Index

"Hi, this is me literally standing in one of many novice gardeners' learning

curves; what 'big, tall, native, wild, aggressive' means. In this case, it is

the Jerusalem Artichoke or Prairie Potatoe. They, my two potatoes, grew

to 9' in one season and 15 years later tubers still produce plants through

cracks in pavement. So read in advance, check labels: aggressive,

spreading, rhizomes, 'native' (that'sa tricky one) are things you want to

avoid although, for a year, it sure was pretty. Note too, assertive plants

will move into adjacent properties so caution should be taken not to infiltrate neighboring gardens with your mistakes. DO NOT PULL them at the root

as it will only encourage more growth than you can possibly eliminate

by weeding; instead cut off at the ground. Eventually they, in theory,

will die from lack of photosynthesis (light) and if your "assertive" plants

(eg. Gout Weed) flower, cut the blooms before they go to seed as they

will spread through your garden and many others!"

A little tip: if you see something you like growing in the back lane or in

every yard in your neighbourhood, for starters, you don't need to BUY it.

Somewhat a 'week-end' warrior project, Ona's back yard

became the place she's been dreaming about for quite a few years. The half dead, lumpy lawn was hidden beneath a

thick layer Samborski vegan-compost and covered with

a carpet of fresh sod. The access path from her back gate

to the sidewalk alongside her house was placed whimsically, meandering through the grass. Her new,

large patio is made up of more than 50% found material

and other left whole, or not, slabs from a big box store. Her meditation garden (above) is calm, tranquil, and soon

the big rocks we haven't quite figured out how to move

from where they are to where they need to be, will

compliment Buddha and the mountainous vista we believe

we accomplished! She's added a few tweeks of her own

and is looking forward to spending some time in it NEXT

summer!

On a personal note, in 1991 I opened a small shop selling old furniture and curios; I had stuff so I sold it. Whether damaged or nasty looking,

each was turned into and object of desire to someone. Self taught and determined, I became adept at refurbishing and refinishing and paid

my bills by auctioning off the larger, more expensive pieces and selling the rest along with flea market, garage sale and garbage finds. Thanks

to the faith and generousity of a kind and trusting stranger, Ron Peake, Charlotte's Place opened its doors and the rest is history. Naming the

store was quite the debate; friends were full of suggestions but as I'd decorated with my stuff, it looked like Charlotte's place, hence the name!

Serving a tough market for just over two years, I met and married Will, closed the shop and began working on his gem-in-the-rough house and yard;

to a decorator, a dream space. As the house transitioned, the grass became noticeably a very big, albeit healthy and well manicured, blob of green

inside the chain link fence, another issue of contention. Seeking solace from grief at the loss of a loving friend to cancer, and revisiting her joy

when receiving the tiniest garden posy awakened something inside and whatever happened at that moment, I literally blossomed.

My railroader husband came home to a reasonable portion of his manicured lawn lying in a huge heap (now one of many berms) and asked what

I was doing. "Gardening!" "But you don't know a thing about gardening!" "What has THAT got to do with anything?" may or may not have

been said aloud as I forged on, believing the 'how' would just come to me just as I saw it in my mind; there's little difference between it and interior

decorating. Patiently working and waiting, it became the restful 4 season garden it is today. It's an amazing space we share with our dogs and is

used all year round. Gardening is cathartic, healing to the body, mind and soul, and many heartaches have been buried in that field of gumbo. It's

an excellent physical work out too. Today our garden, front to back, is as much a part of our home as the living room and is used in ways not

thought on that first day. It has evolved into a winding series of courtyard gardens, now entirely paved, with vantage points, vistas and restful

places to sit quietly or share conversation with friends. The perennial beds and trees are still comanded to "be small" and create a unifying,

seamless transition connecting the boulevard to the back gate, and from the outside in. It leaves us far removed from the city's bustle when in our

tiny, old St. Boniface 'Eden'. Neither the house or yard were obviously special, but the naked potential was and today they have been written of

in various newspapers and magazines; there is absolutely "no place quite like it". Gardens are all about hopes and dreams. Hope is always alive in

a garden. Initially, without a clue how to start a garden, today I design for others and teach landscaping and interior decorating classes at various

school divisions through their continuing education programs. Remember your yard is as personal a space as your home and you should follow

your heart. If what you've done makes YOU smile and happy, then it's not about someone else's opinion unless you're asking. Advice is a good

when you're stuck for ideas but ultimately the place you spend your time in is the place you call home, inside or out. If criticized, don't invite them

back; gardeners are quick to volunteer what they think is the (their) best idea and are often too opinionated! Remember too, Nature is a force

to be reckoned with; 'She' is unreliable, unreasonable, unforgiving, relentless and unkind but oh, the wonders she will show you and the breaths

she'll take away. In one of myriad incredible moments you may witness the first sighting of a hummingbird or witness a flower as it opens almost

in front of your eyes. There is magic out there, you need only believe in it to see! A side note: white and green are definitely colors in the garden

and sometimes, it's all you need or want; that's up to YOU!!!!

Trees one should never plant in our soil by Winnipeg's Michael Allen October 2011

QUESTION: What five trees would you never plant in city private yards?

ANSWER: I would never plant any variety of poplar or willow on a typical city lot. Schubert chokecherry trees are dying from black knot disease, for which there is no cure. I am not a fan of Siberian elms, mostly because of the excessive numbers of seeds they produce each spring. The beautiful European mountain ash is having a problem with coping with fire blight disease. The disease has been very aggressive this year and many trees need removal. I would not plant this tree.

QUESTION: Every spring, the underside of the leaves of my Siberian variegated dogwood shrubs become a haven for thousands of aphids. They seem to make the leaves curl, making it impossible to get at them. What can I do?

ANSWER: Without doubt, aphids seem to favour this variety of dogwood. I suggest you get a Bug Blaster, which I know is available from Lee Valley Tools store. If you have Internet access, you can look it up online. There's a slight angle to the long tube that connects with your water hose. This tube allows one to reach underneath the leaves of shrubs. It looks like a golf club. It works very well by spraying a 360-degree stream of water which, when directed to the underside of the leaves, will knock of the immature aphid nymphs. These nymphs cannot fly so they fall to the ground and stay there until they die. Nymphs cannot crawl up the stems to find the leaves. It's very important to do the spraying as soon as the leaves start to emerge from the winter buds. Continue to spray each week faithfully at least until the end of June. Keep checking for aphid activity.

QUESTION: My Amur maple looks sick. The leaves are turning yellow and the branches have been dying. What can I do?

ANSWER: Prune out the dead twigs and branches and fertilize the tree next spring with a mixture of nitrogen-based fertilizer, such as 24-8-12

(2 Tbsp) and add iron chelate (2 Tsp) powder in a pail of water. Fertilize in mid-May and fertilize again in mid-June. I would remove all of the grass from under the branches and cover the soil with fine wood-chip mulch to a depth of 5 to 7.5 centimetres. Spread one pail of this fertilizer solution

very slowly over two square feet of the wood-chip area. If, for example, you have an area of 12 square feet, then you would need six pails of the solution. The fertilizing program will need to be repeated next year and the year after, at least.