I know of nothing more heartwarming in the garden than the emergence of the Hellebores in spring. Often before the snow has completely melted, the bloom-stalks of Hellebores are poking through and encouraging us to enjoy our gardens again and spend time with our reviving plants. … Read More
Even in the low-light conditions of December, there are sensual pleasures in the garden. Moody remains of Clematis ternifolia with dark dried foliage and white, fluffy seed-heads is one of my favourites. … Read More
While the season of Magnolia bloom is fleeting, the buildup in the months before is one of the great pleasures of the changing seasons. … Read More
Sun in the winter garden can be magical. The effect on ornamental grasses is particularly punchy, as this clump of Miscanthus sinensis shows. … Read More
While there is still snow in the forecast for Toronto, some plants are getting into the spring spirit already. I spotted this witchhazel earlier this week, in mid-february. … Read More
Another ornamental grass that can still look stunning in February sunlight is Calamagrostis arundinacea var. brachytricha. … Read More
I’m increasingly impressed by the value of evergreens in the garden, particularly when our winter (off-) season lasts four months! Here, both the gold foliage of the Thuja occidentalis and the red stems of the Cornus are enhanced by their association. … Read More
Ligularia is a surprise contributor to the winter garden. I have read people advocating removing the brassy-yellow daisy-like blooms, which has always seemed a little extreme to me. They are not elegant by any stretch of the imagination, but such censorship seems likely to close off garden possibilities — the possibiliy that something unexpected might strike … Continue reading “Ligularia’s many seasons”
Hellebores and ivys can look terrific through most of winter, as here. This vignette depends on the contrasting leaf sizes and shapes balanced by the similarities of colouring. … Read More
In Toronto, late January and ealry February often bring on garden blues, especially when warm, snowless weather reveals the debris of the previous growing season before the new season is even on the horizon. In England, this is the time of hellebores, witchhazel, primulas and other harbingers of spring. No such luck here. … Read More
Inspirational nursery, treasure trove of botanical diversity, enticement to garden adventurously, vendor of plant delight. With much appreciation, thank you!
When bees come to visit the earliest flowers, I know that spring is truly here. … Read More
Even the lowly (because ubiquitous) spirea can surprise you with loveliness on a blustery day in April. My main complaint is that it has too many merits, requires too little of us, which seems churlish just now, when spirea is the first shrub to leaf out most bravely. … Read More
Galanthus, more commonly: snowdrops, are one of the earliest garden pleasures in the year, often breaking through the snow long before February is over. And now in mid-March they are still looking splendidly sturdy. They are a welcome sign that spring is indeed progressing and that renewal can happen. Again. … Read More
Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass (2013) is a book that will astonish in its subtle weave of forms of knowing our world and in its homage to the generosity of the plants that surround us, made us, and can save us. … Read More