Here in southwestern Ontario, the Victoria Day long weekend, which falls on or around May 24th, is anticipated with guarded respect by gardeners. Not because this 3-day weekend also goes by the name May Two-Fer, referring to cases of beer, not the date. No, it’s because this weekend represents all that is soul-crushingly cruel about…
Next year (2017) will be Canada’a 150th birthday and the Canadian Garden Council, in association with Veseys Bulbs of Prince Edward Island, are offering to help you and your garden club prep for the celebration with a tulip garden giveaway right now. And they’re thinking big. Like, a garden-of-a-thousand-tulips big. Anyone who’s ever visited Ottawa…
When Proven Winners sent me some Superbells® Holy Moly!™ Calibrachoa hybrids to trial last spring (2015), my first thought upon opening the crate filled with potted plants was “Wow! These are well named.” With bright yellow petals covered in splashes of neon pink, the flowers practically glowed. In a container planting, these plants need to…
Growing moss is an art that demands patience and diligence I discovered during a recent talk at the Toronto Botanical Gardens given by Frank Kershaw, one of my favourite speakers and a gardening guru par excellence. But there are shortcuts. Frank let us in on some fascinating information and unexpected tips for creating a velvety green…
Who’s heart doesn’t do a little flip at the thought of moonlight and marshmallows? I know. The possibilities seem wondrous. But can you take such a potent commingling and apply it to that ho-hum shady spot in your garden? Well, not to put too fine a point on it, this romantic container recipe starts with a…
In hip urban neighbourhoods all over North America, the hottest new garden design trend is foodscaping–landscaping that melds modern garden aesthetics with agriculture. You can pin this trend on an urge to save on grocery bills, a newfound fascination for growing-your-own or the thrill of creating something beautiful out of what’s considered utilitarian. But motives…
If the saying is true that you eat with your eyes, then vegetable gardening is a foodie’s dream come true. You can walk out your door and a minute later pull up beets with eye-popping white and purple bull’s eye insides and radishes as black as night. But what I also find immensely satisfying about…
What I love about raised bed gardening (besides less back ache) is that it’s such an easy way to add big impact to your garden design while simplifying the whole gardening process, from starting straight off with great soil to growing bumper crops. And there are so many ways you can use a raised bed. Yes, growing…
Sometimes an eyeball-searing circus of a container planting, including super bright flowers that appear to be swinging through the air on upside down trapezes, is exactly what’s needed. Maybe you just want to give your front walkway a jolt of vibrant colour. Or maybe you’re not getting the whole chic-one-colour-planting trend (like the purple container recipe…
Imagine driving along the Highway of Heroes (a portion of southwestern Ontario’s Hwy. 401) knowing that the trees lining this multi-lane corridor were planted in tribute to every fallen Canadian soldier since Confederation. Thousands of trees for thousands of soldiers. In fact, one hundred and seventeen thousand of them. The Highway of Heroes Tribute project…
In my continuing quest to create container plantings with maximum flower power for minimum effort, I was really pleased with this vibrant purple and green combo I put together last summer. I’m a sucker for the ombré petals and steely centres of African daisies and, with their leaves adding lots of lush green texture, they…
Containers full of plants can do wonders for adding colour to a garden patio but they can do so much more. They can direct traffic, help wildlife, lend some privacy and give you the feeling that your space is much bigger than it really is. And you don’t need much space to begin with, either.…
I’m feeling the need to get creative with some fresh container planting ideas. This may have something to do with the fact that the weather right now is…(fill in your choice of expletive here). We’re already well into April but winter is continuing to be annoying, flinging snow, rain and hail all over southwestern Ontario.…
To get into the head of a landscape architect is to see renovated gardens (at least this year) filled with rain barrels, fire pits and native plants. Hammocks? Not so much. I can predict this with relative confidence because The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) conducted a survey last month (February, 2016) to capture…
“We need plants to be more than just the parsley to the pot roast of our house”, he said. Ok. I’m in. Thomas Rainer, landscape architect and co-author with Claudia West of Planting In A Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities For Resilient Landscapes, has a way with plants and words. His landscape designs look like…
Horticulturist, Arborist and Garden Columnist
Celebrating gardens, photography and a creative life
Garden of Flowers, Beads, and Yarns
ruminate vb. to chew (the cud)
Reflections On A Life in Exile
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 