Minter Country Garden Blog
Summer Veggie Garden Struggles (& How to Deal with Them)
From looking lush and vibrant to becoming peppered with pests, our edible gardens can go awry pretty quickly at this time of year. Pests and diseases are in full force right now, so we need to be at the top of our game to keep our gardens healthy, strong and producing nicely for the next few months to come.
Get Those Kids in the Garden!
School will soon be out and kids will be full of glee, excited for the plethora of adventures that summer will surely bring… and then, by week two, they’ll be looking for things to do. Bring on the garden!
Herbs
There’s been quite a resurgence in demand for fresh herbs to add new flavours to our foods, but herbs aren’t just for dinner any more!
Roses
Bringing back the fragrance and the beauty of roses to our gardens is easier than ever!
Hanging Basket Care
Mother’s Day is right around the corner, and you know what that means—hanging baskets! Keep yours looking their best throughout the season with these expert tips.
April Lawn Care
Every lawn has its own unique needs in the spring – from eliminating moss to controlling weeds, improving drainage to just giving it a boost with fertilizer. Whatever the situation may be, it’s important to remember to tackle your lawn’s challenges one at a time. Learn how, in this week’s article on early spring lawn care.
Plant Some Privacy
In today’s stressful and more crowded living spaces, the need to create more privacy has become an important element of garden design. Without the blocking effect of dense hedging, vines and climbers can shelter back gardens and patios, making even the plainest privacy screen more attractive. Walls and unsightly chain-link fences can virtually disappear, and old rundown buildings can be transformed by the creative use of these plants. In addition to screening, vines and climbers can also provide shade, perfume and even tasty fruit! For centuries, Europeans have been using grape vines to cover patios and enjoying the fruits each fall.
Small Fruits, Big Flavour
Many folks are under the impression that perennial vegetables and small fruits are difficult to grow and require a great deal of maintenance. Well, compared to fruit trees, they actually take amazingly little care! Here are some of our favourites.
Early Spring Planting
This will be a winter to remember as it seems to be one that is determined to keep going and going…and going. Many folks are understandably anxious to get back in their garden and begin planting early vegetables, including perennial veggies, fruit trees and, of...
Success with Seeds
It’s around this time of year when millions of Canadians are leafing through seed catalogues or browsing through seed racks in garden centres. They are imagining all sorts of wonderful colour schemes for their garden and anticipating baskets of fresh produce, most of which are going to come from seeds. And while it all seems fairly easy, in reality, I would guess that less than 50% of all the seeds purchased actually grow to maturity. This is not because the seeds are defective, even though we like to blame them for our bad luck. It’s most often because we need a little more information on how to have success with seeds.