NEWS photo Cindy Goodman MEMBERS of the Lynn Valley Garden Club check out some plants during a recent meeting. Ciub members number more than 82. The club’s next meeting will take place on Thrusday, May 20 at tire Lynn Valley United Church, 3201 Mountain Highway, North Van. For more information, call 984-8252. Organic products industry booming THERE WAS a time when the mention of natural lawn and garden care products evoked images of smolder- ing compost piles, a variety of odd concoctions, and _limited effectiveness. For- tunately for lawn and garden lovers — and our planet — those days are over. Consumers now can choose from a wide array of innovative new technologies that make natu- ral products extremely effective with less impact on the environ- ment. The boom in natural products is a result of a dramatic increase in demand. ao Companies have focused their research and development on nat- ural/organic technologies in order to bring scientifically proven pro- ducts to market. There now are literally dozens of ‘natural lawn and. garden pro- ducts available. They tend to be in ‘PLANTERS & GARDEN ORNAMENTS berserall 20 KG BAG MOSS a a RED LAVA ROCK one of three categories: fertilizers, insecticides, and composting pro- ducts to reduce yard waste. Fertilizers Look for products that use nat- ural sources of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, as opposed to synthetically derived chemicals. Natural fertilizers con- tain ingredients such as bone, feather and blood meal, sunflower hull ash, wheat germ, and soybean meal, These ingredients work with the natural cycle of. growth that takes place in the soil, rather than pro- viding a rapid, and sometimes harmful, quick fix. But they are every bit as easy to use as their traditional counterparts and, addi- ‘tionally, they will not burn your plants, Insecticides In recent years, the most com- monly used natural/organic pesticides have been soap-based products. Soaps are blended to penetrate the skin of harmful in- | & By PRODUCTS CONCRETE SEALERS PRODUCTS sects such as aphids and mites, while sparing the most beneficial. When selccting a natural pesticide, look for active ingre- dients like bacillus thurengiensis, pyrethrins, potassium salts of fat- ty acids (soaps), and azadiractin. The advantage of all such pro- ducts is the reduction in their tox- icity and precise targeting of harmful pests. Composting products As it gets more difficult to dispose of bags of leaves and grass, more people are turning to composting. Companies manufacture com- post incculants which, when add- ed to the pile or bin, dramatically accelerate the process, You can go from bags of grass to rich humus in as little as 30 days. There are specific inoculants designed for grass, leaves, and pine needles/branches which you can find at most lawn and garden stores or nurseries. 25 DOLOMITE LIME A. Gg ¥ GOV'T APPROVED AND TESTED . | KILLER 5G5 | 2S Moore mod 2 LANDSCAPING & GARDENING ALLAN BLOCK ALLAN BLOCK™ RETAINING WALLS SPREAD-EASY | Friday, April 30, 1993 - North Shore News - 17 Garden celebrates May Day ON SATURDAY, May | at lt a.m., VanDusen Botanical Garden will be the scene of May ~ Day dances and music by the Vancouver Morris Men and the Tiddley Cove Morris and Sword dancers. These men and women cele- brate the arrival of spring on May Day in the English tradition by travelling throughout the city presenting their dances and music. The day begins at Trimble Park at 5:30 a.m. to dance up the sun. The Morris dancers will be decked out in white linen, Mowers and jingling bells. Sometimes they are even accompanied by a Jack- PRICES “no order too small’’ interior $2 19? solvent free natural white Gal. PAINT & CHEMICAL LTD. 995 W. ist St., M. Van. 984-6100 in-the-Green. It is considered good luck to encounter a Morris team, so look for them at the garden. They will dance for a half-hour. Regular garden admission is $4.50 for adults, $2.25 for seniors and youth and $9 for families, at 57! Oak St. (corner of Oak and 37th Avenue). For more 266-7194, information call Guess who's selling KARIM REMTULLA (Tele.) 984-9711 NOTHING SUCCEEDS LIE SUSSEX = VENETIAN BLINDS 45° o Custom Draperies, Bedspreads plus a great selection of samples to choose from. Draperies, Hardware, Parts & Installations. After checking & comparing, make Lonsdale Draperies your fast stop. Of perience =9 2 2 ~ Mi 3, LONSDAL : 7. deing there at the stadium. 48” Videoscope Projection TV This Sony Videoscope projection TV delivers a whole new dimension to giant- screen entertainment: Advanced Digital Picture-in-Picture, with two built-in TV tuners go you don't need a VCR for your second picture. Swap images of swap audio bet- ween them. See what's on all the active channels in your tuner memory, on main picture and 7 inset images. Even catch an instant Replay, repeating the last two seconds in a multiple freeze-trame se- - quence. Programmable Remote Comman- der* remote control gives you lingertip command of Advanced Digital Picture-In- Picture, 10-key channe? seiection, channel search, mono/stereo SAS® sound, sleep timer, picture and sound level adjustments, SLV-6S6HF Hi-Fi VHS VCR © 4head HiFi « Flying Erase head © VCR Plus + © Audic/Video insert * Dual-mode shuttle 709 ouver Phew KPR-41EXRSS 41" Videoscope Projoction TV The cabinet is amazingly slim. THe advanc- ed ProOpic Image you sea is dramatical- ly brighter and sharper, And the dual dimension sound you hear ts more erno- ; tionally powertul and exciting. Glant-Screon Picture-in-Picture The brilliant, sharp-focus picture of Sony's Advanced ProOptic’” system brings theatrical power to video movies. ; It also makes broadcast TV sports feel like ich game ‘ss, 10 watch? You don't have to choose: Sony eclour Picture-in-Picture can. carry one game on its spectacular 47° main screen and carry your other favourite game on a big, easy-tosee inset image from a VCR tuner. K¥-32TS35 34” tinitron Stereo Monitor/Recelver © 34" screen © VIG Input © Vertical console = * Frontitear AV In Styling * AN window © tuner Picturetn- © Channe! jump Picture * Channel block * Matrix MTS Stereo © 12-hr, sleep timer Sutround Sound - * Pre-programmed temote control