A noun. A verb. A blog.
A bright dogwood hedge (likely Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’) on Lakeshore Avenue East* [See Ed: below] You know that it would be untrue. You know that I would be a liar. If I was to say to you, this is my ‘Midwinter Fire.’ No, it probably belongs to Loblaws, whose parking lot it borders along […]
Schlumbergera truncata, an unwieldy name for the Thanksgiving cactus In my post on unkillable houseplants, I missed a worthy addition that proves its worth with its pretty flowers around this time of year, Slumbergera truncata. It’s commonly known as the Thanksgiving cactus, referring to its bloom time near American Thanksgiving at the end of November. […]
At $26 a bunch, the coral-coloured winterberry (Ilex) was my most expensive buy. Worth every berry. Today, I began to assemble our winter containers – or winter container, singular. Have you noticed that it’s cold out there? The soil in my two smaller containers was frozen rock solid, making the fall stuff impossible to extract, […]
LIke the big bad wolf, the wind huffed and puffed and blew the trees down. Big ones. Can you count the rings? Back in Fall 2012, a windstorm took down a swath of mature trees – about 14, if memory serves – in Monarch Park in our east-end neighbourhood. It was a surprise to see […]
Red-edge sansevieria (Sansevieria subspicata) and silverbush (Convolvulus cneorum) A charming combo from the Cactus House at Allan Gardens. I’ve never seen red-edge sansevieria before, and was surprised that its silver-leafed companion is a shrubby member of the morning glory family. I’ll have to come back to catch it in flower – a silver shrub covered […]
A bright flowerbed with annuals such as spider flower (Cleome) and snapdragons (Antirrhinum) If you grow perennials, people think, it means you’re a “real gardener.” Poor annuals, they’re thought of as second-class garden citizens. Yet for non-stop flower power, annuals can’t be beat. They may take a while to get going but once they do […]
Our Flowtron Leaf Eater, a little battle-scarred, but still working four years later Today was perfect for leaf shredding. The sun was shining, and the leaves were dry. So that’s how I spent my afternoon. Because we love our leaves, and so do our gardens. They really, really do. Since I wrote about my leaf […]
Blooming now: interesting leaf patterns on the Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ There’s very little blooming in the November Microgarden. But wait! There’s so much, if you look closely. Like the vision of old friends doing new tricks in the image above. Every autumn, the red-purple leaves of the purple smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’) […]
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Quick Fire’ isn’t famous for fall colour. It probably should be. Even the Proven Winners site doesn’t mention fall foliage in its write-up for Hydrangea ‘Quick Fire.’ Why on earth not? The colour this year in my garden is a show-stopper, giving the dried blooms a flattering new outfit. Just look at the […]
Photographed yesterday, a row of Freeman maples (Acer x freemanii) along Carlton north of Allan Gardens At this time of year, you can especially note how often Freeman or Freeman’s maple (Acer x freemanii) appears along our streets. That telltale “x” says this tree is a hybrid – a cross between red maple (Acer rubrum) […]
Autumn crocus (Crocus speciosus) blooming in November 2013 Especially after having written a Trellis Magazine article that mentions them among “the other bulbs” that are oft neglected in gardens, you’d think I’d have rushed right out and bought me a bundle of autumn crocuses (Crocus speciosus) and their cousins Colchicum speciosum. I could be enjoying […]
Green dots goooood; orange dots, baaaaad. What the heck are those green dots? I wondered, as I walked up Coxwell Avenue the other day. They were painted on most of the towering ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) that line this stretch of road. Oh no. Have they run out of orange paint, and are they coming […]