TIPS: Watering, Annuals, Perennials

Lawns and most garden plants require a half-inch of water every three days. At average city water pressure, leaving a sprinkler operating in the same position for an hour will provide this. Irrigating every third day unless there is heavy, prolonged rain allows water to penetrate deep into the soil. Roots will follow this and, in event of watering restrictions, the garden will be better prepared to withstand the drought.

The best time to water is in the early hours the morning, using a timer fastened to the faucet. At last one brand of oscillating sprinkler comes with just such a built-in timer. Another advantage: such sprinklers water more evenly than do those that rotate in a circle. Watering at night also washes many insect pests from their plant perches as well as discouraging raccoons and skunks.

Diversion No. 1

Black Thumb? I asked her if she would like to see my Variegated Weigela and she slapped my face.

Annuals still have their uses, despite the turn to more permanent plantings. Their massed, season-long blooms attract attention to the front door. Used in containers, they bring additional levels of colour to the garden as well as otherwise barren areas such as patios, decks and verandahs. Window boxes and hanging baskets dry out fast, especially in hot, windy weather. Placing a sponge in the bottom provides a water reservoir, allows the roots to grow into them and reduces weight. Whether in containers or planted directly in the beds, annuals are fast growing and heavy flowering. Fertilize with liquid nutrients every two to four weeks throughout the season.

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Diversion No. 2

Britain’s first insect restaurant opens this summer . . . but will you go there? Alternative chef Adam Holcroft hopes to ‘normalize’ eating creepy crawlies when he opens Grub Kitchen in Haverfordwest, Wales this summer, serving dishes like mealworm burgers and cricket pad Thai.

One of the problems gardeners face every June is what to do about spring bulb foliage, admittedly not the most attractive of sights once the petals have dropped and the seedpods subsequently deadheaded. Remove before the foliage dies back naturally, and sacrifice next season’s display. The same applies to oriental poppies whose foliage also fades rapidly after they bloom and even the classic bearded iris. The answer is to camouflage them with vigorous and persistent perennials. Peonies are a splendid choice for this purpose while daylilies are another choice – yellow-flowered forms go well in front of blue iris.

Diversion No. 3

Early this month, the World Nettle Eating Championship will be held at the Bottle Inn, Marshwood, Dorset, England. Two-foot-long stalks must be plucked and the leaves eaten; after an hour the stalks are measured

If you garden on well-drained soil with protection from winter winds and adequate snow cover, shock the neighbours and discourage intruders with Opuntia cacti. It was a wise choice when well-known Ontario Pelee Island winery chose to a label illustrating them – they are native to southwestern Ontario and have survived outside in winter as far north as Thunder Bay and Sudbury. There are similar cacti in the interior of B.C. – also in wine country and others on the Prairies. These latter though are smaller and survive protected by low grasses and other growth.

Diversion No. 4

New Cornell Food and Brand Lab research found that individuals who ate an apple sample before shopping bought 25 percent more fruits and vegetables than those who did not eat a sample [Source: Molecular Nutrition and Food Research]

Concerned beekeepers and some scientists have raised concerns that ornamentals, herbs and seeds offered by stores and garden centres at this time of year may contain the neonicotinoid pesticides linked to mass bee die-offs in North America and elsewhere. This is a legitimate worry but requires some elucidation. In Canada, every province east of Manitoba has banned such chemical pesticides from all except agricultural application. While it is possible that annuals, perennials and herbs might be imported from elsewhere free of such restrictions, growers in Ontario and Quebec in particular are more likely to be exporting outside their provinces as well as supplying home markets. Gardeners on the Prairies and in British Columbia might wish to be more cautious, however, as to their sources.