Budd Gardens celebrates 100 years

• When preparing a new perennial flower bed keep in mind that it should be wider than a bed for annuals. Perennials grow in 3-6 feet diameters or more so your bed should be 4-8 feet wide to allow the depth needed and to create the visual panorama you are looking for. Rather than creating a rectangular or square bed add some curves to the edge. I do this by laying out a garden hose to help visualize the garden. If you are looking for shade this is the time to plant a tree in your garden.
• First you dig up the grass that is there removing the top layer of roots. Next the soil must be turned over using a spade or rototiller.
• Now add your topsoil to the bed. I suggest you order garden top soil from a local supplier who sells it by the yard. Wheelbarrow the soil to your bed and spread it to a depth of 8-12 inches. It is important that your flower bed be raised to allow for root growth and drainage. When ordering soil you are paying mostly for the trucking. If you order too much soil it can be piled in a back corner of your garden for future use or as is always the case a neighbour will gladly use the rest.
• All of the above sounds like a lot of work but it is good for the soul. You now have a beautiful bed with lots of rich topsoil and a clean palette to decorate with plants. Digging a hole for your perennials will be a pleasure not a chore.
• Preparing a flower bed means getting dirty and physical no mater the size of the garden, so while you are at it you may as well do it right.
• One valuable lesson I learned through several expansions is make the garden as large as possible while you already down and dirty, you don’t want to be saying 3 years down the road that you wish you had made it bigger.

For the past few years I have attended the annual ‘Rendez-vous Horticole’ at the Montreal Botanical Gardens. This is a 3 day event where local growers are invited to display and sell their plants to the public. If you ever have the chance I recommend it, you can buy heritage vegetable plants, annuals, perennials, bonsai and many other great and unique plants. I suggest you get there on the Friday because many of the rare things are gone by the weekend. I always enjoy my trip to Montreal, a great city, and to see familiar faces and friends especially the people from the Quebec Hosta and Hemerocallis Society who have the booth next to mine.

The photo is of a young lady named Holly who is dwarfed by hosta ‘Sagae’.