Homeowners' Corner: Advice from the Gardening Guru
Lila Smith, owner of "BRANCHING OUT" Plantscaping Company dealing in design, installation and maintenance of plants. Lila worked in real estate with Roz back in the 80's and has remained one of Roz’ great friends for 20 years. She has lived in West Chezzetcook and Porter's Lake. Her true love is gardening. She is just full of knowledge about gardening here in our climate.
My expertise is in exterior and interior plants, placement and care. In other words what grows best where and how it can benefit you in your home and outside as well. In the future I will be giving you tips as to when you should be doing what in your garden to get the most out of your space with minimal effort and expense. Some jobs may require the assistance of a landscape expert but we will try and provide you with the tools to make an impact with the least amount of work involved.
This being the first of the year there is little you can do in your outside garden but this is an ideal time to start designing your outdoor spaces. Looking through the seed catalogues is an excellent way to find plants not normally found at most garden centres. The majority of plants you find in garden centres are usually on everyone else's garden. They are the ones that are the most popular because they are the easiest to grow without much help and can survive in the local climate and growing conditions. If you wish to stand out this year try this tip. The catalogues usually will provide you with the placement and growing conditions of these plants. Some nurseries also have mail order catalogues with plants ready to set in the ground when they arrive at your door.
Stand at your window and view your outdoor space. Is there anything interesting to look at in the winter? There are numerous plants with winter interest. Some with misshapen branches such as the Corkscrew Hazel. If you have a semi-shady spot away from heavy winds the lovely leaves and buds of natures temperature guide, the Rhododendron, with the leaves folding down on cold days and opening wide as the temperature rises above zero. The large buds showing all winter burst into color in masses of giant flowers in the late spring. They don't require a deep hole to plant as they have a very shallow root system so a lot with rocks does not usually create a problem for these beauties. They also come in a number of colors so if you wish to go with a theme you can. There are also different finished growing sizes from the miniature to the very large. Ideal for the acidic soil of the Halifax / Dartmouth area. The Siberian dogwood with its red bark in winter or the papery birch trees white as the snow, trees shrubs or even ornamental grasses can make a dreary winter day an interesting view. The key to any successful garden is your vision and the passion to follow through. As any gardener will tell you there is always something else you would like here or maybe move this one over there. Once you start you'll be hooked for life.
If you are into indoor gardening, hanging plants or floor plants windowsill gardens for herbs or gardening under lights, I will have some tips on choosing plants for the right lighting conditions and even plants that can clean the indoor air of toxins while providing us with moisture for our dry winter skin. Stay tuned for more next month. Valentines Day is not just for lovers but an easy way to remember that our plants need a little extra TLC as the days are getting longer and they now will have the urge to grow. We can fertilize the ones we do have now.