Sustainability through xeriscaping

Whether it’s called xeriscaping, water-smart gardening or environmentally friendly planting, this water-efficient concept can be built into your existing gardening plans, either all at once or on a year-by-year basis. Xeriscaping involves selection of annual and perennial plants, shrubs, trees and vines that perform well in our region and require minimal supplemental irrigation. Landscapes of

Getting an azalea to rebloom

Were you lucky enough to receive an azalea as a gift plant for Easter? Azaleas are popular pot plants used as gifts for special occasions such as Easter and Mother’s Day. Although an azalea can be enjoyed until it has finished blooming (a healthy plant will bloom for several weeks) and then discarded, many gardeners


One of the many benefits to being in a garden is the heavenly aromas you encounter as you make your way down a garden path. The cause could be the winds gently nudging the viburnum branches or the oils of a scented geranium leaf being released by the brush of a sleeve. Or maybe it’s

Non-farm home grounds award

A Minnedosa, Manitoba gardener won the Fort Distributors Ltd. Shield for Best Country Non-Farm Home Grounds — District Four in the Manitoba Good Roads 2011 Home Grounds Competition. The award will be presented to Erna Stemmer at the association’s annual awards banquet in Brandon in April. Erna’s garden is located just south of town in


An Ongoing Green Display

As we adjust ourselves to the thought of winter, avid indoor gardeners like me continue to invent ways to enjoy colourful plants in our homes. Of course we can purchase any number of inexpensive flowering plants from retail centres, use them as display plants until they cease to bloom and then discard them, but because

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.

Why Gardeners Are Thankful

National Garden Bureau ” We re thankful for the flower and vegetable companies who continue to bring us new and improved varieties of flowers and vegetables every year. ” We re thankful for the cataloguers and mail-order companies that send us their beautiful tomes of tempting goodies every January, just when the winter doldrums start



Gardening With Physical Limitations

Let’s face it, gardeners age, or, are afflicted with illnesses that can make gardening more difficult and less enjoyable. However, thanks to creative and inventive minds, there are now a wide variety of excellent tools and techniques to take some of the aches and pains out of gardening. Following are a few techniques for improving