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Garden Club Due to schedule conflicts and waning enthusiasm the Garden Club is now dormant. New leadership is needed by several homeowners willing to devote time and energy into preparing meetings, corralling speakers and handling administrative tasks associated with these meetings. In the meantime this column will continue to offer insights into gardening here at Four Seasons. The Ides of March (March 15) marks the last day our average frost. Yes, the temperature sometimes dips low well into April. But, for gardeners, the itch is irresistible. The key determinant for awakening our sleeping plants is the soil temperature. When it reaches 50 degrees in parts of your garden, it is time to get out the spade. If you just can���t wait, planting seeds indoors is a good alternative. Verbena is a good flower that can be planted this way 36 FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MARCH 2013 | clubs & Groups and is well suited for our environment. Verbena is a spreading plant ideal for cascading over retaining walls, pots, baskets, and window boxes. As long as the soil is extremely well drained, verbena will reward gardeners with countless clusters of small blooms all season. It���s fairly drought-tolerant, making it a great choice for hanging baskets, rock gardens, planting in cracks between stones, and other tight places. One annual verbena, ���Imagination,��� is a standout for taking the hottest, driest conditions. It will even do well in a clay strawberry pot! Plant seeds indoors in February in flats. Seed normally takes 21-30 days to germinate at 59-68 degrees F (15-20C). The ones that are started in a germinator or warm place at 72 degrees tend to come up in two weeks. Because there are so many types of verbenas, gardeners may be confused about which are perennial and which are annual. The perennial type, Verbena canadensis, tend to fade away after a few seasons. Brazilian verbena plants may self-sow freely, fooling the gardener into thinking that the plant has returned as a perennial. And then there is the ���Superbina��� series, which may be a shortlived perennial in zones 7 or 8. All verbenas benefit greatly from regular dead-heading. This not only removes the seed heads that signal the plant to rest, but also helps to keep sprawling plants in their place in your landscape. If you have a large planting of low-growing verbena, you can accomplish this quickly with a string trimmer. Verbenas aren���t heavy feeders, but they do appreciate a monthly application of balanced flower fertilizer to help them keep up the flower show. ~ Leonard Tavernetti CLUBS & GROUPS | FOUR SEASONS BREEZE | MARCH 2013 37

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