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June 5, 2014
Vol 3, Issue 6
Down The 
Garden Path

with Joanne Shaw
path with shed
Joanne Shaw
I hope everyone is happy that it is finally June.  The challenge in our gardens is that the plants still aren't sure what time of year it is! They have been very slow to wake up.  I have finally ordered my replacements for last years' customers whose plants didn't make it. Considering the winter, it wasn't too bad.  I have just a few to replace.

The season for landscape installations has also gotten off to a crazy start.  A cold, wet spring delayed clean ups and then more rain in early May slowed down the first few installs.  In fact, we are still working on installing designs that were booked in the fall and winter. It is always challenging explaining to customers who call in May that they won't be installed until August! Design requests also got off to a slow start since the cold spring kept everyone from thinking about the outside. I am still booking designs and it is not too late for me to take a look at your garden or someone else's.

I experienced the challenge of May personally as I was having 2 sides of my fence replaced this month and thanks to the rain it took longer than planned.  The dog was not happy that he couldn't go into the back yard. But the fence is done and now I can get planting my veggies. You can find pictures of my new fence and veggie garden on my Facebook page.

Landscape Ontario Professional Member

The month of May also came with some good news for me.  I was able to fulfill my requirements to be part of Landscape Ontario!  Check out their website at http://landscapeontario.com/.  They have a lot of useful information for homeowners regarding lawns and gardens as well as hiring and working with Landscape Professionals. One example is this guide to Selecting a Landscape Contractor:  http://landscapeontario.com/selecting-a-landscape-contractor

The biggest question I am being asked when I make my site visits is about pruning so my main article may be a little long this month but I hope it covers what you need to know about pruning right now.

Enjoy the season,

  

  

Joanne


Joanne Shaw
Landscape Designer
Down2Earth Landscape Design



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HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?
FEATURE ARTICLE
A LOOK THROUGH THE GARDEN GATE
TIP
Are You Maintaining Your Garden The Right Way? These Tips Will Help You Answer  

 

1. Top up your gardens with mulch.
 
2. Don't top up the mulch around your trees too high! No mulch volcanos.

3. Edge garden beds at a 45 degree angle to keep a nice clean edge.

4. Now is a good time to shape your pyramidal yew as shown here:
 

 

pyramidal yew shaping 1
pyramidal yew shaping 2
pyramidal yew shaping 3
pyramidal yew shaping 4

 

 

5. Apply fertilizer to your garden plants this year to help kick start them after their slow start.
 

 


 



For more gardening tips and informative articles, visit my Newsletter Archives page!

FEATUREARTICLE
Prune Like A Pro With The Help Of These Tips

Thanks to our hard, long winter and cool spring, many plants are delayed or just not sure what they are doing yet.

Even though it is the beginning of June many of these plants have just finished blooming. Here is how you prune them.


Pruning of Spring Flowering Shrubs

Early spring flowering shrubs like Flowering Almond, Lilac, Sand Cherry and Forsythia should be pruned immediately after flowering.  If you prune them before they bloom you will lose the flowering this season and maybe next depending on how hard you pruned.

pruning flowering shrubs

If you want to rejuvenate mature spring flowering shrubs, as soon as the last flowers fade, use a pruning saw to cut off one-fourth to one-third of the biggest, oldest stems at ground level. Use pruning shears to shorten all of the stems to two or three feet from the ground. If you wish to greatly limit the shrub's size, you can cut the branches as far back as six inches from the ground. By the end of the growing season, new branches will have formed. These will arch gracefully from the center and will be covered with new flower buds for next year's spring show.
 
pruning shrubs

Summer Pruning


The pruning or trimming of summer flowering shrubs should be done by now. If you missed the short window due to the weather, not to worry. Cut out any dead growth you can with a hand pruner. Otherwise leave the shrub alone to flower, especially Weigela and Spirea.  Once the flowers are done, go ahead and cut back a bit and thin out like pictured below.

Summer Pruning

Summer Pruning

Pruning of Summer Flowering Shrubs

Summer flowering shrubs like Spirea, Potentilla, Weigela, and even Roses should be pruned in early spring before growth begins and then again later in season to remove spent flowers and encourage more blooms.

 
Summer Flowering Shrubs

Hydrangeas, specifically Endless Summer Hydrangeas are off to a really slow start and mine (pictured here) seem to be struggling to produce the flowers they once did. I am going to fertilize them with a fertilizer with a high middle number i.e. 15-30-15 and add some compost around the base of the plants. I am hoping this will kick them into high gear and the compost will help keep them there. Please try it too and let me know how it works for you.

Endless Summer Hydrangea spring '14


Pruning of Evergreens

There are 2 types of pruning for evergreens; Selective and Non-selective. Selective is more time consuming but overall will be better for the plant in the long run. It involves using a hand pruner to cut back the evergreen at a specific point.  Non-selective is using pruning shears to level the ends of the stem regardless of where the new growth is coming from. This creates a "tight" appearance on the outside but prevents light getting to the inside of the plant.  If the outside is damaged (like the pic below) there is no green to cut to.

This year Boxwood and Yews may need a harder pruning than usual to remove the winter dieback and prune for shape prior to spring growth.  The ice from this past winter was really hard on boxwood and yews but in most cases with the right care they can bounce back. Here are my yews:

I used selective pruning to cut back my stems that were severely damaged by the storm and a fallen tree and now the new growth is slowly coming in.

pruning yews

But in some extreme cases like this one...

damaged evergreens

The damaged leaves are too deep into the plant. I am afraid that if you trim back to the next green part of the stem, there would be no plant left, therefore, you are better off replacing them.

And lastly when working at creating a hedge it is important to trim hedges narrower at the top to let light get to the bottom of the plant, this is a common mistake that leads to the dying off or lack of green on the lower branches of evergreens.
 
Evergreens


GardenGate
A look through the garden gate...

 
Upcoming things to do in the garden around town:

 
Oshawa Peony Festival 2014
June 14 and 15: Oshawa Peony Festival  

http://www.oshawa.ca/tourism/peony/peony-festival.asp




 
Toronto Botanical Garden Tour 2014June 14 and 15:
Toronto Botanical Garden Tour


http://torontobotanicalgarden.ca/enjoy/special-events/through-the-garden-gate/

 




toronto flower market
June 14
: The Toronto Flower Market

http://torontoflowermarket.ca/



 
NEW_SERVICE


I will now be using color to enhance my landscape drawings!  This is to help my customers better visualize their new yard.


landscape concept colour

 

 

Joanne Shaw is the owner and operator of Down2Earth Landscape Design. A graduate of Ryerson University in Landscape Design, Joanne has 15 years experience in designing gardens and a decade in landscape and related business, both for her own clientele and established local nurseries.

CONTACT
Joanne Shaw
Landscape Designer
Down2Earth Landscape Design
joanne@down2earth.ca
www.down2earth.ca
905.839.1597
905.903.2597