Parade of Homes

SINGLE FAMILY CONDOS STARTING IN THE UPPER $400'S GRANDEPOINTEMEADOWS.COM FALL 2023 PARADE of HOMES 133 FLOWER BEDS 1 . GET CLEANING Fall is the time to pull up annual plants and cut back perennials, although both are a personal choice. "There are two rules of thumb to that," Hrycyna says. "Some people may opt to leave some of their easily seedable annuals there so that they can get some extra seeding, such as snapdragons. They seed themselves beautifully so you have to leave them in the ground for them to mature and for those seed capsules to sort of explode and distribute themselves into the soil." Perennials such as hollyhocks will also self-seed. It's important to know a plant's bloom- ing season. A spring-flowering plant will have dropped its seeds by mid- June or July so you can cut it back in the fall, she says. You could decide to leave perennials because plants such as ornamental grasses add a nice visual to the winter landscape. Seed heads can also be left as a source of food for birds. 2. GET DIGGING Soil can get too compacted so it's ben- eficial to till or dig garden beds to open them up for better growth. "If the soil is too compact, you don't get the air spaces around the rooting, which is so important because you need moisture in soil and air around those roots for viability," Hrycyna says. 3. IMPROVE SOIL Tilling often goes hand in hand with adding amendments. Winnipeg is known for its clay-based soil so tilling and adding peat moss lightens it up, Hrycyna says. A product called Clay Buster can also be added to break up particles. Mixing compost or sea soil into your gar- dens gives plants a boost for spring. For annual flower beds, Hrycyna rec- ommends digging amendments into about the top 10 centimetres of soil. Since perennial beds can have ex- tensive root systems, add the amend- ments at the outer boundary of roots if it's practical, she says. Take a pitch fork or similar tool and lightly churn up the soil about five centimetres deep at those boundaries and add compost. Seed heads can be left as a source of food for birds. Perennials such as hollyhocks will also self-seed. PHOTO BY JUDY OWEN

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