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…
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…
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)…
If it weren’t for evergreen plants our Canadian winters would play out like an old black and white movie. Tree bark and grasses are drained of colour–wet or frozen, outlined in snow and lit up by a steely sun. Unless, of course, you live on the far left edge of this country. Over there, everything…
Over the last few days our little town of Fernie in southeastern British Columbia has been buried under a thick blanket of snow. Driving is a horror show but, man, everything looks so pretty. The colours of our town, the woods and surrounding mountains have receded or vanished in the glare of a whiteness so…
I have a couple of Cup Plants growing in amongst wild grasses and Blue Flag Irises, down by the water’s edge of the small lake where we live in southern Ontario. A garden this is not. I added the irises and the Cups in an attempt to add a little colour to the one and…
One of my favourite flowering plants native to Canada is blooming its heart out right now. The Blue Flag Iris (Iris versicolor) is a semi-aquatic rhizomatous perennial that can be found in the wild from Southern Manitoba eastward into the Atlantic provinces. It blooms from May through July adding small explosions of vivid purplish blue…
We’ve all read about how nature does remarkable things to help care for and nurture its own. Research reveals new and exciting examples of this every year it seems. I love how we can learn from these findings and actually mimic some of Mother Nature’s neat tricks when caring for our own gardens. A little…
We know that plants communicate. Childhood fairy tales taught us this way back in the day. And, in the last four or so decades, hard core, just-the-facts-ma’am researchers have proven that plants of all sorts, from weeds to willows, have means of transmitting chemical signals in order to attract pollinators or defend against predators. But…
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…
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…
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…
This summer has been exceptionally cool and wet so no surprise to see so many mushrooms popping up everywhere on our mostly-woodland property in southwestern Ontario. But I’ve never seen so many different kinds. And some of them are truly weird. Take a peek, if you dare. A reef on a leaf This is a…
When I first spotted this thing from a distance, growing on a birch tree in southwestern British Columbia, I assumed it was a kind of ivy. But when I got up close to it, I realized that each leaf had its own unique shape. I had to know what it was and how I could…
Horticulturist, Arborist and Garden Columnist
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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 