Did your beautiful blue Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Nikko Blue’ planted so lovingly last season bloom pink this year?

If the answer to that is yes, it’s the pH in your soil causing the problem.  Hydrangea flowers convert to pink if your soil pH is more to the basic side of the pH scale.  Basic soils lock up aluminum, which is the element that causes blue flowers, in the soil and prevents it being taken up by the plant.

To keep your Hydrangea flowering blue, add Aluminum Sulphate to the soil, directly around the base of the plant.  This acidifying product is carried by most garden centers and for best results should be applied every four weeks throughout the season.

Aluminum Sulphate is safe for pets and can be applied to other acid loving plants such as Rhododendron, Azalea, Holly, Blueberry and some Dogwoods.  Plant your Hydrangeas under evergreens such as Pine and Spruce, their needles are slightly acidic and years of build up in the soil creates the perfect place for your Blue flowering Hydrangea.

Be prepared to amend the soil for several years with the above products before seeing consistent blue flowers.

I am often asked at our garden center what Poison Ivy looks like; Poison Ivy can take three different forms.  Most people think of it as a ground cover plant carpeting the ground, but it can also be shrub forming growing up to four feet tall, or a vine with stems larger than two inches thick with millions of hair like tendrils that help the plant cling to its support.

The leaves themselves are always just a little different, but the basic shape is the same.  Poison Ivy has a trifoliate leaf, that is, each leaf is made up of three leaflets.  One leaflet can be found at the very tip of the petiole.  The two opposite leaflets almost resemble mittens.  The leaflets are usually pointed and in most cases the leaf margin will have rounded lobes.

Poison Ivy has a toxic reaction on the skin of people who are sensitive to it, causing severe itching or even blistering of affected parts.  The offending substance is an oil called urushiol and it is present throughout the whole plant.  This oil will stick to clothing and shoes and can easily be transferred to the hands and face by touch.  Pets can also be contaminated by running through an affected area.  They do not react to the poison, but can easily spread the poison by being petted.

People vary greatly in sensitivity to ivy poisoning and many have never suffered any ill effects, although it should not be taken for granted that the immunity will last for all time.

If contact has occurred, wash the contaminated parts of the body immediately with soap and water repeatedly.  The sooner the oil is removed from the skin the less likely a reaction will develop or the severity of contamination will be greatly reduced.

Recently I have had lots of calls regarding brown lawns. The most common question is “Is my grass dead?”

If you have not been able to provide your lawn with any water then it is probably the colour of straw right now.  Don’t worry, your lawn is protecting itself by going dormant.

In Ontario Kentucky bluegrass is the most common grass species in most lawns.  Without water Kentucky bluegrass can go dormant for up to six weeks in most soils and up to four weeks in sandy soil before it dies.  When your turf is dormant avoid driving or walking on it, as doing so will crush the crown of the plant increasing the chance of death.

If you need to water, do so in the morning. This will help avoid water loss due to evaporation.  Bringing your turf out of  a dormant state will take a couple of weeks, but providing an inch of water per week (irrigation or natural) should do the trick.  I suggest setting tuna tins around the watering area and make sure you water until they are just about full. You should consider fertilizing your lawn after it comes out of dormancy. Rejuvenation of foliage takes a lot of energy out of the plant, leaving it weak and susceptible to disease, insects and weeds.

A regular well-balanced slow release fertilizer content is recommended.

Is there a spot in your garden where plants just won’t grow?  Did your tasty tomatoes all of a sudden up and die?

I might know the reason!

The beautiful big Walnut tree in your back yard may be murdering your plants. That’s right, murder! The Walnut is a native plant with a nasty secret.

Actually, you could consider it self-defense, Walnuts don’t like competition, plants that grow up under and around them take away water, light, nutrients and space, so they take matters into their own hands and get rid of them. The roots of the Black and Butternut Walnut produce a toxic substance known as juglone. This substance is poisonous to most plants and when another plants roots system comes close to or touches the Walnuts roots it unleashes the deadly venom and the competing plant dies.  The toxic root zone from a mature tree can extend to a 50 to 60 foot radius from the trunk, on a large old tree it can be up to 80 feet. Young trees two to eight feet high can have a root diameter twice the height of the tree itself.

Walnuts have large seeds which fall directly under its broad canopy and apart from squirrels moving some of them around that’s where they’ll stay. The Walnut helps its young seedlings along by producing juglone knocking back other plants that might compete for water and block sunlight. Once the seedlings are off to a good start they too produce juglone and the cycle continues.

Luckily Juglone does not affect all plants and plants like native Grasses, Eastern Redbud and Forsythia are plant examples that can survive in the presence of the mighty Walnut.  It’s actually good for the Walnut to have some plants grow under them to help protect them against erosion, excess heat and water loss.

Although the roots are most toxic the bark, foliage and wood of the walnut also carry the compound with a lower concentration. What implications does this have? Mulching with Walnut wood, leaves and bark is not recommended unless it has been thoroughly decomposed first. The toxic effects of juglone will degrade in four to six weeks with exposure to air, water and bacteria.

As a side note, do not place any potted plants under the canopy of a walnut as any rain water that runs off the leaves to the ground will be mildly toxic. Maybe not enough to kill the plant, but enough to kill some leaves and small branches.

If you plant an English Walnut you may experience the same effects, but only in the ground. This is because most of the time the nurserymen graft onto Black Walnut rootstock for added hardiness. The leaves, bark and wood of the English Walnut are not toxic.

Many customers have asked me if they should consider having a landscape design produced for their property.

One of the things I always ask them to consider first is what their long term vision for the  property is.

Do you want your property to stand out from your neighbours with spectacular flower beds and manicured lawns?  Do you eventually want to introduce garden features such as walkways or gazebo’s?   Do you want your garden to be low maintenance?

Are you planning to sell the property?  In today’s real estate market, a professionally designed and installed garden is a huge selling feature.  Potential home buyers will love the fact they don’t have to start from scratch.

Landscape designers have years of experience and extensive plant knowledge.  They take all site conditions into consideration such as the direction of the sun and wind, soil type, plant sizing and drainage issues. Getting the job done right allows the plants to reach their full potential, and ensure the overall health of your garden.  Designers also know where to introduce popular features such as interlocking stone, retaining walls, ponds and water features

A landscape design will allow you to build your dream space in stages, making sure it will blend together as it develops.  This will also help avoid some of the problems even the most enthusiastic gardener’s fall victim to, such as incorrect spacing and unbalanced height or sun preference for plant material.

Buy a beautiful frame and put the design in it, in the long run your garden will develop into your own special oasis, and will be easier on your pocket book.