• TRICKS:
• Ash in soil
• Climate zone
• Composting
• Grass
• Gravel
• Keeping labels
• Landscaping
• Mr. Original
• Mulch
• Watering
• REFERENCES
• POEM
• GLOSSARY

Here are the little tricks I have learned the hard way:
 
 
 

Ash in soil

Maybe it is only an old wife's tale but it looks to me like it really works. The ash from the fireplace is mixed into the vegetable garden's soil in the spring when it's time to hoe. According to some people it changes the earth's PH and keeps bugs away. So far I have been doing it and have not had serious insect problems. The only ones giving me a hard time are squirrels, birds and rabbits.
 
 
 

Climate zone

Now, I only take plants of 1 zone hardier than what is suited to my area which is zone 5B. Borderline plants die or are constantly damaged when colder-than-usual winters come by. Spending hours adding winter protection for plants in the Fall is not for me.
 
 
 

Composting

I'm not good at this. The material is supposed to be cut in very small pieces but I tend to throw everything as-is with the result that after a full year, it has still not become the fine rich smooth compost that is seen in magazines or on TV. I end up using it as filling. I was told that the compost bin that I have, which is the size of most of the commercial ones sold, is too small to do the job. The amount of organic material must be large enough for the process to work. It would take 3 or 4 years to get decent compost with the one I have and it wouldn't be as "sterile" as it should because there wasn't enough heat produced to kill off weeds, bugs... If you want to compost, do it in a large amount.
 
 
 

Grass

I cut the grass at a high setting. Long grass doesn't suffer from drought as much. I don't fertilize much, if at all. The grass clippings left in place don't look as good as picking it up in a bag but becomes a natural fertilizer and mulch to keep humidity in the ground. I have enough trees to offer shade for part of the day which means that my grass doesn't need to be watered... ever.
 
 
 

Gravel

Putting a few bucketful's of gravel in the bottom of the hole when planting a new tree is a life saver for areas that tend to get damp after a strong rain. It is the only way I managed to keep a cherry tree alive in the swamp area instead of having it die in the spring like the pear tree and cherry tree which didn't get the special treatment.
 
 
 

Keeping labels

I have kept the labels of all my plants. It comes handy when you want to add more identical ones to make a large bush of them. There are so many different varieties. Sometimes you may have questions to ask to specialists but without the name, you cannot have a definite answer. For example, I had planted a honeysuckle vine near my balcony. I wanted to have a nice perfume. The vine grew to be huge and full of flowers but... no scent. I asked and was told that one variety is scent-less. The one I picked of course! The good side of it is that this variety blooms continuously. It may not smell good but it looks great!
 
 
 

Landscaping

I don't know why we have this fear of encroaching on the grass. At the beginning, I only planted in small rectangular areas and it was cramped for the flowers and bushes. Lots of grassy areas though. After leafing through landscaping books, I realized that one of the things that makes some gardens spectacular is the fact that the flower beds are enclosed in large curved surfaces. Forget about the grass!

Landscaping is good but a garden that adheres strictly to landscaping rules is nice but not fascinating. I like to see a garden that has a personality, that is totally different and was created by its gardener because that is the way he/she wanted it. Now that's interesting! It reflects the owner's personality instead of wanting to impress visitors.
 
 
 

Mr. Original

Although there are a hundred or so different types of the same plant, stick to the original type. It's tempting to go for the unusual color, the fancy leaves and the double flowers. The trouble is that there is a price to pay for that. I don't mean monetary cost (although they usually are more expensive) but that they are performance impaired. For example, I obtained two different pachysandre (a ground cover) at the same garden center, at same time and planted them in a similar spot. The original one, with green leaves, spread from three small skinny sticks to bordering my entire driveway in less than three years. The other one was SO pretty! Its leaves had two colors: lime green and white. The three skinny sticks are still three skinny sticks four years later. Not quite the best for a ground cover, now is it? I had many other examples of differences. The special hybride has long since been taken out of my garden while the original striving ones, remain.
 
 
 

Mulch

Putting two or three inches of mulch everywhere the soil is bare of grass and plants is an excellent way of watering and weeding less. Big, big difference. My favorite is the cedar mulch. Not the big chips but the stringy kind. It smells nice for the first few weeks, looks like earth after a few watering and is relatively cheap. A little is added every year to compensate the volume that biodegraded but it's worth it. I am told that the soil's PH would become acid with time. I will keep an eye on it and add lime if it does.
 
 
 

Watering

I read somewhere that to keep insect and mold problems down, it helps to water the ground and not the plant itself. I have tried to do this and have seen a difference. Of course this means that you have to water by hand. Well, there should be some advantages to it! Not everyone can buy and install a fancy underground irrigation system! So there!!!
 
 

There is a book I must recommend if you can read french. It has become my "bible". It's philosophy is the closest to mine as I have found so far. The book is "Les Vivaces"(Perennials) from the collection of "Le Jardinier Paresseux" (The Lazy Gardener) by Larry Hodgson (Broquet Inc.).
 
 

Writing the definition of "kiddies" in the glossary, inspired me to write a few poetic lines, carve them in a nice wood material and place it in my garden. Here it is:
 
 

Literally translated from French to English :
 
 

In my own words:
 

Annual: plant living only one year or season. For some (usually men) a waste of money, for others (usually women) a chance to add variety to the garden every year.

Book: Always a new one coming out that we absolutely need to get to answer all our questions and keep us leafing through it for new ideas. This last item is important because we NEED to constantly change the plants and shrubs around. A real gardener is a normal person who has developed this obsessive compulsion to always do more, better, different...

Bulb: an underground bud with roots and stem(s) that looks like an onion. You rarely know which side is up but the plant seems to know where to go.

Climatic zone: an area submitted to a specific climate relative to temperature, rain and season cycles. Always crazy and unpredictable.

Dented leaves: having the shape of many small teeth on the edge of the leaf. Animal and insect teeth marks do not count.

Man: the one who says that you spend too much on plants, are you crazy? We don't have that kind of money! Why? You're not being reasonable...

Kiddies:Little people who simultaneously inflict the most damage in the garden and enjoy it the most by practically living outside all summer long. They run, roll, climb trees, make houses, bicycle round and round the house, draw beautiful things with colored chalk on the driveway, eat the fruits and vegetables, choose a different annual flower to plant every year, attract the local dogs to play with, migrate toys from inside the house to the outside, discover lost balls and toys and augment their collection of magic rocks.

Lobed leaves: having the shape of many curves on the edge of the leaf. Just not oval or round, OK?

Mulch: leaves, straw or other material spread around plants and trees to prevent freezing of roots. It also prevents you from feeling obligated to water plants and weed them on a frequent basis. Appeals to lazy people like me.

Perennial: plants living more than two years... or are supposed to.

Stuff: the things you end up buying at the store in the hope that it will solve your problem. It will not, you know! Try it! Go ahead! Didn't work, eh? What were you thinking? Did you think that with a mere $79.99 chemical you could save your dying $19.99 plant? It doesn't work that way...