Call of the garden center brings wild, bleary-eyed gardeners

Buy.  Buy.  BUY!!!!

It's 5:16 a.m and spring migration is in full swing. A male robin, hopped up on hormones, sits on a branch near the bedroom window whinnying like a loose stallion. In the woods across the road, thousands of other birds--mostly males--slowly join in the non-stop series of twittering, cackling, pleading, wailing, cascading calls.

A fox sparrow repeatedly croons what sounds like, "All I have is what's here dear, will-you-will-you take-it?" And there's a house wren trilling from the top of his newly discovered birdhouse--and his lungs--also too close to the house. Wrens have been clocked warbling the same melody more than 600 times. Each morning. Over and over.

The sun is nowhere to be seen when the performers begin their warm up.

Ornithologists have a word for this early cacophony: dawn song. There's another word for it: not printable. (Just kidding, all you ornithologists armed with your big honkin' binoculars, spotting scopes, bird calls, sunscreen, notepads, digital cameras, pencils and 3-pound field guides.)

I like the bird alarm clock. It's early and I can chug back some coffee and peruse seed catalogs before heading out to the garden center to get my post-winter fix. It's a sickness. I have enough plants. I even wrote in my garden journal: Don't Buy Any More Plants. Less is More. Mass things. Get rid of one-sies. Simplify.

And, to scare myself into a plant austerity program, I recently penned a three-page list of garden chores that must be done this spring: Move the dawn redwoods. Move the katsura. Give away the pagoda dogwood and the deer-chewed paperbark maple.

These trees are small--5 feet or so--and easy to move if you get them dug and transplanted before they leaf out. They were impulse buys from springs past. Schlepping the plants to the car, I decided that they'd grow in my yard whether they liked it or not. When I saw them all bloomy and green, I wanted them. It was spring and I was overtaken with Plant Lust.

I'm turning over a new leaf this year--impulse plant purchases must stop. Besides, there are 328 packets of seeds that I snapped up for only a dime each last fall. They were arranged alphabetically in the garden center's sale aisle. I couldn’t believe my luck, everything from Ageratum and Aconitum to Cinderella pumpkins and coral-colored cactus-flowered Zinnias.

It was November and the cashier was a bored, gum-popping high school kid who asked if it wasn't too late to plant zinnias so close to Thanksgiving. Oh, no, I said, waving several packets of hollyhocks, cosmos and ornamental chard under her nose. These are next year's garden--they'll be great.

I practically skipped out of the store with my Beautiful New Garden, all for a measly $32.80 plus tax.The seeds are stored in several boxes next to my desk. I suppose I could plant some of them but I'm too busy looking for Really Big Plants. Big bloomers like cherry-red ‘Knockout' roses and that new ‘Endless Summer' blue hydrangea.There's something about spring that sends a gardener's hormones into a raging imbalance that says Buy Plants, Buy Lots of Plants.

Perhaps it's the lengthening days. Or the smell of the earth after a rain.Most likely it's the sight of fresh new trees and shrubs waiting for a home. They represent my Ideal Garden, filled with hope and possibilities.

Creeping Charlie is staging a spectacular takeover of my beds and borders. It's recently hooked up with another insurgent--crab grass. They are closing ranks to form an impenetrable ground cover. But who cares? Those little irritations disappear with a trip to the local garden center where forsythia and roses are blooming alongside pots of magnolias, honeysuckle, serviceberry and pansies.

By early March, I'd already stopped at one nursery and bought a few tree-peonies-in-a-box, six elephant ear bulbs, some bare root purple asparagus, sets of red and white onions, white tuberous begonias and seeds of heirloom lettuce. Tree peonies are great. Their softball-size flowers look like crumpled crepe paper. Every gardener needs one. Or three.

And at this year's Chicago Flower and Garden Show at Navy Pier I just had to buy some tiny chartreuse-needled conifers from Rich's Foxwillow Pines--evergreens--Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Mops' to be exact. And a few new coral bells, a golden-tipped hemlock and a hosta.

There are plenty of fancy places where you can buy plants you don't need. I check out all the garden centers from Northwind in Wisconsin to Possibility Place Nursery down in Monee to Planter's Palette in Winfield and all points in between. I'll brake for plants a Kmart, Wal-Mart, Home Depot, Menard's, Lowe's and Jewel.

I found a lovely bald cypress on my sister's driveway last week. She bought it (on impulse--it's in our genes) and I convinced her it would perform much better in the wet spot in my yard. So home it came. I'm trading the paperbark maple for it if I can get it out of the ground.

In a few weeks, migrating whippoorwills will stop in nearby trees, their haunting calls heard long after dark, long past the 9 o'clock news. As I unload the car, neighbors sometimes hear the sad, plaintive call of My Mate as he chirps: "What? Another plant? What? Another plant?"

It's usually followed by the more insistent melody: "I'm not moving any more trees. No more trees. What, another tree?"

The spring equinox has passed and gardeners must yield to the siren call for more plants. After all, gardening is a Hobby. An Art Form. An Obsession.

I'm going to make a real effort at restraint the rest of the year.

There's a new product called Sucker Stopper. It's used on crab apple suckers to prevent them from sprouting once they're cut. It's too bad they don't make a Sucker Stopper for Gardeners. I'd keep a bottle in the car and spray it on myself each time I got close to the garden center.

When Fido meets Flora

Can Fido find happiness among the fuchsia?  Will Fluffy stay out of the plant pots long enough for that flush of flowers you’ve been waiting for? Yes, with a little planning, dogs can coexist peacefully with your garden.

Kay Mangan is living proof that tending both a garden and dogs teaches one patience and tolerance.  On a quiet corner lot in Olympia Fields, she has been growing climbing roses, ornamental trees, conifers, hostas and scores of other perennials for more than 25 years. She’s an avid plant collector and a dog-lover who has always had one or two Great Danes by her side over the years. 

“None of my 12 dogs were ever diggers,” Mangan says “Danes are much more inclined to be a quiet dog, but they run like a racehorse along the fence after each and every squirrel, or they gallop around the perimeter of the grass for exercise, all the while with a soccer-size ball in their mouth.” Her garden is none the worse for the wear because it also gets a break when the dogs get walked around the neighborhood for a workout.

Given their own designated area and some training, dogs can comfortably share space with backyard flora and fauna, says Wauconda gardener Nancy Skeffington, co-founder of Prevent the Bite, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating children about dog safety. “Having the dog behave in the garden is part of a bigger training program--like training them not to jump over the fence,” she says.

Temporary fencing around planting beds can designate “off limits” areas during the training period. “Dogs are surprisingly visual and sensitive to barriers,” Skeffington says. “It’s helpful to have a visual aid to show them what’s off limits, like a chicken wire fence--a physical barrier that’s hopefully temporary.” 

Nancy Kuhajda, extension program coordinator for the University of Illinois Extension, knows what it’s like to try and protect posies from rambunctious Shelties in her Joliet garden. “The configuration of the multitude of fences in my backyard made Stateville Prison look like a resort,” she says, joking.

Hot, diggity dog

Whether you have a Great Dane, a golden retriever, Jack Russell terrier or other canine, those four paws on soil, plants or turf can cause problems. Digging and pacing in one place can compact the soil or tear up the grass. Turn your dog's favorite route into a decorative path and line it with raised beds or ornamental fencing.  A gap between fence and garden beds, lined with gravel, pavers or mulch, provides dogs a place to run without tearing up the beds. Don’t use coca mulch, however.  Chocolate products can be toxic to dogs.

If you have the space--in an out-of-sight side yard or behind the garage or vegetable garden--dedicate a small spot, even a sandbox, where the dog is allowed to dig. “You can initially bury bones, a toy or treats to entice them there.  You might even scoop or show them,” Skeffington says. “If your dog is a digger, he or she may kind of copy you when they see you digging in the garden.  It’s a natural instinct for them.”

Scents and Sensibility

Some plants are calling cards for male dogs looking to mark their territory. “People are often unaware of the perfume exuded by certain plants,” Kuhajda says. “They can smell like incredibly strong cat urine, especially newly pruned boxwoods.” Some salvias and Russian sage exude similar scents. “You’re better off to choose an area to ‘go to the dogs’ and mulch it or gravel it for easy ‘pick up’ duty,” she says.

To minimize damage on shrubs and lawn, Kuhajda suggests watering the spots thoroughly to dilute the urine.  And although it may be tempting to use dog and cat repellants, she cautions that some contain toxic ingredients.  Read the labels carefully.

When Mangan is gardening, both of her dogs seem quite content to lie in the grass and watch. “The warm months are always a joy in the garden and the dogs make more work, but not having a dog would be hard,” she says.  “I believe they give us more than they get.”

Happy Gardeners, Happy Pooches

Here are a few more tips on protecting your garden and your pup.

Compost piles are tempting places to dig or find a scrap to eat. Move them out of reach or enclose them.

Stop or correct the dog when you catch him in the act of digging or romping through plants. Use positive training methods and teach your dog good behavior. Dogs may dig to warm or cool themselves, to bury or uncover things or to pursue small critters. Digging is an instinctual part of life for some dogs, like Jack Russell terriers and beagles.

Play with your dog and provide safe, engaging toys outdoors. Don’t leave dogs unattended outdoors for long periods. Provide them with water and shade.

Thorny, prickly plants such as barberry, roses, yucca and holly may discourage a dog, but sharp thorns and points can cause injury. For info on toxic plants, visit http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/plants/

For information on dog care and behavior, visit the American Animal Hospital Association’s web site, www.healthypet.com