A noun. A verb. A blog.
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 […]
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, […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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’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 […]
You’d be right in thinking this looks a bit of a mess. Poor Annabelle! This is her equivalent of a bad hair day. The ‘Annabelle’ Hydrangea arborescens is one of the best flowering shrubs for a small city garden. Compact and somewhat shade tolerant, it performs well in an urban setting, producing a load of […]
To the person who gifted us this lovely pot of pink tulips, a particular thank you on this day of mixed snow and rain – with its possible wet, white accumulations of 25 cm north of the city. (Listening to the weather report, my daughter comments that squalls is a funny word. I guess it’s […]
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, […]