I noticed one mugho pine about two weeks ago fully covered in white specks which are the eggs of the European Sawfly. I first noticed this pest last May when the eggs had already hatched and they had begun to do some damage. This year I checked my plants earlier, in the hopes of catching… Read more »
Pruning For Foliage
Wearing my winter coat and ear muffs, I managed to start my spring pruning today. I have a lot of shrubs that I prune back hard for better foliage, brighter stem colour or both. One of those is Cornus mas ‘Aurea’. Aurea has bright golden foliage that looks striking against deep red stems. I also… Read more »
Vegetable Starts Thriving
While spring might be having difficulty arriving this year, my vegetable starts don’t seem to know it. Our intent this year was to start some lettuce very early indoors and then transplant the small starts under cover into our new cold-frame sized greenhouse. Unfortunately continued snow and freezing weather have made that impossible this year.… Read more »
Cold Weather Tiring But Normal
I’m starting to question whether or not spring is every going to arrive. While updating my 2011 garden journal I noted that last year at this time we had early greens and peas sprouting in the vegetable garden. This year we haven’t even been able to work the soil yet. But when you really look… Read more »
Hamamelis Blooms Even In The Snow
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 »
Last Blast of Winter?
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 »
Holding Tray For Egg Carton Seed Starters
Egg cartons make eco-friendly, cheap seed starters to start your seeds indoors. The downside of using egg cartons for seed trays is that they can become pretty flimsy. What I needed was some form of holding tray for the base which would help hold in moisture and provide support.
Epcot Greenhouses
We just returned from Florida (to very cold weather unfortunately). One of my favourite tours was through the greenhouses at Epcot. Living with the Land is a boat ride through three greenhouses that form the Sustainable Agriculture and Research Center at Walt Disney World. In these greenhouses, Disney is experimenting with different growing techniques. An… Read more »
Time To Plan The Vegetable Garden
March is here and it’s time to finalize the plans for this year’s vegetable gardens. I have already ordered our seeds for this year but it is time to firm up the garden layout and planting schedule. This year I discovered a terrific site GrowVeg.com which offers a nifty on-line Garden Planning Tool which allows… Read more »
Overwinter Coleus
This winter I found out just how easy it is to grow coleus from cuttings and overwinter these cuttings as a starter plant for spring. It all started with a beautiful coleus I had growing in a pot in my front entrance – Coleus ColorBlaze ‘Sedona’. What I love about this particular coleus is it’s… Read more »