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’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…
You know when you’ve chosen a combination of plants (promising an explosion of fiery reds) and picked out the absolutely most perfect container (glossy blue) to showcase your selection and then you stick all the plants in the pot and they start to grow and fill out and the whole thing turns into something completely…
This is the second in a series of posts covering very special but easy care plants to grow in honour of Canada’s birthday. Ferns are popular for being equally good at giving a garden a nice touch of swish and authentic wild woodsyness. These 3 additions to my Celebrate Canada Plants List are all gorgeous ferns that…
Ferns are having a moment not just because they’re sharing airtime with Zach Galifianakis during his hilarious/shockingly irreverent celebrity interviews on Between Two Ferns. Their general gorgeousness, lush but not overpowering, make them a popular choice for small gardens and many have an impressive hardiness that’s earning them starring roles in high profile places like New…
The first time you see Tsuga canadensis ‘Jeddeloh’, a shade-loving evergreen shrub, there’s only one thing that comes to mind–a bird’s nest. The arching branches of this dwarf eastern hemlock naturally grow into the shape of a roundish bun with a top that’s flat save for a depression right in the centre. In fact, one of its common…
With a shady garden, summer evenings (when you finally have time to sit back and relax) can be a mixed blessing. You’re not baking in the sun’s glare but lengthening shadows can fade bright flowers, shrubs, and lawns into a cool but disappointing dullness. Many a garden design guide will recommend white flowers and plants with…
Most everyone with a garden has a spot under some trees or along the side of the house where the sun hardly shines and the soil is often (as my endearingly direct guy will sometimes put it) as dry as a popcorn’s fart. These are the places that try a gardener’s soul. What can grow…
Some people never have enough shoes. I believe you can never have enough hellebores. What’s not to love? They’re one of the first plants to bloom in early spring with elegant, long-lasting flowers, they have richly textured leaves and, once they’re established, are virtually care free. And did I mention you can grow them in…
Though its name suggests otherwise, the Toad Lily (Tricyrtis) is a delicate wonder. And it’s really helpful for shady spots in the fall garden–the part of the garden that so often looks the worst first as summer fizzles out. Blooming from September until late in the season in Southern Ontario, they’ll light up a spot…
Maybe it’s that we’re lucky to live in places where there are lots of big trees (read: gardens with lots of shade) or maybe it’s because we’re looking for plants that reliably show up every year, do a great job of quickly filling up an area with lushness and look quite elegant in the process.…
GOODBYE CRAYOLA CUTIES If your shady bed of hot-coloured Impatiens suddenly collapsed last spring, you probably encountered a case of Impatiens Downy Mildew, a pathogen that can attack the plant very quickly and leave an entire bed looking devastated. The disease has now struck Ontario, Quebec and parts of B.C. and may affect gardens in the future…
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 