Garden Ideas

Just some photos from this springs work...

ROCK YOUR LANDSCAPE

Round river rocks and flat stones are a beautiful addition to your garden, and they're easy to work with to create walkways, patios, fire pits, dry creeks, rock gardens, bread/pizza ovens, inukshuks, stone benches and even a rock wall around your property.
The possibilities for landscaping with rock are endless.

I love to work with rocks and my greatest accomplishment was to build a 200 meter long dry rocks wall. It took me two years... but it was a lot of fun and I would do it again in a hard beat.

Using river rocks, you can create a dry creek and then plant ornamental grass and flowers along the border. For added color consider choosing grasses that are blue, purple and green. This way you can use river rock landscaping to have a river in your backyard without actually having to use water.

Proven Plants - No Maintenance Garden

Having these proven plants in your garden, you have almost no work at all.
The selection represents blooming flowers and shrubs from virtually snow-melt in spring to the first snow in November.

Long lasting bloom starts in March/April: with Periwinkle, Daffodils and Tulips
May: Blue Iris, Japanese Cherry, Stonecrop and Snow in Summer
June: Philadelphus, Yarrow, Heuchera
July: Achillea, Purple Ninebark or Sambucus Black Lace
August: Lambs Ear, Rosa Rugosa, Hosta and Astilbe
September/October: Hydrangia, Sedum Autumn Joy

Weed killers kill Pets too

Searching through my gardening archive (it's heavy raining today) I just found this article that I had bookmarked a while ago:

PET DOGS GET CANCER FROM WEED KILLERS

Pet dogs exposed to the weed killer 2,4-D are dying of cancer at twice normal rates, according to a study published in the JOURNAL OF THE NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE.

Dog owners who spray or dust their lawns with weed killers containing 2,4-D are doubling Fido's chances of getting cancer, the study shows. Dogs walk across, or roll in, herbicide-treated lawns and then ingest toxic chemicals when they lick their coats or paws.

Popular lawn-care products containing 2,4-D include Weedone, Weed-B-Gone, and many others. Naturally, children!!! who play on treated lawns will also come in contact with the chemical.

Dogs and children can also track the chemical indoors where prolonged exposure to adult humans may occur.

Seabuckthorn

I get a lot of compliments for my Seabuckthorn hedge, especially in fall and winter, when they are most showy with big clusters of orange berries.

Those berries are pretty sour when eaten right of the bush, but sweetened with Stevia or brown sugar they are delicious and extremely healthy providing very high Vitamin C content.

The flowers are tiny, the Seabuck"thorns" (hence the name) are a good deterrent for any invaders, human or otherwise.

More benefits according to Sibu.com, one of hundreds of sellers of Seabuckthorn products:
• Supports healthy cardio vascular function
• Sustains proper brain and nervous system function
• Promotes healthy skin and hair
• Enhances integrity of mucous membranes
• Supports healthy digestive system function
Contains omegas 3, 6, 7, 9 and an abundance of Vitamin C


More press releases:
Known as the "Holy Fruit of the Himalayas," Seabuckthorn has been cherished by native Tibetans for centuries for its incredible nutritive qualities. Seabuckthorn grows high in the Himalayan region and has been
used in Asia over the centuries as an herbal medicine to relieve cough, aid digestion, invigorate blood circulation, and alleviate pain.
Today, over one hundred and twenty specific studies on Seabuckthorn and countless studies on the biological properties found in the plant have shown that this small berry promotes good health. Seabuckthorn has been called the super fruit, and given its nutritional profile, it is no wonder.

Well, I just like it as a beautiful fence, for an occasional winter snack and as a treat for birds.

Spring Garden

Are you anxious to see bulbs sprouting, buds unfurling and colorful blooms throughout the garden? There is plenty you can do to gear up for the gardening season.

Trimming and Pruning
April is a great month for trimming and tidying. Now is when you should cut back your ornamental grasses 4-6 inches from the ground. Compost the old growth and look for new, green shoots to appear in a few weeks. Most roses appreciate a good pruning now, too.
Trees and shrubs can be pruned now if you haven't done it already. Fruit trees, evergreens, many deciduous trees, grapevines and roses can all be trimmed and shaped before new growth begins.

Improve the soil of your perennial beds
Good, healthy and rich soil is the most important element for a beautiful garden.
Don't skimp soil improvment!
Empty your compost and mix with good garden soil - or if you do not (yet) compost get at least composted manure, spread it 6-8 inch thick on your garden beds and work it into your last years soil. This is so much better for your plants than the synthetic fertizilers that are sold for top dollar at garden centers. One exemption is natural bone meal that should be added to the soil every time you plant something new in your garden and bone meal, a natural fertilizer to fix nitrogen defencies.

Edging and weeding garden beds
By digging and teasing out weeds now when they are small, you save yourself countless hours of weeding in the summer heat. Cutting in a neat edge on your garden beds also slows weeds' progress and gives your landscape a neat, professional appearance.
Weed not only the flower beds but also your lawn - now, when the weeds are still small.

Mulch all your garden beds
Mulch has lots of benefits:
- A thick layer of mulch (6-9 inches) helps to surpress weeds
- It keeps the soil longer moist - less watering
- Mulched beds look more attractive and tidier
- Mulch balances temperatures, important in our hot summers and cold winters

But use only the natural mulch, not the "dyed or colored" type which could be toxic. (studies in Florida have found levels of arsenic in colored mulches to exceed Federal safety limits in over 75% of the samples tested). The preservatives used in the colorant may also inhibit the growth of many beneficial soil microbes that prevent disease in plants. The dry wood waste and old pallets also have a very high Carbon to Nitrogen ratio (C:N>200) hence if supplemental nitrogen is not added, it may cause a nitrogen tie-up in the soil. Healthy fertile soil has a C:N ratio of only 30:1 hence nitrogen is pulled from the soil as microbes try to break down and decompose the colored mulch. This often results in poor plant growth with increased disease and insect problems.
Also be aware about children and pets in your garden and purchase only natural mulch.

Maple Lawn Garden

My favoured time to visit the Maple Lawn Garden is spring. Altough an amazingly quiet spot on busy Richmond Road in Ottawa's popular Westboro Village, filled with beautiful flowers year round, it is just stunning in spring with millions of Scilla's.

Spring in Rockcliffe Park

Ottawa's most beautiful neighbourhood bursts into bloom in April and May. There are seas of Scilla, Daffodils and Tulips to adore.

The images above are taken at the corner of Springfield Rd and Mariposa, at Rideau Hall gardens and at the Rockcliffe Park with its stunning views down to the Ottawa River, the Pavilion (also called Gazebo/Teahouse, a popular wedding spot) and its huge yellow sparkling Daffodil fields.

Type in your GPS: Sussex Drive and Rockcliffe Parkway or go to the Internet for a map, park your car, walk the area and enjoy the beautiful vistas.

Rideau Hall Gardens year round:
Rideau Hall is a treasure trove of plants, inspiration and ideas for garden lovers. From the fabulous Victorian greenhouse the functional kitchen garden packed with herbs and vegetables, there is something for every garden enthusiast.
The greenhouse, called the Show House, and the horticultural tours in summer are worth the visit.

http://www.gg.ca

Early Blooms

Provident gardeners are now rewarded with early blooms - even earlier than usual this spring.
If you planted bulbs last fall you are enjoying now a cheery, colorful garden. Nothing says spring more than waves of yellow and blue flowers, seen in your garden everywhere. Best of all: many of these spring bulbs such as Scilla, Snow Drops and Daffodils naturalize and will bring more color into your garden in following years.

Blooming Parks
If you live in the Ottawa area visit Maple Lawn Garden on Richmond Road or Springfield Road in Rockcliffe (corner Mariposa) to find spectacular seas of blue Scilla.

Daffodils at Rockcliffe Park and the Rockeries
The pavilion and surrounding area has turned into a popular location for outdoor weddings. The Rockcliffe Rockeries has literally hundreds of thousands of Daffodil bulbs. The best time to view this display is now in April or early May, when flowering trees provide a burst of spring colour that complements the Daffodils.
Location: Rockcliffe Parkway, between Princess Avenue and Acacia Avenue, Ottawa


Fall Planting:
Mark your calendar for late August bulb purchasing and try to find bulb varieties of early and late bloomers and several heights. Plant them generously in wide groups. These bulbs are hardy to zone 3 and 4:

Galanthus (Snowdrop)
Hyacinthus (Hyacinth)
Muscari (Grape Hyacinth)
Narcissus (Daffodil)
Tulipa (Tulip)
Crocus (Crocus)
Scilla (Bluebell)

- Plant the bulbs in early October in well-prepared soil. Planting depth varies by the type of bulb (8cm deep for Crocus, 12 deep for Daffodils and Hyacinths, 15cm deep for Tulips).

- Cover with chicken wire to deter squirrels from eating your precious bulbs, water well and add another layer of soil or mulch.

- Fertilize plants immediately after their flowering ends generously with compost soil.

- Let th bulbs go dormant naturally. Important: Don't remove foliage after bloom.

- Plant groups of Achillea, Poppies, Euphorbia, Heliopsis, Lambs Ear, Purple Cone Flowers or blooming herbs between the bulb areas. They too don't to be watered and will cover the drying foliage of the spring bulbs

- Allow the bulbs to dry out (just quit watering) after the foliage begins to turn yellow. Most spring bulbs prefer dry soil during summer.

- Every three years: dig, divide and replant the bulbs when crowded.


My favorite early bloomer: Periwinkle
In shady gardens Periwinkle will strive, rewarding you with lots of dark green ground cover and blue flowers short after the last snow melted. They are not fussy with soil and spread themselves over the years.
Much nicer than boring brown lawn in spring - and less work!

Signs of Spring

Are we all nuts?

Garden Rant of the Year


I will never understand why anyone would bag their leaves in fall and bring it to the curb - instead of composting them... or why wrap your shrubs for winter or neglect plants at groceries and builter supply stores?

BAGGED LEAVES
"Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle" also applies to gardening.
Go for a walk into any forest and reach down or kick the dry leaves to one side and notice dead leaves underneath, push them aside and notice decomposed leaves under the dry leaves push those to one side and notice a rich black earth yielding an abundance of nutrients to the forest ecosystem. Imagine this soil in your garden?

Your plants will grow like crazy! Leaves decompose relatively quickly pile leaves onto your garden in the fall thickly and by spring they will be nothing but a a thin layer of decomposed leaves which need to be turned into the soil.

Repeating this year after year will make your soil richer than before just like the soil in old growth forests.

What waste it is to just rake up one of nature’s best to be burned later when you can put it to use in your garden.


WRAPPED SHRUBS - SOOOOO UGLY

The "gardening industry" and so-called "landscapers" seems to have found a new method of cash-grab for the slow winter season: Sell as much burlap, styropur cones and twine as possible! They will tell potential customers if they don't wrap their shrubs they will be injured and die in winter. What a nonsens!

Have you ever seen a wrapped shrub in the wild? Did your grand parents wrap their bushes and shrubs for the winter? For sure not...

If you are choosing plants for your garden according to the zone in which you live, you do not need to protect your shrubs, and even if you loose a branch or two in an ice storm - so be it! It's all nature. Why do we try to play God?

What you CAN do is to mulch around tree trunks and shrubs and water them very well before heavy frost sets in.
That's all.


WHY LET THEM DIE?

Plants at grocery stores, building suppliers and the like: We all know not to ever expect much from the grocery store plants, as they're usually completely neglected, baking on hot tarmag, dry and limp looking if not half (or totally) dead.
But I am asking why are they selling plants at all, if they do not care for them. It makes me really mad to see those poor flowers and plants dying, and I ask for a supervisor and tell them what I think about their neglectence.

Sometimes they admit it and give orders to water the plants. One can only guess their mark-up if they can afford to let the plants die. Even worse: I often heard they will return them to the growers.

We should neglect these reckless sellers too and buy only at nurseries that take care of the plants - which benefits later in your garden.

Images of the most reliable shade-loving plants

HOSTAs come in a huge variety of colors from dark-green, blue-green, yellow or white rimmed leaves. Find more images on this website:
http://www.shadyoaks.com/GeneratedItems/Pages/Hosta3.html

HEUCHERAs - Variety of Coral Bells, Heuchera Georgia Peach

Happy Planting!