How to grow gigantic tubs of red geraniums
By Ankaret Dean, Lanark Master Gardeners Ever since I moved into the hamlet of McDonalds Corners five years ago and walked down to the shop, there opposite it, is a tiny house with two gigantic tubs of bright red geraniums; Every year they are bigger and better, so I asked… READ MORE
Winter Composting - Be Pepared
Gardeners know the benefits of using compost in their gardens. It improves the soil tilth and adds nutrients to help plants grow and thrive. Gardeners also know that the best compost is made at home, using kitchen and garden organic waste, which also keeps this waste out of landfills. We… READ MORE
Honeyberries
Lanark County Master Gardeners I wonder how many people have met the comparatively new shrub called Honeyberry. The University of Saskatchewan began breeding Honeyberries in 2002 using the line from Russia, Japan and the Kuril Islands, and they produced a fruit that is sweeter and superior in taste to many… READ MORE
Lasagna Gardening
Lanark County Master Gardeners No, I am not going to teach you how to grow lasagna. I am going to talk about a “no-dig” method to use to grow the vegetables you love and use to make lasagna. Lasagna gardening refers to the method of building the garden up by… READ MORE
Sean Maloney
Lanark County Master Gardeners Fresh cut flowers, whether picked from our gardens or purchased from a store or Farmers Market, add beauty and bring the outdoors into our rooms. We often wonder if there is anything we can do to extend the life of these beauties. To keep your arrangement… READ MORE
Pollinator Gardens
For plants to reproduce, they need pollinators. These include insect species such as bees, butterflies, beetles, flies and thousands of other insects, as well as hummingbirds. Unwittingly, while searching for nectar, pollinators move pollen from the male anther of one flower to the female stigma of another. Plant scientists in… READ MORE
Dead Heading Flowers
I realize this is rather a morbid title for an article about gardening. However if you would like your perennials and annuals to keep flowering for as long as possible, cutting off the flowers and seed heads often means that they will keep blooming for a longer time, or re-bloom… READ MORE
Christmas dinner from my garden
by Dale Odorizzi, Lanark County Master Gardeners It is the time of year to start thinking about Christmas Dinner. When family gathers, we always like to enjoy our garden’s harvest. For our family, the star of the show is a golden roasted turkey. While we have had a lot of… READ MORE
Caring for festive favorites after Christmas
by Dale Odorizzi, Lanark County Master Gardeners The Azalea is a small woody shrub that is covered in beautiful double blooms of red, pink, white or bicolour. If you keep the soil moist and the pot in a room with indirect light and an average temperature of 20C, the blooms… READ MORE
Aloe Vera, the Healing Plant
By Ankaret Dean, Lanark County Master Gardeners ln my opinion every household should have an Aloe Vera plant in the kitchen window, it is probably the easiest house plant to grow, and provides you immediately with an instant soothing remedy for a burn. It is a semi-tropical plant, and is… READ MORE
Growing from seed
by Helen Halpenny, Lanark County Master Gardeners It’s never too early to make plans for your 2015 garden. Already the seed companies have sent catalogues with beautiful pictures and glowing reviews to entice you to buy their regular and newly introduced varieties. Before you order new seeds, get out your… READ MORE
Ferns: Outdoors and In
by Dale Odorizzi, Lanark County Master Gardeners Nothing says a woodland garden better than a stand of beautiful, delicate and graceful ferns. Ferns are plants that produce evergreen or deciduous leaf-like structures called fronds. In our part of the world there are close to 20 species of ferns growing wild… READ MORE
Herb Gardens on your window sill
by Helen Halpenny, Lanark County Master Gardeners The snow may be piled high outside, but starting your garden indoors can happen right now. Come February, the light level begins to increase and a sunny windowsill can be the perfect place to get a head start on the gardening season. There… READ MORE
Assassin from below: Cutworms
by Dale Odorizzi, Master Gardener of Lanark County Have you ever gone out in the morning to admire the Beefsteak or Roma tomato plants that you planted the day before only to find one, two or more plants cut off at the soil line and lying flat on the ground?… READ MORE
Growing raspberries
by Helen Halpenny, Lanark Master Gardeners Fruit and vegetables grown in the home garden and picked at the peak of perfection taste the absolute best. Among the easiest fruits to grow are raspberries. Yes, you need space and good soil but the rewards are great. Prepare the soil well because… READ MORE
Square Foot Gardening
By Dale Odorizzi Do you want to have fresh picked tasty vegetables but have a small lot with no room for a vegetable garden? If so, Square Foot Gardening may be for you. Square foot gardening is easy to do, easy to manage, very adaptable, and it produces high yields… READ MORE