I want to share my thoughts with you about an app I’ve been using that I think has really exciting potential for gardeners. It’s called One Second Every Day (1SE) and, no, I’m not getting paid to tell you about it. But I think you might find it really handy. Or just loads of fun.…
A week into 2024 and so far, so good. I’m very lucky to be looking ahead and figuring life is pretty good. The world is getting more complicated, for sure. But I have so many wonderful reasons to feel grateful and you are one of them. Thank you so much for your interest, for following…
I can’t think of a better way to close the year than to share with you a remarkable book I’ve been reading. The Forest Unseen by David George Haskell is nothing short of breathtaking in scope and style, remarkably so given that the entire book focuses on one small patch of forest floor just a…
Ever since two step-granddaughters came into my life I have become very familiar with the concept of white noise. Emanating from a tiny amplifier in each child’s bedroom, the sounds of fizzling static are something I now immediately associate with a quiet night. I’d always thought white noise was somehow reproducing the sounds a baby…
I’ve seen several living walls, also known as vertical gardens, over the years and I’ve absolutely loved every one of them. They are terrific at livening up a space, quite literally. But I realized this past fall (when I took the photos below) that every “living” wall I’d ever come across so far was an…
Last month, The U.S. Department of Agriculture updated their plant hardiness zone map for the first time in over a decade. Unsurprisingly, the new “lowest likely winter temperature” in all 48 states south of the Canadian border is now 1.4C warmer. In an AP news article, Boston University plant ecologist Richard Primack, who was not…
I love beach towns. Lake or ocean, doesn’t matter. A small town cozying up to a strip of sand or pebbles along big water is my idea of heaven. Last month, we were very lucky to have visited two beach towns – Sunset Beach near St. Petersburg, Florida and Southampton which is situated along the…
After enjoying a fun two-week-long road trip, travelling to Cedar Key and parts farther south, we’re back in the land of frosty autumns. So long, shorts and sandals. Good-bye, waist-expanding deep-fried coconut shrimp. But, thanks to a detour we took to Southampton, Ontario, on the eastern shore of Lake Huron, we’ve been very lucky to…
Hello from Cedar Key, Florida! We love coming here for a little warmth and sunshine as Ontario starts the long wet chill that eventually congeals into winter. Sunrise over the pier at Cedar Key, Florida You may have heard about Cedar Key last August if you were watching the news about Hurricane Idalia. This small…
As Halloween approaches I love to indulge in some good old fashioned creepiness–the kind that only Mother Nature can provide. Natural creepiness, I find, is so much more satisfying than anything Hollywood can conjure up just because it’s happening right under your nose. In fact, I’d bet that a lot of horror movie makers get…
As the temperatures take a deep dive, I’m starting to miss gardening already. All the garden beds around here in southwestern Ontario are tucked up under a blanket of leaves, tender shrubs wrapped in a protective layer of burlap. Winter has its own special qualities, of course, but autumn? I’m already missing the deliciousness of…
About a week ago, King Charles III, while in Bordeaux, France, got his hands dirty (symbolically, at least) by planting a Loquat Leaf Oak. This, in itself, is not news. Royalty and other VIPs the world over often make gestures like planting trees for the sake of bonhomie and a great photo op. But this…
Our (Canada’s) Thanksgiving long weekend is happening right now. The perennial question, of course, is when to serve up the big feast (Saturday night? Sunday mid-day? Monday afternoon?) but Sunday morning puts us right in the middle of the celebrations and always, to me, feels like a good time to pause for a moment and…
There are so many wonderful flowers that can light up an early autumn garden but I can’t think of one that brings so much to the party as Strawflowers, also known as Paper daisies. Gorgeous colours? Check. Easy to grow? Check. Some weird attribute that makes it a stand out? I think blooms that have…
Autumn has officially arrived and to mark the occasion I thought it would be fun to reminisce a little. Here are a few of my favourite moments, relating to some of the blog posts I published this summer, that just go to prove that life certainly is like a box of chocolates… starting with the…
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 