14 - Friday, April 6, 1990 - North Shore News New garden planning kit makes designing easier SPRING COMES early to Canada’s west coast, but for vir- tually all of the rest of Canada, outdoor gardening in March is limited to planning what changes will be made once the frost has left the ground. A garden plan will assist in con- trolling expenses on your 1990 garden. It will also help ensure that the time and money invested in your home landscape is well spent. According to the Canadian Garden Council, a well-landscaped home can add anywhere from seven to 14 per cent to the selling price of a home. Most homeowners think a pro- fessional landscape plan is out of reach for them. They envision such a plan requiring a visit by a land- scape architect in order that the owners’ needs, problem areas, and desires and dislikes be thoroughly discussed. True, it is most important that the family’s present and fi:ture needs be considered, and that building in flexibility and staging in the garden plan will take time. However, there is no reason the homeowner cannot perform many of the preparatory steps, thus sav- ing valuable professional time. To this end, the Canadian Garden Council is about to release a Garden Planning Kit that will be available to homeowners from participating garden centres at no cost. The kit is a three-part package consisting of: an introductory sec- tion with instructions on how to draw a simple rendering of your garden, using recognized symbols; a detailed questionnaire designed to have the homeowner make basic decisions as to what kind of garden is desired and what features are needed; and grid paper on which to draw the garden as it relates to the house, with space to include at least one photo of the garden as it exists. With the questions answered, the homeowner can take the kit back to the garden centre where it was obtained, or, if obtained from a magazine, to a local landscape/ garden centre. A garden plan can then be developed, at very little cost. In most cases, the garden centre offering the service will provide the planning at no cost if a certain low expenditure level on the plants is achieved. Although the Garden Planning Kit is not yet available (look for it in garden centres in most parts of Canada in early to mid-April). if you are hoping to make major landscape changes or alterations to your lot this year, now is the time you should be giving thought to some of the key questions in the kit. For example, how much time and energy do you now devote to your garden? How much do you see yourself devoting, once the improvements are made to the garden? How important is a low- maintenance garden to you? Some of the most important Plants need light PHOTOSYNTHESIS IS the pro- cess by which plants make food. Photosynthesis means ‘‘putting together with light.” In green plants, sunlight cap- tured by chlorophyll enables car- bon dioxide from the air to unite with water and minerals from the soil and create its own food. This process also releases oxygen into the air. Most photosynthesis takes place in small bodies called chloroplasts within the cells of plant leaves. These chloroplasts contain chlorophyll, which absorbs sunlight. Energy from the sun splits water molecules into hydrogen and cx- ygen. The hydrogen joins with carbon from the carbon dioxide to produce sugar. The sugar helps a plant make the fat, protein, starch, vitamins, and otker materials that it needs to survive. Some plants, called parasites and saprophytes, cannot produce their own food. They must rely on outside sources for their food. Parasites grow as fungi on many plants, including apples, potatoes and tomatoes. Saprophytes, in- cluding mushrooms, molds and mildew, live on decaying plants and animals. THE GREATER VANCOUVER ANTIQUE DEALERS’ ASSOCIATION presents the annual ANTIQUES FAIR HYCKOFT 1489 McRAE An exhibition and sale of top quality fine and decorative arts, including antique furniture, silver, paintings, jewellery and oriental rugs by the leading dealers in Vancouver, Victoria and Calgary, set in Shaughnessy’s beautiful Hycroft. Thursday, April 5 10am - 9pm Friday, April 6 10am - 9pm Saturday, April 7 LOam - Gpm Sunday, April 8 10am - 5pm Admission $5.00 For information call: 263-2791 or 736-8825 questions to be asked have to do with the functions and role the garden is expected to fulfill. Some considerations are: do you have a swimming pool now, or will you want to insta! one in the future; do you have, or anticipate having children, and thus do you want an area for play equipment now or in the future; would you like to raise some of your own vegetables, and if so, just how intensive an interest is this; where would you like to have a patio or deck, or both, and how is it to be shaded; and do you require a storage area on your lot for a boat or trailer, that would need to be camouflaged with plants? Most important are what type of plants are preferred. For example, evergreens (pines, spruce, junipers) provide year-round color and in- terest, as opposed to deciduous trees and shrubs (maples, poplars, lilacs) which have a major presence really only during the spring, summer and fall. These questions require thought, and if you are ready with the an- swers now, you'll be well on your way to helping a garden centre de- signer plan a practical garden design just for your family. B.C.'s Largest Selection of Ornamental; oo t lrees & Shrubs POS Se ee Another reason to get INVISIBLE FENCING. Want to give your dog freedom, and safety too? Then cali the number below for free information on Invisi- je Fencing. Ten years and tens of thousands of dogs stand behing Imusible Fencin ne. it's veterinafian approved and recommended as completely harmiess and humane. And it comes with a money-back guarantee. Because you can't see it, Invisible Fencing maintains the beauty of your property. It costs less than conven- tional fencing. And if you move, it can move with you. To learn all the other reasons to get Invisible Fencing, call: INVISIBLE FENCE OF VANCOUVER S2Vi2i) LLM CICBC AND YOUR LOCAL POLICE. FUCHSIAS Starter plants for hanging baskets. They are suited to mixed baskets or fuchsia baskets for shady locations. Reg. 89 each 3/° 1?” Gel DDO yf Tie “pithy ‘ AES ) RY —————— MASTER GARDENERS Representatives from Vandusen Gardens will be in our store Saturday and Sunday, April 7 & 8 to help solve your garden problems. DAHLIAS One of the most popular summer- flowering plants for a sunny garden’ Pkg. of We are constantly upgrading and r receiving fresh, new Nursery stock all premium grade quality and competitively priced. Planter Box Planting Mix 50 QT Ready to use for planters, window boxes or clay pots. 9/°Q97 Reg. $6.99 each An organic-based mild fertilizer that's perfect for bedding plants. ls 897 U.S. Gal. Reg $12.99 8 S697 | 5 lb. Box. Reg $9.99 BEDDING PLANTS ARE IN OUR STORE NOW! Your GARDEN MARKETPLACE : Se a ee = = == _EASTER FLOWERS _== SE Florist 298-4314 3 a" OPEN | * WEEKNIGHT: A g~_ 109, Z HOURS: Mon.-Fel.: 9 a.m@ p.m. Sau & Sun.: 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. » Bai “ae |. 6250 LOUGHEED HWY. YY. BURNABY 299- -0621 Pape)