QUESTION
As another summer nears, I look forward to putting flowers in planters and window boxes at our cottage, but I am committed to no longer using fertilizers. Is there anything else that I can use that doesn’t cause the environmental problems associated with traditional chemical fertilizers?

ANSWER

Good decision, Mary. Those fertilizers that allow you to grow big petunias are the same ones that will cause a proliferation of noxious weeds and algae to bloom in your lake when they eventually make it to the water. It doesn’t really matter whether the fertilizer is synthetic or organic, if it helps your garden grow, it’ll help your lake weeds grow, too. Planters on or near docks are especially problematic if you allow fertilizer to run through them into the lake.

Your best solution is to skip the need for fertilizers altogether by choosing to use only native plants at the cottage, advises Lorraine Johnson, a gardening writer who specializes in native gardening and is the author of The New Ontario Naturalized Garden. She suggests using black-eyed Susans and purple coneflower in your planters, and pearly everlasting and wild strawberry for window boxes. Add compost to the soil when planting, be vigilant about watering, and deadhead regularly to encourage blooms all season. You’ll create a garden that’s easier to care for, will look fabulous, and will help keep your lake happy.

Christine Langlois

* Published in the April 2008 issue of Cottage Life