Category: Gardening

The Ornamental Pepper

I have always wanted to have ornamental pepper plants in my house. In the spring, I went to a greenhouse and was told that they are only sold in the Autumn. I have since seen them at several greenhouses. However, not to be delayed, I purchased some seeds on Amazon and we took all summer

Signs of Autumn…

The leaves are already starting to turn their brilliant Autumn colours and the garden has taken on its Autumn “glow”. For me, I know it is really Autumn when I bring the plants back in that I took outside in the late spring. I am always amazed at the number of plants that I need

Butterflies in My Garden

I have three beautiful butterfly bushes in my garden. The attract the most beautiful butterflies. I often think of the book, Flight Behaviour by Barbara Kingsolver (one of my favourite authors). In Flight Behavior, alteration of monarch butterflies migration symbolizes a changing world. Dellarobia Turnbow is a 28-year-old discontented housewife living with her poor family on

Growing Tomatoes

There is nothing more delicious than fresh fruit or vegetables from the garden. We grow tomato plants every year and enjoy putting them in salads, on pizza, into sauce and just eating them with a little mayo “on the side” for a delicious summer supper. There are over 10,000 varieties of tomatoes in the worldTomato

My Bougainvillea

I have had two bougainvillea plants since living here. The first lasted 4 years, coming in the house for winter and back out by the pool for summer. This plant is my second and it is enjoying its second summer outside by the pool. My first plant would take all summer to bloom; however, this

Mid-Summer Garden

A beautiful rain over the last couple of days has helped our garden burst with colour. What could be more delightful than a summer’s garden filled with birds and flowers and all the things we love? Robert Frost would agree.A Summer’s Garden by Robert Frost I made a garden just to keep about meThe birds

Daisies

Daisies generally symbolize purity, innocence, new beginnings and cheerfulness. They can also represent loyalty, simplicity, and hidden love, depending on the context and color. In various cultures and traditions, daisies hold specific symbolic meanings related to childhood, motherhood, and even spiritual renewal. In Norse mythology, the daisy is known as the sacred flower for the goddess of

Summer Blooms

Tomorrow is the first day of summer. The garden is taking shape and the weather is getting warm. Tomorrow will be the longest day of the year. I put together two new Adirondack rocking chairs for our front porch. We have tried wooden rockers on our front porch and they do not last. So, we

Experimenting With Vertical Gardening

Vertical gardening is basically growing plants upwards instead of allowing them to ramble around on the ground. While there are a lot of different vertical gardening systems out there, all of them reduce the footprint of the plants and expand the number of plants that can be grown in a particularly small space.I found my

Sprucing Up the Garden

This year has marked the addition of a new garden. A new garden means digging up sod, tilling the soil, adding soil and then adding plants and mulch. If you are looking for mulch and soil in our area (Welland), we highly recommend “Plants Choice” https://plantschoice.ca/. They deliver to your door and they offer great

What do you love about summer?

When people ask us what our summer plans are, we just smile a slow and reflective smile. Summer for us is biking, golfing, walking, rocking on the front porch each morning with coffee AND it is relaxing in our backyard. We spend time (and money) getting pots and pool ready for a long, beautiful summer

The Long Weekend…Get Your Gardening On…

Today was a BIG day…the beginning of the long weekend and a delivery of top soil and mulch and purchasing annuals and perennials. I am getting ready to create pots around the pool, plan a vegetable garden and “get my summer on”. The pool is open and any problem that occurs is definitely a “first

Where did the summer go?

I always feel the end of summer as we approach Labour Day. I know that we will have more summer-like days ahead but, the freedom and “lazy day” feeling comes to an end as we approach the official “Autumn” on the calendar. I start with my “Autumn Cleanup” – cleaning out flower beds, polishing hardwood

June Blossoms in the Garden

After the “end of May” planting of herbs, vegetables, annuals and bringing out all the indoor plants to the patio, June comes with its blossoms. I fertilize my pots and vegetables about once a week and, depending on the weather, water every other day or so (especially when the weather is hot). The June garden

Here Comes Summer!

I love all the seasons – Autumn, Winter, Spring – each brings its beauty and its surprises. I love snow, falling leaves, puddles, tulips – the beauty of a winter storm when everyone is home safe and sound…crunching on leaves but, then there is SUMMER. The pool opens, we plant and plant and plant. There

It is DEFINITLEY Tulip Time…

Everywhere you drive right now, there are tulips. Today, I was doing some errands and there are beds of tulips all over the city where I live. The newest “thing to do” is go and visit these HUGE tulip farms – paying to pick tulips and walk through the fields of tulips. My own garden

Spring and Joy

Yesterday, I came home and was unloading some groceries and the beauty of my garden caught my eye. Nothing special – or amazing – just some beautiful tulips and daffodils and the signs of spring all around me. A couple of days ago, I was cleaning and looked out the window to see a group

The Beautiful Surprises of House Plants

I love having plants in my house. I have great light in my house and my husband, Charles is expert at watering. In the summer, I move my plants outside and enjoy them by the pool and in winter, they are all over – in the kitchen, dining room living room and bedroom. A couple

Tis the Season….

Every year at this time,, we start thinking about Autumn and with that, comes “the bringing in of the plants”. My house does look like a bit of a jungle through the Fall and Winter and Spring…but, when the 24th of May arrives, they all go back outside, around the pool for the summer –

How does YOUR garden grow?

I don’t have a huge lot. I grew up on a small farm with LOTS of room for gardens of all kinds. City spaces can easily accommodate beautiful gardens and I do my best – with containers and raised beds and by converting our front yard to mostly perennial garden (with very little grass). So,

Summer Blooms

Since it officially summer, I thought I would share some of my newest summer blooms. We have been working on this garden for a couple of years and we are now in the process of expanding it to the other side of the house in front. We are hoping that soon we have a clover

Chive Blossom Vinegar and a Tribute to Re-connection with Jim and Melissa…

This year, we have been expanding our podcasts by inviting guests to join us. Coming up, you will hear MORE STORIES by Melissa and Jim Wright. Part of this podcast has been re-connecting to Jim and Melissa. I went to high school with Jim and we worked together for many years in our former jobs.

Finding Joy in the Garden…and climate change…

I love gardening. This week, the garden has come alive with a reminder of the importance of beauty and colour in our lives. This week has also been a week of reminders about climate change. Climate change requires us to be smarter and being smarter in your garden can be a smart. I feel as

April Showers bring May Flowers…

When I taught elementary school, I always recited “April Showers bring May Flowers”, just as I shared “If March comes in like a lion, it goes out like a lamb” – (and the opposite). These “sayings” were part of my life growing up and they often inspired an art lesson or two. Little groups of

The Season of Seed Planting

We have set up a little “greenhouse” area in our basement. We own some grow lights and some heating mats. We start tomatoes and peppers and flowers for our gardens. With a few basic supplies and a little patience, it is pretty easy to start seeds indoors. Root vegetables and vines do NOT like to

The December Flower – The Amaryllis

Legend has it that the amaryllis – the stunning red flower we’ve come to associate with the holidays – began as a shy, timid nymph. Amaryllis fell deeply in love with Alteo, a shepherd with Hercules’ strength and Apollo’s beauty, but her affections were unrequited. Hoping that she could win him over by bestowing upon

The Christmas Cactus Blooms: How can we “give” this Christmas?

My Christmas Cactus lived outside all summer. I recently brought it inside (a week after Labour Day) and this week it WOKE UP and decided to start blooming. I don’t know why it bloomed? I originally was given the Christmas cactus by our Uncle John – his son, Chris has a VERY green thumb. I

The Beauty of Nature – Autumn

I am blessed to live in Ontario where Autumn comes in all its glory and beauty. The last few days have been gorgeous – 20 degrees C and time for biking and gardening. I also turn a year older in the Autumn – so this year is 59 and I am 25 lbs lighter (since

Beauty in Your Garden – The Impatience

The impatience plant starts small and becomes and major beauty in your garden. They are easy to grow – in pots or in the garden. They like sun and shade and you rarely have to water them. This year, I planted them in pots on the front porch – our house faces north so there

Wintering Your Plants Indoors

Every year at the end of summer (which is coming sooner that we all can believe), I bring in all the plants that I can (including ferns, Mandeville, bougainvillea, palms, hibiscus and whatever else has been part of my outdoor garden). They take a “hit” when you move them inside and they take a “hit

My Beautiful Summer Garden

Last Fall, we created MORE gardens – we are slowly adding perennials to fill them in! In the mean time, we have annuals – many grown in our basement. The zinnias were grown in the basement. We have purchased a few grasses and some other fun plants but, at the end of August/September we will

My Summer Garden

From roses to daisies to tomatoes, raspberries and herbs, summer is a beautiful time. My garden is small and filled with mostly perennials. I have pots of geraniums and succulents around the pool and all my house plants have come outside for the season. Ferns hang and sit on the front porch and there are

Your Winter Garden – Pruning and Trimming Your Roses

In late October or early November, I pick the final blooms and prune back my roses. I cover them with leaves and place a plastic pot over them…held down with bricks. This keeps them safe all winter.

Fall is Here – Time to Clean up the Yard…

I start the weekend after Labour Day by bringing in my plants…

The Butterfly Bush

Every Autumn, I chop this bush down for the winter and every spring and summer, it reappears – smelling beautiful and attracting the most amazing butterflies.

Summer Perennial Garden

I love perennials – they come back year after year – they bloom and bloom and you can divide them and share them.

Peonies in my Garden

There are garden-worthy peony varieties for Zones 2 to 8 There are three types of peonies: herbaceous (bush), tree and Itoh (intersectional). Herbaceous and Itoh varieties grow 1 to 3 feet tall, with a similar spread, while a mature tree peony can reach 4 to 7 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet wide. Most peony

Spring in the Garden

Lilacs

Who doesn’t love lilacs? The ideal lilac shrub has about 10 canes and produces flowers at eye-level—all the better to enjoy that sweet, haunting fragrance. Learn how to take care of lilacs as well as prune at the right time. ABOUT LILACS The common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, blooms in the northern states for 2 weeks from mid- to late

Container gardening…summer on the patio….

Vegetables and flowers in containers are a fun way of bringing summer to a small space. This year I went online with Niagara College Greenhouses for flowershttps://www.ncteachinggreenhouse.ca/A visit to the Welland Farmer’s Market https://www.welland.ca/Market/index.asp and bought beautiful heirloom tomatoes= and cabbage, broccoli plants…as well as herbs for my garden from Kate’s Eden (follow her on

Raised beds…gardening in the city….

My son, Sebastian built me 4 raised beds last year. Previously, I had planted vegetables and many of them were eaten by squirrels and rabbits. The raised bed saved my plants. I love fresh vegetables and herbs. I love the challenge of growing and luckily, my husband, Charles loves starting seeds. I bought him a