Peloso: A basement can be that cosy sanctuary - Yourhome.ca

Peloso: A basement can be that cosy sanctuary - Yourhome.ca

I was visiting some friends who have, in my estimation, a truly lovely little boy, filled with energy and joy and, according to his mother, the energy of a few children.

As the evening got rolling and the guests were getting more attention than he was, he became a louder and I became his jungle gym. His mom asked him to stop clinging to me, with the big threat that he was going to the basement if he didn’t behave.

It seemed a bit ominous to me and I offered that perhaps the basement would be a good place for us to wrestle. When we got down there, it wasn’t like a punishment at all. The basement was a beautiful space to say the least.

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Create a haunting scene for Halloween - Yourhome.ca

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Cullen: A failproof gardening checklist for fall

From TorontoStar Cullen: A failproof gardening checklist for fall - Yourhome.ca

October 21, 2011Mark Cullen
SPECIAL TO THE STAR

— Scott Westerfeld

“It is amazing how quickly nature consumes human places after we turn our backs on them. Life is a hungry thing.”


I have a love-hate relationship with to-do lists. They hang over me like a monster ready to pounce when they are not completed. And when they are, there is generally no praise.

On the other hand, if they did not exist, I would no doubt qualify for the type B personality. No need to hurry after all. Without deadlines, who cares when the job gets done?

But as gardeners we must deal with deadlines all the time. Come spring you had better get out and cut down the ornamental grass or the new growth will just shoot up from under the old growth. The lawn needs cutting when it gets long; if you don’t do it when it needs doing you will have not a lawn but a meadow. Fruit ripens and needs picking — or the birds will do it for you. You get the idea.


The deadline now looming before us is winter. We can go south to escape the cold and wind but your garden does not have that option.


I offer you my comprehensive autumn to-do list for gardeners. It is designed to be clipped and hung on the refrigerator or wherever. Put it somewhere that it will remind you regularly what you must consider in order to enjoy a great-looking garden come spring.


If you would really rather just sit indoors and watch football, look at it this way: your investment in a great looking garden is a partnership between you and nature. Without your cooperation she is in charge. To get the results that you are looking for you need to do your part. For the next 6 weeks or so, this is it:


Lawns


• Fertilize your lawn. This is the most important application of the year. The nutrition that your lawn receives this time of year will not produce a great looking lawn this fall, but it will strengthen the grass roots and prepare the plants for a fast green-up come spring. The results will be less snow mould and a stronger, green lawn after the spring melt. Look for a slow-release nitrogen product, like Golfgreen fall formula, for best results.


• Cut your lawn (soon for the last time!) about 2½ inches (6 centimetres) high.


• Lubricate your lawn mower, sharpen the blades, clean the cutting deck and spray with oil.


• Rake leaves off your lawn. Put them on your perennial beds and veggie garden, where they will break down and add to the organic matter in your soil.


Veggies


• Dig up your carrots, leeks, leftover potatoes, etc. and store in bushel baskets half full of pure, dry sand. Put in your basement or fruit cellar.


• Pull up your remaining tomato plants and hang them in the cellar or the garage while the green fruit ripens. They do not need light to do this.


• Harvest the remaining leaf lettuce, mesclun and the like.


• Remove the spent bean and tomato plants, etc. and put in your compost.


Compost and Leaves


• Put spent annual plants in your composter or compost pile in layers with fallen leaves (shredded with your lawn mower). Alternate 1 part green stuff with 3 parts leaves.


• Remove any finished compost from your compost unit or pile and spread it over your perennial bed or veggie garden. No need to dig it in; the worms will pull it down next spring.


• Steal leaves from your neighbours who have not yet seen this column and have put their leaves out at the curb in neat paper bags for yard waste pickup. Take them home and compost them yourself. Free fertilizer. $


• Plant Holland tulips, daffodils, crocuses and the like. I do not mean to gloss over this as you could spend days planting bulbs in your garden this time of year. Daffodils and narcissus should be planted within the next couple of weeks for best performance come spring. Tulips can be planted any time, as long as the frost has not entered the ground and made digging impossible.


Winterizing


Yeah, I know. I am not ready to write this part any more than you are ready to read it. But …


• Begin thinking about winterizing roses that are not of the shrub type. Hybrid teas, grandifloras, floribundas, etc. will need about 50 cm. (1½ feet) of fresh triple mix piled up from the bottom. The best time to do this is just before the Grey Cup game. That’s four weeks away, which is why you are going to post this list somewhere you don’t forget it. The game is your reward for doing the job!


• Wrap spiral plastic collars around the trunks of young fruit trees to protect them from rodent damage. (Actually, this can be done any time of the year.)


• Spray broad-leafed evergreens with Wilt-Pruf (an antidesiccant) to prevent the drying effects of winter wind.


• Once you are finished with your digging and cutting tools for the season, wipe them all down with an oily cloth.


Seasonal colour!


On a more positive note, remember that there are plants that will survive and even thrive in cold weather. Belgium mums, New England asters, Sedum spectabile and ornamental grasses all look great this time of year. Don’t forget flowering cabbage and kale: they improve their looks with frost!


Pumpkins, ornamental grasses, corn stalks, hay bales and goose-necked squash can all play a part in an autumnal entrance display at the front of your home. Be creative and have fun.


The air is clear and hopefully you will receive some sunshine for your fall work days!!


Question of the Week


Q: Is it advisable to add our pumpkin to the compost pile after Halloween?


A: Pumpkins are 98 per cent water. I recommend you drop it on your garden soil and chop it up with a sharp spade and turn it under the soil.


But you can put it in your compost. You don’t need to chop it up; the deep frost of November will turn it to mush.

Wednesday at 8:45 a.m. You can reach Mark through the “contact” button on his website. Mark’s latest book, The Canadian Garden Primer, is available at Home Hardware and all major bookstores.


Mark Cullen is an expert gardener, author and broadcaster. You can sign up for his free monthly newsletter atwww.markcullen.com, and watch him on CTV Canada AM every

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