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The Rural Voice, 2004-05, Page 38• NAPOLEON O0444db1:4,0 04 - GOURMET GRILLS ULTRA CHEF SERIES � Economy and quality! ,iHeavy Duty porcelain rod RADIANT Igrates WAVE stainless From steel sear plates. 5388. .--.,° • NAPOLEON • PRESTIGE 1 SERIES PorcelainHEATWAVE rod cooking grid LIFTEASE " roll-top lid. Durable tubular stainless steel burners. Infrared rear From burner model 5599• available. Plus FREE COVER — , (rear burner model extra) - NAPOLEON- APOLEON•PRESTIGE PRESTIGE2 SERIES Electronic ignition. Contour doors. STAINLESS ,,_„ STEEL _, -- HEATWAVE grids. INFRARED REAR burner. COMMERCIAL duty —. From rotisserie. , 5999. • NAPOLEON ` Plus FREE COVER APOLLO Award Winning Charcoal Grills No lighter fluid required. Direct and 1 - , indirect cooking option. Convenient From ash pan. 5188. -NAPOLEON` G'OL / CY1 L ELECTRONICS APPLIANCES HANOVER LISTOWEL 364-1011 291-4670 Mon. - Wed. 9-6 Mors. - Thurs. 9-6 Thurs. - Fri. 9-9 Fri. 9-9 Sat. 9 - 6 Sat. - 9-5:30 Sun 10 - 5 34 THE RURAL VOICE Gardening Where are the natives? Rhea Hamilton - Seeger and her husband live near Auburn. She is a skilled cook and gardener. By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger As I was preparing a presentation on native plants I grew more and more disturbed as I contemplated the non - natives in my garden. I hit the search engine and found all sorts of information on what is native and what is not, and one particularly informative paper, A Strategic Plan for Managing Invasive Plants in Southern Ontario by Donna Havinga and the Ontario Invasive Plants Working Group. They realized first off that prevention is the most effective Tong -term solution but went on to offer both regional and local actions that not only groups but also individuals could consider. One of their lists (and they have a number of helpful lists) was the priority invasive plants in Southern Ontario. These species are top of the list for control but this may be difficult considering the area they occur in and how they are spread. I scanned the list and have four of them in my garden. Yes, two are a real problem that I will be on my knees digging away at this season, and one other that I manage with select pulling out in the spring and fall. And the fourth I must admit I do enjoy but will cut before it goes to seed. Can you guess? Yes number one is gout weed followed by crownvetch. Enough said. Dames rocket, hesperis matronalis, is a striking spring bloomer often mistakenly called spring phlox due to its tall showy pink and lavender hued heads. It shamelessly seeds itself down all over the yard, driveway, and fringe area and sets out next year's plants during the summer. A bit of judicial plucking keeps its numbers down. I must admit I would hate to see it all go as it brightens up lonely corners of the yard that otherwise would be inviting burdock to move in. The last for me on the list is the Canada thistle, Cirsium arvense, which has wonderful purple fuzzy flowers in the late summer that attract gold finches. Yes I know the finches contribute to the great plan of spreading seed and I vow to whack the plants over before they have a chance to go to seed. I have a new crop of them in the edge of the lawn that will • not even have a chance to bud up. Native plants were here before European settlement and have adapted to the wide range of soil and weather conditions. They "know the land" as it were and can put on as great a show as any import. In these times of water and fuel conservation it just makes sense to garden with plants that will reduce your heartache, workload and increase your pleasure of success. One of my gardening heroes is Lorraine Johnson. She has encouraged gardeners to look their environment with a more practiced eye. Take a critical look at what is successful in nature and then pursue that same plan in your own garden. On any tour of a garden you can hear plans about what plant will be moved where and what needs to be done. Constant change. But when not instigating change, gardeners like to sit back and enjoy the view. What better plan than to implement ways and means to do just that. Using native plants in the right location will land you in that chaise lounge quicker that you can say "I like that". To that end, look up Lorraine's books. She has written several on native plants and is a regular contributor to Canadian. Gardening magazine. She has shown natives to be just as exotic and wonderful as other plants from around the world. Not only does she offer lists of plants to work with, or rather seek out, but also the politics and the new way of determining plant communities. Recreating the woodland garden may involve a lot of trees or just a lot of buildings casting shade that will replicate the lighting of a woodland.