by Cheryl Leschasin
Northern News Services

NNSL (May 21/97) -Spring days begin early for Marg Hoogland -- 6 a.m. to be precise.

By then, the owner of the Yellowknife Garden Centre is in her greenhouse, watering and bedding plants. "I'm watering by six and it takes about three hours to finish," said Hoogland.

Twenty years of experience in the greenhouse business has taught Hoogland plenty about watering and it's knowledge she's not too eager to part with. "I don't want to give away my secrets to the competition," she said.

After the watering, the greenhouse owner's day is spent serving customers and keeping her plants healthy and attractive.

On frosty nights, that means getting up every two hours through the night to fire up a stove to keep the plants warm.

On warm days, Hoogland expects to answer never-ending questions from customers eager to produce a healthy, colorful garden. "I'm an information source," she said.

Among plenty of not-so-common questions, Hoogland outlined many frequent queries she gets about everything from annuals to trees.

Annuals are plants that complete a life cycle in one year. Hoogland's advice is "Just about anything that grows in Edmonton or Calgary will grow here."

In particular, petunias, marigolds and nasturtiums do well. However, Hoogland stresses weekly fertilization with 20-20-20 or 15-30-15 water-soluble fertilizer. That goes double for vegetable gardening, too.

Some perennials, which bloom year after year, are also suited to the Yellowknife area.

"Some perennials do very, very well here," said Hoogland. Delphiniums, poppies, columbines and monkshood are all varieties suited to our Northern climate.

Roses can be a source of heartache for many Northern gardeners who buy pre-packaged tea roses, which are not suited to the region. Northern gardeners will do much better with prairie-hardy roses.

As far as trees and shrubs go, there are several non-native varieties that can handle the North and are available at the greenhouse.

The Yellowknife Garden Centre will continue to truck in new plants until late June. All the plants are grown in late winter and early spring by Hoogland and her family in Red Deer, Alberta.

Hoogland's most important piece of advice for Yellowknife gardeners is "Experiment. It is amazing what will grow up here."