A noun. A verb. A blog.
The bold, blue leaves of sea kale (Crambe maritima) anchor a collection of planters – and sea kale is actually edible. Sea kale also produces clusters of white flowers. With less-attractive large leaves, its cousin colewort (Crambe cordifolia) outdoes sea kale with its billowing clouds of small, white flowers. Sometimes you need to sweat the […]
Heucherella ‘Sweet Tea’ with Hosta ‘Pineapple Upside-Down Cake’ and the glorious Tulipa ‘Prinses Irene’. May has raced by so quickly, I forgot it was the 15th – the day when, every month, Carol of May Dreams Gardens invites garden bloggers to share what’s growing on. I might just make it under the wire. After a […]
The nodding bracts of prairie smoke (the actual flowers are hiding inside their pointy nose) blooming in May Don’t be entirely fooled by the name. The wildflower called prairie smoke (Geum triflorum) isn’t restricted to prairies and is native to some parts of Ontario, the eastern limit of its natural range. As you’d expect, it […]
Beautiful yellow trout lily (Erythronium – perhaps ‘Pagoda’?) from Barry Parker’s Parkdale garden Spring has arrived, and now we’re waiting impatiently for it to actually begin. But just because there are blank, snowy spots where your plants are supposed to be doesn’t mean you can’t be thinking about what to plant between them next year. […]
Blue Muscari in a cheerful pot on Sarah’s balcony Apparently, it’s Blue Monday, the saddest day of the year. Who knew? I’m not feeling particularly sad myself, but I am always ready to think about the colour blue. Here’s some cheeriness for a blue day. Blue flowers are notoriously hard to photograph, and usually look […]
Helenium autumnale – that’s Helen’s flower, to you. Not sneezeweed. Geez. Enough about me. Let’s talk about Helenium. I don’t know what variety this is (perhaps its short stature points to ‘Ruby Dwarf’ aka ‘Rubinzwerg’), but I wish it were growing in my garden. Despite what they say about the need for full sun and moist soil, […]
Wow, wow, WOW! The pre-sunset “golden hour” lights up butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) Stopped in my tracks on the streets of East York. That’s the only way to describe my reaction to this plant just after 7 pm on Wednesday evening, and thank the photo gods for my iPhone. Capturing the last of the sunlight […]
Get started on your beautiful garden. Local plant societies are beginning their plant sales for 2012. Toronto Gardeners in the east end won’t want to miss the upcoming 2012 Beach Garden Society plant sale. The sale is tailor-made for city gardens, with personally chosen Beach Babies (see below), hand-selected Connoisseur Collection plants and great bargains on […]
Oh, sure. They look cute, their nodding white flowers, crimped and curled at the edges, like fairies’ cloche hats. In May, they shake those little bells, and perfume fills the air. Plus, they’ll grow anywhere, in sun, shade, wet or dry, with minimal attention. What’s not to like? Grrrrr. Lily of the valley. Convallaria. Muguet […]
“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them.” ~ Laurence Binyon, For the Fallen This is an Oriental poppy, Papaver orientalis ‘Beauty of Livermere’, rather than […]
Nipponanthemum nipponicum in mid-October At first I thought this generous mound abloom in a neighbour’s garden was a shasta daisy. But, wait. Shasta daisies in October… and, now, November? And what’s with that distinctive foliage? The whorled form sort of reminded me of Pacific chrysanthemum. Could it be a mum? Well, I relish an ID […]
Patrinia scabiosifolia in the formal garden of Oldfields, Lilly House, on the grounds of Indianapolis Museum of Art There I was, wandering lonely as a cloud, floating on high o’er vales and hills (on the grounds of the Indy Museum of Art), when all at once, with apologies to Mr. Wordsworth, I saw a crowd […]