April In Your Garden 2011

At least its April showers not April snow drifts!
Ladies and Gentleman let’s rock and roll!
Spend time in your garden daily, even if it’s only a little bit of time and it’ll make your life a lot easier.

Lawns

When the ground isn’t too soggy, you can mow.  Don’t scalp it.  You know who you are!  Never cut more than one third of the height of the lawn.  If you have any relatives back east phone them while you are mowing.  It’s funny to hear them yell. 

If you haven’t done the lime/aerate/topdress/overseed thing yet, you can when its dry.  You can fertilize towards the end of the month.

Trees and Shrubs

Fertilize with appropriate food towards the end of the month.  Cut tree circles for trees in the lawn and mulch to avoid weedwacker damage.  Spend a bit of time with a cup of coffee sitting near a tree.  It’s interesting to see the birds, our crows especially tearing off twigs and bits of moss for nests.

Still time to shuffle some things around if needed and it’s a fantastic time to plant.  If you are needing some edible landscaping, the bareroot fruit trees are instock for a about another week. (3rd week in april - after that they will be potted)

Perennial beds

Dahlia Flower

Tidy and topdress.  Be careful when you are raking and cleaning that you are not damaging emerging plants.  Fertilize towards the end of the month.  

Still time to shuffle around the garden beds and to divide up perennials. 

You can plant most of the summer bulbs as well as Dahlias towards the end of the month again, as long as the ground isn’t waterlogged.



Crocosmia 'Lucifer'

 Some of the hardier perennial corms and packaged roots like Crocosmia, Liatris and Hostas can be planted any time and are a great value for your dollar. 

If you’re quick and you have the right place for them you can still get some specialty perennials like the lovely Trillium – there is even one with a bit of a chartreuse speckling on the leaves.

If I don’t get to them first, you may also be able to nab one of the packages of Bletilla striata – hardy ground orchid.

Ponds

As it warms up towards the end of this month you can begin planting.  Get your ponds running and feed your fish once they start becoming more active.

Veggie gardening

Plant your onion sets, broccoli, carrots, cabbage and some of your lettuce crop  once it dries out.  If it gets too cold and miserable don’t rush the planting.  Remember what happened last year!!

Rhubarb Plant

Check raspberry posts, add manure to your Rhubarb, lime around your apple trees, sawdust or pine needles around your blueberries and tidy up your herb borders.

Check your seeds and fertilizer situation. 

Tidy out your garage shelves…never know what you might find.

 Make sure you are ready and most of all, make sure you take some time to enjoy this crazy spring.

 

This Post Was Written By:

Laurel O.

Your Garden In December

Snow Covered Red Holly Berries at Art's Nursery

 Sheesh, you would think everybody is busy enough in December without us telling you about more to do! But since you're here reading...

• Check stored tubers and bulbs. Shake them up, remove moldy bits, add more shavings and if you have some handy, shake on some Cinnamon – it’s a fungicide and mighty tasty one at that - but I wouldn't eat it afterwards!
• Check drainage in outdoor pots after that first bit of snow. If there is too much water build-up move under an overhang.
• You can prune trees and shrubs now. There are some good pruning resources you can check out http://www.treesaregood.org/ for some excellent information on pruning trees and shrubs as well as your local library, or come on in and see us and we can give you some great tips as well as set you up with the proper tools.
• Mist house plants, check locations, some may need to be moved away from drafty windows. Use pebble trays to increase humidity. Fill tray with pebbles and place under the drip tray of a house plant. Add water to pebble tray, water evaporates from the increased surface area of the pebbles, increasing humidity right around the plant.
• Trees, shrubs and hardy perennials can be moved as long as the ground is not frozen or waterlogged. New planting can also be done at this time.
• For a bit of indoor sunshine, get your indoor forcing bulbs now. Paperwhite Daffodils and Amaryllis are by far the most popular
• You can still plant outdoor bulbs now as well as long as the ground isn’t frozen or waterlogged.
• Stock up for our feathered friends; locate bird feeders where you can watch them. Art's carries a nice selection of bird houses and bird seed but for an even wider selection the local Wild Bird's Unlimited is awesome!
• Be kind to yourself, take some extra time to relax, have your vitamin C and D and bring in some winter bouquets from your garden.
• Catalogues, catalogues, catalogues. Place feet on comfy stool, grasp catalogue in both hands and…relax. Daydream and plan for next year. Draw, clip pictures and browse the web for some great ideas.

Enjoy, give yourself a pat on the back for another garden year under your belt and take time for yourself. When we have some good weather days, go for a walk in your local park or botanical garden and check out the winterscapes.

This Post Was Written By:

Laurelle O.
Laurelle is an ex, former, recovering landscape designer, heritage apple tree lover, part-time horticulturist at Art's Nursery as well as guest blogger. If you've got a question about apple trees, she's the local guru! You can get in touch with her through Art's Nursery

Steve Whysall 2011 Garden Calendar Available At Art's Nursery

Vancouver Sun's garden writer Steve Whysall has released his brand new 2011 garden calendar.

Entitled 'In The Garden', this beautiful calendar is filled with gorgeous photos, gardening tips and more. It also includes many coupons and special offers from Art's Nursery and many other great local independant garden centres.

Pick up your copy at Art's Nursery for only $11.98. Makes a great Christmas gift too!

Mr. Whysall also publishes a blog which you can read here