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The Edmonton region fertile soils and four-season climate compensate for its sometimes-extreme temperatures. Here are few tips to make gardening easier: Gardening around here means temperature extremes; prevailing northwest winds and precipitation totals combine to create a multitude of growing-season variables in our own backyards! A few notable "givens," however, do dominate gardening chores and practices, no matter where in the Edmonton area you're hanging your hoe. Within the confines of a few, general rules-of-thumb, today's gardener will find the guidance necessary to coax hundreds of plants -- successfully -- from some of the area’s most fertile or sandy soils: 1. Expect extremes.You can expect routine temperature extremes. That translates into a little extra TLC, pretty much around-the-calendar. When the temperature varies wildly, especially in April and May, be prepared to cover up those tender emerging shoots. Best to use a blanket, or wood shavings, as plastic offers no protection from those freezing nights. 2. Expect a compressed growing season.There are rarely more than 100 -120 days in the average growing season. So just don't set your heart on growing plants and flowers that must have a long and languid adolescence and maturity! The region's fickle springs and autumns can't provide that. 3. Expect to succeed, especially with native plants.The receding glaciers that carved the hills and vales around these parts either left an incredibly fertile soil base or left sand dunes and clay. Native plants will flourish, so take stock of what is growing around you. Ferns and flowers, fruits, grains and vegetables ... they'll all find a niche! Sandy soils are more challenging… try the native selections of Schubert chokecherry, saskatoons, and junipers, oak, and pine trees, all well adapted to setting deep roots to find the moisture. About those extremes ...Spring and autumn temperatures can be not only extreme; they can also be wildly volatile literally from day to day. A 70-degree temperature range from one day to the next can be especially hard on new gardeners. But it happens, and it's not really that uncommon. So be prepared for anything, including late spring freezes and snow on Victoria Day. Edmonton Countryside Gardening TipsEdmonton countryside gardens show off hundreds of flourishing plants and flowers. Here are some tips for yours! * You’ll be sure to succeed with Edmonton countryside’s own historic plant breeder, Georges Bugnet’s (from Legal) famous rose selections: Theresa Bugnet is an extremely hardy lovely fully double pink rose, quite fragrant, and Marie Bugnet is a very fragrant white rose. * Know your area's planting dates. Seeds and seedlings will usually survive quite nicely when planted after the "average last frost" date. Our “chance of frost” drops from over 50% on May 22, to just 13% on May 29th, just 7 days later. Plant frost hardy items, like pansy, snapdragons, onions, spinach, carrots, peas, lettuce, Cole crops, and corn by May 15th. * If you're filling in your garden with annuals and perennials, tailor your plant purchases to the sun and shade areas of your yard. Part-shade tolerant plants require at least 6 hours of sun. There are many perennials and annuals that thrive in shade, sun, or even hot dry locations – just ask at your local greenhouse, they will be sure to know what to recommend. * Even when the higher-flying sun warms our growing days in the spring, the temperatures often drop well below freezing at night. Alberta gardeners typically struggle every sunny early-spring day to resist the urge to uncover and de-mulch their gardens. Rule-of-thumb: Leave the protective winter blanket in place until nighttime temperatures hover just above freezing for a week running. Then remove the mulches (usually around May 1st). * Keep a stash of newspapers or old sleeping bags handy in spring and fall. Invariably, you'll hear the warning to "cover your plants tonight" as the odd late-spring or early-fall "Alberta Clipper" weather system comes racing down from the Artic, blanketing Edmonton countryside in a sudden, bone-chilling freeze. * Prepare for the occasional extended dry spell, as brief drought-like weather does indeed periodically invade Alberta gardens. Watering and sprinkling the lawns and gardens are very common activities, and your garden will want at least a full inch of life-nourishing water a week. * Water well, but don't over-water! Knowing when to turn the sprinkler off is easy when you know the ole’ rain-gauge trick. Just put a regular drinking glass in your garden the first time you use your sprinkler on it. Set your kitchen timer, and watch to see how much time passes before there's an inch of water in your glass. However long it takes your sprinkler to reach that inch mark, is roughly how long your sprinkler needs to run in your garden when Mother Nature's not doing the job for you! * Don't divide your spring blooming perennials too early, or you'll scare the roots! Let their brief, lovely flowers fade away in the spring before you begin dividing them. By the time you're dividing, the nighttime temperatures should now be consistently above freezing. This is a good time to be sure all of your winter mulch is removed, so that daytime sunshine can warm the soil up and give your summer plants a good wake-up call! * When planning a three-season Alberta garden, think "front-to-back." Typically, spring plants are much shorter, summer-blooming plants are taller, and autumn's display is tallest of all. * In the end, the most important rule-of-thumb is simplest of all: If you enjoy it, plant it in your Edmonton countryside garden!
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