I’m in love. The handsome specimen that’s caught my eye is perfect in every way. Long-lasting flowers that bloom in a rainbow of colours, evergreen foliage that looks good all year-round (it gets a bit tattered after our long winters, but what doesn’t?) and it’s perfectly happy growing in shade. Oh, you thought I [...]
Although I enjoy spending as much time as I can in the garden, I know that many of you just don’t have the time to tend to finicky flowers or vigorous vines. But you still want a beautiful backyard, right? Modern-day flowering shrubs just may be the answer for you. Shrubs have always been easier [...]
The first time I saw ‘Honorine Jobert’ was in the south of France — near Nice I think — when I was on vacation and just new to gardening. I was dazzled by an entire border of these tall, white-flowered perennials waving in the wind. When it came time to plant my small woodland garden, I [...]
You may prefer the creamy edges of Brunnera ‘Hadspen Cream’ or the gold-rimmed ‘King’s Ransom’ or even the silvery leaves of ‘Looking Glass’, but my heart will always be true to ‘Jack Frost’. It’s not just the snowy foliage (it reminds me of Frosted Flakes cereal — maybe it’s a nostalgia thing…), or those gorgeous forget-me-not [...]
Walking through my garden the other morning, it occured to me that I tend to hang onto plants whether they perform or not. In other areas of my life, I’m ruthless about getting rid of things I no longer use, wear, read, eat — well, you get the picture. So, in an effort to force [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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