Gardening 101: Shrubs and Trees

We have lots of gardening to do. Our front and back yards need attention and we started to see our neighbors fixing their gardens too. They said that they usually do gardening after Victoria Day but since the weather is changing, imagine the Cherry Blossoms in High Park bloomed last week, we can start because the weather is great.

Last year, we started to buy the Emerald Cedar trees and plant them beside the neighbor's award winning garden. Lito wanted to build a fence using the trees to make that side more private and the kids can play around. This weekend, the trees were on sale so we bought the trees to complete the fence. I just hope they will all live. This is how it looked:

Lito planting the trees. The yellow shrubs are called Northern Gold Forsythia (Perennial)

When Spring came and the sun showed up, there were lots of bulbs sprouting in our front and back yards. We were just surprised at the yellow Daffodils that sprouted and the leaves of the roses, peonies and hydreangea started to come out. I'm so excited at these perennial flowering plants to bloom.


Tips in maintaining the Shrubs and Trees


1. Trim the branches before the first frost. Maintain the form by cutting the branches only a few inches on each.
2. Rake the leaves near the roots, you can leave some grass trimmings but the leaves should be cleared out.
3. Apply fertilizer specific to shrubs and trees during spring.
4. Have a professional cut the trees.
5. Do not cut when the buds come out.




Last winter, there was this ugly plant that only showed the branches. It was opposite the nice trimmed yew, so you could imagine how it looked compared to the evergreen. This ugly plant has leaves now and there were buds starting to show. Our neighbor in front approached me one day while the kids are biking. He asked me if I knew the plant opposite the Yew. I said no idea. He said that in the whole street, our house got the nicest set of flowers and shrubs in Summer when they are in full bloom. he told me that the plant he is referring to was his favorite because its flowers grow as big as a plate and they look good. They are called Peonies. I googled it and got excited to see the flowers in my garden.

Honestly, I don't like gardening because I didn't want to get my hands dirty. Hahaha. I don't like to see worms much more touch them. I don't know if I have a green thumb because I already killed some of the plants I brought home from the office.

But Lito is a proven green thumb so I will just rely upon him to tend our garden and I will just do the weeding and watering hahaha.