The garden as it happens with the seasons.
I spotted bags of Colchicums, a fall-blooming bulb plant that looks a lot like crocus, while perusing the bulb section of my local garden shop a few weeks back. I’ve long admired the delicate alien beauty of ‘Naked Ladies’, aptly named for their stark, bare petals poking up through the soil. But what caught my …
While out on the Leslie Street Spit this past holiday weekend, I noticed that most of the tansy flower heads were turning black. I don’t grow tansy in any of my gardens and have never observed this detail while out walking the railroad tracks in my area where tansy grows wild and abundantly. In the …
I took this photo of a field of Gaillardia growing on a hillside on the Leslie Spit back in July before The Worst Drought in Fifty Years took a hold and sent lots of plants into hiatus on a short term or permanent basis. On a return visit in late August I found only a …
I recently became an official card-carrying member of Seeds of Diversity, a move that was a long time coming. Okay, to be honest there is no actual membership card but there really should be — I am a proud nerd who loves the idea of a special membership card to a club of similarly-minded nerds. …
My favourite tool bag at my community garden plot, October 4, 2007. I forgot to bring a harvest bag and had to cram everything into the top of the tool bag. I’m currently harvesting lots of dandelion greens for boiling and herbs for drying but the weather has been so mild even the summer crops …
I spotted this lovely gold and dark purple seasonally appropriate container combo at Fiesta Gardens recently. While I am generally not a fan of the traditional seasonal mixed container, this one is a simple concept with a limited colour palette incorporating unusual plants like the ‘Red Boar’ Kale centre piece that is edible and insanely …
Dear Fellow Humans of the Internet, How do I remove black Sharpie from the surface of a white ‘Lumina’ pumpkin? Is there some kind of Home Economics meets McGuyver solution that I can employ that is also wholly non-toxic? Thanks in advance, Gayla Dear Favourite Local Garden Centre, Why did you use a permanent marker …
What a pleasant surprise discovering that the ‘Fatali’ Hot Pepper I started from seed in the Spring of 2006 (1 1/2 years ago) finally produced those adorable little wrinkly peppers I couldn’t wait to see. ‘Fatali’ is supposed to be one of the hottest known hot peppers with a heat that rivals ‘Habenero.’ I’m too …
Break out the apple cider and make some treats, Fall is officially here. And while the weather is happily still very late-summer-like the signs of autumn are everywhere, especially in the harvest. One of the farmers had pie pumpkins at the market this week. I’m realizing now that I should have bought one. An unidentified …
They say that the Autumnal Equinox falls on September 23rd this year — according to my calculations that’s five full days away yet everywhere I go people are talking about Fall like it’s here already. It’s like as soon as Labour Day is past we head straight into Autumn without looking ahead or looking back. …
Panoramic of the Roof Garden July 21, 2007. The following was found in my archives and is dated for July 14. The rooftop garden is coming along beautifully this year. I do believe it is my best year yet. I was shocked to discover that on final count I am growing 14 tomato plants and …
Lately, I have been receiving emails asking me to talk more about the community garden. I will admit that I am so horribly behind in writing about progress there that it’s been difficult to know where to begin. So this morning I browsed through a few folders of photos and decided to begin with the …