It’s the end of September and we still have not had frost. I have harvested the bulk of the vegetables but have left some tomato plants standing in my urban home garden just to see how long they will continue to produce. Despite the shorter days and cooler nights, the strawberries are still ripening, and the plants continue to flower.
Tis the season of ‘do I or don’t I’ cover the tomatoes. The first forecasted temperature near zero came a few nights ago, but I had already decided that I was not quite ready to dig in the garden shed to find my supply of old sheets. After a brisk walk with the dog in the cold evening air, I erred on the side of caution and covered them up. Needlessly, as it turned out, but the sheets are now at the ready for when the frost does come.
As weather patterns change, it may be worth considering how you can adapt your garden to survive hotter and drier spells without having to water frequently. A good way to begin is by building healthy soil that retains moisture and layering mulch on the surface to keep that precious moisture from evaporating. The next step is to select plants adapted to withstand long, dry periods.
Aphids are one of the most common garden pests around, but they are by no means the worst. An infestation is generally controllable if caught early. They cause damage by sucking the sap out of tender leaves and stalks but rarely kill a plant unless it is already unhealthy or stressed.
This may turn out to be a challenging year for gardeners. The heat in May was great for getting vegetable gardens and containers started early, but the dry conditions that have come along with the prolonged heat are providing the perfect conditions for certain insects to proliferate.
Every customer who walks through the doors at Wallish is unique in their needs and wants for plants that will thrive in their gardens, containers, and on their balconies. For some it is a simple process – select the plants that have always done well in a particular spot and that’s that. For others, it is a much more complicated process. For new gardeners, it is often a learning experience that can be both exciting and overwhelming.
Wallish staff answer a lot of questions from our wonderful customers every day, but there are just some questions that keep coming up more often than others. So, here is some information that may help you select your plants with greater confidence.
Many early blooming perennials are currently flowering in the greenhouse so it is an excellent time to see what they will look like in your garden next spring. They can be planted now but need a few days of hardening off to acclimate their tender leaves to the sun’s rays.
Our growing season is so short that we all want to jump in and get colour into our gardens as soon as we can. April has been chillier than normal this year, so greening up is taking its time. The urban landscape is still mostly shades of brown but there are tiny pops of green and bits of colour showing up here and there. I am glad to see the green tips of the daffodils and scilla bulbs peeking through the mulch around my lilacs, and on inspection of my very sheltered front flowerbed, I find last year’s violas have overwintered and are looking fresh, green, and ready to grow. Pansies and violas are the perfect early annual as they can handle both the chill of early spring and the unexpected snow that May often throws at us.
Protect Pollinators by Resisting the Urge to Clean Up Garden Beds
RESIST the urge to get out there and clean up the plant debris! It’s a very hard ask for some gardeners, but waiting until the days are reliably above 10 degrees (say, five in a row) to clean up your garden beds is incredibly important for the hard-working pollinators that literally help your garden grow.