I agree: Brown is a colour, too

The Toronto Botanical Garden’s entry garden in January 2013 Today, we’ll put November to bed, and tomorrow we’ll wake up to December – which some feel means the end of colour in the garden. Well, all the leaves may be brown, and the sky is grey… but when we go for that walk on a […]

Continue Reading

Milkweedy curbside art in Parkdale

Thankful to be passing by, and spotted this little art piece by the sidewalk in someone’s garden Think of this as an Almost-Wordless* Wednesday-on-Saturday. Love the use of milkweed seed here. Gratitude to the internet and search engines for satisfying my curiosity: The fluffy, parachute-like structure at the top of the milkweed seed, or achene, […]

Continue Reading

Rosetta McClain Gardens is worth knowing

The fountain garden at Rosetta McClain is often our turnaround for an 18K walk. The pause that refreshes! Toronto is blessed with numerous public spaces, many of which are quite beautiful. You can bet I’m not the only one thankful for this. One of my favourites is Rosetta McClain Gardens in Scarborough, and it deserves […]

Continue Reading

Hugh Garner Coop Green Roof, Cabbagetown

If this shot looks familiar, it’s because I couldn’t resist reusing it – amazed at how lush and leafy a green roof can be. Every garden that welcomed our 70 Toronto Fling bloggers in June 2015 deserves thanks. But extra-special thanks go to the folks at the Cabbagetown Preservation Association (especially Helen and Ruth) for […]

Continue Reading

Tina Amidon’s mosaic chapel

Installed at Annie’s Annuals near San Francisco, a room-sized reliquary chapel by mosaic artist Tina Amidon Dwelling on things to be grateful for is good mental health practice at any time, but especially during anxious moments when things seem bleak. Right now, the world is having moments. While I’m not a person who finds comfort […]

Continue Reading

A simple birdfeeder stand

Like the Little Black Dress, you can dress this up or down – a simple design to emulate Always, I’m grateful to neighbours for giving me ideas to steal copy emulate. That metal tube with its holes looks tip-of-the-tongue familiar – but I have no idea what it is. If you do, please tell us. […]

Continue Reading

Sculpture elevates a Swansea hillside garden

Sculptors Wojtek Biczysko (barefoot) and Ania Biczysko in the Swansea garden that has showcased both their works. How would you put a price on artwork? Some artists may command high prices for anything they produce, though many can’t. The Canada Council for the Arts notes the median income for a visual artist in Canada is […]

Continue Reading

Hakone grass: Fall in love with foliage

For amping up your foliage design palette, there’s nothing quite like the flowing texture of Hakone or Japanese forest grass (Hakonechloa macra). The cultivar with the gold and green stripes above is likely H. ‘Aureola’) First, my confession. For me, Hakone grass is a case of I can’t always – maybe ever – get what […]

Continue Reading

Yum, a candy-coloured garden

What fun! Pool seating in a handful of jellybean colours. As my beloved would tell you, I’m not keen on surprises. However, surprises in the garden are a few of my favourite things. The last thing Sarah and I expected to find behind the lovely Georgian home in Port Hope, for example, was this playful […]

Continue Reading

A pool garden with imperfect symmetry

Sometimes a photographer doesn’t mind a brightly clad garden writer in the shot to add perspective and scale. We were lined up several deep to take this money shot. Patience is a virtue. Huge thanks go to horticultural therapist Margaret Nevett who, years ago at a Master Gardener meeting, suggested that I join the Garden Writers […]

Continue Reading

The power of wrought-iron and stone

Through the balustrade, stonework and wrought iron create instant history in this Lawrence Park garden. The long architectural heritage of Ashlar stonework and wrought iron can give your yard immediate garden cred. You can do them in a major way, like this garden does so majestically. Or you can be like Mr. TG and I, who “got […]

Continue Reading
1 4 5 6 7 8 25