Tag: Okanagan
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Container Gardening Workshop at the Kelowna Library (April 2025)
The Okanagan Master Gardeners will present a Container Gardening Workshop focused on growing vegetables and flowers in containers:
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History of the Master Gardener Program
The Master Gardener Program originated in Washington State in the early 1970s in response to a growing public demand for accurate, science-based gardening information. At the time, Washington State University (WSU) Extension agents were focused primarily on crop production. However, rapid urban growth and an increasing interest in home gardening revealed the need for a…
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New Plants for Okanagan Gardens
Presentation: New Plants for Okanagan Gardens Presenter: Ken Salvail Date: Saturday November 2, 2024 Location: Benvoulin Church Occasion: Annual General Meeting of the Okanagan Master Gardeners New Plants for Okanagan Gardens Here are some nice new plants to try in the Okanagan Valley as suggested by Horticulturalist Ken Salvail. Achillea Agastache Artemisia Weigela Aster Calamagrostis…
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Gardening with Wool Pellets – A Shear Delight!
An article by Mary Trainer, MGiT with OMG I’d never heard about wool pellets for gardening until a brief news item about them in the Globe and Mail last spring caught my eye. I quickly got over feeling ‘sheepish’ about my ignorance. Wool pellets in the garden It turns out that gardeners have good reason…
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A Quick Solution to a Weedy Problem
An article by Mary Trainer, MGiT with OMG Getting rid of weeds that grow up through landscaping cloth, among rock gardens or in gravel areas at curbsides can be challenging. In my yard – and many others in the Okanagan, cheat grass (downy brome) and quackgrass (Elymus repens) are the main culprits. What to do?…
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Kelowna Seedy Sunday 2024
The Kelowna Seedy Sunday 2024, hosted by the Okanagan Master Gardeners (OMG), was another incredible gathering of gardening enthusiasts. Held on Sunday, March 10, 2024, at the Parkinson Recreation Centre (1800 Parkinson Way, Kelowna), the event built on its reputation as a must-attend occasion for gardeners in the region. Highlights of the Event Attendees enjoyed…
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Gardening Perspectives: Now & What’s to Come
by Mary Trainer, Master Gardener-in-Training with the Okanagan Master Gardeners Sitting down to talk with seasoned and successful gardeners can be enlightening and thought-provoking. Such was the case when I met in August with Ken and Margaret Hayter, owners of Linden Gardens in Kaleden, see below for more details. We lunched in a shady nook…
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Backyard Bounty by Linda Gilkeson: Book Review
OMG MGiT Mary Trainer reviews Backyard Bounty by author Linda Gilkeson, published in 2018 by New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island, B.C. Cultivate a green thumb…..or make yours greener by Mary Trainer, Master Gardener Program Participant, 2022 Book Review Oh sure, it’s easy,’ they told me, the newbie vegetable gardener. “You throw some seeds in the…
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Container Gardening on a Sunny Patio
This week’s question is all about container gardening on a sunny patio of a condo tower. The answer includes recommendations for sun-tolerant plants, as well as tips for planting and maintaining a container garden in an exposed environment. Question I am excited to get my deck ready for the season. I’m located in a condo…
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Balsamorhiza sagittata (arrow-leaf balsamroot, Okanagan sunflower)
Balsamorhiza sagittata is a perennial herb belonging to the Asteraceae (Sunflower) family. The genus name is based on the Greek word for balsam and rhiza, alluding to the thick root with a sticky, balsam-like resin in the bark. The specific epithet “sagittata” refers to the arrowhead-shaped leaves (Canadian Botanical 2002). It is widespread across western…