Native Plants Make For a Successful Garden



Gardening doesn't have to be all finicky with companion planting and moon phases, it can be simple and enjoyable. The easiest way to keep a low maintenance garden is to choose plants native to your region, and Alberta has some great selections for a beautiful garden year round.


Flowers

Brown-Eyed Susan

These large flowers can be found in Alberta's Prairies, Foothills and the Rocky Mountains in sunny, dry locations such as dry open meadows and hillsides. They attract butterflies, bees and birds and grow quickly with blooms from June to early August.

Forget Me Nots

These cheery little blooms can be found nearly anywhere in Alberta so long as they have a sunny, sheltered and well drained area. The showy flowers have a long bloom time from May to August and make for a great boarder at the front of a flower bed.

Giant Hyssop

This large leafy plant produces large, showy blue flower spikes that attract birds, bees and butterflies. It prefers partially shaded, well drained areas typically growing in moist open meadows and on the edge of aspen woodlands.

Prairie Crocus

These slow growers have a short bloom time but are still a welcome sight for many as it means spring has sprung in Alberta. Their little purple flowers generally poke up through the snow in late march and by April have transformed into fluffy seed heads that linger until summer. These flowers prefer well drained sunny meadows and hillsides.

Red Columbine

These bright red and yellow blooms and a perfect garden plant growing quickly and being less particular about their growing conditions. These showy blooms attract butterflies and hummingbirds  and provide great fall colour.

Shrubs

Alberta Wild Rose

Alberta's provincial flower can also be a great addition to your garden! This small, woody shrub provides great colour all the way through to the fall and forms edible rosehips.

Yellow Twig Dogwood

This small deciduous shrub is great for filling space and provides great winter colour with it's bright yellow twigs. It looks fantastic when mixed with Red Osier Dogwood.

Red Osier Dogwood

This fast growing shrub is great provides great winter colour when paired with Yellow Twig Dogwood. In the fall it's leaves turn a deep red, making this a great year round garden plant.

Bearberry

This low, slow grower makes for an interesting ground cover with it's small purple-white flowers and bright red berries. It tolerates acidic soils that can be caused by fallen pine needles.

Highbush Cranberry

This fast growing shrub can grow up to 5 metres high and clusters of white blooms in late June. It also produces an edible, bright red fruit that often hangs on through the winter.

Trees

White Spruce

These large, dense spruce trees can grow up two 16 feet and are great shelterbelt plants but can even be pruned into hedges if height is an issue.

Trembling Aspen

These large deciduous trees have small roundish leaves that "tremble" in the wind creating a relaxing atmosphere. The small leaves turn a bright yellow in the fall.

Balsam Fir

The balsam fir the the only fir tree native to Northern regions and is easily distinguished from spruce by it's flat needles. Balsam Fir are commonly used by Christmas tree growers for their fast and dense growth.

Balsam Poplar

This large deciduous tree has leaves that turn yellow in the fall. If seedlings are grown from a cutting, and are a male clone the do not produce the white fluff that is normally seen.

Schubert Chokecherry

This small ornamental, fruit bearing deciduous tree  has maroon coloured leaves and produces dark red edible berries. It is great for providing long season colour in any garden.

How To Make Homemade Weed Killer



Although many weeds are just plants out of place, it doesn't make them any less frustrating. Weeds grow in ideal locations such as flower beds and compete with other plants for nutrients.

Spraying harsh chemical weed killers may sound like the only solution to your weed problems, but there are other options for those who would prefer a safer, more natural approach.

(Image: Houzz)

For Small Problem Areas
1. Cut the top off of a large juice bottle or milk jug.
2. Place the cut top around the weed that needs to be taken care of. 
3. Pour a mixture of vinegar and lemon juice over weed. Avoid using this on your lawn, as it could temporarily kill grass.

For Large Problem Areas
1. Fill a watering can with vinegar and a little bit of lemon juice. 
2. Pour over the necessary area and after a day or two you will see amazing results. 
3. If you want to ensure that no other weeds grow in sprinkle table salt over the area afterwards. Be careful where your salt goes and ensure it's not an area you would like to plant in the future as salt will kill everything and make the soil a harsh environment for future plants.

Organically Maintain your Lawn



Grass, it's great for kids and pets but maintaining it is less than green. Between chemical fertilizers and watering, a perfectly maintained grass lawn can be unnecessarily wasteful. By making just a few changes, you can make your lawn truly green.

Reasons to Green your Lawn
Cost: The more eco-friendly your maintenance is, the more green you'll have in your wallet. It's all about less: less water, less fertilizer, less pesticides and less equipment and that will always save you money.

Environment: With the right changes your lawn can actually give back to the environment by preventing soil erosion, filtering pollution from rainwater and absorbing air pollution.

Health: Less chemicals in and around your home is always good for your health. By eliminating chemical fertilizers, pesticides and weed killer.

How to Care for your Lawn
1. Start by mowing your lawn.
2. Next, aerate to punch air holes into the lawn. Aerating the soil once a year breaks through any thatch on your lawn. Aerating allows water and nutrients to get to the roots of the grass. To conserve energy, use a hand-powered lawn aerator.
3. Use a shovel to broadcast ½ to 1 inch of compost over the lawn.
4. Rake the compost into lawn using a garden rake.
5. Check the health of the soil with a test kit; for acidic soil, add pelletized limestone with a broadcast spreader.
6. Add chicken-manure fertilizer to the lawn with broadcast spreader.
7. Spread grass seed over the lawn using broadcast spreader.
8. Use the back of a leaf rake to work the grass seed into the lawn.
9. Lightly water the lawn two or three times per day.
10. Once grass germinates, return to normal watering: irrigate the lawn with no more than 1 inch of water per week.

More Ways to Green your Green

Find signs of over-watering: If you see any of these signs, be sure to cut down on the amount or frequency that you water your lawn. Check for runoff after watering your lawn. If your grass has a pale green or yellow tint. Moss or mushrooms growing around the area, as they can only grow in excessive moisture. 

Water Infrequently: Watering less often will make your grass toughen up and have the ability to withstand longer periods without water, and it will help keep the weeds out. When you don't water your grass as often, the roots are forced to go deep into the soil, while weeds and weedlings with short roots run out of water. Watering too often can also cause a buildup of thatch. 

The best time to water the grass is whenever it starts to curl. But be sure not to wait too long after that, since grass will start to curl right before it turns brown.

Water Early: A lot of the water evaporates before it hits the ground and wind can divert your sprinkler's spray away from the grass. It's best to water the lawn between 4 am and 9 am, when the air is cool and the wind is calmest.

Leave Clippings: Contrary to popular belief, grass clippings don't contribute to thatch because they are still mostly water and decompose quickly. The decomposing clippings recycle nutrients back into the soil, allowing you to use less fertilizer and less water. 

Compost: You can compost most of the yard waste around your lawn and add it as a top dressing for your lawn. After dropping about 1/3 inch of compost on the top of the turf, be sure to rake it off the grass blades and onto the soil. Water the grass so the microbes can be absorbed into the soil.

Invite Nature: Many birds are great replacements for insecticides. Providing a birdbath, bird feeder or birdhouse will attract all kinds of birds. Don't worry feeding the birds won't prevent them from eating the insects, since most birds have to eat both seeds and insects.

Mow Often: If your lawn has so many weeds that you can't possibly remove them all by hand, consider just mowing more often. For grass, the growing point is near the soil, but for most weeds, their sensitive growing point is near the top of the plant.

Grass Alternatives

Install Synthetic Grass: If your area has restrictions on water use, you may consider installing synthetic grass. After installed, it doesn’t use any energy, water, fertilizers, or pesticides.

Go for Native Plants: Native plants, being naturally adapted to survive without human intervention, require much less maintenance than the conventional lawn. They use less resources and save you time and money. Plus, they still provide the benefits of living plants to your local environment, such as helping prevent soil erosion, filtering pollution from rainwater, and absorbing pollution from the air.

How To Clean Your Garden Tools

When you think of maintaining your tools, your garden tools are probably not the first ones that come to mind. All tools, regardless of the job need a little maintenance to keep them working properly.

(Image: iStock)

Follow these steps to keep your tools in tip top shape, and prevent weeds and disease from spreading in your garden.

Remove Dirt: Wet soil can cause your tools to rust. Use a stiff bristle brush and water to clean your tools after every use. The brush will help remove any stubborn dirt from metal parts.

Dry your tools: Dry tools with a rag or let them air dry in the sun.

Remove rust: If you find rust spots, cover the area with a lubricating oil such as WD-40, and scrub it with a wire brush. Wear garden gloves to prevent rust from getting onto your skin to avoid irritation. If this method is not successful in removing the rust, use a paste of one part lemon juice and one part baking soda. Cover the rust spots with the paste and allow it ti sit for 10 minutes. The paste helps dissolve the rust, allowing you to easily wipe it away with a cloth.

Repair handles: Check wood handles for splinters, cracks and roughness. Smooth problem areas with a medium grit sandpaper or emery cloth. If the handles are extra rough try rubbing against the grain first.

Sharpen up: Sharpen dull blades on any tools used for cutting or digging. The more you use your tools, the duller they will become. Use a metal file to sharpen edges at a 45º angle. Making long, smooth strokes in one direction. 

Oil tools: Blot lubricating oil onto a clean rag and rub a light coat of oil onto the surfaces of your tools. This will prevent wood from absorbing water or cracking, and protect metal parts from corroding. Fiberglass or composite does not need to be treated with oil.

Store: Keep your tools in a warm, dry place to prevent further corrosion. Avoid storing tools on the ground.

Fido Friendly Yards
Advice for keeping your furry friends safe through summer.

Everyone in your home wants to be able to enjoy the yard while the sun is shining this summer, so make sure that applies to Fido and friends with these backyard summer safety tips.

(Image: Houzz)

Would you walk around your garden barefoot? Consider your pet’s paws when picking out landscaping materials. Instead of using sharp, jagged rocks to line your garden path, opt for smooth pebbles such as river rocks. Pets can comfortably walk along the smooth surface. Using mulch? Go for small cedar chips instead of large mulch options.

Use driftwood or raised beds to keep particular garden patches off limits. It will  also deter them from digging too deeply into your dirt.

Be sure to read your fertilizer labels carefully and be sure to avoid any that contain cocoa, blood or bone meal. Bone meal is crushed up bone from cattle or fish sources and smells like a tasty treat to your furry friends, particularly dogs. If ingested, these fertilizers can cause severe pancreatitis, resulting in vomiting, diarrhea or even organ failure.

Be sure to avoid the use of toxic rat or mouse poisons around the exterior of your house. According to the Animal Poison Control Centre (ASPCA) each year there are more than 40,000 calls related to mouse poison in yards. These poisons cause internal bleeding, kidney failure and brain swelling. Instead try naturally deterring rodents by growing mint, then toast to your rodent free home with a refreshing mojito.

Be aware of what you plant. Flowers and grass like plants look like tasty treats to pets, but many are poisonous for pets and even small children. Did you know that daffodils and hydrangeas could be harmful if ingested? For a full list of poisonous flowers, read Plants That Poison.

Lastly, it's hot out so help keep fido and friends cool this summer with these six ideas from the Calgary Humane Society.

(Image: Calgary Humane Society)

1. Always have cool fresh water available.
2. Get in some splash time and hit the kiddy pool, but ensure all pool time is supervised.
3. Hanging outside? Whether from a tree, canopy or umbrella, ensure your pooch has adequate shade.
4. Walk in the early morning or evening hours. If it's too hot for your hands, it's too hot for their paws.
5. Give your dog a hair cut. Double coated dogs will benefits from regular brushings.
6. Make a pupsicle! Fill a kong with their favourite treats, freeze and allow them to enjoy a cool, tasty treat. Some tasty treats include yogurt, bananas, canned pumpkin, canned dog food, chopped carrots, apples or mini treats.