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Gardening Tips
>> Add Value to Your Home
Gardeners know that you reap what you sow.
From a profusion of colourful flowers in pots at an entranceway
to the most expansive yard, the first thing most visitors to your
home will notice is the surrounding landscaping or "curb appeal".
The rewards of reviving your roses and digging up the dandelions
are more than merely ascetic. The Canada Mortgage and Housing
Corporation (CMHC) lists the typical payback of landscaping at
45-49%. So almost half the money most people invest in their garden
will be "sown" in the sale price of their home.
Achieving that great garden doesn't have to involve large amounts
of time or money. Planning is key. First consider how much sun
your garden receives. There are plants available that will thrive
from deep shade to bright sun. From Calla lilies to Texas roses
you can have blooms in every corner of your garden.
If you want to include trees in your garden, deciduous varieties
are particularly good for southern and western exposures of your
home. These trees will provide shade and cool your home in summer,
then just as the bright sun heads south and the nights become
crisp they will shed their leaves and allow light into your home.
Apple, pear, or hazelnut trees will also provide a delicious crop.
There are many hybrids available now which are resistant to viruses
and other diseases that traditionally plagued fruit trees. Those
reliable standbys-maple, oak, and willow-are also available in
different colours and heights. It has never been easier to get
exactly the garden you envision.
Edible plants are a great addition to any landscape design. With
a little creativity, you can have a beautiful fragrant garden
that doubles as an herb supply. Purple sage and parsley provide
colourful, unusual ground cover and are hardy well into fall or
year-round in more temperate climates. A cluster of dill will
sprout exotic green pinwheels several centimetres wide in August.
Basil smells wonderful and is a great green (or purple) accompaniment
to a flower patch.
If you want to impress dinner guests try growing a few edible
flowers to add to your salads. Peppery flavoured nasturtium and
yellow and purple pansies are easy to grow and have a long season.
Delicate violets have three times as much vitamin C as an orange.
Both violet and pansy can also be crystallised in sugar and used
as cake decorations.
Remember, if you are considering growing vegetables that most
have a short life span and will soon shrivel when the nights become
frosty. The best place for a vegetable plot is in the back yard
or out of high traffic areas.
Ideally, you should aim to have plants growing and blooming continuously
from spring to fall. This is referred to as a step garden and
it is not as difficult as it may sound. Simply choose plants that
naturally reach maturity at different times. Bulbs planted in
the fall will be the first up in the spring; flowers planted from
seed or a nursery plant typically bloom mid-summer; a few varieties
bloom late summer and fall. Check the descriptions on each plant
to ensure you are choosing the right size and flowering time.
Perennials are the easiest choice especially if you have little
time to tend your garden. Unfortunately, they usually have small
flowers so a few annuals such as poppy or marigold will add a
splash of colour.
Co-ordinating that colour scheme is easy if you remember the basics
of the colour wheel. Primary colours are red, yellow and blue.
These are bold, strong colours best used for accents. Complimentary
colour combinations (red-green, yellow-purple, or blue-orange)
are the most pleasing to the eye. A sprinkling of white flowers
will brighten the garden and help break up blocks of different
colours.
Great gardeners also know that springtime not the only time to
"plant the seeds" of a beautiful, lush garden. Be prepared by
fertilising, sharpening tools, or starting seeds indoors. It's
never too early to think about warm sunny days!
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