One of my favourite times of year is early to mid-June due in large part to peonies. This year it seems we have had a lot of rain and thunderstorms in June, making for a lot of floppy peonies. This picture was taken just a day before a heavy rain. By the next day all… Read more »

The Hawthorns are approaching full bloom, just in time for the long weekend! This is my favourite period in the back Woodland garden. The blooms only last about a week or so, but the fragrance is unbelievable. The hawthorns in this area were part of a scrub bush between two farms when our area was… Read more »

Once again we experienced a week of cold and sometimes below freezing temperatures, heavy winds and rain in May. For the second year in a row, this cold snap came just as the late trees were budding (ginkgo, sassafras, flowering dogwood) and as many shrubs and evergreens were putting on new growth. There was a… Read more »

I know it’s going to happen every year but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.  Every year we are teased with a couple of weeks of above seasonal weather in April to be followed, unfortunately, by a long cold snap in May.  And this year was no exception. Once again, my Endless Summer… Read more »

I’ve heard a lot over the past two days about Earth Hour and how everyone should participate. Sorry, but I think Earth Hour is just plain stupid. All the hype shows everyone going to parties and burning candles right? Well, let’s take a look at how that helps the environment: Did they drive their fossil… Read more »

A first sign that spring is just around the corner is the blooms on my Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Westerstede’. These witch hazels are a cross between Japanese witch hazel (H. japonica) and Chinese witch hazel (H. mollis). The bright yellow blooms arrive in my zone 5 garden in mid-March and are very cold tolerant. The… Read more »

While we have not had a lot of snow this winter it was a real treat to wake up to a bright blue sky highlighting a fresh snow fall over the gardens this morning.   I am still thrilled, and somewhat amazed, with how well the new landscaping in and around the pool and garden… Read more »

Despite a couple days of rain, the peonies are stilling blooming well. Peonies are my favourite garden perennial. I mean, what more could you ask for — fantastic enormous blooms, easy care once established, fairly disease resistant and a green foliage plant that looks great most of the remainder of the season. While I place… Read more »

It seems we wait a long time for spring to arrive and when it finally does there’s just not enough of it to accomplish all of our spring gardening tasks. We’ve had some good weather of late so I’ve been able to catch up on a lot of yard work. Most of the beds are… Read more »

While we may not have had record snow falls this year, this is the first year in a long time I can remember almost constant snow cover on the ground. I can almost hear the garden purring in delight. It’s beautiful to look out the windows at the snow covered winter garden, watch the heavy… Read more »