|
Questions for the Day
Q. How do I go about planning my garden?
A. Thoughtful planning of a garden starts with the type of garden you would like to have. Deciding on a type of garden is essential before choosing which design elements to include. Will your garden be just a place to plant a bunch of flowers, which will blossom only during the growing season? Or would you rather have a thoughtfully-chosen herb garden? Or maybe just a vegetable plot?
Another issue to consider is the climate in your location.
It can be surprising how little we know about the facts, figures and statistics of the weather where we live. You may want to consult an online map to get statistical data regarding climate elements like rainfall per month or average temperatures.
The next step, after having decided about the type of garden and after investigating the local climate, is to figure out the plants that you would like to grow in your garden. Think of plants that are suitable for the duration of the growing season in your location and that will survive the changes in temperature, typical for your location.
The thoughtful planning of a garden involves one more factor to consider – how much shade is necessary for each of the plants. You need to make sure that there is enough light all over the places you plan to plant your garden.
When you have finished with planning in theory, it is time to start planning the plots in your garden. Again, think for a good plan – one that brings joy, is easy to keep to, and at the same time efficiently uses the available space.
Think about where to place plants that require a lot of sunlight. The best place for such plants is away from buildings and taller trees because these block the light at daytime.
Deciding which plants to grow near the house, and which should be in the open also requires some thought. If you prefer the sunshine streaming through your windows, then you are best not to have bulky trees or bushes near the house, where they will block the sunlight.
If you have decided that you will be growing herbs and vegetables, the best place for them is near the house. When they are near the house, it is more likely that you will be using them for cooking. Besides convenience, you should also think about the location of vegetables as far as their needs for sunlight are concerned. This is especially true if yours is mainly a vegetable garden.
Last, but not least, take into account your personal preferences, when designing a garden. If there are particular extras you would like to have, for instance winding pathways or gazebos, include them in the initial design of the garden. Your outdoor garden is constrained only by the limits of your creativity and the growing season in your location.
Q.Can you tell me whether now is a good time to prune a lilac bush - and if so how low should I cut it?
A. Now is the time to prune your lilac bush. Cut off the dead flower heads too stop the plant wasting energy on seed formation and cut about three inches off the rest of the bush. Next years flower heads are already forming on new growth from below so don't cut off more than this. Cut out any dead or dying branches in the centre of the bush, this will keep the bush healthy and let in light and air.
Q. What is the most easily overlooked chore in fall gardens?
A. Many landscapers are so busy winterizing their lawns, gardens, shrubs and trees that they quite forget about a piece of equipment that has served them well on all those areas of the landscape during the spring, summer and fall -- the garden hose. Our garden hoses lie around on their garden hose reels for so many months consecutively that they become a landscaping fixture that we take for granted. But northern gardeners pay a great price for this oversight when winter arrives, bringing temps in the teens. Bring garden hoses in for storage prior to winter! Also bring their reels in for storage, especially if the reels have any metal components. And more important than a garden hose being ruptured through freezing is what the garden hose is connected to -- your water pipes. Ruptured pipes are costly and inconvenient to replace.
So remember:
Drain your garden hoses, and bring them in for storage and...
turn off the outside water supply.
Q. What do I need to do in the fall for a better spring garden?
Fall is a great time to look back on your garden success, but there’s still time left for most of us to do some last minute garden maintenance. Here are some tasks to do now, to make next year’s garden even better.
1. Enrich garden beds with compost or manure.
2. Collect dried seed from open pollinated flowers & veggies.
3. Clean bird feeders to get them ready for use.
4. Gather herbs, seed heads and flowers for drying.
5. Clean out cold frames for winter use.
6. Cover water gardens with netting to keep the falling leaves out.
7. Keep trees and shrubs well watered until the ground freezes.
8. Cut back diseased perennials and remove all foliage. Don't compost.
9. Clean, sand and oil garden tools before storing them for the winter.
10. Take cuttings.
Q. FALL THINGS TO DO. What are some of the things that I need to do to get my garden ready for the fall and winter?
A. Here is a checklist of things that you can do.
Q. BAGWORMS. Bagworms on our evergreen trees have spread to other trees in our yard. How can we control them?
A. Bagworms are caterpillars that feed on both evergreens and deciduous trees and shrubs. Bagworms can defoliate plants in July and August, which can be fatal. As they feed, bagworms construct protective bags of extruded silken "thread" with bits of foliage mixed in. These bags hang from the trees. They mature into adults in late summer, then lay eggs that overwinter in bags and hatch the following spring. You can remove the bags in early spring, and drop them into a bucket with soapy water to kill the eggs or you can spray young caterpillars soon after they hatch. Its best to use a biological product because it won't harm beneficial insects.
Q. CLEMATIS. My friend has a clematis plant that she no longer wants and we would like to transplant it. Is this possible and are there any special things we should do?
A. If your clematis is early flowering then it is best left until autumn. If it is a late flowering variety transplant it now. The plant roots will have time to establish before flowering puts big demands on them for water. Dig a large hole for planting and half fill with cattle or horse manure if available, cover this with soil then plant as normal, clematis are gross feeders. Trim the plant down to about 1 meter in height and tie to a stake. After planting cover the roots with a few flat stones, this stops the sun drying out the roots and allows the plant to establish itself.
Learn how we can increase your sales, develop your brand, and generate interest in your site.
Q. PETUNIAS I have a question about container gardening. I wnat to keep my petunias that are in pots from getting to big and the stems to long. They are growing like crazy and Im not sure if you are supposed to prun them back to keep them from looking scraggly.
A. Pinch out the growing center of each stem and this will stop the growth and encourage the plant to shoot out from the base of the plant and it will make the plant look fuller.
|
