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C8 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday November 15, 2000 Royal Revelry at RBG on weekend The holiday season gets underw ay with the Royal B otanical Gardens A uxiliary's 39th annual Royal Revelry Holiday Show and Sale, Nov. 17th to 19th, at the RBG Centre, 680 Plains Road W. in Burlington. Volunteers from the Auxiliary have crafted hundreds of beauti ful designs and gift items. It is one of the best places to buy oneof-a-kind crafts and soak in the spirit of the holidays. The weekend includes work shops featuring a variety of cre ations. Auxiliary members will lead sessions on "stellar" arrangements, decorative roping and table designs on Friday and Sunday. Special guest floral designer Albert Graves of Bloeman Decor will conduct a "Fleuristic" demonstration on Saturday. Additionally, designs exhibited in the juried flower show give visitors helpful tips on decorating homes for the season. M usicians, children's per formers, and the Auxiliary choir Homes & Gardens mmm An O akville B eaver Feature To reach this section call 845-3824 Fax:337-5567 entertain visitors throughout the weekend, and a craft centre keeps kids busy while parents browse. The show and sale takes place Friday, from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is $2. RBG mem bers and children 12 years and under are admitted free. (or Sale Pick-up o r Delivery Of lawn edging and sugar-sweet plants We have now received our fall rains. Many gardeners use this as a sign and the softer soil is a help in the annual bor der edging. This is usually done with a manual edger found in most hardware stores or garden centres. Putting a sharp edge on the flower beds marks the tidy garden that stands out even to the passing motorist, it will remain that way all winter. During the summer, the lawn may encroach a little but the colourful flowers will distract the eye so a duller edge is acceptable. The gardeners who have a high sense of orderliness will buy a mechanical edger and use it at least once a month. This may cause a problem as the beds get wider each year. There are combination edger, trimmer and cultivators to save space in the storage shed. The edger will need sharpening before use. This will make the cutting easy, prevent the edges from turning over and allow the removal of narrow strips from the edge. The sharpening may be done with a grinder or file. The file should be fine with close channels. The edger is clamped and each edge filed at a 60° angle from the edge toward the handle. For a fine edge, finish with a sanding block. Both faces of the blade may be sanded to remove rust or rough spots and let the edger slide effortlessly into the sod. The file may be carried in the pocket for a quick recovery on the job if the edge is blunted by stones or metal objects in the soil. It may be hung in the garage or tool shed for ready use on shovels, hoes, pruners o r lawn mower blades. It will surprise you how much effort a sharp tool saves. The seed catalogues are arriving including the seed list for members from the Royal Horticultural Society. These are seeds mostly from Wisley Gardens with some donated by members. They list 1004 varieties. To select the 30 packets, one is allowed is quite a job as just the height, the flower, leaf, or stem colour are listed. To help this year, I used an - new book, `Botancia's Pocket Annuals and Perennials.' It is a 1,000 page book which would require a large pocket to carry it. It lists about 2,000 plants with photos of most alongside or on the same page. Each plant is described and its special needs outlined along with the climatic Zones in which they will grow. There are charts showing the zones for most countries. Its use ensures that my Wisely selections will grow here. The book lists for $29.95. It covers many house plants ie. clivia, which grows outdoors in tropic-like zones 10 and 11. There is a 30 page introduction covering the growing of plants, their use in the garden and care and maintenance. It is published by Whitecap Books, Toronto and available at most bookstores. There is also a com panion book, Botancia's Pocket Trees and Shrubs, describing 2,000 trees and shrubs. The Thompson and Morgan illustrat ed seed catalogue arrived last week. It is the world's largest with over 2,000 flower and vegetable seeds listed includ ing 140 new varieties for 2001. Their pride and job is a rudbeckia `Chim Chiminee'. The seed mixture grows a striking assortment of bronze, yellow, gold and mahogany plants with the black pom-pom centre of rudbeckia. The petals are narrow, about 1/16 th in. and each is a mixture of colours. Some are spotted, others striped. It is so differ ent from the standard rudbeckia that vis itors will ask what it is. It is a striking cut flower with strong stems. Another noteworthy annual is a geranium species are very popular. As the seed must be collected by hand, it is very expensive with less than 10 seeds per package for $3-$7. U.S. A new vari ety this year is `Silver Shadow'. It has serrated silver green foliage and big pink flowers with white striped centres. Even if you do not grow from seed, you will enjoy this catalogue. There is a Gardener's Treasury Section of rare and delisted seeds from $1.29 to $2.99 U.S. Some new vegetable seeds are carrot `Yellowstone', a canary yellow sweet carrot for the hors d'oeuvre plate. The sugar plant, `Stevia', with leaves 45 times as sweet as sugar is grown for ornamental foliage but may be used in cooking as a sugar substitute. Grown in a container outdoors during the summer and brought indoors or protected over the winter, it will be a perennial. Speckled lettuce `Speckles' will make your salad and has a tasty flavour. It may be used as a foliage plant in the flower border and is heat resistant. `Sungold', a new cordon tomato has bright yellow cherry-sized fruit in long trusses. For a T&M catalogue, visit their site at www.thompson-morgan.com or phone toll free 800-274-7333. Thompson and Morgan seeds are often in garden centre racks. (Mixed Hardwood or Birch) Wonderful Christmas Qifl ddca the ORIGINAL ©GARDEN CENTRE WER 1194 Dundas St., E. Oakville hedging sunflower "Dwarf Yellow Spray", with bright yellow flowers. Sown outdoors in May, it will create a 2 ft. high colourful hedge for the summer. It has a neat growing habit so needs no pruning. It is also useful for flower beds "Light and containers. Pansy, Strawberry Sundae", is a selection of the new `icicle' pansies that are winter hardy and heat resistant. Sow in April or May for summer flowers and July for autumn and spring flowering plants. These are neat 6 in.-8 in. high flowering plants with strawberry tones and white edges and splashes. There is a bed of the new pansies planted this fall near the Cenotaph. A new sweet pea, `Apple Blossom' is flushed pink and white. Ideal for a cool spring, it will grow up a trellis. The pastel tones make perfect fillers in flower arrangements. The perennial Entertainment N E W S & SPORTS Three Times a Week GERRIE E L E C T R IC Loitvi L V. / "V L V. M O T I O N L A M P Starting at LAVA LAMPS O A K V ILLE K IT C H E N C E N T R E $ 699 5 Watch for our Christmas Features every week! t r GERRIE ELEC TR IC LIGHTING SHOWROOMS HOURS: Mon.-Fri. 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Sal, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. Closed GERRIE ELECTRIC SHOWROOM POLICY It you are net 100% satisfied with your purchase, sim ply return it within 30 days fo r a full refund W 1 * Q.E.W. SOUTH SERVICE RD CORNWALL O A K V IL L E 4 4 5 INGLE HART ST. See our Large Selection of Ready to Finish Pine, O a k , & Birch Furniture READERS BOOKS C R YSTA LS FREE LE C TU R E S AND DEM OS Friday 12-10 pm Saturday 11-10 pm Sunday 11-7 pm ^ (^ADMISSION \ ^ G O O D ALL WEEKEND November 17, 18,19 HAMILTON CO NVENTIO N CENTRE Downtown Hamilton 4 1 5 0 South Service H i Burlington >. QEW South Service Rd < /> O · Benches · Stools · Dressers · Chairs · N ight Tables · Rocking Chairs · TV & Entertainment units · Children's Table & Chair Sets · Coffee Tables · End Tables & M o re A rjy lc Si. Barton Si WOODS ^ I R E D I-T O F IN IS H F U R N IT U R E IIO U K S M O N S A T . 9 - 5 :3 0 C M IK ID A Y V I CM ! 304 OTTAW A ST., HAM ILTO N A TM Ch A J"IJ 1 i i ? 632-0029 < I 1 M I 1 p a rk in g .»i rear - f o llo w Q I. 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