On one hand, gardening is simple: you plant a seed, add water on a regular basis and let Mother Nature do the rest. A garden is born!
But of course its not so easy. Mother Nature can have mood swings and there might be sibling rivalry between plants. Maybe you planted the seed in the wrong place; maybe your expectations are out of whack.
Wim Vander Zalm is used to being asked a lot of questions by frustrated gardeners. Starting at 19, when he was in charge of one of the largest garden centres in BC (Fantasy Gardens), and later as the owner of several stores in Art Knapps chain, hes been relying on his own experiences to help people either solve their problems or come to terms with the need to give up and start all over. Hes also realized that most gardeners are not alone in the challenges they face. For every person who asks him a question, there could be 100 people wondering the same thing.
Hes taken those questions, and his answers, and put them in a new book called Just Ask Wim! Down-to-Earth Gardening Answers. In an easy-to-read format, he shares more than 100 of the most-asked questions and provides practical advice on how to resolve them. He doesnt necessarily give people the answer they want to hear not everyone can have a lawn thats perfect for bocce ball but he does give hope and reassurance.
Some of the questions are simple: Can I plant the garlic that I buy in a grocery store? No, because although it sprouts when you leave it too long, its also been sprayed with a retardant.
Some are more complex. A question about whether to start a lawn from seed or sod leads to a two-page dissertation of practical guidelines.
And in case its all so overwhelming, he provides a month-by-month checklist of what you should be doing, including page references to his tips on how to do it.
Just Ask Wim! is published by Harbour Publishing and retails for $26.95. For your chance to win a copy of the book, click here.
