A noun. A verb. A blog.
This morning, the post brought my copy of the 2009 Toronto Gardener’s Journal by Margaret Bennet-Alder. What a delight! The author began this project more than 17 years ago, inspired by her son who had created a journal to help him deal with a medical condition. Last April, as she writes in the intro to […]
It’s windy, windy, windy – and you can bet the ground will be strewn with willow whips tomorrow. All the better to collect and add to your flower arranging materials, friends. This weeping willow seen the other day near Branksome Hall illustrates the lovely spring glow the willows get around Toronto at this time of […]
Gardeners are mad as hell, and….not going to take it any more? Recently we wrote about the show Dirty Business on HGTV which chronicles the projects of the landscaping firm earth.inc. I’ve started watching the show since the episodes started up again. It is entertaining: The earth.inc guys appear to be great (and funny) people, […]
Went yesterday to the African Violet and Gesneriad (jez-NARE-ee-ad) and the Pelargonium and Geranium shows at the Toronto Botanical Gardens. Learned that if you want to purchase an award winning African Violet, Streptocarpus, Sinningia, or Petrocosmea you have to get there early. The show is like an ordinary plant show, with some amazing specimens diplayed […]
Sarah and I do gripe and moan and complain about the Norway maples (Acer platanoides) we’re each forced to share our gardens with. In the city’s urban forest, Norway maples represent 26% of Toronto’s street tree population; likely higher in the old city of Toronto (as it was before amalgamation). That’s not counting the volunteer […]
Monstera Philodendron and Orange Abutilon spending the summer on my canopied deck. You’ve got overwintered geraniums and houseplants that have been cooped up indoors for months. You’ve noticed they’ve started packing their bags and are impatiently awaiting their summer vacation. They’re ready to burst through the screen door and start soaking up that gentle spring […]
In my tiny back garden, which I’ve taken to calling the Microgarden, one of the first perennials to bloom is the Pulmonaria aka, among other things, lungwort and Bethlehem sage. It’s an old-fashioned variety that I’ve had for so long, it pre-dates my awareness of any such arcane things as ‘cultivars.’ From what I’ve learned […]
Hey, Sarah, that lovely little bulb you have colonizing that tough spot beside your front steps is Puschkinia scilloides, the striped squill. We’ve been looking at it for some time wondering if it was some kind of scilla (I really prefer the Latin name to the common squill; Scilla siberica). In fact, it’s a cousin […]
Seen on the road today: the field of bluebells, Siberian squills or Scilla siberica that blankets the corner of Rosedale Valley Road and Park Road every spring. Did someone plant them here? Or, more likely, did they tumble down the slope from the houses above, wantonly self-seeding into this amazing early spring display. (Always carry […]
It simply makes sense for any gardener (or would-be gardener) to belong to a local garden society. Unfortunately, a schedule conflict interrupted my long and happy relationship with mine. Here are ten reasons why I’m finding a way back – and why you should, too: 1. Inside dirt on what will work in your garden. […]
It’s clumps I’m lacking. Big lusty clumps like the ones my sister’s got. I’m verging into garden double-entendre here: that’s the effect snowdrops have. That first sign of life in the garden that makes you twitchy, crazed and happy. Snowdrops really are a psychological necessity in Canada. Charles Schulz once said that when we are […]
When you’re planning, or planting, your garden, don’t forget to enjoy the view from all sides. Even the backside. The effect of light when seen through your garden can enhance its beauty in all seasons. I caught these geraniums glowing at an event held at the Bain Co-op about this time last year. The stained-glass […]