A noun. A verb. A blog.
Hopefully, the wreath I end up making will be as beautiful as this one by Sarah Nixon By sheer serendipity, the day after posting my story about Sarah Nixon and My Luscious Backyard, an email landed in my inbox announcing Sarah’s December 5th workshop on making a foraged wreath. I jumped at the chance. So […]
Quaint, quirky and sometimes queenly, this is Toronto’s Parkdale neighbourhood, home to My Luscious Backyard Yesterday, I wrote about a cool art piece we noticed in Parkdale. Today, I’m writing about what we were in Parkdale for – to visit Sarah Nixon of My Luscious Backyard. Sarah’s an urban flower farmer with a novel way […]
Thankful to be passing by, and spotted this little art piece by the sidewalk in someone’s garden Think of this as an Almost-Wordless* Wednesday-on-Saturday. Love the use of milkweed seed here. Gratitude to the internet and search engines for satisfying my curiosity: The fluffy, parachute-like structure at the top of the milkweed seed, or achene, […]
The fountain garden at Rosetta McClain is often our turnaround for an 18K walk. The pause that refreshes! Toronto is blessed with numerous public spaces, many of which are quite beautiful. You can bet I’m not the only one thankful for this. One of my favourites is Rosetta McClain Gardens in Scarborough, and it deserves […]
If this shot looks familiar, it’s because I couldn’t resist reusing it – amazed at how lush and leafy a green roof can be. Every garden that welcomed our 70 Toronto Fling bloggers in June 2015 deserves thanks. But extra-special thanks go to the folks at the Cabbagetown Preservation Association (especially Helen and Ruth) for […]
My photo is not exactly tack-sharp, but you get the idea. Begonia hybrid ‘Gryphon’ is a fabulous foliage plant Thank you to Proven Winners for introducing me to the fabulous ‘Gryphon’ begonia, which they sent me to trial in 2014. It looks like Proven Winners has since applied its own trademarked brand name ‘Pegasus’ to […]
Installed at Annie’s Annuals near San Francisco, a room-sized reliquary chapel by mosaic artist Tina Amidon Dwelling on things to be grateful for is good mental health practice at any time, but especially during anxious moments when things seem bleak. Right now, the world is having moments. While I’m not a person who finds comfort […]
Like the Little Black Dress, you can dress this up or down – a simple design to emulate Always, I’m grateful to neighbours for giving me ideas to steal copy emulate. That metal tube with its holes looks tip-of-the-tongue familiar – but I have no idea what it is. If you do, please tell us. […]
Sculptors Wojtek Biczysko (barefoot) and Ania Biczysko in the Swansea garden that has showcased both their works. How would you put a price on artwork? Some artists may command high prices for anything they produce, though many can’t. The Canada Council for the Arts notes the median income for a visual artist in Canada is […]
For amping up your foliage design palette, there’s nothing quite like the flowing texture of Hakone or Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra). The cultivar with the gold and green stripes above is likely H. ‘Aureola’) First, my confession. For me, Hakone grass is a case of I can’t always – maybe ever – get what […]
What fun! Pool seating in a handful of jellybean colours. As my beloved would tell you, I’m not keen on surprises. However, surprises in the garden are a few of my favourite things. The last thing Sarah and I expected to find behind the lovely Georgian home in Port Hope, for example, was this playful […]
Bluestar (Amsonia) and spiky false indigo (Baptisia) at the Toronto Botanical Garden Always grateful to discover unexpected combinations of spectacular plants on my travels. This time, I didn’t have to travel far – only to the Toronto Botanical Garden. Don’t know the specific cultivars here, but Amsonia and Baptisia seem made to go together, don’t […]