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C6 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday April 25, 2001 Homes & Gardens Container gardening is growing fast H ave you ever tried to hang a single, fram ed p icture on a large expanse o f bare w all? It d oes n't have m uch im pact, does it? Add m ore pic tures and cluster them info a grouping, and all o f a sudden you've achieved a focal point. T he sam e principle applies to container gar dening - one o f the biggest grow th areas on the C anadian gardening scene. A nd it's about tim e. T he Italians, D utch, P ortuguese and F rench have been doing it fo r years, if not centuries. Perhaps because so m any people in large E uropean cities liv e v ertically , this art o f b rin g in g natu re upstairs, no m atter how large or sm all the bal cony or terrace, has becom e an ingrained w ay o f life. C o n tain er g ard en in g cou ld n 't be sim pler. Take anything, from traditional w indow boxes to, w ell, the sky's the lim it. O ld barrels, buckets, galvanized pails, terra cotta and ceram ic pots, som e o f the fabulous new plastic terra cotta look-alikes, even cham ber pots - ju st about any thing is a perfect container in w hich to plant your sum m er garden in the sky. T here are three rules. T he only caveats to container gardening are: M ake sure your pots have drainage holes U se good potting soil, and You m ust be prepared to water, m ost likely, daily. The best tim e to w ater is first thing in the m orning. Plants, like people, usually w ake up thirsty after a good night's sleep. On really hot days, it's a good idea to check your plants again in the late afternoon. If they are bone dry, give them som e water, but save the really thorough w atering for the next m orning. To start, take into consideration the exposure o f your balcony. D o you face north, south, east or w est? A rm ed w ith this tiny bit o f inform ation head off to your garden centre and go w ild. The experts there should be full o f know ledge about w hich p lan ts need w hat k in d o f ex p o su re. Shade, partial shade, m orning sun, all day sun, no w ind, w ind tolerant, etc. N ow the fun begins. If you've had a balcony garden for a num ber o f years, you'll be looking for som ething different to add to your gerani um s, im patiens and portulaca. T his is w here the huge variety o f sum m er bulbs com es into the picture. M ost, if not all, are ideal for container culture. A nd the assortm ent is enorm ous. C olourful Lilies; brilliant D ahlias; shade-loving voluptuous B egonias; dim inutive O x alis; an d the tro p ic al-lo o k in g fo lia g e o f C anna, E lephant's Ears and Caladium . If it's 'unusual' that you're after try brightly coloured, spotted Tigridia; pale to rosy pink N erine; light to dark blue stately A gapanthus the greenish-w hite pineapple look-a-like, Eucom is; and oh-so-elegant C alla Lilies. D on't forget the edibles. W hat a thrill to go no further than one's b al cony garden for herbs and vegetables needed for an evening's dinner. Interplanted am ong your favourite flow ers, you w ill find they are also decorative. F lu ffy p arsley b o u q u ets lo o k m arv elo u s against geranium s. Sage, rosem ary and basil sm ell delicious. If you face south or w est, try your hand at tom atoes and peppers. Little is m ore satisfying than know ing where your produce has com e from and w hat it has been fed during its grow ing period. A lthough little else need be said, there are a few things to take into consideration: W hile w e're been focussing on balcony gar dens, all the sam e factors apply if you are using containers in your garden or on your patio. S um m er bulbs planted in containers can be placed closer together than their packaging sug gests. _ F or b etter visual im pact, group your co n tain ers together, rather than spacing them one here and one there around your balcony or terrace. If you see that a spot in your garden is in betw een blossom s and needs a splash o f colour, ju st pick up a pot or tw o o f blossom ing flow ers and put them w here th eir beauty is needed m ost. M ost, if not all, sum m er bulbs are tender. W hich m eans that they w on't survive o v er the w inter if left out on your b alcony or on the patio. T his leaves you w ith tw o choices: At the end o f the sum m er, eith er store them u nder the appropriate conditions (check with your garden centre about w hat these are), or, D o w hat you do w ith y o u r annuals. E njoy them w hile they last and either throw them out or com post them w hen autum n arrives. Now, d ear M ary, ju st sit back and w atch your garden grow. Popular how-to seminars returns to Home Depot on weekends The H om e D epot is once again run ning free H ow -to sem inars for local Do-it-Yourselfers. O n w eekends in May, the O akville H ome D epot located at 2555 Bristol Circle, will be hom e to a variety o f 'classes' for interested visitors. Running w eekly on Saturdays from M ay 5 to the 26, m orning classes include 'H ow to Plan and Install U nderground Sprinklers' from 10 to 11 a.m., and 'H ow to L andscape and Build Retaining Walls' from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. A class on 'How to Plan and Build a D eck' will take place from 1 to 2 p.m. R unning weekly on Sundays from May 6 to the 27. a class on 'How to Plan and B uild a Fence' will take place from 10 to 11 a.m. From 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., visitors will be taught 'How to Install Ceram ic Tile,' and from 1 to 2 p .m < 'H ow to Install D ryw all.' For further inform ation or to find out w hat you need to do to attend, or w hat you need to bring, please contact the Oakville H ome Depot by calling 905-829-5900. Green thumbs need to get with the trends W ith eyes and ears at all the significant gar dening show s in Canada, the U .S., England, G ermany, H olland, Italy and France, the folks at the International Flow erbulb Centre o f H olland com pile an annual report on em erging and/or continuing gardening trends around the world. W hether your thum bs are ju st beginning to experience their first blush o f green, or are the rich, dark green o f experience, we thought you m ight like to com pare your own gardening likes and dislikes against this assortm ent o f interna tional trends. Instant results This trend has m oved into the new m illennium and isn 't expected to abate for the forseeable future. As we have more to do and less tim e for gar dening, w e ju st don't w ant to w ait for plants to grow and mature. O ur dream is to spend a few days in the spring planting and organizing the garden and then ju st sit back. Extra large Big plants. Big pots and containers (which require less watering). Big trees. This appeals to our sense o f looking and feeling well established and perm anent. backyards. The look is achieved w ith garden bananas, figs, olives and palm s on the sum m er terrace or balcony. M ost are available at garden centres. Long lasting flow ers If it's going to bloom , let it do so for as long as possible -- is the theory. Or, if it only bloom s once, there had better be lots o f blossom s on the plant. H ibiscus is a great exam ple. Winter interest W hile the garden may only be in bloom in the spring and summ er, we look at it all year. M ore consideration is given to plants and hard elem ents that will be o f interest all winter. Leaves A fter only a couple o f seasons, even the novice gardener will select plants for the decora tive value o f their leaves as w ell as their flowers. A fter all, leaves last the season, w hile flow ers are fleeting. Create an exciting indoor/outdoor living space If you're thinking o f adding a beauti ful Sunroom to your hom e, consider Lakeside Patio Enclosures. The highest quality products at a fair m arket price is w hat yo u'll get when you purchase your custom m anufac tured sunroom from Lakeside Patio Enclosures. Professional Sales . O ur know ledge able sales representatives are trained to listen to what you have in m ind for your new sunroom . This is how we make sure you get exactly w hat you want. Free In-Home Estimate your sales representative will share their know l edge and experience in sunroom s with you and develop a "Personal Plan" that m eets your lifestyle and budget! Professional installation by trained installers...T he "Sm all town Service' continues with the quality workm an ship o f o u r professional, trained installers. M any tim es the entire installation process is com plete in three days to five days. The installers work in an efficient, com petent m an ner: m aking every effort to m inimize any disruption to your lifestyle. W ith Lakeside Patio Enclosures you can purchase with confidence knowing you'll get the best quality sunroom from Lakeside Patio Enclosures, Inc...at a fair price. Fragrance F or a n um ber o f d ecades, frag ran ce has dropped dow n on the hybridizers' list -of priorities in favour o f things like longer lasting bloom s and m ore interesting foliage. Balance By repeating the same planting and/or con tainer contents, we try to bring balance to our gar dens. Perhaps as a com prom ise to our daily life. Bright colours Bright colours are com ing back. D eep purples and deep pinks appear to be the trend for 2001. Green on the internet G ardeners' use o f the internet is growing by leaps and bounds. The m ost com m on uses are for inform ation and to chit-chat with other gardeners the world over. N ew sites appear alm ost daily. H ave you visited bulb.com yet? 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