MKR Blog

To the city dweller, that constant annoyance of buzzing in your ear, and the subsequent bite of the mosquito has taken on a new importance with the threat of West Nile virus. In Ontario last year, more than 390 people became ill, 17 people died, 12 of those were in Toronto.

The more you study garden design the more you realize that there seems to be no style to the Canadian Garden. We have adopted garden styles from around the world. Water features from the Italian and Spanish Gardens. From Britain we have adopted the Cottage Garden, English Mixed Border and others.

A growing trend in gardening is to add wire formed animals such as Lions; turtles; horses and alligators to the home landscape.

In parts of Ontario, there are three species of white grubs that infect lawns: European chafer, June beetle, and Japanese beetle. The most common species is the European chafer, which has come from Europe and has invaded much of the southern portion of the province.

Often at this time of year I get lots of calls about the care of Christmas flowers. So the following is a guide to help you care for your Christmas flowering pot plants.

Every year many different garden clubs and horticultural societies hold garden tours. These are usually fund raisers for good causes or are for operating funds to continue the good work that these organizations do. The Garden City Horticultural Society in St. Catharines, ON is no exception. They held their Prime Time Garden Tour on Sunday, August 12th, 2001. Included in the tour was a draw for door prizes and a photo contest.

To obtain or maintain the perfect lawn the following procedures are offered for your consideration. First analyze your lawn's problems. Then select the curative steps from the list below.

One of the latest trends in North American gardening is Container Gardening. The trend is to use tropical and sub-tropical plants in the garden to create interest. Often a featured plant is sunk into the soil to act as a strong visual focus. Such a plant may be used to cover an unsightly feature or draw the eye to a feature such as a door, water feature, or path. They can also be used to soften a large bare wall.

For years, now we have heard about the negative impact of Pesticides on the environment. The professional users of pesticides are responsible applicators using them in a safe and appropriate manner. It has been the non-professional users who have gotten us in trouble. Their over and ill-timed applications often of the wrong pesticide have led us to the state we are in today. If this is the case then why are they still in such heavy use today?

Many homeowners find the closing down of their pond for the winter a labourious task and it should not be. The normal procedure of keeping your pond clear of debris is very important not only at closing but also throughout the rest of the year. It helps if you inoculate the pond in the spring with Bacta Pur Nutra Pak followed by regular applications of Bacta Pur Klear. If your pond has a soil bottom then make regular applications of Bacta Pur Pond.

One of the great beauties of the Summer Mixed, Mixed Perennial, or Cottage Border is the spectacular group of bulbs known as Summer Bulbs. The Summer Bulbs with their wide variety of colour and shape add a great deal of interest to our gardens throughout the summer. Most of the summer bulbs will continue to bloom well into early autumn. At this point many gardeners do not know how to properly treat these beauties for the winter.

There is nothing like the taste of a new potato fresh from your garden. Moreover, it does not matter if they are grown in large containers on your deck or balcony or by the traditional way in your garden soil. Potatoes are planted at last frost in well cultivated soil not enriched with horse manure. The Spuds can be cut into pieces with three eyes (sprouts) on each piece.