Calgary Garden Coach

spring garden clean-up tips

If you are itching to get out and do yardwork this week-end, go for it but don't go crazy!  It is still early days and we want to keep our plants well-insulated for quite a while longer.  This means don't be removing any winter mulch just yet, and definitely don't be walking around on muddy garden soil, which will destroy soil structure.  (Actually, some people recommend not even walking around on the lawn when it's soggy but if you know me, you know I don't care much about lawns!) 

If you haven't pruned your shrubs yet, that is certainly something you could get done this week-end.  Don't prune spring-blooming shrubs like lilacs (you'll cut the flower buds off!) and wait to prune shrub roses until late May or even early June as their tips usually die back and it's easier to see what wood is alive/dead once things are leafing out.  Here is a recent post of mine on pruning, with lots of links to extra resources.

If you're starting to cut back your perennials left standing for the winter, just remember not to tramp around on your garden soil.  This year, I am trying composting in place.  Which means I will be chopping up my leftover perennials into little bits and leaving them in place on the ground.  This makes free mulch!  It will look a little messy in early spring but the plants will soon grow to cover the old stuff.  As my garden gets bigger and bigger I have realized I need to use as many low-maintenance gardening techniques as possible.  Why tote all the dead material over to the compost bin, turn it over all summer (which I never get around to doing anyway) and then when it has sufficiently decomposed, dig it out and spread it back over the garden?  Life is too short.  (Besides, to be honest, I never got around to emptying my compost bins last fall so there is nowhere to put all the dead plant material this spring.)

Above: as I cut these clematis vines back, I am chopping them into small pieces so that they will provide a mulch and eventually compost in place.

seeds! plant seeds!

I have been just a wee bit distracted lately.  I started a few slow-growing perennial seeds back in February and the poor things are so neglected that I'm not sure they're even worth keeping (but of course, I will anyway!)  So my daughter K made me this sign and hung it on my chair so that I will see it each day and remember not only to check on my poor little seedlings but also to plant more.  Thanks K!!

The reason I'm so distracted is that I work at Mount Royal University and my program is going to get cut.  I could be out of a job in a year.  This may not seem like a big deal to most people but if you work in academia, the jobs are typically few and far between, and finding a new one almost always means moving.  I won't rant about it here except to say that the provincial government is seriously hurting post-secondary education - both quality and access.  Do you have teenagers finishing high school in the next few years?  You should be worried.  Have you written your letters to your MLAs?

Anyhoo, let's talk gardening 'cause it's a lot more fun!  Here's a list of popular articles I've written about seed starting:

• My seed-starting setup - This post describes what I do to start seeds, and the how and why of it all.  There are also lots more links on the bottom of the post.
• Vegetable gardening in Calgary 101, which includes notes about raised beds and square foot gardening, and
• When to plant vegetable seeds in Calgary, which is one of my most popular posts.
• How to winter sow - an alternative, zero-energy, low-maintenance way to start seeds.

You can also browse through old posts under the category "seeds".

one day I'm pruning shrubs in a T-shirt, the next day looks like this!

Welcome to March in Calgary!

It's too early to garden so here's some online reading and inspiration for you!

It's another nice day today!  And this is about the time of year that everybody starts saying "it feels like spring".  Of course, seasoned Calgary gardeners know better than to get their hopes up too high!  I might get a little more pruning done this afternoon, and I have started some seeds and placed some online plant orders (more on that soon!)  But now is about the time of year I try to start finishing up inside projects and spring cleaning because I know once late April comes I will want to spend all my time gardening! 

So, what can you do for the garden if you can't stop thinking about it this early in the year?  Here's a little online reading for you.  If you've been following me on facebook you will have seen these links already.  Here's what I've been fb-ing about over the last month or so:

Gardening tips for this time of year

Real Arborists are True Professionals - So true and so sad. I've seen many crimes against trees! Get a real arborist, people!

The Perfect Pruning Project

Bring Home your New Baby (tree, that is) - buy local, and if necessary, have it delivered!

Planting Time - Get your garden started with seeds

Garden Design

5 Essential Considerations for a Landscape Design Project - Can't decide which I like more - the awesome brick fireplace (pic#2) or the simple, rustic firepit (pic#5).

Great Design Plants - a Bevy of Beauties from the Meadow - I have this plant in my garden and recommend it for a sunny, not-too-dry place. I like the idea in this post about using the stems for bee houses!!

Garden Color - How to Landscape with Purple - The catmint, alliums and salvia described in this post are some of my favourite plants for sunny Calgary gardens. Lupins... not so much. They can be aphid magnets!

Monochromatic Garden Magic done 7 ways - What do you think about colour schemes in the garden? I'm torn. I recognize that a colour scheme can really pull things together. But I also like my garden to look not quite so... intentional.

Give curb appeal a self-serving twist - Here's an excellent garden design post. Personally, I am much more concerned with how my garden looks from the house than from the street!!

The Best Time to Design - Does your garden look pretty today? "Design your garden for deep winter. It will be pretty all year."

Where do we Go from Here? - excellent planting plan tips from a local garden designer, including the primary importance of considering function!

Where do we Go from Here Part 2 - more good stuff, particularly about choosing trees and underplantings, with lovely local photos

The Form of Things to Come - columnar forms in the garden, again using many local garden examples

The Form of Things to Come Part 2 - local trees which add pyramid and vase shapes to your landscape

Sustainable gardening

Get on a Composting Kick - Everybody should compost, not just gardeners!!

Extend your Growing Season with a Cold Frame in the Garden - Lots of online talk already re starting seeds and extending the growing season. Oooh, I can't wait!

Gardening for the birds (and bees and everything else) - Not an urban farmer? There are lots of other good reasons to garden.

Growing Edibles

Sprouting Seeds - My kids like sprouted seeds with cream cheese rolled up in tortillas - easy snack!