The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society has always been about promoting horticulture and gardening, and we always want to learn something new!聽 Do you have an unusual plant?聽 Take a photo and submit it to our website for our new feature 鈥淢ystery Plants鈥�.聽 Include the name of the plant, if known, and tell us a little about it.聽 Or, if you have a plant and don鈥檛 know what it is, maybe someone can identify it.聽 We鈥檒l all learn together!聽 Please send in photos to [email protected]
Our Annual Fruit, Flower and Vegetable Show has been cancelled for August 2020, but wait!聽 We鈥檙e going to have a virtual flower show online!聽 This is something totally new for us.聽 But we are thinking that this is one way that hort members can still present our best of the season to you.聽 Though we will miss seeing you in person, hopefully next year we鈥檒l be sharing a face-to-face visit at the show again!聽 Check out website, www.yorktonhort.ca聽 and details on our virtual show will be posted soon!
What would you say is one of the most common, most-used herbs that we can easily grow in our gardens or in containers?聽 I鈥檇 say parsley!聽 Parsley is such a tried and true dependable plant that maybe we take it for granted, but let鈥檚 look at it with fresh eyes and start to appreciate it all over again!
Parsley is grown all over the world, and is a culinary staple.聽 There are two kinds of parsley: the curly leaved parsley, probably one of the most popular garnishes in cooking, and flat-leaved parsley, the aromatic, flavorful parsley that we wouldn鈥檛 make chicken soup, scrambled eggs, or roast turkey without!
Parsley is very easy to grow.聽 It loves nice, moist well-drained soil and full sun.聽 It grows very well in containers, but must be watered often to sustain the moist conditions that it loves.聽 If it is thirsty, you will know right away because it droops, only to come back with remarkable speed as soon as it has a drink of water!
We can dry parsley very easily, either by leaving it on paper towel after it is washed and letting it air dry, or we can dry it very carefully on a paper towel in the microwave oven.聽 Go by increments of seconds, because it will go from tasty to toasty before you know it!聽 But once it is dried, store it in a jar out of direct sunlight and you will enjoy that wonderful flavor in your recipes anytime!
And guess what else!聽 Parsley is not only pretty to look at but full of vitamins.聽 Vitamins A, C and K are all found in parsley, as well as magnesium, potassium, and iron.
Here鈥檚 another bonus.聽 As a container plant, parsley can stand alone as a kitchen herb, or we can mix it in with other plants as a beautiful filler.聽 The shapes and textures of the leaves are lovely, and as long as we use them in containers that have similar light and water requirements, we鈥檝e got a winner!
Winston Churchill once said 鈥業 could not live without Champagne. In victory I deserve it. In defeat I need it.鈥櫬� I think in these trying times we can substitute 鈥済ardening鈥� for 鈥渃hampagne鈥� and it would fit!聽 We need the growth and hope of gardening; we need the sun on our shoulders as we work, the fragrance of the plants, and the message that growing and life go on.
Thank you to our friends at Yorkton This Week for all they do in the community.聽 Let鈥檚 pray for good health for all, a gentle rain, and happy times. Have a good week and be sure to wear a hat.
