City Gardening

a gardening blog-azine by Lorraine Flanigan

Archives for the ‘Dig in’ Category

8 of 10 Ways to Get Through Winter

By • Mar 13th, 2009 • Category: Dig in, Spring

8. Take the wreath off the door! Okay, so I should have taken down the Christmas wreath well before  now, but somehow it takes the first warm spring day to propel me into action. Into the recycling bin it goes! The first of the forced potted bulbs are now appearing at green grocers and I [...]



7 of 10 Ways to Get Through Winter

By • Mar 12th, 2009 • Category: Dig in, Spring

7. Start sowing seeds. After poring over seed catalogues all winter, the natural next step is to start sowing seeds once orders start arriving in the mail. Last year I picked up a seedling of Oxheart, an heirloom tomato that’s just about the tastiest I’ve tried. It grew high and wide (how was I to know [...]



5 of 10 Ways to Get Through Winter

By • Mar 5th, 2009 • Category: Winter

5. Subscribe to E-Newsletters: One of the best ways to keep in touch with the gardening world is by signing up for gardening newsletters. The ones I receive seem to arrive in my inbox just when I need them most — during a wicked snowstorm, when I’m doubting spring will ever come or when I’ve [...]



4 of 10 Ways to Get Through Winter

By • Feb 26th, 2009 • Category: Winter

4. Read a book. There’s nothing nicer than sitting by the fireplace, curled up with a good gardening book while snowflakes drift languidly outside. Bliss. Here’s what’s on my winter reading list:



3 of 10 Ways to Get Through Winter

By • Feb 23rd, 2009 • Category: Winter

3. My third favourite way to get through the winter is to go to a gardening lecture. Luckily, I’m spoiled by the Toronto Botanical Garden’s Edwards Lecture series — and this year’s lineup of gardening celebs offers more treats than usual. First up are Scott Ogden and Lauren Springer-Ogden who are speaking on March 4 about [...]



1 of 10 Ways to Get Through Winter

By • Feb 16th, 2009 • Category: Favourite Gardens, Winter

Winter is not high on my list of gardening seasons. Around February, waiting for the weather to warm up, I get itchy feet and twitchy green thumbs. To get me through the dreary days, I’ve developed a list of winter gardening passtimes to while away the winter. Here’s the first one of my top ten list: 1. Escape [...]



In Praise of Late Summer Gardens

By • Aug 28th, 2008 • Category: Dig in, Summer

How and when did we start thinking that back-to-school time signals the change in seasons from summer to fall? Technically, summer is with us until September 22, so there’s a whole lotta summer left to enjoy. If you’re one of the many who think that June is the peak of the gardening season, listen up [...]



Edgy Edger

By • Aug 25th, 2008 • Category: Dig in, Summer

Walking to the store the other day, I passed my neighbour, Mr. Grillo, who was cutting a fine edge on his lawn where it meets the sidewalk. Smitten by the ancient tool he was using to do the job, which was held together by wire in typical Mr. Grillo style, I stopped to marvel at [...]