changes to our prairie gardens

As seen by the clematis on the front fence,

despite the hardships some plants appear to suffer

from, this clematis was not remotely concerned. Two

days after this shot, people were stopping their cars and asking what was on the fence; it was SO beautiful and

SO full of bloom - it was literally amazing considering

what everything else looked like. Following a class, a student dropped by to have a look around. When asked "did she see the cleamtis", she said "no, I was too busy

looking at your house". I'm guessing she didn't notice

the chain link fence either which of course is what "I"

see all the time. Good decorating, good design, interior

or exterior, is all about illusion and drawing the eye

away from what isn't pretty towards what is!

In the forefront of (above right) photo was a 25 year old tree knocked out by fire blight, behind it and photos to right are a pruned-to-tree format Dwarf Arctic Willow

and Golden Elder and the amazing clematis disguising our front chain link fence, a sea of flowers in May of 2010. The vine on the fence (top of page, right flanking

the sadly missed Pagoda Dogwood) is a male Kiwi and other than making a mockery of the chain link, it's a great plant. There are cross pollinated Kiwi now, and yes

they will produce tiny, edible fruit. The dwarf Arctic Willows did not not go through abscission (leaf separation form the twig) for two autumns. There was a fair amount

of winter die back in winter of 08 and 09 so I am a bit nervous to see what happens to them come spring (2011). The Sutherland Elder (above), in front of the Arctic

Willow lost its foliage early in autumn/10, appearing to have been sprayed with chemicals. The crisping of its foliage is a tell tale sign of fire blight; that said the

ornamental crab showed no signs until the spring. With 4 trees lost in front, and with Mark Oswald of Stump Busters masterfully pruning the neighbors large maples,

I recognized my weeping ornamental crab had just succumed to fire blight and pulled it out; Nature is unpredictable at the very least.

It's what you don't see here that exemplifies what went wrong at 487.

In spring of '10 fireblight killed a 25 year old ornamental crab. In that

same season, a beautiful Sutherland Elder, pruned into a 12' tree

died in the same way, both without warning signs as I know them. Spring

of 2011 and a crew of workmen, restuccoing the house, took out half a

12' Dwarf Arctic Willow (also a small tree) and yesterday, October 11th,

my neighbor cut the remaining half off at the fence (thanks a bunch)

while we were professionally pruning his Maples in the back yard in

an effort to keep them healthy, for both our yards? Nature and

neighbours; you NEVER know what you're going to get! So, with the trees gone, and the better part of what perennials survived all the foot traffice,

there was time to ponder how much more garden I wanted, now that it had been unintentionally edited, and THIS happened as a result. The front yard

is not very big but with the new hardscaping, it appears twice the size it did

and the garden appears as lush! The drought kept me from enjoying my own space; when I arrived home from working on someone else's

garden, forced watering every 2nd day took most of the pleasure away.

With a further edit, transferance of some shrubs and perennials to new addresses, the new garden should be a more pleasurable place to be

and far less work. "Practice what you preach!" As always, plans went

awry and yesterday (again in November), Pat and I were frantically

planting leftovers, "trenching" so they could be watered in before the hose freezes; it's SO FRUSTRATING!!!

Pumping out the back yard for several years was beginning to

feel 'normal' and then "surprise"! With 100% soil saturation,

there was little, and eventually NO rain so pumping was not

required; WATERING as often as was deemed reasonable was

a 'must' and so went the drought of 2011. As was the experience

of the previous rainy summers, there were many surprises and it wasn't any different this year. Some plants LOVED all the

heat and were even quite tolerant of the ridiculous winds that have come back to the prairies (I, personally, have no tolerance for the wind at all). The Rogersia you see below is a good

example of what LOVED this summer. The rains had beaten

it down for several years but under a large overhang, only

receiving water from a hose (yes, I need to move it), it grew remarkably large and the ferns (10 or more varieties/none

indigenous to Manitoba) exposed to more sun and all that heat

& wind were so hardy, I was flumoxed. Suffice to say, the

protection I've been giving other ferns (same species) are

being moved to 'brighter' areas of the yard. This whole

gardening thing; if you think you have breached the edge of

the learning curve, you're oh so wrong!

What did survive into spring, 2011 were rhododendrons, azaleas (Northern Lites Series), many funky (+20 varieties) ferns, 3 varieties of Smoke Bush, a Contorted Hazelnut, and many Japanese Tree Peonies. A new Pagoda dogwood did fine, as did many other things that technically have trouble wintering here. And who says

we can't have perennial "Exotics" in Winnipeg. This (left) is a Rogersia, one of 3 varieties, and with the right light,

it can become as big as many plants you'd see in Vancouver. Go shopping early, see what's out there, then go

home and GOOGLE it. Whatever didn't do well in dry shade, reconsider; there's as good a chance as any this

is the weather we can look forward to and if they couldn't take it this year, do you want to fuss over them next?

Some past favourite and frequently recommended plants have been dropped from a list due to their inability to

tolerate the heat and wind; what if this is what summer is from here on in (as if anyone can truly predict)? The

weather took its toll on a lot of plants, trees and shrubs and some of the more hardy, devil-may-car survivors

were almost inexplicable. That said, it's a new game out there, and the more information we have, the more

help we can give our gardens, without becoming slaves to them and the happier we will be with what these gardens

give back to us. Diseases are becoming more prevalent and we need to understand what we can do to help

recognize the early signs so that we are able to help the plants along, perhaps even save them. This fall, my

garden is under-going a much needed soil amendment as well as an edit as I have realize it is more work

now than pleasure and that's NOT what it, or my business is all about. Nature, as always, wins and I shall work

with her if I wish to remain a happy gardener! From Mike Allen, re spruce trees, water, water, water; you'll

extend their lives but ... reaction to climatic extremes is not the only factor involved with spruce needle

discolouration. Nearly all spruce trees in southern Manitoba 15 years and older have a slowly lethal fungal

canker disease called Cytospora. I refer to it as the white blister disease. It is an indigenous disease to Manitoba

white spruce. The other diseases also contribute to the needle browning situation. Cytospora disease displays

several forms on the tree as signs of infection. There is no known cure for this fungus canker disease which is

the most common and most widely spread disease of ornamental spruce trees in southern Manitoba; Google

for further information. We are being faced with several diseases that ultimately kill the host tree so it's

imperative we take the time, particularly at this time of year, to add slow release fertilizer to the roots of our

trees and shrubs, amend the soil with compost (Samborski) and to add iron chelate to any woody perennials

that had yellowing leaves during the summer.

We can't change what nature does but we can help to slow down the course of these diseases and recognized

that, at some point, in order to save others (Dutch Elm Disease, Black Knot disease, Fireblight) from infection,

we should remove our sick plants and bring in newer hybrids less prone to disease. Just remember many

diseases have come as a result of hybridization so there's no guarantee we aren't fighting a losing battle be we

also cannot leave the land barren; without trees and the oxygen they create, there is NO life for any of us.

What can we do to work with Nature with respect to what appears to be obvious

changes in Manitoba weather? I'm still working on this page and like me, many of

you are wondering what is going on in your garden, "why is that dead", where did

'that' plant go and when can we safely plant? The new weather is once again

showing gardeners we haven't figured it all out; we and it are in a state of flux.

Nature isn't remotely concerned about anything garden related, as 'She' is pretty

much fending for herself and we get to go along, or all intents and purposes,

along a bumpy and semi-destructive road. That said we can work with anything if we just get the basics down pat and although they can change from day to day and from year to year, the important stuff doesn't much alter and if what we plant doesn't work,

or dies, move on and try something else. Gardening is good for the human soul as

it teaches and shows us patience, modesty, heartache, utter joy, failure and

success; through our long, cold winters, persiverance and belief in magic and

miracles. We could use the miracle of rain at the moment; here's hoping - meanwhile,

the hoses are still working so WATER!!!!! In the meanwhile, look outside and watch

life evolve right before your eyes; it never ceases to amaze and spring will be here sooner than we're ready for.

SPRING AND FALL FERTILIZATION OF TREES & SHRUBS

Just heard from Mike Allen regarding the death of the trees (large shrubs) in the

garden here; this is what he had to say. "Certain verities of woody plants are not

truly hardy in our winter climate. Leaves that stay on the tree are usually frozen on as the process of abscission (leaf separation form the twig) has been compromised

by the cold. This does not necessarily kill the plant if it is healthy and hardy to our

area. Oak leaves do this all the time but they are very hardy here. Fire blight disease

is on the rampage all over the Prairies. It's early control can be difficult unless appropriate steps or treatments are done in the early spring. Rarely do gardeners

do proper fertilizing and the product labels on packages are dismal in terms of

providing proper instruction. Certainly when done right timely fall and spring fertilizing does help the plant deal with numerous growth issues over time." See Mike's information re spring and fall fertilization on the Contact page.

That's it for now and will keep you posted when there is more to tell you. Remember without your help, your garden may not have been doing as well as expected and

will do even more poorly if you aren't giving it some serious TLC this fall. BTW:

some woody plants that once did well, aren't and some that were considered tender/previously unlikely to survive our harsh winters; eg. Smoke Bush

('Grace', 'Royal Purple') and a Curly Willow without ANY special attention, are doing

just fine. That said I intend to pay them a LOT of attention; after this summer,

whatever is in store, all plants are seriously stressed or IN distress!!!!!!