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 »
If Only Gardening Could Be That Easy
Saw this cool picture on mashable today. If only gardening was that easy!
Fall Lawn Care
The weather has cooled considerably, in fact we had our first frost this morning. The day was lovely for working so I spent the day putting fall fertilizer on the lawn and reseeding bare spots. I also spread seed heavily in areas that have dense clover. While I don’t mind some clover, too much is… Read more »
Frost Here Too Soon
What happened to summer already???? We had our first frost this morning — way to early.