Well another gardening year has passed and we look forward to a new year of growth and plant prosperity! I always reflect on what did not succeed in my garden last year and console myself with gardener’s porn…newly arrived plant and seed catalogues!! This year I sprayed my dwarf alberta spruce, roses and pretty much everything else with wilt stop, an antitranspirant to see if … Continue reading Happy New Year
Saw a very fat hummingbird sipping nectar from the flowers on my seven-son shrub so its a great shrub for both bees and birds! Continue reading Hummingbirds
A wonderful large shrub or small tree for now is Heptacodium miconioides or seven-son flower. It flowers from August to October, bearing clusters of tiny fragrant white flowers. The bark shreds, giving winter interest and the shrub forms an open slightly tiered effect. Fall colour can be muted but the calyces, the bits left over after the flowers are done, turn a bright reddish pink. Another bonus … Continue reading A shrub for now
Welcome to a late summer heat wave here in Southern Ontario! Starting to feel a bit like my days in Dubai. I managed to snap a photo of an all too rare sight this year, a monarch butterfly on my tall purple aster. This is only the second I saw this summer. Remember to plant nectar bearing late summer and fall flowers for the butterflies … Continue reading Late summer glories
Have finished my informal Japanese garden path along the side of the house. It is made up of larger and smaller stones set in a winding pattern and a bit bumpy in order to slow the stroller so one can appreciate the garden more.Informal Japanese path and photo of flagstone path leading through the gate to the japanese path http://www.gardengraces.ca Continue reading Garden Path
The dog days of August are upon us and fall is just around the corner! A second flush of roses is coming but much lighter this year than before, I think the plants struggled to start after such a hard winter. In the meantime the phlox are blooming and for a wonderful carefree annual be sure to seed some poppies in your garden argemone or … Continue reading High summer
No luck yet with the chemical warfare. Tried dead bug juice, tea tree oil and lavender essence. May have to up the concentration! Continue reading Japanese beetles
Japanese beetles…the bain of every rose lover. They can decimate your flowers in minutes, spreading their pheromones all over and attracting even more beetles to join in the love feast. This year hasn’t been too bad as the brutally cold winter we had seemed to have delayed their emergence until after the first flush of roses. However, they are here now and I’ve been hand … Continue reading Japanese Beetles
My name is Grace and I garden in Ontario Canada where the weather can be anything but kind to plants! My blog will be about experiences gardening around the world, battles with insects, and my great love…roses Enjoy 🙂 Continue reading Hello
Garden Graces 