 Gardening Basics for the
Aspiring Gardener
By Ruth Staal of GreenGate Garden Centres Ltd.
With the growing season upon us, it’s only fitting that we offer tips that can help
garden lovers prepare for a summer of creativity and enjoyment. Following are some basic
tips to get you on your way:
•Choose plants that are appropriate for the location. Sun loving
plants will not thrive in shade, and those that actually prefer it will wilt in hot sun.
Some will be happy with a little of both. Ask the experts at your garden centre for
advise.
•Group plants with similar watering needs together. Plants that do
well with little pampering can be grown in areas where they don’t get as much
attention. Special plants that need watering regularly should be grouped together in an
area where they can be checked easily for moisture.
•Annuals live for only one summer, and that is a bonus! Every year
you can plant something different and enjoy experimenting with color and new or untried
varieties. You don’t have to stray completely away from your favourites, trying new
combinations will add a distinctive new look each year. Annuals also bloom most of the
summer, so they will bring beauty to your garden for a long time.
•Perennials bring reliability to the garden. They are treasured
for color, fragrance, shape, leaf structure, blooming time, and extreme variations in
size. If you choose them carefully based on seasonal aspects, you can have flowers
throughout a long growing season, from early spring to late fall.
•Hardy bulbs can provide an incredible variety of color and
structure for the whole growing season. They flower in the spring, from dainty Squill in
April, through Tulips, Crocuses, Daffodils, Fritillaries, and Alliums later in the summer.
Plant in clusters amongst later blooming plants.
•Vegetables do not have to grow in rows! Don’t be afraid to
combine edible varieties with your flowers. Try using carrots as edging for flower beds -
nobody will recognize them. Rhubarb, with its huge leaves, can look right at home in a
perennial bed. Some veggie varieties offer unique color and texture, for instance, scarlet
runner beans are annual vines with bright red flowers.
•Learn about the size of trees and shrubs before you plant them!
Surprises are nice, but not when you find out that the cute little tree you bought ten
years ago is only half grown at twenty feet tall and ten feet wide! Yes, in the beginning
it does look odd to have a young tree or shrub five feet from the fence, but you will be
glad later that you did it.
•Fertilizing your lawn won’t make it green any sooner. Lawns
generally begin to grow when the soil is warm enough - only then you should give it
fertilizer. Remember - you don’t eat when you are asleep!
•A special feature can give your garden character. Would you like
a small pond, a gazebo, a statue of a duck or an interesting rock? Let your imagination
show. Make sure it has a setting that enhances it, perhaps with a spotlight or a nook
where a path draws you to it.
•Ground covers can add a softer look to a garden than bark and
pebbles do. Thyme, creeping Veronica, low varieties of Dianthus and strawberries (yes,
they spread easily and you get to eat the fruit!) all do well in sun. In shady areas, try
Lamium, Ajuga, or Vinca. This is truly low maintenance gardening.
Ruth Staal has been respected as a ‘Head
Horticulturist Guru’ for over 20 years. She is often a quoted source in local media
as a problem solver for Calgary’s most successful gardens. Visit Ruth at GreenGate
Garden Centres, located at 14111 Macleod Trail South, or call 403.256.1212. www.greengate.ca
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