Mother's Day is Coming!!! And we open for the season Monday, May 2nd.

The dirty dishes are stuck to the counter and the dust dinos are chasing each other from room to room... we've been putting in some very long days.....but...the living wreaths are filling in beautifully, the wallbags are blooming, baskets galore are lush and full and getting ready for a new home...

Mother's Day is around the corner and here's a great idea on how to enjoy it:

1. Come in and purchase a gift certificate to give to your Mom, your wife, your daughter on Mother's Day.

2. Make plans with her for when the weather improves and frost threats are over, to take her for lunch and then bring her to shop for the plants she'd like to have this year, using the gift certifcate you gave her.

3. Take her home and help her plant them.

These days we all "have" lots of things. It's relationship that's lacking. It's time spent just laughing and reminiscing that's precious. Let us use these reminder days - "Mother's Day", "Father's Day", "Grandparent's Day", etc. by spending time together.

Make this an annual occasion. You'll see how much YOU will receive from it.

Armchair gardening (discussion 4) Are you welcoming someone new to the family.....a new baby, an exchange student, mabye Grandma is moving in, or are you taking in a foster child? Even a new puppy can change how you garden. Any changes to your family will also change the dynamics of your lifestyle. How does that affect gardening? Well, gardening can be fairly simple, it can be community minded, it can be personal, it should be practical. When a new baby joins the family, you can feel overwhelmed already, not to mention taking on the yard in addition to everything else you did all winter. Choose plants that are easy care and more drought tolerant.

• Geraniums are the easiest of all annuals to grow. They are easy to dead-head, are most forgiving when neglected, and take the wind and heat of prairie summers.


• Portulaca is an easy growing wild-rose looking addition to any bed or pot. Even small pots filled with portulaca look stunning. No dead-heading required!


• petunias are always recommended for the easy garden, although deadheading is necessary. They won't die if they dry out and will bloom well into frost.


• scaevola look fabulous in hanging baskets. Also known as the fan flower, scaevola loves heat, tolerates drought and no deadheading required!


• potato vine - any of the choices - and there are many out there. This year we have 9 varieties of potato vine from the near black ones to lime to rusty to tricolour!


• lantana - has a citrus fragrance and loves heat. It will tolerate drought and is very easy to maintain. It is tall and stately, and can turn into a small annual shrub.


• verbena - loves heat and will tolerate drought.

Stay away from the daisy family if you are busier than usual this summer. Daisies must be promptly deadheaded to maintain flower and they can't dry out. If that is neglected, they will stop blooming and it can take 2 weeks to see the next bloom. Drying out can kill them. If you simply cannot live without them, plant some in one tub and have it near the barbecue where it can be deadheaded regularly.

If an exchange student is moving in, consider some of the plants from their country. Dianthus, for example, originates in Europe, Asia and some parts of Africa; Lantana from South America.

If Grandma is coming to live with you, consider some plants of her choosing to bring back fond memories. If she is ill, you can incorporate more window boxes, deck planters and tubs where she can have access to their fragrance and beauty as well as help you maintain them more easily than if in the ground.

A new puppy usually means the digging up of flowerbeds and the trampling of flowers in every spot of your yard. Puppies are puppies and as they grow, you will teach them not to do these things, but in the meantime there are things you can do. Wood chips on any exposed ground will help to lessen digging. Planting more in tubs rather than in the ground will preserve more of your favourite flowers and vegetables. You can even stand tubs on wood chips where you would normally be planting in the ground and it can look quite nice. A new puppy is always looking for a playmate. If you're not available, the mud and plants will be!

And if you are considering a memory garden to remember a loved one, a little heart shaped bed might be nice. Add flowers in the person's favourite colours or plants with significant names like bleeding hearts, angel's trumpet or whimsical names like monkey flower or eyeball plant or impatiens.

Always encourage participation in the garden. Have small children join you and encourage older children to grow their own vegetable plant or flower garden. Allow grandparents to take part, making them feel useful.

Gardening is very good execise, provides fresh air and sunshine, and always has an impact no matter how much gets done and how much is left for another day.

Next blog: How to encourage the very young gardener.