A noun. A verb. A blog.
This morning, the post brought my copy of the 2009 Toronto Gardener’s Journal by Margaret Bennet-Alder. What a delight! The author began this project more than 17 years ago, inspired by her son who had created a journal to help him deal with a medical condition. Last April, as she writes in the intro to […]
It simply makes sense for any gardener (or would-be gardener) to belong to a local garden society. Unfortunately, a schedule conflict interrupted my long and happy relationship with mine. Here are ten reasons why I’m finding a way back – and why you should, too: 1. Inside dirt on what will work in your garden. […]
You’d be right in thinking this looks a bit of a mess. Poor Annabelle! This is her equivalent of a bad hair day. The ‘Annabelle’ Hydrangea arborescens is one of the best flowering shrubs for a small city garden. Compact and somewhat shade tolerant, it performs well in an urban setting, producing a load of […]
What do you see in this picture, besides a woman badly in need of a manicure? I’ll tell you: the first step in a great technique for sharpening your pruners. I always used to find sharpening tools awkward. Then I saw landscape architect Paul Ehnes demonstrate his pruning wizardry – including his way to sharpen […]
Any gardener with English leanings knows the satisfaction of a good, strong cup of tea, paired with a poke around the garden to see what’s coming up. [Ed: It belongs in the category of “essential garden tools.”] Sarah and I have the good fortune to live within brewing distance of each other. So this is […]
We recently wrote a lawn post, where we encouraged you to add white clover to any lawn overseeding this spring: Clover adds nitrogen to the soil so it’s an excellent organic amendment to any lawn. I have always bought my clover seeds at Farm Co-ops out of town, and didn’t know where you could buy […]
A quick how-to as we head into planting time. When you succumb to the siren call of the flowers in the garden centre, especially annuals planted in cell packs (those softer plastic pots with multiple, small chambers), it’s likely their root systems will be pretty bunged up. Chances are, they’ll look something like this image. […]
In the glorious weather on Saturday, I had to make a stop at East End Garden Centre, a gardening institution on Queen Street East for 27 years. Of course, the racks outside the store were laden with pansies, those frost-hardy annuals that are great for planters at this in-between time of year. I always stick […]
Grass seed likes to germinate when the soil is warm (about 15˚C or 60˚F) but the air is cool. Warm soil encourages strong root growth, while the cool air keeps the tops from over-growth. That’s why spring (April-June) is the second-best time to sew a lawn. In Toronto, August-September are the sweetest months. However, spring […]
Rose pictured above is the “New Dawn” climber, one of the best performing climbing roses in our climate. These instructions are based on the step-by-step instructions provided at Pickering Nurseries, one of Canada’s best rose growers, supplying a huge variety of bare-root roses. Their planting guide in PDF form is downloadable here. These instructions will […]
Get thee to Zellers, or Canadian Tire or some other housewares store and buy a semi opaque storage bin similar to the one in the picture. Make sure the lid is flat and not curved, as some are. Trick is to use it upside down. Put the seedlings on the lid, fit bin over top […]
Purple and pink Cupani’s Original are one of the best varieties to grow. I’d say it is the most intensely fragrant sweet pea available. It’s also an heirloom variety, Introduced by Father Cupani, a Franciscan monk in Palermo, Sicily, in 1699. It has deep blue standards and purple wings. You can buy heirloom sweet peas […]