A noun. A verb. A blog.
Do these stepping stones above the water call to you? What draws you through a garden? The answers pop up again and again as – in the midst of another January coolth-wave – I look longingly through garden photos. Certain garden features give me what I call “come-hither looks.” Come here, they say, irresistibly. Walk […]
Our Flowtron Leaf Eater, a little battle-scarred, but still working four years later Today was perfect for leaf shredding. The sun was shining, and the leaves were dry. So that’s how I spent my afternoon. Because we love our leaves, and so do our gardens. They really, really do. Since I wrote about my leaf […]
Blooming now: interesting leaf patterns on the Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’ There’s very little blooming in the November Microgarden. But wait! There’s so much, if you look closely. Like the vision of old friends doing new tricks in the image above. Every autumn, the red-purple leaves of the purple smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria ‘Royal Purple’) […]
Hydrangea paniculata ‘Quick Fire’ isn’t famous for fall colour. It probably should be. Even the Proven Winners site doesn’t mention fall foliage in its write-up for Hydrangea ‘Quick Fire.’ Why on earth not? The colour this year in my garden is a show-stopper, giving the dried blooms a flattering new outfit. Just look at the […]
Photographed yesterday, a row of Freeman maples (Acer x freemanii) along Carlton north of Allan Gardens At this time of year, you can especially note how often Freeman or Freeman’s maple (Acer x freemanii) appears along our streets. That telltale “x” says this tree is a hybrid – a cross between red maple (Acer rubrum) […]
All-green fall planters at Allan Gardens A little almost-wordless wow for another grey Wednesday in November. Don’t you love the textures here? And these babies will take a little nippy weather, especially here where they’re a little sheltered. It was hard to choose between them but this one might be my favourite after all.
Black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) – a North American native shrub – with glossy black pomes and bright fall foliage First, to confess. These fruits are highly decorative in the fall garden, but none of them are berries. As botanically defined, berries are fleshy fruits and seeds produced from a single ovary. Currants, blueberries and gooseberries […]
Autumn crocus (Crocus speciosus) blooming in November 2013 Especially after having written a Trellis Magazine article that mentions them among “the other bulbs” that are oft neglected in gardens, you’d think I’d have rushed right out and bought me a bundle of autumn crocuses (Crocus speciosus) and their cousins Colchicum speciosum. I could be enjoying […]
The Toronto Botanical Garden on a rainy (but clearly not grey) day in November Think November is drab? It doesn’t have to be, if you play your cards right. Look at the lusciousness in the photo above, without the use of a single flower – well, discounting the dried heads of a red-tinged oakleaf hydrangea […]
I’d call this a jubilation of purple (and not-so-purple) purple coneflowers (Echinacea), wouldn’t you? From mid-July into September, purple coneflowers (Echinacea) are among the bright stars of the garden. Long-lasting and fairly easy to grow, on well-drained soil in full sun or light to part shade, they are a great flower for beginning gardeners. What’s […]
Curved walks in both tiny gardens expand the sense of space, turning the few strides to the front porch into a winding path Do you have a tiny front yard? Many people in Toronto do and wonder what the heck to do with it. The photos of two east-end gardens that I recently recovered* show […]
Trick #1: Break the line. The design above doesn’t follow a long, linear path, not even with the paving. One line of stone runs into the fence, not along it, and the rock around the fountain claims an oblique corner. Few of us city gardeners have room to be expansive. Yet skinny spaces can be […]