Garden with photo mural

Transporting the garden

I’m truly pleased to have seen some really inspirational gardens over the last few summers. Combining different colours, highlighting dramatic textures and adding drama with a dry creek or water feature were just some of the I-could-do-that! ideas that jumped out at me. But two gardens stood out because they did something marvellous in the…

Faux plant exterior wall

Plastic? Fantastic!

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 Growroom by SPACE10 and architects Mads-Ulrik Husum and Sine Lindholm

The Growroom redefines container planting

Sculpture? Gazebo? Multi-tiered plant container? The Growroom, an “urban farm pavilion” is all that and an elegantly presented political statement. Swedish architects Mads-Ulrik Husum and Sine Lindholm teamed up with Space10, an innovation lab supported by DIY furnishing mega-brand Ikea, to promote local agriculture and came up with the Growroom. They’re hoping the globe-shaped structure…

Double blooms

Wedding Gown hydrangeas: Double the flower power

I thought ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas–with all those minty fresh flower heads the size of my head (see directly below)–were the bee’s knees. Then I discovered ‘Wedding Gown’. The blooms of the aptly named Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Double Delights Wedding Gown’ (also known as ‘Dancing Snow’) really do make you think of ruffles and lace. ‘Limelights’ will always find a…

Vertical Succulent Living Wall

I made and designed succulent arches for a client recently that hand vertically. I was commissioned to make two of them and they would hang in the exterior entryway of their home. Each vertical garden is approximately 7′ tall and almost 2′ wide. During this process I discovered that certain succulents can take longer than…

Garage with slatted walls

In the big city, tiny paradises

A pool with its own rain maker, a veggie patch on wheels, complete with pinwheel, and strings of Christmas tree bulbs carefully chosen to match the posies in a June-blooming front garden…. Yup, these can only mean one thing–the annual Cabbagetown garden tour in downtown Toronto. Yesterday, I did this annual walkabout with one of…

Living wall attached to brick-like fence.

Growing up: The vertical garden

At Toronto’s Canada Blooms, the country’s largest flower and garden festival, the trend in growing vertically has grown up–gorgeous, smart, sophisticated examples were everywhere. This should come as no surprise given the appeal: great for small urban spaces and for turning plants into art, literally. Here are some highlights.