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HomeMy WebLinkAboutLakeshore Advance, 2013-11-20, Page 5Wednesday, November 20, 2013 • 'Lakeshore Advance 5 Community Digging, dividing, hauling 1 have been doing a lot of 'editing' lately. Not the newspaper variety: I leave that to brighter minds. 1 am up to my armpits in 'garden editing'. My 7 -year old dream garden in the country has been maturing, as it should. But Mother Nature knows no bounds and so, like a good Canadian gar- dener, 1 have spent much lime of late out there dig - dividing, haul- mg land htu 1- mg to my newly -hatched composter. This is the best time of year to dig up most perennial flowering plants and trove them (or give them away). Assuming that your perennial flowering plants have grown big and out of hand, taking over parts of the yard that they have no business in, now is the time to take control. Perennials that are particularly well-suited to divi- sion this time of year include hosta (every 4 to 6 years), peonies (every 8 to10 years), daylilies (every 3 to 5 years), and virtually all fleshy -rooted plants that tend to 'clump' as they mature. Let's use a mature hosta for an exam- ple. Dig up the entire root mass of the existing clump, being careful not to break the handle of your shovel or spade. Push the sharp blade into the soil and remove it without wiggling it until you have circumnavigated the entire clump. It is not as difficult as it Column Mark Cullen www.markcullen.com letter to the editor Bravo to Historical 'society Dear Editor, On November 9th, 1 attended the St. Joseph & Area Historical Society's community play In remembrance of the The Great Storrs of 1913. What a wonderful evening it was. Presented at Hessenland, and accompanied by a wonderful meal, Duncan McGregor's very artful play Is well thought out and presented so aptly by the cast and crew. Great music was provided by David Archibald and Roberta Walker,both of whom also took part in the play. Bravo to all who took part! Patricia Billington Deer Run sounds. Now 'pop' the clump, roots and all, out of the soil, You will literally hear a 'pop' as the remaining vertical roots -the ones that you diel not cut with the shovel - lose contact with the soil in which they had mule a donee over previous years. Now you are ready to 'divide' I filed the easiest way to do this is to just slice the clump like a pie, first in halt, and then I slice the halves in half again. I might do it a third time if the clump is big enough. The resulting 'wedges' will not take on the odd shape of a piece of pie. Much to my own surprise the developing clump that I replant where the giant clump once grew establishes itself in a very natural fashion, giving no hints to the casual observer that you took this rather geometric approach to the whole exercise. Lawn Food 'Ibis is the time of year to make your final application of lawn fertilizer. Use a formula that has slow release nitro- gen and is high in potash (the third number in the formula), which encour- ages deep, healthy roots. Right now your lawn is pushing natural sugars down to the root zone in an effort to support early spring growth. Fall ferti- lizer gives grass plants a hand. The result is a more winter hardy lawn that Mark Cullen appears on Canada AM every Wednesday moming at 8:40. He is spokesperson for Home Hardware Lawn and Garden. Sign up for his free monthly newsletter at www.markcullen.com is less susceptible to snow mould come spring. 'Ihis is the most important application of the year. Generally 1 do not recom- mend that you sanitize your garden. While a gentle clean up is helpful and more attractive, the leaves and seeds of peren- nial plants are a helpful cover Rotary Corner Lakeshore Advance Bruce Shaw Lakeshore Advance Ili. My name is Bruce Shaw, and I am this year's President of Grand Bend Rotary. In this, the first article that is to appear as a regular feature, I tvant to share with you, briefly, some of the things we do for the community and some of the projects Nye are planning while helping you understand what it means to be a Rotarian. i joined Rotary about five years ago on an invitation by members who thought I could contribute in some small way to the Club. I have been involved in many community organiza- tions for about 45 years and have learned a great deal about the heart of our extended com- munity. i know what it means to serve and contribute, but I also know how to have fun for the root structure of peren- nials and shrubs in your gar- den. They break down, provid- ing organic fodder for healthy, living soil. When in doubt, look to Mother Nature for cues. Does she rake up the leaves in a for- est? Does she cut down the native perennials that grow in while giving and sharing ideas, projects and dreams. Rotary has offered me an opportunity to give back to others what others have clone for nee. The Rotary Club of Grand Bend is unique in that our objectives are not to promote business and advance some sort of elitist agenda, but simply to serve. The charities and the com- munities of north Lampton and south Huron have benefitted from the work of Rotary to the tune Of $1,000,000 over the last 20 years, We have done every- thing from helping boys and girls through our educational programs to building and improving hiking trails, reno- vating a beach and supplying seats to the iluron Country Playhouse. On a larger scale, we have organized, loaded and sent 30 containers (and those are huge containers) full of meadows? Who needs a book or Google when you have a kitchen window that looks out onto the green living world? Should you not be that lucky, take a stroll through a city park or a conservation area in your community. Your powers of observation will take you a long way in the gardening world. school supplies and equipment for I laiti and South Africa. There are .17 of us, both men and lvonu'n, who sleet weekly at the Colonial I lotel in (;rand fiend - let nee make it perfectly clear that no one is expected to slake every meeting, although we (10 have one guy who hasn't missed a meeting in 52 years - I couldn't do that in two life -times. Our meetings start with dinner at 6.30 and end by 13.00 p.m..1Ve inform each other what we are doing, laugh it lot and plan our next objectives - and there's always more than one. If you want to join in the fun, help others and feel good about yourself, come on out to a meet- ing and get a feel for what Iife is like as 0 Rotarian. Rotary Club of Grated Bend Website IV'U'l('. t'V(I?(lil)Pl(li rotary.cOl/l.