with '
Add Me' in the Subject line. October is a truly glori- ous time for the garden.
Where Great Gardens Begin!
10015 Young Rd North Chilliwack, BC Ph.: 604-792-6612 www.mintergardens.com Store Hours Monday-Friday 8:30am-6pm Saturdays 8:30am-5:30pm Sundays 10am-5pm Holidays 10am-5pm
Fall is for Planting! October is the best time to plant most evergreens, fruit trees, shade trees, flowering shrubs and small fruits. They are now becoming dormant and, once planted, they will immediately form new roots. By spring they will have established root systems ready to put on a full year’s growth. Two points to remember: the quality of the soil in which you plant your new trees will determine how well your trees grow, and secondly, if your trees are in burlap sacks, you MUST leave the sack on the rootball. Be sure to mix plenty of fine bark mulch (fir or hemlock) to achieve well-drained soil and use bonemeal and liquid Transplanter to get your trees off to a faster start too. Evergreen hedges are a good idea as they provide a windbreak for cold winter winds, thus helping the hydro bill!
October Newsletter Top 10 Things to Do in October 4. As soon as possible, 8. Gather components for aerate, sand, lime and compost. Grass clippings apply Scotts’ Fall and dried leaves are Winterizer slow-release ideal for the ‘brown layer’ fertilizer to your lawn. so bag and store some for later use. That said, 5. Harvest and store crops 1. Add some vibrant fall now is also a good time from your fruit trees and colour to containers with to purchase a new rake veggie garden. Don’t foliage perennials such (Brian's favourite is the forget to compost green as euphorbia, heuchera, 'cheap and cheerful' stems and vines, and to heucherella, berried adjustable rake). pick up and compost all plants, new varieties of dropped fruit too. Now is 9. Clean up and divide 4” conifers, evergreen your last chance to plant overgrown herbaceous grasses (carex and garlic for harvest next year. perennials. Be sure to fescues), and splashes of use clean, sharp tools. 6. Plant Rejuvenation Mix in colour with kale, winter Transplant into wellyour veggie garden to add pansies and miniature drained soil (mix in lots of nitrogen to the soil and to cyclamen. bark mulch!) and use prevent compaction over 2. Plan your spring bulb liquid Transplanter to get the winter months. garden and start planting! them settled in quickly. 7. Plant colourful fall foliage Snowdrops, crocus and 10.Sharpen your pruners! trees and flowering shrubs aconites should go in now Most evergreens like for brilliant results year for January and February cedars, junipers, laurel after year! Fothergilla, blooms. and photinias can be Burning Bush, Clethera, 3. Begin forcing bulbs now pruned now. Do not Viburnum, ‘Tiger Eyes’ for indoor winter colour prune flowering shrubs Sumac and Enkianthus and keep them cool. (many have set already would all be welcome Prepared Hyacinths and set bud for next year's additions to the garden. Paperwhites are the first blooms). Read on for our Top 10 to bloom for Christmas. Lists!
October is a truly glorious time for the garden. There is still plenty to be done before fall gets into full swing though...
What’s Happening in Store We love decorating for the seasons and fall lets us go wild with multi-coloured squash, kale, pumpkins, gourds, cornstalks, mums, candles, giftware, 'pumpkin planters' and more! Definitely stop by
for a little something to gussy up your home for Thanksgiving or Halloween. Ladies, be sure to check out the beautiful new fashions that have just arrived! From fleece lined leggings to graphic tees, sweaters, scarves,
'Snoozies' and hats, we have lots of unique pieces that look great and will keep you warm too. The last day of the Farmer’s Market is Oct. 12 (for last minute dinner ingredients!) but check out all our events on Page 4!
OKANAGAN APPLES Autumn is apple season and we have several fresh, tasty varieties in straight from the Okanagan: Ambrosia A medium sized apple with cream coloured flesh that is sweet, crisp, juicy and aromatic. This is Brian’s new favourite! Honeycrisp This large apple has a huge following because of its exceptionally crisp and juicy flesh! This is a wonderfully fragrant apple too. Gala A popular choice for its mild sweet flavour. Excellent for fresh eating (enjoy with a nice piece of aged cheddar… mmmm). Receive our newsletter online! Just email
[email protected] with ‘Add Me’ in the Subject line.
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Winterizing Fall and Winter Pond Prep by Collette G. Roses What you do now to get your water garden ready for winter will have a big impact on how much (or little!) trouble you'll have next spring. Here’s how to make life easy in 2014: Plants: Many plants begin to go dormant as the weather becomes cooler in the fall. Stop fertilizing now in order to stop top growth and encourage root development. Remove yellow/ brown or decaying foliage to keep it from falling into the pond. Take a good look at your plants and decide which ones can be overwintered in the pond, which ones must brought indoors for winter and which ones should just be discarded and replaced with new ones in the spring.
For Hybrid Tea, Grandiflora and Floribunda Roses: When the rose goes dormant (leaves have fallen), rake up and compost the leaves. Put them in the garbage if there is any sign of disease. Prune out any dead or weak wood and give it a light trim to tidy it up (no more than a few inches… you want to leave the canes long). Hill bark mulch, straw, or sawdust up the base and thick enough to cover the graft about 12” (30cm) thick Hardy water lilies, cattails, sedges and rushes can be Standard Tree Roses: put in the bottom of the Create a ‘cage’ around the pond with a water depth of tree using chicken wire or 10” or more. Deep water fencing. The cage should insulates the plants from be about 12” in diameter cold temps. and the following spring these plants can and stand 12” above the be returned to shallow top graft. Fill the cage with water. Plants such as papyrus, canna lilies and taro bark mulch or sawdust. Climbing Roses: Select 4-5 of the healthiest canes you have from this past year’s growth and train them over an arbour, trellis or fence. Cut out everything else (above the graft, if there is one, or near the base), then simply mulch over the bottom with 12” of sawdust, bark mulch, or even soil. That’s it! Remember to dormant spray your roses this winter to help prevent overwintering insects from moving in and to prevent disease next season.
need to be brought in and treated as houseplants. Keep them well watered and near a sunny window. Floating plants such as water lettuce and water
hyacinths should be added to the compost bin and replaced in the spring.
Fish: When the average water temp. drops below 10C, stop feeding fish, no matter how badly your fish may beg for food. Fish go into a semi-dormant state in cold water and cannot digest food. Small goldfish can survive most winters in as little as 18" of water. Larger goldfish and koi need at least 36" of water. If you are overwintering fish in your pond, add a de-icer or an aerator to your pond. If your pond does freeze, whatever you do, do not whack a hole in the ice with a hammer or any other tool as shock waves can harm the fish. Instead, set a pot of hot water over the ice to melt an opening. Equipment: Disconnect and drain tubes, pipes, ultraviolet sterilizers and fountains. Store these inside or in the garage. Above ground filters should also be drained, cleaned and stored inside. Submerged pumps should be cleaned and stored over the winter in water in an area that won't freeze. This will prevent the seals and gaskets from drying out and cracking. Should you
decide to let your pump run over the winter, it can make for some spectacular icy waterfall scenes. Just be careful that the ice doesn't build up and that water doesn't drain over the ice and out of the pond area. If you have underwater lights in the bottom of your pond, it can be quite a dramatic look as they shine through the ice. Pond: Clear out and keep out dead vegetation. Scoop or vacuum out as much of the gunk on the bottom of your pond as you can. Resist the urge to drain your pond to give it a thorough cleaning, as this is not in the best interest of your fish. To keep leaves from getting in, lay stakes across the pond and stretch netting across the top. Shake leaves off every few days. Head off algae by adding cold weather beneficial bacteria such as Microbe-Lift Fall Prep, and replace old barley straw with new. If you are using One Fix, continue to use throughout the cold winter months. Lastly, mark the perimeter of your pond to prevent accidents at times when snow and ice may totally cover it.
Helping Out Your Houseplants Last month we looked at preparing tender outdoor plants for the season ahead. To give your indoor garden a boost: 1. Cut down on watering. Water thoroughly, but allow all your plants to become dry before watering again. They need to be rootbound over winter. No repotting!
2. Cut down on fertilizing as plants are essentially dormant now until spring. 3. Increase the light in your rooms by opening the drapes and curtains and by moving your plants closer to North or East facing windows. Grow lights help a lot. 4. Improve your plants’ environment by improving the airflow in
your home with fans or by purchasing a humidifier. You can also improve humidity quickly and easily by keeping your room temperature lower and by adding saucers of water around your plants.
COMPOST THE OLD GARDENER WAY WITH ‘ROT IT’! Visit www.oldgardenerproducts.com
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Top 10 Lists for Fall TOP TEN FOLIAGE TREES
Go for the WOW factor! Brian has selected some of the 'best of the best' for fall colour.
TOP TEN OCTOBER BERRIES 1.Pyracantha ‘Saphyr’ (disease free, yellow, red, orange) 2.Ruscus (Christmas Berry)
Pyracantha 'Saphyr' Photo: signatureplants.co.uk
3.Pernettya (red, pink and white berries) 4.Gaultheria procumbens (red and delicious!) 5.Ilex verticillata (red and gold deciduous holly) 6.Holly ‘Red Beauty' (new evergreen dwarf ) 7.Symphoricarpos
1.Cornus mas (Cornelian Cherry) 2.Sumac ‘Tiger Eyes'
The window has closed on starting most winter garden vegetables, so now is the time to really Crabapple 'Red Sentinel' look after what you’ve got Photo: File in the garden. Veggies and herbs in containers TOP TEN FOLIAGE should be placed where COLOUR SHRUBS they get as much sun as 1.Viburnum mariesii Sumac 'Tiger Eyes' possible and enough 2.Euonymus alatus (dwarf) Photo: File water. Remember that 3.Fothergilla plants and containers 3.Acer‘Osakazuki’ under cover/eaves will not (Japanese maple) reliably get rain water, so 4.Acer rubrum (all) 5.Dogwood ‘Eddie’s White do keep an eye on them. Wonder’ There is still time to sow 6.Liquidambar overwintering cover crops if you hurry (this should ideally be done before mid-October). Rejuvenation Mix is probably your best bet, as Fothergilla it is a blend of winter Photo: studioblog.com peas, wheat and rye, all of 4.Blueberries which help fix nitrogen in 5.Clethra (Summer your soil. Sweet) 6.Enkianthus Liquidambar We have big, hardy kale 7.Weigela ‘My Monet’ Photo: treesdirect.co.uk like Red Bor and Winter 8.Leucothoe ‘Scarletta’ Bor that can be popped in 7.Oxydendrum 9.Nandina the garden now to enjoy (Sourwood) 10.Hamamelis (Chinese (and nibble on!) all winter. 8.Parrotia persica Witch Hazel) 9.Prunus amanogawa (columnar orn. cherry) 10.Quercus ‘Green Pillar’ (Oak)
Symphoricarpos Photo: wildscaping.com
8.Callicarpa ‘Profusion’ 9.Cotoneaster (most) 10.Flowering Crabapple ‘Red Jewel’ and ‘Red Sentinel’
Fall Vegetable Garden Care
Leucothe 'Scarletta' Photo: dutchyofcornwallnursery.co.uk
Quercus 'Green Pillar' P: foxboroughnursery.com
Upcoming Seminars & Events at Country Garden Stunning Bulb Combos & The Pie Plate Theory Sat. Oct. 5 10:30am With Brian Minter Brian will be discussing bulb planting basics and timing but focussing on 'Wow!' combinations, complementary plantings, container planting using bulbs and introducing the 'Pie Plate Principles of Planting' (say that five times fast!). Please call 604.792.6612 to register.
'Fall-oween' Scavenger Hunt! Oct. 26 & 27 Bring the kids in during business hours to take part in our scavenger hunt! Pick up a sheet as you enter the store, complete it and receive a goody bag. Come with your walking shoes on… you'll have a lot of ground to cover!
The Reptiles Return! Sat. Oct. 26 2-4pm The folks from Cinamazoo and Urban Safari Rescue are bringing in some creepy cool creatures to visit! Come and see snakes, turtles, frogs, tarantulas, insects, a scorpion and more! Sorry, you won't be able to hold them (but really, who wants to hold a scorpion?) but definitely bring your camera and your questions! Join them in the Tropical House, 2-4pm on Saturday Oct. 26. Visit them online: urbansafarirescue.ca
Be sure to visit onsite shops at Country Garden... Aromatica Aromatica’s Tea of the Month is ‘Earl Grey Vanilla Rooibos’, a classic taste, now in an herbal! Organic rooibos blended with bergamot and vanilla yields a smooth, full bodied cup. No caffeine and more antioxidants than green tea make this blend a winner all around. Ph: 604.703.1178
Mark your Calendar!
20th Annual Gift, Craft & Antique Fair Sat Nov. 9 9am-5:30pm & Sun Nov. 10 11am-4pm One of the most popular events of the year and a festive way to kick off the holiday season. With over 70 vendors there will be lots to choose from too, including: baked goods, sewing, woodwork, jewelry, artwork, jams, antiques, collectibles and so much more! On top of the show, check out all of our fabulous Christmas ornaments and décor, enjoy in-store specials, holiday music and savor delicious café specials.
Antiques by design 19th & 20th century antiques & furnishings. New items have arrived! Ph: 604.316.1933
My Little Gift Box Unique gifts and home décor. Ph: 604.703.1119
Them Beans Whole foods grocery featuring unique, tasty, health conscious vittles! Ph: 604.792.2227
Thank You for 33 Wonderful Years Minter Gardens' last day of operation will be Monday, October 14. We would like to thank our family, friends, team members, colleagues & guests for 33 wonderful years and a lifetime of great memories! Sincerely, The Minter Family
Be sure to visit on the final day to view the archive display and enjoy the incredible tunes of The Cascadia Wind Ensemble, playing in the courtyard between 12-4pm. Please note that our 'closing' event was held on September 22.
52892 Bunker Rd. Rosedale, BC V0X 1X1 Admission Rates (incl GST) Adult $17.00 Senior (65+) $15.00 Youth (13-18) $9.50 Child (6-12) $6.50 Tot (under 5) Free Family (2 Adults & Up to 4 Youth) $38.00 Admission Phone 604.794.7191 www.mintergardens.com
Minter Gardens Hours of Daily Operation until October 14 ~ 10am-5pm (weather permitting)
