It pains me to see customers spending hundreds of dollars on new plants and simultaneously refusing to spend a few more on a bag or two of compost and a box of starter fertilizer. These two items are not unnecessary “add-ons” that the retailer is just trying to add to the sale, they are critical components of a successful transplanting process - or as I like to refer to them as “plant insurance”. Unless you have phenomenal soil, you should always add compost and starter fertilizers when you are planting new plants. Here is why…
Okay, this title is probably a bit more dramatic than it needs to be. The truth is, that while I lost a ton of new plants from last year’s plantings, both from the record heatwave in the summer and the colder-than-usual winter, I probably planted too many in the first place and would have thinned out several of them anyway. Just the same, I think I would have preferred that I made those decisions and not Mother Nature. So much for the illusion that we are in control of our gardens…
Last week I pontificated on the ramifications of the recent winter storm. We discussed frozen roots on container plants, broken limbs on trees and shrubs, disfigured evergreens, and frozen buds. In retrospect, that all sounds very depressing, but please don’t despair - I am pretty sure the worst is behind us. Here are a few more, hopefully uplifting, thoughts on what to look for in assessing the extent of winter damage in your garden….
The Golfing Gardener
Trevor Cameron
I often tell gardeners in our region to rediscover their “Evergreen State”, which (in a play on words) simply means to show some gardening style with the structure, texture and color of conifers. Around here nature has the many shades of green covered, but how about some bold blues and bright yellows? When all of the deciduous shrubs and trees have…