The Rural Voice, 2001-04, Page 52Gardening
Repairing the ravages of winter
By Rhea Hamilton -Seeger
Is it me or has this been an
unusually long winter? We usually
get a skiffle of snow in March but
when it lands on brown hard ground
it is a little less depressing than when
it covers four and five foot drifts
around the garden. As the snow
melted away last month more and
more of the damages of the season
came to light.
A friend was lamenting how the
snow blower (not the driver) had
ripped out a ten foot length of lawn
along the drive as well as a few of the
larger stones from the base of her
rock garden. The weight of the snow
bent their metal fence around the
pool and the young trees newly
planted last fall have failed to make
an appearance as the snow melts.
They were "tasty" butternut. It would
not be so bad except this is the year
that family from afar will be visiting
and we all know how much gardeners
like to
have their
best
leaf turned up.
Mother nature is strong and
forgiving so don't despair. Lawns are
always the first and usually the
easiest mess to set straight. As soon
as the snow is off the land, take a soft
rake and clean the debris off the bare
ground. Flip the sod back into place,
tamp down and water it well when
dry in the first couple of weeks.
When lawns have been under
snow cover for more than three
months there is a good chance they
will have grey snow mould. You will
see circular to overlapping patches of
dead, bleached grass that appears as
the snow melts. If you look closely
you will see greyish -white to pink
thread-like growths for several days.
This is the fungus that germinates in
the fall, sometimes after the snow
cover.
Infection occurs over the winter
but come spring the fungus is inactive
again. The best control is
preventative control. All you can do
now is rake the lawn vigorously,
working off any thick thatch and re-
seed in areas that are affected. In
the fall avoid over -fertilizing
your lawn and continue mowing
in the fall until the grass
ceases to grow.
Next come the poor
flowaling shrubs that
the rodents and
rabbits have nibbled
on all winter. Our
Korean spice bush
was almost covered
with the snow. As it
melted the shrub
shrank. I realized
that as the buds were
exposed to the weak
spring light the rabbits
were having a feast. A
strong root system
enables many shrubs
and young trees to
survive this
kind of trimming.
For badly damaged
limbs a bit of
judicious pruning
48 THE RURAL VOICE
will come in handy. While I hate
trimming early blooming shrubs, like
forsythia and mock orange, it is best
to be ruthless and trim back or
completely thin out damaged
branches as soon as possible in the
spring. There is always next spring
for a more profuse bloom period.
Avoid using any tar based or tree
mend products. Trees and shrubs
have a wonderful way of healing over
their wounds.
Our upright cedars with flashy
upright branches took a beating when
I neglected to get them tied up for the
winter. Snow loads spread the
branches wide and cracked a few of
the larger ones. As the weather
warmed the branches have pulled
themselves back upright with a few
casualties left laying on the ground.
There are reasons why we tie up
branches on shrubs. I often forget that
when faced with a busy fall schedule.
My lovely 10 -year-old tree peony has
(had) five lovely stems that are
covered each spring with deep
maroon silky -like blooms. This
spring the snow receded to leave only
one branch standing but the peony is
hardy and will come back, albeit
slowly. I will give it a lovely dose of
compost and an extra handful of bone
meal and blood meal worked in
lightly around the roots. For your
favourite shrubs and perennials be
patient.
There is some good news about
our ample snow coverage. In our area
the ground never really got a chance
to freeze very deeply if at all. The
snow came quickly and insulated the
ground offering extra protection for
perennials and young shrubs.
Perennials that struggle with the
deep cold and drying winds have had
a wonderful full winter's rest and will
show off this summer. I'm looking
forward to a much tidier garden with
newly trimmed shrubs and lots of
blooms.0
Rhea Hamilton -Seeger and her
husband raise two children at their
home near Auburn. She is a skilled
cook and gardener.