City Gardening » Winter http://citygardeningonline.com a gardening blog-a-zine by Lorraine Flanigan Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:38:28 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 9 of 10 Ways to Get Through Winter http://citygardeningonline.com/dig-in/winter-dig-in-how-to-videos-and-techniques/9-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/ http://citygardeningonline.com/dig-in/winter-dig-in-how-to-videos-and-techniques/9-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/#comments Sun, 15 Mar 2009 21:07:32 +0000 Lorraine http://citygardeningonline.com/?p=509 acdsee_269x1789. Organize your photos. If you’re like me, I snap photos of the garden all season and dump them on my hard drive or on an unlabelled CD where it’s impossible to find them when I need to. Now’s the time to go through the photos and paste them into my gardening journal, organize them into folders on my computer and name them so I can find them again.My favourite program for handling large numbers of digital pics in batches is ACDSee. A trial version is available at TuCows.

]]> http://citygardeningonline.com/dig-in/winter-dig-in-how-to-videos-and-techniques/9-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/feed/ 0 5 of 10 Ways to Get Through Winter http://citygardeningonline.com/dig-in/winter-dig-in-how-to-videos-and-techniques/5-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/ http://citygardeningonline.com/dig-in/winter-dig-in-how-to-videos-and-techniques/5-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/#comments Thu, 05 Mar 2009 19:32:20 +0000 Lorraine http://citygardeningonline.com/?p=463 newsletter_269x178rbg

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 forgotten just how wonderful it is to walk out the back door to see what’s happening in the garden. So, here are some of my favourites:

1. Canadian Gardening Online
2. Better Homes & Gardens Gardening Newsletter
3. Toronto Botanical Garden
4. Backyard Gardener
5. Doug Green’s Simple Gifts Newsletter
6. BBC Gardening

]]> http://citygardeningonline.com/dig-in/winter-dig-in-how-to-videos-and-techniques/5-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/feed/ 0 4 of 10 Ways to Get Through Winter http://citygardeningonline.com/dig-in/winter-dig-in-how-to-videos-and-techniques/4-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/ http://citygardeningonline.com/dig-in/winter-dig-in-how-to-videos-and-techniques/4-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/#comments Thu, 26 Feb 2009 16:21:13 +0000 Lorraine http://citygardeningonline.com/?p=431 50highimpactpalnts_269x1784. 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:

]]> http://citygardeningonline.com/dig-in/winter-dig-in-how-to-videos-and-techniques/4-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/feed/ 0 3 of 10 Ways to Get Through Winter http://citygardeningonline.com/dig-in/winter-dig-in-how-to-videos-and-techniques/3-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/ http://citygardeningonline.com/dig-in/winter-dig-in-how-to-videos-and-techniques/3-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/#comments Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:10:12 +0000 Lorraine http://citygardeningonline.com/?p=389 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 Plant-Driven Design. I’ve skimmed through their latest book and am looking forward to hearing what these two plant-a-holics have to say. The season continues with Jack Staub on April 1 who talks about ornamental veggie gardening; the “queen of deadheading” Tracy DiSabato-Aust on April 15; Kevin Lamb on May 13; and Don Shadow on May 26. These events will more than take me through winter and into full-fledged gardening season!

How do you get through the winter? Post your favourite passtimes.

]]> http://citygardeningonline.com/dig-in/winter-dig-in-how-to-videos-and-techniques/3-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/feed/ 0 1 of 10 Ways to Get Through Winter http://citygardeningonline.com/gardens/favouritegardens/1-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/ http://citygardeningonline.com/gardens/favouritegardens/1-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/#comments Mon, 16 Feb 2009 19:22:02 +0000 Lorraine http://citygardeningonline.com/?p=357 A stained glass scupture at Hollis Garden

A stained glass scupture at Hollis Garden

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 to warmer climes. Okay, it may be cheating, but I’m making up the rules, and I say travelling to a warmer part of the world is one of the best ways to beat the winter blahs. I just returned from Central Florida, about an hour’s drive southwest of Orlando (where I did not stop to visit Disney Wolrd…) and had a wonderful time exporing this very authentic slice of the state. Along with a small, cosy group of travel writers, I visited two great gardens and a nature preserve and sampled plenty of downhome, local food, discovering that there’s  more to Florida than key lime pie! Here’s a gallery of some of the sites that made me forget wintry Toronto.

How do you get through the winter? Post your favourite passtimes.

Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales

Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales

Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales The pond at Bok Tower Gardens is rimmed by lush tropical plants A formal orchard of clipped citrus trees greets visitors to Pinewood Estate on the grounds of Bok Tower Gardens A satiated alligator at Circle B Bar Reserve An Anhinga perches on a marshy branch at Circle B Bar Thousands of white pelicans flock to the wetlands of the Circle B Bar Preserve Spanish moss swathes the live oaks at the Circle B Bar Preserve Runnels flow through the classically designed Hollis Garden in Lakeland, Florida A stained glass scupture at Hollis Garden The Rosette Plaza and Fountain at Hollis Garden Crates of freshly picked oranges at Lang Country Groves Oranges for the picking... Bok Tower boktower262_255x88 ]]> http://citygardeningonline.com/gardens/favouritegardens/1-of-10-ways-to-get-through-winter/feed/ 0