I have been collecting up the past years' columns in an attempt to place them in some coherent order. One of the snippets that caught my eye as I was briefly glancing through them ... Well, okay, not so briefly. Every writer, no matter how humble they might appear on the outside, is totally enthralled by their printed word. We just can't believe how cleverly we turned a phrase or so elegantly explained a complicated concept. When we notice a discrepancy between what we submitted and what the dastardly editor(-ess) actually printed, we take significant umbrage. Fortunately, we don't actually take it anywhere, we just mumble a bit. This self-preserving, private gnashing of teeth is what keeps the paycheques coming. Umm...back to gardening, eh?

In 2001, I ran through a list of new additions. Some still grace our bit of this good earth, some are struggling and several have been consigned to the compost pile. The Kwanzan flowering cherry tree is now in the shed, the wood seasoning with plans of it being turned on a lathe. It's been replaced by a native red maple that we found on the shores of North Beach about ten years ago. It had rooted in a bit of driftwood and would have succumbed if not rescued. We grew it in containers, setting it into an unheated shed in the winter, potting up when necessary until finally we felt it was able to withstand planting.

The Leonard Messel magnolia in the backyard has been replaced by a Mugho pine. It was sucked dry by an infestation of scale. I tried scraping off the little beasties but I couldn't keep up. That year was generally not a good one for magnolias, especially the younger ones, as scale was endemic to our area. Dormant oil is the best way to prevent this. When buying look for lots of little black spots or the bugs themselves. Magnolia bark, on young plants, should be smooth textured, free of splits and silvery-grey or brown in colour.

All of the roses, Red Mercedes, Joseph's Coat, The Fairy and Martin Frobisher are doing well. About five years ago, Marc Lewis, Jr. and I planted a pink Carpet Rose at the end of our driveway in just about the most inhospitable section of our estate. Snowploughs , salt, and our own vehicles drive, push, or sprinkle its leaves.( Passing dogs sprinkle their own calling cards there too.) It is still going strong and requires pruning to contain it. I've been bringing home those cutesy little pots of sweetheart roses from the store when their commercial value has been exhausted. Heavy shearing precedes their being plunked into whatever garden spot is bare. Survivability is about 75% after 3 years.

The only roses that don’t last more than 3 years are the hybrid teas. I know some folks though , like Win Steele, who have good success.

The PeeGee hydrangea is doing well and has been joined by a Golden Elderberry being trained into a tree form. It and a Moscow lilac were planted in 2002. The latter, although tagged, has turned into a common lavender type. It is unfortunate but some customers will change tags on our plants in order to save a few bucks.

The Red Baron grass sort of petered out, the Karl Foerster feather reed grass has been divided several times and the dwarf fountain grass, although growing well, has not really lived up to its hype. Grass advice: Red Baron needs shelter from wind, buy just one Karl F. plant; and, select a more active grass for ornamental purposes than the dwarf fountain grass.

The moral of the story, Gentle Reader, is to keep good records. For this purpose, I recommend a good garden journal!