Friday, August 2, 1991 - North Shore News - 15

Sorry, no such thing as ‘no maintenance’

GARDENING IS an unnatural act.

If you were one of

those who believed it to be a simple matter of sticking a
few plants in. the ground and watching them develop into a
gorgeous landscape, prepare yourself for some bad news.
Life is full of bitter disappointments; this is but another.

Plants do not conveniently
group themselves into the eye-
pleasing, weed-frec, aud carefree
displays we call a garden. Grass
does not normally stitch itself
together in the form of a perfectly
level carpet, where neither the
buffalo nor the dandelion roam.

These are man-made and
man-maintained occurrences.
Once we have recognized this
simple fact, gardening can become
a rewarding experience. if we do
not, we will be continually let
down as our gardens do not live
up to our expectations.

Over the years, each time I ask-
ed the question ‘‘What do you
want of your garden?’’, I would
hear, ‘‘This, that, the other and
low (meaning no) maintenance.’’

On the surface, this seemed to
be a very reasonable request.
However, the more I come to un-
derstand the thinking (or lack
thereof) behind this statement, the
more |} realize how truly
unrealistic it is.

Obviously no maintenance is
out of the question; and the ‘‘low
maintenance’ that most people
are looking for is also teo much
to ask. The closest thing to
perfection for sluggards such as
these might be painted plywood
shrubs and plastic flowers for a
garden and green cement for a
lawn,

The problem lies in our percep-
tions of the relative term ‘‘low”’
maintenance. I have heard absurd-
ly high hopes which range from
eight hours per year down to
levels which amount to no more
than an occasional glance cut the
window.

For the record, the average
suburban lot should require a
minimum of eight hours per
month; more during the growing
season and less during the winter.

The low-maintenance garden
begins with good planning. As

Geoff
Tobiasson

OVER THE GARDEN GATE

obvious and self-evident as this
statement seems, you would be as-
tounded by the number oj people
who do their planning at the
garden centre without so much as
a sketch of the area in question in
front of them.

Look for potential problem
areas: inaccessible corners which
are likely to be overlooked until
the weed problem has attained
monumental proportions; widely
spaced plants which will result in
extra weeding chores; poor soils
which produce sickly plants that
are more susceptible to disease
and pest problems. These are but
a few of the possible pitfalls
which good planning can avoid.

Beware the easy way out. Every
day I’m faced with someone who
is trying to find a short-cut in
creating and maintaining an at-
tractive environment, only to find
that they have increased the future

‘workload instead.

Some do it with bark mulch or
gravel, mistaken that this will
provide a long-term solution to
their problems. Many gardeners
can make good money providing

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annual clean-ups in beds mulched
with bark -- they then insure
future profits by adding a new
layer.

Bark mulch does not ensure a
weed-free garden; it will only
make their removal that much
more difficult. (and expensive)
when they do show up. It will also
inhibit the growth of your plants
and harbor unwanted diseases and
pests.

Planting groundcovers such as
ivy, periwinkle, St. John’s Wort,
etc., may require more work ini-
tially, but, in the long run, it
should prove te be a better in-
vestment of labor and money than
bark mulch. They are certainly
more attractive.

A_ low-maintenance garden is
one which has been designed and
planted in a way which will allow
the majority of the plants to grow
together within two to three years
and yet not so close that crowding
will cause ill health.

As with groundcovers, the first
few years may require some extra
weeding, watering, and feeding,
but once the plants have inter-
twined, weeds will not be able to
compete, roots will be protected
froin drying wind and sun and
decaying leaves, and other humus
will provide a reasonable supply
of nutrients.

As I have mentioned in previous
articles, the areas of watering and
fertilizing also provide some good
examples of short-cuts that
backfire. Many gardeners will stop
watering and feeding the lawn in
the summer in the hope that the
resultant slow-down in growth will
reduce the frequency of cutting.

The next spring the same poor
old soul is wondering why he is
cursed with the worst case of moss
and weeds on the block. The
healthier the fawn, the fewer
problems you will have; weeds

NEWS photo Stuart Davis

THE AVERAGE suburban lot should require a minimum of eight
hours of maintenance per month. Koichi Nakamura (above) sifts
soil while preparing a garden in his backyard.

and moss just can’t compete with
a luxuriant lawn.

Low maintenance is a relative
thing. It is entirely possible to
have a gorgeous garden which is
the envy of your neighborhood

without becoming its slave.

On the other hand, if you are
looking for a maintenance-free
garden, go and live in the bush or
the Sahara, but please do not
move in next to me.

_SUMMER aaa aoe

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