Calgary Garden Coach

cool season veggies planted… before the snow!

At this time of year I usually chuckle at the people complaining about the weather.  As an experienced Calgary gardener, I always say - don't get excited about spring until at least early May and then you won't be disappointed!  Okay, well it's early May and my garden still looks like this:

Argh.

But before we got this big dump, I did manage to get my cool-season veggie seeds planted:

My spinach, kale, lettuce, peas, chard and arugula were planted on Apr 27 and, unlike me, they will be completely unbothered by this weather!!

For resources on vegetable gardening in Calgary, see my posts: 

• My edible gardens
• spring garden clean-up tips

• 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.
• preparing and amending vegetable garden soil
• excellent resource on northern vegetable gardening

the front Welcome Garden in May - ready for mulching

On the long week-end I spent several hours doing a thorough weeding of the front garden.  I don't know about you, but I'm vowing things will be different this year.  In past years, I've had so much renovating to do each spring that I never actually took the time to get on top of the weeds.  But now is the easiest time to do it - the plants are still small so it is easy to reach between them to pull the weeds out.  And better to do it now before any of them set seed and create a million more problems to deal with later.

So, before I start painting the new fence, before I start working on the new patio in the backyard, before I level and plant that pot in the photo above, I'm going to attack every last weed in the garden (well, okay, maybe I'll level the pot 'cause it looks terrible!)  And then I'm going to order a big load of mulch and spread it everywhere, which is going to minimize future weeding and also do great things for my soil and plants.  It's the sort of investment I should really have done earlier but I was having too much fun moving plants around and creating new garden spaces. 

While weeding and mulching doesn't sound very glamorous, and isn't nearly as much fun as planting new plants, it will soon pay off in terms of the size and health of the plants in my garden (mulching helps conserve moisture and insulate the soil),  not to mention the fact that it keeps the garden looking neat and well maintained.  So stay tuned - the garden is going to look amazing this year!

This week in the vegetable garden...

It has been crazy busy in my world but at this time of year, somehow I always find time for my garden!  Last week-end I got the raised beds set up by topping up with fresh compost and worm castings, and putting the strings in place for square foot gardening.  This week I got many of my seeds in and then last night after supper (isn't it nice to be able to spend time outside after supper!?!?!) I put the plastic over my boxes to make mini-hoop houses. Bring on spring!

If you're interested, here is how I built the hoops and then I attached the plastic with clips from Canadian Tire.  Here's a close-up:

It ain't pretty but I think it will work!

Are you gardening this week-end?  Other things I expect to be doing over the next few days are finishing cutting down last year's perennials and getting ready for a new back fence to be built next week. Oh, and perhaps a little plant shopping.  ;-)

What are you up to?  You may find these resources useful:

• My April 2012 garden to-do list (we are WAAAAAAAAAY behind last year so this list is still appropriate for this week-end!!)
• spring garden clean-up tips

• 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.
• preparing and amending vegetable garden soil
• excellent resource on northern vegetable gardening

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!

it's a great week-end to start pruning!

I did a bunch of shrub-tidying yesterday and might do a bit more today - although my right hand and forearm are very sore so I should probably take a rest!  But pruning is a great excuse to get outside on such a beautiful week-end, to get something accomplished in the garden... and avoid facing housework (indoor housework that is, garden work never feels like work to me!)

February is the beginning of pruning season in Calgary.  Here is some further reading and inspiration for you:

From my archives:

• February (and March) are good times to prune.
• I don't get the prune-shrubs-into-a-ball-shape thing.
• On thinning and rejuvenating shrubs.

Recently on the web (follow me on facebook to get these regularly):

• The perfect pruning project (shrub pruning tips from Garden Buzz)
• Real arborists are true professionals (tip: you may want to leave the tree pruning to someone who knows what they are doing!)
• Rocky Mountain Gardener's February checklist (pruning and seed planning tips from Houzz)

fall leaves in the garden - more than just pretty colours!

I sure am enjoying the colourful view of my neighbour's crabapple, mountain ash tree and dogwood shrubs at the moment!  I planted my own little Saskatoon shrubs this year which will add to the fall colour in a few years when they get to a more substantial size.

But while I am enjoying the beautiful colours, I am already scheming about what to do with those leaves after they've fallen.  Each year at this time I wish I owned a shredder so I could chop them all up into little bits which would make even better mulch for the garden.  But each year at this time I have already more than blown my gardening budget for the year.  So I do not yet own a mulcher.

The leaves I do have, I rake onto the garden for the winter.  I also check the local leaf drop off regularly and sometimes manage to snag some pre-chopped leaves to put on the garden!  If not, I choose bags of small, curly leaves such as birch, which make better winter mulch than big flat leaves like poplar. 

In any case, I certainly do not get rid of my own leaves! They are extremely useful for winter mulch and for adding nutrients to the garden.  You may think you are being a good environmental citizen by taking your leaves to the drop off, but leaving them in the garden has a zero footprint and provides nutrients for your soil.  So don't bag 'em unless you want to make leaf mold!

You can read about leaf mold and how I first got hooked on stealing leaves here:

What did you do with your extra hour? ... and how to make leaf mold in a bag.

And read more about the benefit of leaves on the garden here:

After the Party's Over on Garden Buzz

everybody's talking about bulbs!

It's bulb-planting time!  I don't care how time-strapped you are, you can find time to put in a few bulbs and I promise you that you'll be glad you did come spring! 

My own best piece of acvice for you - skip the "bulb planter" devices and use a shovel.  Dig a large hole and plant groups of 7 or more bulbs in the same hole.  Your spring flowers will make a much bigger show this way than a few isolated bulbs scattered around with big spaces in between them.

Here's some more good info for you:

from Garden Buzz - good, local information on bulbs that do well in Calgary (hint: there's more than tulips!):

How Many Gardeners Does it take to plant a bulb?

 

from Jim Hole - more local information with tips for extending the tulip season

Dig Deep Now for Waves of Spring Colour

 

from Garden Rant - suggestions for forcing bulbs

Let the bulbs begin

 

Calgary Garden Coach's September 2012 garden to-do list

This sudden change in weather may be making you feel like the end is near.  But it's only the beginning of September and the garden still has a lot of life left if you've planted with fall in mind!  In fact, I enjoy being out in the garden at this time of year when it's not so bloomin' hot.  And I have plenty of ornamental grasses and fall-blooming plants to keep the show going into October.  Also, if you're not happy with some aspects of your garden right now, this is a great time to make changes while ideas of what worked and didn't work in the garden this year are still fresh in your head.  And it's easier to get the spacing of plants right when they are full-size at the end of the season, rather than teensy little sprouts in spring, so get out there and start digging!

Personally I am feeling a little rushed as there are plenty of things I want to get done before the end of the season. I am still plugging away on my to-do list that I posted last month (the cooler weather is another reason why it's a good time to be moving plants - less stressful on the plants.)  Here are some other things to be doing in the garden this month: 

TREES & SHRUBS

Slow down on any watering and definitely don't be fertilizing or pruning trees and shrubs at this time of year!  In fact, stop watering trees by mid-September to allow them to start to get ready for dormancy.  See this article for more information.

EDIBLES

Eat, eat, eat!  Man, I'm going to miss my fresh garden veggies this winter.

Plant garlic ASAP.

Pull up vegetables such as peas and beans as they finish, to save time later.

Top up vegetable garden areas with compost as plants finish.

FLOWER GARDENS

Not much to do here except maintenance unless you're making changes - a little weeding and a little edge-cutting, and that's about it.

A few shade plants such as bleeding hearts and ferns have already gone dormant from the summer heat.  Cut down their browned leaves to keep the garden tidy.

It's an especially good time to move/plant spring bloomers such as peonies.

Start planting bulbs - I'm putting in some orange tulips in the front garden this year, so will have to be vigilant with the bloodmeal or cayenne pepper to keep the squirrels away.

LAWNS

Don't ever ask me for lawn advice.  My lawn is in such bad shape I've only had to mow it twice all season!  If I cared, I might aerate, topdress with compost and overseed.  But let's face it, it's not going to happen.  Some day when the major garden re-design work is "done", I'll give the lawn some TLC...

 

Do you make "garden to-do lists" on your vacation? I do!!

I was out of town and offline for a few weeks on vacation and it was truly restful to have the space away from garden and work.  In the garden, I think I burned myself out with 2 major projects in spring: installing hoops in the veggie garden raised beds, and prepping and planting the new front entry garden (including removing countless wheelbarrow loads of red shale mulch! It just about killed me...), and I hadn't been feeling very motivated to do much else.... until now.

After the first week of holidays I was ready to think about gardening again! There is much I want to accomplish but I don't have a lot of time this fall, so it was time to make lists and prioritize. What would make the most sense to get done first, and what can be accomplished in my limited spare time?  Some areas need thinning, and others need re-working (for example because I have a new colour scheme in the front garden), and other areas are still in early development.

 

Above: this area of the Adventure Garden has barely been touched since planted in 2008, and needs some thinning.  That poor, crowded blue oat grass cannot be seen in its full, symmetrical, blue glory!

Primarily, I will be moving some plants around to get ready for some more major projects next year.  Fall is a great time to move plants because the weather is getting cooler so it's less stressful on the plants, and there's still plenty of time for them to get their roots established before winter.  Not only that, but it's much easier to place plants in fall when they are big, rather than trying to remember in spring how much space that tiny, newly growing plant is going to need!  So get out there and make some changes this fall!

Here's my list, and I've already started:

North patio garden

• Move festuca glauca from front welcome garden to under trellis (done)
• Add a 'Sem' sorberia shrub
• Move some lily of the valley from front of house
• Stain chairs 
• Clean north patio and prep for building a new patio next year

Side garden  

• Move one rosa glauca from back shade garden (done)
• Move pink yarrow from front welcome garden (done)

Back shade garden

• Move mini asiatic lilies from front (done)
• Move some yellow creeping jenny to back shade garden & orchard (done)
• Add 3 dogwoods, weeping crab and 3 Russian cypress

Front shade garden

• Move epimediums and bugloss in front shade garden (done)
• Move yellow loosestrife from front welcome garden (done)
• Move goat's beard from back shade garden (done)
• Move arch and re-route downspout
• Re-route path under arch

Front welcome garden

• Remove purple campanula glomerata, the nasty spreader! (done)
• Edge front sidewalk to prep for laying brick edging (next year) - use soil for planting junipers

Front entry garden

• Move nannyberry and deschampsia to front near rain barrels
• Move paprika yarrow to new location
• Move more blue centaurea montana from back garden
• Move pink cranesbill to back of adventure garden

 Adventure garden

• Weed (I haven't done it in AGES)
• Thin bearded iris (anybody want some?) and move some Siberian iris 
• Remove wild rose (spreads like crazy!), move a piece to back alley by compost 

 England (the main edible garden area)

• Remove raspberry by compost, move to back alley by downspouts
• Transplant 2 columnar junipers from Adventure Garden
• Re-space cherries and honeyberries
• Edge lawn by bench
• Replace and stain arch at entrance to England

 

cut new edge between lawn and the front Welcome Garden - check!

I am slowly making my way through my spring gardening 'to-do' list... better late than never!  As I have said before, I am not a fan of black plastic lawn edging.  It looks yucky, it is a pain to install, and it doesn't even work that well!  Plus, for me, a gardener who is constantly changing her garden (read: removing more and more lawn to make more garden space), I rarely want would to commit to something permanent like that.  And finally, it is really not that much work to cut a clean edge once or twice a year (once if you're me, twice if you're a perfectionist) with a half-moon lawn edging tool. A sharp, fresh edge looks so much nicer than a strip of black plastic, in my opinion.

This garden is a work in progress, but right now you will see iris germanica, white shasta daisies, purple catmint and yellow-flowered sedum Kamtschaticum in bloom.  To see this garden at other times of the year, click here and scroll down.

what I'm doing in the garden this week-end

Hooray for spring weather!  Everybody's talking about what's coming up in their garden and to be honest, I have barely been out in mine yet - it's been too cold at the times when I have had time.  But not to worry, it is still early and there is no rush. Here's what I hope to get done this week-end, in order of priority:

• Prepare the raised beds for spring veggie planting (if I'd been on top of this I could have been planting by now!)  This means digging out the perennials that overwintered there and putting them in pots for temporary homes, adding brackets so that I can put hoops over the garden to make a temporary greenhouse (this also means a trip to a hardware store - ugh.) and topping up the soil with good compost.
• Start cutting down the perennials that were left standing over the winter.  
• Start pulling the mulch of fall leaves back from the base of growing perennials.
• Set up the rain barrels.

For more details, see my April Garden to-do list.

my April 2012 Garden to-do list

There seems to be a new trend this year where I don't get around to posting my monthly to-do list until closer to the middle of the month!  Ah well, there hasn't been to much to do yet anyway, so I haven't been feeling too motivated.  Some people are already excitedly checking their garden for signs of plants popping up, but in my shady and heavily-mulched yard, there is not much happening yet.  I have however, just finished cleaning the windows so thoroughly that I feel like I'm going to fall out of my house!  (That will be about the extent of my spring cleaning!)

With windows out of the way, it is time to start poking around the garden.  Here are some yardwork tips for April:

Perennial Gardens:

• Finish pruning if you haven't already done so (see my February to-do list for more details)
• Start pulling back winter mulch (dried leaves) from the crowns of growing perennials, but don't remove it entirely until May, as those ladybugs need places to sleep!
• Start cutting back perennials left standing for the winter (this is spring's biggest job for me as I have A LOT of perennials, so I'll still be doing this into May.  But I start in the sunniest, hottest areas of the garden and do the coolest, shadiest spots last.)  Note that there are a few perennials such as bergenia and spring-flowering clematis which shouldn't be cut back!
• Once exisitng plants are growing, you can start moving them around the garden if you like.  I have been known to start moving plants at the end of April, but there's no rush for this.  This year, I have a few perennials overwintering in the veggie garden that I'm going to have to move by the end of the month (see below.)
• I've started plenty of seeds of large, ornamental annuals to fill up the big, new garden area I've got in the front yard.  It's not too late to start your own!  Lavatera and nicotiana sylvestris are two of my favourites to start this month.
• Pansies can be planted out in pots now, for a shot of spring colour.  And yes, you can leave them out to -5^oC!!

Vegetable Garden

• Plan the veggie garden in terms of what is going where, and how much of it.  Practice crop rotation for a large garden, or if you have a small, square-foot-gardening style garden like me, crop rotation practically takes care of itself by making one small change to the design.  Plenty of info can be found here in Vegetable Gardening in Calgary 101.
• I direct-sow all my vegetables (except tomatoes, of course!) so I'll be topping up my raised beds with my own worm castings and store-bought compost to get them ready to plant in early May.  See this post When to Plant Vegetable Seeds in Calgary.

Seedlings

• I have quite a few seeds already started on my shelves in the basement.  Here is a good post if you're wondering how to take care of your seedlings.

Misc.

• Set up rain barrels.
• Clean, level and fill bird baths. 

 

pansies - first flowers of the year!

I was at the garden centre over the week-end and couldn't resist picking up a few pansies to put on my front and back steps.  These annuals are super hardy and once hardened off, can be left outside at this time of year.  Hardening off means gradually acclimatizing these soft, greenhouse-accustomed plants to the outdoors by starting to put them outside on a relatively warm day in a sheltered spot for short periods of time, and gradually increasing the exposure and amount of time.  The afternoons should be fairly warm starting tomorrow so I'll ask my kids to put them out for a half hour or so starting tomorrow afternoon. 

I love seeing flowers on the step when I come home from work!  It's been too long!

my March 2012 Calgary garden to-do list

Sorry, I'm a bit late for this post.  I've been busy.  To tell the truth, for me, March and April are all about getting something else done before gardening season starts in earnest.  I should really clean out those kitchen cupboards.  And the storage room.  And probably the laundry room.... And hang those curtains in my daughters' room that I've been working on for a year... you get the idea!

But I do have plenty of seeds already growing in the basement and will be starting tomatoes in mid-March.  And I do not kid myself.  Whenever the weather is nice and the snow is gone, I will drop all my indoor chores for the chance to putter outside.  The kitchen cupboards may never get cleaned, but here are some things I might get done in the garden this month:

 PUTTERING OUTSIDE

• Some tidy-up pruning of trees and shrubs could still be done this month, and I like to get this job out of the way before things get busy.  Don't prune lilacs and other spring-blooming shrubs though, or you will remove this year's flowers!
• Prune and thin raspberries
• Stay on patios and stepping stones as much as possible (don't muck about on wet soil, walking on it will compact the soil)

from the archives:

• February (and March) are good times to prune.

• I don't get the prune-shrubs-into-a-ball-shape thing.
• On thinning and rejuvenating shrubs.

SEEDS and VEGETABLES

• It's still too early to start most vegetables inside this month, but I have already started some ornamentals in February and others in early March, and will be starting tomatoes in about a week.
• For the seeds I've already started, I'll be pinching them back to just above the first pair of true leaves this month to keep them short and strong.

from the archives:

• 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, and
• When to plant vegetable seeds in Calgary
• How to winter sow - an alternative, zero-energy, low-maintenance way to start seeds.

HOUSE PLANTS

• They still don't need too much watering, but an occasional half-strength fertilizing wouldn't hurt, if you do nothing else.  I put my worm castings in my house plant containers so I rarely use synthetic fertilizers any more.

Are you thinking about gardening yet?

If you would like a beautiful and successful garden that nourishes your body and soul, view My Services for consultation details.

new garden on a budget - early March 2012 seed starting list (ornamentals)

I am starting many more seeds than usual this year in order to help fill out the big empty area left in the front entry garden now that 2 huge spruce trees have come down.  Eventually I hope to have mostly perennials in the area but they are more expensive and take longer to reach their full size, so in the meantime I will be filling the area with lots of easy-to-grow-from-seed annuals.  Every year I also start a few new, less common things just for experimentation.  In February I started iceland poppy, lagurus, and 'marble arch' salvia, and here's what I'm starting in the next couple of weeks:

• linum perenne lewisii (blue flax) - this perennial is easy to start from seed outside in spring but I'm impatient for bigger plants so I'm also starting some indoors this month;
• echium vulgare 'blue bedder' - never grown before but I'm trying it for the blue flowers; apparently doesn't like transplanting so I have started these in peat pots;
• melinis 'Savannah' - never grown before; an annual grass with pretty pink plumes, I'll probably put this in pots;
• agrostis nebulosa (cloud grass) - never grown before; another annual grass I thought I'd try this year;
• cosmos 'Polidor' mixture - a yellow-orange-red mixture to fit the front garden colour scheme;
• cosmos 'Sonata' - a pink-white mixture for the Adventure Garden;
• lavatera 'Mont Blanc' - more white flowers for the front entry garden;
• lavatera 'Silver Cup' - a gorgeous pink variety for cutting;
• verbena bonariensis - I grow some every year for the Butterfly Potager; I am starting some indoors and also winter sowing some, to hedge my bets, because this plant is notoriously difficult to start from seed;
• ground cherry - the only edible I grow that needs to be started this early; similar to tomatoes in culture.

 The next thing to start will be tomatoes in mid-March.  Are you gardening yet?

 from the archives:

• 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, and
• When to plant vegetable seeds in Calgary
• How to winter sow - an alternative, zero-energy, low-maintenance way to start seeds.

If you would like a beautiful and successful garden that nourishes your body and soul, view My Services for consultation details.

February 2012 seed report

February is the start of gardening season for me, despite the weather (although this year, I don't think we have anything to complain about... yet), and despite the possibility of up to 4 more months of snow...!  I can keep myself from going crazy at this time of year, and it's because I start seeds.

Here are iceland poppy, lagurus (bunny tail grass), and 'marble arch' salvia under lights in my basement.  Aren't they cute?

I've written a lot about starting seeds in previous years, so this year I'll just give you the links.  But let me just emphasize, that one of the keys to success is starting seeds at the right time.

• 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, and
• When to plant vegetable seeds in Calgary
• How to winter sow - an alternative, zero-energy, low-maintenance way to start seeds.

I also grow sprouts all winter long, which my kids devour.  They're yummy rolled up with cream cheese in a tortilla!  I can't grow them fast enough, actually.

But to be honest, I'm out in Kananaskis country this week and not thinking of seeds or gardening much at all.  Really, how can you not love winter with a view like this?

Calgary Garden Coach's February 2012 garden to-do list

This weather has been great for getting outside!  What with the warm weather, and the new space opened up in my front yard, I can't help starting to think about gardening!  Believe it or not, there is plenty you can do in February in Calgary.

Garden planning

I've already written about my plans for the patio I need to build in front of the new trellis, and the front yard entry garden I will be planting this year.  For more articles on gardening planning from my archives, try:

• How do I get rid of my lawn?
• How to make a large, new perennial garden on a budget.
• Garden planning: front yard garden design.
• My favourite plants for a sunny, low-maintenance front yard garden.
• What can you do in a Calgary zone 3 garden in mid-March?

Seeds and Vegetables

• I've almost finished my seed shopping but it's not too late to start if you haven't yet!
• Stifle the urge to start seeds too early.  Look at the package for recommendations regarding how long before the last frost date (May 23, for us Calgarians) to start seeds and calculate backwards. Organize seeds packs according to planting date.
• See my previous posts: vegetable gardening in Calgary 101, and  when to plant vegetable seeds in Calgary
• I am trying a few slower-growing plants this year so will be starting iceland poppy 'solar fire', salvia 'marble arch', and bunny tail (lagurus) indoors sometime this month.
• See this post on how to winter sow for an alternative, zero-energy, low-maintenance way to start seeds.

Houseplants

•  with the days getting longer, house plants are starting to wake up now.  I'll gradually increase watering and start light fertilizing of houseplants next month.

Trees and Shrubs

• Right now is prime pruning time for most deciduous trees and shrubs (but not spring-blooming shrubs such as lilacs!)  I plan to get outside this week-end to do a little pruning of overgrown branches here and there. 

• February (and March) are good times to prune.

• I don't get the prune-shrubs-into-a-ball-shape thing.
• Since I keep my shrubs in a natural form, pruning mostly involves cutting back a few older or overgrown branches at ground level and doing some minor re-shaping each year.  See this post on thinning and rejuvenating shrubs.

 

If you would like a beautiful and successful garden that nourishes your body and soul, view My Services for consultation details.

winter garden to-do list: snow farming

Winter finally hit Calgary this week - I walk to work and I finally had to dig out my gloves and hat a couple of days ago!  It has been a long, mild fall so I'm not complaining one bit.  I'm extremely busy in other parts of my life right now (job, family, gearing up for Christmas) so it's actually nice to take an enforced break from gardening.  I will start blogging more again in the new year.

In the meantime, there's not a lot to do in the garden these days except shovel snow.  Remember to shovel it onto your garden, not the street where it will be wasted...

...even my three-year-old knows that!  (I don't usually post photos of my kids but you can barely see her in this one anyway so I figured it was OK!)  She's a great little helper!

time to water the trees!

http://adairtreecare.com/posts/watering-trees-in-the-fall-in-calgary

on fall leaves and watering trees

The Mountain Ash tree in my back shade garden is finally starting to change colour.  It is such a gorgeous tree!  I feel very lucky to have it.

And in case you're not following the Calgary garden talk on facebook, here is a recent post I linked to about how to water your trees in fall.  Basically, stop watering in mid-September .  Once deciduous trees have lost their leaves, water once more with a soaker hose under the drip line.  Water evergreens in late fall just before the ground freezes as they use water throughout the winter.

And speaking of leaves, here are a few links regarding using fall leaves in the garden.  Don't let those valuable leaves go to waste!  Rake them onto the garden, add them to the compost bin, or bag them up and make leaf mold!

• How to make leaf mold in a bag from Calgary Garden Coach, Nov 2009
• Leaves valuable as mulch, compost from The Columbus Dispatch
• Making leafmoud - gardener's gold from growveg.com

fall leaves in the garden - up to my old tricks!

Ever since I noticed my neighbours putting their leaves in the garbage a few years ago, I have been "rescuing" other people's bags of leaves.  Why?   Because I only have one decent-sized deciduous tree on my property (but many, many spruce) and I don't have nearly enough leaves as I (or the kids) would like.

So I rescue other people's bags and first dump them on the back lawn for the kids to jump in for a while.  When they've tired themselves out, I mow the pile a few times with my push mower to chop up the leaves, then I start dumping them in the gardens for mulch.  Technically you should wait until the ground has frozen to put winter mulch down, but when you're a busy gardener who works full-time and has kids, you do things whenever you have the chance even if the timing isn't optimal!

I've written about the benefit of leaves before - they are high in nitrogen and they insulate the soil from our wild temperature swings and drying winds in wintertime.  This past spring I didn't even bother to clean them up!  You are supposed to remove winter mulch in order to help the soil warm up faster in the spring.  Again, here I don't follow the rules and maybe my garden is a week or two behind in the spring, but minimizing work is a higher priority for me!  Dried leaves don't look as pretty as fresh, clean soil does but you can put some compost on top of them in the late spring for a cleaner look.

I even save and reuse the garbage bags from the bags of leaves that I rescue!  I'm sure the neighbours think I'm crazy, prowling the back alleys and lurking around the leap drop-off area, but I really think I'm doing the world a favour!

ack! frost warning tonight!

Here's a good, quick summary of what to do with your vegetable garden when frost threatens.

my September garden to-do list

I don't know about you but at this time of year, I almost want the garden to DIE ALREADY! 

No, did I just say that?  This just happens to be a busy time at work for me and I don't have any time to be out in the garden these days, and having to water the vegetable garden daily in this heat wave is getting to be a bit of a chore.  On the bright side, thanks to this heat I am getting a great crop of yummy tomatoes which is the only thing keeping me motivated right now!

But enough of my grumpiness - it only comes from not having time in the garden.  There are a few things that still need to be done this month and a few more that it would be nice to get done if the weather holds out and I can make the time:

TREES & SHRUBS

• Water regularly until a hard frost.  This is best done with a soaker hose laid around the drip line (directly underneath the tips of the outermost branches).
• Only prune dead wood at this point so as not to encourage the plants to expend a lot of energy producing fresh growth.

VEGETABLE GARDEN

• Water, water, water! 
• Eat, eat, eat!
• I have some alpine strawberries I started from seed this year and are currently in a pot.  Once there is a little more empty space in the veggie garden, I'll plant them there to overwinter.  The veggie garden is a great spot for this kind of thing.

PERENNIAL GARDEN

• I leave most perennials standing for the winter except a few that look tatty (I've already cut bleeding hearts and ferns down, which were going dormant) or that don't stay upright and/or turn to mush over the winter (bearded iris, daylilies will be cut down this fall)
• Edit!  Now is a great time to move perennials as they are big and it's easy to space them out well.  I have a few things to move around in the Adventure Garden - within the next week but as soon as this heat wave is over!
• Re-edge the beds.  This makes things look much nicer during the times when we don't have snow cover!
• Top up mulch.  This is something I know I won't get to but I should.  For now, I'll use leaves as they come available for a temporary winter mulch.  Then, next spring once I've finished moving a few more plants around, I plan to get a big order of compost to topdress all the beds. 
• I personally can't make it to the Plant Share this week-end but that is a great place to get free plants that you know will be hardy here!  (Paula, I have some iris for you if you still want some... I'll email you!)

COMPOST BIN

• Empty out the finished compost and spread it around the garden.  I never have enough though, which is why I'll order more in spring.
• Keep feeding the worms in the worm bin!  I gotta say, they are the most productive and low maintenance pets you could possibly imagine!

 If you have more time than me, there are a few other things you could do listed on the Horticultural Society's website.  Have fun!

strawberries, and peas, and tomatoes, oh my! - the edible gardens in late July

We have had a bumper crop of strawberries this year!  I grow a perennial "June bearing" variety.  Who knows whether it was all the rain this spring, or the worm castings I topdressed the bed with, or just the fat that the plants are more mature now... or all three?  But this is the first year we've had enough strawberries for a family of five - in the past the kids picked them all before the adults had a chance! And the alpine strawberries that I started from seed this spring have some nice green berries on them so we still have more strawberries to look forward to.

The snap peas have been yummy as well but the birds have had more than their share.  Note to self: use netting on the peas next year! And I've even picked a few Sun Gold tomatoes already (no picture because I always eat them before I bother to go get my camera) which is the first time I've harvested tomatoes that I've grown myself from seed in July.  I'm sold on Sun Golds!

Above: the entrance to 'England', my veggie box area with honeysuckle blooming on the still-waiting-to-be-replaced arch (it's on the to-do list.)

Above (clockwise from top left): marigolds, lettuce and rainbow swiss chard; cherries ripening in my "orchard"; nasturtiums with foliage of kohlrabi, carrots and parsley; more cherries; marigolds, lettuce and chard; scarlet runner beans, red orache, beets, lettuce and tomatoes.

What are you enjoying in your garden right now?

 To see what's good to eat in my garden at other times of the year, and how the garden has evolved, click here and scroll down.

the front Entry Garden in late July

It appears that I have two different varieties of purple aconitum (monkshood) in the garden to the right of the steps - one is tall and blooming, the other is shorter and doesn't have any buds on it yet.  There are supposed to be three in front of the chimney and two to the right of the railing, below, but you can't tell, can you?  Note to self - re-arrange them next spring and put the three tall ones in front of the chimney. And only one more chance - if the short ones don't bloom next year, they're out.

To see this garden at other times of the year and how it has evolved. click here.

time to deadhead the shasta daisies - the front Welcome Garden in late July

They're so pretty even though they're weedy - mine seed everywhere if I let them!  Which actually means they aren't shasta daisies anymore because shastas are supposed to be sterile.  Shasta daisies can revert back to the parent plant, ox-eye daisy, which is a weed.  So even though they're pretty, I cut these back as soon as the first flush of flowers is starting to finish so that they don't seed all over the place.

How do you tell the difference between a shasta and an ox-eye?  Well, it can be difficult.  Especially since reverted shastas can crossbreed with ox-eye, resulting in a hybrid that is difficult to distinguish from either parent, and can also be invasive.  One presenter I listened to once said that the ox-eye has a spoon-shaped leaf and the shasta a tongue-shaped leaf, but then showed photos the opposite way around, so even she seemed confused!  And pictures of the ox-eye leaves from Alberta Invasive Plants look tongue-shaped if you ask me.  In fact, what I have is probably a hybrid and thus I cut it to the ground before it starts to set seed just to be safe.  But technically I should probably get rid of it.

Other perennials also blooming right now: blue salvia 'May Night'; several varieties of achillea (yarrow); campanula glomerata; nepeta (catmint) 'Walker's Low'; veronica spicata 'Sunny Border Blue'; potentilla 'Miss Wilmott'; and an unknown variety of white phlox which is just starting to flower.

To see this garden at other times of the year and how it has evolved, click here.

My July 2011 garden To Do list

OK, so this list is a week late!  Can you blame me with the weather we've been having?!  I really can't believe how much "summer" we've had.  It feels like we've already had more than we did all of last year!  And with all the rain this spring and now all this heat, things are getting big and, well, a little out of control.  There are a few areas where I haven't got around to weeding yet, a few delphiniums that should have been staked ages ago (but so far haven't flopped over), and a clematis or two that I haven't been diligent enough in making sure it climbs its trellis (next year I SWEAR I will put chicken wire behind the trellis so the clematis won't need my help...I have meant to do this for several years...)

There are also a few projects underway in my yard, which is why I haven't got around to posting my July list yet... more on those soon.  Otherwise, July is a fairly low maintenance month and it's mostly about eating from the garden and enjoying the flowers.  Hooray for that!  But here's what I'll be doing at least a little of over the next few weeks:

TREES & SHRUBS

• prune the lilacs as soon as they're finished flowering (or else risk cutting off next year's buds)
• I planted a lot of new shrubs in the front this spring, and even though they are drought-tolerant varieties, shrubs need extra water the first few years to get established.  So I've been watering regularly.  Even established trees and shrubs need water after 2 hot weeks, so if you haven't watered yours yet, it wouldn't be a bad idea!

EDIBLES

• I'll be finishing the spring spinach soon and eating lettuce as fast as I can - I sure am a healthy eater in the summer!
• when the spinach is done, I'll probably sow some more carrots and beets for harvesting a young crop as well as the spring-sown one
• Eat, eat, eat.  Weed, weed, weed.  (**strawberries should be ready to pick soon! mmm!)

ORNAMENTAL GARDENS

• There are a few things like perennial bachelor's buttons and perennial geraniums that I cut back hard after they have finished flowering.  They'll look ugly at first but much tidier later than if I hadn't cut them.
• Deadhead annuals regularly and perennials when they have finished flowering.  In the case of annuals this promotes more flowers, for most perennials it just looks tidier.

LAWN

• Ugh.  My lawn gets worse every year.  I haven't done anything for it.  But I don't see the point at least until the major construction projects around the yard are finished.

COMPOST

• The pile should be watered regular in this weather - which I just remembered when I noticed how dry mine was the other day.  I've had rodent problems before so I am vowing to water and turn regularly from now on.

What are you doing in your garden this month?

rainy day post

I did a little planting this morning in the rain!  This qualifies as obsessive compulsive gardening behaviour, I'm sure, but after a week away in May and a week away in June, I am behind in my planting and I just couldn't help myself!  It's not good for the soil to walk around on it while it's wet, but I did it anyway.  I've only a little more to do now and I will be done for the season but then it started raining harder and I was forced to come inside...

Pictures coming soon!

And here's a funny post from Christine if you want a good laugh on a rainy day!

my June 2011 garden to do list

I'm happy to say I got a lot of planting done this past month, but now I had better start focussing on weeding before it is too late!  Those dandelions are just out of control this time of year, aren't they? 

On the up side, June is the month when Calgary gardens really start to fill out and are at their freshest and greenest.  The Saskatoons are blooming now, double-flowering plums and crabapples are just starting, and the lilacs will be blooming soon.  Gorgessity in the garden, finally!

Here's my to do list for June:

VEGETABLE GARDEN:

• I've seeded everything that I plan to until the spring produce (spinach, lettuce etc.) has been harvested, so there's not much to do here except weed, and water regularly when necessary.  If you're still planting, check out my Vegetable Gardening in Calgary 101 post.

TREES & SHRUBS:

• I prune my roses in early June because they are only just leafing out now and it is easy to see the dead material that needs to be removed.  I posted some tips on rose pruning in this post.
• Lilacs should be pruned immediately after they have finished flowering.

ORNAMENTAL GARDEN:

• Deadhead (cut off finished flowers of) spring bulbs if they look messy but leave the foliage intact to provide energy to the bulb for next year.
• Weed, weed, weed.  Seriously, this is the month to focus on weeds thanks to all the moisture we get this time of year.  At a minimum if you don't have time, pull the flowers off weeds before they set seed so at least you have minimized future problems.  If you do this in June you will really thank yourself later, I promise.
• Re-edge the borders between lawn and garden if not done done already.  I think this looks so much better than plastic edging!  But I haven't done this yet, even though I believe it was on my April and May to-do lists!
• Top up organic mulch.  I've been using spruce needles (I have an endless supply!) and dried leaves around my shrubs, and compost in the perennial garden.  Not sure how much I'll get around to adding this month, but this could be an ongoing or a yearly job.  June is a great time for mulching because the soil has warmed up but the plants are still small enough that it is easy to get in around them to put down the compost or whatever mulch you choose.  Make sure the mulch isn't touching the stems of your plants.

the vegetable garden is planted - May 29 2011

The veggie garden is all planted, except for a zucchini seedling I'm keeping in a pot for a few more days until all risk of frost is over.  And sigh.  There's frost predicted tonight.  I wish I'd been more keen this spring and put hoops on my raised beds so that I could easily put a frost cloth over them.  But I didn't.  I was too distracted with doing other things in other parts of the garden.  And so now I am heading outside with sticks and sheets to cover the tomatoes.  It had better be the last time...

Rain, rain, go away!

But of course it's raining.  It's the Hort Society Plant Share and the Lilac Festival this week-end.

Fingers crossed for the last day of big rain today!

mid-May planting and transplanting

Not a lot of time at the moment but here's a quick update so you know what I'm doing in the garden this week-end:

I started seeds of calendula, nigella, kale, zinnia, kohlrabi, tomatoes and sweet peas indoors a while back, and I'll be transplanting them out into the garden this week-end.

I also picked up some starter plants of snapdragons and marigolds that I'll be transplanting out too.

And finally, I have more seeds of nasturtiums, scarlet runner beans, corn (a dwarf variety I thought I'd try just for fun, I'm not expecting much), lettuce and spinach to sow this week-end too!

What will you be up to?

hail protection advice?

Hello Janice!  First I would like to say thank you for running your website – I find it very helpful and pictures from your garden are so inspiring!

 I wanted to ask you advice on something. I am planning to put all my annuals and perennials out in the beginning of June and then I would be away for a week. Knowing that June our rainiest months with possible thunder-storms and hail I thought that covering my plants would be a great idea. But I can’t find anything what can be used as hail protection. I have checked in the stores like LOWES and Canadian tire (their garden departments) and nobody never heard about any kind of hail protection. They all saying: just cover plants with empty pots, and it would be fine if I would be at home….

 Then I searched internet and I was able to see some websites which offered very fine plastic nets which you stretch above plants, so sun light and rain go through but hail doesn’t. Great idea, but they only sell it for major growers, farms, vineries, etc. So, the amount of your purchase needs to be in hundreds of meters of that net, unfortunately lots in Calgary are not that big J

 Soooo, may be you can advise me from your own experience what can be used for protecting plants from hail damage….I am scared that all my hard work will just go wasted and when I come back I would be in tears.

 Thank you very much in advance and have a great spring!

 Sincerely, Kseniya.

Hi Kseniya,

 Thanks for the feedback and you are smart to think ahead!  Actually, I haven't ever used anything that is specific for hail protection so I can't speak from experience - but the hail we get here can be so strong that in some cases it is hard to imagine a thin screening material being able to protect plants without getting shredded itself or else the supports not being able to hold the load.  You could try window screening material as long as it is well supported.  That said, I haven't tried it, so maybe someone else will chime in...?

I tend to grow my most tender things in pots that can be moved, so if I am going away in the summertime (or if hail threatens) I put them all in a sheltered spot in the yard (eg. east facing).  The sheltered spot is also partly shady so the pots don't dry out as fast either, if you're going to be away for a while, meaning they don't have to be watered as often.  I think you're more likely to get help from a neighbour to water every couple of days rather than asking them to be responsible to run out and shelter your plants at any sign of bad weather.

Does that help?  If anyone else out there has advice, please chime in!

Janice

it's shopping time!

Flower alert - they're here!

I was at the Richmond Rd SW Canadian Tire location to pick up something totally unrelated to gardening and spent about a half hour walking around their garden centre admiring the greenery and smelling the flowers.  Wow, it feels good to see plants again!  It was also completely dead and very peaceful.  Ah, lovely!

I was tempted to buy everything of course, and normally at this time of year I do buy my annuals and spend a few weeks toting them inside at night just to get that extra time with them.  But this year I'm away for a week in mid-May (prime gardening season!  I'm not happy about it!) and it will be enough to ask hubby to take care of the veggies and seedlings I've already planted...  so I was good, I was very restrained.  I only bought a few snapdragons because they're frost tolerant and I'll be putting them in the ground this week-end.

They also had colourful tomato cages that I'm tempted to go back and pick up a few of.  Once I decide what colour I want...

But if you're out there let us know what beautiful and interesting things you see!

my May 2011 garden to do list

Yikes.  I have so much to do I have to sit down when I try to think of it all!  Thanks to the weather, I didn't get a start on my spring garden to do list until one week ago, so I am a little behind!  And May is the busiest gardening month of the year anyway!  OK Janice, take a deep breath, sit down and do some prioritizing.  Here's what you need to get done:

April to-do list:

•  Lightly rake the lawn with a fan rake.  The lawn has been pretty wet until now so I haven't done it yet.  Fortunatley, it's a small job as I have a small lawn.  Hopefully this week...
• Cut down last year's perennials.  Not a small job.  I only just starting doing this and I need to get it done in the next week because for certain plants such as ornamental grasses, it gets harder to cut the old stuff out when the new stuff is already growing.  And things are actually starting to grow out there!

Ornamental garden in May:

• This is prime perennial-moving and planting time.  I try to get all my major planting done this month as moving things in the heat of summer can be very stressful on plants.  Plus, June is our rainiest month so the things planted now are well-established and well-watered before they have to experience the hot summer.  I will be adding some junipers to the front garden this year and moving a few things around - stay posted!
• Gradually pull the winter mulch of chopped leaves off the perennial gardens.  Put them in the compost.
• Edge beds to make a clean line and define them well.  This makes such a visual difference!
• Weed, weed, weed.  Dandelions are already greening up out there and so is the grass, long before many perennials start to get big, so this is the easiest time to get in there and do a thorough weeding.  It may not be fun, but you'll thank yourself later if you get it done now!
• On warm days, put seedlings outside to begin hardening them off.

Vegetable garden in May:

• Sow veggie seeds all month according to this schedule - when to plant vegetable seeds in Calgary.
• Water daily until seeds have germinated.

Lawn in May:

• This is my lowest priority but since I'll have some extra compost lying around this year, I'll rake it over the lawn sometime after Mother's Day for a good, organic slow-release fertilizer.

the time to plant veggie seeds outdoors is almost here!

Ack!  Considering I just had the first 4 days of decent gardening weather so far this year, it is hard to believe it's amost time to start direct-seeding certain vegetables outside. (Actually I probably could have done it this past week-end if I'd been ready but I wasn't.)

Feeling slightly panicked, I just turned in 180L of vermiculite into my raised veggie beds on Monday, and then ordered some good quality "garden mix" from Western Canada Compost to top them up with this week-end so they are ready to plant.  I really should have done this last fall.

I hope to be planting beets, carrots, kale, lettuce, peas, spinach and chard outdoors next week.  How 'bout you?

For tips on growing vegetables in Calgary, see my previous posts:

• When to start planting vegetable seeds in Calgary
• Vegetable gardening in Calgary 101
• Vegetable gardening tips - notes from Square Foot Gardening
• What you need to know about building raised bed vegetable gardens
• resources specific to growing vegetables in Calgary
• preparing and amending vegetable garden soil

If you would like a beautiful and successful vegetable garden that nourishes your body and soul, view My Services for consultation details.

for the record: April 14 2011 in the am and still snowing... seriously.

 

my April 2011 gardening to-do list

It feels like winter will never end at this point, doesn't it?  But despite the disgusting weather, I am feeling energized and ready to get going in the garden as soon as opportunity arises (maybe that's because I was in Edmonton this week-end, where it was sunny and the snow was actually melting all weekend!)  I will be making some big changes this year and I am getting my plan ready for the whole season to try to make sure I can get it all done: totally rearrange the garden beds in the front yard in preparation for putting in a little patio next year (in May, the best time to move plants), fill and plant up my new raised vegetable garden beds that were built last fall (also May! yikes! things are going to get busy soon!) and build a lattice screen and small patio in the backyard (as soon as I can get hubby moving on this... July perhaps?)

So what needs to be done in April to prepare for all of this? 

Seeds

• Start more seeds: I will be starting seeds of some flowers such as rose campion, calendula and globe amaranth as well as kale and kohlrabi in early April, and some faster-growing annuals and veggies such as nasturtiums, sweet peas, lettuce in late April (seeds I've ordered for 2011)
• Take care of seedlings I started in February and March : the alpine strawberries are coming along particularly well! (my seed starting setup - it ain't pretty but it works!)

Garden

• Clean and fill the bird baths and bird feeders.  There is nothing like the sound of birds in the garden to make you believe spring is coming even when the weather doesn't feel like it!
• Sweep the patios - mine get covered with spruce needles, which I then use as a mulch in shrubby areas of the garden.
• Lightly rake the lawn with a fan rake once it is dry enough to walk on.  If you have snow mold this will help break it up.
• Pansies and violas can be put out this month, did you know?  I always like to take the kids to the garden centre to pick out a few pansies for each of them to pot up and put on the front steps.
• Cut down last year's perennials - I leave most of them standing for the winter.  
• Pull back mulch from the crowns of perennials that are starting to grow - but leave mulch in place, it's still too early to clean up!
• Set up rain barrels (late April...?)
• Rest up.  May is going to be busy!

From the archives:

• an Easter idea  - how about seeds and peat pellets in re-usable eggs for kids for Easter?
• what to do with Easter flowers - potted daffodils and Easter lilies can be transplanted into the garden
• Vegetable gardening in Calgary 101 - practical information such as when to plant vegetable seeds in Calgary as well as design issues such as raised beds and square foot gardening techniques
• the final cut - perennials that were left standing for the winter and still looked great in April 2010

Other posts you might find useful:

• the Calgary Horticultural Society's April to do list
• natural Easter egg dyes from Vegetable Gardener.com

If you would like a beautiful and successful garden that nourishes your body and soul, view My Services for consultation details.

my seed-starting setup: it ain't pretty but it works!

Everybody's talking about starting seeds these days, it seems!  Paula asked me in a comment on a previous post about my setup, and then last night on the phone a friend told me she'd gone to a seed-starting workshop but felt overhwelmed because she could never be "that organized".  It's not very hard, really!  (Do I look organized?  See picture below!)  But there are a few things you need to know for best chance of success.

Above: My home-made seed-starting shelf just happens to fit into a corner of the furnace room in the basement.  Sometimes it's hard to get to because so much junk gets shoved in here...  but I've currently cleared a trail.  Notice the bag of milk cartons "saved for a craft".  Anyway, I only have one light on at the moment since there are only a few seeds that I start this early (see below.) The seedling trays are sitting on boxes and egg cartons to raise them up as close to the lights as possible.  Very high tech.

When to start

This is one of the most important things to get right.  If you start seeds inside too early, they will get leggy (stretched) as they try to grow too high reaching for more light.  So first, check your seed package and it will say the number of weeks before planting outside to start the seeds.  If they are annuals, you don't want to plant them outside until around the last frost date, which is about May 23.  Frost-hardy perennials could be planted out several weeks earlier.  Make yourself a seed-starting timetable to keep yourself on target.  Keep in mind that lots of things can be direct-seeded into the ground in May - so don't make more work for yourself if you don't have to!  I start all my lettuce, spinach, chard, peas, beans, carrots, beets and more by planting seeds directly outside.

See my post, When to start Vegetable Seeds in Calgary

How to start

There are plenty of resources on the web and I've posted links to several before (also see the bottom of this post.)  You don't need fancy stuff - you can use almost anything as a container as long as it drains.  Basically, a heat mat (or warm place to germinate such as over the fridge) is necessary for some seeds like tomatoes (if the seed packet says germination at 20^oC or higher, you will want a heat mat.  For other seeds, it's just a nice-to-have and will start your seeds a little faster.)  If you are starting anything other than fast-growing annuals just a few weeks before planting out, then you will want lights as well.  Keep the lights on a timer set for 16 hours on per day, and keep the lights as close as possible to the tops of the seedlings.

Above: I discussed leggy seedlings in more detail in April 2009 when I noticed that a certain someone's lavatera seedlings (name withheld for protection!) just weren't doing quite as well as mine because they were growing in a windowsill instead of under lights.

Taking care of seedlings

So your seedlings have light and you're watering and fertilizing them regularly.  Duh.  What else do you need to do?  Thin them by transplanting and/or cutting out some seedlings that are growing too close together (I use nail scissors.)  Blow on them or turn a fan on them for a little while each day.  Seriously!  This strengthens the stems.  Things like tomatoes benefit from being replanted a little deeper in larger pots several times during the seedling stage.  Transplant anything that is getting too large for whatever container it's in.

Above: In March 2008 I already had to transplant my tomatoes into larger pots.

Above: By mid-April 2008, they were too tall for my seed-starting shelf so I had to move them to a south-facing window.  Obviously, they were not ready for planting outside at that time of year!  Now I don't start tomatoes until late March.  Gardening is all about learning from your experiences!

Hardening them off

This is the last step before planting seeds outside.  Basically, you want to get your soft, indoor-grown seedlings ready for the conditions outside - wind, stronger light, etc.  You have to do this slowly and it is essential!  Put them outside in a shady, sheltered spot for a few minutes each day, gradually working up over several days from about 30 minutes to a full day.  And of course, if you are planting them out in May sometime, there is always the risk of frost or snow after you have planted your tender babies outside.  Be ready to whisk pots into the garage or cover plants with sheets to protect them.  More on this in May!

Above: By late April 2008, I was putting seedlings outside on the shady porch on the warm days.  Yes, I know, I need to get rid of that awful astroturf-outdoor-carpet.  It's on the (very long) to-do list...

If you have other questions about starting seeds, post a comment here and I'll try to answer them.

From the archives:

• When to start Vegetable Seeds in Calgary

• for the record - first seeds planted for 2011
• seeds I've ordered for 2011
• How to winter sow seeds in a milk jug. (a super easy way of starting seeds I haven't discussed above.)

Other resources:

• Blogs and Blooms Video: How to start seeds  the message - it's easy!
• Blogs and Blooms Video: Transplanting your seedlings, including hardening them off - a critical step.

• How to winter sow seeds from Urban Sustainable Living
• sowing seeds indoors from Urban Sustainable Living
• 10 Seed-starting tips from Fine Gardening magazine
• Seed-starting strategies from Vegetable Gardener magazine
• Estimating viability - how long do seeds last? from A Way to Garden

If you would like help developing a beautiful and successful garden that nourishes your body and soul, view My Services for consultation details.

my March 2011 garden to-do list

I was just looking back at my March 2010 post and noticing how I said I love this time of year - still lots of time to dream of the new possibilities for the garden in the coming year, and just a little bit of excited anticipation starting to creep in.  Well, this year it's different.  I have big ideas and I can barely wait to get started!  I thought you were supposed to get more patient as you get older...

We took the decrepid, rotten greenhouse down last March and the spot waited, empty, for the rest of the year....  My husband has promised to build the pergola/playhouse replacement this year but I can tell I am going to have to take the initiative in the planning department if this is going to get done.  So this month I will be getting down to the nitty gritty details of the playhouse design.  Actually, it's only fair since he doesn't really care what it looks like but I do.  For me, designing a structure is not nearly as fun as planning a new front yard garden, but I will try to stay focused! 

For the regular, yearly garden-related stuff, here's my March to-do list:

• Don't expect to do anything outside until at least April to avoid disappointment!  We get the most snow in March.  And then if we do get the odd chance to get out and tidy or prune, it will feel like a gift.
• Start fertilizing house plants with a half-strength water-soluble fertilizer.
• Start seeds when appropriate i.e. do not, I repeat, DO NOT start seeds too early!  The average last frost date in Calgary is considered to be May 24 so count backwards from then to figure out when to start various seeds.  Information about number of weeks before the last frost date will be on the package. I've also posted a useful table about when to start vegetable seeds in Calgary.
• This year I'll be starting verbena bonariensis, agastache, castor bean and cosmos seeds in early March and tomatoes in late March. 
• Finish pruning dormant, late-blooming shrubs and trees.
• Raspberries can use a little tidying up now too if you haven't done so already.  Old canes that have produced fruit should be removed and anything thinner than a pencil can also be cut down to the ground. Newer primacane varieties that produce fruit on first-year growth should all be cut down.

From the archives:

• for the record - first seeds planted for 2011
• seeds I've ordered for 2011
• winter ain't over till it's over!

• What can you do in a Calgary zone 3 garden in mid-March?

• How to winter sow seeds in a milk jug.

• Happy St Patrick's Day and the benefits of clover

• Why hire a garden coach?

• What to do before a garden coach comes.

Other resources:

• How to winter sow seeds from Urban Sustainable Living
• sowing seeds indoors from Urban Sustainable Living
• 10 Seed-starting tips from Fine Gardening magazine
• Seed-starting strategies from Vegetable Gardener magazine
• Estimating viability - how long do seeds last? from A Way to Garden

If you would like a beautiful and successful garden that nourishes your body and soul, view My Services for consultation details.

my February 2011 garden to-do list

 Do you think there's nothing to do in the garden these days but sit around and wait for the snow to melt?  Not so!  (and in Calgary, let's face it, you would be waiting until at least June!)  Here's what I hope to get done this month:

 Seeds and Vegetables

• I've finished my seed shopping but it's not too late for you!
• Stifle the urge to start seeds too early.  Look at the package for recommendations regarding how long before the last frost date to start seeds and calculate backwards.
• See my previous post: when to plant vegetable seeds in Calgary
• I am trying a few slower-growing plants this year so will be starting alpine strawberries, cleome and painted sage (salvia horminum) sometime this month.

Houseplants

•  with the days getting longer, house plants are starting to wake up now.  I'll gradually increase watering and start light fertilizing of houseplants next month.
• I'm hoping to see the first blooms forming soon on the new clivia I got last spring! 

Trees and Shrubs

• Right now is prime pruning time for most trees and shrubs (including fruit trees, Carolyn! but not lilacs!)  In fact, I already got out a week ago when it was chinooking and cut back a few overgrown branches here and there.  I've a little more to do yet as the opportunity arises.
• Since I keep my shrubs in a natural form, pruning mostly involves cutting back a few older or overgrown branches at ground level and doing some minor re-shaping each year.  See last year's post on thinning and rejuvenating shrubs.
• see the Calgary Arborist site for professional information regarding pruning techniques and timing.

From the archives:

• It is time. (my February 2010 garden planning tips)
• February is a good time to prune.
• What can you do in a Calgary zone 3 garden in mid-March? (or February, for that matter!)

If you would like a beautiful and successful garden that nourishes your body and soul, view My Services for consultation details.

more on collecting leaves for the garden

In my October garden to-do list I mentioned saving/stealing leaves for mulching the garden.  Really, this is such a cheap, easy, and beneficial thing to do for the garden, I have no idea why everybody doesn't do it! And don't just take my word for it: Donna Balzer recently wrote about how leaves have more nutrients than manure and Nora Bryan recently wrote about how NOT cleaning up the garden is best practice in Calgary's climate because the plants left standing and the leaf mulch will catch the snow and also insulate our gardens against Calgary's drastic winter temperature changes and dryness (Chinooks).

If you haven't started, it's not too late to save leaves for the garden!  Here are some tips to consider:

• If you have lots of your own leaves, save them!  Rake them onto the garden.  It's better to wait until the perennials have died back so the plants don't smother under too many leaves, but a few leaves in between the still-growing perennials shouldn't hurt anything.
• If you've got extra, start a dedicated compost bin of just leaves, or do the almost zero-work method of turning them into leaf mold that I described in this post last year.  If you've got a lawn mower or mulcher, chop of the leaves first for faster decomposition, but it's not necessary if the leaves are small (see below.)
• If you don't have enough of your own leaves (that's me!), steal them!  I've taken bagged leaves from people's back alleys and also from leaf drop locations (before the leaf drop signs were up so technically that's not stealing, right?)  I am even picky about the leaves I take - pre-chopped leaves are best (you can tell because the bag will be at least five times heavier than a bag of unchopped leaves), and also clear bags are preferable because you can see what's inside (you want nothing but leaves, and smaller, curly leaves such as birch and elm are better than big, flat leaves such as poplar because the big leaves get matted down and don't make as light and fluffy of a mulch as the smaller ones do.)

I'm currently saving bags of stolen leaves to gradually mulch the whole garden as the perennials die back, and I've filled one cubic-yard-sized compost bin as well.  I think I've "rescued" at least 30 bags!  My friends and family think I'm crazy...  Do you?

More reading:

There is also some good information posted at Fine Gardening on this topic:

Fall Leaves Make a Great Garden Mulch

Get an Early Start for your Spring Garden

Improve your soil by Raking Less

fall garden chores in progress

With this wonderful weather I've been plowing through my October garden to-do list and enjoying the time outside in the fresh air with the wonderful smell of fallen leaves.

Lawn cut to lowest height setting on the mower, and raked.  Leaves and grass cuttings put in compost.

 

Raised beds in "England" getting ready for planting next spring.  I've finished laying the recycled patio stones but will put in some edging and gravel mulch between the stones next spring, as well as topping up the raised beds with triple mix.  If only these beds had been ready a little sooner, I could have planted a great late-season crop of lettuce and spinach and been eating it right now, thanks to all this good weather!  Ah well, next year...

What have you been up to?

my garden to do list, October 2010

There's not much left to do out there, but to just enjoy these last few days of beautiful weather!  I got some spring bulbs in last month, harvested the last of my veggies, and I've already started cutting down a few perennials - I leave most of them to stand for the winter except for iris, daylilies, hostas and a few others that just turn into a soggy mess. See last spring's post for photos of the some of the perennials that stay looking good all winter long.

But if I have time and the weather's good, here's what I'll be doing:

• watering trees and shrubs with a soaker hose (I've already started - with all our September rain they shouldn't need as much as usual but since I have so many spruce trees that suck up the moisture out of my yard, it wouldn't hurt to add just a little more.  Not sure if you need to water?  Dig a few inches below the soil surface to check.)
• cleaning and putting away containers as the annuals succumb to frost. 
• putting out a few decorative winter containers - some evergreen branches and berries on the front step, back porch and window box on the garage
• stealing leaves - I only have one medium-sized deciduous tree on my whole property (again, too many spruce!) so last year I took to stealing leaves from the neighbours to make leaf mold.  I'm hooked and determined to do it again!  I'll be using them for mulch and maybe (if I get greedy and steal enough) starting a designated leaf compost bin.
• mowing the lawn one last time - to the lowest height setting on the mower, and leaving the clippings on the lawn as usual.  Now would also be a good time to topdress with a thin layer of compost if you have time and energy, but I'm going to wait until spring.
• cleaning the eavestroughs once all the leaves have fallen.
• enjoying the downtime and planning for next year, of course!

for the record

Snow on the rooftops this morning.  Ew. 

my September 2010 garden to do list for Calgary zone 3

September is usually one of our best garden months in Calgary - if you can get past the occasional night of frost (and for the record, we had frost the night of Aug 29 - not in my relatively sheltered yard but I noticed the next day a neighbour's pot of impatiens in an exposed spot had been frozen!)

For me, I'm done holidays and back at my full-time job so the garden pretty much has to take care of itself these days.  Fortunately I grow mostly low-maintenance perennials which don't need anything from me at this time of year.  All I do these days is water/fertilize the veggies and annuals in containers, pull up the odd weed before it goes to seed, and maybe a little tidying of the flower beds now and then if I get a chance.  My real efforts at this time of year are usually focused around some big project getting ready for next year - last year it was cleaning out the greenhouse and this year's it's preparing the new raised beds.

But in any case, here's what we should be doing this month in the Calgary garden:

Trees and shrubs

• Hopefully you stopped fertilizing woody plants a month ago.  We want them to start hardening off at this time of year, not expending their energy on fresh, green growth.
• Give your trees a good soak at the end of the month.  This means putting a soaker hose around the drip line (directly under the outermost branch tips) and turning it on for a day.  Sometimes I'm lazy over the summer when it comes to watering trees, but I always make sure they go into winter in a well-hydrated state.
• No pruning at this time of year except for cleaning up any dead or diseased wood.

Edibles

• Pull out fading plants as they finish, to get a head start on clean-up (I've already pulled up my peas and beans will go soon too).  Chop them up and compost them, of course!
• Plant garlic bulbs (actually I did this a few weeks ago but forgot to mention it - sorry).
• Get blankets ready to cover the tomatoes and other tender edibles if there's risk of frost.
• From the archives: what to do with green tomatoes and ripening tomatoes.

Flower Garden

• I selectively deadhead perennials if they don't have showy seed heads or if they turn to mush in winter.  Sometime soon I'll do a post about which are the best perennials to leave standing, but in the meantime if you're curious leave a comment or browse through my Archives in the winter months to see what looks good at that time of year (I think I posted lots last January)
• I've already started cutting down woodland perennials such as bleeding hearts and ferns that go dormant by this time of year. 
• Keep deadheading annuals for maximum bloom.  While this cool, wet weather isn't great for my tomatoes, it sure keeps the annual flowers looking fresh!  The cosmos are going great guns right now!
• Plant bulbs - here's what I planted last year.
• Divide and replant older perennials and take some to the Calgary Hort Society's plant share (you need to be a member but it's well worth it!)
• Keep weeding!  It never ends, although when the perennials are so big at this time of year there's not much space for weeds.

And a constant reminder to myself to turn the compost bin.  I never seem to get around to it - it's in the back corner of my yard and it's out of sight, out of mind.  But I just finished digging mine out and found a mouse nest.  Ew.  More regular turning and watering would have prevented this.

two great plants for texture - rose glow barberry and blue oat grass

It's starting to feel like fall and now is a great time to take stock of your garden, make notes about what worked or didn't work this year, and make plans for next year.  It's also a good time to plant.  While in some ways it is more difficult to plant in fall because the garden is full and it's hard to squeeze in there and mess it up, I actually like planting and moving things in fall since everything is full size and it's easier to see how far apart things need to be.  It's just too easy to plant things too close together in spring when everything is still small!

Anyway, I just added these two plants to my Adventure Garden.  The garden is quite full but there are still just a few tweaks I want to make.  But anything new needs to meet some pretty strict criteria to earn a place here.  It has to have major structural interest and texture, and preferably an interesting foliage colour to provide contrast even when not in bloom.  In fact, I didn't choose these two plants for their bloom at all.

Berberis thunbergii ‘Rose Glow’ is a shrub which is reported to do well in Calgary.  I admittedly haven't had much experience with barberries  - I put a couple in the front garden a few years ago but the hares kept nibbling them to the ground and the poor things never had a chance.  (I've seen barberries on lists of hare-proof plants but let me tell you - they are not!)  The colour of this shrub is fabulous - a mix of mottled creamy-pink new foliage, dark purple older foliage and brilliant red fall colour.  I've planted it in a spot where it will be backlit in the evening and I expect it to truly glow.

Helictotrichon sempervirens (blue oat grass) is an ornamental grass which I already have a couple of, and I'm adding one more because I like it so much.  It's got foliage colour, good textural contrast, winter interest, and is low maintenance... what more could you ask for in a plant, really?  (OK, fragrance perhaps but that's just being greedy!)

Above: 'Rose Glow' Barberry in its new home with purple liatris and 'White Swan' echinacea