Tori Lamb - Horticulture and Landscape Consultant

12/25/2022

Thank you all for your support this past year! I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday season and a Happy New Year 😊

05/22/2022

With planting season underway, here are my 3 tips for success

🌳 Follow the recommended planting distances: you always want to plan for the mature size of your trees. They may be quite small when you plant them, but they will grow into large trees that will appreciate having ample room to grow!

🌳 Water your new trees regularly: have a plan in place to water your new trees and shrubs for the first 3 years after planting. The root systems just aren't large enough to find the moisture needed to support their growth until then.

🌳 Control the weeds and grass within 3 ft of your new trees and shrubs: weeds and grass compete with the trees and shrubs for moisture and nutrients, and the weeds will always win 😔. Your trees will grow much faster and more consistently when they have a weed-free zone around them.

Happy planting! 👨‍🌾👩‍🌾

04/22/2022

🌍 Happy Earth Day 🌎

Every year on this day my kids and I collect all of the garbage that has blown into our yard over the year. It's become a little tradition for us, one which over time will grow to cleaning up larger areas and taking on bigger projects.

For now, we clean up garbage where we can, recycle all that we can, and compost whatever is compostable.

What do you do to celebrate our beautiful planet? 🌎

04/18/2022

Photos of branches showing what to look for when determining if a branch is dead or alive.

04/18/2022

In this video I talk about some of the things to look for when determining if a branch is dead or alive.

03/31/2022

Now that the threat of extreme cold has passed, you can go ahead and prune your deciduous trees. Most types of deciduous trees can be pruned at this time, with the exception of maple and birch trees. These trees will weep sap if pruned now, so they are best pruned after they fully leaf out.

Another exception is elm trees. To control the spread of Dutch Elm Disease, it is illegal to prune elm trees between April 1 to August 31. This includes Siberian Elm trees which are sometimes found in shelterbelts.

This video goes through the process that I follow when pruning deciduous trees. 🌳🌳

03/22/2022

03/19/2022

Do you compost? 🙋‍♀️

Do you compost but are not sure why you do it? 🤷‍♀️

It may seem like a lot of work, but in reality, it is not very difficult to do! There are different methods of composting, but they all involve five basic components – brown material, green material, oxygen, water and microbes (from soil or finished compost).

🍂 Brown material can be dead leaves, sawdust, shredded wood, or paper products. About half of your material added should be brown material, which is high in carbon.

🌿🍎🥦 Green material can be fruit and veggie scraps, grass clippings, coffee grounds, or plant trimmings. About half of your material added should be green material, which is high in nitrogen.

❌ Do not add meat or dairy products, fats or oils as these take a very long time to break down, and will create bad odors that will attract pests and animals. Additionally, do not add grass clippings from lawn that has been treated with herbicides. ❌

Composting is the natural process of breaking food waste down to its organic components. These components can then be taken up by plants as a source of nutrients which are required for plant growth. Composting is a great way to make use of the food waste that would otherwise be thrown into the landfill, taking up space there and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions as they decompose.

When composting is done properly it shouldn’t stink, it won’t attract pests, and it won’t contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. You will be reducing the amount of trash you have to dispose of, while creating the perfect fertilizer for your flowers, garden, and new trees!

03/04/2022

When shopping for trees and shrubs, you’ll notice a “zone” rating. This refers to Canada’s Plant Hardiness Zones (see image). Hardiness zones are determined by the long-term data for minimum daily temperatures, maximum daily temperatures, frost free days, rainfall, snow depth and more, which has been compiled into a single map for the entire country.

Hardiness refers to how well a plant will survive the winter. Plants that “lack hardiness” will struggle or will not survive the winter. Your zone rating should be one of the first considerations when selecting plants for your landscape. If you choose a plant that is rated for a higher zone than you have, it will likely not survive the winters and you’ll be out your time and money spent caring for that plant.

Saskatoon is in zone 3b, so when selecting plants, choose those that will grow in zones 3, 2 or 1 🌲🌳🌹

You can experiment with plants for other zones, say zone 4. You may have success if you can provide a sheltered location that will receive lots of snow-cover in the winter. But be warned that it may not work out like you hope!

01/08/2022

When you've been cooped up inside because it's been -37 for far too long, and its finally warm enough to play in the snow ❄😄🐕

12/24/2021

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone 🎄

12/12/2021

Maples are notoriously weedy. They reproduce by producing many seeds each year, which have a fairly high germination rate. Each colourful little leaf on the ground that is not dead, is a new seedling 🌱

This is not a deal breaker for me, as the seed pods on this particular variety of maple tree/shrub are prized for the showy seed pods. Also we planted these maples in a row to act as a windbreak, so the baby seedlings can grow to fill in the lower areas. But consideration should be taken before planting maple trees as to how many little seedlings you can tolerate, and where they are best suited for in your yard!