Some great gardening tips

By Melanie Mathieson
Gardening Guru

The Gardening Guru is always thinking of tips and hints to pass along to fellow gardeners. Here is a compilation of some more great hints for you to enjoy and use.
•Earwigs are pests that are becoming more common in northern Ontario. They used to be only found in the very southern part of the province but with milder winters they are now being found in some parts of the Rainy River District and the Thunder Bay area. Earwigs are reddish-brown insects with pincers emerging from their abdominal area.

They like to eat foliage, leaving behind holes in the leaves. Earwigs like to congregate in small damp dark spots. To set some traps use pieces of corrugated cardboard or lengths of hose. In the morning, carefully collect the traps and shake out into a bucket of hot soapy water.

•Use your fence as a way of enjoying your growing space. If your vegetable garden is near your fence you can rig the fence to support crops such as pole beans, cucumbers, squash and peas. If it is more flowers you are after, think of flowering climbing vines such as clematis, roses and morning glories. Any or all of these can be used to add extra visual interest to your fence and yard.

•Remember that the mature trees in your yard may need some extra water if conditions are dry. We always think of large trees has having very deep roots and although that can be true, it is the tender soft roots at the very ends of the root mass that actually absorb water and nutrients from the soil.

The more solid woody roots covered in bark serve as the physical support system to keep the tree in the ground and the piping system for the water and nutrients to travel. Many of the feeder roots are in the top 30 centimetres of soil so you have to be careful that part of the soil doesn’t dry out or get compacted by heavy activity. Also be careful when digging as you don’t want to damage those important roots. A good rule of thumb to estimate where the roots may be found, is to look at the crown of the tree and imagine a mirror image underground.

•One of my favourite garden design tricks is in areas planted with predominately green foliage plants such as green shrubs, hostas or ferns is to add bright red annuals either in the ground or in pots in front of the green plants. Red and green are opposites on the colour wheel and complement each other which is why this is such an eye catcher in the garden. I love begonias in the shady area and geranium, salvia and petunias in the full sun. If you do not like red, give dark purple a try.

•For those receiving a hydrangea as an Easter plant try to keep it going until the fear of frost is gone and then it can be added to the garden or a container to enjoy all summer.

The secret is to make sure it does not go dry on you. Hydrangeas are heavy drinkers so keep the soil moist at all times. Check regularly to make sure there are no signs of spider mites or aphids. If you see some, give the plant a good washing in the sink. I am going to wait until the hydrangeas are on clearance this Easter season so I can fill some of my outdoor planters with them. I will keep them as house plants until all danger of frost and cold nights have passed. They should be stunning come mid-summer. Remember the hydrangea that you see in the nurseries and floral shops this time of year is only an annual, not a perennial, in our area and are for partial sun or shady spots.

•For the best looking flower garden plant your annuals and perennials in groupings not straight rows. Plants do not grow naturally in nature in straight rows so why do so in your garden. For most impact, plant in groupings of odd numbers or irregular patches. With perennials that grow large, space them out in groups of 3 or 5, making sure to leave enough room for expansion. For annuals and bulbs plant in oval or irregular patches for a more natural look with more impact.

•One of my tips I cannot repeat enough is for perennial gardening. Freshly planted, new or divided perennials often look really small in the garden. If you want them to fill in the space faster make sure to trim off all flower stalks as soon as they start to emerge from the base of the plant.

By doing so, you redirect the energy back into the plant to produce more roots and foliage which produces more energy for next year, resulting in a larger plant and more prolific blooms. This is a good tip to practice if the growing season is too dry and hot or too cool and rainy. Sacrificing blooms under these conditions helps the plant to survive through a tough growing season.

•A rule of thumb for dividing perennials – for those that bloom in the spring, divide in the fall, those that bloom in the fall divide in the spring. Summer blooming perennials can be divided any time of the season when conditions are cooler and moist and blooming has finished.

Although many perennials are tough enough to survive dividing and replanting any time during the season, this tip helps you when in doubt. Whatever and whenever you divide, make sure the newly planted divided plants receive abundant water throughout the season and right up until the ground freezes.

I hope these tips help you along the path to becoming a gardening guru yourself. Happy gardening.