Nobleton Notes

Horticulture

"So we say, thank you for your touring and the praise we're hearing. Thanks for all the gardens that opened for viewing. Who could live without the great outdoors? I ask in all honesty. What would life be without a flower or a tree? So we say thank you for volunteering" and making the Nobleton — King City Horticultural Society's garden tours a resounding success again.

This year's tour included 10 local gardens scattered across the southern tier of King Township and each garden, whether large or small, is a jewel to behold. Congratulations to all the garden owners and thank you for opening your gardens to all the touring visitors. Thank you to all the volunteers who acted as garden hosts, put up posters and sold advance tickets. Thank you to Still Gorgeous, Nobleton Pharmasave, Crawford Wells (the coffee and cookies were much appreciated) and Black Forest Garden Centre for your support. Thank you to Lisa Williams, who designed our muchcomplimented posters. Thank you to radio stations, magazines and newspapers who advertised the tour (especially the King Township Weekly and the King Township Sentinel, who also published colour photos of gardens on the tour and faithfully carry the society's horticultural writeups). Thank you to the society's garden tour committee of Marilyn Clarke, Blair Day, Carol Field, Maria Pedersen and Rosalind Elson (this year Roz took over from the very capable Maria as leader of the garden tour organizers and did an outstanding job). Thank you to all the people bought tickets and came on the tour. (Tourists were not only local but came from Newmarket, Aurora, Richmond Hill Bolton/Caledon and as far away as Toronto, Etobicoke, Pickering and Mississauga.)

"So we again say thank you for your coming and garden sharing. Thanks for all the volunteering and caring. We couldn't have managed without it. I say in all honesty what would life be without a garden to see? So we say thank you for making this event turn out so successfully" (Apologies to Sweden's Abba).

"Lovely to look at, delightful to grow and that heavenly scent. A combination like this is quite a gardener's most impossible scheme come true. Imagine finding a dream like you . . ."

My neighbour thought one of her gardening dreams had come true when she found and planted a small clump of "lovely to look at" soapwort, better known by its botanical name saponaria (Latin for soapy). But spreading by underground runners, it soon took over the bed where she had put it and began invading not only the lawn but nearby flowerbeds. Now four years later, despite efforts to keep it in check, it's beginning to encroach on my property.

This native of southern Europe and southwest Asia has long been used as a soap substitute for if the root, leaves or even the flowers are bruised and water added, a soapy lather is produced. Early European settlers introduced the plant to the temperate Americas and Australia-New Zealand. In Britain and eastern North America, it is sometimes called "bouncing bet" an old affectionate British name for a long ago washerwoman.

There are some 20 different species of saponaria, but the most common one in our area is called common saponaria or saponaria officinalis (officinalis added to the botanical name). It indicates that the plant was recognized by the monk gardeners in the early mediaeval monasteries for its medicinal or culinary uses, but of course saponaria was being used more than a thousand years before the Christian era. Museum conservators, to clean the fine old fabrics in museum collections, use it today. It also makes an excellent hair shampoo. Very few insects or animals bother this relative of lychnis chalcedonia (Maltese/ Jerusalem cross) and carnation as its leaves and stem contain a toxic substance called saponin.

Saponaria officinalis, just about ready to bloom throughout our area, is easily identified by its cluster of pale to deep pink flowers (if it grows in a shady place, the flowers will likely be almost white) atop a one to two-foot stalk up which veined oval shaped leaves grow opposite each other. Every five petalled single or double flower in the cluster flares out from a calyx (Greek for husk or covering) where the tiny seeds will form. The fragrance of these flowers is most noticeable in the early evening.

Although it prefers a sunny location it will thrive in almost any soil under almost any condition. In a clearing in the conservation bush near my home it grows unchecked and its aggressive underground runners have established closely packed colonies that now cover nearly an acre. This expanse will shortly put on a "lovely to look at" display, but better there than in the garden.

White sweet clover (melilotus—meli in Greek means honey and lotos is fragrance alba—Latin for white), which my mother called "new mown hay" and I grew up calling it that, has produced a bumper crop this year. A close relative of vetch, this annual (sometimes biennial) which is deep rooted can grow more than six feet high and is easily recognized by its airy branching habit, small narrow lobed (three) leaves and the myriad of vetch-like flower stalks covered in clusters of tiny white tubular florets that flare open at the ends. Native to Eurasia, it was introduced into the temperate Americas and Australia-New Zealand as a fodder crop, but it was found to be toxic to livestock if too much was eaten and thus it is no longer used as feed.

Walking through fields full of sweet white clover over the weekend, I was well aware of their fragrance and beauty, but I am also aware that each plant will produce thousands of seeds. Earlier in the year, I found one plant growing in my garden and it's now six feet high. It contrasts beautifully in texture and color with nearby Asian lilies and late blooming blue delphiniums but it's coming out before it goes to seed.

"Though you may well be lovely to look at and even thrilling to gather and hold you are not going to be together in the garden even if there's a moon that is new or a sun that is old" (apologies to Betty Fields, Jimmy McHugh, Jerome Kern and Eddy Duchin).

St. Paul's Bonus

Summertime Worship

Our Prayer Group meets this evening (Wednesday) at 7:30 p.m.

Do you go to the cottage on summer weekends? Do you have a friend who works Sunday? Then come out to St. Paul's Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. for our bonus worship gathering. You'll be glad you did. This gathering is intended for those who can't come Sunday in the summer.

If you are in town Sunday, join us (in our air conditioned worship space) Aug. 2 at 10 a.m. as Jeff busts the myth, The church is a building. Childcare (for children five years of age and younger) is available during the gathering and a Summer Children's Program takes place at the same time.

For more information about any of our activities or events, please contact the church office at (905) 859- 0843 or visit our Web site at www.stpaulsnobleton.ca

St. Patrick/St. Mary

Catholic Church Fifth Annual Marian

Procession

Come and celebrate our fifth annual Marian Procession with us. It will be Aug. 8 at 4:30 p.m. at St. Patrick School followed by the Holy Mass in the Church, and Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the Public Library in Nobleton. Come and honour Our Lady.

Nobleton United Church

Sunday Worship will continue during the summer at 11:15 a.m. with the addition of an informal evening service Wednesdays at 6 p.m. from July 15 to Aug. 19.

Vacation Bible School will run from Aug. 24 to Aug. 28 from 9 a.m. until noon. The cost is $5 per child. Please call the church office (905) 859-3976 to register.