A noun. A verb. A blog.
In Toronto, the blooming of the silver maple, Acer saccharinum, is a true sign of spring. Yet most people don’t even notice the modest little pompom flowers because they’re way up there on some of the city’s tallest street trees. When it’s not in leaf, you can recognize the mature silver maple by its shaggy […]
As I drove back from a meeting today, this little fountain of sunshine rose up from all the mousy brown blanketing the city. Had to double back with my camera. This is the witch hazel, Hamamelis, so valuable for its splash of colour (and, in many cases, perfume!) at one of the most drab and […]
Rose pictured above is the “New Dawn” climber, one of the best performing climbing roses in our climate. These instructions are based on the step-by-step instructions provided at Pickering Nurseries, one of Canada’s best rose growers, supplying a huge variety of bare-root roses. Their planting guide in PDF form is downloadable here. These instructions will […]
This routine from the great English stand-up comedian Eddie Izzard went through my head when I had a rather ironic occurrence this morning. After posting just yesterday about my great idea with the plastic tub greenhouse, I discovered that, due to my own Achilles heel (a massive case of scatterbrained-ness), I forgot to bring my […]
Get thee to Zellers, or Canadian Tire or some other housewares store and buy a semi opaque storage bin similar to the one in the picture. Make sure the lid is flat and not curved, as some are. Trick is to use it upside down. Put the seedlings on the lid, fit bin over top […]
UPDATED!!! Breaking New information from a reader!!! The 1st season was such a hit that the boys were signed on to a second season. HGTV will start airing Dirty Business next Tuesday March 31, 2009 and will run 26 consecutive episodes (season 1 & 2). Original Post starts here: Speaking of Canada Blooms, I […]
A Good Thing – Dramatic Entryway to this year’s Canada Blooms pictured above. The Worst Things 1. The Trend of More Commerce than Art in the Showcase Gardens. Traditionally, it was the showcase gardens that you went to see. Each had a distinct flavour, with memorable details and a definite personality. It was tough to […]
Me: Oh, it’s you again. Squirrel: Oh, hey, hi! If it isn’t Lady Bountiful! Thanks for putting out this amaaazing spread! I LOVE what you’re doing here! (Nom nom nom-like scarfing noises) Me: Yeah. Really, um, about that. The spread. I actually….hmm, how do I put this….the spread, It’s really meant for…you know…the birds. Like […]
We’re in that in-between stage in our Toronto gardens: not quite winter; doesn’t feel like spring. If yours is like mine, the garden’s disheartening brown drabness feels like the morning after a big party. The fun part seems too long ago; all you can see is what needs tidying. But it’s the perfect time of […]
The Toronto Star today contained this article about the sad and coming total demise of the city’s ash tree population over the next ten years. It’s all thanks – or no thanks, depending on your perspective – to the beautiful but deadly emerald ash borer. Through a tree course I took at Ryerson some years […]
This year, the Perennial Plant Association has chosen the beautiful Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’, golden Japanese fountain grass, as its Perennial Plant of the Year 2009. If you visit their site, you can download a plant sheet with the lowdown. Plants of the Year (PotYs?) have been selected through votes by PPA members, judged on criteria […]
Purple and pink Cupani’s Original are one of the best varieties to grow. I’d say it is the most intensely fragrant sweet pea available. It’s also an heirloom variety, Introduced by Father Cupani, a Franciscan monk in Palermo, Sicily, in 1699. It has deep blue standards and purple wings. You can buy heirloom sweet peas […]