Caroline Haist has proof flowers don't
need to be on "steroids" to be beautiful.The green grass in her front yard at 71
Kathryn Cres. was replaced four years ago with a cascading arrangement of
flowers, ground cover and small shrubs, which can be seen from down the
street.
"I had so much trouble with the shape
of my front yard. The grass was always dead on one side, so I took some
plants from the backyard and years later I'm still fine_tuning it,"
she said.
"My aim now is to get rid of all the
grass in the backyard, which will be turned into gardens."
A quick tour of her gardens, including a
two-tier pond that surrounds Haist's Thibeault Terrace home, is enough to
convince anyone why she is this year's winner of the Best-Looking Organic
Yard Contest sponsored by Nipissing Environmental Watch.
"We've certainly seen some
improvement in the quality of gardens," said volunteer Peggy Walsh
Craig.
"They are quite stunning."
Craig said the purpose of the contest is
to demonstrate that a beautiful garden is possible without toxic
chemicals.
Haist wasn't recognized just for her green
thumb, but also for being conscious of the environment.
She doesn't use any commercial
fertilizers. Instead, she's become dependent on compost.
Haist has three large compost bins located
in a fenced-off area at the back of her property. She makes it a point to
compost everything she can, such as food scraps, egg shells and clippings
from her gardens.
"I also make my own leaf mulch. I
shred leaves in the spring and fall and put them in my garden," Haist
said. "I'd love to add a few more bags, but I've run out."
Haist has also been nominated in the North
Bay Blooms contest and was featured on this spring's North Bay Symphony
Garden Tour.
This year she finally convinced herself to
put her flowers on display. However, the invitation to open her gardens to
the public meant lots of extra time weeding and dead-heading.
"I was out there at least five or six
hours every day," said the retired Canadore College English teacher.
"It's a work in progress. A gardener
is never satisfied."
Haist said her love for gardening started
as a child, but she became more serious once she retired.
"This year's wet weather hasn't posed
any problems.
In fact, it's helped me. I've done a lot
of transplanting and I don't have to bring the hose all over the house to
water," Haist said.
"But it doesn't matter. I've gardened
in the rain before."
There is one problem out of Haist's
control -- pests.
She said deer have stripped sections of
her lily of the valley garden and eaten the tops of many pansies and
tulips.
"There's some type of bug eating my
hops and grape vines and beetles have infested my oriental and dragon
lilies," Haist said.
"It's inevitable there will be pests.
I've also taken out a few ant mounds this year."
---
THE WINNERS
$300 grand prize for best-looking garden
-- Caroline Haist, 71 Kathryn Cres.
Second place ($100 cash) -- Yvonne
Liberty, 7 Strathcona Dr.
Third place ($50 gift certificate) --
Donna Sinclair, 975 Jane St.
The Nugget Article ID# 1122548
