A noun. A verb. A blog.
This summer I talked to wild bee expert Sheila Colla, a scientist from York University, about wild bees and what we as gardeners can do to help them. One of the first things Sheila made clear was that wild bees are native bees and we must make a distinction between them and honeybees, which are not […]
When I sprinkled the seeds of this lovely ‘Dukat Leafy Dill’ from Renee’s Garden, I was hoping this would happen. ‘Dukat’ is said to be leafy, delicious and a little slower to bolt. I had room for them to fluff up between the Gladiolus corms in my second trough, which this year is more of a […]
This ghostly character is something you don’t see every day, certainly not in Toronto. With its fleshy, pale appearance those who see it can mistake it for a mushroom. It isn’t. Instead it’s the chlorophyl-free parasitic plant called variously indian pipe, ghost pipe or ghost plant, and corpse flower (Monotropa uniflora). I came across it while camping […]
After 70 years of delighting Toronto gardeners with their superb selection of nursery items Humber Nurseries is closing down. With a place this size though, you don’t close down all at once. Every time I’ve gone to Humber nurseries of late I’ve noticed them paring down. This spring and summer, at the front of the […]
The Islands might be flooded, and the record-setting lake levels are eroding the boardwalk. But all that rain in spring 2019 has had one wonderous side effect. The flowers on Korean dogwoods (Cornus kousa) this year are stop-in-your-tracks abundant. I had to pull over to capture this one exploding in white fireworks, just in time for […]
Tomorrow, we visit the VIP preview for the second annual sculpture show known as ZimSculpt at the Toronto Botanical Garden. Our weekly mailing goes out at noon on Thursdays, so I wanted to get the word out early to our subscribers. Hence the hasty scribbling*. More to come on the show soon. Last night, my […]
This isn’t a post so much as a mash note to the foxtail lily aka desert candle (Eremurus spp). Love isn’t strong enough a word. My recent Garden Bloggers Fling trip to Denver, Colorado, technically in the same planting zone as Toronto, made me fall all over again, and again, and again. Rather than “constant,” think “elusive.” The […]
At a recent Toronto Botanical Gardens talk, Sean James gave us the lowdown on how he uses shrubs. Sean, who’s been gardening since he was four, is an entertaining speaker with tons of knowledge. Sean graduated from Niagara Park school and he now runs Sean James Consulting and Design. He’s an award-winning environmentalist, who is passionate […]
Over the years, I’ve volunteered many times to be a Master Gardener stationed in the private gardens open for the Toronto Botanical Gardens’ annual tour – now called Mark’s Choice Through the Garden Gate. And I gotta tell you, a show like this can’t go on without a lot – hundreds and hundreds and, did I already […]
Last week, I took you on a walk in the woods. This week, it’s a walk on the really wild side: Fashionable Bloor Street. It isn’t my usual shopping precinct but happens to be close to my doctor’s office. It also happens to be a great place to window shop – and by that, I don’t mean […]
An early Mother’s Day visit to our Number One Dot and her partner O – on the first fine day this spring – took us in search of waterfalls on the Niagara Escarpment. The couple had newly moved to Hamilton, with over 100 waterfalls within its boundaries. This was news to Mr TG and I […]
It all started with a basement pillar that had been removed, years ago, by a previous owner. The shoring-up they’d done might have once been code. According to the structural engineer we consulted, just in case, it wouldn’t be code now. And our basement project escalated from there. For me, the worst of it wasn’t […]