Winter’s Beauty: Finding Joy and Inspiration in the Quiet Garden
by Jennifer Langille My garden began simply—a few clumps of orange daylilies by the driveway, bright against the green but humble in their beginnings. Over time, those first plants gave way to lush, sweeping beds that tell the story of years spent learning, experimenting, and growing. In many ways, the evolution of my garden reflects […]
The Heart of the Garden: Exploring the Miracle of Seeds
By Jennifer Langille Every now and then, nature offers us a glimpse into its magic, and seeds are one of its most profound wonders. They are tiny, yet packed with endless potential. The beauty of seeds isn’t just in how they grow; it’s in the delicate and complex ways they carry life forward, ensuring that […]
The Leaves Are Falling
By Elizabeth Spence It’s like the leaves are falling from far away, as if distant gardens withered in the skies; the falling leaves are sighing “no.” . . . Rainer Maria Rilke, trans. Elizabeth Spence The time has come. The leaves are indeed falling from far away. What with the winds we’ve been having. The […]
Storing Dahlia Tubers
By Elizabeth Spence Dahlias are such gorgeous flowers. They come in an enormous variety of shapes, heights and colours. (Geek alert: if you’re interested in why there are so many variations in dahlias, look up “dahlia octoploid” and “dahlia jumping genes.”) Stunning in the flower bed or in containers, they can be real showstoppers or […]
How to Make a Bulb Lasagna
by Elizabeth Spence End of summer: it’s that time of year when the bulb catalogues are on a mission to get us to buy and plant our spring flowering bulbs before it’s too late. This is nothing new. Here are some from 1891, 1898 and 1916. In these old catalogues, the pictures inside are black […]
THERE’S AN ELEPHANT IN MY GARDEN – Part One
(Actually Microscopic Fungus and Bacteria in the Soil!) By Dr. David Boyle Retired Professor of Mycology with Dr. Elizabeth Spence, writing assistant and beginner fungus student Plants are amazing in that they can grow just about anywhere. But they don’t do it alone. Most of them support and are supported by a complex interconnected network […]
THERE’S AN ELEPHANT IN MY GARDEN – Part Two
If We Have HMAs Do We Need Synthetic Fertilizers? By Drs. David Boyle and Elizabeth Spence In Part One we saw that HMAs carry out a huge number of processes that allow plants to grow successfully. But what happens when we try to “help” plants over and above the natural systems? Gardening and agriculture in […]
A-Mulching We will Go
Imitating Nature – But Should We Really Be Doing It? By Elizabeth Spence First of all, thank you very much indeed to our readers who responded to our questions about what they use as mulch and what they think about the topic in general. Your comments and information, plus our own experience and independent research […]
July 1st: It’s Not Too Late to Sow Carrots and Other Root Crops!!
By Jennifer Langille A short time ago we posted on our Facebook page a picture of a pathetic little carrot with the observation that things don’t always work out as they should. One of our subscribers commented that this often happens to her, and that the problem was probably her soil. On reading this, Jennifer […]
Annual, Perennial or Biennial Plants. What are They?
We stole – we mean – asked permission from Michael Ashton of Ashton’s Garden Centre if we could use his explanation of annual, perennials and biennials on our site. He agreed. So here it is!