Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Gardens In Literature

* The Garden of Eden
* Romance of the Rose
* Nathaniel Hawthorne's short-story "Rappaccini's Daughter"
* Frances Hodgson Burnett's The Secret Garden
* Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
* Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera La finta giardiniera
* John Steinbeck's short-story "The Chrysanthemums"
* Ernest Hemingway's The Gardener

Monday, September 22, 2008

Monthly To Do: SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER

SEPTEMBER

* Last chance to lift, divide and replant irises.
* Keep up with weeding; place weeds gone to seed in garbage.
* Deadhead annuals and some perennials for continued bloom.
* Continue to water on a regular schedule.
* Continue fertilizing annual plantings and containers.
* Discontinue fertilizing trees, shrubs, and roses.
* Stop deadheading hardy roses in late August.
* Carefully remove mildewed or black-spotted foliage into plastic garbage bags for disposal.
* Take geranium cuttings, etc., before first frost.
* Acquire and plant spring bulbs as soon as possible.
* Keep containers going as long as possible by covering them or placing them indoors if frost is predicted.
* Assemble a supply of old towels, sheets, etc., for frost covers.
* Following overnight frosts, mist tender flowers with sprinkler before the sun touches them; you may save some of them.
* Cut flowers that preserve well and save them for winter containers (e.g. globe thistle, baby’s breath, nigella)

OCTOBER

* Cut down perennials and annuals and chop for compost unless diseased (garbage) or seed heads are ornamental. Save some seeds heads for winter containers. (Poppies!)
* Soak all roses, shrubs and trees deeply before freeze-up.
* Rake leaves off lawns, then mow grass to a lower height.
* Stockpile leaves for mulching or composting, or rake them directly on to flower beds.
* Shred leaves in a chipper/shredder, or run over them with a lawnmower.
* Spread mulch in a deep layer in shrubbery and perennial borders; evergreen perennials only need springy conifer branches and snow.
* Mulch newly planted bulbs and other spring-flowering perennials.
* Protect tender roses with large bottomless pails or styrofoam cones filled with peat moss or dry leaves.
* Bury any still unplanted pots of plants up to their rims in soil, or place in a cold frame and insulate with dry mulch.
* Shade cold frames from winter and early spring sun.
* Empty soil from ceramic containers or store inside.
* Put up clean birdfeeders and fill up with seed.
* Find the snow shovel! Use as much snow as possible as mulch.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Monthly To Do List: August 2008 (The End Is Near)

The end is near -- Calgary's Summer is almost to a close. Don't put off today, what can be done in the great summer sun we still have.

* Last chance to lift, divide and replant irises; take extras to the Fall Plant Exchange. http://calhort.org
* Keep up with weeding; place weeds gone to seed in garbage.
* Deadhead annuals and some perennials for continued bloom; leave some decorative seedheads.
* Continue to water on a regular schedule. A rain barrel might not be enough at this point though. (keep in mind)
* Continue to thoroughly water annual plantings and containers.
* Discontinue fertilizing trees, shrubs, and roses.
* Stop deadheading hardy roses in late August.
* Carefully remove mildewed or black-spotted foliage into plastic garbage bags for disposal.
* Take geranium cuttings, etc., before first frost.
* Acquire and plant spring bulbs as soon as possible. I'M TALKING TO YOU BOBBI -- GET READY FOR THE TULIPS!
* Keep containers going as long as possible by covering them or placing them indoors if frost is predicted.
* Assemble a supply of old towels, sheets, etc., for frost covers.
* Following overnight frosts, mist tender flowers with sprinkler before the sun touches them; you may save some of them.
* Cut flowers that preserve well and save them for winter containers (e.g. globe thistle, baby’s breath, nigella)
* If you still have tomatoes -- keep an eye on them. The frost can kill or stunt them -- if you have thick plastic create a little greenhouse, or be prepared to bring them in from the cold (they want the heat and humidity -- hopefully you have them in a ceramic pot (or what my mom used to do: An old concrete sink (that's another story))

Enjoy the rest of the summer -- fall is upon us!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

From The Yard (08/08).1

Aquilegia is Columbine and comes from the latin meaning “dove”. The next time you see an aquilegia flower, turn it upside down and see if it doesn’t resemble a circle of doves sitting around drinking or like talons of an eagle?

This plant is a late spring or early summer bloomer for the full sun. It will take very light shade and continue to bloom throughout the summer in Calgary


Planting

The Columbines height varies from about three inches to over thirty inches and each variety will grow taller in the warmer of climates. If you have choices, plant the taller types twelve inches apart and the shorter varieties six inches apart and you’ll see blooms in shades of pink, blues, whites and yellows as well as combinations of them.

Columbine prefer a decent soil but certainly one that is well-drained. Sorry...no clay soils for this plant.

Propagation
This is one of the most promiscuous of flowers, producing large numbers of seed and if you have two distinct species in your garden, it will not take long to have hybrids.

And because they tend to be short lived plants, you need to keep new ones coming along from seed. This presents a small problem with the hybrid varieties as the offspring is not guaranteed to come true from seed - what's neat is that transplanted columbine which is purple, might come in yellow the next.

Work this to your advantage. Pick the plants you like and allow them to set seed. Pull out any you do not like and do not let them set seed. Eventually, you’ll wind up with some pretty good looking plants that are “all yours”.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Colour Perennials

While Greens and Violets are my favourites, colour in your garden is stimulating and calming. Annuals are great for bare spots, by perennials will reward you year after year.

Once established, these thrive with just a little water and still provide you with colour. Each grouping is listed by height to help you place them in your border.

Pink and pink-purple:
1. Arabis caucasica (rose rockcress) - groundcover that blooms late April until early June.
2. Liatris spicata (gayfeather) - two-foot spikes that begin blooming mid-August.
3. Achillea millefolium ‘Cerise Queen’ (yarrow) - two feet tall with bloom clusters that begin late July and keep going. Deadhead or it will be the only plant you have!
4. Echinacea purpurea (coneflower) - rosy blooms begin early August on thirty-inch plants. Spiky seed heads look delightful all winter.
5. Monarda didyma ‘Marshall’s Delight’ or ‘Prairie Night’ (bee balm)- three feet tall with mop-head blooms beginning mid-June. The leaves are nicely scented and the flowers attract butterflies and bees.

Yellow and salmon:
1. Papaver nudicaule (Iceland poppy) - twelve to fifteen inches tall, it starts blooming in April and can still be in bloom in August - wow! Comes in mixed colours of salmon, yellow, and orange. It is short-lived, so let it reseed.
2. Hemorocallis ‘Stella de Oro’ (daylily) - a dwarf yellow reblooming daylily, ten to fifteen inches tall. Blooms begin at the start of summer.
3. Coreopsis verticillata (threadleaf tickseed) - approximately eighteen inches tall, it appears in late spring. Blooms begin mid-July.
4. Gaillardia aristata ‘Goblin’ (blanket flower)- gold-edged, burnt-red blooms in July and August to eighteen inches.
5. Rudbeckia fulgida ‘Goldsturm’ (black-eyed Susan) - at thirty inches, it has yellow daisy-like flowers during August and September.
6. Achillea millefolium ‘Paprika’ or ‘Salmon’ (yarrow) - two-feet tall with flat-topped bloom clusters that start late July. Deadhead!
7. Lonicera x brownii ‘Dropmore Scarlet Trumpet’ (honeysuckle vine) - a vine with orange flowers that begin blooming in early summer.

Blue and purple flowers:
1. Campanula cochlearifolia (creeping bellflower) - a groundcover with foliage hidden by tiny blue bells in June and July. Nice between rocks.
2. Thymus spp. (thyme) - ground cover that comes with purple or pink flowers.
Veronica pectinata (comb speedwell) - forms a lovely, soft grey mat with clear blue, white-centred flowers beginning in May.
3. Linum perenne (blue flax) - delicate blue flowers in June and July top eighteen-inch ferny stems. Salvia x superba (blue sage) - a twelve to eighteen- inch tall plant with deep purple flowers that begin in late June and keep on going.
4. Eryngium planum (sea holly) - metallic steel-blue flowers resembling a head of pins atop 3-foot sturdy stems in the same tones. Deep tap root; do not move. Begins providing interest mid-July.

Silver-leaved plants (tone down a hot border and give eyes a resting spot) – blends well with pinks and purples.
1. Antennaria rosea (pussy toes)- groundcover. Great between stepping stones.
2. Artemisia stelleriana ‘Silver Brocade’ (perennial dusty miller) - a tough groundcover like a luxuriant silver carpet that can overwinter in containers.
3. Festuca ovina glauca (blue fescue) - a blue-grey ornamental grass that does not spread. Contrasting beige seed heads are attractive.
4. Artemisia schmidtiana ‘Silver Mound’ compact, yet airy twelve-inch mound of delicate, lacy leaves.


Saturday, July 26, 2008

From The Yard (07.08)

Dwarf Red Coreopsis (Tickseed)
Coreopsis tinctoria (Asteraceae)

A hardy, upright annual forb, and very easy to grow from seed throughout much of North America. This dainty little plant will burst alive in the spring covered with mahogany-red flowers. An ideal variety for mass plantings or as an accent in the garden. Prefers full sun in various soils, even soggy areas.

Photo from 'Trude's Land', Creekside Calgary / Cantwell

Height
: 12-24 inches
Blooming period: April-August
Cultivation/Uses: full to partial sun, dry to moist, well-drained soils; attracts seed-eaters
Suggested use: Flower gardens, roadsides, mixtures, meadows, ditches.
Miscellaneous: An excellent variety for high rainfall areas. Will continue to bloom as long as there is moisture available.

Gardening 101 (Calgary)

Having a gorgeous garden is one of the surest ways to surround your home with an essential aspect of opulence. But if you want to have a beautiful garden and you're faced with a short growing season like we have in Calgary, you have to work smarter than you do in say, the Lower Mainland or Fraser Valley in British Columbia.

Here a few tips to help bring out the best in your yard.

The Faster, the Better

The growing season in Calgary is short. We have around 175 frost-free days in a year. So whatever you plant, it has to get to the point quickly. Fast growing plants are the way to go if you want to be surrounded by greenery and flowers in the summer.

The Day Is Long

Fortunately, Calgary gardens have an advantage when it comes to the growing season. Though there may not be many days for growing, our days are long. In fact, in the summer the sun shines from 5:00am to 10:00pm and dusk can stretch until midnight. At the height of summer, it never really gets dark for long at all.

Did you know: Calgary is one of the sunniest places in the country? We have an annual average of 2400 hours of magnificent sunshine.

Coming Up Roses

Alberta is a Wild Rose country! It's easy to have a rose garden if you stick to wild roses. Hardy and abundant, the prairie rose makes a great border that blooms early and provides colour all season with very little help from you. Try a Morden Rose!

Big Hard Sun

Before you plant anything, look to the sky! Figure out where the sun is going to hit your little patch of paradise and from which direction -- this should be the first thing you consider when planning your garden. A north facing yard should be a shade tolerant planting area, while a south or southwest facing yard will soak up the rays (and the moisture). If you want vegetables, they should be planted in a sunny spot. Also, pay attention to elevations and slopes when making your site selection and avoid depressions and low areas which would allow water to pool too easily.

Wind, Wind, Wind

While Calgary isn’t necessarily flat like the rest of the prairies, we are at the swoop of the mountains -- this means Chinooks in winter and general wind from the south all summer long! Gardeners should intervene because there will always be days when there's nothing to stop the wind from whipping itself into a fury and making your garden shiver. Create a windbreak or shelterbelt! Windbreaks stop the wind from lowering the temperature on the property which is good for the garden, good for your house and good for you. Fences are the quickest way to enjoy the benefits of a windbreak and open fences (picket style) will always do better than solid fences which just seem to make the wind angrier, but you can plant a shelterbelt too. There are hardy belt plants like common lilacs, dogwoods and the Northwest poplar.

Tolerate the Drought

It’s great if you have time to stand outside everyday watering your lawn to make it green, but hopefully you have better things to do. Besides, it's always wise to accept things for what they are and Calgary's climate is dry, dry, dry. Choose drought tolerant grasses and ground covers. Save money on your water bill. Be at peace. So, rock on! Rock gardens are a go in Calgary. Use local rocks for the best effect - they look better and cost you nothing. Did I also mention they look better? Luckily, most of the plants that grow in a traditional alpine rock garden will also do fabulously in Calgary.

Possibility Abounds With Snowballs!

Give your garden and yourself, the full benefit of all the seasons by making your space a fun and beautiful place all year round. Plant trees and bushes that will not only survive the winter but will add colour and interest. There's nothing nicer than red berries contrasted with white snow in February. Evergreens and conifers are another timeless choice. Pay attention to shapes and shadows when you are planning your winter garden.

There's also nothing more enjoyably rebellious than hanging out in the hot tub when the thermometer has dipped well below zero. Saunas, out door fireplaces and heated spas all make the cold months a bit warmer and open up a whole world of possibilities when it comes to winter parties.

How about a skating rink? Forget tarps and boarding, there are portable rinks to flood on the market right now!

~~~~

If you're serious about turning your yard into a copious wonderland, there are some great books out there that deal exclusively with gardens in a Calgary climate zone and point out plants that do well here.

Hint: The Calgary Horticultural Society is also a fantastic resource for local green thumbs. (Wink)

Garden

I think of how green it was.

I was diminutive, inside the oceans of this subtractive colour, shades of blues and yellows ubiquitously. I could explore the whole vastness of it and never bore. I would lose myself to adventure and exploration I created for myself. In the jungle, the rain forest, my mind.

Borders of beautiful flowers, of course, but there were always rows; orderly and neat --a multitude of perfected queues, continually methodical and organized. Many, trailing along the floor of the plot; yet many more, towering above and beyond, like vines, climbers and creepers.

Yes, it was superfluous, but serene, peaceful and undisturbed. My grandmother’s garden was an oasis of green fern, emerald, olive and jade.

Only enhancing its precise beauty, was the intense and piercing use of violet, blue, yellow, orange, red and magenta – applied with Hydrangea, Delphinium, Digitalis (Foxglove), Cyclamen, Pelargonium, Chrysanthemum –Marigold, Rhododendron, Weigela, Salvia-patens, Cornus nuttallii-Dogwood and an assembly of sundry Rose. Meticulously placed, affectionately tended, dutifully cultivated.



The only employment, I’ve ever known my grandmother to do, besides caregiver and custodian, was operating her garden. It was her occupation; her trade was of gardener and giver. This obedient labour was rewarding for my grandmother and her dedication to its nurturing, remarkable.

A ‘green-thumb’ is not a genetically acquired characteristic. It’s a proficiency which can be developed and encouraged through edification and practice. I was not an illustrious contributor or student of my grandmother’s toil. Desirous of egocentric attention, I would ignore my obligatory exterior chores. I would display resentment at having to engage in its maintenance and preservation, though inwardly and silently, my admiration for its splendour was an accumulation of wonder and delight.

My grandmother would never come to know of the immeasurable instruction she donated to me and the joy which having my own Garden, gives me. It is my therapy and lingers as cathartic. I must only imagine that my grandmother believed the same. I express my gratitude for her indirect lessons, with slogging in my own garden, and sowing new life each spring and in her name, a section of what flourishes without any assistance from me, is known as “Trudes Land”.

I think of how green it is.