Welcome April! Just think, in seven or eight weeks we鈥檒l be out in our gardens! Compared to what our gardening friends in the Maritimes have had to struggle through this winter, we have been very lucky! 聽
First, some housekeeping: The next meeting of the Yorkton and District Horticultural Society will be on Wednesday, April 15 at 7:00 p.m. at SIGN on North Street. Our guest speaker will be Glen Tymiak talking about 鈥淕ardening 101鈥�: good gardening basics, and a little more! Glen is an outstanding gardener, growing beautiful veggies, fruits and flowers every year, and can give us a wealth of wonderful gardening information and advice. Bring along your notepad to jot down many helpful pointers!聽 That鈥檚 on Wednesday, April 15.
And guess what! The Horticultural Society has reached a new pioneering milestone! Thanks to a very knowledgeable and very enthusiastic member who so kindly set all this up for us, we have entered the electronic age and now have a website! Log on to www.yorktonhort.ca and you will be able to read about upcoming events and various gardening information from the group. The site is still being developed and more exciting features will be added in the weeks ahead, but this will be an additional way that we can tell you about what is coming up with the group. Check it out!
Since April has arrived and we are actually able to anticipate the new gardening year, let鈥檚 chat for a few minutes about giving your yard a critical once-over to see what needs some work.聽 It wouldn鈥檛 hurt to draw a basic sketch of your yard, nothing fancy, but one that includes major elements. These would be your house and garage, your deck or patio, trees and shrubs, and your garden space.
Make notes for yourself about sun exposure: is your back yard in shade most of the day?聽 Does the sun beat relentlessly on your patio area?聽 Take note of all these things, because they will affect your planting decisions. Even take note of things like surrounding elements. Your neighbor might have a large tree that brings welcome shade into your yard, but it might not be the best place to plant sun-loving plants.
You also want to decide what you really use your yard for: do you have children or a pet who love having room to run and play? Do you enjoy having a garden space so you can have veggies or flowers? Do you do a lot of outdoor entertaining and so prefer a large gathering area for barbecues and dining alfresco? Or maybe you just want a quiet, shady spot where you can relax in a lounge chair and spend the afternoon reading. Your garden space is your own, so make it suit what you want to do. If it currently is not meeting your needs, this may be your area of focus this spring.
Of course, budget plays a part in all these gardening dreams. There is always a practical way to make things happen.聽 If you want a big entertaining area but a new deck isn鈥檛 in your plans, delineate a portion of your lawn area as 鈥渆ntertainment area鈥� and mark it off with groupings of planters. A full size water feature may not fit your space, but there are fountains in all sizes, even table-top models.聽 An intricate arbor may be out of reach, but a collection of trellises might give the same effect. Let your imagination spark new ideas for your yard!
Isn鈥檛 it fun to think of our garden space and what we can do? Love it! Wishing you a very Happy Easter and wonderful blessings! Have a good week!
