The Wingham Advance-Times, 1985-11-20, Page 26Page 10A-Crossroads—Nov. 20, 1985
Backyard.
Gardener
By Patrick Denton
Have you ever noticed this
thing about plants? They
make no noise!
Last month as I was plant-
ing the last of 'our spring -
flowering bulbs, I suddenly
became aware of the peace-
Silence.
eace-
S •1 nce. What a pleasure -
it is to garden in quiet, sur-
rounded by intense, compell-
ing peace. What a relief from
the hassles of work and, let's
face it, family life at times.
Bending over • a side of a
garden path, the fall sun-
shine warming my back, I
settled each plump bulb into
its appointed place with con-
siderable satisfaction and
contentment.
Nearby, the clear yellow
Inca marigolds and shining hf
red geraniums still brighten- w
ed a flower bed. Behind w
them, fluffy -haired seed ri
pods of a golden clematis
vine floated against their to
wire support. be
The only sound in the air cla
was the gentle rubbing to- 0
gether of the broad nev
gladiolus -type leaves of hor
acidanthera, whose last lavi
blooms were still releasing a the
lovely, intense fragrance. ap
I thought how peaceful fash
plants are, How soothing to thei
feel the still -warm garden them
soil on my hands. I can un- fash
derstand the success of and
"green therapy" among
prisoners, psychiatric pa-
tients and the aged. For
these people gardening often
becomes a renewal of life.
For those of us caught up
in. the many stresses of work
and family life, gardening
can become The Great Es-
cape. If you are looking for a
relaxing; healthful, stress -
relieving, inexpensive and
productive means of mental
survival, try gardening.
A 'sure .way of getting
the same. Even during the
cold season you'll find the al-
lure of houseplants most ap-
pealing.
I can't guarantee you a
perfectly 'hassle -free rose
garden. There will be bad
bugs and weeds. Still, even
squishing the odd bug and
pulling weeds can be won-
derfully therapeutic and the
relaxation, peace and satis-
faction far outweigh the
problems.
After all, plants mostly co-
operate in a marvelous way
with the gardener's efforts.
And they don't talk back.
They're never rude. They
don't shout or play loud rock
music.
No tomato plant ever has
ted an. accusing leaf in my
ife's direction to say, "You
ashed my designer jeans
ght side out!"
I've never had a phone call
say my petunias have
en misbehaving in their
ss.
ut flowers and vegetables
er accuse us of being
ribly old-fashioned for
shing special care upon
m. 'On the contrary, they
preciate it. They like old-
ioned things like having
r soil scratched around
. They thrive on an old-
ioned diet •of compost
good sail.
If the thought of caring for
a living, growing things and
creating beauty 'around you
holds some appeal, why not
start your gardening career
now? Amble through a local
garden center or florist shop
and choose an easy -care
foliage houseplant = a grape."
ivy, snake plant, spathe
flower or pothos perhaps.
Bring it home and set it
close to where you eat your.
meals, so that you can get to
it, and appreciate its
. By spring, you may
e inspired to expand to
ering plant or two — a
a, geranium or im-
- and maybe even a
hooked on giowipg is to send
• -now
auty
for a. few seed catalogs and well b
see what turns you on in their a flow
pages. Haunting garden begone
centers and nurseries can do patiens
larger container of small
vegetables.
•Outdoors, whenever the
weather permits, select a
small area to prepare, bor-
row a neighbor's long -
handled shovel or garden
fork and begi-n spading over
the area to prepare it for re-
ceiving a few seeds and
plants in the spring. Leaves,
peat moss, a light dusting of
lime — all these dug under
will help ensure satisfying
growth and successful per-
sonal horticultural therapy.
Live It Up's Watchdog puts
several popular brands of
fabric softener to the test.
.Which product makes
clothes softest, towels
fluffiest, and reduces static
cling the most? Live It Up
bringsin a special panel of
experts to help the Watchdog
in his quest for the perfect
fabric softener. Nov. 25 at
7: 30 p.m. on CTV.
Q. I have white aluminum
siding on my house. My
problem is that 1 have awn-
ings on the front porch that
splattered dirt onto the sid-
ing. I haven't been able to
get the siding clean. There
are large black spots of dirt.
Can you suggest a solu-
tio—T,.
A.
n? TryJ. using a solution
two-thirds cup trisodiu
phosphate mixed with o
third cup detergent, 1 qua
household bleach and
quarts warm water. Wa
the siding with this soluti
using a stiff brush. Rins
with plenty of clear water.
the stains remain, you ma
find it necessary to refinis
the surface using a mildew
resistant paint.
Q. I gift carpet latex on
large bathroom rug, whit
had lost the backing afte
being washed several times
I thought the latex was
thoroughly dry, but after
laying it down it stuck to the
floor.
I think I can get if off by
using a hair -dryer nozzle to
of
m
ve-
rt
3
sh
on
e
If
y Q. How can I remedy small
h splits or checks that some-
- times appear in old or
weathered plywood
a panels?—.I. M.
h A. You can give these
r panels a new surface by rub-
• bing floor filler into the
cracks with burlap or other
coarse material, working
across the grain. When dry
and sanded you will have a
smooth, solid base for a new
coat of paint.
get it warm. But do you have
any idea how 1 can then get
rid of the glue on the Congol-
eum floor?—Mrs. W. E. B.
A. The hair dryer should
serve to soften the backing off
the rug so it can be removed.
To remove the residual la-
tex that stieks to the floor,
try Spray .& Wash, a spot
cleaner found in the laundry
soap -detergent section of
your local market.
If this does not remove the
latex, try using naphtha and
a stiff brush. Be sure to have
plenty of ventilation when
using naphtha.
St lair
the paint and paper people
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