In some of our stores we sell a small garden plaque that reads "Give a weed an inch and it will take the yard!"

Coming home after a two week absence proves this garden "truth" to be very true:  my vegetable bed is a jungle, my perennial beds are out of control and it seems like every shrub needs a bit of pruning.  And it's not just weeds - even the plants I intended to be there are running amok.  Just goes to show what a little neglect in combination with warm weather and sufficient rain will do.

I was pondering this and other garden truths - such as "Deer don't read the lists of plants they are not supposed to eat" - while reading my latest isse of my favourite gardening magazine, Fine Gardening.  Editor Steve Aiken offered his own "garden truths" in this latest edition and some were so apt I thought I'd share them with our readers.

Plants die.  Sometimes it's your fault, sometimes it isn't.

Lawn grass would rather grow in your garden than in the lawn.

"No maintenance" is just a figure of speech.

If you water your garden, it will rain.  If you don't water, it will be dry.

If deer don't eat it, then rabbits, voles, or groundhogs will.  (He doesn't mention killer sparrows, but see below for details of the newest plague to my garden.)

You will often buy more plants than you need.

You will often buy more plants than you can afford.

You will always buy more plants than your spouse thinks you need or can afford.

September is a lovely month to contemplate these and other garden truths.  The light is softer than in mid-summer, and everything looks and smells great.  A final "truth" has just occured to me is this:

It's always time to enjoy your garden!

Elizabeth Cull, Franchise President

By the end of August, your summer container plantings and hanging baskets have often seen their best. It's time to refresh them for fall. There are still plenty of plants, in the nursery and your own gardens, that will see your containers through the cooler months ahead. Of course, there are pansies, mums and asters available, but don’t stop there. You can create wonderful unique fall flower pots using foliage and flowering plants in the colors of autumn, if you just look around and notice what catches your eye in the landscape. Don't forget to use other things besides plants.  Pumpkins and gourds look terrific in or next to a container and even pruned branches can add height an interest to a pot.  

Here are some of the best choices for a fall container:
 

Heuchera.  There are so many great heucheras available now! Great for fall are the purple and frosty silver ones – they add a depth of color to fall pots and blend beautifully with other autumn tones. I find mine overwinter near my sheltered front entry

Sedum.  Sedums bloom from late summer through fall in rich, deep pinks and magentas. They are easily grown in containers, being so drought tolerant. Sedums are beautiful even after the flowers fade.  The seed heads look great all winter.

Sweet Potato Vine (Ipomoea batatas).  Chances are your vines have grown so long, they’re taking over. Snip a few sections off the ends of the vines and root them quickly either in water or directly in the soil of a new fall container. The bronze varieties blend well and good old ‘Margarita’ complements the other colors magnificently. 

Bugleweed (Ajuga). Bugleweed may be invasive in the garden, but it’s great in containers. The deep purple leaves will grow up and under other plants and they’re great for trailing over pots and softening edges as well.

Coleus.  The orange and rust coleus are naturals for an autumn container. Coleus works well in partial shade as well as sunny locations.

Firethorn (Pyracantha rogersiana).  Pyracantha grows quite well in pots, although it won’t reach the size it does in the ground. The long-lasting red, orange or yellow berries are a natural for fall. They can be trained on trellis supports or allowed to grow through other plants. Just be careful of the thorns when pruning

Red, Gold and Purple Grasses.  Grasses are a natural for fall containers. They add colour and movement to any display. Try Curly Top Sedge (Carex buchananii) with its bronze red foliage or Golden Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra “Aureola’) Gold variegated bamboo-like foliage. Purple Fountain Grass (Pennisetum 'Rubrum') with burgundy foliage and flowers is another fall favourite.

Christiane Kamerman, Dig This Nanaimo
 

This Saturday, August 29th, we are having our third Birthday celebration.  Dig This is 25 years old this year, and so we have been celebrating with special deals and sales all summer long.

This Saturday, when you buy any item at regular price, you can purchase another regular-priced item (of equal or lesser value) at 25% off.  In addition, each store will have lots of items marked down for extra savings.  So, drop by, wish us a Happy Birthday!, and find some great deals.

If you’ve never grown your own garlic, why not try it this fall. It’s so easy and nothing tastes as good as your own garlic.

Gabriola Island organic "Russian Porcelain" garlic bulbs will soon be at all Dig This stores. Russian Porcelain is a big, beautiful garlic with huge cloves. It keeps well – I’m just eating the last of mine from last summer! – and does well under a wide variety of growing conditions.

Here on the west coast, we plant garlic in late September or early October, in a sunny spot with lots of manure dug in. Experts recommend that you plant individual cloves eight centimetres deep and 15 centimetres apart, and mulch with five to eight centimetres of leaves.  Dig This gardeners have found that you can plant a little bit closer than that - around 11 centimetres or 4 inches apart.

If you're new to planting garlic, you might like to watch this short YouTube video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYfcb3LAoX4

All throughout August we’ve had our in-stock garden furniture on sale at 30% off the regular price. But all good things come to an end, and this sale ends on Saturday, August 29th.

Drop by to see what's still available and get a few more days of "summer" in your garden. After Saturday, there may still be some selected pieces on sale, but this will vary from store to store.

If you want to plan ahead, you can order your Garden Furniture now for next spring - and save 25%.  Place your order before October 15th, and we can guarantee you delivery either by March 15th or June 1st, with your choice of style, colour and fabrics - plus 25% savings off the regular price.
 

Even with our great summer weather, I still have a lot of green tomatoes on my vines. I have found the best way to ripen them is to harvest the whole vine, then hang it upside down in a greenhouse or my basement to ripen. Alternatively, you can pick unripe tomatoes and place them in sealed brown paper bags either on their own (slow ripening) or with a ripe apple/banana (quick ripening). The reason for the apple/banana is due to ethylene gas production, which is a hormone that promotes ripening.

Once ripe, there are many delicious ways to use them. While on vacation earlier this month, I had an amazing and very simple pasta dish that was put together by chopping ripe tomatoes and garlic into a fine dice, and then mixing them uncooked with hot, cooked linguine and a generous dollop of olive oil.  A few torn spinach leaves thrown into the mix added extra taste and colour. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.  Simply wonderful!

Elizabeth Cull, Franchise President
 

Just when I thought the deer were garden enemy number #1, I learned of an unexpected but even more destructive foe - the common garden sparrow. 

In most gardens, the sparrow is a chirpy and welcome visitor.  At home, I put out bird food to encourage their visits.  But in our very urban and mostly concrete Market Square, they are a force to be reckoned with.

Dig This at Market Square planted two "lasagna" style garden beds earlier this summer.  See http://retailmail.createsend.com/t/ViewEmailArchive/r/3A53EC002D74C8B1/C67FD2F38AC4859C/#E3312319C88B3601 for more details on lasagna gardening.

All was going well when one day I noticed the beautiful butter lettuce had been "harvested" to the ground.  All that was left of six heads were little stumps.  I thought a human had decided to take them all and thought little more about it. 

However, earlier this month, just as the cucumber plants were looking lush and ready to produce fruit, a horde of sparrows descended upon them like something out of a Hitchcock movie and proceeded to eat every bit of leaf from the plants leaving only bare stems behind!

I suppose it is encouraging that urban gardening isn't a sterile, animal free experience, and I will just have to change my pest control to focus on the urban wildlife!

Jared Witt, Dig This Victoria

September often seems like the end of the summer, but with some planning and forethought your garden can be a riot of colour. Colour and form can come from lovely perennials like Asters, Rudbeckias and Helianthemum, along with a broad range of grasses which keep any garden looking fabulous well into next month. If things are looking a little dull, there’s still time to go to your favourite nursery and buy a plant or two to create some interest.

Here’s what to do in your garden this month:

• Keep foliage and flowers as dry as possible by careful watering.
   
• Buy garlic for planting in October or early November. Plant named varieties of garlic, rather than using left over cloves bought from the grocery store!
   
• Check plants you’ve put outside for the summer for pests and diseases, and treat any you find before bringing them in for the winter. Storing pests and diseases over winter is never a good idea.
   
• Clean and tidy the greenhouse so it is ready to house tender perennials at the end of the month.
   
• Water camellias, rhododendrons and azaleas that are in dry locations. A shortage of water at this time of year can cause flower buds to drop next spring before they open.
   
• Keep deadheading flowers. Not only will you remove a potential source of disease, but this simple act will encourage many plants to produce a new flush of flowers. Besides, what a nice way to spend a few minutes in the garden, coffee mug in hand!
   
• Get ready to plant spring flowering bulbs. Shop early for the best selection. Try planting Narcissus (daffodils) in lawns or under trees for a natural look. Plant them in drifts, rather than singly and choose smaller, less showy types. Select an area where you can afford to leave the grass long in the spring until the leaves have done their work to build up next year's bulb. Other native spring flowers such as snakeshead fritillary, Fritillaria meleagris and cowslips, Primula veris will give a natural look to your planting.
   
• Take advantage of nature's bounty, and save seed from some of your plants. Look for seed heads that are turning brown and papery. Cut them from the plant then let them finish drying indoors, before shaking out the seeds. Always store seed in an airtight container, in a cool dry place. A plastic tub in the fridge is the best place to store seed till next spring. Label each seed variety clearly. If you've bought seeds this year, and not used the whole packet, as long as you store them somewhere cool and dry or in the fridge, they will probably still be viable next spring.
   
• Continue sowing coriander, arugula, chives, winter lettuce, spinach, radishes Plant parsley in the corner of a bed for fresh leaves during the autumn and winter.
   
• Keep picking runner beans, French beans, zuchinnis and cucumbers regularly to prolong the harvest period up to the first frosts. Lift maincrop potatoes, onions and shallots for storage in a cool, well ventilated place.
   
• Start collecting fallen leaves to make leafmould. There are many reasons why leafmould is good for the vegetable garden including: improving soil structure, increasing soil water retention, and it also encourages earthworms. If you have 1 or 2-year old leafmould ready to use, apply as a mulch for winter coverage of bare soil.
   
• For more information, go to www.gardenorganic.org.uk/  

 Virginia Parkhurst, Dig This Broadmead