Clinton News-Record, 1980-04-17, Page 36• 0:
A well-designed roCk 'garden blends into the surroundings,
so it laoics like a natural Partaf the landscape. (Photo by
the Ontario Ministry of Aviculture and Food)
Making a rock garden.
By Burke McNeill
Extension
Horticulturist,
OMAF
Many gardeners have
visions of a beautiful rock
garden as soon as they see a
slope or a terraced situation.
Their visions are usually
very realistic, but here
realism often stops. They do
not take into account the
work required to develop and
maintain the site. Nothing
looks worse than a poorly
planned and poorly main-
tained rock garden. .
Site selection is the most
important decision to make
once you have decided to
plant a .rock garden. Well -
drained locations are a
necessity. If drainage is
poor, a gravel and sIthieliase
should be provided.
Rock gardens should also
blend with the surrounding
terrain. For instance, a
mound of stone and earth in
the middle 'of a flat front
yard is not a good choice of
location: It will always look
like a mound of dirt. Blend
your rock garden into the
surroundings, so it will look
like a natural part of the
overa 11 sce ne.
Most plant material used
in rock gardens comes from
mountains, and this is the
type of a scene that gar-
deners are trying to imitate
in their yards. When plan-
ning your rock garden, try to
picture how this would look
in natural surroundings.
There are many "do's"
and "don'ts" in rock garden
construction. For detailed
advice consult the Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and
Food publication "Rock
Gardens". (publication No.
38). This free publication is
available from local
agricultural offices or by
writing to the Information
Branch, Ontario Ministry of •
Agriculture and Food,
Legislative Buildings,
Toronto, Ontario, M7A 1A5.
There are also many fine
reference books on the
subject, available in soft
cover editions at your local
book stores and libraries.
English gardeners have
developed rock gardening
into a fine art and
publications from that
country are pa rticularly- -
in forma tiv e.
Practically any low-
'growiq plant material can
be used in a rockery. Both
deciduous and evergreen
shrubs, and many hundreds
of herbaceous perennials,
can be used effectively.
Unfortunately, rock gar-
dening is a very specialized
form of gardening and en-
thusiasts must look far and
wide for many of the ch6ice
plants, such as dryas,
dracocephalium, erigeron
and helianthemum.
However, the backbone of
any rockery is the moss
phloxs, sedums, houseleeks
Hens and Chickens), candy -
tuft, perennial alyssum and
thymes. These are readily
available at most garden
centres.
• Mustard greens,
a salad treat
What are your basic tossed
salad ingredients? Lettuce,
radish, • tomatoes, green
onions, occasionally spinach
or endive in season and a
pinch of fresh dill or other
herbs, right?
Very few gardeners know
liow good mustard greens
taste in salads. Tender,
•young mustard leaves have a
peppery nip and a mild,
distinctive taste appreicated
by almost all adventurous
eaters. Substitute chopped
mustard greens for half the
lettuce in salads.
Mustard greens have been
held back by being typedas a
Southern vegetable for
simmering alone or with
pork. They are delicious
cooked but they are not just a
Southern vegetable. Quick
growing mustard greens will
thrive anywhere in the USA
if planted to mature during
cool weather.
The name "mustard
greens" is. unfortunate. The
greens4 bn't hipttea mustard
flavor. Condiment mustard
is made from mustard seeds
from a different species. The
only similarity between the
taste of greens and prepared
mustard is in the mild
e .
peppery tang.
Mustard greens will
mature in about 45 days from
planting. Your first harvest
will be ready in only 30 days
in the 'form of surplus
seedlings thinned out of the
row. Young mustard plants
are classed as "semi -hardy"
and' can be planted 3 to 4
weeks prior to the average
date of the last killing frost in
the spring. Late summer is a
good time for seeding a fall
crop.
Three kinds of mustard
greens are usually available
— smooth leaf, curly leaf and
a variety with broad stems
preferred for priental
cooking. Smooth -leaved
varieties win out where the
soils are sandy because the •
leaves are easier to .wash.
The curly leaved types are
superior for salads; they,
fluff up tossed salads much,
like curly endive. .
Organization and careful
preparation before trari-
splanting seedlings Can help
ensure a healthy garden,
says T. J. Blom, Ontario
Ministry of Agriculture and
FQ0c1 horticulturist.
"First, remove stones and
debris from the garden.
Next, loosen the soil and
poke holes 'for the. tran-
eed t nder 1 rig care
splants."
Adding pre -wetted peat
moss to the holes before
nmnsplanting will give the
'plants a good start.
Mr. Blom says it is best to
transplant seedlings at
night. WaterSeedlings
several hours before tran-
splanting,
Y When ready to transplan.t,
e
vv
gently tap the sides of the pot
to remove tpeplant.
"Keep, the roots and soil
together as much as
Posiblei then put the roots in
the new hole and pat the soil
around them."
After transplantizeg, Mr. •
Blom recommends watering
as needed and fertilizing
after twoor three days;
he
"One.half to one pound of
regular fertilizer per loo„
square feet of garden space
should be adequate."
Provide cucumbers,
squash„ tomatocs, and
melons with up to four
squarefeet of „space. Cab-
bage, peppers,, breccoli, and
•brussels sprouts require less
space.
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