My heart fluttered when I peeled back the holiday wrapping and revealed its contents. I have been coveting this particular amaryllis variety — ‘Chico’ (Hippeastrum cybister) — for years. I saw it once in person at a spring bulb show and it is every bit as cool as it looks in photos. The flowers are …
As always I have put together a gift guide that I hope appeals to a wide range of interests and budgets. I never repeat myself, so please check out older gift guides if you’re looking for a tool, company, or item that is missing here. Please also see my guide to things that you can …
Warning: given that this is a website about gardening, I feel it is my responsibility to provide a trigger warning. This story started out simply but took a hard turn once I started to let go of the blocks around honestly expressing some of the brutal things I witnessed on this trip: mainly sex tourism. …
I had these seeds for some time, a gift from a tomato-loving friend that I was finally able to grow just this year. I generally prefer to withhold my judgement of tomato varieties until I have had the opportunity to grow them multiple times over a range of different seasons. I recently posted about ‘Snow …
The first real snow is on the ground. I say “real snow” to differentiate it from the first threatening flakes of the season that fall and quickly evaporate on contact. That snow is a precursor to the real snow and doesn’t count. It is more or less a warning to say, We are coming. Be …
Please allow me to introduce the second embroidery project in our You Grow Girl Makes series for plant and garden lovers. This fall themed wall hanging was inspired, in part, by a surprise gift of 300 pounds of pumpkin that was delivered to my door last fall. The experience gave me the opportunity to taste …
The first hard frost is predicted for this weekend, either Friday or Sunday. I don’t know which because the various weather apps I keep on my phone (and check religiously) are giving conflicting forecasts. At this point I am hustling to clean up for Friday, expecting the worst, but hoping for more time. As is …
It was one of the breakout stars of the season. I didn’t see it coming. I have grown ‘Snow White,’ a large, white cherry variety, a few times before, but for some reason it sat in the background while other newcomers caught my fancy. This spring I had a lot of new varieties to try …
The 2014 growing season was a strange one. But then again, aren’t they all? Spring came painfully late, and summer, when it finally arrived, announced its presence in small, anemic spurts. The weather was often cooler than usual, and when it rained, it came down hard and fast, knocking over anything that wasn’t properly staked …
I grew up in the Niagara Region, an area known for a microclimate that produces an abundance of fruit. Grapes in particular are kind-of a big deal there, even more-so now that the wine industry has taken off. Even before the industry got big there was an annual festival to commemorate the harvest. The festival …
When it comes to borage there is always too much and never enough. I’ve been growing regular ole blue borage flowers for years; first at my community garden plot and now here in my small urban backyard where they are happy — too happy — growing into monstrous, prickly sea creature-like things that make my …