Show from October 30, 2005

Good morning gardeners. Well what a wonderful week it has been. I stayed home and finally got some work done in the garden and it couldn't have been nicer outside. I love these sunny brilliant autumn days. I planted about 200 tulip bulbs, putting some blood meal in each planting hole, so next spring should be lovely. And I hope we have a nice warm spring next year. The folks in the garden business could sure use one and so could all of us gardeners. You feel so cheated when springtime is cold and wet. Our summers are short enough as it is.

Well, by now, I'm sure you've brought in all the plants you plan to overwinter. You've dug up your gladiola corms and dahlia tubers and let them dry in the sun for a few days before you dusted them with fungicide and stored them away with some Perlite in a paper bag. Hopefully, you have a nice cool place to put them for the winter.

Some time in the next two weeks, you're going to water your evergreens nice and deeply to help them through the winter and prevent winterburn. You've raked up all the leaves and now you're going to going to overseed your lawn so that in spring, the seeds will get an early start in fill in any bare or thin patches. A nice thick lawn helps choke out weeds.

You've turned or loosened the soil in your flower beds, being careful not too dig up perennial and shrub roots and you've sprinkled in some claybuster to help the hard lumps break down over winter. If you have a really full perennial bed, you may want to just use a fork to loosen the soil.

If you haven't covered first-year evergreens, do so now by building a teepee over the plant and covering this with burlap, taking care not to have the burlap touching the leaves. First-year roses will benefit from some mulch built up around the root zone to protect bud union over winter. Don't prune them now. Most will die back to the snow line anyhow. Prune them in spring once you see sign of growth and then mostly just to remove the die back and any spindly or weak canes.

If you've planted a tree in the past two years or if the bark is still smooth, you may want to protect the truck with a plastic wrap to prevent sun bun and splitting and to keep off rodents.

There is still time to put in more bulbs . I notice that there is still a good selection at most garden centres, however, I'd get out there this week before the stock dwindles. I bought a bunch of species tulips again this year, but I was already to late to find any of the peony flowering tulips. These are the doubles that put on the most marvellous show.

You can also still put in fall seeds, ,which reminds me that I wanted to tell you about pollination. Did you know that when a pollen grain hits the stigma of a flower, a marvellous thing happens? I guess before I learned this I just through the pollen fell through a tube or something to reach the ovary of the plant. But instead, the grain of pollen, which is made up of protein, minerals and vitamins, sends out a pollen tube that penetrates the style, the slender stalk that holds up the stigma, to reach down into the ovary. Only then can the male sperm travel down to the ovule to finish the job of fertilization.

And what is even more fascinating, is that the growth of the pollen tube is stimulated by a hormone that is found in humans and plays a role in regulating the human nervous centre. Scientists are now looking at they way this hormone acts in plants for clues to heal spinal cord injuries.
Plants are such miracles, aren't they?

Well, this morning, we are very fortunate to have Harry Schriemer, of Shriemer's Nursery on Molson Avenue in North Kildonan with us.

One of the great things I did last week was to attend John Doole's one man show at the Lion and the Rose Gallery at 210-70 Albert Street. Drop in and see some of the fantastic paintings John has created over the past 30 years. You know him as a sparky writer in Manitoba Gardener, and as the former owner of Winnipeg Supply or a a rare bird breeder, a trumpet player and a tango dancer, but this Renaissance man is also a superb artist and the show is well worth attending.

Folks, I have a big announcement this morning. We have just launched our brand new, redesigned web page at www.localgardener.net. Just click on Manitoba Gardener when you get there. You can find upcoming gardening events on the site, a new gardening tip every day, and read great articles. I'd like to thank Jeremy Skinner who has been working hard to this site to you for the past several weeks. Thank you Jeremy. You've done a great job. And folks, if you visit the site at www.localgardener.net today or tomorrow, you can get free Himalayan Impatiens seeds, courtesy of Mr. Tomato. Plus, I'd love to get your feedback - tell me what you think or make suggestions for things you'd like to see. And while you're at the site, click on the cruise ship to learn more about my cruise next march 11. That's www.localgardener.net.
Hey, how would you like to win a digital camera from Don's Photo? Digital is where everyone is going these days and the results are spectacular. You get to see things in your flowers you didn't know were there. Well, you could win a very good Kodak from Don's photos by simply subscribing to Manitoba Gardener this fall. And if you already have a subscription, why not buy a gift for a friend? Manitoba Gardener makes a wonderful Christmas gift. Your name will be entered in the draw every for every subscription you buy.

To subscribe, call 940-2720 with any major credit card. That's 940-2720. You'll get six informative and beautiful issues, including the treasured Beautiful Gardens issue. Plus we are publishing a bonus, Beautiful Lifestyle issue this fall to help us make that transition back into the house and you'll get the Green and Growing Guide next spring. That's 8 issues in all for just $27.95 and a chance to win a digital camera. Call 940-2720