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. r o u . 10 House and Garden, Supplement of The Canadian Statesman/Independent, April 27,1994 Eight Bulbs are among gardeners' favorite plants, thanks to their self-dividing and natural disease and insect-resistant qualities. qualities. Even if you, missed the traditional fall bulb planting season, you still can have glorious beds of bulbs with new varieties you plant in the spring for summer summer and fall blooms. These include ever- blooming daylilies such as "Chicago Sunrise" and "Summer Wine," both Hemerocallis hybrids. Before planting, make sure the area in which you want to plant the bulbs is sunny and well-drained; Use only plants which thrive in your region. Good varieties for all areas are daffodils, daffodils, grape hyacinths and gregi-type tulips. The most important step before planting is to properly amend your soil. Most soil contains too much sand or clay and needs to be amended with Canadian sphagnum ' peat moss. Sphagnum peat's unique cell, structure gives it exceptional water-, nutrient- and air-holding capacities to promote good root growth and healthy plants. . If you're amending an existing bed, dig 2 to 3 inches of sphagnum peat into the top 8 inches of the soil. .If .you're creating a new bed specifically, for yotir bulbs, dig. out any existing sod first (you can use the sod in areas of your lawn that need patching). Then, dig a hole 5 to 8 inches deep -- depending on the bulb sizes you're planting --saving the soil on a tarp. • In general, bigger bulbs require 8- inch-deep planting holes, while smaller bulbs are planted 5. inches'deep. If you're planting a variety of bulb sizes, dig to tiie point required by the largest bulbs. Combine one-third peat moss to the amount of. garden soil tin the tarp, and put 1 to 2 inches of the newly- amended soil into the hole. Bèforè placing thé bulbs snugly in the soil, look for the dried, fibrous roots at the bottoms of the bulbs, arid make sure the other, pointed ends are facing up. Fill the new bed with the rest of, the mixture, mounding it above ground level for good drainage. Use Clippings for Mulch and Keep your Mower Blade Shan mm . ■ BY MIKE FERRARA The birds are chirping, the weather is warm and sunny, and the parking lot is full at your local garden center. Before you rush out and buy the stuff you used last year with only so-so results, read on. You'll find out good lawn care doesn't have to cost a fortune and can even be an enjoyable experience. Fertilizer is the first thing people think of as they get outside and inspect their somewhat yellow-looking lawn. Fertilizer is important, since it will green up your grass, but more importantly, importantly, it can be used to condition the soil underneath. Good, healthy soil encourages deep roots, which help fight disease and drought and help crowd out weeds. You should buy a naturally-based fertilizer like Toro Nurture, with slow- release organic nutrients that will nourish nourish your lawn over several months, instead of the quick-green approach of pure chemical-based blends. Nurture is 100 percent safe and won't leach off into ground' water supplies: In fact, children can walk or play tin' the lawn immediately after application! . Speaking of, application, .if you'.ve been rising an old .nisty drop spreàdèr ..or an inaccurate broadcast spreader, jrou should consider a new spreader available for Toro and Lawn-Boy ■ mowers' Called the Mow* & Feed. The Mow- & Feed is revolutionary because it mounts on the mower, using the power of the rear wheels to operate the ' .impellèr, allowing'you to cut the grass and fertilize in one step! Because of an innovative clutching system, whenever you stop or back up • the flow of fertilizer stops automatically. -And since you can readily see where you've cut the grass, you don't have to waste fertilizer by overlapping your rows and creating à streak pattern on your lawn. Just follow your wheel tracks and the fertilizer will be applied perfectly. Another advantage to the Mow & Feed is that it can hold enough fertilizer to cover 8,000 square feet, more than enough to cover the average lawn. The Mow & Feed will be available at leading home and garden retailers for less than $50. Besides fertilizing, here are some other things you can do to have a thick, healthy lawn this spring: •Mulch your clippings. Leaving your clippings on your lawn instead of collecting collecting them adds nitrogen tti your soil arid eliminates disposal problems. You'll also save time by not having to stop every few minutes to empty the bag. If you don't havè a mulching mower, consider the Toro Recycler H tir Lawn-Boy Easy Mulch mowers. They both have advanced features so that you can iriulch ..N. m ytiur grass even when its too long or too wet for a standard mower to cut. •Sharpen your blade. A sharp mower blade will be mqre efficient, and won't leave your lawn\with a brown cast -- caused by a drill blade tearing the grass. If you sharpen the blade yourself, be sure to take equal amounts off each side to keep it in balance. • Dethatch and aerate. Many lawns that have been over fertilized and over watered have an excess amotint of surface surface roots known as thatch. This growth must be removed or your lawn will literally literally choke to death by not getting enough air and water down to the roots. Clear off the thatch with à special rakei and then follow up by renting a core aerator. This device takes cores or plugs out of your lawn to help break up hard- packed soil and to encourage root development. Leave the .soil cores on your lawn --' they'll help break down the thatch layer as they decompose, • Leave your lawn high. Cut no more than one-third of the grass height at one time so that you encourage a deep-root system. Toro's Recycler II mowers have a unique device called the SmartWheel -- a color-coded system, that makes it t easy to set y our mower height correctly. • Tçpdress bare spots and overseed. -Bare spots-should be raked and covered with topsoil and reseeded with a grass , type appropriate to your area. You ". might want to introduce some new types of low-mmhtenance grasses to your lawn that need less care arid hold, up better in dry spells. Three examples are tall fescue fescue for the northeast., buffalograss for the midwest, and zoysia for the south. NEW SYSTEMS, such as the Mow & Feed, cut grass and açplÿ fertilizer fertilizer combining two jobs in one. ; , Mike Ferrara is a former senior editor at Organic Gardening Magazine, and is a nationally-known authority on natural - lawn care and outdoor power equipment. THE MOST IMPORTANT step when planting bulbs is to amend the soil properly with Canadian sphagnum peat moss. Dig 2 to 3 inches of sphagnum sphagnum peat into the top 8 inches of soil prior to planting bulbs. GT940991 Create Container gardening continues to gain popularity for many reasons. Container gardens are portable, providing providing year-round color and continual redesigning options. They also work well in small spaces. But there are some tricks to container gardening". Get started by analyzing your available available space. What kind of sunlight and moisture will plants get there? For example, if it's shady, you'll need to choose plants that will thrive in those conditions, like impatiens or hostas. Use both annuals and perennials. Potted annuals arranged in a bed introduce introduce variety and provide nearly continuous continuous color. Or try dwarf orange trees or miniature roses, both of which can be brought indoors when cold weather hits. The containers you use make a difference. difference. Certain plant varieties, such as cacti, require shallow, porous and WANTED Homeowners To receive complete lawn care programs from Call For Additional Bonus Offer Weed 'Busters breathable containers like terra cotta. Others like moister conditions and prefer prefer ceramic or plastic pots, which tend to hold water. The size of the pot also matters; for instance, roses need pots two times the size of the root ball. Make sure your containers have existing existing drainage holes or drill your own. using a ceramic drill bit. Healthy well-balanced soil is critical to successful container gardening. Potting mixes that contain Canadian sphagnum peat moss are the best bet. Sphagnum peat moss is a natural, sustainable sustainable resource that retains moisture (nearly 20 times its weight in water) and nutrients to promote deep root growth. Before planting, place pieces of wire mesh or broken pottery over your containers' containers' drainage holes to keep the soil from washing away with every watering. watering. Put enough soil in the bottom so when you place the plant inside (after gently loosening the roots with your hand), the top of the root ball is even with the lip of the pot. Fill in with soil and lightly tamp it down. Water, drain and add more soil if necessary. 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