Celosia.
Brain celosia. This unusual plant comes in a vari- ety of colours.
from their pleasure. But then, it seems that this is the other dimension of her work – giving pleasure to others by help- ing them appreciate the sensual joys of colour, scent, and taste. There are so many unique products in
her store. Customers can find all kinds of privately mixed herb rubs for meats; spice and herb mixes for soups and salads; herb vinegars, edible flowers for teas, and deli- cious jellies – especially the pepper jellies – she makes 16 different kinds, five of them sweet, the rest hot to very hot. For the eyes, there are hundreds of
Home grown grapes.
bunches of dried flowers and herbs every- where, and she makes flower arrange- ments to order for weddings. Cynthia grows hundreds of varieties of everlasting flowers and annuals that dry well. For the nose, there are potpourris, sweet smelling soaps and perfumes. Walking through the garden will take
you back to the days of your grandpar- ents when they grew annuals for practical reasons as well as beauty. You get reac- quainted with the ever beautiful cosmos, with the delicate love -in-a-mist, papery statice, languid love-lies-bleeding and stately strawflowers. Lunaria, also known as money plant or silver dollar, has a hauntingly lovely scent from its blue flow- ers. The seeds make an excellent everlast- ing plant. Celosia is a fascinating plant that can appear as spikes of white to pink or as cock’s combs of red or plumes of burgundy. A very useful, fragrant and pleasing
The fragrant eucalyptus is one of Cynthia’s favourites. 10 • Winter 2014
plant is eucalyptus, says Cynthia. It’s gray-green leaves, whether the round ones or the oval ones, are attractive in the garden and can be used as a centre piece in a container or cut and dried for floral arrangements. Try drying them in water,
as people sometimes do with hydran- geas, to help them keep their colour and pliability. You can also hang them upside down, says Cynthia, adding that the best place to dry your plants is in the kitchen. It’s warm in there and drying plants need warmth, not chill. They should also be in a dark place, she says, if you want to preserve colour. Hang them upside down in bunches and be sure they get good air circulation. She says whatever you do, keep them out of the microwave, which just cooks them. Some people in the plant business have
down times, but this is rare for Cynthia who is busy 12 months of the year. It starts in January, when she is making meat rubs, packaging culinary herbs and making potpourri from fragrant herbs, evergreen cuttings, spices and flowers such as peonies, geraniums, and roses. She grows both antique and oriental roses,. In February, propagation begins as
Cynthia takes cuttings of some of her plants and starts the seeds of the long- season annuals. She tries to get in a bit of cross country skiing – year round exercise is important if she is going to be able to face the daunting spring planting tasks. She stays flexible – so much so that she can actually touch her elbows to the floor, bending over from a standing position. “I can plant quite a wide swath from this position,” she notes. March is for more propagation, for
pruning and planting trees. Cynthia is dedicated to restoring the forest where she can and has planted many spruce, white pine, cedar and Carolininan trees, creating habitat for birds and small animals and protected homes for turtles and frogs. Every year, another insect is
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