Columnists

I know it’s getting to be garden crunch time, but I’m still uncertain about what to add to my little plots this year. Oh, I’ve had plenty of help, particularly from working with writer Deanna Dority on her Homemakers magazine piece “Grow a Greener Garden” (April issue, on newsstands now).

I think my biggest struggle is remembering what’s going to come up, and rearranging plants so they’re grouped into more appropriate locations, as well as controlling things that have grown a little too abundant. Once I’ve gathered my courage (and my garden tools) and plunged into the soil, I’ll know which areas need filling in. And I plan to do that with drought-tolerant native plants. The thing is, I don’t want too much structure. I think gardens should look beautifully, joyfully wild.

Last year, my first year with my garden, I added black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), a paper birch tree (Betula papyrifera) and what I hope is a native astilbe. This year I’m on the lookout for some showy flowers to plant in shaded areas. We’ll see what I can find at native plant sales, but I’d love to find some red-eyed Susans, wild columbine and wild bergamont.

For a little inspiration, have a look at this Homemakers.com slideshow offering images of 10 beautiful native plants. (Of course, they may not all be native to your area. For a complete list of plants by region, click here.)

How’s your garden coming along?

This morning I greeted my garden to the sight of an upturned pepper plant, soil spilling out of the pot, sole, hard-won pepper broken off and lying on the grass. I don’t know if it was a raccoon (see my previous post about my standoff with the raccoons), a cat or a strong gust of wind that did it. What I do know is, unless I cheat and buy a more mature plant at a garden centre, I can forget the dream eating home-grown peppers this summer.

Many of the plants in my garden have been doing well, but whenever something withers away, I’m trying to replace it with a hardier alternative – hardy to the weather and soil conditions, and also hardy to me. Last week my mom came for a visit and helped me weed my garden, since I wasn’t sure what belonged (native plant, hardy plant, attractive weed) and what did not (plants that take over, weeds). She did a beautiful job of weeding and mulching, even making room for a few more plants. So we went to a garden centre that promises a selection of native perennials, and picked a few plants that seemed to fit that description. I’m particularly excited about the black-eyed Susan, and looking forward to its big yellow flowers popping up sometime soon. In choosing native plants, the Evergreen native plants database is very helpful.

What’s particularly hardy in your garden?

Today is the UN’s International Day for Biological Diversity. Invasive species have hit us pretty hard in Canada, from the forest-decimating efforts of the mountain pine beetle, emerald ash borer and Asian long-horned beetle to the the invasion of zebra mussels and the round gobi in the Great Lakes. These invaders don’t have natural predators, so they usually thrive in new locales, displacing the native population.

What can you do to help stop the spread of invasive species? Being careful of the materials you move from one area to another, particularly when on cottaging, camping and fishing trips, is key.
- Insects are easily transported on firewood, so don’t take wood from one area to another unless it has been kiln dried
- Insects and fungi can ride along with bulbs and greenery shipped overseas, so buy locally grown plants
- Pull out invasive plants, such as purple loosestrife and English Ivy, which displace native plants and disrupt entire ecosystems
- Try to grow native plants in your garden, and avoid any invasive species that tends to spread. For a directory of native and non-native plants in Canada, consult the Evergreen Native Plants database.
- Clean off the bottom of your boat before launching it a new waterway
- Gone fishing? Don’t use the round gobi as bait

For more background on invasive species, consult this guide from Hinterland Who’s Who.