“That tree in Whitehall is going to be cut down.  The planners say it’s dangerous.”

“Why?”

“Well, every time they look, it’s still there…defying them.”

                                                   -The Goon Show

The sap is rising, as another saying goes.  The urge to get out and do something is a very Canadian March feeling.  Wise words seemingly having no effect on councillor’s spending.  It is little wonder that we turn to where pruning meets with a response.  Unfortunately, truth be told,  contrary to popular myth; there is little you can take pruners and saw to right now.  Trees such as maple, birch, poplar and willow will “bleed” sap if cut at this season.  In any case if it is high enough for you to climb into, it is also high enough to fall out of.  We would like to all our readers to remain with us.  Call an expert if you cannot reach it from the ground.  It is at least a month too early to prune the roses.  Spring flowering shrubs must not be pruned until after they flower.  Evergreens are pruned in late May or early June.  Summer blooming shrubs are few and far between once past the Potentillas.  And one of their chief attractions is the little pruning they require.

There is one area to vent your frustrations.  If very old deciduous shrubs are badly overgrown then now, and only now, is the time to cut them back to three or four inches from the ground, or Lilacs to 12 inches.  Shrubs that respond to this cavalier treatment include Forsythias, Mock Orange, Spirea and especially, the dreaded Chinese Elm hedge as well as Privet hedge.  Yews will sometimes respond to similar treatment, but not other evergreens.  It takes about two seasons for the victims to recover from such brutality, but it works and works well.  Unfortunately the same does not hold true of politicians.

The Irish have a saying that if you can see the top of the mountain, it’s going to rain; and if you can’ t see the top of the mountain, it’s raining.  Perhaps substituting snow and the CN Tower for transplanted Hibernian sons and daughters would be more fitting for Toronto.  Closer to home, an Irish-Canadian botanist has reportedly achieved hybridization of shamrock with poison ivy.  He got a rash of good luck.  Before becoming too involved with outdoor horticultural efforts, Irish or otherwise, there is still work to do on indoor plants.  Regular readers will know that his is the last month in which to commence once again fertilizing houseplants.  Plants grown principally for their leaves should be fed a preparation high in nitrogen to encourage foliage growth.  Of the three figures, which appear by law on each container of fertilizer, the first is nitrogen.  Hence fertilizers with a high first number are suitable for that purpose.  High middle numbers, however, denote increased phosphate, the element that encourages flowers.  The choice of chemical or natural-based preparations is entirely yours.  Very successful in the latter group is Wilson’s "Lakefish" series.  These, unlike that company’s “Muskie” for outdoor use, have been deodorized.  All produce excellent results.

Top o’ the mornin’ to you, squire yer honour.  ‘Tis a poor garden columnist who would not acknowledge how an English monk made good when he came to the old sod.  Much later that Hibernophile, movie director John Houston brought sacks of sand carefully wrapped to his Irish castle with view to establishing a Zen garden.  His staff suggested that with all the native rocks around Ireland he need not have gone to Japan.  He got the hint and abandoned the project.  Houston left something much better.  He suggested that the kind of people Ireland wanted were artists, painters, sculptors and writers.  In return for the honour they bring to their country, they should pay no tax.  And that is what the Irish government enacted.  Unlike their usual Hibernian thoughtfulness, they did not include moviemakers…   Why wouldn’t Toronto’s Budget Chief, Councilor Tom Jakobek consider this?

Registration for Wes Porter’s Toronto School Board courses at Rosedale Heights Secondary School commences in March.  These are nine-week courses, starting the week of 10 April 1999.  Two are offered at that time “City Gardening” a basic course, and “Great Gardens of Toronto,” full of ideas for landscaping.  Phone (416) 397-3827 for further details.

March in Toronto is a notoriously windy month.  Not so bad, fortunately, as the “Fohn”.   A wind that sweeps down form the Alps it is reputed o drive people insane.  According to another famous film director, Billy Wilder, people got depressed, killed their wives, committed suicide and forgot their lines.  The moral of this story is, for gardeners, there is always someone, somewhere, worse off than you are.  Besides in a few days "Canada Blooms" arrives at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, next to the CN Tower.  No wind and afterwards you’ll kiss your spouse.