Q. What petunia(s) have you found to be the most fragrant? I want a sweetly scented variety for growing next to the doorway into the house. I’ve heard ‘Evening Scentsation’ is the best.
A. Evening Scentsation is a lovely spreading petunia in gorgeous indigo blue with a satiny sheen. The sweet fragrance is most pronounced in the evening. Even more strongly fragrant, in my experience, is Blue Storm, a compact plant with deep blue, velvety flowers. Both petunias have done wonderfully well in elevated bowl-shaped planters on my patio.
T& T Seeds lists both varieties. Petunias are not difficult to grow from seed. Transplants of these two might be difficult to find, though you could phone a few outlets to see whether they have been ordered.
Q. Please explain the differences between June-bearing and “everbearing” strawberries.
A. June-bearing strawberries produce a large crop of berries from late spring into early summer. The berries tend to be larger than everbearing types. Because the plants are so productive during their concentrated harvesting period, they are the preferred choice for people wanting to use them for making jam and other preserves.
Strawberries in the “everbearing” category fall into two types. Day-neutral berries produce a main crop in June and small followup pickings through the summer except during very hot weather. The rest bear one crop in June and another, smaller one later in the summer.
Q. Last summer I complained to a friend about my problems with chickweed in vegetable plots. She told me it was a nutritious green vegetable and that I should cut and eat it. Is this true?
A. Yes. Chickweed is loaded with vitamins and minerals including iron, calcium, magnesium, folic acid, vitamins C and A, and more. In moist, humus-rich soils the trailing plants produce succulent shoot tips that are mild and sweet. They can be added to salads, but I let the most robust and fleshy plants grow as a source of in-garden snacks.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
