Food for the eyes, and sometimes for the stomach, too.
I am finally accepting the fact that winter is coming and I had better enjoy fall (despite all of this horrible rain) while it lasts. One of the gifts gardening has given me is the ability to look at the landscape and plant life around me with new eyes. I started to look with a …
Famous for candy-sweet cobalt blue blooms that resemble tidy clusters of pint-sized grapes, muscari is a versatile, carefree spring bloom. Pack a punch and plant bulbs in eye-catching “rivers” or clustered together in problem areas under trees and in rock gardens. This hardy bulb will even survive in the toxic soil beneath black walnut trees! …
Unbelievable! My stevia plant is flowering! I brought my large stevia plant indoors about a month ago. We have had a very cold, wet Fall in Toronto which does not bode well with the delicate nature of stevia. I have learned over the years that stevia is easy-to-grow but particular. Hailing from a warm Latin …
Guest post by Emira Mears With summer in full swing most of my garden work these days is about maintaining: watering, weeding and reseeding the odd head of lettuce. For the past week or so these chores have been particularly lovely as a few of my scented flowers are in full bloom. Now many of …
I’m currently in Northern California for the Blogher Conference. I’ve been to these parts once before but the massiveness of the plants, most especially the invasives really stand out this time. I assumed this patch of renegade nasturtiums was a random fluke. Until I turned the corner. And the next one. And the next. And …
Guest post by Renee Garner I must admit, rather proudly actually, that I am hooked on National Public Radio. I am rarely impressed with top 40 radio, less impressed with the hip hop of late, and classic rock bores me to tears the moment Stairway to Heaven starts up. So I switch on over to …
Guest post by Emira Mears Who knew!?! But seriously. Our house came with a number of lovely roses of different varieties. Some traditional pink, very fragrant lovely ones in the front, two of what I believe are dog roses also in front beds and a very prolific climbing rose on the back fence. Last summer …
3 out of 3 taste testers confirm, this variety of “fancy” pansy tastes like bubble gum. We will even go so far as to identify the very specific flavour of Bazooka Joe gum that has been chewed for too long. Seriously! It would seem that this particular ‘Not 99 Cent’ pansy was worth not 99 …
Guest post by Amy Urquhart “Invasive” does, in fact mean, well, “invasive”. I’m always curious when I buy a new plant labelled as invasive, just how invasive can it be, really? That one little starter plant can’t really get to be that big in one season, can it? Besides the usual mints, balms and the …
Phase 1 of “Project Deck Garden 2006” was enacted yesterday afternoon. It was inspired by a sunny day and a headache that wouldn’t quit, which not surprisingly, was abated after a few hours in the fresh air. I won’t bore you with the details as Phase 1 involves large helpings of gardening’s lesser joys; clean-up, …
We’ve been experiencing unseasonably warm temperatures here in Toronto which have pushed me to get out and do some early-season garden work. I can’t recall being this eager to get gardening but I suspect that I am always this excited, it’s just the lapse of time between fall and spring that has me convinced my …
Another May, another act of gluttony at the Parkdale Horticultural Society plant sale. Okay perhaps there was slightly less gluttony on my part this year — arriving late always helps since the good stuff goes in a matter of minutes. But I just can’t help myself when I see a big container of something-or-other for …