Planting for SPRING today!

I finally got down on my knees today and planted my bulbs.

Yes, mother nature provided me with that one last chance to get my bulbs in before winter really sets in.

Have you heard the story of the shoe maker and how he never had time to make his own shoes....

That's how I feel when it comes to gardening at my place sometimes :)

Every year I promise myself that I will find the time to get my spring bulbs planted before it really gets cold outside. BUT...... in the back of my mind, I know that I can plant those bulbs ANYTIME until the ground freezes.

Which means I am usually frantically digging them in right before the axe falls and winter begins.

Now, I cannot see into the future so I'm not saying "this is it!"......... but I have put my bulbs in TODAY!

I have planted alliums, tulips and garlic this year.

I  am  sooooo looking forward to the excitement they will bring next year!

Happy Gardening!  Brrrrrrrrr

Great Landscapes start with a Great Design

a GREAT LANDSCAPE starts with a GREAT DESIGN:

Every year in spring we receive calls into our office from new clients excited to start their landscaping.

We assure these new clients that calling “Earthlings" was the right step in to get their landscape built as we have CERTIFIED horticulturists and designers on staff.

 

At this point we get the ball rolling!

In order to have all the details ironed out we follow a process from first meeting, concept plan, estimate and contract signing. We place just as much importance on these first steps as we do the actual landscape construction.

From experience we know; a landscape that doesn't have a good plan never turns out the way the client wants or needs it to be.

 

Your enthusiasm is an asset! The sooner you start planning your landscape the better. Whether you create your own "Dream Landscape" board on Pinterest, or you create journal with magazine clippings you like, we suggest that you start the planning stage as soon as possible. It helps you avoid making those quick decisions you may regret later. Designing your landscape can be as enjoyable as designing the inside of your house and can become an extension of your home.

 

We believe that having a clear, dimensioned and detailed design is important for both parties. A great design will result in a outdoor living space for you to enjoy many years to come.

If you are thinking of creating a new or renovated landscape make sure you plan with a certified landscape designer ensuring that you have maximized your outdoor potential! 

It's amazing what you can do ...

 

Yes! Even in Southern Alberta!

 

 

Happy Gardening !

"Da Coulees”

 I just had to title this blog “Da Coulees” because of a poem a visiting student from Quebec wrote and recited to us. All I can remember about that poem really is that he kept saying “Da Coulees, Da Coulees” over and over and since then it’s been a running joke in our family!

I love the Coulees. Before I moved to Lethbridge I looked forward to visiting my grandparents who lived on the edge of the coulees; we would explore in them for hours.

Every year the Helen Schuler Nature Centre organizes a coulee clean-up that anyone can participate in.

We love participating in this event with our staff at earthlings.  Judging by the the nature of our work, it's obvious that we enjoy leaving a space looking better than when we arrive. So a coulee-clean up is really just another way we get to do this. Plus, it was so refreshing to walk out into the coulees with out yellow bags in hand to clean- up things.

I think everyone was enjoying it as much as I was! I could tell by the smiles on their faces :)

It was the first sunny day after it had rained so everything seemed so fresh and vibrant, and I couldn’t help but get excited as I saw the many spring flowers coming alive on the walk.
The first plant I saw in bloom was a Prairie Smoke –‘Geum triflorum’













Then I saw some Moss Phlox – ‘Phlox hoodii’ showing off its new spring blossoms.  Moss Phlox is pretty short and grows in small clusters so if your not paying attention you might miss it.








And the delight of the day I saw  some Prairie Crocus –‘Pulsatilla patens ssp.multifida’ blooming along the North facing side of the coulee.

 I think it's pretty obvious that I became a little too caught up in all the plants. It came to a point where people started to tease me, saying that I needed to pull my weight …HaHa.

But then I noticed how beautiful the rose hips from last year were still hanging on the branches and they looked so red and colorful!  I just had to take a picture of this too……

Along our walk (oops… did I say that? I meant, during the 'clean-up'.) I spotted some sort of wood that looked like an animals face. As I walked closer it really was some sort of animal but it blended so well into the surroundings. 

Then It moved! It stood and stared at me waiting to see what I was going to do. That was about as close as I needed to come to that Coyote!










We collected a lot of junk from our clean-up. There were mostly bottles, milk jugs, and the sort collected, which I think is pretty sad, considering the availability of recycling we have around here. Brittany and Carol got the prize for the biggest find (Which they drug up from the bottom of the coulee I might add!)




Here we are with all of our loot. And here is Nathan who we couldn’t find (and almost forgot!) because he was so determined to “get that last little piece of garbage”.

We ended off our cleaning spree with a quick tidy down our road that usually is adorned with random plastic bags and other sorts of stuff.

Today reminded me that it doesn’t take much to care the beautiful place we live. I also want to take a little time out to explore our unique coulees more often.


Happy Gardening!

I just thought I would post this for anyone who might have a chance to pop into the YWCA

May 18

For LUNCH

(12:05-12:50)

It's only $5.00 and proceeds will help benifit the wonderful programs YWCA has to offer.

Come and JOIN US!

Landscape Tour 2012

Hey! Earthlings is having a landscape tour - May 26, 2012 10:00am- Starting at one of our most recent projects at The Galt Museum. Meet on the S. Patio where I will speak on sustainable and attractive landscaping. Then take a self guided tour of places we have landscaped in Lethbridge. This will be great for people looking for a company to renovate or install a new landscape or even to just get ideas and enjoy seeing some beautiful gardens and craftmanship. Hope to see you there!

To Tree or Not To Tree?

This really is the question! Well ….at least it's the question I get asked a lot by the clients of Earthlings. I don't know how or when, but somehow along the way, trees have really got a bad reputation and some of my clients really don’t want them. Perhaps it is because those cute poplars and spruce trees we planted years ago are now 30+ feet tall and encroaching on sidewalks, houses, waterlines, and views. For some, it’s because they don’t want to rake up those messy leaves and needles. For others, it’s because they really don’t see the value on having one. Whatever the reason I definitely see a trend to not put trees in a landscape.

In defense of trees this is what I share with my clients:

• In the past, there was not a large selection of nursery trees available for the Lethbridge landscape. Today, this is not the case. For example, gone are the days where the Colorado Blue Spruce (55’x 16’) was your only option if you wanted an evergreen in your landscape construction. Now you can find new varieties of this well known tree in most garden centers.  The Fat Albert is a shorter version that grows only 40’ tall. The Columnar Blue Spruce (20’x5’) is more narrow and short for those hard to plant spaces. I really like to Hoopsii Spruce (40’x 7’) which grows somewhat irregular branches and has a unique look. There is even the Globe Blue Spruce (5’6”x8’) or the Creeping Blue Spruce (1’6” x 8’) which are shrub forms of their parent.  
• A good landscape design can help you avoid planting trees that will not suit the size or environment of your landscape. No longer should we be planting N.W. poplars in our backyard.  There are so many other smaller ornamental trees to choose from that will suit the scale of our smaller residential yards. 
• Trees can be helpful in framing or blocking a view. By using the canopy of an Elm, I have helped to bring framework to a landscape by telling the eyes where to look, rather than not knowing where to focus. For example, you could use a tree to screen the view of your neighbor’s R.V.! 

• Trees are also of value if you are talking purely from the economical standpoint.  Deciduous trees can really help keep a house cool in summer and warm in winter (Saving $$$ for heating and cooling). If planted on the south and west sides of the house they will block out those hot summer rays and allow the low sun to penetrate in winter. 
• I have also seen the value of property rise significantly based on trees. Here is an example: Before Parkside Drive was created (the North Side Street of Henderson Lake) There was vast prairie.  The beautiful Japanese Gardens and Henderson Lake Park were created, and houses were constructed to capture the view.  The houses for these lots are now getting old and dated but they are the most highly sought after properties. Not for the house (they typically are torn down or renovated) but for the landscape. If you don’t plant trees, your neighbourhood will look exactly the same tomorrow as it does today.  Is that want you want? I know that is not what tomorrow’s buyer wants. 
  

More things to love about trees:
They are homes for birds, habitats for animals, produce organic matter, are natural weed suppressors, and are a great place to play!  I am sure you can add more to this list.
Oh… and those of you who don’t want to rake up leaves I hope I have convinced you somewhat that it might be worth it! Besides, we all know in Lethbridge it’s not our leaves to worry about but our neighbours.

Here’s hoping we all take time to sit under a tree on a hot day this summer!

Happy Gardening!

Kirsten

Show Those Weeds Who's Boss This Summer!

It’s the time of year where I, and surely many others,  start to think that this fall and winter hibernation mode is starting to get old! I know that in the spring I’ll be winded trying to garden after hardly exercising all winter. To prevent this from happening, yet again, I have developed a plan to get me pumped and into shape. I'm not going to let those weeds push me around this year.

Those who know me well know that I love running, but this has not been an option for the past few years, and somehow I’ve entered into a rut. Friends and family have suggested that I do something else, but I couldn’t seem to find anything that fit my schedule or budget as well as running.

Recently I came upon an article that explained all the many health benefits that come from a type of treatment. The punch line was that this miraculous treatment was...exercise. OK, so that sounds like something we all know, but I felt as though I was looking into the future, which made me realize that I must do SOMETHING instead of NOTHING.

Swallowing my pride I started walking. Although it’s sometimes hard to step out of the front door, once I’m out I feel great! I’ve been walking 5 days a week for an hour. Wahoo!






In Lethbridge you never know what the weather will be on any given day, so I give myself no excuses. It is definitely not a fashion show walking in this weather, that’s for sure. I have even found a use for those decorative tassels hanging down from my toque!

Here is a list of the things I enjoy about walking instead of running:
• hearing my thoughts instead of my heavy breathing
• looking around at the scenery and taking it in slowly
• not getting too sweaty
• being able to greet people and hear their reply
• making curvy lines with my steps in freshly fallen snow when I am the first
one to walk on it (I did this the other day)

Is there anyone else who likes walking that wants to share what they love?

Although I realize now that I was a bit of a running snob thinking that it was the only thing that could get my heart beating, I have to say that I wasn’t totally right. I look forward to running again soon, but for now I am getting this gardener’s butt in gear one step at a time.

Those weeds don’t know what’s coming!

Happy Gardening!

Winter Watering Tips:

It has been quite alarming this winter with the wind and warm temperatures. We have a lot of new little plants that can sure use the moisture!

Although we watered up things pretty good before freeze-up, because it has really been above freezing for about 2weeks straight, we have been out checking on landscapes to see how things are looking and have decided to put the water on things.

I have been watering any newly planted sod because it is so shallow rooted and it needs to have reserves to green up in the spring!





Other than yesterday and today it seems that temperatures are going to continue to be above 0ºC during the day again. I am going to begin the watering of the more sensitive herbaceous perennials and newly planted shrubs, because they really
don’t have much to draw from! 

Here are some quick tips
for watering in the winter: 

• check the soil around roots to see if it is dry
• water when the ground is not frozen for a prolonged period and there is no snow( it will absorb into the soil and roots)
• the temperature should be at least +4ºC (mid day is best)
• if the warm dry weather continues to persist water about twice monthly
• spruce, cedars, sod, and shallow rooted herbaceous perennials will benefit most from watering
• most roots in deciduous trees can be equal or more to its height in spread but try to water the critical part of the roots system in trees. This is the drip zone (the area below the outermost part of the branch to the trunk)
• don’t water sod too much that a layer of ice forms, because this will suffocate it.

Rarely have I had to pull out the hose or water buckets during the winter
but so far this winter I have no doubt whatever I can give they’ll take!

Is it too early to say I’m looking forward to spring?

Happy Gardening!