I visited my favourite fen, well, actually the only fen I know, a few days ago hoping that I wasn’t too late to spot some of the incredible wildflowers that grow there. I wasn’t disappointed. Late June/early July is actually often a better time than spring to spot gorgeous blooms including the aptly named Showy…
Hello, summer! ‘Tis the season for the sounds of laughing children leaping through sprinklers and Weekend Warriors brandishing whizzing Whipper Snippers (hopefully not in the vicinity of the former). As I inhale my first sniffs of mosquito repellent while shoving the garden furniture under cover as an incoming thunderstorm barrels over the horizon, I think…
On a recent garden tour, hosted by the Toronto Botanical Gardens, I was intrigued by a property described in the tour brochure as a reverse ravine garden. Now, I’ve always assumed that ravines only went in one direction–down. But having walked into my very first reverse ravine garden (thank you, TBG!), I now know that…
Every once in a while I’ll come across a garden decor or design idea that makes me think “Why didn’t I think of that!” Usually it’s an idea that’s shockingly simple yet brings on loads of drama. View-framing wreaths are one of those ideas. I love plain old door-hung wreaths, of course. They’re so cheering;…
I’m writing this post with my right arm in a cast from knuckles to elbow. Typing, needless to say, has become a lumpy process. C’est la vie. I love exploring the world of gardening and blogging about it so I’m pressing on. Just slower. Way slower. This, combined with new shocking realities reverberating through the…
Having a garden that’s fully or partially forested is a wondrous thing. Not only does a woodland garden offer amazing interest throughout the year, the place is most likely an oasis for wildlife and native plants. Yes, you could leave it untouched save for maybe a winding footpath running through it. But then again, why…
If, like me, you’re still biding your time before gardening season begins then also, like me, you may be going slowly stir crazy. A good sign this is happening is when you start casting your eye over stuff around the house and considering what could be pressed into service as a plant container or a…
This spring is unusual (understatement!). There’s a good chance you are A) needing to follow a very tight budget because your retirement savings are tanking and/or B) recently recovering from freaky storms that crushed your garden and/or C) up to your eyebrows in existential stress and just can’t get your head wrapped around a spring…
Today we just lost an hour. You can think of this in one of two ways. Either you’re now late for something or you’re now one hour closer to spring when you can run outside and dig in the dirt and plant flowers and build something marvellous like a pergola. Ancient Romans first coined the…
I think I have a memory of first seeing fireflies when I was a child wandering through a slightly wild garden on a hot summer’s evening somewhere in Ontario. I have to admit, though, that said ‘memory’ may be more of what psychologists call waking dream wish fulfillment. I’ve always really, really wanted to see…
Are you itching to get gardening but also a tad concerned about where you’re going to put any new plants? Part of the fun of having a garden–any garden–is adding to your collection. What do you do if your gardening space is already filled to the brim? If the only gardening direction you can go…
Where I live in Canada, spring can be about as long lived as an ice cream cone which is to say not long. Sometimes I feel like we barrel right through late winter into early summer with spring merely a squashed hope staining the sidewalk. It’s the fleetingness and fragility of ephemerals (plants that pop…
Is your front yard a monotonous carpet of monotone green? Maybe this is the year you ditch traditional grass for something a little more interesting–a tapestry lawn. If you’re thinking this idea sounds vaguely familiar, you’re not wrong. Creating lawn alternatives with a greater diversity of plants is not new. After all, it’s a great…
Spring is in the air and each day more birds are showing up, singing their hearts out and partying on. But there’s a problem. By all reports, everyone’s doing fine in the making babies, erm, eggs department but hatching and caring for the demanding little rascals has become more of a challenge due to an…
Any day now the miracle of cherry blossoms will begin. Not here in Fernie, of course. We’re still encased in snow and ice. But in Tokyo, beloved cherry blossoms are predicted to appear around March 26 and peak April 2. Meanwhile, in Vancouver, B.C., cherry trees have already started to bloom, evidently, depending on where…
Spring is almost here. I know it’s not far off because our grocery stores are displaying pots of those classic white trumpet-shaped lilies right up next to the check-out counters. I guess they’re hoping you’ll succumb to their beauty and intoxicating fragrance and grab one on your way to the cashier even though you only…
I read somewhere that this coming full moon (March 14) has quite the interesting name. Or actually, two names. It got the moniker Worm Moon from indigenous peoples in southern North America who noticed that this time of the year is when you start to see the first signs of life (well, insects and invertebrates)…
It’s getting to the point when the briefest glimpse of blue sky is cause for wonder. I’m talking a quick break in the clouds. Nothing else. Sunlight–as in warm, golden rays streaming earthwards that create actual shadows–is a distant memory. This may be the reason why I’ve been obsessively scrolling last summer’s photos most of…
Want to put a little vavoom in your veg patch? Whether you’re planning on installing a whole new garden or simply wanting to renovate an existing one, these 11 ideas I’ve discovered while snooping in all kinds of public and private gardens will have you dreaming big. 1. Try a new angle The distinctively angled…
I am a very lucky person. Me and my guy live from fall to spring surrounded not only by our wonderful family but also an honest-to-goodness winter wonderland. Winter here in Fernie, B.C., can be long, very cold, and at times overwhelmingly snowy but it sure is pretty. The Elk River and the Lizard Range…
Horticulturist, Arborist and Garden Columnist
Celebrating gardens, photography and a creative life
Garden of Flowers, Beads, and Yarns
ruminate vb. to chew (the cud)
Reflections On A Life in Exile
Saint Andrews Forest Farm Blog
a chat over the garden fence
There's always room for one more plant.
a little garden near Gawler
.....and nurturing my soul
Ministry of the fence 