The Airdrie Horticultural Society showcased local gardeners in July, and the proof is in the soil: Airdrie has some very spectacular gardens.
Sharon and Dave Pattison
Sharon’s favourite plant: “I like lady’s mantles, the one with the water droplets on them, because it just looks like diamonds.”
Maria Lizak and Agnes Koza
Nasturtiums are Maria’s favourite: “It’s edible where you can eat the leaves and the stems, as well as the flowers. It almost looks like a lily pad. If you were to taste the leaf, it would taste peppery. I also like how you can use it as a decoration and it can keep pests away from the garden; the compound that they give off, the same one that probably tastes peppery actually repels pests. You can chop it into finer little pieces and add this to egg salad or lettuce salad, and I also make a pesto.”
Nelda and Rick Beagle
Nelda likes roses and raspberries. At photo time, she had collected 12 buckets so far.
Don Arnold and Gay Stafford
Don likes roses and delphiniums.
Kim and Landon Rea
Best advice for new green thumbs: “Just keep trying. People always tell me that gardening is hard and it’s so much, but I tell them I kill a lot of plants, too, but you just have to try. Like the honeysuckle we have; it died three times now and now it has been happy for years.”
Gerri Hamby
Gerri loves begonias. “They’re beautiful.”
Niall & Brenda Trainor
Poppies are a favourite of Brenda’s. “My grandma passed away in 1992. She grew those and I kept the seeds, so that’s special for me,” she says.
