On this grey day, while the rain is doing its work, and while the late tulips are still asleep in the garden – please accept this little ribbon of colour. That’s all.
Flowers for you
One year’s seeds, seven years’ weeds
This little seedling of the Norway maple (Acer platanoides) is one of the small forest that germinates in my garden each spring. The maples are a constant reminder of the old chestnut (as in: saying) in the title. Why would you get seven years of weeds from one year of seeds? One reason is that […]
Beach Tree Man
Spotted along the bike trail on the north side of the white picnic shelter near the Leuty Lifeguard Station. Unsure how this piece of living artwork came about, or what effect it has on the life of the tree. My guess is that the bark formation came first and the artist tweaked it to help […]
Green Living Show Highlights – Direct Energy Centre, Exhibition Place
The show runs today, Sunday until 6pm, so you still have time to get down there and see all the Green Stuff. I didn’t see everything at the show, because it is so huge. There are many, many booths containing a vast compendium of green living methods and tools, both for personal use — from […]
What’s growing in April: Anemone blanda
When you’re noting your things to do for fall, be sure to write: Plant more Anemone blanda, the Grecian windflower. This diminutive, daisylike member of the Ranunculus or buttercup family is an early spring bloomer in my garden. It flowers best where I allow the leaves to accumulate and compost into mulch under shrubs. Generally, […]
HGTV’s Dirty Business – Behind the glamour
After writing a post about the mind-bogglingly expensive projects featured on Dirty Business, the landscaping show which follows the earth.inc designers around as they whip up tired gardens, I watched an episode that peeled back the curtain a little bit. I guess it falls into the category of: shoemaker’s children syndrome.* One highlight of Dirty […]
What’s growing in April: Tulipa tarda
Another quickie to herald today’s opening of one of my favourite spring displays, the Tulipa tarda, aka, astonishingly, tarda tulips. This early species tulip stays low to the ground, and tolerates a root-filled space on a slope in my dry, sandy garden – albeit in one of its sunniest spots. The bulbs seem to increase, […]
Going squirrely: Caught in the act
Just a quick one, which I’d like to caption: No. I. Think. Not. Feeder now indoors. However, this begs the question: will feeding the squirrels keep them away from beheading my tulips? Add your voice here.
Growing veggies: Lettuce be frank
With the sudden spike in temperature expected over the next three days, I might just have left it a little too late to start sowing these lettuce and salad seeds I’d been saving — samples received through my membership in the Garden Writers Association. I hope not. I’ll be squeezing the seeds into some of […]
True confessions: My garden vices
I have way more than one garden vice. Can’t stop buying plants, for example, although I know there’s no room. Call it gluttony. Fortunately, I compensate by killing a few. (A woman who can kill goutweed can kill anything!) I also fall prey to sloth, especially when it comes to weeding and particularly about mid-July, […]
Bookmarked on Gardenimport
[Update: Sadly, Gardenimport has ceased to operate. We miss it. But we have fun spotting Dugald here and there in all things horticultural.] It’s fun getting the emails from Gardenimport, the mail-order garden centre started by Dugald Cameron and his family back in 1983. There are always a couple of gems in his mailer of unusual […]
Earth Day: Some things on my garden wish list
In no particular order, here are a few of my wisherful things: • A grey-water recycling system to turn water from showers or dishwashing into garden irrigation – like the one used by the Toronto Healthy House in Riverdale. (But it’s likely I’ll have to satisfy myself with our grandmother’s method. She used a basin […]