Hello again -I had the most wonderful gentle voice on my answering machine, saying that he was sorry to be bothering me. Who are you? Please call again - I will help with any questions, but I do need a number to return your calls.

Can you believe that it is August already? This morning I was sitting outside looking over the lake and not only was there a mist, but geese were flying over, I know that some leave very early, as they have a long way to go, but this seems too soon.

I am constantly asked "What perennials can I grow? I want something that is easy and does not need a lot of work!" My dears, the annual garden is the easiest to care for. Each season gives you a new garden. In the fall not only can we -but we should - clean up all the rubbish, dead and dying plants, weeds, etc. - and then spade in manure, peat moss, compost and any other humus making materials. By the next spring you will be ready with a weed free bed. There will be weed seeds of course, but the annual plants that you put in will have a head start on the weed seeds that have not yet germinated. A little work with a scuffle hoe (I love my stirrup hoe) or narrow rake will ensure a clean, weed - free bed all summer. The fall is a good time to place newspapers on any grass where you are planning a new bed. Weight the newspaper down with earth, compost etc. By the spring the grass will have died and you are ready to start a new garden.

Whilst the annual garden will not replace those beloved perennials, have them growing together. Annuals give you instant colour, and someone else has struggled to bring them to their flowering stage. Perennials need a lot of work. Not only do you have to contend with the weeds that seem to force their way through any and all plants, every two or three years, you have to spend time, dividing, lifting, re-arranging, etc. A perennial bed is a lot of work!

Annuals and perennials work very well together- you can fill the spaces between the shrubs and evergreens – but do not plant the annuals too close to permanent plants. Remember that you are going to be pulling them out at the end of the season. Plant in groups, not singly here and there; you will get a 'spill" of colour this way, and you will be more likely to remember to fertilise and water – that way all the plantings benefit. I would suggest that you plant low growing annuals; you do not want to hide the shrubs, etc. and these can be tucked in almost anywhere.

Q) Why have my pansies stopped blooming and what can I grow in my containers instead?

Pansies need a lot of water and a good rich soil, as well as deadheading to prevent the seed pods from forming. I have seen hanging baskets of pansies- please take them out of the basket and place in your garden. I have pansies blooming their little heads off - and have been since the very earliest spring. Left in your garden, pansies will also come back year, after year. Even my daughter, who is not the greatest gardener, is able to keep pansies blooming and coming back year, after year.

Petunias are about the best annuals, especially for containers. Flowering profusely, they will take all that full sun, they withstand considerable drying out, and come in all colours, sizes, and heights, etc. Some trail; some are upright. Avalanche (the new one) does both.

Q) How many plants do I need in each planter?

A) This is a tough question. It depends on what one grows, where it is placed etc. A good rule of thumb is a standard plant per foot apart, and a trailing plant each eighteen inches. This should make such a mass of greenery and coloured flowers, as to hide the container, which is what you are trying to do.

Q) I dislike growing glads in straight rows in my garden. Where can I grow them so that they are unobtrusive?

A) Do not confine your annuals just to the flowerbeds; try tucking some in amongst the vegetables. Gladiolus are not the most decorative of plants, so a couple of rows in and amongst the veggies, will allow you to enjoy their gorgeous flowers, without looking at a row "of soldiers"!! Do not forget to lift them out of the ground after the leaves have died down and before the hard frosts.

Q) Is there a chemical weed killer that I can use on my garden?

A) Loblaws has become pesticide free; however they have developed a weed killer, that does not kill the weeds but, makes any seeds sterile and will prevent seeds from forming - a good way to go, as you will not accidentally kill that special plant in your garden. This is not toxic to your children and pets. (No it is not a contraceptive) For other options, please check under friends and affiliates.

This is a good time to stand back and make your plans for any trees that you may be thinking of planting this fall. Think of the tree in relation to your house and other surroundings. Ask yourself what the purpose is of the new tree. Is it to replace one that has died? Will it provide shade, screen an unwanted view? Is it to form a windbreak or is it simply for display?

Try to visualize the various shapes of the trees, globe-shaped, vase-shaped, columanar, weepers. Consider the texture, foliage colour, blossoms and even bark habit. Remember that willows have a habit of clogging sewer pipes with their root systems. A tablespoon of copper sulphate down the sink on the first of each month will help keep roots away from weeping tiles and septic tank. This is not an old wives tale at all; it really works. Roots hate copper - which is why years ago copper wire was laid in weeping beds.

Whether or not your Wisteria bloomed this year, now is the time to have their long, rangy growths shortened considerably to help to promote the development of side spurs that will bear flowers next spring. Remember be cruel to wisteria - no over watering, no fertilser, if they are not flowering, go around the roots and with your spade, go straight down and chop off some of the root system - sounds like tough love but also necessary.

Hardy phlox will soon have finished flowering - snip off their heads to prevent seeds forming and to promote a second flowering this year. Finish pruning your climbing roses; cultivate the rose beds lightly to keep down weeds and stop fertilising. Keep up your spraying program.

I hope that you have marked the Flower Show on your calendars - come and tell us how your plants are bigger, better, healthier than ours and to the members of Lakefield Horticultural Society - flowers in your garden and not on the show table will not win prizes - enter often "there is gold in those gardens”.

Again hats, gloves, sunscreen and bug away with deet.
Happy gardening Lovingly, Beryl