weunesusay may j , lyyy i n n v ille , tttiAV e,k o / Homes & Gardens Lawns can benefit from over-seeding bare spots (Continued from page B8) family garden diary. There are a large number of garden journals with the early pages used but few have been continued for more than a month or two. I am sure many gardens would be improved with the help of a garden diary. The lawn is coming alive with grass and weeds competing for the thin areas. One way to thwart the weeds is to seed a mixture of fast growing grass and tall fes cue in thin areas. Most nurseries have bulk loose seed which is handy for mak ing your own mix. Tall fescues will thrive in dry soil and some shade. New hybrid rye will give quick coverage and crowd out the weeds. Loosen up the earth, remove the weeds and rake it even. Then add seeds and a eighth,to a quarter- inch of soil and tamp it down with a light roller, or for small areas, a plywood sheet (walk on it) will do. Water the seeds with a gentle spray. The rye grass should green up in two weeks. Crabgrass starts germinating in open areas as soon as the forsythia fades, so if it was a problem last year, spread on a pre-emergent herbicide before the crab grass starts to grow. There is a trend toward water features to liven up the garden. We purchased a half wine barrel water garden with water iris, monkey flower, arrow head, blue eyed grass, and fairy moss for the hospi tal roof garden. It is being set up for the fourth season, after growing in the green house over winter. The containers and plants were around $100. The water gar den attracts visitors to the roof garden and the patients like the tranquillity of the water and the activity of the few insects that invade it. This year, we are to add a submersible pump to provide some motion. This set-up would also fit on a balcony or in a patio area. The complete kit may be purchased from most garden centres. We bought ours from Clargreen. Container Water Gardens Book Review This is a United States edition by Storey Books of the 1998 British origi nal. It is part of Storey's 'Quick and Easy Series.' The 113-page hard cover book has an introduction and five sections. The introduction covers the benefits of small water gardens and how the new materials enable small containers, pumps, and lines to be made strong and long lasting. This makes small container water gar dens easy to build and maintain and allows water to be used in many smaller locations. The first section titled 'Calm Elegance' describes the building, loca tion, and use of eight different water gar dens for the outdoors with still water. There are barrels and half barrels for rus tic settings, sinks partially hidden with plants to break-up the hard lines, a matching set of wooden containers hav ing different sizes and heights and terra cotta pots, large watering cans and a mosaic sink garden for the smaller yard or patio. In each case, there is a list of materials and tools needed followed by a step by step description and photos of the construction and installation procedures. The second section, 'Magic in Movement,' shows how to build 10 con tainer water gardens with fountains, streams and falls and other examples of moving water using submersible pumps. The third section, 'Indoor and Conservatories,' contains seven projects for indoor and conservatory water gar dens following the same form. The fourth section is an alphabetical directory of plants, suitable for small water gardens. The list price is $22.95 U.S. It is available at some book stores. Phone Storey at 1-800-441-5700 to purchase it direct or find your nearest supplier. Or visit their web site, www.storey.com. My e-mail address is jsimkins@tap.net. Annual Spring Sale Event T h is w eek en d o n ly -- Huge savings on selected m erchandise. 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