Hello, summer! ‘Tis the season for the sounds of laughing children leaping through sprinklers and Weekend Warriors brandishing whizzing Whipper Snippers (hopefully not in the vicinity of the former). As I inhale my first sniffs of mosquito repellent while shoving the garden furniture under cover as an incoming thunderstorm barrels over the horizon, I think…
Every once in a while I’ll come across a garden decor or design idea that makes me think “Why didn’t I think of that!” Usually it’s an idea that’s shockingly simple yet brings on loads of drama. View-framing wreaths are one of those ideas. I love plain old door-hung wreaths, of course. They’re so cheering;…
I’m writing this post with my right arm in a cast from knuckles to elbow. Typing, needless to say, has become a lumpy process. C’est la vie. I love exploring the world of gardening and blogging about it so I’m pressing on. Just slower. Way slower. This, combined with new shocking realities reverberating through the…
Having a garden that’s fully or partially forested is a wondrous thing. Not only does a woodland garden offer amazing interest throughout the year, the place is most likely an oasis for wildlife and native plants. Yes, you could leave it untouched save for maybe a winding footpath running through it. But then again, why…
If, like me, you’re still biding your time before gardening season begins then also, like me, you may be going slowly stir crazy. A good sign this is happening is when you start casting your eye over stuff around the house and considering what could be pressed into service as a plant container or a…
Today we just lost an hour. You can think of this in one of two ways. Either you’re now late for something or you’re now one hour closer to spring when you can run outside and dig in the dirt and plant flowers and build something marvellous like a pergola. Ancient Romans first coined the…
Are you itching to get gardening but also a tad concerned about where you’re going to put any new plants? Part of the fun of having a garden–any garden–is adding to your collection. What do you do if your gardening space is already filled to the brim? If the only gardening direction you can go…
Where I live in Canada, spring can be about as long lived as an ice cream cone which is to say not long. Sometimes I feel like we barrel right through late winter into early summer with spring merely a squashed hope staining the sidewalk. It’s the fleetingness and fragility of ephemerals (plants that pop…
Spring is in the air and each day more birds are showing up, singing their hearts out and partying on. But there’s a problem. By all reports, everyone’s doing fine in the making babies, erm, eggs department but hatching and caring for the demanding little rascals has become more of a challenge due to an…
Want to put a little vavoom in your veg patch? Whether you’re planning on installing a whole new garden or simply wanting to renovate an existing one, these 11 ideas I’ve discovered while snooping in all kinds of public and private gardens will have you dreaming big. 1. Try a new angle The distinctively angled…
Evidently, large water features are now considered passé. According to certain gardening pundits, large water features once promised “luxury and tranquility” and were a “symbol of outdoor opulence”. This year, big splashy (sorry, not sorry) fountains and faux creeks should be considered energy guzzlers that leave an overly large carbon footprint. I’d like to wade…
If you reside in the northern hemisphere, like me, you’re enduring what’s referred to as the dead of winter. Apt. Not much alive out there (garden-wise) except for the evergreens. Snow and ice have pretty much turned the world into a blank-ish slate. Naturally, I start to crave colour. Colour that occurs naturally, as in…
Having gained an hour of daylight, I feel like the rapid descent into complete winter gloom has slowed somewhat. At least when the cocktail hour arrives I won’t be groping around in the dark for a light switch in order to find the cork screw. For now. But I have to admit that increasingly dark…
By the time you’ve read this post, my garden will be all tucked up for the winter. Putting away pots (or tipping them over–more on that later), stowing away my weird and wonderful assortment of garden decorations and emptying the bird bath are all chores that I like to do at the last minute. But…
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…
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 