Brenda Dyck is a writer and self-styled guerilla gardener whose wit, sense of humour and plain old commence since will help you enjoy some of the chores that stand between you and the reward of a nice plush garden.The Guerilla Gardener
10 Non-Rules for Being a Guerrilla Gardener!
By Brenda Dyck,
Non-Rule 1 – It’s your garden!
Plant anything you want, where ever you want, and if it happens to be on sale all the better! Too much of a good thing is simply wonderful!
None-Rule 2 – Think outside of the box when it comes to containers!
Use any container you want, there is nothing to stop you from using whatever comes to hand. Wheel barrows, half barrels, large tin cans, brightly colored rubber boots, polystyrene fishing boxes – if it can hold soil you can adapt it. Just be sure to put drainage holes in it and fertilize regularly! Let your imagination run wild!
Non-Rule 3 -“ Use all Five senses when planning your garden.
Install a fountain or plant a shrub with leaves that rustle to help mask urban sounds, and be sure to plant for color, taste, texture, and fragrance! For fragrant spring blooming flowers, you should be planting spring bulbs now. Look in garden centers now for these very fragrant varieties:
Scented Hyacinths-Blue Iceâ„¢ is powder blue with violet-blue stripe down each petal; Peter Stuyvesant has royal purple-blue flowers, while heirloom Hollyhock has layers of wide open dark pink almost red flowers and Woodstock is dark purple inside, maroon outside.
Scented Tulips-Angelique is a double of various pink shades, Ballerina is a bright orange; Bastogne poppy red, and Upstar double yellow; the Early Glory is pink with a white base and High Society is a salmon rose edged with coral; Little Beauty is a species of tulip, of a reddish pink colour; and finally Sunray is a bright yellow.
Scented Daffodils and Narcissus-Actea is white, with a large yellow cup and; Apricot Beauty is salmon rose; Bell Song is ivory with a pink cup, Butterfly Narcissus are of mixed colours; Cheerfulness is a double white; Jonquil mix features various yellows; Minnow is a miniature white with yellow cup; and to round everything off, the white Thalia is elegant and fragrant.
Scented Crocus-Both the heirloom Golden Yellow crocus ,and the rarer golden yellow Korolkowii from north Afghanistan are excellent choices
Scented Muscari_We find White Grape Hyacinth also labelled as M. botryoides album; and Blue Grape Hyacinth also known as M. armeniacum.
Non-Rule 4- Don’t fight with Mother Nature!
If you have poor soil, tend to neglect your outdoor plants, forget to water and don’t want to spend money on fertilizer, choose plants from the sedum family. This group of perennial plants can be easily found in almost any garden center and do excellent this time of year when planted in the garden or a unique container (see Non-Rule#2 for ideas). Sedums are widely available, come in hundreds of varieties, with sizes ranging from 36 inches tall, and foliage colors range from dark burgundy to lime green and almost everything in between.
All varieties flower beautifully in a variety of colors and most stay evergreen all winter. They are very drought tolerant and do well on poor, dry sites, and even the purplest of thumbs can grow new plants by easily rooting cuttings from broken branches and fallen leaves simply by sticking them in dirt. The big secret here is plant in well-drained soil in a sunny location and don’t over water. Remember that you will actually have better blooms with little or no fertilizer.
Rules 5-10 to be continued in next column.
Brenda Dyck is a Fraser Valley writer AKA a Guerrilla Gardener
Guerilla Garden Adventures
Using unconventional gardening ideas,
to get maximum results from minimal resources.
Look for more columns from Brenda in the coming weeks.
brenda@guerillagardeneronline.com
Articles on the Guerilla Garden Adventures should never be construed as professional advice. Any resemblance to Master Gardeners, living or dead is purely coincidental.
I do not in any way condone or recommend following any of the advice or ideas contained on or linked in any article. These articles are based on my own Guerilla Garden Adventures (or that of some anonymous close friends), and have been considered by some people to be dangerous, immoral and/or down right illegal.
The only purpose of these articles is to share my Guerilla Garden Adventures, stories, disasters and triumphs with a warped sense of garden humor. Neither myself nor anyone I know will assume liability for any issues or legal proceedings arising (either real or imagined) from anyone who decides to embark upon their own Guerilla Gardener Adventure!