Adding seasonal colour to your planters with perennials

Don’t despair if your pots are looking dim and grim. There are plenty of options for you that do not involve the basic winter pansies, like wonderful perennials. While most perennials will not bloom during the winter months, there are many with dazzling foliage that has the ability to spice up your dull pots just in time for the holidays.

Here are a few of my favourites:

Heucheras for partial sun/shade:
Key Lime Pie: ruffled chartreuse leaves that will really pop on those dull winter days.
Electra: similar to Key Lime Pie, only with scarlet red veins in the leaf.
Peach Crisp: well, just peachy!
Blackout: black as night and just as dramatic.

Grasses/Sedges for full sun and partial sun:
Carex “Blue Zinger”- graceful light blue strap like leaves.
Sweet Flag - glossy golden leaves with a slight green stripe down the centre. Absolutely glows this time of year.
Carex “Ice Ballet”- subtle green and gold variegated strap like leaves.
Black Mondo Grass - while not technically being a grass, this member of the lily family has striking black leaves with a green underside and blooms purple.
Blue Fescue Grass - Spiky intensely blue leaves with a flowing growing habit.

Euphorbias for full sun and partial sun: 
Glacier Blue - one of my new favourites! Blue leaves with white edges. A combination of great colour and great texture, all in one plant.
Blackbird - dramatic purple and green leaves.

Other perennials worthy of mentioning:
Wintergreen - this partial sun and shade evergreen ground cover produces red berries in fall and winter along with green and bronze leaves.
Skimmia japonica - this shade and partial sun plant actually flowers in winter! Some varieties have white or dark pink flowers in November and December.
Golden Club Moss - this shade plant is just as it sounds a moss. Like a golden carpet, it is great for under planting existing shrubs.

So there you have it! There are plenty of plants that can liven up your pots beside pansies. So think outside the pot, and use perennials to colour your world.
~Wade Hunter, Nursery Manager

End of the Month Checklist

I’ve compiled a general list of tasks that should be completed by the end of the month. These are the final steps necessary to ‘put your garden to bed’ for the winter. I find this always bittersweet as it is saying farewell to my favorite place, my garden, for the long winter. Time spent now will pay off next spring!

• Bring in fuchsias, begonias and geraniums
• Cut back raspberry canes that have grown too long
• Dig up dahlias and gladiolas before the first frost and store in a cool, dry place
• Divide large clumps of rhubarb
• Mulch root crops like carrots, onions and parsnips and they will last much longer in the ground
• Keep the lawn raked and clear of debris, compost any leaves
• Winterize your roses
• Have all bird feeders cleaned, filled and ready for our feathered friends
• Allow ornamental grasses to die back and don’t cut back until spring
• Have tools cleaned, oiled and stored
• Lime your lawn if haven’t already, this is very important!
• Mulch flower beds with mild mushroom manure
• Drain and turn off underground sprinkler system. It can be very expensive if you forget!
• Second to last thing: wrap and mulch bananas and hardy palms
• Last thing: take all hoses off and store for the winter

The root of the Problem

To mulch or not to mulch, that is the question.

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of bad soil quality, or to take up arms against a sea of troubles, including the long run, poor plant health and winter damaged roots.

The benefits of mulching in the fall are two-fold; it will protect root systems from frost and it will retain soil heat. For evergreen shrubs, mulching will help retain moisture over the winter which in turn will protect from the plant drying out in the springtime.

There are many different types of mulch, as much as the birds in the air. Okay… well maybe that’s an exaggeration, but here are a few: pine needles, straw, chopped leaves, wood chips, and compost. If you are so inclined to use wood chips or bark mulch, use a composted one. Straight bark mulch or wood chips tend to steal nitrogen from the soil like a thief in the night as they break down.

Regardless of which medium you may choose, apply it in a two to three inch layer only. Any more and you could smother the plant’s root system. Also, pull away any excess mulch piled against the trunks of woody plants, as this can lead to rot and ultimately death. When the sun comes back ‘round and shines it’s happy light in the spring, pull the mulch away from more delicate perennials. This will help to not smother the roots, but for those woody perennials, leave it in place.

So there you have it! Do not go gently into that good night, fight the good fight on behalf of your leafy companions and mulch them as you like it.

Halloween Fun

Have you been in lately to see our Halloween department? If not then you must come see it soon!
We are loaded with all kinds of fun and unique Halloween decorations perfect for parties, front porch
decorating, gifts, you name it! The selection is second to none for unusual items not seen in box stores or discount chain stores. If you enjoy adding a little fun Halloween in your decorating, check out our black wire spider webs (over 24 inches wide) for only $10.99 or our glass novelty bottles of mystery potions guaranteed to send chills down your guests spines! We have ladies gloves complete with scary fingernails and spider headpieces (that are a big hit with the under 12 crowd). Drop in soon as stock is moving fast!

Crop Covers

Soon you will be clearing out your vegetable gardens leaving the ground empty. Bare, exposed soil
is a magnet for neighbourhood cats. It also compacts from the heavy winter rains and loses valuable
nutrients due to leaching. To prevent any of these from happening, smart gardeners sow cover crops.
A cover crop is an annual crop of greens used to prevent erosion, prevent soil compaction and add
nutrition back to the soil. Sown in the fall, they grow quickly and stay all winter long. In early spring,
around 4 weeks before you plan to begin planting your new vegetables, you then cut it down and turn it over in the soil allowing it to decompose and enrich the earth. We currently stock two different options of cover crops; Fall Rye and Legume Mix. I have used fall rye for years and it always gets my veggie garden off to a good start each year. It also has kept the family cat from using the garden for his own purpose!

Winter Care for Roses

I like to have my garden ‘put to bed’ for the winter by Nov. 1st each year. Roses need protection from
deep cold snaps so a little effort now will keep them safe and warm to thrive again next year. Begin by stripping all the leaves from the stems. If they were healthy leaves then add them to your compost pile. If they showed signs of black spot or mildew then discard them. Pick up all leaves that are underneath the plant as well to prevent potential fungal spores from overwintering in the ground. Next mound a mulch of straw, sawdust or bark mulch high enough to cover the graft. This acts as a blanket insulating the roots for roses planted in the ground. If you grow roses in containers, I recommend if possible moving the pots to a sheltered area in a corner with wind breaks around it. Then follow the same steps with leaf stripping and mulching. You can even wrap the pot in bubble wrap. This is a great way to winter protect many container plants. It’s inexpensive and gives that extra bit of warmth during winter cold snaps.

Bulb Beauties

Autumn blooming crocus (Colchicums) are here at Art Knapp Urban Garden and what stunning  bulbs they are! Planted in September and blooming soon after, colchicums bear gorgeous crocus-like blooms on slender stems. White, soft purple and pink-toned varieties are available with their foliage appearing just after they bloom. They are wonderful naturalizers and are very impressive as mass plantings. We even carry Saffron crocus bulbs for those chefs out there.

1. Pick up your bulbs at our store (I love Snow Crocus because when nothing seems
to want to grow in the winter, those little beauties start popping up in Jan/Feb)

2. Dig the hole. Place the bulbs inside with something to help with the roots. (I have falling head
over heels for Mychorrizae or Myke as we call it for short. This stuff is fantastic!)

3. Cover with soil and water. Let the bulbs do all the work! You'll have great colour
for spring and you barely had to lift a finger.

We just received our first shipment of bulbs this week... so start planning your spring colour  scheme now! 

Time to spring into fall... fall planting that is!

Well it's fall and so you say to yourself, "Self, you really missed the boat on  gardening this year! There were a lot of distractions: bad weather early on, gorgeous weather later on, the beach, the seawall, that camping trip. Oh  that camping trip!" All solid reasons not to spend time in the garden.

But wait! It's not too late! The second planting season is upon us. Most  perennials, as well as trees and shrubs, do better in the long run when  planted in the fall. In fall, you plants will go into warm soil and benefit  from high moisture levels which is ideal for root development. What's more, their roots will continue to develop for the most of the winter season down here on the south coast, and will be thoroughly established by the  following summer.

So you see, fall is by far the best time to plant trees, shrubs and perennials so spring into your fall planting today! Or even tomorrow.

Don't fear the Reaper!

Now is the time to plant your cool season crops and reap the benefits of our wonderfully temperate climate. Cool weather crops include both greens and crucifers (think broccoli & cabbage).

For your greens, think about spinach, arugula, swiss chard and kale. Also, lettuce is a great one to plant now as it is a speedy crop and can be harvested within weeks. You can either plant seedlings or sow seeds directly in the ground. It's just that easy! Radishes are super fast too, maturing in just 25 days! Mmm...

And finally come the crucifers: broccoli, cabbage, brussel sprouts and cauliflower. All autumn dinner table favourites that thrive in cooler temperatures.

So you see, summer may be over, but the harvest will continue for a long time yet. Whether you are planting fall seeds or seedlings, we have plants that will allow you to get our there and reap what ye have sown!

Save These Beauties!

Soon we will be ‘clearing’ out the garden in preparation for winter. Annuals that served us nicely
through the summer will soon be at the end of their life cycle and will be pulled out to make room
for fall color and spring flowering bulbs. Don’t be too quick to compost all your summer color! Some
of these beauties can be easily overwintered for enjoyment next summer. I’ve included these photos
of a Dragon Wing begonia and a Gartenmeister fuchsia that I kept over from last season. Last fall,
when I was emptying planters at the nursery, I couldn’t bring myself to throw out these two as they
were still blooming and looking great. I dug them out of the planters and shoved them in 2 gallon
pots. I cut the fuchsia back to roughly 5 inches tall and the begonia to 3 inches. Then I brought them
home for their winter accommodations in my attached garage. This is a perfect place to overwinter
tender plant material because it remains cool but is always above freezing. I watered sparingly over
the winter months (meaning once every 6 weeks or so) so they have just enough moisture to survive
during dormancy. In April I moved them out into my unheated greenhouse and began increasing their
waterings. Soon they were leafing out again and as you can see they were gorgeous this past summer.
Give this a try if you have an attached garage or other suitable cool space. The rewards are worth it!

The Colours of Fall

Fall is a season bursting with its own palette of beautiful color. Travel tours are organized around
autumn displays of color in eastern Canada and the United States. The blazing reds, bright yellows
and burnt oranges of shade trees and deciduous shrubs are poster worthy. You can have this too in
your own gardens with a little strategic planting and planning. This is the best time of year to wander
throughout nurseries and take note of different shrubs and trees with fall leaf color that appeals to you. Every garden should have at least one shade tree and a few shrubs that provide autumn interest.

October is the best month for planting nursery stock so I recommend getting out to the garden centre
and choosing from among the following for some of the best fall performers:

Shrubs
Fothergilla, Smokebush, Blueberry, Oakleaf hydrangea, Burning bush, Viburnum varieties

Shade Trees
Oxydendrum (Sourwood), Maples (Large leaf and Japanese), Stewartia, Dogwoods, Redbud, Katsura