Hedge Your Bets

Well, it's Spring now, and after a winter spent staring longingly out the window, you're ready to re-open the sandbox, fire up the pool again and start up the old barbeque. There's only one problem: your neighbours decided last fall to put in a hot tub, and sharing a [chain-link] fence line doesn't mean you have to share your summer evenings.

After debating the merits of an 8-foot tall wooden fence to distract Junior from the nightly neighbourhood festivities, you decide a 'natural fence' would be a better alternative. But the cedar hedge at your buddy's place is 14 feet high and out of control and really, what else makes a hedge? The short answer: plenty. 

Depending on your wants and budget, a lot of plants make great hedges, borders and wind screens. So before calling the fence guy to recreate the Green Monster or trooping to the garden centre to load up on cedars, consider the following lesser thought of creative alternatives:

1-  Upright Junipers- Mention 'juniper' and most people think of crawling ground covers or rock-garden fixtures. Though these varieties are definitely juniper, upright varieties such as 'Ontario Green', 'Mountbatten' or 'Wichita Blue', are beautiful specimens with great hedging potential. The cone-shaped trees have a mature height of 10'-12' and the compact growth habit means they won't take over your yard. A nice thing about these guys is at purchase time, they're already 5 feet tall.

2- Grasses- If you have a bit of room, ornamental grass is a great screening plant. Varieties such as Miscanthus sinensis are clump-forming and graceful. They die back every winter in our area, but fill in nicely in the spring. Perfect for around the pool or playground.

3- Barberry- Deer-resistant, prickly, and ornamental, barberry is a versatile landscape plant. Typically used as a specimen or accent planting in a flower bed, barberry also makes a great hedge. From the dwarf, brightly-coloured 'Golden Nugget' variety, to the fan-shaped two-toned 'Rosy Glow' with a 5' mature height, barberry can be used to neatly line walkways or create a stunning prickly fence line that will keep the neighbour's dog from eating your kids' toys.

Of course, this list is not even close to exhaustive. For more conventional (or unconventional) hedge ideas, stop by your local garden centre and listen to their pitch. Or, if this post has you motivated to get out and plant, then stop by Reds, where all of the aforementioned are amply stocked and awaiting a home!

Gardening in April?!

Gardening in April requires a lot of forward thinking. With most shrubs leafless, perennials dormant, and evergreens dominating, it can be difficult to envision the finished look of your landscape. However, if you can get past this, April is a great month to plant a garden in Halton Hills.

Generally as a rule, if you can get your shovel in the ground and water to its roots, you can transplant container nursery stock. With our early Spring thaw and a favourable April forecast, this should not be a problem in our area.

During the winter, deciduous plants drop their leaves and enter a hibernation (or dormant) stage to store energy for the cold winter months. Transplanting in April, while a shrub is dormant, gives the roots time to set up shop in a new location before a stressful growing season. When the weather warms up, the plants wake up, and voila! buds emerge, transforming shapeless sticks into show-stopping shrubs.

The newly planted dormant shrub requires less watering and maintenance than if it were in flower. I recommend using a liquid transplant (5-15-5) fertilizer with the first watering to give the newly planted shrub or tree an added boost.

For inspiration of what to plant and where to plant it, pull out some gardening magazines or stop by your local garden centre and talk to an expert. You may find yourself pleasantly surprised and satisfied with your results.

Sow What?

The other day a friend mentioned to me that she and her infant son spent the morning planting seeds. A premonition of Spring to be sure. Did you know that most annual flowers and vegetables such as peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers can be started from seed indoors?

Besides being easier on the wallet, starting plants from seed is a great way to scratch your gardening itch while snow still dominates the landscape.

Deciding what to plant and when to plant it depends on the varieties of plants you choose to grow. This information is readily available on the back of whatever seed packet you're working with. Nonetheless, if you're planning to start your gardening indoors this season, here're five general rules of thumb to get you started (no greenhouse required):

1. Check your seed packet to see how much time your plant needs before being set outdoors. Seeds should not be transplanted outdoors if there is a risk of frost. Typically the last expected frost date in Halton Hills is May 24.

2. Choose a good-quality potting soil containing a mix of peat moss, perlite, vermiculite and wetting agent. A quality potting mix helps your plants retain moisture and provides aeration and drainage for your seedling's roots. It's also free of weeds, fungus and other pests  

3. Water the soil well before planting seeds. Seeds should be planted at a depth recommended on the package.

4. Cover your newly planted garden-to-be with a clear plastic bag or a clear plastic cover. If using a bag, make sure the plastic is not touching the soil. This creates a greenhouse effect and eliminates the need for regular watering

5. Last, and certainly not least, make sure your garden-to-be is placed in a sunny, warm spot in your house. This means 8+ hours of bright, beautiful light per day. Sorry folks, but no light, no germination.

And there you have it! With a little luck and a lot of patience, come May 24, you've got yourself a project.

Happy growing and may all your seeds be winners. Email us your success stories to info@redsgardencentre.com. We'll read everything you send us and publish our favourites in a future blog. Send pictures. The author of our favourite seed success story will win a $20 Reds gift certificate.

Fall Bulbs

It's that time of year again! No, I'm not talking about the kids going back to school. I'm referring to the fact that fall bulb season has arrived. It's time to think about tulips, daffodils, crocuses and scilla.  

These are hardy bulbs that are planted in the fall but bloom in the spring (no instant gratification with these bulbs - you must be patient, but they're worth the wait). Depending on the variety of flowering shrubs and perennials that you have in your garden, these could be the first blooms you enjoy after the snow disappears.

Here are a few tips I have learned about bulbs over the years:

- The smaller the bulbs, the more you should plant. Three larger bulbs, like tulips or daffodils , planted in a clump will show from a distance come spring, but three snowdrops or crocuses (smaller bulbs) will not make an impact. You will have to double or triple the number of bulbs to make them visible.

- If you are unsure what is the top or the bottom of the bulb, plant it on its side. That way, the leaves will grow up and the roots will grow down.

- After the bulbs have bloomed next spring, you must leave the foliage on to ripen (die naturally). Ripening or dying foliage in the garden is not my idea of "attractive"! My solution: plant these bulbs around perennials. Peonies, daylilies and hostas are perfect to hide the fading foliage of tulips, daffodils and narcissus. The smaller bulbs (crocus, snowdrops, scilla, etc., etc.) do not require hiding. They seem to fade away invisibly.

- If rodents or deer always help themselves to your bulbs or blooms, plant daffodils. They are rodent- and deer-proof. And there are many wonderful varieties available now besides the "old- fashioned" yellow ones. You can choose from pink, white, bi-colour and doubles, just to list a few.

- The larger the bulb, the deeper you should plant it. Daffodils should be about 6" deep and crocuses about 2 - 3" deep. And yes, you can even plant the smaller bulbs on top of the larger bulbs. Crocuses bloom before daffodils, so you can have double the pleasure in the same space.   

"Naked Boys"

I came home today and discovered my "naked boys" in bloom.

Now that I have your attention, I have to explain (it's not like it sounds).

Many, many years ago, I was visiting a friend and fell in love with a most beautiful flower in his garden. He called them "naked boys." This is one of their common names --  another one is "Fall Crocus". His common name referred to the fact that they bloom without the presence of leaves...hence the flowers look naked.

You might ask: How can a plant survive without leaves?  Well, the answer is they don't. Each April, the leaves quickly appear, at the same time as your daffodils do. These leaves produce all the needed food to fill the underground bulbs with nutrients in order to create the amazing show of flowers you get in the fall.

Sounds bizarre doesn't it? These fall crocus are hardy bulbs, like tulips and daffodils, but they turn everything you thought you knew about hardy bulbs upside down.

Ornamental Grass

In my opinion, ornamental grasses are a must-have in every garden. In a gentle breeze, their foliage makes a soft, rustling sound - it is so calming and relaxing. They are hardy, drought-tolerant and have strong architectural shapes. Many are also very colourful.

The diversity of ornamental grasses on the market now provides so many possibilities for our gardens. When I started gardening many years ago, I recall only one readily available grass: Phalaris, commonly known as Gardeners Garters. In the spring it emerges with fresh green and white striped foliage, but by mid- to late-summer it appears tired. And, it has a well-deserved reputation for being invasive.

Most of the ornamental grasses available today are clump forming, so there is no fear that they will take over your garden.

Blue Oat Grass has spectacular silvery-blue foliage that grows into a spiky two-foot ball. The other attribute that I love about this grass is that it is one of the first grasses to emerge in the spring. Unlike other grasses, it does not have to be pruned in the spring; I simply comb by fingers through the foliage from base to tip to remove the old foliage.

The other group of grasses that I am particularly fond of is the Maiden Grasses. In general, they are all upright-arching in shape and by late summer they are adorned with silky, fluffy seed heads. Their stems are strong enough to withstand the wind and snow load of our winters, so they add a lot of interest to winter landscapes.

Birds in the Garden

When I moved into my new home two and a half years ago, the backyard was surrounded by evergreens and a huge expansive lawn. I thought it was a wasteland - no flowers, no shrubs, and very few birds. But, it had potential!

Today, I am sitting on a large deck at the back of the house,  surrounded by a bed full of perennials, flowering shrubs, and evergreens. And it overlooks a huge island bed filled with more of the same.

Over the years, the diversity of the plants has grown and evolved, and so have the birds. I can't believe the robins, gold finches, cardinals, hummingbirds, wood peckers, and cedar wax wings. However, there has been one bird I have been missing. They are feisty (at times, aggressive), have a perky tail and a sweet song: the house wren.

They have nested at every house I have lived in, but this house has no bird houses. So I put up a little house on a six foot post - faced the opening hole to the south east. I knew I was late in the season but  I did everything to the wrens' specifications. I sat back, waited and hoped that a couple would take up residence in my new birdhouse...

Sure enough, I was soon rewarded! My garden is now complete with these house wrens filling the air with their beautiful chorus of song. These little birds are a power house at cleaning up insects too.

Having a variety of birds nest and/or dine in my garden is one the many joys of gardening for me!