Well it’s that time of year again — the deer are roaming and that means many of my trees are susceptible to damage from bucks rubbing their antlers along the bark. Every year I debate — to cover or not to cover. Bucks rub their antlers on young, flexible trees to remove the velvet that… Read more »
Cold And Blustery Day
The day is proving to be cold and blustery, with the potential for freezing rain in the forecast. It’s that in between time of year — not anything; neither fall nor winter, just a waiting game. So I’m spending the day in my warm, dry and quiet office organizing myself for a winter of garden… Read more »
Tomato Cage Christmas Tree Topiary
I was looking for a different outdoor decoration for our front entrance this year and stumbled upon the idea to build my own Christmas tree topiary. I usually use greenery from the garden center and around the yard to decorate the two urns on either side of our doorway. While this looks nice I was… Read more »
Winter Protection Shrub Covers
Winter protection is not something I typically need in our garden. I focus largely on planting cold hardy trees and shrubs and anything that is pushing the limit I place in a protected spot. However this year we had to cut the foundation yews along our house completely down to the ground due to the… Read more »
Best Red Fall Colour
If you are looking for some brilliant red fall colour to add to your landscape nothing beats the Euonymus alatus ‘Compactus’ or ‘Compacta’ otherwise known as Dwarf Burning Bush. Bright green leaves in summer turn to a brilliant red in fall lasting several weeks. After the leaves have finally fallen you are rewarded with red-orange… Read more »
Mulch Gardens With Fallen Leaves
Garden soil needs to be replenished with organic matter each year in order to maintain its fertility. In spring, we add compost made from the prior years garden and kitchen waste as well as composted horse manure from a friend. In fall we add leaves. Unfortunately for us most of our trees are not yet… Read more »
Fleeting Blooms of Summer
A walk around the garden today to enjoy what seems to be a rare sunny day this fall and I was thrilled to see some summer blooms still pushing forth. It’s almost like they are seeking their last hurrah before winter takes over. Enjoy, for soon we will be looking at a blanket of white.
Burnishing Yellow A Great Fall Colour
While red is a favourite foliage colour in fall brilliant burnished yellows can be easily as dramatic. Here is Clethra alnifolia ‘Sixteen Candles’. Sixteen Candles is a newer cultivar of the native summersweet shrub. A smaller selection, it reaches 3 to 5 feet tall. In summer, ‘Sixteen Candles’ is topped with aromatic, spiky, white blooms… Read more »
Is It April Yet?
So I’m a little anxious, can you blame me? I just finished expanding the size of our second vegetable garden and surrounding it with a new fence to keep the deer and rabbits out next season. It looks so inviting, just waiting to be planted. I did get started by planting my fall garlic crop… Read more »
Potato Storage Rack
Here is our new potato rack, sometimes called an orchard rack, put to good use this weekend. Historically racks like these were used to store “keeper” crops such as apples, winter squash, onions and potatoes. The drawers are slatted to ensure good air circulation, and they slide out for easy access. We made room in… Read more »