In Southern Ontario spring seems to creep in ever so slowly. By late March my mind is thinking of spring and gardening but unfortunately the weather just does not cooperate. That is what makes Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Westerstede’ a flowering shrub to look forward to each year. Hamamelis x intermedia hybrids are a cross between… Read more »

This is what it looks like outside by kitchen this morning. I am hoping this is our last blast of winter but I won’t hold my breath. UPDATE: as of 6:30pm Wednesday evening we have received about 8 inches of snow. It does not look like March! The birds completely emptied the feeder today —… Read more »

It’s been a long cold winter in Southern Ontario this year and it looks like we have another snow storm coming. Even the squirrels are wondering when we are going to see some signs of spring — this little fellow seems to be asking if he can come in and join me for a warm… Read more »

It’s that time of year again to decorate my front urns for the holidays. I am fortunate to be able to obtain all the red and yellow twigged dogwood that I need from my gardens but most of my evergreens are not yet large enough to start clipping away large pieces. So I start with… Read more »

Who says you can’t enjoy some summer flowers in October. Every year many of my clematis experience what I believe is clematis wilt. The bottom leaves turn brown and drop, leaving a poor looking climber in the garden. A Polish Spirit clematis that climbs a beautiful globe trellis just outside our bedroom patio does this… Read more »

What a great weekend we had. On Saturday we visited the Stratford Garlic Festival where I picked up some garlic to plant in the garden for next season’s enjoyment. Unfortunately I got a bit carried away, again. Remember the 7 varieties of potatoes? Well next year is going to be a similar experimentation year for… Read more »

We saw this field of sunflowers in Essex County while visiting my parents. Now I’m excited to plant a major patch for myself next year.

We’ve had a great summer so far — lots of rain from thunderstorms but also lots of sun and heat. As most gardeners do, I plan my day or week based on what the weather predicts. This week, with both my kids in camp and sunny weather predicted all week, I decided it would be… Read more »

As a gardener I often get very frustrated with the weatherman. I mean really, sometimes they can’t even get the weather prediction correct a day ahead. Saturday’s weather though made it very apparent why predicting the weather can be so difficult. The forecast called for a chance of thunderstorms with rain predicted in the 2-5mm… Read more »

Rose season has arrived and those roses that do well certainly do look great when in bloom. Unfortunately between the heat and humidity causing black spot and powdery mildew and the japanese beetles attacking blooms I find it just too frustrating to grow roses successfully in the country. I have over the last two years… Read more »