Sand Cherry: A country beauty for city gardens

Set against a garden busting out all over in buds and leaves, our Sand Cherry shrubs (Prunus x cistena) stand out with particular elegance. For a nice show of wine-coloured leaves all season long, these shrubs are reliable and, quite frankly, a lovely relief from all that enthusiastic green-ness a shrubby garden can have. And then…

Bubbling up and over in blooms

Last spring, I was asked to trial a new Bacopa called Blue Bubbles, from the popular Snowstorm® collection. Given the plant had both “bubbles” and “snowstorm” in its name, I wasn’t surprised when it predictably over-delivered on the bloom front. But that’s not the reason this Sutera hybrid, now being introduced by Proven Winners to Southern Ontario garden centres for Spring…

The buzz on catnip

One of my old gardening books, circa 1978, had this withering comment about catnip–”favourite of cats, not very ornamental and best grown in inconspicuous corner”. But catnip is going on my plant shopping list despite the fact that my kitty died a couple of years ago (at the ripe old age of 23). This spring,…