The First Flower of Spring

First Flower of Spring

I usually avoid republishing images that were recently posted to one of my social media accounts, but when you consider how hard won this spring feels and the fact that this little flower was trapped underneath a deep lake of ice less than a week ago… I think it begs repeating here. And now, we

Growing Galanthus

They arrive early in the spring along with the hellebore, and the crocus, and the few other earliest of the early flowers. They are a gift. They greet us silently and yet there is an audible gasp when their bobbing heads are spotted above the debris. Oh thank god we’re gonna make it after all

California Poppy ‘Buttercream’

This soft and creamy version of the typically orange California native poppies are just starting to bloom in my Dry Garden Bed. Despite my love of orange I went with the cream flowers because there are too many other colours in that bed and it would have been chaos. I also love the unusual.

White Rain Lily

The forecast is calling for the year’s first snowfall today followed by a wet and rainy weekend. In order to beat the weather I spent two hours before dark yesterday hustling to get the remaining bulbs and transplants into the ground. Today the anticipation of spring flowers reminded me of the clusters of white rain

New Columbines in the Garden

This unknown red variety bloomed a few weeks ago. I bought it at a garden shop in early spring, but it did not come with an accurate tag. I almost didn’t buy it as I was saving space for ‘Black Barlow’ a variety I had been coveting for ages. But wouldn’t you know it, I

Update on the Morelle de Balbis

When I wrote about the Morelle de Balbis (Solanum sisymbrifolium) last it was on April 30, 2010 when the seedling was still living in the greenhouse. It had just begun to produce its thorns and I was beginning to get a glimpse into what I’d signed on for. It is now July 1 and the

Joe Clematis, in Bloom

I promised a follow-up photo of Clematis x cartmanii ‘Joe’ in full bloom and here it is. This small clematis from New Zealand makes a gorgeous potted plant, but keep in mind that it is not hardy in a colder climate like Toronto’s (around zone 5b-ish) and must be overwintered in a cool greenhouse. Meanwhile,

Pretty Little Daffodils

My friend Barry is growing these sweet and simple daffodils (Narcissus cantabricus) in his greenhouse and they’re currently in bloom. I enjoy daffodils in a general way, much like I enjoy most flowers. However, I tend to be underwhelmed by their arrival as they come late when spring has already been around for a spell.