GET THE DIRT ON THE LATEST GARDEN TRENDS

April 15, 2010

By Mark Cullen

SPRING IS FINALLY HERE!
NOW IT’S TIME TO PREPARE YOUR GARDEN
FOR THE SPRING AND SUMMER MONTHS.

Home and Décor caught up with expert gardener Mark Cullen to talk about what it takes to make a beautiful spring garden. Mark shares some helpful tips as well as some essential gadgets that will help take the work out of gardening, after all, you’re supposed to enjoy it! Get the scoop on the top trends and how to achieve them.

HELPFUL TIPS FOR YOUR GARDEN

• Mulch is the low-maintenance gardener’s secret weapon.
• Conserving water is easy, when you use a rain barrel.
• Conserving water is even easier when you plant low-maintenance flowers and shrubs.
• Hummingbirds and butterflies love nectar-rich flowers (like trumpet vine, verbenna, veronica, liatris, and hosta flowers) – plant lots of them.
• A thick green lawn can be 
had without chemicals – the secret is to: 
- mow your lawn 2 1/2 in. high;
- use a mulching mower; and
- over-seed with fresh quality grass seed early in spring to squeeze weeds out of existence.
• Many veggies can be sown from seed early in spring, before the first frost-free date – carrots, lettuce, peas, onions and garlic, to name a few.
• Many flowers can be sown from seed rather than transplanting at much greater cost: cosmos, marigolds, zinnias and snapdragons, to name a few.
• Tropical plants that summer outdoors perform better than indoors.
• A “bleeding” hose is a great way to get water to the roots of plants.
• Ninety per cent of the success that you achieve in your garden is the result of proper soil preparation.

MARK CULLEN’S TOP 10 TRENDS

1 | WATER CONSERVATION
Using mulch, water barrels, seeping/weeping hoses etc. will play a key role in keeping your lawn watered while still conserving water.

2 | NATIVE PLANTS
The use of native plants in the landscape will reduce the use of water, reduce maintenance (fewer bugs and diseases), and enhance local insect/bird life, increasing natural biodiversity cycles.

3 | GARDENING IN THE ABSENCE OF CHEMICALS
With some provinces and many municipalities severely limiting the use of chemicals for residential gardens, what are the alternatives? There are many off-the-shelf low- or non-toxic solutions, as well as many gardening techniques and home-grown remedies that are safe for use around children and pets.

4 | GARDENING IN CONTAINERS
Canadians are pushing the envelope by mixing annuals and perennials together in containers, often adding vegetables

5 | SMALL-SPACE GARDENING
Increased demand for condominiums in urban spaces and new homes that are built on smaller lots has caused a rise in the demand for creative small-space garden design and yard plans which serve multiple uses.

6 | DWARF/SLOW-GROWING PLANTS
Evergreens, shrubs and trees are a great way to add greenery and shade to your outdoor space.

7 | COLOUR
The demand for annuals and perennials that produce a reliable abundance of colour for the longest possible length of time is on a steep incline.

8 | GARDEN TOOLS THAT WORK
Ergonomics and the environment factor into the search for tools that make gardening chores easy and resourceful. Check out the new Spear and Jackson stainless steel digging tools.

9 | ECONOMICAL APPROACH
Grow your own annuals and vegetables from seeds.

10 | INVEST IN YOUR OWN OUTDOOR RETREAT
Spend hard-earned cash to improve your yard and garden rather than booking costly travel vacations or purchasing a vacation property.

ESSENTIAL TOOLS FOR THE GARDEN

Hoe: if you don’t control your weeds, you don’t have a garden.

Sharp spade: using a dull spade creates more work, and a shovel is only good for digging holes. A spade is a great lawn edger, perennial divider and driveway scraper, besides digging some mighty fine holes.

Fan rake: it moves leaves better than a leaf blower and costs less too.

Garden rake: it is great for marking rows in the veggie garden and smoothing out lumpy soil.
Bastard file: use it to sharpen your spade. I do every time I dig.

As a best-selling author, and host of Gardening Tips with Mark on CTV’s Canada AM every Friday at 8:45 a.m., Mark Cullen shares his knowledge and passion for gardening with Canadians from coast to coast. His latest book, The Canadian Garden Primer, An Organic Approach, is full of helpful information.
www.markcullen.com

Filed under: FROM THE EXPERTS