A noun. A verb. A blog.
Walking around the neighbourhood on a grey November day, you can’t help but notice that the Callery pear (Pyrus calleryana) is the only light on the street. Look at that! The rest of the trees are denuded, but this fellow is still glowing. Because I remember when neighbours had one planted in their front yard, […]
Commenting on my Leaf Eater review, wise Pomona Belvedere of Tulips in the Woods reminded me to wear ear protection. She’s quite right. As someone who has a severe-to-profound hearing loss, I should know. And know better. Called presbycusis – a great word to file away for Scrabble or crossword clues – my type of […]
Gingko biloba in its lovely clear yellow autumn foliage, crystalled with raindrops. The leaves of this tree have been found fossilized in stone. It was once thought to have been extinct. Yet, here it is in the front yard of a city street in Toronto. I wonder what colour the dinosaurs really were…
How quick come the reasons for approving what we like. – Jane Austen Today, I used my new purchase for the first time, and have to say the Flowtron Electric Leaf Eater pretty much (or pretty mulch) lived up to its billing: it shredded mountains of leaves, wet and dry, quickly and conveniently. The worst […]
Little did I think when I photographed this four-leafed clover six months ago that today I would be the proud owner of a leaf shredder. Lucky me! After pining over more expensive models, I stumbled across the Flowtron Leaf-Eater online at HomeDepot.ca. It was $199, plus tax. Shipping cost would be the make-or-break item. It […]
Tree creatures. Walking in a park by the lake a few weeks ago I snapped this picture of a tree base that I instantly labelled, “Tree Feet”. Helen’s been writing a lot about trees lately and it has made me think about how I’ve felt about trees in my life. Trees were only one of […]
The native North American basswood (Tilia americana) was one of the first trees I learned to recognize from afar, way back in the sixth grade. See how the mature tree has a shape like the club in a suit of cards? The trunk flares out at the base, and the crown of leaves and branches […]
My wish list contains an oak tree. Not a Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) like this majestic beauty in the park nearby, but a scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea). Scarlet oaks grow on dry, sandy uplands. That sounds just like my garden! And the colour the leaves produce in fall is said to be an even […]
I’d never thought much about house sparrows, except to notice that they’re among the most-frequent visitors to my bird feeder (whenever Sarah fills it for me). Then, a few days ago, my neighbour M called me over to show me his homemade sparrow deterrent, based on the Magic Halo. He’d made the halo frame from […]
Rosa ‘New Dawn’ puts on its party dress for perhaps the last time this season. It’s mostly foliage now for this November Blooms Day 2009. Clockwise, from large photo: the tendrils of Sarah’s perennial sweet pea (Lathyrus latifolius), the sere leaves and drying flowers of ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea (Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’); Daphne ‘Carol Mackie’ with Japanese […]
Toronto Gardens isn’t the only blog about gardening in Toronto. Or about Toronto gardens. Here are a few we follow – and we’d love to hear about others that are missing. YouGrowGirl We can’t begin such a post without mentioning Gayla Trail, who has set and raised the bar in garden blogging since 2000. We […]
Many plants are easily propagated by cuttings. And the process is far from complex. The most important step is, of course, to do it… and not be daunted by rules or regulations. I own rooting hormone (#1 for softwood cuttings) which would have been an essential tool in the right way to take these […]