Life in the Garden
As usual I am still mulling over the second part of fertilizing 101 but here is a quick snapshot of the life you can find in your garden no matter how small it may be. A monarch fueling up on a lantana bush An eastern black swallowtail larva on a dill plant A cicada When the cicadas sing, the temperature is usually 25 deg C … Continue reading Life in the Garden
Fertilizing 101, part 1
Most of us know that plants create their own food through photosynthesis, in the presence of light and chlorophyll, carbon dioxide and water are combined to make sugar and oxygen. Sugar is then converted to starch in order to store the energy. Plants also need various macro and micronutrients derived from the soil in order to thrive, bloom and reproduce. The three most important macronutrients … Continue reading Fertilizing 101, part 1
Dashing and Dependable Daylilies
Daylilies are the workhorses of the plant world. Dependable, tough, low maintenance, generally well behaved and the latest varieties are anything but dull! They have come a long way from the old orange daylilies that you see growing along the roadside and marking out the outlines of long gone homesteads, yet have retained that long lived tenacity from their orange ancestor. Now you can get … Continue reading Dashing and Dependable Daylilies
Summer Colour Combos
Colour and colour combinations are a very personal choice and when clients ask me to do what “I think looks good” because they don’t know, I make sure to get a feel of the colours they like. I look at their interior colour schemes, deep jewel like tones or pale neutrals and carry that out into the garden. Make sure the colours harmonize or alternatively … Continue reading Summer Colour Combos
Canada Day
Happy Canada Day!! http://www.gardengraces.ca Continue reading Canada Day
Trapped by the garden
I keep meaning to write a blog but am lured by the siren song of the garden!! The weather is glorious for the moment, the first roses are opening even before the paeonies! Even in my small suburban garden, nature moves to her own rhythm. A swallowtail butterfly visits my Korean lilac bush every spring. The bumblebees adore my double columbines aptly named Granny’s Bonnets … Continue reading Trapped by the garden
The Big Players
Crazy, crazy weather, global warming and we’re having one of the coldest, wettest Mays in a long time here in southern Ontario with serious flooding in eastern Ontario, Quebec and around Canada. In spite of the cold and rain, the spring blooms march on with the big players blowing their trumpets…tulips and daffodils. Even though I’m Dutch, I’m not a big fan of the large tulips … Continue reading The Big Players
Spring Marches On
After a very unpleasant hailstorm the other week that prematurely terminated my crocuses and tiny irises, the next round of bulbs and spring flowers have marched in. Another of my favourites are the species tulips. Blooming early and finishing before the trees fully leaf out, they flourish and spread in the spring sunshine and will grow under trees as long as they get the early … Continue reading Spring Marches On
Easter Baskets
I was out looking for some easter picks to dress up my spring pots and couldn’t find any. So off I went to my trusty dollar store and came up with these. A dozen styrofoam easter eggs, two curly ribbon swirls for presents (all ready cut and when I pulled out the staples, one had 12 pieces and one had 24 pieces…how convenient), and bamboo skewers. Take … Continue reading Easter Baskets
Early Spring Blooms
There’s nothing more cheery for me than when the early spring blossoms burst out of the ground and bring cheery colour to a late winter or early spring day. even better when the sun is out! Everyone is familiar with crocuses, the dependable bulbs that come back year after year and feature bright primary colours guaranteed to lift your spirits. There are also lesser known … Continue reading Early Spring Blooms
Garden Graces 