A noun. A verb. A blog.
In 2015, Through the Garden Gate lets you peek into the gardens of Lawrence Park Garden tours let us be the ultimate snoopy gardener, stealing ideas from exploring snoop-worthy OPLs (Other People’s Gardens). Toronto’s grand master of garden tours is Through the Garden Gate, the annual fundraiser for the Toronto Botanical Garden. Each year, generous […]
What a delightful time we had today at the Woman to Woman Garden Party at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Ladies attending pulled out all the stops and looked super decorative and flowery, with some amazingly creative hand-made hat decorations. Food and wine and conversation flowed. “Everyone should always wear hats, don’t you think?” said Helen. […]
A good veggie reference for those who don’t need books with pretty pictures When you nickname your garden The Microgarden, as I do, one thing is certain: Abundant space is not a feature. The first is Karen Newcomb’s The Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden that invites you to grow tons of organic vegetables in tiny spaces and containers. […]
Not all pollen is alike. Despite its abundance (or in this bee’s case perhaps “a-bum-dance”), Thomas Ogren tells us the pollen of Alcea or hollyhock is a low-allergenic pollen. He warns those sensitive not to sniff it, however. It gets right up your nose. And in your eyes. And down your wheezy throat. Pollen. At […]
In winter, I walked past this snowscape on Unwin Avenue (shown through the lens of the Waterlogue app) Spring and fall are the big work seasons for gardeners. They’re also when my other hobby messes up my gardening life. I’m a power-walker. Since 2003, I’ve averaged 3.27 half marathons a year, in spring and/or fall. […]
Glorious sweet peas – wish our blog had smell-o-vision. Some seeds, like sweet peas, must be nicked or scratched to help them germinate. That’s called scarification. Other seeds need to be subjected to long periods of cold; even frozen. Stratified, in horticultural terms. For others, fire is as necessary to the seed as food and […]
A gardener sometimes needs faith. And, often, persistence. Hoya carnosa in bloom. Celebrate, hoyoo, hoyay! After much anticipation, my barbecued hoya is blooming for the very first time. No one could be more pleased…or surprised. Perhaps if I’d read this from the International Hoya Association, that headline might have been written 30 years ago (albeit, […]
‘Therapy’ – Joyce Johnson’s ribbon-winning design in her category at Canada Blooms 2015 – seems like a serendipitous way to begin a post on The Herb Lover’s Spa Book. Geez, it has been a cold, cold, cold, cold, cold few months. The snowy, snowy, snowy weather is finally receding, at least in Toronto. Still, we […]
Do a little “Where’s Waldo-ing” on this photo, and you can see masses of happy snowdrops, finally welcoming spring. Yes, Toronto, there are snowdrops! This year, Sarah won the local snowdrops sweepstakes, with a handful blooming by her drive. Mine are mostly hibernating. But look, look, look at these in a Riverdale garden on Saturday! […]
The wee folk will have fun spotting all the wee folk (and one large troll) in the Vandermeer fairy garden. Maybe it’s the Let’s Play theme at Canada Blooms 2015, but I found myself wishing I were a kid again. Some garden writers might give me a hard time for even daring to think of applying the […]
My photo library includes many pictures of Claire Jones looking decorative. Her blog: The Garden Diaries (Maryland) So, here’s the thing about Fling. You come for the gardens, but you find yourself returning again and again for the people. Who could imagine forging so many long-distance relationships, all bonded by love of gardens. Not me, but […]
Adorable multicoloured green roof seen at Joy Creek Nursery near Portland Winter 2015 is for the birds – and so are these nifty birdhouses. That’s just about all I have to say on this record-setting-cold-streak, Almost-Wordless Wednesday. Except: Enjoy! Give your fine feathered friends the licence to move in. This great recycle even looks like […]