Buds and Blooms: Two months until spring

By Bev Crawford on January 25, 2020.

bevcrawford99@hotmail.com

Brrrr, it was cold. It is quite a relief to feel that weather gone. Above zero temperatures are certainly welcome. We should never complain when we observe the spirit of the Newfoundlanders and the people from Labrador enduring their winter snow blizzard. Or we could look to our west coast to see the miserable blanket of grey and constant rain they endure through their winter. It’s sunny Medicine Hat for me!

Two months until spring! I’m longing for a new season. Have you started to think about your garden yet? There are so many reasons to garden, whether it be a healthy vegetable garden, a fragrant rose garden, loads of flowers to attract butterflies and hummingbirds or just a container garden due to a lack of space. Exercise, pride, organic guarantee, children’s education, or just the pure joy of having beauty around you, are some reasons. For me it is the continuous beauty, from the brilliant tulips in early spring, the superb display of our 35 or so rose bushes, to the prolific garden phlox and echinacea coneflowers in fall. I love to garden and I so appreciate that my husband does also.

The three most important aspects of gardening to me are: The nutritious soil provided; the chemical free environment for all things Mother Nature provides; and an attractive abundance to provide for the birds, bees, bugs and butterflies.

Your soil will be the success or failure of your garden investment, no matter what type of garden you plant. A quick test to judge your soil quality is to tightly squeeze a handful of soil and then open your hand. Good soil will hold its shape and crumble when you poke at it. If it stays molded it has too much clay and will not drain properly. If it doesn’t hold its shape, it is too sandy and will not hold water or nutrients well. Amend your soil with compost, manures, and peat moss, and add bone meal for healthy root development. Do this again in the fall or mid-summer if it is especially hot and dry like it has been the past two summers.

Do not use broad-spectrum insecticide sprays. Flowering plants, including trees and shrubs, depend on many insects that feed on their nectar for pollination, and pollinated plants produce more abundant flowers, fruit, and seed. Insecticides also deplete the insect population birds rely on.

The third aspect is the knowledge of gardening to provide a complex ecosystem to attract and sustain the little critters. Biodiversity makes the world go round. The bugs are important. Bees have a great purpose. Our birds, bees, and butterflies are stressing due to the mismanagement of the environment by humans. You can learn which bugs are beneficial and the flowers to attract them to your garden. To lose the sound of birds, the pollination of bees, and the beauty of butterflies is unimaginable, but it is happening.

This coming season I hope everyone will plant some form of beauty in the yard. And for those with children, plant the seed of garden knowledge. Get those kids outside to play in the soil with the worms! Good planning, like good soil, is essential.

Bev Crawford is the Perennial House Manager of The Windmill Garden Centre and John’s Butterfly House. You may contact Bev via email at bevcrawford99@hotmail.com.

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