Easy creative ideas for small gardens, shade gardens and rock gardens plus using colour in innovative ways.
Gardeners have double vision, I think. You’ve got one view towards what’s happening in the here and now. But you’ve also got a picture in your mind’s eye of what will be happening months from now and even into the next season. One way we play out this balancing act is when we plant now…
A reader of Ministry Of The Fence recently asked me about what to add to the soil for planting a new fruit tree. She posed the question in the comments section of the post entitled “Tea And Bananas: Saving Water, Feeding Plants“. Her question got me thinking. Planting fruit trees is a tricky business but…
Primulas (aka primroses) are the poster flowers of spring with their carousels of blooms in every cheery shade imaginable swirling above rosettes of velvety green leaves. The cute, short varieties are such common spring-welcoming plants here in Canada that you’ll often find them at the grocery store (strategically positioned next to the cash registers to…
I learned a new word the other day: hortifuturism. I also learned about a new colour: Cyber Lime. The Garden Media Group, a U.S.-based garden industry PR firm was championing both as hot, hot, hot for 2024 in their annual trends report. “What better color to symbolize the traits of hortifuturism?” the giddy copy gushed…
Of all the trends that pundits are hailing as hot, hot, hot for 2024, none intrigues me more than stumperies. Elegant and always on point Garden Design magazine declared that, along with other rising trends such as installing a rain garden and accommodating for climate change, building a stumpery will be a really big thing.…
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…
The official start of fall is still a week away and yet my inbox is jammed with enthusiastic announcements from various nurseries. “OUR BULBS ARE IN!!!” (They’re caps, not mine). “Hurry! Get yours before they sell out!” Where to start? If you’re stalling for inspiration, here are some over-the-top ideas in the Go Big Or…
Filling up a big spot in a garden bed can be pretty easy. But what if you want volume (height or width or both) without bulk–as in heavy, leafy, darkness-inducing shrubs? Look to the frothy fronds of fennel and asparagus offering the softest forms there are in the plant world. They offer a lot of…
I love discovering an extraordinary plant that just stops me in my tracks [insert head-exploding emoji]. Here’s a round-up of some of the best I’ve found that reach complete otherworldliness in mid-summer. Unfortunately, not all of them are easy to find, at least not in Canada, but they’re well worth the search. I’ve added website…
If you’re craving a little country in your city garden, it might be easier than you think to add some rural charm. And there are inspirations everywhere. But why would you want to? Because farm love is a real thing. Recently, the New York Times ran an article entitled ‘The Modern Farmhouse is Today’s McMansion.…
The Canadian Garden Council’s promotion ‘Live The Garden Life‘ for this year includes a collaboration with Communities in Bloom and is inspiring everyone to “plant purple, the colour theme of the year in 2023“. According to the council, purple was chosen for the variety of effects the hue has on mind and body including: Now,…
I’ve moaned about the limitations of gardening in a true woodland setting (Rocks! Tree roots! More @$#*?! rocks!) but there are a great many wonderful benefits, one of which is the variety of native spring flowers that plant themselves and then pop up reliably every spring independent of my ministrations. Starting around the first week…
I love a good gardening tip that saves time and effort and–big bonus–helps the environment. One of my favourites is to use gone-past-sell-by fruits and dinner leftovers cleanly and efficiently in your garden without having to compost. Sure, there are good reasons to start composting, top of the list being you reduce food waste and…
Hallelujah! Spring has officially sprung. Ok, it’s tomorrow but my patience for the return of sunny skies and warmer temperatures has run thin. In celebration, I’d like to share some of my favourite spring plant stars. These 6 spring flowering plants are dear to my heart because of their lovely colours–shades from dusky to brilliant…
More And Less lists are replacing New Year’s resolutions and this makes sense to me. Compiling a list of what you’d like to do/see/manifest more of as well as what you’d like less of in your life seems, well, just easier–less intimidating, more approachable and (getting down to brass tacks) more achievable. I’ve never been…
Reflections On A Life in Exile
Saint Andrew’s 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
Gardening in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada
The life and loves of a plantsman
if your garden is bigger than a courtyard, but smaller than an acre
Exploring the Depths of Curiosity
A blog about nature, home, community, books, writing, the environment, food, and rural life.
Ministry of the fence 