Happy New Year

Happy 2020 to everyone and may all your gardens grow even better! To quote Vita Sackville West: “No gardener would be a gardener if he did not live in hope”. And we need hope…we just came out of the strangest and extreme weather here in southern Ontario: record breaking rainfall, severe freezing rain in some areas and heavy snow farther north. What happened to the … Continue reading Happy New Year

Are Poinsettias Poisonous?

Every Christmas season, people worry about poisonous plants, pets and toddlers and rightly so.  A popular myth is that poinsettias are poisonous, probably due to their bright red colour.  In reality, they are not really toxic; the milky sap in the leaves can cause skin irritation, drooling and sometimes vomiting if your babies decide to chew on them, but rarely anything more serious.    A gorgeous … Continue reading Are Poinsettias Poisonous?

Surprise Christmas Blooms

I walked out into my garden today and discovered my witchhazel in full bloom! Hamamelis virginiana or the common witchhazel is a lovely North American native shrub hardy to zone 3.  Yellow fragrant flowers appear in the fall, often as late as December as mine has done happily.  Normally the flowers are obscured by the yellow fall leaves but most of them have fallen off … Continue reading Surprise Christmas Blooms