We customized the garden!

It's a lot of fun to assist people in customizing their garden.  Here is an example of the process from when I helped a young family over 3 Sundays one spring. 

Bedside Reading

Clematis   

Fruit Trees

Old, unpruned fruit trees, covered in lichen, with decaying branches and new growth reaching to the sky, can produce well and provide a tonne of habitat for wild birds.  However, judicious pruning usually leads to greater fruit production, greater ease of harvesting the fruit and a 'healthier' tree.  Here are some basic guidelines for pruning fruit trees.  I know they work because I've been pruning an old apple tree for years and it seems to produce better fruit every year.  However, I will be taking a tree pruning course at Camosun College this November so I'll likely be able to add to this post soon.

March 29, 2012 - a capital expenditure that reduces maintenance costs

Here is an example of landscaping mulch.  

I ordered a load of screened bark mulch (NOT cedar) for a customer from Trio.  They delivered it promptly in the morning.  I was there to spread a tarp over the bricks to minimize mess.  I then spread the mulch about 4 inches thick over the entire soil surface in this bed containing ornamental trees and shrubs.  Afterwards, I swept the bricks.

The benefits to this mulch are many.  It eliminates weeding, conserves soil moisture, and adds organic matter to the top soil.  It's uniform and tidy look sets off the trees and shrubs nicely.

The challenge going forward will be to monitor the trees and shrubs for signs of nutrient deficiency, as decaying bark will take nitrogen from the soil and change the pH to slightly more acidic.  It may be necessary to apply fertilizer.  ** Update - they required no extra fertilizer and have flourished.