Fsyrery vey 6 os ETN E & AA pce epee GAR Friday, August 24, 1990 - North Shore News ~ 45, Te es et es es nye fete gt oath Cyclamens are spring treasures Hardy bulbs are welcome addition Geoff to any sun-dappled garden area WHEN PLANNING the home landscane, it is important not to lose sight of the “Big Picture.’ Try to visualize the garden as a whole and strive towards a unified design, fn other words, you must be careful to avoid becoming bogged down with the details until after you have defined the garden. | compare it to buying the furniture béfore the walls of the house are up. Once you have defined the spaces (shrub beds, lawn areas, patios, etc.) you may then begin selecting plant material. Here again it is important to begin with the largest plants (trees) and work down to smallest (groundcover, perennials, etc.). This said, today’s column is aimed ai those of you who are in the process of putting in the finishing touches. This is perhaps the best part of ornamental gardening. With the aid of a number of small, interesting little plants we can now add our own personal touches which move us from “the garden"? to ‘my garden.”’ We are fast approaching bulb- planting time. The garden centres will soon be tempting you with beautiful pictures and fabulous assoriments of tulips, daffodils, crocus, hyacinths and more. Some of the better centres will also be offering selections of har- dy cyclamens. It is treasures such as these which will not likely be seen by the passers-by, but will bring a smile to your face every time you rediscover them at blooming time. They are usually small plants, best grown in sun-dappled woodlands. They al! require ample drainage and the organically rich soils found in the deciduous forest floor. Water sparingly during the Changing, building codes catch homeowners off guard BRITISH COLUMBIA is growing by leaps and bounds. One in- dicator is the amount of develop- ment that has gone on in the pro- vince in the last 10 years. In many regions, local govern- ments are now applying stricter residential development controls in an effort to curtail the extent and nature of growth. For the most part these controls are positive, but not always — take the recent example of a Lower Mainland resident who needed to rebuild a _ carport because of damage by arson. The resident made an insurance claim, had the claim settled and went to rebuild. Only then did she discover that a new building bylaw in her area did not allow the building of a carport attached to the house. That meant an extra building cost of $8,000, not covered by the insurance policy, because in- surance policies usually exclude increased costs duc to any law tegulating zoning, demolition, fepair, or construction — unless special coverage has been pur- chased. New building bylaws could im- pact on other factors. In some cases, the material specifications to be used in the replacement may have changed, incurring increased costs. How to deal with this problem? It is difficult (if not impossible) to Stay current with building bylaw changes, and new bylaws can catch the insured and the broker by surprise. In the case of the carport build- er, her insurance company solved the problem by a policy change. They have now limited the Build- ing ByLaws Exclusion on habita- tional policies to situations where the loss or increased cost of repair exceeds $10,000. for the homeowner, that meas increased coverage up to the amount of $10,000 to deal with additional costs imposed by a new building bylaw. Most insurance companies will also remove the Bylaw Exclusion entirely, for an additional premium, Insurance policies differ widely. Talk to your independent in- surance broker about the Building Bylaws Exclusion on your residen- tial insurance policy. Your broker has the expertise and information to make sure you are properly protected. summer months during the driest periods. These plants do not require much in the way of fertilizer. Top dressing in later fall) with a bonemeal enriched compost will provide the necessary nutrients as well as affording a Jiuke winter protection. There are five varieties that could be considered hardy for the Pacific Northwest garden. These are: Cyclamen cilictum — This one likes a litthke more sun than its cousins; a good candidate for the rock garden. The small, scented flowers are pale pink with dark red spot on the lower petal. The flowers appear four inches above leafless plants in fall. The round, dark green leaves have ir- regular silver markings and appear in early spring. Cc. coum — This is now the ac- cepted name for formerly separate varieties such as c. x atkinsii, c. hiemale, c. fibericum, c. or- biculatem and c. vernum. The confusion seems to have arisen from the wide variety of flower colors, blooming heights and leaf colors produced by this plant. In general, the flowers arrive in spring in pink shades and white on three to five-inch stalks. The leaves are roundish with irregular silvery or yellowed markings. All bloom during the mid-winter to mid-spring period. THE CONVENIENT THE REGENCY GAS FIREPLACE > A Clean, Con venient Fire > Incredible Heat Capacity > High Safety with Electronic Ignition Choose from the full line of Wood & Gas Freestanding and Insert models Regency~ FIREPLACE PRODUCTS JOE’S WOODSTOVES 1394 Main St., N.Van. 984-4059 Tobiasson OVER THE GARDEN GATE Cc. europeanum —~ Strongly scented, rose pink flowers appear from July to September. The leaves are mid-green with yellow markings. _ With over 10° years in the businéss, we -o ©. neopolininunt -- Flower colors range from: mauve to light pink and appear on four to sisx- inch stalks from August to November. The spring-born leaves are ivy-shaped, muid-green and bear the typical silvery and yellowish markings. C. repandum — The fraprant flowers are white, pink or crimson and appear in mid-spring. The green and silver leaves are general- ly heart-shaped but with irregular edges. The corms of all hardy cyclamens are best planted shallow. For best results, press them into lightly compacted, organically rich soi} and cover lightly with a thin (one to two inch) layer of compost. C. neopolitanum grows its roots and flowers emerging from the top of the corm. This means it should be planted with the rooted side up. Look for a small depres- sion in the top side. . interlocking paving stones and patio different sizes and: shapes, pets, ; plantei ~ fertilizers, garden tools, gatden furniture an. ~‘mpre_of your garden néeds: Come. in paving stone specialist for personal instru it yourself. or. have i ‘installed by us. DEERWOOD GARDEN & LANDSCAPE SUPPLIES . 825 W. 1STSTREET, NORTH VAN ~ 550,000 people work hard to protect Canada’s endangered species. and Compare! — Vancouver Isiand Manno! You can help too. ats. For more intormaton contact A Canadian Wildlite Federation 4673 Caring Avenue Ottawa, Ontano K2A 324 (643) 725 2194