HomeMy WebLinkAboutClinton News-Record, 1987-04-15, Page 72Page 44
Lawn and
mower should
be checked
in spring
Question: Yesterday I pulled up some
onions from my front lawn. Now, I've often
thought of planting a vegetable garden, but
I'm not sure my first crop would be onions.
What should I do?
Answer: Those weeds you found are wild
onions, sometimes called wild garlic. and
they can be as hard to control as a fox in the
hen house. Given free rein, wild onions can
ruin acres of wheat and oats. Just imagine
what a weed like that can do to your lawn:
For best results, harvest this crop before
it has a chance to spread. Once mature, wild
onions will grow like, well, weeds. At the
first sign of this troublemaker, treat your
lawn to several applications of a post -
emergence herbicide.
Question: Should I use an organic or syn-
thetic fertilizer on my lawn?
Answer: Before choosing either fertilizer,
weigh the pros and cons of each.
Organic fertilizers, which are made from
plant or animal wastes, are bulky, heavy
and generally hard to handle. They must be
applied in large doses at every feeding
because they contain a low percentage of
nitrogen. Also, organic fertilizers may be of-
fensive to sensitive noses.
In their favour is the fact that organic fer-
tilizers are slow acting, making it difficult to
over -fertilize your lawn. And in many rural
areas, they are inexpensive and easy to find.
Synthetic fertilizers are fast -acting and
predictable. Less fertilizer is used at each
application because most synthetics contain
a high percentage of nitrogen.
Those chemical ingredients could be
tough on your lawn. Apply too much and
you'll over -fertilize your lawn causing "fer-
tili7er burn."
Question: Spring cleaning time is on us
again. Should I treat my lawn mower to an
overhaul before the mowing season begins?
Answer: Check your operator's manual
for spring start-up procedures. The manual
should provide instructions for refueling,
cleaning the spark plug and setting the
breaker point gap. If the gap is closed, there
won't be the spark that's needed to start the
engine.
For sothe mowers, you should lubricate
the grease fittings, check the transmission
fluid and battery, and inflate tires to the
recommended air pressure.
An incredible,
edible landscape
is still an effective part of the landscape.
Other vegetables are more difficult,
although not impossible to use in a
landscape.
',Sprawling plants, such as pumpkin,
squash and beans should be avoided,
except under certain circumstances.
Rhubarb can be used as background
material, but its use is limited because
it dies down in late summer.
Use only the stalks of rhubarb;
rhubarb leaves are poisonous.
With a little imagination and deter-
mination, you can create a beautiful,
"budget -wise" landscape.
Use Mother Nature's harden patterns
Naturalistic gardening is becoming a On the other hand, our Sugar Maple
very distinct alternative to what we (Acer saccharum) is considered an or -
traditionally think of as "landscape namental in Great Britain.
says Peon Rintoul a graduate
University of Guelph's !master of
pe architecture program.
This distinction is apparent in the
type of plant material used and in the
way it is used.
Naturalistic gardening means that
you use native plants — plants that
naturally grow in fields and forests —
in a style reminiscent of Mother Nature
herself.
Wildflowers, native trees and shrubs
— purchased at garden centres or from
wildflower societies — are planted us-
ing nature's patterns as a guide.
"Books can give you some design
ideas; but a visit to "nature's garden"
with a sketchbook is even more valu-
able," Rintoul said.
Although naturalistic gardening, in
the pure sense, means "natives only",
plants that are not native to your area
will thrive alongside natives in your
garden.
Plants, not native to your area are
called "ornamentals" or "exotics".
The Saucer Magnolia (Magnolia soul-
angeana) for example, is native to
Asia; when you grow it here in North
America, this plant is referred to as an
ornamental.
"It is all a matter of location; under-
standing the distinction is the first key
to naturalistic gardening," Rintoul
said.
So, before designing your own natur-
alistic garden, you must find out which
plants are common to your area — both
woody plants (trees and shrubs) and
herbaceous plants (commonly called
wildflowers) .
Start with books such as Diekelmann
and Schuster's "Natural Landscaping
— Designing with Native Plant Com-
munities" ; M. Sperka's "Growing
Wildflowers" ; James H. Soper and
Margaret L. Heimburger's "Shrubs of
Ontario" ; Alfred A. Knopf s "The
Audubon Society Field Guide to North
American Wildflowers" ; or Editor
James A. French's "Wildflower
Magazine".
These reference books outline the bo-
tanical (Latin) and common names of
native plants and the type of environ-
ment they usually inhabit.
For example, some plants grow on
the edge of forests; some under the
canopies of large trees; others only in
open fields.
"Knowing this will help you decide
which plant species are best suited to
your garden," Rintcul said.
Finding sources of native plants is
not as easy as finding Junipers or gera-
niums, but native plants are becoming
more common at garden centres.
Major nursery catalogues often con-
tain sections dealing with "native trees
and shrubs" or "wildflowers". .
And once a year, the Royal Botanical
Garden in Hamilton sells native plants
as a fund raising campaign.
"An increasing number of groups are
also organizing plant sales or plant
swaps, trading plants that its members
have propagated," Rintoul said.
Through this unique approach to gar-
dening, you help preserve dwindling
native plant species while at the same
time, provide a home for wildlife.
"But digging up plants from forests
and fields is strictly discouraged; while
you may be "saving" one trillium, you
are likely destroying others in the pro-
cess, "
ro-
cess," she said.
Once plants are established in your
garden, transplant seedlings, take cut-
tings and divide clumps, as you would
with other garden plants.
And remember that a naturalistic
garden earns its distinct beauty from
its random patterns; it should look as
though it was planted by Mother Nature
herself.
You've been talking about it for years.
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