Yorkton and District Horticultural Society

Some photos from this year’s Show.

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Nasturtiums are one of those great garden plants that are completely user-friendly!  Not only do they do well in full sun and poor soil, they can also tolerate dry conditions.  And guess what else?  You can eat the flowers and leaves

Stuffed Nasturtium Leaves

My Mom was a wonderful cook, as fearless in the kitchen as she was in the garden, as eager to try new recipes as she was to try new garden plants!  Let’s adopt that wonderful attitude with our cooking today!  I was always so happy to enjoy her company in the kitchen, and when she’d be cooking I’d ask “how muuch of this or that do we add?”.  Like most wonderful chefs, she seasoned by instinct, and it was always delicious!

Mom had a dressing recipe that  can be used for bean salad, for pasta salad, with rice, you name it!  I think she’d enjoy using it this way!

Today, let’s use it with orzo to make  stuffed nasturtium leaves.  If you don’t have orzo, use rice.

Cook half a package of orzo till done.  Drain, and cool.

Mix up Mom’s dressing recipe as follows:

¾ cup sugar

2/3 cup vinegar

1/3 cup salad oil

one teaspoon each of salt and pepper or to taste

Combine dressing with cooled orzo, but do it gradually to attain the right texture.  You want the orzo to be moist and stick together, but not too wet.

Now comes the fun part: add whatever you like for flavors:  very finely chopped onion, grated lemon zest, sunflower seeds, chopped parsely or dill (or any other herb), or finely shredded cheese.  Just remember that the leaves are small, so your don’t want to add anything too chunky.  Add a bit more dressing if needed to get the proper consistency.

Wash and dry your nasturtium leaves, removing the stem.  Place a scant spoonful of filling on each leaf. spread it out, and roll up the leaf to look like a cigar,

securing with a toothpick.

A cool summer canapé!

Stuffed Nasturtium Flowers

 After reading various recipes for this, I began to see that the recipes for stuffed nasturtium flowers are much like the recipes for stuffed mushroom caps.  They all begin with the same basic ingredients, and vary with the flavorings.

So, let’s make up our own right now!

Take one 8 ounce block of cream cheese.  Soften, and mix till creamy.

That wasn’t difficult!

Now, add in the flavors of your choice, keeping in mind that the nasturtium blooms are very delicate, so you don’t want a very over-powering flavor.

Some possibilities are:  lemon zest and a squirt of lemon juice

chopped thyme or parsley

finely chopped nasturtium flowers

very finely chopped walnuts

Wash and dry your nasturtium flowers, then gently spoon in one teaspoon of the filling (or slightly more, depending on the size of the flower) into each flower.

they’ll look amazing, and they’ll be your own creation for taste!

Debbie Hayward

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A delicious garden treat, whether you steam it slightly then serve with a drizzle of lemon juice and a pat of butter; you can use it to make beetniks, I am told; and you can also eat it raw as a delicious salad!  Swiss chard is full of good things like vitamin A and antioxidants, a great veggie to include in a summer meal!

I found a simple dressing recipe for swiss chard, and while I love rosemary, I see no reason why you couldn’t substitute parsley if that is your preference.  Or, if you have no herb available, leave the herb part out altogether and have a very simple dressing that will still taste yummy!  A recipe like this is very flexible!

Yummy Dressing

1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary.

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp sea salt.

1/2 tsp black pepper.

1 tbsp. lemon juice.

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar (or plain vinegar, if you don’t have apple    cider vinegar)

1 medium bunch Swiss chard (9 oz [255 g]), sliced

½ cup to one cup walnut halves, to garnish salad

Combine all the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake well.  Pour dressing over your Swiss chard, then garnish with the walnuts.

Another possible variation: instead of, (or along with!) the walnuts, you can use pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds).

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The Yorkton and District  Horticultural Society

ANNUAL FRUIT, FLOWER AND VEGETABLE SHOW

TUESDAY, AUGUST 15    1:00 pm — 5:00 pm

St. Gerard’s Parish Complex    125 Third Avenue North, Yorkton

Come enjoy beautiful displays and exhibits

of plants, flowers and produce!

 Admission includes tea or coffee and dainties.

Bring a friend and join us!

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Congratulations, Sonja,

on your Canada 150 Garden!

The Canadian Garden Council, the Canadian Nursery Landscape Association, ZRB Associates and Enterprise Canada have chosen 150 jury-selected gardens and garden experiences across Canada to receive the “Canada 150 Garden Experience” designation. There are four in Saskatchewan, and one right here in Yorkton!

Sonja Pawliw’s Healing and Meditation Garden has been chosen as a Canada 150 garden.  The others are: Queen Elizabeth II Gardens – Wascana Centre, Regina; Patterson Garden Arboretum, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon; Saskatchewan Perennial Society Garden Tours, Saskatoon.

We are very proud of you, Sonja!  Congratulations!

To book an appointment to

visit the Healing garden, please call Sonja at (306) 783-7015.

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     The Yorkton and District Horticultural Society recently received a note from Sherry at the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s WILD Spaces program.   The information she sent to us is very informative and important to us as gardeners and custodians of the environment, and more specifically, may apply to you!

Please read on!  Here is what Sherry told us.

     “CWF recognizes the importance of gardeners in supporting Canada’s wildlife and their habitats. As such, we have programs and resources that may be of interest to your members. Perhaps also, you may be able to help us support Canadians with information by linking where relevant!

Our Garden Certification program officially recognizes Canadians who garden with wildlife in mind. And our annual Conservation Awards honours Canadians who have made a difference for wildlife – big or small!

     Find plants suitable for your garden with our searchable Native Plant Encyclopedia featuring the range, growing conditions, wildlife supported and photos of these beneficial plants. Help us fill some photography blanks by sending us any pictures of a listed plant without an image! Your photo will be credited and will help Canadians support our bees, butterflies, birds and more. Please send me a photo with the scientific name or contact me for more information.

     With natural gardening becoming so popular, our Native Plant Supplier List helps Canadians find nurseries that sell native plants. If you know of a nursery not yet listed, please let me know!

     We have many more resources for gardeners, kids and educators such as colouring pages, an illustrated glossary and more.

     _{Help us Help Canadians! If any of the above interests you, please put up a link to our website- http://www.cwf-fcf.org/en/ either on a “links/resources” page or elsewhere on your site. It would be greatly appreciated!}

_{If you have any questions please contact me at outreachkanata@cwf-fcf.org or call me at 1-877-599-5777 ext. 293. I’m here until the ends of June so please don’t hesitate!
Hyperlinks not working?
Garden Certification- http://cwf-fcf.org/en/explore-our-work/connecting-with-nature/in-the-garden/?src=menu}

_{Conservation Awards- http://www.canadianwildlifefederation.ca/Awards}

_{Native Plant Encyclopedia- http://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/encyclopedias/native-plant-encyclopedia/?src=menu?referrer=https://www.google.ca/}

_{Native Plant Suppliers list- http://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/gardening/native-plant-suppliers-new/native-plant-supplier-profiles/}

_{Other Resources- http://cwf-fcf.org/en/resources/?src=menu}

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Yorkton Gardeners’ Market

Everyone Welcome! Buy/Sell Local Fresh Produce!

Promoting Local Gardeners & Buying Local

Local gardeners are welcome to register to sell their produce at Yorkton Gardeners’ Markets each Saturday this summer.  Produce welcome for sale at the Yorkton Gardeners’ Market are fresh garden vegetables, fresh fruit, fresh cut flowers and potted plants.

 Register as a seller

To register as a seller at Yorkton Gardeners’ Market

Email: ethelda61@hotmail.com

Phone: Glen   (306) 783  7040

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Chives are a member of the allium family, an easy-care perennial that adds not only interest to your garden planting because of its textural nature, but also a valuable kitchen garden addition!  The mild onion flavor can be used in many ways in various recipes, far beyone just a topping for a baked potato!

Add to salads, soups, stews, or diced finely and sprinkled on top of pork, beef or fish.  Mix diced chives in with sour cream or cream cheese for a delicious dip!

The chive flowers look great as a garnish for salads.

This recipe was found on www.101cookbooks.com  Check the site for more interesting recipes using chives!  Enjoy!

Curried Egg Salad Recipe

5 boiled eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder (your favorite)
3 tablespoons plain yogurt
2 big pinches of salt

1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 medium apple, chopped
1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
1 small bunch of chives, minced

First off, you need to boil the eggs properly (the key to good egg salad!). Place the eggs in a pot and cover with cold water by a 1/2-inch or so. Bring to a gentle boil. Now turn off the heat, cover, and let sit for exactly seven minutes. Have a big bowl of ice water ready and when the eggs are done cooking and place them in the ice bath for three minutes or so – long enough to stop the cooking.

While the eggs are boiling and cooling, combine the yogurt, curry powder and salt in a tiny bowl. Set aside.

Crack and peel each egg, and place in a medium mixing bowl. Add the curried yogurt, onions, apple, pecans, and chives. Now mash with a fork. Don’t overdo it, you want the egg mixture to have some texture. If you need to add a bit more plain yogurt to moisten up the mixture a bit, go for it a bit at a time. taste and add more salt if needed. Enjoy as-is, or served wrapped in lettuce or between two slices of good, toasted bread.

Serves 3-4

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Friday, May 26:  Spring Plant & Bulb Sale – Parkland Mall – Set up 8:00-9:30 a.m

One day sale only.

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The May meeting of 2017 is Wednesday May 17  at 7:00 pm in the Sunshine Room at SIGN on North Street.

Guest Speaker – Frank Woloschuk – “Plants, Roots, Rhizome Divisions & Cuttings-How To”.  New Plants for 2017.

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