A noun. A verb. A blog.
Oh, what a tangled web we weave… when we don’t know how to prune a weeping mulberry (Morus alba ‘Pendula’). You can see this popular weeping standard tree all over the city – and when not wearing its cloak of green, the tangled, haystack-headed results of improper pruning are only too evident. Therefore, when I […]
This is my homework: historic Campbell House, an authentic Georgian piece of Old York (which was Toronto before Toronto) on a quarter-acre of land at Queen and University. And I, and my classmates, each get to redesign the garden. Well, design it in theory if not in actuality – although our designs will be juried by […]
We take our garden “blooms” where we can in winter. No, I’m not talking flowers. Pollinators, please stay tucked in your nests, we’re not ready for you yet. I was captivated by these ice covered branches on a recent walk in Ashbridges Bay Park. This is a different sort of blooming, the cold, hard, […]
A week ago, Sarah and Helen joined a packed crowd at the Toronto Botanical Garden to see English garden guru Matthew Wilson (aka the Heathcliff of the Hedgerows*). His RHS book New Gardening: How to garden in a changing climate was on sale at the event. [Update: At first, I couldn’t find it online in […]
…of mice and mums are certainly ganging agley this month. Remind me, if I try this again, not to take two university courses and attempt to work full-time – at the same time – again. In the pie of my life, blogging is getting a very narrow slice… more like crumbs. I have assignments every […]
You might need BBC blood in your veins to remember the childen’s show Bill and Ben the Flowerpot Men (and I don’t mean the more slick, recent reprise). Bill and Ben were identical flowerpot people, not too unlike the fellow in our picture today, and every episode would end with the question: Was it Bill […]
This time last year, it was raining. There was snow on the ground… you remember what snow is, don’t you? Not just that baby powdering we got yesterday that almost melted by today. In December 2009 and January 2010, Toronto had roughly one-quarter of our usual snowfall. It looks like February is following the same […]
I’m lucky to live so close to Ashbridges Bay Park on Lake Ontario. I can get there in a matter of minutes, and sister Helen and I have spent hours walking here, peering at trees & shrubs, trying to identify what’s growing, and gathering round rocks from the beach. The park has a mix […]
Some tutu-like blooms to brighten this sunny but grey-brown subzero day in Toronto. Stumbling across the word choreograph in the textbook for the planting design course I’m taking, I had a little A-ha! moment. Choreography and the garden: of course! I’ve been in the habit of thinking of the selection and placement of plants in […]
Everyone in the north gets pretty bedraggled by the end of January. We’ve already coped with 2 months of winter proper, and only have February and March to look forward to, months often filled with snow storms, slush and bitter cold. Even though this January in Toronto was ridiculously warm, with rain some days, and […]
Hello. My name is Helen, and I am a plantoholic. Most recreational gardeners are. Even the best of us, those who never set foot in a nursery without a shopping list, often start with a wish list. Of plants. We’re easily revved into a frenzy of plant lust by magazine, blog and catalog descriptions of […]
Urban gardens are usually small gardens. This little album of tricks contains ideas that help urban gardeners overcome some of our spatial limitations. The picture above has three to begin with: • Use the upward dimension. Be sure your small garden makes use of the infinite vertical plane with elements like arbours, trellises and wall […]