Wednesdsay May 12, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER C7 Wyecroft Rd. 3uMr l o \msJt • Priced To Oof CURRENT POWER i t C D I t l ) M AC HINER Y INC. 1661 L a k e s h o re R d . W . M is s is s a u g a Serving (hkrille Since 1974 Homes & Gardens Test paint colour before applying (C o n tin u e d fro m p a g e C 8 ) • Don't sweat it -- „cover it. Too many doors,'off-centre windows, ugly radiators? All o f these architectural "flaws" can be made to disappear by painting them the same colour as your walls. • Use colour to fix a problem room. If the ceiling in your room is too high, you can visu ally lower it by selecting a deep colour, Conversely, you can raise a low ceiling by painting it white or a much lighter colour than the walls. Or, if your room is small, try "enlarg ing" it by painting the walls and ceiling the sam e light colour from the cool family. Remember, cool colours like blues, blue-greens and purples will make your room appear larger, while warm colours like yellows and browns will make it seem smaller. • Take time to test. Before getting started, If the ceiling in your room is too high, you can visually lower it by selecting a deep colour, Conversely, you can raise a low ceiling by paint ing it white or a much lighter colour than the walls. invest in a small can of paint and use either a piece o f bristol board - which can be held against a wall - or a section of the area to be painted, to test your colour. If you intend to use two coats, be sure to test with a double coat. Or, if you plan to incorporate more than one colour, draw a rough plan of your rooms and "colour" them in with paint to make sure your choices are balanced. View the test area at different times of the day, making sure to test in both daylight and artificial light. • Be creative. Layering or intermixing a metallic paint with your choice of colours will add a shimmer or lustre to your rooms. You can also try one of the many faux finishing or spe cial effects techniques to give texture to your walls, and add drama to your furniture. The end result may be a metallic, colour wash, crackle finish, marbleized, "rag rolled," "sponged" or "stencilled look," among many others. • Rely on support when needed. Independent paint specialists at your local paint store are happy to help with both colour and product ideas. They are always up-to-date on current trends and tips, so take advantage of their knowledge and seek their advice whenev er you need it. PARA paints are sold through independent paint stores across the country. Please call 905- 792-0940, 1-800-461-PARA, or check your yellow pages. N D A Peonies respond well to grafting (C o n tin u e d fro m p a g e C 8) Spurge. It has a tendency to spread but is highly drought tolerant, so is useful in sandy soil. ' The annual plant sale at the Royal Botanical Gardens was last week. I was at the peony section. We had a good collection o f Japanese tree peonies from three to four-year-old grafted plants in pots. The plants arrived at the end o f February and were potted up in gallon containers on arrival and put in a cool greenhouse. This gave them an early start, and they produced foliage and some flower buds. This is a change from the old method o f selling tree peonies bare root in the fall. Peonies grow roots in the fall when the soil cools to around 50°F. This allows ample time to grow enough roots to sustain the rapid top growth in the spring. As the grafts are planted up in March and sold in May, there is usually not time to devel op a strong root system . On the peony@ onestep.com chat site, there is a consen sus that it is best not to remove the peony from the pot until fall in August/September when the plant is dormant. The best procedure is to set the pot into the ground and ensure it does not dry out dur ing the summer. Set the plant in its permanent place and mulch to prevent heaving in the fall. How to Choose a Plant fo r the Garden There is a mammoth proliferation of garden plants. It's a tim e-consum ing jo b to sort out which to buy for your garden. There are several organi zations interested in helping by testing plants. The All American Annual Test Gardens grow many new annuals submitted to them along side the best older varieties. They are com pared and if suffi cient improvement is observed in the new variety, it is awarded an 'All American Award.' A truly large im provem ent may be granted the 'All American Gold Award.' Two zinnias won 'Gold Medal Awards' in 1999. 'Profusion Orange'and 'Profusion Cherry.' There are dw arf single zinnias tolerant to powdery mildew and black spot. Seed catalogues use the note, 'A A S' years, proven themselves. Each year, six plants will be picked, one for each class o f perennial, deciduous tree, evergreen, broad leaf evergreen, vine and deciduous shrub. The 1999 selections are Japanese Painted Fern, Ivory Silk Tree Lilac, Dwarf Blue Spruce, Green Mountain Boxwood, Climbing Hydrangea and Gold M ound Spirea. Those will be featured at Garden Centres with full details on their use and care. The Climbing Hydrangea is listed in the book. The Hundred Best Plants for the Ontario Garden by Steve Whysall. The other selections appear in the text under collections or alternatives. Pulmonaria is also included in the book as a com panion for ajuga. The selections of thg Perennial Plant Association also appear in the book. It would seem that a copy of the book would be a good resource to use as an overall check of the other selections. These are partly a marketing tool to help people choose reliable plants which the industry will ensure is in good supply. There are many annuals propagated by cut tings. This allows them to be patented and their propagation, quality, and distribution controlled. They are usually sold under a copyright name like Proven Winners. Blooms of Bressingham and Heritage Plants are similar but mostly perennials. The plants sold under the registered names are listed on the internet 'Garden Sites' - i.e. gar- den.com lists eight. Some are Million Bells®, 'Trailing B lue' and 'Trailing P ink,' torenia Summer Wave®, petunias Surfinia™ 'Blue Vein,' verbena 'Tapien Pink™ ' and bacopa 'Snow Storm ®.' Most o f them are rapid growing trailing plants covered with small flowers. They are used for hanging baskets, containers and front of the border plants. They cover the ground with colour. These plants may be treated like geraniums and a few plants kept over winter in the house. These will supply easily rooted cuttings for next year's garden. Encourage your child to read a newspaper We ow e our children the greatest education w e can give them. A nd encouraging them to read a new spaper is an important part of that education. Open a door of entertainment, w onder and knowledge for your children by encouraging them to begin a practice they will enjoy for the rest of their lives. T h e Oa k v ille B eaver It all starts with new spaper. LOOKING FOR EXCITING WAYS TO IMPROVE YOUR HOME, IT S ALL RIGHT HERE IN THE OAKVILLE BEAVER beside the names o f aw ard w in ners. The Perennial Plant Association selects a perenni al p lant o f the year, and their choices for 1990 to 2000 are on their w ebsite, w w w . p e r e n n i - alplant.org. Their 1999 selection was rudbeckia, 'Goldsturm ' and for 2000 is s c a b i o s a , 'Butterfly Blue.' The Royal H o r t i c u l t u r a l Society, England, conducts exten sive trials at W isley Gardens. T heir February 'Journal' reported on the trial o f 160 varieties o f pul m onaria leading to 10 awards of 'G arden M erit.' M a s o n - H o g u e Gardens list four varieties o f pul m onaria. They are handy for moist shade, have early spring pink, coral and rosy purple flow ers and silver spotted leaves all season. L a n d s c a p e Ontario, the hor ticultural trade association, has decided to give gardeners som e extra help in selecting plants. Each year, they w ill select six plants fo r their ' E x c e l l e n c e Award' based on hardiness, adapt ability to urban conditions, resis tance to insects and disease and having outstand ing foliage flow ering characteris tics. These will be plants that have, over the ALctiq nE) Phone: 905 877-0117 • Fax: 905 877-7895 ESTATE AUCTION 10 a .m . SATURDAY MAY 15, 1999 111 ASHBROOKCOURT, MILTON West off Ontario St. (Hwy 25) - Look For Our Signs Preview 8:30 a.m. Day of Sale 1930's era - Electric Stove, complete Mahogany Dining Suite & Comer Console., Walnut Nesting Tables, Twin Beds, Ladies Pedestal Desk, Gate Leg Table, Wicker Chairs, Couch & Easy Chair; Antiques -53" x 93" Mirror, Large Plaster Icons, Tapestry covered Chairs & Love Seat. Rocking Chair, Wash Stand with rare 10 pc Blue & White Wash Stand Set, rare pair Dietz Coal Oil Union Driving Lamps, Cast Iron Hearth pcs; Singer Sewing Machine, Oriental Rugs, Floor Lamps, Duncan Phyfe Tables, Hope Chests, & Cameras; Crystal pcs - Pinwheel, Belleek, Orrefors, Forbes et al; Bone China pcs - Spode Paragon. Royal Albert. Royal Chelsey, Royal Daulton, Limougue et al; Many Sterling & plate pcs. Ivory Fan & Dresser Set; W. Iron Table & Chairs, 6 HP Outboard; 1881 Atlas, Dolls, Period Cloths, & more! Severn! Turn o f the Century pieces are front Ibe town's 1st Doctor's (DR. M. F. GOWLAND) Residence now part o f Main Street's Commercial District REFRESHMENT STAND to serve your needs! Term s: Cash o r cheque w ith pro p er I.D . "People know us as the 'lawn mower shop' in the summ er and the 'snow blower shop' in the winter," laughs Robin Raimondo, who owns Current Power M achinery with her husband Frank. "Many people think o f us as a place to get equipment fixed when it's bro ken-- and we do, but w e're much more than that." Celebrating their 25th anniversary, Current Power is the warranty representative for almost every outdoor power equipment manufacturer. They are the qualified repair shop for names like Honda, Lawnboy, Toro, Briggs & Stratton, Tecumseh, Kohler, Echo, Weedeater, Poulan, M.T.D., M urray/Noma and others. "We are franchised to be the problem solvers for the end users," adds Robin. "No matter where you buy, if you have a problem, you come here to have it fixed." Because they are highly knowledgeable of the equip ment, they are also qualified to sell the top-of-the-line models o f the manufacturers they represent. These high- end machines are based on quality rather than price, so they are not available at mass merchants. These products come fully assembled and Current Power makes sure you know how to operate them at no extra charge. Com e in and check out what's 'current' in lawn and garden m aintenance equipm ent at Current Power Machinery. Current Power Machinery Inc. is located at 1661 Lakeshore Road West, Mississauga, and can be reached by phone at 822-4211. ADVERTISEMENT HOME I-fandym afi c o N N E C j o RETIRED CRAFTSMEN & OTHER EXPERTS FOR LOW COST HOME REPAIRS & REMODELING • Plumbing • Carpentry • Electrical • Painting & Much More Insured, Bonded, 1 Year warranty OFF ALL LEVOLOR BLINDS F r ee S hop a t H om e S ervice Vertical • Venetians Pleated Shades • Wood Blinds and much more 8 9 7 - 5 0 4 4 KEVIN SM ITH 826-0655 STAIRS RENOVATION SYSTEM The Fresh Alternative to Bottled W ater EVERPURE DRINKING WATER SYSTEM in your home Remove your carpet and install covering Oak finished plates. Call for FREE Estimate (905) 844-3223 Call now (9 0 5 ) 6 1 6 -3 1 5 0 in Oakville. Tne War Amps kA Kids-to-Kids... child amputees teaching youngsters about safety. L a rry h o w to lo w e r sum m er. g o t som e iaeas on i te m p e ra tu re s th is w** qjjk, scsssster m * Ilf ME PEOPLE 1 DO AN YTH IN G R CONDITIONER X '■. V v v £ >k ' . •' The U n io n E nergy W e a th e r G u a ran tee 1. Buy an air conditioner from Union Energy. 2. Watch the temperature in July and August. 3. If it's a cold summer you get your money back. take comfortO union energy Coll for a free in-home estimate 768 Westgate Rd., Unit 4 (905) 469-0570 or 1-888 687-6871 Pur<ho$e of a ir conditioner must be mode before June 23, 1999 from Union Energy Terms ond conditions oppiy Please see o Union Energy sales consultant for complete detoils. mailto:peony@onestep.com