A noun. A verb. A blog.
The Toronto Botanical Garden on a rainy (but clearly not grey) day in November Think November is drab? It doesn’t have to be, if you play your cards right. Look at the lusciousness in the photo above, without the use of a single flower – well, discounting the dried heads of a red-tinged oakleaf hydrangea […]
Two bright red begonias – B. ‘Dragon Wing’ on top and B. boliviensis ‘Bonfire’ at bottom – with golden Ipomeoa ‘Marguerite’ Isn’t it just the way that the street planters are at their best just before a cold snap makes them collapse like a failed soufflé. Give them a nod as you pass, and say, […]
Joseph’s coat amaranth is ornamental and (technically) edible Performers who sing, dance and act are called triple threats – a good term for amaranth, too. Amaranth’s three-times-great features include: highly nutritious seeds, tasty young leaves and rather smashing flowers and foliage. Although, not always in the same plant. Like trendy quinoa, its kissing cousin, this […]
The bold, blue leaves of sea kale (Crambe maritima) anchor a collection of planters – and sea kale is actually edible. Sea kale also produces clusters of white flowers. With less-attractive large leaves, its cousin colewort (Crambe cordifolia) outdoes sea kale with its billowing clouds of small, white flowers. Sometimes you need to sweat the […]
Leucothoe fontanesiana ‘Rainbow’ – ‘Rainbow’ drooping fetterbush or dog hobble Variegated foliage is my weakness. But, I have to be careful. A garden full of typical green-and-white “interesting” foliage can be too much of a good thing. But these two shrubs – both seen growing in Toronto – can introduce a kiss of pink into […]
Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood’ This is when the Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) ‘Bloodgood’ really starts living up to its name. Today, the sun was lighting up maples like this all over the city. ‘Bloodgood’ is one of the tougher ones – which it has to be in my dry shade garden. This is its second year, […]
A tapestry of pastels. Arrestingly beautiful. Can a garden work without blooms? Of all the things I could say about Seattle’s Dunn Gardens, this question floated to the top as I reviewed my many photographs. What happens after the flowers fade? But, first, the Dunn Gardens deserve an introduction. Originally, they were an early 20th-century […]
The Black Garden at VanDusen Botanical Garden, Vancouver, B.C. Black plants are trendy at the moment. So I thought the Black Garden might be a good entry point into a post on an amazingly diverse botanical garden such as Vancouver’s VanDusen garden. Actually, it’s a bit misleading to call this a black garden. First, there are […]
As 2010 leaves us, we hope you’ll enjoy this little slideshow of some of the memorable leaves from the year behind. It doesn’t always have to be about the flowers… although a few did sneak in here and there. We hope that 2010 leaves you with fond memories, and that 2011 brings you health, happiness […]
Sarah and I were talking about blue foliage plants this afternoon. She’d been thinking of a blue hosta for a friend’s garden. Large blue leaves would be just the right counterpoint to her friend’s fine-textured gold spirea. Trouble is, that spot in the garden gets baking-hot sun. The glaucous waxy coating that makes blue hostas […]
Look what I found at the industrial park! The contradiction in that phrase always strikes me as quaintly hopeful. It’s industrial. Yet it’s a park. Builders in the 50s and 60s must have been inspired by the great promise of industry – the same impulse that turned warehouses and pumping stations into cathedrals in the […]
Who says front yard trees have to be boring. Look at this specimen of the Tricolour European Beech (Fagus sylvatica ‘Roseomarginata’) growing on the south side of Mortimer Avenue. I love all beeches for their smooth, grey, elephant-leg bark and regal stance. I love the way the juveniles of our native beeches hold their buff-coloured […]