The ground is still frozen but there are a few intrepid flowers that pop up as soon as possible in my zone 5 garden. The snow drops first appeared in late February as did the spidery blossoms of Hamamelis “Jelena” and are in their full glory now. Hamamelis “Arnold’s Promise” took a bit more time to come out but is in full bloom now as … Continue reading In the Garden in March
Colour preference is intensely personal for everyone. What one person loves another loathes. If you’re an artist or designer, you will be familiar with the colour wheel and the theory behind complimentary and adjacent colours and how to combine them to create pleasing patterns. In the end what really matters is that you love what you are looking at every day. In the garden, colours … Continue reading Colour Combos
A pot does not always have to be filled with plants. It can be a beautiful focal point on its own. Follow your site lines when placing them in the garden as focal points. That way you can see them from a window or a favourite seating area in the garden. Smaller pots make a bigger impact when clustered in groups of different sizes. Make … Continue reading Tip of the Week
Well this has been a strange spring. We are in the last day of June and I still have paeonies blooming together with roses, a first for me! Normally the paeonies come first with their ephemeral but glorious blooms then I get to enjoy the first wave of roses before the japanese beetles hit! Now I have both but no beetles (fingers and toes crossed) … Continue reading In the Garden this Week
As I reflect on the past New Year’s eves and where I have been: Canada, South America, Europe and Dubai; I thought I would share with you the gardens I’ve seen around this time. Some are in the dead of winter and others in the height of summer. Chile My garden at the time and others in Santiago are in their full glory at this … Continue reading Happy New Year!
It is a bright sunny -8deg celsius here in southwestern Ontario, or 17deg fahrenheit for you Americans enjoying your Thanksgiving today. May your day be warmer than mine! My hectic landscaping season came to an abrupt end with a snowstorm and plummeting temperatures but such are the vagaries of weather in our times of climate change. My season was success as a garden designer, head … Continue reading End of another Season
Words fail me… Next week could be warm…pray for us poor souls up north 🙂 Happy gardening! http://www.gardengraces.ca Continue reading A Canadian spring
Hello everyone! I sent this out as an email but for my clients and followers whose email I don’t have, here is a short blog on fall garden chores. Although the gorgeous weather may be lulling us into a wishful summer mode, even the butterflies are still here, fall is upon us and there are garden chores to do! Now is the time to apply … Continue reading Fall garden chores
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
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
Garden Graces 