Joe Fafard’s cows in the meadow of Toronto’s Financial District Last night’s double-digit minus temps and today’s snow make me feel like these gals look. Resigned.
Yes, we’re all patiently waiting for spring 2016
Snowdrop alert 2016. Wow, they’re early.
Hello, little snowdrop! This is our earliest-ever official Toronto Gardens snowdrop sighting – I noticed my usual earlybird snowdrop was up yesterday, February 3, 2016, but it had likely awoken a few days before. Our neighbours S and B have a nice little patch blooming in their front yard, too. Prior to this, the earliest […]
Our snowless winter of 2015-16
No heavy snow to weigh down the grasses along Lake Shore East, January 2016 Perhaps we dreamed of a White Christmas in December 2015, but a dream was all it was. And the snow has just kept on not coming. Toronto often has little snow on the ground in January, but this year has been […]
2015 had Toronto’s wettest June since 1870
The city also had a record-breaking February 2015 – the first time since record-keeping began in 1840 that temperatures stayed below zero for the entire month. January, when this shot was taken, Toronto had almost half its usual precipitation. How do I know these bits of weather arcana? Because, today, something great arrived in my […]
Snowdrop alert, March 2015
Do a little “Where’s Waldo-ing” on this photo, and you can see masses of happy snowdrops, finally welcoming spring. Yes, Toronto, there are snowdrops! This year, Sarah won the local snowdrops sweepstakes, with a handful blooming by her drive. Mine are mostly hibernating. But look, look, look at these in a Riverdale garden on Saturday! […]
Wind and snow on winter grasses
More blow than snow on this first snowfall of Winter 2014 (well, technically Fall). An almost-wordless Wednesday tribute.
Gardeners: Wondering what to do with the snow?
Finally, Boxing Day 2012 had a late delivery of snow. Toronto gardeners got a late gift yesterday – a nice, deep blanket of snow! Whenever you’re shovelling it off your walks, don’t push it into the street. Pile it onto your garden! As long as it doesn’t contain salts, that snow contains just what your […]
Another rainy day, another century
Coal wagon stalled on muddy Ashdale Avenue, a photo by Toronto History on Flickr. When you consider this photo, taken just over a century ago, you realize that Toronto isn’t much beyond its infancy. This is on Ashdale Avenue, just a few blocks from where my home would be built — a couple of decades […]
A time to reap, a time to sow
Before the end of July 2010, we’ve harvested radishes, many bouquets of frilly lettuce, a kilo or more of bush beans, and nearly that in tomatoes, with more to come. Not to mention the flowers. Aren’t they all pretty? The contrast between this year’s and last year’s tomato harvest alone from our community garden is […]
Q&A: Are your ‘Annabelle’ hydrangeas a flop?
Q: I am hoping you can help me with my Annabelle Hydrangeas. Last year I planted 15 small plants. This year they look as though they are receiving IV steroids every day. They are 5 feet tall and have enormous flowers that are absolutely beautiful. The problem is that we have had so much rain […]
So much for my cool weather crops
Our little 0.0018 acre looks a whole lot neater than it did last year. If you were reading Toronto Gardens then, you might recall our very late start in July 2009 as brand new plot owners at the East York Community Garden. Earlier this year, I described how Mr. TG created raised beds using cedar […]
Baby, it’s cold outside (bring in those tender plants)
Mother’s Day weekend is proving to be windy and cold. Hope you weren’t fooled by the recent Floridian weather into planting too soon. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants are among those pre-started plants that must be protected, especially overnight, when temps dip to near zero, as they could tonight and tomorrow. Certain vegetable seeds, including beans, […]