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w i jjawtsi r i hunt fvic economist sunsuntribune saturday june u 2005 y t 25 staff photosteve somerville catherine fernandes of lees garden in richmond hill shows off some the necessary tools including a watering can trowels claws and spades for starting a garden green thumb optional t by roy green staff writer he secret garden of frances hodgson bur netts delightful novel is walled and locked pro viding a mysterious inspiring world for the children who inhabit the tale if i had a garden it would also be a secret walled and locked to keep it from the public eye for in spite of my name my thumb is more black than green the annoying thing about gar dens is that once theyre planted you have to take care of them fer tilizing watering mulching weed ing and of course praying is it possible for the garden- impaired to create a small patch of flowers and greenery without a life time of work is there an easy low- maintenance garden for the black- thumbed a garden for those who hate to garden is what im thinking of the good news is- the key to a successful garden apparently lies not so much in planting fertilizing watering weeding mulching and good gardeners plan and plot long before they ever plant a successful gardener first prepares the soil making sure its healthy and nourishing so it feeds and supports the plants that are put there kathy van mullekom author praying as it does in planning good gardeners plan and plot long before they ever plarit writes author kathy van mullekom a suc cessful gardener first prepares the soil making sure its healthy and nourishing so it feeds and supports the plants that are put there yes start with the soil echoes michelle creazzo of the vaughan- garden centre in much ofyork region the soil is mostly clay and you need to dig down a good six to eight inches and fill it with triple mix a mixture of topsoil manure and a bit of sandy loam its the best compost for flower beds shrubs and vegeta bles for a brand new garden you might want to get a kit to testyour soil for acidity but even if you skip this step which i intend to do you must con sider drainage roots need air or they will suffocate ms van mullekom says to test drainage dig a hole about a foot deep and fill it with water if it takes more than an hour to drain v have two options find another area or create a garden that is raised eight to 12 inches above ground level take a good look at exactly where you want to place your gar den jennifer walton of the lake simcoe south master gardeners advises will it be baking in the sun all day or is it partly in shade she said pointing out bad planning is the ruin of all gardens the worst thing you can do is plant a pine or spruce tree that is going to grow to 40 feet with a spread of 25 feet and youve stuck it in the middle of a flowerbed overcrowding putting too much in a small space is another common mistake for firsttime gar- dehers if you dont get enough air cir culation your garden can become a breeding ground tor fungus ms walton said once youve done some plan ning and soil preparation its time for the fun stuff shopping for plants bring a small sketch of the garden you want to create and mark on it how light conditions affect it during the day ms van mullekom advises at garden centres youll find plant tags attached to pots labels tell you a lot about plants so resist the urge to bring home something you know is going to be unhappy living with you stash the labels into a notebook for later reference and before taking them home check to see if they are healthy pop them out of the pots and look for see d0h1 page 26 3 anne brodie on movies smiths mr and mrs smith starring brad pitt and angelina jolie directed by doug liman j now playing 1 here are compelling reasons to watch mr and mrs smith you have to wonder at what point brad pitt looks at his new real life girlfriend angelina jolie and thinks about leaving jennifer aniston they met on the set of mr and mrs smith but kept their romance under wraps long enough for brad and jen to split and have a respectful period of time elapse before heading off to the middle east together their scenes are as sexy as it gets in film because it is mostly cerebral they are beauties there arent many love scenes but the chemistry is definitely there and you know its already game on but be warned this is a mean- minded slaughter film and were expected to laugh i cant begin to fathom the films body count its somewhere- between appalling and dumb id say at least 100 dead bodies in 120 minutes others die or at least drop when hit but the smiths just keep on going hit ting firing exploding each other and everything around them theyrewalking wounded and of course when things couldnt get any more brutal they suddenly embrace each other and make out like crazy it begins well enough a bored married couple played by two of the most beautiful people in films these days isin a mar riage counsellors office trying to see mr page 26 i t