Your Home Your Way | 2023

THE BRANDON SUN • YOUR HOME YOUR WAY • SATURDAY, MAY 6, 2023

Reimagining your dream garden BY NORAH TOLMIE Keltie’s checkerboard garden, a low-maintenance, ever-changing delight. (Submitted)

to direct and maintain 100 per cent of the precipitation the garden receives. Sylvia, of Westman Gar- deners Brandon, went through the scenario described in my question when she retired to Brandon from Calgary. Her first move? She joined a lo- cal gardening club to have access to experts on growing here in a 2B hardiness zone. Sylvia spent her first season in her new house assessing the site and watching sun and wind patterns. She also took walks through her neighbour- hood, educating herself on the plants that were performing well, admiring groupings of plants, colour combinations and such. The second thing valued highly by my gardening panel was a plan. Rick Gray, retired academic chair for agriculture, horticulture and environmen- tal programs at Assiniboine Community College, said having a detailed plan will save you time and money. » Continued on Page 7

If you had to move to a new place with a totally naked garden, what would you do? This is a question I recent- ly posed to several gardeners and the responses were varied, but a few common themes emerged. Most of the garden- ers declared site assessment the priority. Sue-on, of the Brandon Gardening Club, said she would dig holes to find out what the soil is like. Is the soil healthy? Are there earthworms (they’re an excel- lent sign of a productive soil)? Does the soil seem heavy and damp, or light and sandy? My sister Cathy, with a gorgeous mature garden in Red Deer, Alta., said soil check and site evaluation. Joan, also of the Brandon Gardening Club, echoed this sentiment. You must know your sun patterns, quality of soil and access to water. Dave Barnes would also be measur- ing the slope on the property

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