The Gardener's Corner

With the announcement of Gardening Life magazine closing down as of Friday morning, Nov. 14, many writers, including Marjorie Harris who was one of the co-founders, are out of a job.

Apparently, the global financial crisis that has triggered a decline in advertising markets has had media companies everywhere evaluating their investments and making tough decisions.

The publisher intends to contact subscribers about their account over the next few weeks with supplied information on the next steps to be taken. Hopefully, an alternative magazine that St. Joseph Communications publishes will be offered.

With the looming ban on pesticides next year, gardening trends will be leaning heavily toward organic methods, which are not alien to most of us, but will take some perseverance to be rid of tough weeds. A glance through the list that is many pages long includes various weed and feed products, as well as simple fertilizers, depending on their ingredients. Environmentalist David Suzuki has suggested that glyphosate, known by the brand name Roundup, which is not on the list should be included. The loss of this product will devastate many gardeners as it has been an easy solution to clear out problem areas. Glyphosate works so well because the leaves absorb the chemical solution and carry it to the roots of the plant, killing it. In fact, any leaves Roundup touches will be affected, which is why many gardeners won't risk spraying it but paint the solution on or dip a pair of rubber gloves into it and rub the leaves of the plant they want to kill.

Photo by Judith Rogers A potager garden. Keeping in line with organic gardening, it is predicted that more people will want to grow their own vegetables so that they know there will be no chemicals involved.

And this doesn't necessarily mean in laid out square vegetable plots, but mixed in with the ornamental flowers.

Taken from the French word 'potage' meaning soup, potager gardens are a method of creating kitchen gardens that include flowers that are edible or not, herbs and vegetables together. Originally designed as a formal geometric pattern, with imagination just about anything goes now. I've seen tomatoes growing in a front flower bed amongst the perennials, and why not if that is where they'll get the sun they need and contribute some colour to the overall garden when ripening too?

There's no reason why carrots, beets, onions and other vegetables along with herbs can't be grown together with flowers to enhance the beauty of the garden and make it work for the homeowner, by supplying some food at the same time.

In favour of a large compost bin system on the south side of our property, my four raised vegetable beds where I've harvested wonderful food for our family and neighbours is now gone. I plan to incorporate the variety of beets and carrots I've narrowed down over the years into some flower beds myself.