A noun. A verb. A blog.
We are well into fall now and careening into winter, but I can’t let the season pass without noting some of fall’s favourite smells. No matter how long ago you were a student, a new school year always lends fall a special personality: an odd contrast of something starting up, while the growing season is screeching […]
Purple and pink Cupani’s Original are one of the best varieties to grow. I’d say it is the most intensely fragrant sweet pea available. It’s also an heirloom variety, Introduced by Father Cupani, a Franciscan monk in Palermo, Sicily, in 1699. It has deep blue standards and purple wings. You can buy heirloom sweet peas […]
After discovering Richter’s Herbs yesterday I did some web searching and found a wealth of material on-line from Conrad Richter, president of Richter’s Herbs. His article, The Many-Splendored Scents of Herbs (say that 3 times real fast if you dare) discusses the scientific aspects of the many highly scented herbs that Richter’s grows. He really […]
There’s something about Toronto and roses. Even the most unassuming front porch can often have an amazing display of climbing roses in June. I once took a course on perennials at the then-Civic Garden Centre (now, Toronto Botanical Garden). It was taught by Keith Squires, of Country Squires Garden in Milton (worth a visit for […]
At this time of year, the words above go through my mind, and often pass my lips, in a bad Katharine Hepburn accent (with apologies to calla lilies). Old-fashioned lemon lilies (Hemerocallis flava) are among the legacy plants in my garden. Along with the morning glories (Ipomoea purpurea) and purple irises (Iris), the lilacs (Syringa) and mock […]
Too bad this invention doesn’t exist, as this post about garden plants whose smells I love would be a lot easier. How to describe smells? Almost impossible. I suppose there should be some way of doing it, like the way wine experts use descriptive terms to describe the flavour of wine. When I read those […]