On a recent garden tour, hosted by the Toronto Botanical Gardens, I was intrigued by a property described in the tour brochure as a reverse ravine garden. Now, I’ve always assumed that ravines only went in one direction–down. But having walked into my very first reverse ravine garden (thank you, TBG!), I now know that…
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…
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…
Spring is almost here. I know it’s not far off because our grocery stores are displaying pots of those classic white trumpet-shaped lilies right up next to the check-out counters. I guess they’re hoping you’ll succumb to their beauty and intoxicating fragrance and grab one on your way to the cashier even though you only…
Daisy said it best in The Great Gatsby: “Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall.” This makes sense given how most of us spent a good decade or more programmed to reset our lives every September. Going back to school meant a new lunch pail, a fresh pad of paper,…
Of all the gardens I had the immense pleasure of visiting this summer, the astonishing oasis of colour and lush greenery set within an old barn’s stone foundations was one of my favourites. The private garden is part of a home and farm near Mallorytown, Ontario. A gravel path leads the eye through a metal…
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…
I’m seeing a theme this summer and I’m loving it–brilliant flowers in colours as hot as the summer sun. Forget your romantic pastels and delicate watercolour-esque beds. Bring on the eye-watering brights. A hot summer flower bed of lilies and bright pink Rose Campion (Lychnis coronaria). I saw a lot of gorgeously clashing blooms on…
I want to share my thoughts with you about an app I’ve been using that I think has really exciting potential for gardeners. It’s called One Second Every Day (1SE) and, no, I’m not getting paid to tell you about it. But I think you might find it really handy. Or just loads of fun.…
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…
As the temperatures take a deep dive, I’m starting to miss gardening already. All the garden beds around here in southwestern Ontario are tucked up under a blanket of leaves, tender shrubs wrapped in a protective layer of burlap. Winter has its own special qualities, of course, but autumn? I’m already missing the deliciousness of…
There’s a lot of talk about nativars–cultivars of native plants (read: cultivars of plants native to your region.) Ultimately, are these plants a good thing or a bad thing? Unfortunately, nativars can be more colourful, larger, taller, sturdier, hardier, etc., etc., but at the cost of being sterile, blooming in colours that insects don’t recognize…
The Canadian Garden Council’s promotion ‘Live The Garden Life‘ for this year includes a collaboration with Communities in Bloom and is inspiring everyone to “plant purple, the colour theme of the year in 2023“. According to the council, purple was chosen for the variety of effects the hue has on mind and body including: Now,…
Planning on adding some native plants to your garden this spring? Good for you! All the bees and birds will thank you. Keep your eyes open because there are plenty of choices out there these days. But if you’re trying to figure out what to buy based on the information on a plant’s label, you…
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 