I recognize that I am still relatively new to the gardening thing, having only gardened for about 12 years. Yet in that time, my approach to gardening has evolved. Cycles of hot-dry, cold-wet weather teach you a lot about gardening for the long term as do the natural evolution of knowledge that comes with experience… Read more »
Growing Celery – The Grand Experiment
I first outlined our plans to grow celery in our garden in my Growing Celery in Ontario post in early May. Well I’m happy to say that the experiment in growing celery our first time has been a huge success. Everything I researched came up with four main themes for growing celery: Celery is a… Read more »
Rabbits in the, uh, garden?
Here’s one way to perhaps feed the rabbits and keep them out of the garden. I woke up one morning this week to find this fellow in a bucket that I use to collect pruned and deadheaded materials before taking them to the compost. Better that than my lettuce!
Wind-proof Umbrella Stand
Living in the country has its unique challenges and one of them is wind. Even on a rather normal summer day, gusty breezes come up quickly, making it almost impossible to maintain an umbrella in our wide open pool area. We’ve tried several approaches — bigger stands, rocks on top of the stand, bungee cords… Read more »
How The Garden Fares And What I Have Learned This Year
I can’t believe it’s mid-July already. Yet here we are, already beginning the height of the season. Like most gardeners, I’ve been busy with spring planting, pruning, weeding and watering. It seems like there is something to do every day — but that is the joy of it. While gardening on a two acre property… Read more »
Maple Trees Will Grow Almost Anywhere
I love my maple trees — whether the majestic red and sugar maples in our back woodland, our small hedge maple which provides shade near our patio garden or the even daintier red japanese maples that can survive the winds in our country property. But what I don’t like are the multitude of maple keys… Read more »
The Peas Are Here — So Are The Deer
We enjoyed our first snow peas today fresh from the garden but it was a close call. Two nights ago some deer climbed over our 3 foot fence and decided to have dinner. Their tasty meal consisted of just perfect, ready to pick romaine and boston lettuce after which they enjoyed the tops of our… Read more »
San Marzano Plum Tomatoes Under Cloches
We are trying to get a head start on the garden this year since planting everything in a two week time frame can be a bit overwhelming. I purchased 8 small San Marzano Plum tomatoes Monday from a local garden center and rather than nurse them along in the tiny pots for a couple of… Read more »
Window Well Coldframe
Unfortunately my coldframe was full of planted lettuce this spring so that meant no room to put my starter plants out to harden them off. Looking around I decided to use my window wells as cold frames and they worked beautifully.
Worth The Wait – Flowering Dogwood
I planted my Cornus Florida ‘Rubra’, flowering pink dogwood, in 2009 and have been waiting, not always patiently, ever since for it to bloom. With all the cold weather this year many of our spring blooming trees and shrubs have been a disappointment. The magnolia blooms have been hit by freezing temperatures more than once… Read more »