City Gardening

a gardening journal by Lorraine Flanigan

Archives for the ‘Favourite Plants’ Category

Matthew Wilson’s Picks: Star Plants for Small Gardens

By Lorraine • Feb 24th, 2010 • Category: Favourite Plants, Fresh Dirt, Plants

If you haven’t been keeping up with my Tweets, you might well ask: Who on earth is Matthew Wilson and why the heck should I care about his star plant picks for small gardens?
Well, firstly, he lives up to his nickname of Heathcliff of the Hedgerows (although the debate rages about whether he’s more Darcy-like. [...]



11 of 12 Great Things I Found at Raleigh

By Lorraine • Oct 13th, 2009 • Category: Favourite Plants, Plants

 
11. Bottle trees
Discovering new plants is a big part of why I attend conferences such as the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina. It can also be frustrating, especially if the plants aren’t hardy enough for my USDA Zone 5 garden in Toronto. None-the-less, I’m always captivated by shrubs, trees and perennials that [...]



2 of 12 Great Things I Found at Raleigh

By Lorraine • Oct 1st, 2009 • Category: Favourite Plants, Plants

At the 2009 Garden Writers Symposium in Raleigh North Carolina, I fell in love with…
2. Euphorbia ‘Ascot Rainbow’
Wandering deep within the display gardens at Plant Delights, I lost my heart to Euphorbia ‘Ascot Rainbow’. I stopped myself from sighing and drooling over this gem of a plant only long enough to whip out my camera [...]



An Easter Parade of Chocolate Plants

By Lorraine • Apr 10th, 2009 • Category: Favourite Plants

Niche marketing has reached new heights. Just in time for Easter, I’ve discovered a nursery that specializes in chocolate plants. Chocolate Flower Farm in Langley Washington features all things chocolate, from candles, soap and teas to annual and perennial plants and seeds. Oh my, and what temptations they have!  I’m salivating over Nicotiana ‘Chocolate Smoke’ and [...]



Can’t Do Without Acanthus

By Lorraine • Aug 13th, 2008 • Category: Favourite Plants, Fresh Dirt

For the last three years, I’ve been anxiously watching the progress (or lack thereof) of Acanthus hungaricus, a spectacular architectural perennial I fell in love with on a trip to Jordan, Ontario in the Niagara Region. For the first two summers, the plant was barely there. Last year, it seemed to leaf out into a [...]