Containers allow time to make a plan
Calgary, like its namesake in Scotland, is a compound of two Old Norse words, “kald” and “gart,” meaning “cold” and “garden.” That’s us.
Folks from all over the world admire us because we garden in spite of our adverse climate conditions. So don’t get too serious — just have fun with it!
Calgary is classified as a dry, cool, continental climate. It was listed as being in plant hardiness zone 3 until 2014, when it was upgraded to zone 4a (see more on plant hardiness zones at planthardiness.gc.ca). Thanks to climate change, we have gained an extra 11 days of growing season and now have an average of 128 consecutive frost-free days. However, don’t expect to see big changes in what we are able to grow here yet. We are still subject to early and late frosts and losing blossoms on fruiting plants. Unexpected cool weather may keep our pollinators from doing their work.
Then there are the infamous chinooks during the winter that can literally give us a headache when they blow in. These warm winds tease us, as well as the plants, into shedding our winter gear and believing that spring is around the corner. So if you are to garden here, do it right the first time and save yourself time, money and heartache.
Planning takes time and a lot of thought, so in the meantime, how can you get an instant garden? The answer is containers. Don’t forget hanging baskets and water gardens in containers as well.
Containers are traditionally used to create additional interest in the established garden, but they are also a way for new gardeners to get started quickly. Check out the garden centres in the city and surrender to the urge to buy something beautiful right away to provide instant colour.
Containers allow you to be in control of the soil (use good quality soil, such as Pro-Mix HP with mycorrhizae) and to respond to the plants’ individual moisture and sunlight needs. Containers can be dragged in and out of the sun and quickly covered when there is the threat of frost or the occasional hailstorm.
Knock yourself out with annuals, but also try to think ahead to what perennials could work in your garden beds. Perennials are great in containers and can be planted in your garden in the fall, once you have a plan. Good examples for tall feature plants are hostas (Hosta), astilbe (Astilbe), day lily (Hemerocallis), grasses, iris and ferns. Coral bells (Heuchera), catmint (Nepeta), primrose (Primula) and blanket flower (Gaillardia) make great fillers, while dead-nettle (Lamium) and creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia) can drape over the edges. Throw in winter hardy herbs such as sage and oregano, and vegetables such as cherry tomatoes and lettuce. Wow! That’s a good start already. Do read the labels on your plants so you can attend to their light and water requirements.
There’s nothing to stop you from buying small-sized shrubs for your containers and planting them in the ground in fall. For example, try slow mound mugo (Pinus Mugo) or sparkling carpet spirea (Spiraea), and compact roses, such as the Easy Elegance series ‘Pink Gnome’ (Rosa BAIpome). Try a small ornamental tree such as weeping caragana (Caragana arborescens ‘Pendula’) by itself in a large container. Vines such as clematis (Clematis) and honeysuckle (Lonicera) can get a head start climbing up a trellis for support.
Don’t forget, you can add houseplants for drama and can bring them indoors before the frost. Spray them with insecticidal soap before doing so. All potted shrubs and perennials must be planted in the ground while it is still warm to establish new root growth before the frost hits.
Now that you have your garden dressed up in pretty containers, you’re off to a great start.
OK, on with the big picture! Now you can take some time to figure out the orientation of your house and where the sunny and shady areas are in your yard, assess the condition of your soil, and make a garden plan.