The Citizen, 1987-05-13, Page 15THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 13, 1987. PAGE 15.
------Green Thumbin* --=
Nature can cover up many problem areas
When planning your landscape,
consider using ground covers in
those areas where grass is difficult
to grow - areas that are heavily
shaded or steeply sloped.
Birds bring yard alive
If you want to build a birdhouse,
bird feeder, canopy, trellis or
fencing or to replace screening,m
every project described in “How to
Build Birdhouses and Outdoor
Projects” is easy to do.
With this book as a guide, you
can do your part to help the birds
around your home. It shows how to
build four different birdhouses,
including a large purple martin
“apartment”, a wren house and a
bluebird house, as well as two
different bird feeders.
Construction of each house
needsonlysmallpiecesof scrap
lumber. Full-size patterns of im
portant parts make the work easy
and fast.
“Ground covers are available in
a variety of colors and textures and
many bear flowers and fruit,” says
Horticulturist Anna Ballantyne of
the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture
and Food’s Consumer Information
The book also shows you how to
build a post-and-rail fence, a
Colonial picket fence and a board
fence with matching gate. The 14
outdoor projects include a canopy,
side trellis, roadside sign, planter
box, rural mailbox rack, lamp and
post and more.
To simplify cutting curved parts,
pickets and the roadside sign to
exact shape required, full size
patterns are provided.
To order How to Build Birdhous
es and Outdoor Porjects (Easi-Bild
Book No. 807) send a cheque or
money order for $9.95 plus $1.50
postage and handling ($11.45
total) to Carpentry Corner, Dept.
807, c/oThe Toronto Star, 8-56
Bramsteele Rd., Brmapton, Ont.
r aw TN4 Make cheaues oavable
Centre in Toronto.
When choosing a ground cover,
keep in mind the fact that many
ground covers require at least a
season-and-a-half before they be
come established.
Duringthisinitialperiod, itis
important to keep the area free of
weeds by hoeing or hand weeding.
For banks or sloping areas,
choose plants that grow close to the
ground and root easily; the mat of
roots that forms helps control
erosion along banks and sloping
areas.
Ground covers perform best in
fertile, well-drained soil.
And since ground covers are
permanent plantings, it is advis
able to prepare the soil before
planting.
Ground covers generally fall into
three categories: herbaceous per
ennials, annuals and woody
ground covers.
Examples of perennial ground
covers are: Bugleweed (Ajuga
rep tans), Crown vetch (Coronilla
varia), Candytuft (Iberis semper-
virens) and Mosspink Phlox (Phlox
subulata).
begonia, impatiens, petunia, por-
tulaca and sweet alyssum.
Some woody ground covers are:
Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-
ursi), Skogholm Cotoneaster
(Cotoneaster dammeri “skog
holm”), BigleafWintercreeper
(Euonymus fortunei vegetus), En
glish and Baltic Ivy (Hedera helix
Decorate your
lawn and Garden
this year with a ...
Lawn
Ornament
% x------------------------ -------- -
/Drop in and see Diane at...
j* -aAuburni Auouni —■ i
a ^Lawn and Garden
Ornaments
Main Street, Auburn - 526-7513
and H. Helix baltica), Juniper
Glauca (Juniperus horizontalis-
var. “Glauca”) and Periwinkle
(Vinca minor).
This is only a partial list of the
wide range of ground covers that
are available to the homeowner.
Check with your garden centre for
more information.
We have a
wide selection
of acrylic/
latex finished
figurines to
choose from.
Slug
those slugs
CLINTON FARM MARKET
Join us this weekend in celebrating our
To control slugs in the garden,
try the “beer-in-a-plate-rimmed-
with-salt” trick, says Horticultur
ist Ruth Friendship-Keller of the
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture
and Food’s rural organizations and
services branch.
Thebeerwillattractthe slugs
and as they crawl over the rim of the
pie plate, the salt will dehydrate
them.
Tips for
keeping
cut
flowers
1. Flowers should be cut and
brought indoors in the bud stage.
2. Most require being placed in
lukewarm water (the use of florist ’ s
cut flower nutrient would be
helpful). Tulips however, demand
a slightly different treatment.
Wrap fairly snugly in newsprint,
etc. which will help keep them
straight and plunge into cold water
for an hour. Air blocks in the stems,
causing drooping heads, are also
something to watch for. This
problem can be helped by pricking
just below the head with a pin.
3. Remove any leaves that would
be underwater. This helps keep
the water cleaner. Cut, do not peel,
leaves off as it would damage
stems.
4. Cut stems at an oblique angle
with a sharp knife (not scissors).
5. Do not crowd flowers when
arranging as they will quickly lose
their freshness.
6. Put in a cool spot overnight
(below 15 degrees C.)
7. Keep arrangement away from
fruit as any escaping gases will
cause wilting of the flowers.
8. Always put narcissi and
daffodils in their own containers,
as they give off an excretion that is
not tolerated well by other flowers.
9. Don’t spray arrangements
with water indoors, as warm
temperatures wiL cause brown
spots.
3rd ANNIVERSARY
NOW IN OUR NEWLY - EXPANDED STORE
Fresh Cut
ONTARIO ASPARAGUS
10 lb. Bag
129
i • lb.
139
■ • lb.
Produce California .79HEAD LETTUCE
Neilson's 4 Litre Bagged
2% MILK
299
... siss
9" Round Pot, Assorted Flowers
PATIO
POTS
Mixed Flowers, 10" Pots
PATIO POTTED PLANTS
HANGING BASKETS
•Non-Stop Begonias
•Ivy Geraniums
All our
PACKAGED
GARDEN SEEDS IU off
Fresh Baked Daily
FROM OUR OWN BAKERY
•Breads ’Meat Pies ’Fruit Pies
•Rolls • Squares ’Cream Pies
Special Prices expire at closing time Saturday, May 16, 1987.
You'll enjoy the convenience of our newly expanded
produce showrom.
CLINTON FARM MARKET
212 Victoria St. (Hwy. 4 South) Clinton
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK 9 AM - 9 PM
EXCEPT SATURDAYS 9 AM - 6 PM \