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uu 1 n E W/M\. V iî A-dC. V U.IS. vvcuucaua^ ividicii j i , l y y y & e c c m c l < x m e Vintage & Recycled Treasures ' Unique Furnishing ' Vintage fighting ' Vintage Style Jewellery & Accessories • Seminars & Workshops • Resource Centre • Garden & Floral Decor Come enjoy a com plim entary tea in our beautifu l resource centre. Providing home comfort with: • furnaces • air conditioners • fireplaces • water heaters • natural gas* • assurance plans • service BuyE A R L Y and SAVE Big! JOHN SIMKINS In Your Garden day. Crab grass germinates on warm dry soil in hot, sunny weather. Keeping the soil cool and shaded with a covering of two-inch high grass will prevent germination of crab grass. If the lawn has bare spots, a pre-emergent crab grass preventer may be applied either as an addition in the fertilizer or on its own. This must be done before the crab grass seeds start growing, just as the forsythia finish­ es blooming. The preventer forms a layer over the soil that stops the seeds from emerging. Once it is spread, the area treated must be pro­ tected from disturbance for a few weeks. The Hundred Best Plans for the Ontario Garden This 1999 Canadian book by Steve Whysall, a former Ontario gardener, is just in time to help in selecting new plants or replacements for your garden. The 100 plants selected are listed by genus, species, and cultivars. For example, the first plant in the listing is Acer palmatum. 'Bloodgood' which is a Japanese maple, variety 'Bloodgood.' The botanical name is followed by the common name. The plant is then dis- A ctivity h e a tin g up in S p rin g g a rd en The crocus opening in the south-facing areas starts the procession of spring gar­den colour. After admiring the beauty of the early flowers, we need to prepare the canvas for the rainbow to follow. In die garden, the lawn has this role. The debris of the winter - dead grass, papers, leaves, and twigs need removing. Matted grass pressed down by the heavy snow loads especially alongside the paths and driveways need lightly raking to open the grass crowns to the air. This will cut down on mould damage. In areas where high piles of snow compressed the soil, a plugging machine may be used to open it up. The holes may be filled with peat moss to add organic matter to the soil. White Grubs The skunks are busy checking the lawns for white grubs. They make neat circular holes, four inches in diameter by two inches deep. To see if there are giubs near the surface, take out a piece of grass with a sod cutter and look for them. They are white grey-like caterpillars curled into a circle with legs on the back half. If there are more the six per square foot, the lawn should be treated with a lawn pesticide usually containing diazanon or chlorpyriphos following label instructions. This may not kill all the grubs, but it will give them a bad taste which discourages the predators, who if undeterred, will tear up the lawn by making furrows all over it. The grubs on their own will not usually kill enough grass to show, if the lawn is cut from one-and- a-half to two-and-a-half inches long. The long roots will keep the white grubs deep and undetected. Dormant Spraying Another vital spring task is dormant spraying. This will kill overwintering insects like scale and prevent disease-like scab and mildew. Last year, scales on the stems of magnolias killed many branch­ es. Dormant spray now will remove the wintering scales 'and reduce the popula­ tion. Follow directions on the labels as some trees are injured by lime sulphur and others are harmed by oil. The Gardener's Handbook, an Integrated Approach to Insects and Disease Control is available from the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. It is a 162-page black and white illus­ trated book that will be useful in identify­ ing insects and diseases in the garden. It suggests chemicals and organic means to control them. Phone 1-888-466-2372 for a copy or e-mail products@omafra.gov.on.ca or visit their website www.gov.on.calomafra. It is very useful for general gardening but essential for fruit trees. It has spraying tables for the fruit trees and sections on the analysis of the problems. The forsythia buds are expanding ready for forcing for indoor decoration. Select branched stems with multiple buds for best results. Pound the ends of the stems or cut them vertically, so they absorb water and place them in contain­ ers in bright but not sunny light They will flower in a week or two depending on how close it is to their natural bloom­ ing time, late April or early May. The Lawn Last year, the hot weather gave the grass a hard time and crab grass had a hey cussed, evaluated and described under five headings, 'Chief Characteristics,' 'Where to plant it.' How to care for it,' 'Good Companions' and 'For your collection.' The reasons a cultivar was chosen are specified under 'Chief Characteristics,' Other cultivars are discussed in this section. Under 'For you collection,' other species or plants that may be useful or desirable are noted. What will the book do for you? Save time by avoiding the consideration of all low per­ forming, unreliable, uncontrollable, high main­ tenance and finicky plants. It will ensure that you will have plants that will be good growers and beautiful performers, planted in the right location for their require­ ments with companion plants suited to each other. The book will provide knowledge to use in asking penetrating questions of your garden designer when plans are presented. You will have all the answers when the Oakville Horticultural Society selects your garden for the Annual Tour and visitors ask you why you planted it as you did. The book is a good investment of $19.95. Also, you may have a signed copy of the book and hear the author, Steve Whysall, talk on 'Ten Steps To A Great Garden,' which are outlined in the introduction chapter of the book. He will be at the Ontario Garden Show at the Royal Botanical Gardens Centre at 3 p.m., Fri., April 9th and Sat., April 10th, at 12 noon. Exit Hwy. 403 at Hwy. 6 and follow the signs. •Offer applies to Carrier air conditioners and furnaces available from Union Energy Purchase must be made between March 1 5 and April 1 1 , 1999. To take advantage of the combo offer on the air conditioner and furnace purchase, products must be purchased and installed at the same time. Cannot be combined with any other promotional offer. take comfort O inion energy ' Not available in all areas. D IY Hom e Depot seminars Over the next three months, Home Depot is planning a variety of 'how-to' seminars in its Oakville store. Please check with the store to ensure seminars are being held at listed times. How to install ceramic tile: Saturdays: April 3, 10,17, 24 at 10 a.m. Sundays: May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 at 11 a.m. Sundays: June 6, 13, 20, 27 at 11 a.m. How to drywall: Sat. April 3, 10, 17, 24 at 11 a.m. Sundays: May 2, 9, 16, 23, 30 at 1 p.m. Saturdays: June 5, 12, 19, 26 at 1 p.m. How to install shingles: Saturdays: April 3 ,10, 17,24 at 1 p.m. How to plan and design a deck: Sundays: April 4,11, 18, 25 at 10 a.m. Saturdays: May 1,8, 15, 22, 29 at 1 p.m. Saturdays: June 5, 12, 19, 26 at 10 a.m. 273 Speers Road, Oakville 337-3059 S A V E $500 off the purchase of an air conditioner and furnace* S A V E $200 off the purchase of an air conditioner" Call for a free in-home estimate, (905) 469-0570 or 1 - 8 8 8 - 6 8 7 - 6 8 7 1 O A K V IL L E )5) 337-PAVE (7283) f y t m l m hprovement ■ c s s s j S s S *nuecHO. LAW N-BO* CS-3000 14" CS-3400 14" *329-99 *349.99 to99^ ' reduce 3y to handle. So w e r m a c h i n e r y i n c . Mississauga 9-24211 Starting from Fully assembled. 2-4 yr. warranty, depending on model. ™ Z T 488 M oiden Rd. # 2 , Oakville, O n t, L6K 3W 4 905 844-4304 Fax 905-844-4306 1-800-482-7669 I; mailto:products@omafra.gov.on.ca http://www.gov.on.calomafra