My Everchanging Garden
Gardening That Grows With Me
Welcome to my garden blog
I love to garden. I also love to experiment. Throw the two together and you have my everchanging garden.
In 2004 we purchased a little over 2 acres in the country in Southern Ontario. My garden has taken many twists and turns since then and I have made many discoveries along the way. My blog is a simple record of how our garden landscape has changed over the years. I also post our family recipes, something I can refer to easily and share among family and friends.
I post here for my own garden record. It’s my garden journal and bullet journal of to-do lists and goals. If you manage to stumble upon a page or two, I hope you enjoy a little of what is here.
Latest from the Blog
Banana Blueberry-Raspberry Oatmeal Yogurt Bake
Category: Let's Talk Recipes
An easy to make, healthy oatmeal breakfast. Lot’s of fruit makes it sweet enough that you don’t need a lot of added sweetener (I used honey, you could swap with maple syrup). Ingredients 2 ripe bananas 300 grams high protein plain yogurt (just under 1 ¼ cups) ½ cup 18% cream (or milk) 1 heaping… Read more »
Growing Annual Vinca For The First Time
Category: Let's Talk Plants
I purchased some annual vinca (Catharanthus roseus), also known as Madagascar periwinkle, part way through the season last year to rejuvenate some tired planters. These are amazing annuals for hot, dry conditions. They bloomed not stop, even better than verbena. And, lucky for me, they are deer and rabbit resistant. Varieties and Sources I’m not… Read more »
Growing Annual Verbena From Seed & Getting The Timing Right
Category: Let's Talk Plants
I tried growing annual verbena from seed in 2025 and while I had success with germination the plants were VERY small when I wanted to put them in pots. I ended up buying replacement plants. I think this happened for two reasons: I didn’t start them early enough I didn’t have enough supplemental heat and… Read more »
Growing Marigolds So They Don’t Get Root Bound
Category: Let's Talk Plants
Marigolds are easy to grow from seed but I’ve generally had issues with them becoming root bound or drying out. Once they dry out the plants suffer. The key – use larger pots and start later than you think. This is my personal garden growing guide. I use it to track seed sources, when to… Read more »
2026 Annual Seed Starting Plan. A More Disciplined Approach
Category: Let's Talk Gardening
This year I am intentionally changing how I start my annual flowers, and what I’m growing. In the past, I’ve had a tendency to sow too early and start too many varieties. While some plants did beautifully, those requiring a long indoor growing period before planting out often struggled. I wasn’t consistently matching heat and… Read more »
Avgolemono Soup
Category: Let's Talk Recipes
I have been craving this since the 80’s when I used to live near the Danforth in Toronto. This has to be made with home-made chicken stock. The recipe ratios are based on the amount of stock I had on hand. The carrot is not necessarily traditional, but I added a small amount for colour.… Read more »
Cabbage Casserole
Category: Let's Talk Recipes
A cabbage and beef casserole or deconstructed cabbage rolls without the fuss. You can use a fresh cabbage but in the winter, when I prefer to eat this, I find it easier to use a package of precut cabbage slaw mix to reduce the prep time. Just be sure the slaw is more shredded and… Read more »
Grocery Style Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Category: Let's Talk Recipes
This recipe is adapted from the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie from America’s Test Kitchen Baking For Two cookbook. It has a taste and texture a lot like the Farmer’s Market brand oatmeal chocolate chip cookies you can buy at Canadian grocery stores. The taste is very butter forward, with both a crispy & chewy texture. It’s… Read more »