A noun. A verb. A blog.
Last weekend, I had one of those What the heck is that?!? must-stop photographic urges as my husband and I drove along King Street in Kitchener, Ontario on our way to its conjoined city Waterloo. I ran over, furiously snapping, as is my wont, and accosted two passersby, who told me that this is the […]
Is there such a thing as too many pictures of Cosmos? Perhaps not if they come on the tail of a post about mass plantings. This long fenceful planted end to end with the hardy annual Cosmos bipinnatus makes me happy every time I walk past. Has 2009 been a particularly good year for cosmos? […]
By August, my front garden is past its floral (tongue firmly in cheek as I write this word) glory. Spring is the bountiful season in this sandy, dry shade garden, and it all kind of slides downhill from there. Now the daylilies and Asiatic lilies are finished, leaving a few containers, some quiet hosta blooms […]
There are 23,000 species in the Compositae or, much more fun to say, Asteraceae family – including coneflowers (Echinacea), sunflowers (Helianthus), and, of course, Asters. Many of them are inspiring pollinators to do the happy dance right now. This little fellow is as happy as a bee in cosmos; Cosmos bipinnatus, to be precise. It […]
I’ve always been frustrated with the little teeny packets of flower preserver that you get when you buy cut flowers. Seems you can never buy this mysterious stuff in bulk for use in home-grown bouquets. No idea what it even contains. So I’ve always wanted to find a home recipe for flower bouquet longevity. I’ve […]
I’m new to this “tradition” (if the term applies to something so young) initiated by Indiana blogger Carol of May Dreams Gardens. On the 15th of every month, she asks all bloggers to show what’s growing in their gardens. Here’s what’s happening in (and around) my Zone 6 Toronto garden, starting with the top picture, […]
If your garden is small, here’s a technique to keep certain plants from overgrowing it. If your garden is shady, it keeps plants from becoming leggy and floppy as they reach for the light. If your garden is both, listen up. And, by the way, this technique also increases the number of flowers and can […]
For down-to-earth, spring flowering rock garden basics, you don’t have to go much further than the letter A. Rock garden plants are often called by their own A name: alpines, because of their origins on mountainsides, thriving with sharp drainage and full sun. A well-drained, full-sun position is still is their favourite venue. This is […]
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.
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, […]
Pansies and violas on sale in garden centres can go directly in the garden in Toronto now. As long as you can dig, you can plant, and you can certainly plant them in planters as well. Even if we get snow next week, they will be fine. They are quite hardy and can stand frost, […]
Our gardening tastes always get more sophisticated the more we know, and gardeners, self included, always get excited about all the new annuals (and perennials) available in the garden centres. Sometimes we turn up our noses at all the old standby annuals that have been in people’s gardens forever. Perhaps we scorn them because we […]