted by Andy Hill at 4:25 PM
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UBC Botanical Garden Blog is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department within the Faculty of Land and Food Systems at The University of British Columbia.