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arves solve pro!

SMALL IS SMART FOR GARDENS

GIVEN THE restricted space of the typical North Shore
garden, and our. difficult terrain, I suggest that you give
serious consideration to gardening with dwarves.

No, 1 do not mean tilling the
soil with the littl people. My in-

tention is the wonderful array of

Lilliputian plant matesial which
works so well in the nooks and
crannies of our average garden.

If you were one of those unhap-
py souls who based their decision
on the biggest plant for the Icast
amount of money, you probably
have a probicm.

And there lies the root of the

over the

garden gate

Geoff Tobiasson

“Does this sound familiar? “Our .; problem; our common desire to

garden was lovely when it was first,

installed, six-or. seven years ago,
but ‘now. it’s. overgrown.” .Then
there are those lovely arrangements
of: trees: and<. shrubs - with their
‘ “Doodle-cu tt?’ coiffures which can

hunt for the bargain. Just as the
auto industry used this ‘bigger is
better’ psychology to boost sales in
the '50s, the garden centres make
use of -it. today. The economics of
fossil, fuels have alerted us to the

be> seen: in. the «‘well- manicured’ «| ,error of our. ways and that green

“ gardens of the.B.P.s. |

The answer is clear. If you have
any ill-mannered plants that refuse
to: live: within bounds, send. them
skyward. ‘Then, after a reasonable
amount of. research, {better late
‘than never) plant some miniatures.

‘TS too, ‘enjoy’ certain | entrances
and foundation plantings: that use

- the strong upright form of colum-~
“7 Mar evergreens as accents.

“giant. outside the living room win-
_ dow should be doing the same.
You may be motivated by the

‘pleasure of gardening rather than —

saving moncy.. This being the case,
why: not keep it pleasurable by
keeping it manageable?

A few years ago, you took pride
in the effect you created by plan-
ting some Phitzer junipers along

“the path’ Ieading to, your.:stairs.

Now you must tame the beasts

"OFF.
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ES sont all miniframes, pre-cut.
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"foes

~ North: ‘Vancouver |

1425 Marine Drive...
984-8469 .

~All stores open 7 days: ‘a week =

” Kitsilano. -
2857 W. Broadwa'

Ds

‘few square feet of garden space. —

regularly with the hedge shears or
the mailman will pass you by,

A better choice would have been
the slower-growing varieties of
juniper. such as jf. chinensis

“Dropmore’, or j.c. ‘Gold Caast',

‘Mordigan Aurea’.

You could even expand your
choices to include the new Russian
Cypress (microbiota © decussata),
the spreading yews (ftaxus
repandens), or the dwarf mugo
pine (pinus mugo ‘Pumillio).

Or, you might persist in trying
to create a rose garden on a 12
foot by six foot balcony.

Half the fun of any form of
gardening is in the collecting. If
you tried to grow more than one or
(wo full-size. roses in this space,
they would soon serve to point out
some thorny: problems concerning
a lack of room.

Look into miniature roses; in the
same area you-could try dozens of
varieties with much more pleasant
results.

One of the highest rated of all

toses is a miniature, rose ‘Starina’.

One of my old favorites is r.
‘Beauty. Seeret®, its fragrant
flowers. are perfect, albeit: tiny,
replicas of the hybrid tca rose. _

The rockeries and alpine gardens.

“29 - Friday, April 29, 1988 - North Shore News

ina massively landscaped estate.

If you would like more informa-
tion on the use of dwarf trees and
shrubs, . Gardening With Dwarf
Trees. and Shrubs by Andreas
Bartels, published by. Timber
Press, is one of many good books

of the North Shore are where these ° available on the subject.

plants really shine. Just imagine,
seeming, .acres‘ of mountainous
landscapes reduced to fit within a

A few carefully selected coni-

‘forous and deciduous” miniature

trees, combined. with some dwarf
Nowcring shrubs and herbaccous

“plants can ‘create. as dramatic a :

show in a small area as can be seen

“We' ve e been framed at Regis
& we think they’ re greath” ”

NEEDLEWORK

Frames, glass, mats,
assembly & stretching all at:

25% off i

Limited. time only. -.

(Offer applies only to complete frame =:
orders using Regis Metal or Top 50) ~

. Kerrisdale -
37th & West Blvd,

“West Vancouver
- 1432 Marine Drive’
922-3513.

late opening Fridays

Richmond 0: Lousheed,

2O7-AS01 Nox Rd

If you are interested in obtaining

“some of these plants and other

candidates for the alpine or rock
garden, attend the. B.C. Alpine
Garden Club’s aninual plant sa’;

It is on Sunday;: May“1-from 2 .

p.m, to S“p.m. at the « William
Griffin’ Community Centre, 851
West Queens, North Vancouver.

_ All enthusiasts, interested parties
and pocket books are welcome.

LIFESTYLES