A noun. A verb. A blog.
Beautiful yellow trout lily (Erythronium – perhaps ‘Pagoda’?) from Barry Parker’s Parkdale garden Spring has arrived, and now we’re waiting impatiently for it to actually begin. But just because there are blank, snowy spots where your plants are supposed to be doesn’t mean you can’t be thinking about what to plant between them next year. […]
The florists’ display was a standout at Canada Blooms. This, by Quince Flowers attracted photographers like bees to nectar. As a daydreamy ten-year-old, I was often late for school. Taking our long walk through fields of wild weeds, time disappeared as I carefully arranged a bouquet of ox-eye daisies and Queen Anne’s lace, and learned […]
Shawn Gallaugher’s new venture Otium Exercise Gardens creates spaces that look like a garden, but act like a gym. A few of the gardens this year incorporated some aspect of fitness and outdoor living. Today’s Friday Idea File brings you ten things of note from this first day of Canada Blooms 2013. With one wee […]
Hyacinthus orientalis ‘Delft Blue’ – the camera turns it more purple than the soft blue of real life So glad I didn’t plant hyacinths last fall – or, rather, so glad I didn’t plant all of them. I held back six extra-fragrant ‘Delft Blue’ hyacinths from Botanus to try forcing. And now, when you step […]
Vegetable gardening books are on the menu for this week’s Idea File You’ve come to the right place if you want a good how-to book on growing vegetables. And as yesterday was International Women’s Day, and as this week a friend shared with me these dismaying statistics about the dearth of women authors, I thought […]
Spring, bring it on! St. James Park, Toronto – April 30, 2010
This hoverfly might be narcissus bulb fly. Boo hoo. It sure looked like some kind of red-headed bee to me when I found it sitting on a Pelargonium leaf in my west-facing window. Out came a drinking glass and piece of card to capture it while I researched: What the heck is it? Then I […]
My first pair of Ethel gloves held up well, though no longer quite as clean I’m picky about garden gloves, when I do wear them. Usually, I’ve bought the Grip Gloves, a coated knit glove by Canadian glovemaker Watson Gloves, from Lee Valley Tools, Canadian Tire or, lately, from Mark’s Work Wearhouse. Cheap and cheerful, at […]
Hot pink peppermint striped tulips with golden daffodils at the Toronto Botanical Garden, 2010 Let’s shake up this grey city with an blast of clashing colours. I’ll go on record here as saying I believe that nothing in nature clashes. She is always original and unabashed in her colour pairings. Designers, however, use clashing colours […]
Sarah’s garden won the Snowdrop Derby in 2013 It’s a tradition at Toronto Gardens to mark the arrival of the first snowdrops. Despite the recent dump of snow and slush, these welcome babies arrived on Sarah’s south-ish facing slope just yesterday, if not before. Snowdrops in February? Priceless. Time to note where to plant more, […]
Curved walks in both tiny gardens expand the sense of space, turning the few strides to the front porch into a winding path Do you have a tiny front yard? Many people in Toronto do and wonder what the heck to do with it. The photos of two east-end gardens that I recently recovered* show […]
A small-scale garden folly can be like this dry stone fountain in Shelagh Tucker’s Seattle garden (see it close up here) If you watched Mr. Darcy propose dripping wet to Lizzie Bennet in the Keira Knightley version of Pride & Prejudice*, you’ve seen a prime example of a garden folly. Not his ill-done proposal, but […]