A noun. A verb. A blog.
Sarah and Helen tag-team for a She Said/She Said review of No Guff Vegetable Gardening by Donna Balzer and Steven Biggs (all illustrations used here are © Mariko McCrae). Sarah: My first impression was, Wow, I love these illustrations! The graphic designer in me really appreciated Mariko McCrae’s fun, whimsical drawings. It sets a friendly tone that […]
Some early downiness from the downy serviceberry (Amelanchier) branches I’m forcing As winter has thrown an I don’t wanna go to bed! tantrum in Toronto, I’m extra glad I decided to trim off a couple of wayward branches from my serviceberry last weekend – and pop them in a vase for early spring bloom. In […]
A garden gate to swing on, lean on, and peek through. An antique metal garden gate painted red is the image that stayed in my mind after my visit to Canada Blooms. It was the entry to a garden inspired by Sarah Harmer, in one of the Juno Rocks gardens. There was something delightfully homey […]
A full blast of spring from the Home Depot Backyard Oasis. Orange, naturally. Despite the full-on colour above, this year’s Canada Blooms 2011 is not a Big Wow Year. However, it is a year of many Quiet Little Wows, the kind that have you thoughtfully nodding your head. Really, the kind real gardeners like you […]
In Spring, cancer societies in the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, the U.K., Ireland and Canada sell daffodils to raise money for cancer research. But here’s something I’ll bet you didn’t know: It all started here in Canada back in 1957, when a single volunteer for the Canadian Cancer Society had a great idea… that grew. That’s […]
Canada Blooms 2010: Reford Gardens always has an individual, witty display. Some in the online garden community are talking about Garden Show Letdown. I’ve got to admit that, of late, the magical effect of our annual show, Canada Blooms has waned. I never miss it though, as it’s a desperately needed green shot […]
The evidence is in: there’s Spring in them thar hills! Or, at least, there are snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) blooming in the east end of Toronto. These fellas aren’t the 60 or so I planted last fall. They’re part of the happily multiplying family that has been hardily pushing through snow and leaves for years. One […]
The rather gross-looking cankers of Eastern filbert blight, a fungus that’s not a fun-guy! Run out right now and inspect your corkscrew hazel shrub (Corylus avellana ‘Contorta’) for bumps like these. If you see semi-regular, black cankers along the stems (like I did), your hazel has Eastern filbert blight (Anisogramma anomala). If left to its own […]
Heard of companion planting? It’s the concept of putting plants together – ones that attract pollinators, let’s say, with fruiting plants that need pollinating. In that spirit, I’ve just read two books on vegetable growing that make perfect companions. The first is Garden Rant-er Michele Owens’ Grow the Good Life: Why a Vegetable Garden Will Make You […]
Don’t be mislead by the title of Plants for Atlantic Gardens, Jodi DeLong’s new book from Nimbus Publishing. Atlantic gardeners aren’t the only ones who will find this book useful. Sure, east-coasters deal with a harsher range of climates (as cold as Zone 0!) than we do in our part of the Golden Horseshoe (Zone 5-6). They’re more […]
A battle is waging in the green community south of the border. It isn’t about chemical versus organic or genetically modified versus heirloom. It’s about words, and who has the right to use them. The words are urban homestead and urban homesteading – commonly applied to the growing movement (no pun) that covers front-yard veggies or back-yard […]
Not very promising for Blooms Day, eh? But don’t go away. You might be surprised by how this story ends. Yesterday’s wind did a good job trimming branches from the trees, including these whips from a weeping willow. I wish I’d found more. Because, with their flexibility and buttery colour, weeping willow whips make excellent […]