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Gearing
up for 18,000 bloomers
by
Meg Olson
Peace
Arch State Park might look like it’s barely waking
up from its winter nap, but park staff are already scrambling.
“It’s the time of year to stress out,” laughed
park manager Wayne Eden.
Park gardeners June Auld and Allison Clarke have been pruning
and raking and mowing at breakneck speed. “We’ve
been getting rid of all the debris from winter, raking up
leaves so insects have fewer places to hide,” Auld
said. The park features a collection of shaped evergreens,
which need shaping in the spring. Dormant trees and shrubs,
like the park’s rose garden, also need to be pruned.
The park’s lush green lawns were treated to aeration
and 30,000 pounds of fertilizer in the fall and are taking
off in warmer spring weather. “This is our third mow
and it’s only the third of April,” Auld said.
The park only fertilizes the lawn in the fall, but Auld
said spring doesn’t hurt.
Next, the Peace Arch park crew will turn to weeding and
tilling their signature flower beds. The 28 beds in the
park will have 20 yards of manure spread, then be rototilled
and raked.
“What we’re thinking about now is getting all
those beds ready for 18,000 annuals coming in May,”
Auld said. The flag alone takes 3,500 plants.
- June's
Tips
- Prune
dormant trees and shrubs, evergreens, roses.
- Clean
up winter debris so insect pests have less places to hide
- Give
the lawn its first mow and a good rake. If you didn’t
fertilize in the fall, you could do it now.
- Start
seeds indoors and plan color schemes for flower beds.
- Fertilize
and till beds – amend soil – June recommends
at least one-year old composted manure.
- Got
bark mulch? Pull it away from plant roots and fertilize
before and after plant blooms. The bark robs the soil
of nitrogen.
- The
most important things to be a good gardener is to be observant,
get out in you garden often and catch problems before
they get out of hand. Love your garden and it will love
you.
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