AROUND MY GARDEN

BY MARY SHEARMAN REID, GREEN THUMB GARDEN CENTRE

s the frantic shopping weekends for gardeners and garden centres approach, it might be useful to give you some tips on what to look for and what to avoid at your favorite garden centre.

LOCAL PERENNIALS

Most small garden centres grow most of their own perennials or buy from fairly local suppliers. A fair number of perennials are usually overwintered as well. These plants are put out for viewing and sale only when the time is right for planting.

You may notice less growth on the overwintered plants or a bit of yellow on the leaves. Early on in the shopping season this should be of no concern to you - these plants have not been in a greenhouse environment and are thus just getting themselves going for another year, as are the plants in your garden.

ANNUALS

If you want to experiment with some new plants, annuals are a good place to start. There are countless new varieties available, many of which can he brought indoors for the winter (by taking cuttings). Sometimes with the introduction of new plant materials, overall hardiness and disease resistance suffers. With annuals your concern is less; you need not worry about our unpredictable winters.

LAWNS

When you pick up grass seed to overseed or give your lawns a topdressing, be fair to yourselves and your lawn - make sure you tell your garden centre what kind of an environment your lawn has: sun, dappled shade, heavy shade, high traffic, dry conditions, etc.

Treat yourself to good quality seed; you'll get better results. There is nothing wrong with using last year's grass seed, as long as it has been stored in a cool dry place (same thing goes for last year's vegetable or flower seeds). Germination may be slightly less, but that's nothing to he concerned about.

MULCHING

Consider using a mulch cover on your flower beds and perennial borders. Mulch can improve attractiveness and reduce moisture loss and weed growth. Shredded mulch knits itself into the soil, meaning the mulch stays in your garden, unlike some of the decorative bark chips that end up getting jostled about by lawn mowers and traffic.

COMPOSTING

Adding compost or manure improves soil nutrients and structure, but sometimes there isn't enough time to get all your gardening work done in the spring. Why not postpone topping up your beds until the fall? You won't have to dig in the material if you add it then. Mother Nature's freeze and thaw cycle will do it for you.

WOODY PLANTS

Woody plants are available in pots or with bare roots. Buy bare-root plants only if they're dormant; container-grown plants are ready to plant whether dormant or not. There's nothing wrong with finding a few weeds in the pots or annual flats at a garden centre.

CONTAINER GROWN PLANTS

Container-grown plants have a nice root ball, meaning the roots are well covered, when you remove the plants from the pot. If a shrub has been living in a pot for a season, it's natural to expect some weeds in with it. Lots of annuals are field grown so  a hanger-on in the flat is normal. You might even end up with a treasure instead of a weed!

Many roses are sold in paper or peat pots. Usually these pots are biodegradable, although it might take a couple of years for them to rot. You can leave the plant in this type of pot when you place it in the ground. Give it an advantage by taking the bottom out of the pot or slitting the sides, but in any event, the roots will grow through the pot.

Do, trim off any portion of the pot that is above the soil level to prevent  it acting as a wick and make the plant's water supply evaporate instead of sustaining the plant.

FRUIT TREES

If you want a fruit tree and have space to plant only one, make sure you need only one tree in order to get fruit. Quite often a fruit tree is not self-fruitful. Some fruit trees are borderline hardy, so get all the information before you make your purchase.

Finally, take time to walk around the small garden centres; usually the staff is trained and have a genuine love of gardening. Gardeners do love to chat, so give yourself adequate time for your visit in case there are lots of other visitors.