The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Wednesdsay April 18, 2001 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER C7 Homes & Gardens Harden off plants for vibrant growth A JOHN s if the gate was released the spring bulbs have jumped out. The snowdrops have been resting for a week when the masses of crocus suddenly appeared. Each year the size of the groups increase with the brilliant colours of blue, lilac, yellow and dark red in the main peony beds. Lightly spread throughout the lawn, the pale centred blue chinodexia and the blue scilla and pale oxallis provide a palette. On the weekend, t. praestans, a tulip species with light scarlet blooms and a yellow median strip were up and blooming. The daffodils are sitting in the wings with buds at the ready. The poppy foliage stands out with its bright leaves as a background. The early bird rush to the nursery took place this weekend as keen gardeners were out to get the newest varieties. Buying special plants early is not as fool hardy as it might seem as the plants need a transition peri od between the warm greenhouse and the cool outdoors. Putting them outside during the day and in the sunroom or garage for the odd frosty night will soon have them hardened for planting out side. If after planting out in early May a real cold snap arrives, they may be covered with a light cloth. SIMKINS In Your Carden The tumultuous colours of spring bulbs are fol lowed in many gardens by the soft gracefulness of the traditional bleeding heart, (dicentra spectabilis). This group of mostly perennial, but some annual, climbing and bulbous plants have become popular leading to the introduction of new varieties. There are about a dozen species of bleeding hearts in commerce, named Common, Western, Pacific or Fringed bleeding hearts. Others are D utchm en's Breeches, Golden Eardrops and even an annual climber, (d. torulosa). The commo feature of the flowers is that they have two spurrs. They are useful naturalized in a woodland area or in a rock or home garden. They are hardy and prefer a semi-shade and moist area but with well drained soil. The dicentra species are all dainty looking plants with femlike foliage and heard shaped pendant flowers hanging neatly along a single curved stem. The plant height ranges from 12 to 20 inches with the stem to 2 ft. The species may be split into two groups. The early large flowering common bleeding heart, (dicentra spectabilis) and the Fringed bleeding heart, (d. eximia) are in the first as they become dormant oin our hot summers. The second is the Western bleeding heart (d. formosa), with pink or white flowers which continues to flower all sum mer to fall. The invasive species are seldom plant ed. Several cultivars listed are, - `Langrees,' with silver grey femlike foliage and white flowers with pink tips, - `Aurora', cherry white flowers over grey green foliage, - `Luxuriant', Dwarf Bleeding Heart, one of the longest bloomers, June to frost, (See `Bleeding Heart' page C6) COLLEGE FURNITURE DESIGNERS SHOW THEIR TALEN T This bench (above) by Shaun Moore was designed to incorporate his two major influences: early European modernism and Chinese furniture into one cohesive piece. "I enjoy exper imenting with juxtaposition of materials, attempting to achieve a feeling of harmony despite dif ference in material properties. With the bench I play cold steel off of warm cherry. I also use the upturned arms to soften the hard edges of the piece and make the bench more inviting as a seat" Garden Maintenance `Bound and Gagged' (right) by Joel Harrison-Off, as an idea, was inspired by the physical process o f lashing elements together. "The table has no glue in its joints and is held together through the tension of the rope. It was a form inspired by the process of physically binding wood into a struc turally strong object," says Harrison-Off. As the perennials start into growth check their size in relation to their space and decide if they need to be divided. Sharpen the knife or spade to reduce the mashing of the roots. Plants with fibrous roots like Shasta daisy or tuberous, like daylilies, easily accept a little disturbance by being divided and replanted and will be thankful for the extra growing space. Poppies, peonies and iris should be left alone unless they must be moved. In that case dig up the whole root with a rootball and replant it in a new location. If a little root disturbance occurs the plants should not notice the move. Small seedlings of shrubs or trees that have sprouted in the flower beds may be potted up for gifts or sale. Japanese lilac. Rose of Sharon and Golden Rain tree are some, along with peonies, that sprout in my garden and are moved along. What to do with runoff from your eaves troughs By J e a n -F r a n 9 o is G ag no n SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER D id yo u know th a t w a te r ru n o ff fro m ea v e s troughs th at are lo c a te d less th an 5 fe e t from a w all o f a house in creases th e risk s o f se n d in g the d a m p ness into the h o u se , an d th e re b y p o ssib ly re d u c in g the co m fort lev el in y o u r h o m e? A n d d id you know that soil th a t is too m o ist fo llo w in g au tu m n ra in fa lls can cause su b sta n tia l c ra c k s and b reak s in the fo u n dation if the fo llo w in g w in te r is v ery c o ld an d leav es little snow on the g ro u n d ? S uch situ a tio n s m ay e a si ly be avoided , h ow ever. H ere is som e w ise ad v ice to guide y o u ... How to p re v e n t th is situ a tio n If: - you c a n 't c o n n e c t y o u r eav es tro u g h s to one o f the h o u se's sto rm sew ers, - you d o n 't h a v e any sto rm sew ers, - co n n ectio n to th e sto rm se w e r is to o c o m p le x and costly,m inim al, lo c a liz e d d ig g in g to in sta ll a ra in w a ter basin is an e x c e lle n t a lte rn a te so lu tio n . To d o so, you w ill have to allo w fo r a d ista n c e o f o v e r 10 feet from a w all o f th e h o u se, th en dig a hole th at is 4 feet in d iam eter by 5 fe e t deep , and p lace a b arrel inside it. N ext, pierce a hole in it, c o v e r it w ith g e o te x tile so th at the earth d o e sn 't g o in sid e it an d fill it w ith big rocks o r c ru sh e d sto n es o v e r 3/4 in c h e s net. A fte r that, place 5-6 in ch es o f c ru sh e d sto n e all aro u n d in ord er to stab ilize the b a rre l in the hole an d allo w the w ater to run off. A nd lastly, p rep are y o u r co n n e c tio n fro m th e b a r rel in o rd er to lin k up th e eav es tro u g h d o w n sp o u t using a F ren ch d rain p ip e, w h ich w ill allo w you to connect the d o w n sp o u t o f the e a v e s tro u g h to th e b a r rel. Take note th a t you can g et an a d a p te r that ad ju sts onto the eav es tro u g h in o rd e r to c o n n e c t up to the F rench drain. A nd last b u t n o t least, it is ad v isab le th at you m ake su re th e u p p e r p a rt o f th e b a rre l is lo cated at a d ep th o f at le a st 18 in ch es u n d erg ro u n d , thereby p ro v id in g th e slo p e re q u ire d to e n su re w a te r ru n o ff from th e eav es tro u g h to w a rd th e b arrel. Jean-Franqois G agnon is a specialist with R O N A . PHa s t i c if 0 r rots c h o o s e fr o m a la rg e a s s o r tm e n t in c lu d in g p y r a m id a l, u p r ig h t, d e n s e a n d s p r e a d in g a __________ an sties · J im y s c - News Canada o u td o o r s & in d o o r s !> fk % O F F ' Garden! Light Pots Resist feradVijfig, cMfpping or breaking 'in freezing temperatures Centre H w y #5 OUR SPRING SALE IS ON NOW Conveniently Upper Miadie Look for the Ennisclare Interiors SPRING SALE FLYER in Selected Editions of to day' s O akville Beaver NINC! OPEN Monday-Friday 8-7, Saturday 8-6 & Sunday 8-5 All specials are while quantities last, unless otherwise stated. A G R A M reserves the right to limit quantities. located o f f 9 th Line! ( 905 ) 257-3577 Sale Ends Tuesday April 24,2001 OPEN 7 DAYS. A WEEK!