greenspace

Forest Treasures for Rainy Days

2011-08-30T13:47:00.000-07:00

Ask anyone--this summer has been less glorious than we had hoped. Here in Victoria, not once did the thermostats break 30 degrees, not once did we need our fans. Our camping trips were plagued with rain and the sweaters we reluctantly brought along we used each day, sometimes all day.

But along with the cool wet summer came some unexpected beauty in the forest. Instead of lolling lakeside, reading magazines and eating chips as we normally would, this summer we spent more time than usual in the forest, and my kids with their keen eyes spotted all kinds of treasures. We had a lot of fun and hardly missed the beach on those rainy days.

I am continually amazed at the deep and intricate beauty of the west coast forest, impossible to create by hand in ones own garden, and so easily gone unnoticed by most of us.

Here are a few of my favourite plants and mushrooms that this cool and cloudy summer brought to our attention as we hiked along.

This is a Jellied False Coral that we spotted beside a tiny forest path in Morton Lake Provincial Park. It is edible and appears from July-November.

A Scaly Vase Chanterelle on the West Coast Trail near Pach ena Bay. This too is edible but not recommended.

A Gnome Plant (Hemitomes congestum) that the kids spotted in Morton Park.

This nodding beauty is called Pinesap (Hypopitys monotropa), and we discovered it in Morton Lake Park as well. It grows under pine trees and actually saps their juices to grow.

The overall favourite discovery of the summer is the tiny Round-leaved Sundew (Drosera rotundifolia). It is mightier than it appears, as it is the area's only carniverous plant. It lives at the edges of ponds, bogs, fens and wet meadows, catching mosquitoes, midges and gnats that fly into its sticky traps. We found it at a few different small lakes this summer, and its discovery has led my eldest to begin his own collection of carniverous plants.

The Round-leaved Sundew was called 'Many Hearts' by the Haida people, and was taken along on fishing excursions for good luck. It was also used to remove warts, cure cheeses, as an antibiotic, and to treat tuberculosis, asthma, bronchitis and coughs. Some plant!

Gardeners in Their Gardens, Part One: The Goddess of Improv

2011-08-05T12:15:00.001-07:00

My pal Lee-Anne is easily the most creative gardener I know. We met 15 years ago in Horticulture School, and I have seen her transform more than a few boring, plain or even dilapidated yards into colourful, productive gardens filled with old tin pails, metal folk-art, and once, most memorably, the rusted out cab of a model-T Ford that she had found and then hauled out of the backwoods around Nanaimo.

Her most recent creation surrounds her pretty blue miner's cottage, and works perfectly with its storied surroundings. It is whimsical, with a nod to the past in its antique adornments, including an old toy truck which peaks out between the fronds of a variegated Agropyron.

Fruit and vegetable plants are planted not in rows or raised beds as in most gardens, but instead poke out through flowering plants and intermingle with herbs, shrubs and grasses throughout the garden.

In the back corner the base of an early Singer sewing machine serves as a table on which an old tin pot and kettle are displayed. The effect is homey and comforting, yet still manages to feel fresh.

In every one of Lee-Anne's gardens, I have felt that I am in the presence of a true creative mind, one not bound by trends, but focused instead on function and beauty, and always, always improvisation. Her gardens are built on a budget, and with mostly found materials. They are great examples of what can be done with a little searching around. If you are lucky enough to live in the Nanaimo area, Lee-Anne designs gardens there professionally and can bring her talents to your site.

To achieve the look and feel of a found garden, a good way to begin is to take a look at what is on your site or in your home already that you might re-purpose. Next, search out garage sales, junk shops, demolition yards, and websites like Craigslist for used and inexpensive materials. There is also a great book by Matthew Levesque called 'The Revolutionary Yardscape.' It is full of ideas and examples of found and re-purposed materials in the landscape.

If you have an empty yard and are looking for plant material, many local gardening clubs and public gardens have annual sales with great prices. And of course, you can always ask your gardening friends in spring or fall if they are dividing or getting rid of any excess plants. One of the plants in my garden is a simple yellow daylily that was part of my grandmother's, and then my mother's garden before a piece of it was dug up in spring and split for a spot in my own little yard. By sharing and re-purposing plants and materials, our gardens accumulate a history and narrative of their own, making them richer and more meaningful
places to be.

A Trip to the Centre

2011-07-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

I love taking the kids to see various public gardens, but my enthusiasm for such ventures is not often matched by the kids. Nothing (or at least nothing that they might want) to buy, no rides, no monkey bars, et cetera et cetera. However, I have to say that once there, the kids are usually just as happy as I am.

This was certainly the case last Friday when Damon and I took our kids and a couple of their friends to The Horticultural Centre of The Pacific, known to many as Glendale Gardens. This is a gorgeous 103 acres in Saanich, of which 9 acres are landscaped with public demonstration gardens. Admission is free for kids under 12, and $11 for adults (members are free). Also on the grounds are a library, garden shop, bistro, and the Pacific Horticultural College. The Centre offers children's summer camps, as well as many courses and workshops for adults.

The most heavily cultivated part of the garden is laid out in a loo se grid pattern, culminating in a gorgeous round patio, or gathering place. All of these gardens are on a slope which looks down across a field to a large, sparkling pond, of the Beatrix Potter ilk.

The first garden we looked at, and my favourite, is the kids garden. The best thing about it is this teeny play house with a planted roof that the kids are welcome to play in. Other features of this garden are a rain stick, gumboots overflowing with flowers, a little angel on a swing in a shrub, and various planted wheelbarrows.

There is also a bird and butterfly garden, vegetable garden, dry garden, Mediterranean garden, fruit trees, hardy plants, roses, hardy fuschias, a winter garden, zen garden, heather garden, ornamental grass garden, an orchard, an ethnobotany trail, and more. And the best part is that almost all of the plants are labeled, making it a great place to learn which plants work well in which environments. I would suggest that anyone looking to create their own garden should go here after analyzing the specific attributes and liabilities of their own site.

The kids, of course, don't care much about the attributes of their site...but they played tag and hide and seek to their hearts content, stopping only to devour the summer fruit, cheese and cracker snack that we had packed for them. They picnicked in the Zen garden, which, while not as breathtaking as the Japanese Garden at Hatley Castle, is lovely and peaceful to be in, and features a raked stone garden as well as a stream, koi pond and tea house.

This was a great way to spend the afternoon with the kids, and definitely worth the price of admission.

The Garden Club

2011-07-10T22:01:00.000-07:00

Life is incredibly busy for all of us, and it seems especially so for working moms with young kids. This is why I have not exactly been a joiner over the last few years of busyness with my children and with the design and installation work at Greenspace D esigns.

I have felt pangs of guilt with every email sent home from school practically begging for parents to come out and join the PAC, but of course not enough guilt to cause me to actually do anything about it. At least not until I received the email asking for parents to come out for a school garden club. Now that, I thought to myself, sounds like something I could get into.

I went to the first meeting, where I met a bunch of really great parents who are passionate about the importance of food gardening, and of instilling this same passion in the small ones we know.

And so was born the Sir James Douglas Garden Club. There are two main objectives of the garden club. The first is huge and may take us a year or more before we are able to take action, and the second is already just fabulous.

So, firstly, we aim to create a school garden on the grounds of Sir James Douglas School. This would be a teaching garden that would be integrated into the regular teaching curriculum of the school whenever relevant. The big vision includes a rain garden that filters run-off from the near-by parking area, a deer-resistant demonstration garden, three-bin composting systems, a simple water collection system, areas to gather for classes, a butterfly garden, and of course a large area to grow food crops. That's the big, long term goal that we are beginning to plan and organize a proposal for. To start, we would be quite happy with a little field of pumpkins that the kids could tend.

The second goal is to involve the kids in a weekly garden club over the lunch hour, for which we have been allotted a little shady garden outside the school gymnasium. For our first club meeting, we expected our own children and perhaps, if we were lucky, one or two of their friends. The activity we planned was for the kids to begin to designing the new garden, which we are going to plant with edible native plants. We had it all figured out and it was going to be calm, organized, and fun.

Well, that noon bell rang and the first kids began to filter through the library door. Oh, good lord. Kids just started to swarm in, all aflutter, talking and laughing with each other. I couldn't even see the last kids in the line! It was chaos! It was the place to be! It was garden club! Garden Club attracts 120 kids? We were obviously onto something.

We fumbled through that first meeting and immediately afterword came to the decision that we were going to have to make two groups and alternate each week. But we were pumped. This has go to tell us something about our kids, right?

We asked them what they liked about gardening that first day and again and again they mentioned spending time with their mums, dads, and grandparents. This was what they loved (and of course eating sweet, ripe strawberries and fresh shelling peas). There is such a strong connection between gardening and that lovely, quiet time spent with family in the garden. No one is rushing off to work, texting while 'playing' with their kids, answering the phone or doing the dishes (something my youngest particularly objects to). It is just sweet, slow time together. And that's what so many of our kids are missing I think.

Anyway, garden club has been absolutely fabulous, and although we have not finished planting our garden bed quite yet (we are still working on the red tape associated with irrigation, if you can believe it) , the kids have had a great time and so have we. The kids planted sunflowers, divided strawberries and planted them, dug for worms, weeded the garden, painted labels for their own gardens, and got good and dirty doing it.

This past Saturday the garden club and the Fairfield Community Gardens Association commandeered the kids art tent at the Moss Street Market for a repeat of our label decorating day. We also had literature available in support of the Fairfield Community garden, for which the proposed site is just behind a large field at Sir James Douglas School. It was a great day spent hanging with kids, and was a wonderful end to the first year of the SJD Garden Club (and by the way, we are always looking for more parent volunteers...)

Strawberries!

2011-06-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

The garden that we inherited at our new home left a little to be desired, and we have been working hard all spring to fix things up. We have pulled, planted, shaped and re-shaped, and things are starting to come together now, ready for the next project.

One gem of the garden that we haven't touched, however, is the strawberry patch. It looked a bit sad and limp in March, but we added about three inches of leaf mulch mixed with compost, weeded and watered, and oh my goodness this is the best strawberry patch that I have ever cared for.

For about two weeks now we've been enjoying fresh strawberries, and today I believe this little patch is at its peak.

This morning my youngest daughter and I picked a good-sized bowl full of sweet, juicy, bright red berries, just enough for the five of us to have a great dessert tonight. And by the looks of it, there will be many more to come within the next week or two.

Now, this patch is quite small, just about four feet by eight feet in total, but we are definitely going to continue to increase its size. This is simple to do, especially because the plant does a lot of the work for you by sending out runners that then take root in the adjacent soil. Older plants can also be revived by splitting. You can just dig out the plant, shake off the excess soil, and then pull the stems apart and replant in moist, rich, well-draining soil.

The time spent caring for these strawberries is so minimal compared to the enjoyment of eating them. Strawberries like a lot of sun, well-drained soil, a mulch of compost, and ample water to produce juicy berries.

Even a very small garden can handle a patch of berries, and there are many ways to fit it in.

Here are a few ideas:
-as a groundcover in front of shrubs and perennials
-in raised beds in traditional vegetable gardens, planted in rows
-in pots on patios and balconies

There are many different types of strawberries, all under the genus Fragaria. Your local nursery will likely have a good selection of berries, June-bearing, day-neutral and ever-bearing. June-bearing strawberries will produce a large crop in June, and often have the largest berries. Day neutral plants will produce a smaller crop throughout the summer season, and ever-bearing will produce two or three crops in spring, summer and early fall. I have grown both types, and there are advantages to each. The June-bearing type is great for jams and pies because of the larger crop, but it is nice to pick and eat over the summer with the ever-bearing and day-neutral crops. The perfect combination would be a bit of each.

There are also a couple of species of native strawberries: Fragaria chiloensis (Beach Strawberry) and Fragaria vesca (Woodland Strawberry). I have found that the Woodland strawberry is a much better producer, with tiny, sweet berries. The Beach strawberry, however, makes a great, glossy mat of evergreen foliage that can cover an empty area in the garden quite quickly.

Whatever your space or chosen type, strawberries are an easy and very satisfying crop to grow. Just ask my daughter.

A Little Green Roof

2011-04-27T21:00:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in my last blog, we have recently moved house, and I have to say the just about the best part of this has been that we are building a design studio in the back garden so that I can work at home, but still be separate from the relative chaos of life with three little kids.

We had a lot of fun designing the studio, and we found some great websites. Our favourite website is moderncabana.com, which ships its pretty cabanas in kits to homeowners for assembly. We liked their designs and were inspired by them, but we wanted to build the studio ourselves.

One of the features that we really wanted for the studio was a green roof rather than conventional roofing. Though the studio is tiny (just 86sq'), a planted roof still has many benefits, including decreasing run-off, regulating the temperature inside the studio, and of course a planted roof is infinitely nicer to look at than asphalt shingles.

On a larger scale, green roofs in cities can drastically decrease the amount of contaminated water that spills out into our oceans by absorbing rainwater as it falls and then naturally filtering it before it reaches our storm systems. These roofs can also help regulate the temperature inside buildings, which in turn cuts down on heating and cooling costs, both economical and environmental. Green roofs can even help to regulate the temperature in the centres of our cities by absorbing rather than reflecting heat, cutting down on a phenomenon termed the heat island effect. At their best, green roofs can do all of this and provide city folks with local, organic produce. Not bad.

There are two basic types of green roofs: extensive and intensive.

An intensive roof is the type capable of providing food for people, as well as habitat for birds and other winged creatures in need of a place to rest or nest. It typically has between about 8" and up to 15' of soil, depending on the load the roof has been designed to handle (imagine a city in which all new and renovated buildings were required to grow fruits, nuts, vegetables, legumes or grains on their rooftops...) The intensive rooftop is more expensive to design, build, and maintain than its partner, the extensive green roof.

The extensive green roof is the more common and accessible type, and requires far less fuss to design and build. This is the type that we have installed on the studio in our garden.

The elements of the intensive and extensive roof are similar: waterproof layer over roof (we used a product called blueskin), then drainage layer, root barrier, lightweight soil and plantings. The difference is that the extensive green roof has much less soil, anywhere from about 2-6" in depth, and is planted with drought tolerant and low maintenance plants such as sedums and low grasses. The idea here is that once the plants are established, they will require very little care to keep healthy, and will be largely self-sustaining.

When it came to choosing a drainage layer, we stalled out somewhat. There are many different options out there, including gravel, carpet, straw, and thick landscape fabric. We decided to go with a product called dimple-board, or dimple membrane, which is actually a waterproofing product that builders often use around the foundations of houses to prevent water from leaching in. Because the product has dimples in it, these will act like channels so that excess water will drain out to the bottom corner where we will have a rain chain which will empty into a small rain garden. The dimple board comes in rolls at building supply stores for about $100. This was not the least expensive option, but it seemed to us to be the most durable and practical, because we knew that gravel would slip down the sloping roof, and the carpet and straw would break down over time.

Over the dimple board we laid landscape fabric as a root barrier, and then we used bagged organic potting soil as our medium. We considered mixing our own soil, but realized that it would be much less labour-intensive to simply haul the bags up to the roof, and so that's what we did.

The best part was planting the roof. Here is a list of the plants we chose:
-Sedum 'Angelina'
-Sedum 'Summer Glory'
-Sedum 'Murale'

All of these plants are drought tolerant, and, once established, they won't need irrigation to survive unless we are have a very long dry spell, which, given this ridiculously wet spring, seems impossible at the moment).

So, our green roof is planted, but the studio remains unfinished as of yet...another blog, perhaps.

Busy little bees...

2011-03-28T20:13:00.000-07:00

Well, we have successfully moved our family to a new home: two adults, three children, one cat, and one mason bee house filled with little nests. Actually, I'm not so sure about that last one. Moving mason bees at this time of year can actually suffocate them, so I am keeping my fingers crossed.

Blue Orchard Mason Bees (Osmia lignaria) are really quite lovely little creatures. They are native to this part of the world, and their numbers are dwindling due to the usual suspects (urban sprawl, loss of habitat, etc.)

These little guys look like blue bottle flies, except that they have four wings rather than two. Only the females sting, and then only if you really mess with them.

And why do we want them in the garden?

This is the perfect creature for the urban farmer because they are excellent pollinators. Blue Orchard Mason bees emerge usually sometime in March after there have been at least three days of 14 degree weather (certainly hasn't happened here yet), and complete their life cycle by June. This gives them just enough time to pollinate our peach, pear, plum and apple trees, for example.

Mason bee homes should be hung on a fence or post in a south-facing location about 5' above the ground, from whence they will proceed to pollinate just about everything that is flowering in their vicinity (last year I had them right beside my beloved peach tree--to which I have just tearfully said goodbye--and then had an excellent crop of sweet fuzzy peaches in August. Very nice, I must say).

After pollination, the female bees lay their eggs in new homes which you will provide for them. (this can be as simple as a short length of untreated wood drilled with holes about 6" in depth and hung just as I previously explained). In the fall you are supposed to put them in a cool dry area--an unheated garage works best), and then bring them out again in March...and the cycle begins again.

The photos here show my mason bee home, which was a gift from my (now former) neighbour, and quite palatial in scope really. After the bees leave it this spring I will clean it out and then hang it again for them to re-use. I will also make some new homes with 2x4 pieces to get as many bees as I can for next year, as I'd like them both in the front and back gardens.

We did this last year too but I only managed to save the palace in the chaos of family life. The others, sadly, got wet and oh jeeze I admit it, died over the winter. I'll do better this year...maybe.

So, if one does not already have a population of mason bees, where can one find a nest filled home of their own? There is a local fellow that sells nice mason bee homes between November and March, through the mail. Just place them in your garden and wait for them to hatch. I purchased my first batch at Victoria's Seedy Saturday, which is a great event for gardeners of all interest and skill levels. There are Seedy Saturday events in early spring or late winter in many towns, and I'm willing to bet that you can purchase mason bees at any of these.

After you have the initial population, you can then make your own bee homes. There are many variations on the theme, as you will see.

Being a mason bee keeper is pretty satisfying, and each home we all provide for these guys gets us a little closer to self-sufficiency and urban sustainability...and why wouldn't we want that?

-Erin Renwick

2011-03-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

Putting the Shine in Your Spring Garden

Finish any (or all!) leaf, dead foliage and debris clean-up leftover from the fall and the winter windstorms. Ideally, gardeners should endeavour to clean-up fall leaves and debris before the winter rains set in. Cleaning up the garden in the late fall does not just create a better looking winter landscape, but it is an essential good cultural practice. Removing debris eliminates the places insects, diseases and water can accumulate. Water logged debris attracts unwanted bugs, mold (rot), fungi and viruses to your garden. However if there was not enough time to manage this task in the autumn, then by all means get at it now!

Once is garden are free of debris you can focus on Spring maintenance jobs. An easy task to get into the spirit when the weather has not yet brightened, is what I call damage control pruning. Often after windstorms, cold winter temperatures and snow there is minor to more extensive damage to trees and shrubs. It is a good idea to take a good look at your plants with secateurs in hand and immediately prune out any broken, damaged or dead twigs, branches and etc. Sometimes damage is excessive and involves large tree limbs which may need to be removed by a local arborist or tree company. Pruning out small scale damage is a good cultural practice, as it reduces entry spots for insects and disease which can undermine plant health as the seasons evolve. This garden bed needs attention

Late winter/early spring is an excellent time to activate your compost(s). This is basically turning your composts over with a garden fork and aerating the compost (getting the oxygen in). If your lucky your compost will be ready (sufficiently decomposed) to use in your garden beds, veggy plots or for mulching ornamentals such as azaleas and rhododendrons.

What makes a good composter and good compost?

The ideal composter is a three bin system. Composts that service a good size active garden are best designed to have compost in three stages of breakdown. Three* composts are needed; ideally made out of simple lumber with 4 posts or corners and 1”x6” (or 8”) cedar for the slats. Enclosed only on 3 sides and the front can be open or be designed to slide up and down or open in some way. Three bins would be side by side and easily and cheaply constructed from any untreated lumber. Chemically treated lumber is not acceptable for composters, as the toxins from the treated wood will leach into your composting material.

*Bin one would be fresh cuttings, bin two would be partially composted and bin three would be finished compost.

This design allows for an ongoing compost supply and a wheelbarrow can be brought right up to the compost. The size of the bins depends on the size of the garden and how much room one allows for a compost/work area. On average 4'x4' is a good size. Where room and garden size do not allow for this type of set-up, there are composters available at retail stores in various shapes and sizes. Where vermin are known pests it is best to have closed composters for kitchen compost. Raccoons and rats commonly feed off of kitchen waste.

You will find some people think just about any food can go in the compost, but this is absolutely false. Do not put any cooked foods into your composters. This is a bad idea for many reasons. Cooked food is especially attractive to rodents and where you might not have had a rodent problem you certainly will if you feed them this way. All raw food (veggies,fruits, eggshells) waste is also attractive to these animals and should be composted in closed bins.

Good composts have a mixture of organic matter:

Decomposing Leaves	Grass Clippings	Vegetable Compost
Garden Cuttings	Seaweed	Manure

Other additives include:

Rot-it or related

Soil

Ashes

New material should be added intermittently in layers. Just having grass clippings or homogeneous material will not produce a healthy and balanced compost.

The second stage of composting or for bin #2, is to fork over and mix the compost to get air in and feed the microorganisms making the compost.

Edging Garden Beds

Edging garden beds is not the funnest spring garden task, but the results are rewarding. Visually the clean lines between lawns and beds add definition and set off the beds from the grass. Maintaining the lawn edges with clippers or a weedeater is far easy and faster when dealing with cleanly edged beds.

A well edged bed

Cultivating Beds

Cultivating the soil of ornamental perennial or shrub beds is an important spring maintenance practice. Cultivating really means aerating the top layer of soil so that oxygen can permeate the upper root layer of plants. Mulching over cultivated beds is much more effective than mulching compacted soils. A well cultivated soil allows mulch nutrients and water to travel easily to the plant roots where they are absorbed and travel upwards through the plants' vascular systems where they promote growth, good health and flower and/or fruit production. Early spring cultivating also loosens and dislodges weed seedlings before they develop, grow deep roots or produce seeds. Another obvious benefit of cultivation is the aesthetic benefits...a freshly cultivated fluffy bed looks better than a compacted flat surface layer.

As valuable as cultivating is sometimes it is necessary to dig deeper to amend garden soil or to prepare vegetable beds. Where soil is heavy clay, long time neglected or solidly compacted it is important to amend the soil by digging it over and adding well composted organic matter. Sometimes some clay should be removed to make way for a more workable and loamy soil. The removed clay soil can be used to form berms or fill in less ornamental areas if needed. Digging to a depth of 12-16" while adding organic matter will significantly increase the arability of the soil, making annual maintenance easier, while improving plant vigour and drainage. This task can be done either by digging around existing plants or if possible plants can be lifted and replanted once the process is complete.

Mulching

Once beds are well cultivated but if they have no organic mulch layer, this is a good time to put down a layer of composted matter. Why Mulch? Good question.... Mulching has many benefits for plants, our maintenance routine, water conservation and aesthetics. For plants good quality mulch is a complete organic fertilizer, providing plants with the essential micro and macro nutrients they depend on to grow vigorously, bloom and produce harvestable fruits and vegetables. Gardeners benefit from a reduced workload since mulch suppresses weeds, allows weed seedlings to be quickly removed from the mulch layer and lessons soil compaction and reduces the need for cultivating. With water conservation becoming more of a mainstream issue now and in the future, Mulch can retain more water in its loose organic layer than can the same volume of soil's smaller particles. Thus less frequent watering is needed during warmer, drier weather. Finally rich organic mulch gives a finished and homogeneous look to the garden beds, It's dark colour forms an excellent contrast to the greens, greys and blues of a variety of plant foliage.

Organic Woody Mulch

Fresh Leaf Mulch

Depending on your garden plants, soil PH and personal aesthetic preferences different types of of mulch can be used. I prefer a well composted chicken manure, well-rotted garden compostor leaf mulch for effective weed control, water retention and nutrient supply. These mulches have a natural, complimentary look for woodland, native and ornamental shrub and perennial borders.

Another common type of organic matter, commercial bark mulch, is readily available everywhere landscaping supplies are sold. While bark mulch has all the elements required of an organic mulch, it is not as beneficial as the recommended mulches. Bark mulch is less natural in appearance (usually reddish), less complimentary to plants' foliage and much more acidic. Certain acid averse plants such as Roses, Fruit trees, Vegetables and Chrysanthemums (to name only a few) will suffer under a layer of highly acidic bark mulch.

Planting Spring Annuals

Now that your garden is spruced up and ready for enjoying the new growth and blooms of spring it isn't too late to give your garden a pick me up with the addition of some spring flowering annuals. Your freshly cultivated beds are perfect for planting new annuals. As the wet weather tapers off and overnight temperatures increase flowering annuals will thrive. Simply purchase bedding plants from your favorite garden centre, add a dusting of bone meal and 6-8-6 granular fertilizer to your soil and start planting. When purchasing annuals be sure your site is appropriate for the species you choose. {I.E. Pansy (part-shade) Wallflowers (sun).}

These important spring garden tasks will make the most of your maintenance time and keep you busy while the days get warmer and longer. While you complete these jobs you can be planning your veggy garden, perennial plantings, additions to cutting gardens or your next water feature.

- Allison Marr

Creating a Delicious Veggie Garden

2011-02-18T14:36:00.000-08:00

Organic Vegetable and Small Fruit Gardens

It is that time of year again! Time to get into the garden and start things growing. Many more of us are growing as much food in our gardens, even in very limited spaces, as we can. This latest post will give you a good start to planning your fruit and vegetable gardens.

Site

Where should a vegetable or kitchen garden be located? A site that is sunny and open, so that plants have good air circulation and space for good traffic flow and maintenance tasks and tools. The planned plot will preferably have a south to southwest orientation to maximize the amount of daily sunlight available. Generally all the vegetables and small fruits we grow locally prefer full sun. When planning a veggy garden in an area where deer feed, then measures must be taken to minimize or stop the deer from feasting on your salad.

Deer control measures for veggie gardens include:

fenced enclosures with wire barriers to full height (10')
electric perimeter fencing
property perimeter fencing to height
bamboo, lattice veggie garden boundaries

The complete fenced enclosures will also serve to keep other garden pests out of your edible garden (rabbits, raccoons).

Planning and Installation

Once an appropriate site has been selected a garden layout can be designed.

A good edible garden plan addresses the types of plants, the size they grow and the quantity of plants desired. Naturally it is better to err on the side of allowing a little more room for future changes and development, rather than to under-estimate the space needed. At this point one has to decide between traditional in ground beds and raised bed gardens.

Raised Beds

Raised beds require more work in the planning and initial installation stages, but once installed raised beds are labour saving and higher in productivity than traditional single row gardens. The soil of raised beds warms up earlier in the spring allowing for earlier crop planting. Raised beds have no soil compaction because they are not walked on, so no cultivation is required during the growing season. Raised beds allow higher plant density, less water use and less weed growth.

Raised beds should be between 3 ½ ' and 4' wide, with a soil depth of at least 18 inches. The length of the beds is only determined by how much room one has, and what one plans to grow. The space for working between the rows should be a minimum of 18” and a maximum of 30”. Use stakes and string for guidelines to create beds that have 90 degree corners and line up perpendicular to each other. If deer control barriers are to be installed allow 18” between the fencing material and the edge of the raised beds. Install the fencing after the entire garden plot has been prepared.

The raised beds can be free formed or if a more orderly and neat plot is desired then hard landscaping materials should be used to build rectangular sides or frames. Concrete blocks, bricks, stones, cedar or fir lumber can be used, but not pressure treated lumber (toxic chemical leaching will occur). The paths between raised beds can be comprised of bark mulch, wood chips or crushed gravel screenings.

The 18” depth of good loam may be best achieved by digging out approximately 6” of the existing soil before building the beds. If soil is fertile then the area for the beds can be roto-tilled or dug over. If removing soil it can be placed where the finished paths will be positioned and raked out before topping with the appropriate material. Once dug the sides can be built (if that is the method chosen), and firmed in place with stakes as anchors. Now the beds are ready for the loam to be added. Once the beds are full the new soil should be watered in and after it settles the beds can be topped up and then ready for planting.

Traditional Garden Beds

For single row gardens the preparation is a little different. First we mark our the entire garden plot with stakes and string to make a geometically square area. Where the new garden is sited over gardens these are the preparation steps to follow:

hand weed perennial weeds to remove roots that can reproduce new plants
rototill the entire area
bring in soil amendments (organic matter and high quality loam)
if necessary build deer proof perimeter enclosures
rototill organics and loam into existing soil
rake and level soil
plot out planting rows (as long as desired) with stakes and string, label each row
space rows to allow for size of crop and room to walk between vegetation

The garden is now ready for planting.

Soil and PH

Soil for vegetable gardens should be near neutral on the PH scale. The PH scale ranges from 1 (highly acidic) to 14 (highly alkaline or basic) with a reading of 7 being neutral. There are simple PH soil tester kits that can be purchased from garden centers. Veggy garden soils should be tested every 3 years to ensure PH levels are compatible with producing productive, healthy crops.

If soil is too acidic less than 5.5 PH then lime should be added to the soil and mixed in either in the fall or if in the spring 6-8 weeks before planting. Where soil is too alkaline well rotted compost or similar organic matter should be mixed into the top level of the soil before planting.

Perennial Vegetables

Most of our popular and successful vegetable crops prefer a well drained loamy soil. In our Pacific Northwest setting only a few perennial vegetable crops are winter hardy, such as artichoke, asparagus and rhubarb.

One of the most rewarding of these is asparagus, but growing this succulent vegetable requires patience and a large garden plot. Asparagus takes 3 years to produce from seed, however 2yr old rootstocks are available for cultivating. Once established asparagus will produce for 15 yrs. Plant roots 12-18” deep in rich slightly alkaline soil and place plants 18” apart. In September cut back plant plumes to just under soil level and cover with a layer of coarse manure.

Rhubarb is easy to grow in a sunny, well drained spot. Allow at least 3 square feet for it to spread. Rhubarb, like asparagus is a cool season plant and produces edible leaves and stalks in the late spring. Rhubarb can be started from seed or nursery stock. It is essential that no water sits around the root crown or the plant will rot. Planting on a mound or in a raised bed is ideal. During hot summers Rhubarb is dormant.

Annual Vegetables

Tomatoes require an early start indoors, a greenhouse or coldframe. Tomatoes can be transplanted outdoors after the May long weekend, but for higher productivity and longer growing season they can be cultivated through the growing season in greenhouses or similar enclosures.

Tomatoes will require staking, pinching back, heavy water and fertilizing throughout the growing season. Tomatoes should never be overhead watered to reduce the chance of disease and fungus problems.

It is a good practice in BC to start any of your vegetable seed early as with tomato plants. Once the soil has warmed in late May most veggies can be transplanted into the garden plots. Some plants such as carrots, lettuces, beets and onions need less room to grow and have no need for vertical support. Other veggies such as peas and beans need vertical supports and good air circulation to inhibit powdery mildew and other diseases.

Other vegetables like cucumbers, squash, zucchini and pumpkins require much more square footage of garden space per plant. These larger plants need about 4 square feet per plant.

Small Fruits

Fresh strawberries out of the garden are hard to resist. Strawberries need full sun and well drained sandy loam with additional organic matter. Bare-root plants can be purchased in the early spring. Plant rows about 30” apart and plants 18” apart. After fruiting strawberry plants will produces new plants on runners which can be transplanted to increase crop size. Once plants attain the desired size runners need to be pruned off to reduce crowding and allowing more available energy for the parent plants. Ever-bearing varieties are a good choice as they produce fruit over the growing season, produce less runners and require less room to spread than traditional varieties. Mulching strawberries with sawdust or straw is an excellent method to reduce weeds, retain moisture, and to discourage midlew, rot and pests.

Cultivated Blueberries are medium to small perennial shrubs that thrive in our area, and several native species are long lived plants in BC. Plant nursery stock in spring in full sun, average, but acidic (PH 4.0-4.5) soil. Well rotted compost or other organic matter can be added at planting time. Plants should be about 4' apart and rows 5-6' apart. As with Strawberries mulching is highly recommended. The first fruit will be produced in the plant's third season. Very little care is needed, just once a year pruning and fertilizing for these long lived plants.

Cane Fruits are a delicious addition to any edible garden and amoung the easiest to grow and maintain. The genus Rubus includes loganberry, raspberry and blackberry. There are cultivated varieties of blackberry now available that are thornless and do not spread and invade the garden. Cane fruits require a support system, but this can be a simple row with posts on either end and three horizontal rows of light gage wire running between the posts. Cane fruits can be purchased bareroot and planted in the fall. Plants 18” apart and set rows 4” apart. Rubus prefer poor sandy well drained soils and full sun. Maintenance includes cutting old canes back to the ground and taking one third of new growth off canes in the fall that will bear fruit the next year.

Companion Planting

It is a common practice among organic gardeners to place specific plants adjacent to other plants in the vegetable garden to deter insects and diseases that may be attracted to the vegetable plants. The following table gives an overview of vegetables that work well with other plants.

Vegetable	Companion Plants	Non-companion Plants
Asparagus	Basil, Tomato, Nasturtium, Parsley	Onion, garlic, potato
Beans	Carrot, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumber, marigold	Chives, leek, garlic
Broad Beans	Brassicas, carrot, celery, corn, lettuce, potato	Fennel
Beets	Brassicas, lettuce, onion, sage	Bean (pole)
Broccoli	Celery, chamomile, dill, rosemary	Oregano, Strawberry
Brussel Sprouts	Potato, Thyme	Strawberry
Cabbage	Beetroot, potato, oregano, sage	Strawberry, tomato
Carrot	Bush beans, pole beans, lettuce, onion, pea, radish, tomato	Chives, dill, parsnip
Cauliflower	Beans, celery, oregano	Nasturtium, peas, potato, strawberry, tomato
Celery	Cabbage, leek, onion, spinach, tomato	Parsnip, potato
Corn	Bean, cucumber, melon, pea, pumpkin, potato, radish	Tomato
Cucumber	Bean, celery, lettuce, pea, radish	Cauliflower, potato, basil
Eggplant	Bean, capsicum, potato, spinach
Leek	Carrot, celery, strawberry
Lettuce	Carrots, radishes, strawberry	Beans, beetroot, parsley
Melon	Corn, radish	Potato
Onion	Bean sprout, broccoli, cabbage, lettuce, strawberry tomato	Bean, pea
Pea	Beans, Carrot, corn, cucumber, radish	Onion family
Potato	Bean, corn, cabbage, pea, eggplant	Cucumber, pumpkin, squash, sunflower
Pumpkin	Corn	Potato
Spinach	Celery, cauliflower, eggplant
Tomato	Asparagus, celery, carrot, parsley, marigold	Corn, fennel, potato
Zucchini	Nasturtium

Putting the Garden to Bed

In the fall when your annual veggies are finished harvesting they can be removed and composted. Cut back perennial plants as required. Finally apply garden lime to soil beds and plant fall rye as a green compost crop to be dug back into the garden in early spring.

Post written by Allison Marr

Woodland Bulbs, Winter Charms

2011-02-10T12:48:00.000-08:00

The Pacific Northwest coastal habitat provides an excellent setting for many Woodland Bulbs. This diverse group of plants are often the first flowers we see in the late winter and early spring.

Woodland bulbs generally thrive under the protective cover of the typical Westcoast Rainforest, and the rich, moist humus layer underfoot. These plants blooms vary from bells to star shapes and their colour range includes white, yellow, pink and blue.

One the of earliest flowering woodland bulbs is the Common Snow Drop(Galanthus), which bloom from January to February. There are several species of this Genus widely cultivated in the region, including G. nivalis and G. Gracilis.

Galanthus nivalis

All Snow Drops do well in full sun to part-shade and well-drained soils. They are also adaptable to dry shade. These bulbs should be planted close together to create dense clumps or small masses of early spring flowers. While fitting in garden beds and rock gardens Snow Drops can be naturalized in lawns, as they are going dormant by the time lawns are ready for mowing.

Galanthus gracilis

Another early flowering bulb is the tiny Hardy Cyclamen (Cyclamen coum). This plant's dainty, shooting star-like blooms are a delightful addition to the winter woodland garden. The slender flower stems are only 4" high above a tight mat of boldly patterned basal leaves.

Cyclamen coum

Flowers vary from bright pink to mauve and appear in January and February. The tubers are summer dormant, and they naturalize easily, but without becoming invasive.

Hardy Cyclamen in full bloom

Some of the most recognizable woodland bulbs are members of the Crocus genus. The Woodland Crocus (C. tommasinianus) appears in January with a small lilac flower on a short, slender stem.
Crocus is a natural spreader and thrives in rich, moist soil under part-shade to full sun.

Woodland Crocus

There are also many woodland bulbs that belong to the Lily Family. Some are native to the pacific Northwest and some are European in origin. They all naturalize readily in our westcoast climate.

Prized among woodland bulbs is the native Western Trillium (Trillium ovatum). These plants are easily recognizable by their three petaled flowers blooming just above three flat green triangle leaves. They are rhizomes and they do not naturalize as rapidly as many other woodland bulbs. In our region they bloom February to April with white blooms maturing to pink, then purple.

Another much loved woodland bulb is the checkered lily or snake's head lily (Frittilaria meleagris). It is native to Great Britain and at home in woodsy Pacific Northwest. The checkered chocolate-brown and greenish-yellow flowers are 12-18" tall and appear March to May in full sun to part-shade.

The pretty native Easter Lily (Erythronium californicum) is admired by horticulturalists for its beauty and hardiness. This bulb has unique mottled shiny basal foliage below a slender stalk holding beautiful yellow with mottled brown flowers. These graceful bulbs bloom March to April and naturalize readily in protected part-shady and moist settings.

Hyacinthoides non-scripta and H. hispanica are known as Common and Spanish Bluebells. These are very popular spring flowering woodland bulbs. They are prolific bloomers and spreaders to the point of becoming invasive in cultivated landscapes. The Spanish Bluebell is lighter coloured, taller and larger than the Common Bluebell. Both species have white, pink, lavender and blue cultivars available. They bloom April to May in full sun to part-shade above rich masses of bright green upright to nodding leaves.

A close cousin of the Bluebell is Grape Hyacinth (Muscari boyryanthus). So named for it's musky scent and it's flower's resemblance to tiny grape clusters. Bright blue (or white) bell shaped flowers cling to slim stems, beginning as closed and eventually opening up as they mature. They bloom April to May and fast spreading and potentially invasive.

A bright yellow flowering bulb, Eranthus hyemalis (Winter Aconite), is a cheerful welcome in the early woodland garden. This clump forming tuber hosts a mass of 6" high yellow composite flowers from late January to March.

Eranthus hyemalis

Iris reticulata (Dwarf Iris), is a miniture form of Iris that blooms in February to March. Purple, blue or mauve flowers stand only 4-6" tall, above dark green erect leaves. These are bulb irises (as opposed to common rhizomes) which like full sun, but still bloom in part-shade with
well-drained soil.

Iris reticulata

Anenome nemorosa (Wood Anenome) is a vigorous spreading rhizome that thrives in our woodlands. It produces a carpet of deeply edged feathery foliage with masses of star-shaped single flowers. The species is pure white, but a wide range of cultivars have been established with an array of bloom colour and double petals. Wood Anenomes bloom from late March to May, and like many early bulbs it is summer dormant.

Woodland bulbs are excellent companion plants to rhododendrons, azaleas, ornamental deciduous trees (Japanese Maple, Star Magnolias), Hellebores, Native Conifers (Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock, Grand Firs) and a plethora of Herbaceous Perennials.

-written by Allison Marr

Some cheer when it is most needed.

2011-01-28T15:09:00.000-08:00

Hamamelis x intermedia , commonly known as Witch Hazel, is an excellent winter flowering shrub for the south coast. This species is a cultivated hybrid resulting from a cross between H. mollis (Chinese Witch Hazel) and H. japonica (Japanese Witch Hazel). These winter blooming hybrids are large shrubs that can attain 12 to 15 feet high and wide. They are well suited to use in shrub borders and woodland gardens.

H. x intermedia

Hamamelis x intermedia has a spreading habit with angular or zigziging branches. They are interesting focal points in the fall garden with their bright autumn foliage. In the winter lovely yellow through orange flower clusters appear on bare wood. The flowers are truly interesting, as their narrow, crumpled petals remind one of shredded coconut, mopheads or perhaps spiders. Another attraction of most Witch Hazel blooms is their fragrance and cool winter temperatures allow the blooms to display over a long period.

Hamamelis x intermedia thrive in rich to medium quality, well-drained acidic organic soil. These plants perfer full sun to part shade, but bloom best in full sun. Within shrub borders they need room to grow. When planting keep in mind that they have a horizontally spreading habit and look best when set off a little from adjacent plants. There are few pests or diseases that attack Witch Hazel. These hybrids are well placed in a Green garden as they need very little attention, maintenance and only average summer water.

Pruning Hamamelis x intermedia involves the removal of poorly placed branches, those that are center growing, crossing, rubbing, or weak. Most plants are grafts and all suckers (shoots sprouting low on the stem or at the root crown) should be removed.Flowering stems may be cut for fragrant winter flower arrangements. As the plants grow in size they can be pruned in spring (after flowering) to control shape and size.

There are many excellent cultivars to add fall and winter interest to your gardens. Here are a few to consider.

'Allgold' – Deep Yellow Flowers with red sepals; yellow fall foliage.

'Carmine Red' – Light red flowers; red-orange fall foliage.

'Diane' – Dark red flowers maturing to orange red. Red-purple fall foliage.

H. x intermedia 'Diane'

'Jelena' ('Copper Beauty') - Coppery orange flowers.

'Magic Fire' ('Fire Charm') – Flowers in coppery orange. Fiery red fall foliage.

'Pallida' – Luminous light yellow flowers. Yellow fall foliage.

'Ruby Glow' – Coppery red flowers. Bright red fall foliage.

''Sunburst' – Heavy clusters of radiant yellow, unscented flowers. Yellow fall foliage.

'Westerstede' – Unshaded yellow-orange flowers. Orange-red fall foliage.

magical mystic beach

2010-06-21T21:08:00.000-07:00

It has been a long cold spring here in Victoria...and a busy one. My promise to myself to blog more often has been shamefully broken--again.

However, this latest adventure has left me with such a feeling of joy and inspiration that I just had to take the time to share it.

This Sunday was Father's Day, and to mark the occasion, we packed up a picnic and drove northwest past Sooke to Juan de Fuca Park, which is a huge Provincial Park containing drive and walk-in camping, and a long trail that begins just past Jordan River and ends at Botanical Beach, which is just south of Port Renfrew.

The drive from Victoria is about an hour and a half each way on windy roads, so it is a good idea to leave fairly early in the morning (this was something we failed to do, and then had to stop for gas and coffee along the way as well...my recommendation would be to fill the tank the night before, and to make that second cup at home before leaving...).

There are many trails and beaches in the park, but our destination was none other than the spectacular Mystic Beach. Parking for this trail is at the main trailhead for the Juan de Fuca trail system, just after the China Beach campground, and costs three dollars a day.

The trail itself is about two kilometres long, and a reasonable challenge for children. The five to seven year olds in our group zoomed very happily along the trail, jumping over roots and into mud puddles, across boardwalks and bridges, and along planks precariously balanced across muddy pits. Our three year olds were also very pleased to hike the trails, but needed to be carried about 1/4 of the time, and a little more on the way back after playing at the beach for the afternoon. The pinnacle of the trail for the children is the suspension bridge that straddles a small creek about twenty feet below. Little Abby called it the jumping bridge, and screeched joyfully for us to "look down!" as she crossed. Just six inches behind her and clutching the railings, I could not bring myself to do as she said for more than about half a second. She does not get her bravado from me, I'm afraid.

I have recently taken on a couple of clients with large treed sites in which we are trying to achieve a natural look, and certainly this trail was a wonderful place for inspiration. Nature is such a restrained designer in the deep coastal forest, with masses of sword ferns (Polystichum munitum), interspersed with splashes of deer ferns (Blechnum spicant), salal (Gaultheria shallon), and evergreen and deciduous huckleberry (Vaccinum parvifolium and Vaccinum ovatum). This is a garden in which you must pay close attention, that begs you to listen. The effect is calming, spacious, and contains no great pink rhododendrons or brightly coloured pots to distract your attention.

The last part of the trail is a huge fallen tree with steps carved into it that leads from the forest down onto the beach. And what a beach. It is sandy, nearly empty, and at its south end has huge cliffs with a waterfall that cascades onto the sand below. It is definitely one of the most interesting and impressive beaches that I have seen in and around the islands.

One of the best things about Mystic beach is that people are still permitted beach fires. The rule is that the fires are above the high tide line, and that only driftwood is used for fuel (as opposed to chopping up and burning live trees...). I think that one of the greatest pleasures in life has got to be eating food outside that has been cooked or warmed over a campfire. And if that fire is also on a spectacular beach, all the better. Our picnic consisted of chili, chips with guacamole, salsa and sour cream, bread and butter, and corn roasted on the fire and rolled in butter. For dessert, homemade chocolate chip cookies and fresh fruit. Mmm...

A Walk With the Camellias

2010-03-23T20:40:00.000-07:00

On Sunday it stopped raining after lunch so we decided to forgo the swimming pool for a walk in Hatley Park. I have loved this garden since being introduced to it when I was taking the Horticulture Technician course at Malaspina College (now called Vancouver Island University) in 1995. The garden is now about 100 years old and has never been left to overgrow, so it is an absolute gem.

The parking lot is below the old mansion, and to enter the garden you first have to climb the hill beneath this beautiful stone giant, making it and its sweeping lawns the first thing you see. Parking is $1.00/hr and with small kids, you'll want about two hours to see the garden. Admission is $4.50/adult, kids under 12 are free.

The entrance puts you at the Italian Garden, which was designed in 1912 by the Boston landscape firm Brett and Hall. This is a classic example of a formal Italian garden, complete with symmetrical gardens and tightly clipped box hedges. This garden is also a popular site for summer weddings.

The kids tore through this garden and made their way through the woodland garden to the Japanese Garden.

The garden was designed in 1909, and includes many mature rhododendrons, Japanese maples, ornamental cherries, camellias, and many other wonderful treasures, all centred around a large pond that features two gazebos. This would be a perfect place for a picnic on a warm day. Lucas, Cleo and Abby all had a lot of fun exploring the trails, searching for the water wheel, and hiding in the branches of the low trees and shrubs. There are also little tucked-away lanterns, arbours and trellises, and tiny bridges that make the Japanese garden a perfect place for families with small children.

The most notable of all the flowering plants we saw were the camellias. Hatley Gardens has dozens of cultivars throughout the gardens, as well as a wide path bordering the Japanese gardens that is lined on one side with various types of camellias. Camellia japonica is an evergreen shrub (generally maturing at about 10' high by 8' wide) with a thick and glossy green leaf. Most camellias flower in early spring--though Camellia sasanqua flowers in late fall--with rose-like flowers, usually double, in reds, pinks, and whites . These beautiful shrubs like conditions similar to rhododendrons, in moist shade and rich, organic soil. They also benefit from some overhead coverage (under an eaves, for example), which will protect their delicate and easily bruised flowers from heavy spring rains.

The last section of the garden that we visited was the bog garden, which includes a fish ladder that the kids raced flower petals down, and a large, beautiful pond featuring a Curly Willow (Salix babylonica) at its edge. Lucas found a dried cattail at the water's edge, which, as some of you may remember from your own childhood, makes an excellent sword/torch/fluff spreader/duster/sister tormentor. Soon we were all dusted with tiny fluffy seeds from the cattail, Cleo was upset because she didn't find her own cattail, and Abby had to pee, or rather, had already peed and needed new pants. So, we knew our time was up, and we headed back to the car for new pants and a little bit of the apple cake that I had brought along for a treat.

The dining garden

2010-03-22T19:22:00.000-07:00

We recently returned from a trip to the lovely Mayan Riviera, in the Quintana Roo province of Mexico. Among many of the wonderful things that this area has to offer, outdoor dining was one of my favourites.

There are many palapa restaurants hung with vines and small white lights twinkling through them, lanterns hanging from tree branches, and tropical foliage everywhere so that you feel enclosed, safe, and ready to stay for at least one more cerveca.

This feeling, this atmosphere, is a rare find in restaurants or in private residences in this colder part of the world, but certainly not impossible to create.

There are a few necessary elements that will help create the feeling of a cozy, outdoor dining area.

First, every truly comfortable space needs a ceiling, and this can be created with foliage from the overhanging branches of a tree, or gazebos, arbours and trellises, a large umbrella or even canvas or other fabric stretched overhead. Having a ceiling lends a human scale to the space, making us feel that we are not simply open to the great vast sky, but instead tucked in and secure amongst the plants.

Which leads us to the second necessary element of the cozy outdoor eating area, the immediate surroundings. No matter how beautiful the arbour, gazebo or trellis is, if it is not surrounded by foliage it will feel far too open to the elements and again, will leave the visitor feeling exposed and uncomfortable. The dining area needs to be surrounded with shrubs, perennials, and even small trees, whether they are in pots or in the ground. These plants do not need to block the view of the dining area, their presence alone will greatly soften and enhance the atmosphere inside the dining area. To create a calming effect within the plantings, it is best to limit both the types of plants and the colour of their foliage and flowers.

Next, the floor of the dining area is important as well. Ideally, the floor will be made of a material that is relatively even so that chairs and tables don't wobble. Random flagstone is beautiful, but it must be laid meticulously to create an even surface. Permeable pavers such as Aquapave would work well, or for something a little easier on the budget, a concrete surface could be laid. Concrete, however, is not typically a material that creates a feeling of coziness or warmth. Even less costly choices are gravel or lawn but they will be both be higher maintenance than stone, concrete, or pavers.

When choosing tables and chairs, cedar is very nice and certainly its soft, reddish colour creates a feeling of warmth. Wrought iron or aluminum looks romantic, but is often uncomfortable. Cushions and pillows should be in keeping with the colour palette you have chosen for your plants, as well as the exterior colours of your home. For a more eclectic and Mexican feel, choose brightly painted wood furniture and colourful, bright fabrics for seat cushions and pillows.

Lighting is also important for evening gatherings, and can be as simple as white LED lights strung in the tree or arbour above, or the area can be wired by an electrician so that you can utilize outdoor lanterns and even chandeliers, depending on your budget and the style that you have chosen.

Including all of these elements when planning an outdoor eating area will help you create a relaxing, comfortable dining experience in your own home, where you can always stay for one more cerveca.

The not so long winter

2010-02-07T21:47:00.000-08:00

To be honest, this really was one of the easiest winters I've experienced since moving to the coast 16 years ago. I can remember only a handful of mornings in the last three months when I looked out the window and saw frost on the ground and on the roofs of nearby houses. I have been easily jogging outside all winter, without once having to deal with snow, slush, or ice.

That does not mean, however, that the first signs of spring in the backyard aren't just as uplifting as in previous years.

As usual, the star of the show at this time of year is the Witchhazel, Hamamellis x intermedia. I grow 'Pallida' in my garden, which has yellow pom-pom flowers for about six weeks starting mid-late January. I love this yellow for its unrelenting cheerfulness. Perfect at this time of year. If I had a larger garden I would also include the cultivars 'Jelena' (bright orange flowers) and 'Diane' (red flowers). Not only do these deciduous shrubs flower in the winter, but they also have lovely blue-green foliage in summer, a pleasing vase shape, and gorgeous, reliably bright fall colour in golds, reds and oranges. It grows to about 10' tall and wide in eight years or so, and likes full sun to part shade.

A good underplanting for the witchazel, especially 'Jelena' or 'Diane' would be the snowdrop, Galanthus nivalis. It is flowering everywhere you look in Victoria just now, and it is a classic, sophisticated bulb that i am particularly fond of. I prefer it to the showier crocuses that are also beginning to poke their heads out just now.

Another perfect pairing for the snowdrop and the Witchhazel is the Christmas Rose, or Lenten Rose, Helleborus. These clumping evergreen perennials sit quietly for most of the year when the other plants in the garden are strutting their stuff, but then at the end of winter, and sometimes even earlier, they begin to flower. And oh, what a show. There are many different cultivars and a few different Hellebore species, and they come in creams, whites, pink, purples, reds, and even a mix of a few different colours on the same flower. Pictured here is a single white flowering Helleborus orientalis, but there are many more. Another personal favourite of mine is Helleborus x hybridus 'Walhelivor', known as the Ivory Prince hellebore. To see this and other hellebores, try this website devoted only to hellebores.

Another quirky little plant in my garden is the wasabi plant, Wasabia japonica. This is the plant that you're thinking; its rhizome is what traditionally makes up the spicy green paste that comes on the side of your sushi dish. This plant likes to be constantly moist, has interesting foliage, and has pretty white flowers at this time of year. We have yet to sample the root, but I will certainly post the results here when we do..

We are really lucky here on the coast for all kinds of reasons, not the least of which is the incredible array of flowers we have in January and early February, long before the traditional harbinger of spring, the Forsythia, begins its happy show.

Hidden Pumpkins, Hiding Scarecrows

2009-10-27T20:40:00.000-07:00

'I don't want to go to the garden! I don't want to go to the garden! I don't want to go to the garden!' This is the mantra my four-year-old Cleo was wailing when we pulled into the parking lot at Milner Gardens, just outside of Parksville BC, this past Saturday. We were there for their annual Fall Colours Weekend; a family oriented event in which the kids search for as many scarecrows and pumpkins as they can find, while exploring the garden along the way.

As I struggled to unfold our jogging stroller for little Abby while all three kids, along with their two cousins, jumped around the car, defying anyone trying to park to just come a little closer, I wasn't so sure this was going to be the best place for us. But the sky was clear and the sun had some real warmth in it, and well, we were here, right? So, off we trundled to the pretty cedar building that is the entrance to the garden.

The children were instantly charmed by the harvest doll, and then even more so by the warm, sweet woman who was receiving visitors. She gave the kids all a map on which they were to check off all of the pumpkins and scarecrows that they could find. And then she explained the best part, the really exciting part: after they have found all the pumpkins and scarecrows they possibly can, the kids can take their papers to the gift shop to retrieve some much-deserved candy.

At last, because he is the eldest, the woman made Lucas in charge of the pencil. He took it from her carefully, head held high (Later that day I heard him explain to Cleo that since he is the oldest, he gets to boss everyone else around. She nodded with solemnity).

Happy now, we all set off through the woodland trail that leads to the rest of the gardens, the gift shop, and the beautiful ocean-front Milner House and tea room. The kids screamed along the path, making little checks on their papers each time they came across a scarecrow or a pumpkin.

As we neared the main gardens, we heard some distant drumming and the kids made it their mission to discover where the music was coming from. When we got closer, we saw that it was coming from yet another pretty cedar building, in which Milner Gardens holds its Shoots with Roots programs. The kids ran past the lovely children's food garden and up to the building entrance, where they took off their shoes and walked into a drumming circle. They were each handed a drum and told to go for it. By the time Abby and I had our shoes off, the three oldest kids were drumming away with everyone else. We all stayed there for a while, and even the smallest kids had fun making music with the other people in the room.

As we walked further along the path toward the water, we came across an old cottage, tiny but grand, that is shrouded in a very charming, English country garden. Here I saw the most beautiful little grove of Pee Gee Hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata) that I have ever encountered. These shrubs are now small trees pruned expertly so that their gnarled trunks highlight the delicate beauty of the flowers, and the panicles have been left untouched, though all of the leaves have fallen. The flowers have faded to a soft, dull pink that on this day was absolutely lit up by the bright afternoon sun.

For a long time I had passed over hydrangeas as fussy, old-fashioned plants that were not really worth the extra water. But well-placed, these shrubs can be an incredible asset to a garden. My favourites are definitely the Pee Gees. There are many beautiful cultivars available, including 'Kyushu,' 'Tardiva,' and 'Unique.' The Oak Leaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea quercifolia) are also a nice alternative to the more traditional Mopheads and Lacecaps (Hydrangea macrophylla and Hydrangea serrata). The Oak Leaf Hydrangeas also have the added feature of gorgeous fall colour. All hydrangeas thrive in part-sun in a place where they will not dry out, as they do tend to be thirsty plants.

Just as I had turned away from the hydrangeas and began heading toward the Milner house, I saw my friend Geoff Ball, who is Executive Director at Milner Gardens. He and his family have the great fortune to live in a private wing of the Milner house. Imagine! Geoff was very busy this day, but he graciously gave me a tour of the gorgeous old house and tea room (I took one look at the delicate cups and saucers and knew that we would not be taking the kids here--bring your own tea if you've got little ones!). Staff and volunteers are slowly renovating the old house, which looks out onto the gardens and beyond that, the ocean. It is a gorgeous home; just what you'd expect from a 'country estate' of old, complete with 16th century furniture and creaking wooden floors.

Milner Gardens rents out the house for weddings, among other things, and I think this place would be perfect for a small, romantic wedding. Just imagine walking down these steps onto the lawn below, filled with all the folks you love...

After seeing the house, the kids wanted nothing more than to take a ride in one of the golf carts that act as taxis to and from the parking lot, and to go and collect their candy from the gift shop.

My mom, sister and I would have loved to stay the rest of the afternoon, walk through the rhododendron groves, admire the mature plantings of magnolias, japanese maples, and many other wonderful trees and shrubs, like the Paper Bark Maple in this photo (Acer griseum).

I could see myself sitting, like the statue, taking in my surroundings and feeling the warm sun on my face...but Abby was at my legs, insisting that she not only push the heavy stroller up the hill, but that she also do it while walking backwards.

The Inspired City

2009-09-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

It's always nice to get some fresh inspiration. Sometimes it comes from visiting a beautiful garden, or the nursery, or even from a walk in the woods with the kids.

This week, I got a full day of inspiration when I took Julie M oir Messervy's workshop, Home Outsid e: Creating th e Landscape You L ove. Julie's was one of the pre-show workshops at the annual CanWest Hort Show, at the Vancouver Convention Centre.

This particular day was fabulous from beginning to end. It started off with a sunrise run in False Creek. I wanted to check out the progress of the Olympic Village. It is mostly finished, but I did run past a few empty lots and chain-link fences...it seems hard to believe that all of this will be finished on time for the Olympics, but my bet is that they'll get it done. The finished landscape work that I did see, however, is gorgeous. There's a great mix of materials with steel, concrete, pavers, and chunky wooden areas, made to look like piers. There is one section in particular that I really like, where the landscapers have placed large rectangular granite chunks, like benches, in amongst Mexican Feather Grass (Stipa tenuissima). The wispy golden grasses are a perfect foil for the solid, hard edges of granite. I also saw a lot of native plants such as Salal (Gaultheria shallon) and Vine Maple (Acer circinatum). I like the way these informal plantings look against such a dense, urban setting as this.

In order to get from where I was staying in False Creek down to the Convention Centre, I took the new Canada Line Skytrain. It took about ten minutes to get from False Creek down to the Convention Centre in Coal Harbour. Very nice.

As I made my way to the Convention Centre, I walked through another very well-designed landscape. This one sits just outside the food-court below the convention centre, in what would have been a difficult area to design. It is a very steep slope from the streets above, and a relatively small flat area. What the designers did was create a gorgeous waterfall in a tear shape, and next to that, a series of wave-shaped concrete retaining walls planted with grass between them. Gorgeous, I thought, as I saw it in the morning, nearly empty. When I came down at lunch for a burrito, I was even more impressed with this design. Those beautiful retaining walls also act as the perfect bench. The landscape invites you to climb right in, as many people did, to have lunch in this perfect, sunny ocean of stairs. Very impressive.

But, on to the workshop itself. Julie Moir Messervy is a designer that I have long admired. Among others, she wrote a book called Outside the Not So Big House with architect Susan Susanka that I have poured over for years now. This was my introduction to her work.
Julie creates gardens from a place of feeling, of emotion, which of course is the way that we experience the finished garden. All too often as designers we are caught up in the cost of gardens, or the nuts and bolts of building them, coming away from what ultimately matters about the garden, which of course is the way we feel when we are sitting amongst the plants of a finished garden. Julie strives to design and build with what she calls a 'joyful process,' in which the project is a positive journey for everyone involved.

Tuesday's workshop was based on Julie's latest book, Home Outside, Creating the Landscape You Love. Over the course of the day, she took us through the process that she uses with her own clients, beginning with asking her clients to describe to her the landscape that they most loved as a child. This is the place where they loved to sit, daydream, play. Julie believes that by discovering her clients' sacred childhood landscape, she will be much closer to creating the perfect garden for them. This idea really stuck with me. It seems a great way to create a 'home outside' for my own clients, one in which they will be able to daydream again.

We did many exercises throughout the workshop, the most fun and original of which was a group project where we had to design a 'tabletop garden' using whatever we had in our bags, the things that were on our tables already, and a collection of objects that Julie and her husband provided. It was fun to see what everyone came up with, and to work in a group, when many of us designers spend our days working alone.

The workshop was refreshing and inspiring, and the day just flew by. At the end of it all, I took the train back to False Creek, then hopped in the car to make the seven o'clock ferry, back to this beloved little island that is home.

Goodnight Garden

2009-09-17T10:38:00.001-07:00

Even though there's no more swimming in the lake, no more camping trips, no reading our books while the kids play on the beach for us till next summer, we really do have it pretty good in the early fall on the island. We have had lovely warm weather and blue blue skies most days this September.

In the garden, the strawberries are producing nicely, as is the lettuce. The tomatoes and squash are still ripening, and our winter crops of kale and rainbow chard are trying their best.

I have a long list of things I'll do better next year, like building a plastic co ver to protect our tomatoes from the wind, and to keep them warm for an earlier, better crop. And more. More of everything, especially greens. And next year, I swear it, I will grow a decent crop of carrots.

But, it is time to move on and prepare the garden for the winter. The last thing to go into the ground in our garden this year is garlic. We planted some of what we grew last year (although we've already eaten most of it!), and some that we bought at our local farmers market. We chose soft-neck garlic because it is easy to grow, and will keep in a dry, dark place for longer than the hard-neck varieties.

To prepare the garlic, we pulled whole bulbs apart and separated them into cloves just before planting. We prepared the garlic bed by working in a bag of fish compost, and then digging two trenches side by side, about 3" deep. When the trenches were ready, we placed the garlic cloves into the them, about 5" apart, and then covered them with soil and watered them well. Before long, we should see the greens come up, and they will last through the winter. We will harvest this crop next summer, likely some time in July. Now all we have to do is wait!

The Blackberry Patch

2009-09-03T06:30:00.001-07:00

Sometimes even the most invasive of weeds can be forgiven its aggressive ways. For my part, every year at the end of summer I forgive brambles, wholeheartedly. Just now they are heavy with their big, sweet berries that are readily available to anyone who takes the time to pick them.

Many of us have our favourite bramble patches that we swear have the biggest, sweetest, and most abundant berries. I believe the same of our patch. My son Lucas was the first to discover this patch when we first moved to Victoria from Vancouver a couple of years ago. It is on the side of a road in an open field near the ocean, and it provides us with as many berries as we can pick, or in Abby's case, as many berries as she can eat.

This year my mom and sister and I went out with all of our five children. Not counting the three or four pounds of blackberries we ate while we picked, we came back with about eight pounds of blackberries, which was enough to make eight large jars of jam, to freeze a bunch for smoothies over the winter, and for my sister to make a delicious blackberry peach cobbler for dessert that evening.

Blackberry picking is a yearly ritual shared by many of us on the islands and lower mainland, filling our cupboards with jams and jellies enough to last the winter. This of course is a testament to the amount of disturbed open areas that have succumbed to the bramble, which for most of the year is just a mean and thorny vine. But, for its part, it provides us with wonderful berries that we can pick, can, freeze and bake with, all without spending even a penny.

potato pullin'

2009-08-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

It seems to me that this year a lot of people decided to grow potatoes in a new or different way. My sister called me early in the spring to tell me about the tire method, in which you plant your seed potatoes in an old tire, and then pile tires upon tires as the plants grow. The idea is that when it comes time to harvest, all you do is pull apart the layers of tires and voila! No dig potato harvesting.

For our part, we decided to grow potat o es in straw this year. First, we used the sheet mulching method of applying layers of newspaper over lawn, and added a layer of compost to that. On top of this, we added our seed potatoes which were the lovely and delicate fingerling potatoes.

Then, instead of adding more soil, we covered the seed potatoes in straw. As the potato plants grew, we continued to add more layers of straw, keeping the whole plot well-watered throughout the season.

Eventually the plants flowered, and then after they died back, we called our friends over for a little harvest party. Harvesting, of course, is the most satisfying part of gardening, and we were all pretty excited to see what we had under our layers of straw. The whole idea with the straw is that the plant produces its little gems in the clean straw, and you have a nice, perfectly clean potato to harvest.

As we peeled back the layers, however, we found that most of our potatoes had not produced plants along the stems as they were meant to, but had produced at the base of the plants, and yes, we had wonderful, perfect, clean little fingerlings! They were very easy to harvest because we were just plucking them from the first compost layer, and we did not have to use a shovel at all. Even my little Abby was able to help with the harvest, much to her delight.

And my son Lucas, very much into numbers at the moment, did the final count, which came out at 129 little blond potatoes.

Overall, I think that the straw method was a success, and was certainly an easy way to grow the potatoes, right from start to finish.

Another bonus is that now we have a lovely little garden bed to layer up, lasagna garden style, and plant our winter vegetable crop to get us through the cold, wet months of the year to come.

Long Beach Bound

2009-06-22T21:53:00.000-07:00

After another crazy week of managing our three kids, the house, the chores, and work, Damon and I packed up the car and began the trek to Greenpoint Campground, in the Pacific Rim National Park just south of Tofino. We all started the journey a little wound up and stressed out, but the further we got from the city, the more we began to relax. By the time we arrived that evening, we were all in good spirits after the beautiful, scenic drive. Of course it didn't hurt that our friends had already set up camp and had a warm fire going, as well as wine for us and marshmallows for the kids all ready to go. It was a great start to what turned out to be a fabulous, sunny weekend.

One of the things that really struck me over the three days that we were away was the absolute plethora of unspoiled native forest. It is such a treat to really experience the natural, perfect garden that is our west coast forest floor. And at this time of year, the forest plants are really showing off. This has got to be the best time to take a look at Native plants outside of their cramped little quarters in the nursery. One can design an entire garden with perfect, natural layers just in studying the forest edge beside almost any of the campsites in the park, or even the side of the highway anywhere between Port Alberni and Tofino.

The star of the show this time of year is Aruncus dioicus, or Goatsbeard, which is blooming profusely just now anywhere it can in open areas. It is all over the side of the road heading up toward Tofino, where it is finally not choked out by ivy, brambles or broom as it so often is on the South Island. This is a plant that would be fabulous mass planted in a large woodland garden, or even in groups of three or five in a smaller garden. It grows to about four feet wide, and in flower is about three feet high. It also makes a great cut flower, and is widely available in nurseries.

Other gorgeous native plants blooming right now include the diminutive Cornus canadensis (Bunchberry), Maianthemum dilatatum (False Lily of the Valley), and just finishing up is Holodiscus discolor (Oceanspray).

Finally, the native Salmonberry is delicious just now, and beautiful as well, being ripe when it is both yellow and red in colour. This berry is almost like a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry. It is large and sweet, great on ice cream. This one would certainly be worth cultivating in a kitchen garden for its early ripening time. As we munched on these berries, my great friend Heather Grimshire, of the Boat House B&B in Ucluelet, mentioned that she had been picking these to serve fresh to her guests in the morning. Such lucky guests!

You know it's been a successful camping trip when on the last afternoon, no one wants to leave. Such was the case with Damon and I and the kids this past Sunday. It was with great reluctance that we brushed the sand off of our toes and headed up the hill, away from the magnificent forest and ocean of the Pacific Rim National Park.