Category: Advice and inspiration

Toronto summers (June-August) tend to be very hot and dry. We need to provide extra water for almost all plants during the summer months. This has overwhelming ecological benefits!   … Read More

How should I water? This is the most common question I’m asked about gardening. The expectation generally is that there is an answer. And that the answer is something like: 14.

But watering is very complicated if the goal is to provide every plant with the optimum amount of water.
  … Read More

By late October there is nothing more to orchestrate and everything can be left to sprawl and bloom with abandon. The hard-working sedum “Autumn Joy” comes into its own and the blues of the late asters take over from the yellow and orange harmonies of September.   … Read More

We are so used to seeing lawn as a default groundcover that we don’t see it clearly as an element in the design of the space we have surrounding us.   … Read More

The key to avoiding having the garden look like a disorganized plant collection is having a legible structure…   … Read More

When choosing plants for the garden, I can’t recommend browsing garden books or magazines enough. You can’t imagine something you have never seen. I have an extensive collection of books and magazines that I’m happy to lend to d.i.y.ers. I’ve always found it helpful to look through images together with my clients. It helps me to understand … Continue reading “Choosing plants”

A lot can be done in a weekend!   … Read More

The key is not to feel overwhelmed or intimidated by what is growing on in your outdoor spaces.  Especially if a yard has been neglected for a length of time, the confusion and profusion of plants can be daunting. It is obvious that the garden needs putting in order, but anything but obvious where to start. … Continue reading “Facing the overgrown garden”