A noun. A verb. A blog.
Part of a voice print from June Callwood’s final interview Canada Blooms gets knocked these days for not pulling a magical rabbit out of its increasingly shrinking pecuniary hat. However, one bit of magic it does do is to fund garden projects around the city through the work of the Toronto Garden Club. Past […]
Parklane’s dry stone wall at Canada Blooms 2012 Robert Frost might not forgive my mangling his poem but, judging by the number of them at Canada Blooms 2012, something – or, more aptly, someone – does love a wall. Especially a dry stone wall. Dry stone walls are constructed without mortar to glue the stones together. […]
Getting A Lawn by Lynne McIlvride-Evans My headline is slightly misleading, because what I most want to tell you about it the annual Easter art show in the studio home of artist Lynne McIlvride-Evans. In 2012, it runs April 6 to 9 from 1 to 5 pm. I’ve been collecting her work in a modest […]
The VegeQuarium, one of the creative ideas at FoodShare’s Canada Blooms booth Imagine a self-sustaining seed starter that turns the fish poo-ey water from your aquarium into both hydration and nutrition. Not only is that just plain clever, it’s one of my favourite gems from this year’s Canada Blooms – but if you blink, you […]
Surface Deep from the International Garden Festival at Jardins de Métis/Reford Gardens A friend asked me about Canada Blooms, “Is it good this year?” And I replied, “There are ideas worth stealing, so that’s reason enough to go.” It is. Many of those ideas make better experiences than photographs, like this exhibit from Jardins de […]
Cherry blossoms in Taichung, Taiwan Oh, how I’ve missed you! A whirlwind winter of work (weally?) has kept me from blogging. But even when I’m not writing about them, I’m thinking about Toronto gardens. Even when I’m far from Toronto. A business trip to Taiwan this month was one thing that kept me away. To […]
This sexy little book comes in a plain, brown wrapper There’s still time to captivate your Valentine between the covers – the covers of a new little pillow book, The Untamed Garden: A revealing look at our love affair with plants. Sonia Day’s newest book looks at our relationship to plants. But thine own true love needn’t […]
Berries in the snow, just what the doctor ordered. No, I’m not advertising for a mate with a charming drawl. It’s only me letting out an inner “D’oh!” after a spot of Googling. It’s all to do with winter interest in the garden, or lack thereof, in my own. Four years ago, determined to get […]
Our temporary winterscape It’s the pagan in me that keeps my Christmas tree up long past traditional tree-time. For me, the tree and lights represent the resilient human spirit through the darkest days of winter. Usually, my whim is satisfied by an artificial tree. This year, however, I had a yen for a real one; […]
A lily-flowered tulip was my first model for a snowflower If you need cheap, cheerful fun for a chilly day, there’s nothing easier than making paper snowflakes. Few crafts are so inexpensive – or so sure of success. All you need is a sheet of paper, sharp scissors and your imagination – which can get […]
Autumn at the Toronto Botanical Garden Joining the Toronto Botanical Garden was one of the best garden gifts I’ve given to myself – to preview how good it can be, check out tomorrow’s TBG Open House (Dec. 8, 5:30 to 9:30 pm). The TBG gardens are beautiful in any season – ignore the parking lot reno for […]
How cute is that!? Photo courtesy of Janit Calvo, the mini-garden guru, of Two Green Thumbs You don’t have to be a kid to love little. Adults are as likely to be as passionate about dollhouses, for example, as children are. Just look at the Kensington Dollshouse Festival in London, England, which has been drawing mostly […]