If you're like most prairie folk, you grew up seeing caraganas everywhere. The thick, prickly shrub with the small, yellow sweet-pea shaped blooms grew everywhere; to this day you can still drive along country roads, and see long-abandoned farm yards with rows of caragana still standing guard. Their best attributes were that they grew anywhere, could withstand even poor soil conditions, and still thrived. Their worst attributes were that they grew anywhere, could withstand even poor soil conditions, and still thrived! They were tough shrubs!But after a dear friend told us that he had a miniature caragana in his new yard, I thought that I would do a little reading and find out more about this prairie favorite. Maybe it's one of those great shrubs that we overlook and take for granted, just because it minds its own business and just grows!My research taught me that the other name for caragana is also Siberian Peashrub. The article I read said that it is "possibly the hardiest and toughest shrub in the world, usable in the most hostile or dry sites." It is a deciduous shrub, with an upright growth habit, and round, compound leaves. It can be trimmed anytime, or not at all. It is prone to suckering, but this can come in handy if you are planting a windbreak or a privacy hedge. Did you know that it can grow to twelve feet high and ten feet across? That's a whole lot of shrub, isn't it! I also read that it can live for thirty years or more.
And one more plus, it is very tolerant of urban pollution, making it a good choice for city plantings as well. It was listed as a fine choice for xeriscaping.
But I was surprised to learn that there are many different kinds of caragana, including the Walker Weeping Caragana, with graceful branches that have a sweeping habit, making it a great accent plant. Or how about the Warrior Caragana that grows more like a column, also a good vertical shrub in our gardens. The Russian Caragana is a compact cousin who would be perfect for a low hedge, and doesn't sucker. And then there's the Pygmy Caragana with grayish green foliage, and leaves that are more needle-like in shape. It grows to about three feet tall, and has a spread of four feet or so. Imagine this, under ideal conditions it can live to forty years or more!
It's time to re-visit the beauty and potential of caraganas in our gardens: they are truly suited to our prairie climate, and can be as much or as little work as we want! They're tough, sturdy, disease-resistant, and just an all round good choice. As the gardening guru Roger Swain used to say on "The Victory Garden", let's make it our plant of the week!
The SHA bus trip to the south-west corner of the province will be here before we know it, on July 13 - 15. If you'd like to go on this three day gardener's getaway, call Glen at 783-7040. And the one day road trip to the International Peace Gardens takes place July 24. Call Liz at 782-2830 for details on that. We hope you can join us on one or both of these great trips!
The Garden of the Week contest begins July 12; enter your name at Leisure Services in City Hall. This is not a judged contest; a name will be drawn, and the winner will be the Garden of the Week. So don't be shy!
It's almost Canada Day; by now you know how much I love Canada, and how I think we are so lucky to live here! To mark Canada Day, let's each do a little tour of our garden, or our neighborhood, and just appreciate this beautiful place that we are lucky enough to call home. Have a great week, and be sure to wear a hat!
