A noun. A verb. A blog.
Beautiful ‘Prinses Irene’ tulips have me wanting more, more, more! Every spring finds me wishing I could turn back the clock to fall – to plant more bulbs. But, in a small garden, how do you deal with the necessary (and unsightly) evil of ripening foliage afterwards? The leaves busily making food for next year’s […]
My heart is broken – I’ll be away for these great spring things this weekend. I’m counting on you to go on my behalf, hence today’s Idea File: Spring Awakening at the Gardiner Museum, May 3 to 5 Gorgeous floral designs by ten top creative spirits, all through the Gardiner museum of ceramic art. Bring a […]
Having survived late dumps of snow and ice pellets, the spring planters are growing a great crop of Optimism It’s Garden Bloggers Bloom Day – or it was yesterday – when every 15th of every month, Carol of May Dreams Gardens invites gardeners around the world to show what’s growing their way. If you were […]
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 […]
The cactus house at Allan Gardens Conservatory The Easter Show is on now at Allan Gardens. As the winds pick up for one last wintery blast, head over there to remind yourself there really is such a season as Spring. But I’m going to walk you backwards through the greenhouses, starting at the end with […]
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. […]
Hyacinthus orientalis ‘Delft Blue’ – the camera turns it more purple than the soft blue of real life So glad I didn’t plant hyacinths last fall – or, rather, so glad I didn’t plant all of them. I held back six extra-fragrant ‘Delft Blue’ hyacinths from Botanus to try forcing. And now, when you step […]
Spring, bring it on! St. James Park, Toronto – April 30, 2010
Sarah’s garden won the Snowdrop Derby in 2013 It’s a tradition at Toronto Gardens to mark the arrival of the first snowdrops. Despite the recent dump of snow and slush, these welcome babies arrived on Sarah’s south-ish facing slope just yesterday, if not before. Snowdrops in February? Priceless. Time to note where to plant more, […]
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 […]
In Queen Victoria Park, countless people stop for the ultimate portrait, surrounded by 500,000 daffodils Did you know that Niagara Falls, Ontario, is the Daffodil Capital of North America? I didn’t, till I found myself looking for things to do when heading there on business last week. And there it was – 500,000 reasons to […]
Titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum) on its way to flowering I came to Niagara Falls for the daffodils; 500,000 of them. More on that later. My surprise find was one of the world’s biggest, smelliest, most suggestive flowers in bud, the titan arum (Amorphophallus titanum). In the next couple of weeks or so, it will burst […]