a painting that is never quite finished,” she says. “Growing your own food is one of the best things.” Experience has shown that the key
to all gardening success begins with healthy organic soil. It is simple – healthy soil equals healthy plants. “Do
not pollute your soil with
synthetic fertilizers; use only organic fertilizers to feed your plants and vege- tables. The residue from the synthet- ics damages the health of the soil and can last a long time,” advises Lorraine. “Start with your soil and add compost. You might as well throw your money away if you buy plants and don’t amend your soil when planting. Remember that whatever you put into the ground, you are feeding the millions of micro- organisms that live there to create healthy soil.” Gardening is part of this couple’s life-
Above: Pink ladyslipper.
Right: Salvia argentea (a lovely biennial that gets indifferent blooms the second year).
Below left: hosta ‘Guacamole’.
Bottom: willow chairs at the edge of the pine forest.
Bottom right: a well groomed perennial bed.
Thalictrum.
style. Along with actively working in the gardens and on their retail business, Lorraine has written a book, A Recipe for Continuous Bloom, and she manages the website,
www.plantparadise.ca. She blogs and puts out a monthly newslet- ter chock full of gardening advice. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge and helping gardeners see success. “I prefer an English country style
garden. You can never go wrong group- ing perennials in a large mass plant- ing,” says Lorraine. “Our garden is always evolving and as gardeners, we need to evolve with them because there is always something to do, grow and create. Gardening is habit forming and addictive!” V
www.localgardener.net
WINTER 2013
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