Gardening in Prince Edward County, Ontario, Canada
I’ve been reading that gardeners in parts of England and France are experiencing a drought and have to spend a lot of time watering every day. Parts of southern Ontario have also been without rain for several weeks (although it’s been really, really, I mean really, humid…) but gardeners who rely on a well for […]
My neighbour John inspired me to start recycling scallion root nubs. It’s a fun project, especially for patio or balcony gardeners!
Chinese Forget-me-not (‘Cynoglossum amabile’) in front of garden cherub
Although we’re only a few weeks into ‘official’ summer, it’s been so hot and humid it feels like August. Until yesterday, that is, following a cold front that swept in overnight and pushed the humidity away, leaving cool breezes and perfect gardening weather. To see Sixes from around the world head on over to The […]
All week we’ve been bombarded with heat wave warnings for this Canada Day long weekend – we’re lucky to live close enough to the lake to enjoy relatively cool breezes but I finished mot of my heavy chores Thursday evening. A sweet smell wafted over me while mowing and I realized the Milkweed was opening. […]
Unremarkable front yards gave way to intriguing back yards; cuteness out front foreshadowed great beauty in the back for the Prince Edward County Garden Tour.
In The Propagator’s guide to this gardening blog theme, it’s suggested to post a quick six, photos of or about the garden, even photos taken on a mobile phone. That’s what I’m doing today, for the first time. Posting from my mobile as well. We’ll see how it goes! [Follow-up: I’m looking at these photos […]
A good friend and wonderful gardener told me last weekend that she cuts off the flower stalks from Lamb’s Ears – Stachys byzantina! I was a bit aghast, but she said she found the flowers a distraction when the main attraction was the soft fuzzy leaves that form a woolly groundcover. Turns out she’s not […]
I was going to write about vegetables today — all appearances to the contrary I do grow a few in the garden. I’m not very good at it though so I’ve been putting it off, and when I walked about yesterday and realized that the peonies were at their height of glory I decided to […]
It’s that miraculous time of year where, every day it seems, something new is starting to bloom while something else is starting to fade away. Peonies are in full bloom everywhere now. Yes, they’re gorgeous when open; but really – don’t you just have a tiny gasp upon spotting a perfect flower bud a day […]
The first hungry swallowtail butterfly of the year seen flitting around a lilac
Late spring early summer colour and blooms in the garden.
It’s seasonably cool today but a week of really warm temperatures and yesterday’s rain has given the yard and gardens a lushness (euphemism for rampant growth, overgrown, grass needs cutting again…) that is sometimes hard to take in. It’s like living in a temperate tropicalness. Or a kind of tropical temperateness. Right now the Iris […]
For nearly eight years WordPress – the site that hosts this and millions of other blog posts from around the world – has issued a weekly themed photo challenge. As of this week the challenges are ending, and bloggers are posting some of their own favourites as a salute to what was a popular theme. […]
Every gardener realizes, almost from day one, that there are no certainties when it comes to predicting how well things will grow. You can have, on paper, the perfect soil, perfect amount of sunlight, perfect temperatures, perfect moisture levels and still come up with a hugely disappointing crop yield or flower display. On the other […]
Officially we’ve nearly a month left of spring but with temps close to 30 yesterday it was suddenly shorts and sandals weather. Most of the spring bulbs have had their days of glory, and now that the Camassia are swooning around in all their blue splendour there’s only the Alliums left to bloom (Purple Sensation […]
I’ve been finding these beetles making waves in my bird bath this past week. Sometimes doing the back stroke, sometimes the dog paddle, occasionally a pair of them would be doing some sort of synchronized dance, preparing for the beetle Olympics, no doubt. At first I was alarmed, thinking some horrible invasive species had arrived […]
Confession: there’s a gorgeous pink sunrise at the moment, but it appears the weather forecast was accurate and it’ll be raining within an hour or so; my Six photos today were taken yesterday or Wednesday. Just as well, really, since for once, I’d rather be inside watching TV (Horrors!) than out in the garden, laying […]
Now is the time to start planning next spring’s bulb display!
One of the first big landscaping things we did when we started to sink roots into The County was buy this big limestone boulder. We generally call it The Rock, and wanted to use it as a quasi headstone for the ashes of our beloved dog, a black Lab named Bogart, who had recently and […]
Spring, a magical time of year, where every day brings new delights, new surprises, new colour…
The spring ephemerals continue to enthrall — here one week and gone the next. The yellow Trout Lily (Erythronium americanum) I wrote about last week has all but disappeared. In its place, but not in nearly as great a number, is the white Trout Lily. Very pretty when you can spot them. The Canada […]
On Saturday I noticed a few of these dainty yellow flowers opening by the driveway. Come Sunday afternoon the leaf littered floor of the entire tree line was covered with Trout Lily. Just like that. Other native spring ephemerals just in bloom include a flower I used to call woodland Geranium. I kinda knew it […]
All of a sudden, it seems, we’re in the middle of spring. A few days of 20 degree temps and sunshine means the bulbs are bursting, buds are opening, dandelions are blooming and there’s way too much gardening to do in a day! Here’s a quick Six taken this morning, with a nod to The […]
Conventional wisdom (and instructions on seed packets) say plant peas (and sweet peas) as early as possible – don’t worry about last frost dates or any such nonsense. Peas don’t mind. OK, I procrastinated this year, hemming and hawing, worried about rabbits, effort vs reward, location….I had any number of reasons (excuses) why I didn’t […]
Spring has a firm hold on us now – there’s no stopping the explosion of colour all over the garden. Tulips, Hyacinths and Narcissus are all starting to parade their seasonal, glorious display and our continued cool temperatures (a few days of warmth forecast for next week notwithstanding) will help ensure a lengthy blooming […]
New daylily shoots are a few inches tall now – the perfect size, I think, to divide large clumps and spread the joy around the garden or with friends, if you’re able to tread lightly in the garden. That last point is crucial – if your soil is still mushy from spring snow melt or […]
Earlier this month I posted a photo showing Crocus chrysanthus ‘Prins Claus’ from the side. I love the beautiful purple outer petals (up close, the purple is so velvety you want to reach out and stroke it) and the creamy white interior. What truly amazes me is how such a tiny bulb – typically around […]
After last weekend’s ice pellets and freezing rain came a full day of heavy rain – which stayed on top of the ice and caused quite a bit of flooding in the yard. Flooding isn’t unusual in the spring here, we have pretty bad overall drainage on the property despite a contractor’s promise several […]
Although I, like almost everyone else in Southern Ontario, have been moaning about how cold it’s been in April, there are ample signs that spring is progressing and the garden is awakening as it should. Yes, it’s been wet, but we all know what April showers bring, right? And there’s been snow and freezing rain, […]
Trees don’t shed leaves only, and plants aren’t the only thing in the garden that await renewal each year. Any shots here with a blue sky was taken earlier in the week. Today it’s cloudy, with rain, freezing rain, ice pellets and snow forecast for the next three days. Spring delayed, again! Thanks to The […]
This past week brought blustery cold winds to the County and all Southern Ontario – lots of downed trees, fallen branches, rain, snow flurries and power outages. We were fortunate to escape wind damage or flooding even with the sump pump out of action for a few hours at the height of Wednesday night’s storm. […]
Rise/Set
This holiday long weekend is much sunnier – so far – than the weather channels had predicted, with seasonal temperatures for a change. I think it might just be a blip though because it’s been cooler than normal so far this spring and there’s snow predicted for later next week. Heavy sigh. Plants know […]
I love yogurt (or for non North Americans, Yoghurt) – have some every morning, sometimes as a topping for melons, berries or nuts, sometime right from the little plastic container. Of course, all these containers go into the recycling bin, and I can only hope some intrepid company is melting them down to make new […]
The 10 days of Canada Blooms flower and garden show in Toronto ends Sunday – I thought I’d end the week with a few random shots that demonstrate there were, indeed, flowers there!
When I visit garden shows or county fairs I generally either breeze through or walk on by the flower show part. You know, the tables with vases of cut flowers, or weird looking arrangements that use sticks and leaves and kitchen gadgets that make the whole thing appear…strange. I know, I know – it’s […]
