Every house has one a dark corner set well back from any windows and crying out for some live plant material to make it less dreary. In my wife s and my north-facing living room we have just such a spot where a table sits in the corner farthest from the window. Few plants will
Darker Days Coming
Last-Minute Autumn Chores
FREELANCE CONTRIBUTOR As the month of October winds down, there are a few last-minute gardening chores that need to be done to ensure that the garden is totally put to bed and ready for the long winter ahead. If you grow tender roses such as the hybrid teas, give them extra protection for the winter.
Garden Soil
Freelance contributor As we perform the task of cleaning up our gardens and preparing them for the winter, many of us take advantage of present conditions to enhance the soil in our gardens. Many of the plants have been removed or at least their tops have been cut off, allowing access to the surrounding soil.
Time To Dig Carrots
It won t be long before we undertake one of the last vegetable gardening tasks of the growing season harvesting the carrot crop. I always leave this annual task for a bright, sunny October day so that the job becomes a pleasant afternoon spent outdoors in the garden. My wife and I have a small-town
What Goes Around, Comes Around
A half-century ago or more the good old days according to some folks many farms had windmills. Before the electrification of the Prairies in the 1950s and 60s, a windmill was a relatively inexpensive and very efficient way to pump water from deep water wells found on many Prairie farms. Some farms also used a
Think Red In The Spring
Most gardeners grow a few onions, whether they are multipliers to use in summer salads, sweet Spanish onions, the huge round slices of which grace many a burger in the summertime, or cooking onions grown from sets and stored for winter use. Fewer gardeners, however, seem to grow red onions, which I think is a
Mountain Ash Tree
If someone were to ask what my favourite deciduous tree is, my answer would have to be the mountain ash. Its display begins with the tree leafing out in May, and shortly after that its blooms appear clusters of white flowers that have a sweet, musky smell that wafts throughout the yard. Bees are irresistibly
Give Zinnias A Try
Zinnias always find their way into my garden. Even though I have gradually changed most of my flower borders to mainly perennials, I cannot resist having some zinnias, either tucked into a flower bed somewhere or grown in a row in the vegetable patch. One reason that I like zinnias is that they make great
Daylily Division
September is a good time to dig up, move and divide perennials. Naturally we want to wait until late September or early October to do this for perennials which are still producing some bloom; there is no point in cutting short the bloom period as it is short enough as it is in my area.
Short Or Tall Variety, Lavatera Is Versatile
Like many gardeners, I take the “old standbys” for granted and sometimes neglect to even include them in my planting plans in the spring. Later I regret my decision and last summer Mother Nature came to my rescue. I had not planted any lavatera in my garden, but a few self-seeded volunteers appeared in the
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
