Ten Minute Gardening

Going, Going, Gone!

Bert — Sat, 19 Feb 2011 16:53:46 +0000

Euonymus... going, going, gone!

We have bee enjoying some unusually warm weather this past week. The daytime temps have reached in the high forties – low fifties (Fahrenheit). Normal highs for this time of year are below freezing. The mounds of snow that have been blanketing the lawns and gardens are disappearing quickly, leaving pools of water in our drainage challenged yard.

Obviously it is far too early to begin any sort of spring clean up, but this week, we could not resist the temptation to do some yard work. What we settled on was removing the Manitoba maple that has been growing wild and clogging up the drainage ditch that runs along the north side of the property. Within half an hour, using just a hand saw and an axe, the multi-stemmed tree was gone. The next day, the ditch was running freely for the first time. And also for the first time, the ditch did not overflow its banks, sparing our already water logged lawn.

With the snow melting, we have a clearer picture of the damage winter and “critters” have done to some of our shrubs. As usual, the quince and roses have been pruned by rabbits. Not a big deal. Unfortunately, the rabbits have also trimmed our new Japanese maple!! That is a big deal. On the plus side, they didn’t chew the main trunk (because it is wrapped in chicken wire), just some of the more tender branches. Careful pruning and trimming will get in back into shape. But not yet – it’s far too early for trimming.

In December, we had a blizzard blow through this area. The wind, snow and ice managed to snap the trunk of a euonymus standard growing in one of the gardens. Thank you Mother Nature!!! I detest euonymus and have wanted that ugly abomination out of our yard for years. No more arguments between my partner-in-grime and me about that as now it has to go. As soon as the ground thaws enough to get shovel down to root level, it’s bye-bye euonymus. With any luck, this will be the last spring I have to weed out the dozens and dozens of tiny seedlings it produced every year. Talk about silver linings!

Small Changes

Bert — Sat, 22 Jan 2011 17:19:14 +0000

Have you ever noticed how “things” can snowball? For instance, this week I purchased new towel bars for the bathroom. Changing them out was to be a simple way to update the bathroom. While taking the old towel bars off, the degree to which the paint on the walls had faded screamed at me. Hearing my rather loud “Oh no!”, my partner in grime came in to see what the problem was. His solution? “Let’s repaint the bathroom!” Since we have nothing but time these days, I said “why not?” Now at the end of day three of the simple update, we are finally ready to install the new towel bars.

That is just one example of what can happen when a simple tweaking can take on a life of its own and grow into something much larger than originally intended. So it is in the garden as well.

Last fall, during the season end clearance sales, we purchased the cutleaf Japanese maple (Acer palatum dissectum Inabe Shidare) we had both been wanting for many years. Purchasing it was the easy part. Once we got it home, the discussions began on where to plant it. Let’s just say the only thing we did agree on was the maple would be planted in the back garden where we spend most of our time and could therefore fully enjoy it.

We began the process of trying to agree on its final home by moving the small tree (still in its pot) around the yard. Agreement didn’t happen. So imagine my surprise when I came home from work a few weeks later to find that the maple had been planted! As a result, this spring we will be moving a Dwarf Korean lilac (Syringa patula) standard, several Stella D’Oro plants, three hibiscus, some rocks and, some boulders. Plus we will need to widen and re-shape the bed! The yew can stay where it is.

All that work because of one little tree! I shudder to think of will come about when I add to the perennial bed.

Winter Garden Thoughts

Bert — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 16:47:42 +0000

Here we are in the middle of another Canadian winter. The ground is frozen. The snow is at least a foot deep, even deeper in some areas of the yard. The trees are bare, the gardens hidden. As I walk through the yard, I notice the rabbits have been feasting on several of the trees and shrubs. Including the cutleaf Japanese maple we purchased last October! And as always, the roses and japonica have also been pruned by the rabbits. This year though, they seem to have taken a shine to the curly willow growing beside the greenhouse. And that’s okay. Everything will grow back with only a little re-shaping required.

While in the fall, I do remove the spent annuals I do not deadhead perennials. I prefer to leave the seed heads for the birds that visit our yard. As spring grows nearer, we’ll put bird feeders out to help our winged visitors through the nesting season.

Seed catalogues are piling up and I’m forcing myself not to look at them too much lest I be tempted to over spend and over plant. Not that I have the room for overplanting anymore, Economics has made maintaining our hobby greenhouse rather difficult. In other words, heating it throughout late winter and early spring months has become “cost prohibitive”. Last year I attempted to grow seedlings in a lighted plant stand with mixed results. The lack of humidity was the biggest reason the plants did not fare well. Then there was the light. Or should I say lack of light. Despite the grow lights, the seedlings all became too spindly. Pinching and pruning didn’t help much. The other thing that didn’t work well in the plant stand was vines! I love flowering annual vines such as mina lobata, cardinal vine, canary vine. And no matter how hard I tried to keep them separated, I couldn’t. What a mess! I will try again this year to grow seedlings in the plant stand. In a pre-emptive move, I have purchased a roll of clear plastic to make a humidity cover for the stand. That has to help! I’ll let you know how it turns out.

In the meantime, the houseplants are receiving my attention. They are being watered regularly, fertilized (at half strength), brown tips and leaves are kept to a minimum, and the plants that need some shaping are getting just that. They seem to be pretty grateful for the extra care as they are looking much healthier than when I brought them back into the house after a summer outside. The bougainvillea that hung outdoors all last summer in all its green glory finally decided to show some colour this month. The spider plant is producing dozens of babies. Not bad considering I purchased three little spider plants for $ .75 last fall during the season-end clearance sales. They were in 3” pots and all leaves. I potted them together in a 10” hanging basket and waited. My patience has been rewarded.

Garden Making Magazine

Bert — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 15:25:53 +0000

Move over Canadian Gardening Magazine, there’s a new publication on the market and it is quickly growing into the magazine to turn to for Canadian garden enthusiasts: Garden Making.

Though it is only published four times a year (hopefully that will soon change) the pages of Garden Making are full of practical advice, in depth plant profiles, inspiration and good, common garden sense. What the pages are not full of are advertisements. The ads that do appear are non-invasive so readers are not distracted from the real purpose of Garden Making, which is to entertain, inform and inspire.

The expert contributors are a diverse mix of well known, slightly known and unknown (depending of what part of the country you are in) garden writers that all seem to have the knack for getting to the roots of their particular subjects without boring the reader. To date, they have all offered clear, concise information that leave the readers feeling empowered to create more beautiful gardens themselves.

The photography is superb! Even if you aren’t the type to read every word of every article, the photos alone are enough to send you running to the nearest garden centre to purchase the featured plants. They have taken the phrase “Eye Candy” to the max.

Have a gardening question? Garden Making has a “You asked us” feature in every issue. Want to know which tools to use where, where and how? Garden Making helps with that as well. What about landscape design? They have that well covered. The magazine offers suggestions that will not break your bank but will help your landscapes look like they cost a fortune.

Over the years I have become somewhat jaded about gardening magazines. They all seem to look the same, spout the nonsense, provide little information and even less inspiration to the point where I have not renewed any subscriptions for the last two years. But Garden Making has changed all by breathing fresh life into gardening publication.

Check out the Garden Making website by clicking on the link on the left under “Worth Looking Into”. Then, subscribe to the magazine or run to your nearest newsstand to pick up a copy. It will become one of your most used garden tools.

Gardeners Rejoice! It’s Spring!

Bert — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 14:44:22 +0000

The pussywillows are starting! Another sure sign of Spring!

What gardener’s heart does not leap for joy when the calendar is turned to March? The mere act of turning the page of a calendar to March is exciting as it signals the beginning of the end of winter. Though we in northern climates know there will be more snow coming before we can finally shrug off our winter coats, exchange our winters boots for our Wellies and our mitts for garden gloves we now have reason to hope.

The past few days have been warm (for March in S-W Ontario) and even better, sunny!!! Making the temptation to rush outside and begin cleaning up the gardens very hard to resist. But resist we must to prevent damage to our gardens. It is a bit too early to begin removing mulch, pruning or deadheading the flower stalks we left last winter (for the birds, not because we were too lazy to cut them back).

To alleviate the cravings of getting our hands dirty, working in the soil, tending plants, we must find alternatives. In our house, the last few days have been spent cleaning and trimming houseplants, cleaning the lighted plant stand and, starting seeds. I have begun fertilizing at half strength, the houseplants that are showing new growth. As we get closer to May, I will make the fertilizer solutions stronger every two weeks until the plants are ready for full strength solutions.

As for the outside, if this beautiful weather persists, I may wash the few containers I did not get cleaned up last fall so they will be ready for planting in May. There is some debris to be picked up. As long as I know I won’t damage the lawn or the gardens by walking on them when they are so wet, the debris blown into the yard by cold winter winds will be gone.

On a professional note, the selection of our Summer Crew has begun and we are gearing up for another gardening season. And, as I do every year, I say I can’t wait to get back to work, all the while thinking how nice it would be only having to tend my own gardens. But, that’s a luxury I’m saving for a few years yet.

Back To The Garden

Bert — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:52:39 +0000

You may have noticed that I’ve been away for a very long time. But, I’m back. That could be bad, it could be not so bad. Time will tell!

The reasons for my absence are varied. One is time. Or lack of time more correctly. We’ve given the interior of our home a major facelift this winter. – lots of painting, plastering, ceiling work, trim etc, etc, etc. It’s been difficult to find time (energy) to blog and work on the house. And now, all I can say is, if I never see another paint brush again it will be too soon!!

Another reason is all the spammers out there that made my blogging life hell for a while. I can’t believe they actually believe that anyone they spam would actually accept their spammed comments, let alone read/open them!!! How stupid can they be?? I guess some people have nothing better to do.

In addition to the above reasons, I briefly (?) went through gardening burn out. Yes, what I thought would never happen, did! I got tired of gardening. I got tired of weeds, tired of flowers, tired of shrubs, tired of grass, tired of watering, tired of writing about gardening. Guess all that’s understandable since I’ve been doing it personally and/or professionally for most of my adult life. And, since arthritis became my constant companion, gardening is no where near as easy as it was just a few short years ago. But this year, I’m ready to go at the gardens full tilt.

We have many plans for our gardens this year; new projects to start, old ones to finish. Today, I’ll be starting some seeds. Not in the greenhouse this time, but in my plant stand. That should work out a little better than previous attempts since our cats are older now and a little less curious. Again, the seeds I’ll be starting are varieties that are not commonly found at the local greenhouses. The other seeds I’ll be sowing are for plants that are too expensive to purchase finished.

Among the gardening tasks I’ve let slide are the cuttings I’ve rooted. They are well past the potting up point, but over the next day or two, they will finally make into soil filled pots. While I’m potting up cuttings, I have a number of houseplants that are crying to be transplanted into bigger pots, so that task will be taken care of too.

Powdery mildew had infected the rosemary plants I overwintered. Rather than resort to chemicals, I trimmed the infected stems off, and rinsed the plants under the tap. That method worked quite well, (I repeated the treatment three times) and now, six weeks later, there is only a very slight trace of powdery mildew left. One more time should do the trick.

Enough of writing about gardening for one day. It’s time to actual do some.

Catch you later!!

Gardening Magazines Reviews – Part I

Bert — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:56:53 +0000

After you have been gardening for awhile, you get picky about which gardening magazines you read. You learn which ones offer the best advice and/or the most inspiration. Here are a couple of my favourites.

THE ENGLISH GARDEN – What can I say? Being raised with “English gardens”, for myself, this magazine epitomizes gardening as it should be. It is chock full of fabulous photos that will leave you practically drooling. And not just over the gardens, but the beautiful character homes, country manors and yes, castles. While most of the gardens featured are well beyond the financial reach of the average person, The English Garden is an excellent inspirational tool. It is not too heavy in the how-to’s of gardening. Plant profiles are standard in every issue, however it often features plants that are only a fantasy for many North American gardeners. That said, with a bit of research and a willingness to substitute, you can tweak the elements you would like to recreate and grow a garden every bit as beautiful as the ones in the magazine that inspired you. The English Garden is published six times a year. Visit their website via the link provided on our website under Worth Looking Into.

GARDEN GATE MAGAZINE – Now this is a magazine that seems to do it all! It inspires, it profiles plants, it teaches you how to garden, how to landscape, how to grow plants, and it offers tips from its readers and its experts. It is full of fantastic photos that make you think “I want that”. All of its articles are well written and directions are easy to understand. Experienced gardeners as well as new ones will find Garden Gate Magazine interesting and helpful. If I have one complaint about Garden Gate Magazine it’s that it features gardens and landscaping that most people can only dream of affording. However, it often shows you how to do some of the work yourself, making the landscaping projects more affordable. Garden Gate Magazine is a definite read! It is published six times a year and has one of the best websites. Visit their site by clicking on the link under Worth Looking Into.

Harvesting Christmas Greenery

Bert — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:29:33 +0000

Harevested greenery in waiting

With Christmas just around the corner, it’s time to begin decorating. At our house the Christmas decorating begins outside around the middle of November. I like to use fresh evergreens and grapevines outdoors. Because I’m rather “thrifty” shall we say, I refuse to purchase evergreen boughs. Instead, I harvest my own.

I start by making note of which evergreens are looking well enough to harvest, and which can be pruned without affecting the appearance and future shape of the evergreen.

Using a variety of evergreens provides more depth, texture and interest to an arrangement than using one or two varieties.

Tools needed are: hand pruners, loppers and a pail of water.

Harvest with an eye to shaping the tree and/or shrub rather than cutting willy nilly.

A straight cut is made to remove the branch from the plant.

Next cut the stem you’ve just harvested at a sharp angle.

Place the stem of the harvested branch into the pail of water.

Continue harvesting until you have enough materials to make your wreath, swag or planters.

When you do have enough materials, change the water in the pail, and add Christmas tree preservative.

Re-cut each of the stems (angled cut) and put them in the fresh water.

Set the pail in a cool, shaded location (garage or unheated shed) until you are ready to begin creating your decorations.

Suggested evergreens:

Boxwood

Cedar

Euonymus (variegated for colour)

Juniper (be sure to get stems with berries on them!)

Spruce

Yew (berries don’t last long on cut stems)

Suggested deciduous:

Redtwig dogwood

Yellow dogwood

Curly willow

Grape vine

Tree branches with interesting shapes

NOTE: do not place these stems in water

Accents:

Evergreen cones

Rose hips

Teasel

*Hydrangea blooms

*Silver dollar seed casings

NOTE: do not place these in water

* Use only where arrangement will be protected from wind, rain and snow.

Greenhouse Facelift

Bert — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 16:04:56 +0000

New cover is on!

The impossible has happened – we have finally managed to recover our greenhouse! This momentous feat occurred last weekend, about eighteen months later than it should have. And, for the first time, it went without incident and nary a cross word spoken! The planets must have been perfectly aligned that day. Or maybe we have just perfected the technique? Either way, the cover is on and next spring, I can begin growing from seed once again.

As my dotage approaches, the decision to scale back my hobby of greenhouse growing has been made for me. So, what better time to extend my other hobby of re-arranging furniture, to the greenhouse? The main growing bench will stay where and as is. The other benches will be morphed into work and storage space. I might even find room for a small table and chair, a place to sip a cuppa amongst the plants and dream of the gardens that are germinating in the greenhouse. But first, I have to finish re-arranging the living room.

Over Wintering Potted Plants

Bert — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 12:37:02 +0000

A few of the new shrubs waiting to be heeled in

Though the 2009 gardening season is quickly winding down, there is still a lot of gardening to be enjoyed.

For instance, fall has become one of my favourite times of year not because of the colours and cooler temperatures, but because of the deals to be had at the local greenhouses and nurseries!

We have one local grower that is offering all, yes, all, four inch pots of perennials for $.99! Even those regularly priced at $5.99 and $6.99!! Makes resisting the urge to squeeze more plants into an already overflowing bed very difficult. And of you have decided to renovate your perennial gardens, you can do so without spending a fortune. Check out your local growers for awesome bargains in late fall.

Trees and shrubs are also dirt cheap these days. Matter of fact, yesterday I succumbed to the lure of a great deal on several shrubs that have long been on my wish list. What is a great deal? Less than wholesale! And they were purchased from a grower not a reseller, so I know I’m getting quality plants, not the beaten up ones that they couldn’t sell during the height of the season.

Will I (we) get all these plants into the ground before freeze-up? No, especially now that my other half has decided to get in on the landscape design. So what will happen to the plants over winter? We’ll heel them in and hold them over until next spring. That will give “himself” and me time to hash out a compromise over the winter.

For new gardeners that have never attempted to heel-in plants, here’s how we do it:

Dig a trench in a protected area of your yard as wide and deep as the plants’ pots. If you have several different sized pots, put all the same sized together. Yes, you may end up digging a few trenches, but just think of the work out you’ll be getting!

Set the plant, pot and all in the trench leaving a few inches between the pots.

Backfill around the pots with soil to the top of the pot.(Do not bury the stem of the plant.)

Cover the entire trench including the tops of the pots with at least two inches of mulch.

Water them in and keep them watered until they are covered with a blanket of snow. Top up the mulch as it settles.

Next spring as them temperature begins to warm up, slowly remove the mulch.

Water regularly once the snow is gone until you are ready to plant them in beds.