Gardening That Grows With Me
I came home today to my new Kitchen Patio garden and looked out hoping to find some birds on the feeder only to find our resident chipmunks chowing down on the new bird seed I just put in. Now don’t … Read More
I have always said I would bring flowers into the house regularly during gardening season but when the time came I was always reluctant to cut the blooms as I enjoy them so much outdoors. Now that my garden is … Read More
While I am very happy with my overall garden plan, I am forever tweaking spots that, despite good planning, just don’t work. In 2006 I planned and planted my Kitchen Garden Patio. Part of the plan called for some Little … Read More
We have been enjoying spinach, lettuce and swiss chard from our garden since May 20. This is the earliest we have every picked greens from the garden. While the warm spring this year helped, our idea to seed some greens … Read More
I discovered another bug to contend with this year. Just as my mugho pine were putting on their new growth and I went out to clip back some of the candles I discovered these 1 inch long grey-green striped caterpillars … 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 … 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 … 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 … Read More
The forsythia have been in full bloom for about a week now, brightening up the spring garden. Sunny yellow blooms of the forsythia are not the only reason to have this shrub in the garden however. Forsythia can be used … Read More
They say necessity is the mother of invention and this morning I discovered my own need. Yesterday I removed the greenhouse lid on my yellow pepper starts as I had 11 beautiful 1 inch plant seedlings. I took a look … Read More
After a very warm start, then some much needed spring rains, our weather is expected to turn a bit colder over the next two days. Nighttime temperatures are predicted to drop to just above freezing and while I do not … Read More
April is finally here, a month all cold-climate gardeners look forward to despite all the work that is ahead. After a long cold winter, we are experiencing some unusually warm weather right now which, of course, makes me want to … 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, … Read More
Well, I’m part way through my spring vegetable garden planning. I know what I am going to plant and I’ve prepared a garden layout based on my crop rotation schedule. The next step was to determine my planting schedule. There … Read More
We all know that crop rotation is critical to a healthy vegetable garden. Crop rotation helps reduce the risk of insects and diseases as well as manages the fertility of your garden soil. While the concepts are not challenging, actually … 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 … Read More
Before starting my own seeds indoors I would spend most of March and April looking longingly out the window, wishing for spring to arrive just a little bit faster. Now I not only get a head start on my vegetable … Read More
Our first attempt at storing potatoes, carrots and kohlrabi last winter didn’t turn out too bad. We experimented with what we had — plastic storage containers with a tight seal, a wooden wine crate and those vegetable bags with the … Read More
It’s time to order my seeds for the vegetable garden again this year. While I enjoy browsing through the many seed catalogues that come in the mail, I tend to order most of my seeds on-line and this year is … Read More
Last season was our first foray into growing our own potatoes and we had a great year. We grew Yukon Gold, Norland and Russian Blue and were able to eat our own potatoes right up until early January. Unfortunately, that … Read More