DH Garden Centre, Kitsilano, Vancouver. Writing for gardeners across Canada.
FREE GUIDE FOR CANADIAN GARDENS, ZONES 2 TO 9
The wrong week can cost you a whole spring. Get the right week for your part of Canada.
A free guide from Darrell at DH Garden Centre in Vancouver: your planting window by region, five ways to keep squirrels off new bulbs, and what to do if you are already late.
Every email comes from Darrell at DH Garden Centre: this guide plus occasional gardening tips, never shared or sold. Unsubscribe anytime.
The four things that cost people a spring
The guide takes each one apart, in plain words, for Canadian ground.
SQUIRRELS DIG THEM UP
Five things in here hold them off. Two popular tips fail in the field, and one of them makes the digging worse.
LEAVES, NO FLOWER
Green shoots with no bloom has three common causes. None of them mean you have no touch for this.
WRONG WEEK TO PLANT
American planting calendars do not fit a Canadian fall. The guide gives you the window for your own part of the country.
BULBS THAT ROT
Bulbs rot when soil stays wet all winter. The guide shows you how to read your spot before you dig.
What is inside the guide
• Your planting window, region by region: Prairies, Ontario and Quebec, Atlantic Canada, chinook country and coastal BC.
• How deep to plant, without measuring. One rule for every bulb in the bag.
• Squirrel-proofing that holds. Five methods that work, and the two popular tips that do not.
• Bulbs in pots, for a balcony or doorstep. The three-layer method and how to winter a pot in your zone.
• Think it is too late? How late you can still plant, and what to do with a forgotten bag.
• Garlic, while the trowel is out. What to plant and when.
• A troubleshooting page for six common problems.
Choose good bulbs, get better flowers
LOOK FOR THESE BULBS
• Firm all the way round when you press
• Dry papery skin, no mould
• No deep cuts or soft patches
• Heavy for its size
• The biggest one of that variety in the bin
AVOID THESE BULBS
• Soft or spongy anywhere
• Mould, damp patches or a musty smell
• Deep cuts or cracks
• Shrivelled and light in the hand
• Dusty bins that have been picked over for weeks
DARRELL'S TIP
Size matters with bulbs. A bigger bulb of the same variety stores more energy and throws a bigger flower. This is the one place in gardening where you should not go looking for the smallest price.
What gardeners say after a visit
Rated 5.0 on Google, from more than 90 reviews of our Kitsilano store
"Darrell the owner was a wealth of knowledge and shared many interesting facts about deck gardening, his own passion for gardening and his shared expertise of how to grow a food garden."
Kathy O., Google review
"I'm a bit clueless about what I need. The owner was very kind, very knowledgeable, very friendly. Entertained and answered all my questions and helped me better understand what I (my plant) needed. Not all stores help the same way you did."
Donabel S., Google review
"The owner was very knowledgeable and took the time to understand exactly what we were looking for, offering recommendations that really suited our conditions."
Ashkan H., Google review
Hi, I am Darrell
I run DH Garden Centre on West 10th in Vancouver. I have been helping people choose plants for more than 25 years. Every fall I get the same three questions at the counter: when do I plant, how deep, and how do I keep the squirrels out.
Every November someone finds a forgotten bag of bulbs in the garage and decides they have missed their chance. Most years they have not.
I check the bulbs by hand when a shipment comes in, so what is in here is what I use on my own stock. I cannot promise every bulb comes up, but I can tell you which mistakes cost people a whole spring.
All of it is for one morning in April: you walk out the front door, and the bed you planted in October is up and open.
A REAL SHOP, NOT A WAREHOUSE
This is our store at 3742 West 10th Avenue in Kitsilano, open every day from 11:00 AM to 6:30 PM. The guide comes from the same counter where these questions get answered in person, and if you are in Vancouver you are welcome to walk in and ask them yourself.
Where should I send it?
Put in your first name and email, and the guide is in your inbox in a couple of minutes.
Every email comes from Darrell at DH Garden Centre: this guide plus occasional gardening tips, never shared or sold. Unsubscribe anytime.
If last spring gave you leaves and no flowers, this guide was written for you. Gardeners who already have their planting week and squirrel plan sorted will not learn much here.
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DH GARDEN CENTRE
3742 W 10th Ave, Vancouver, BC V6R 2G4
(604) 929-7335
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