I am wary about plant descriptions in plant catalogues. More often than not, the descriptions laced with purple prose bear little resemblance to the actual plant. It’s easy to become cynical, but every once in while the prose is actually true…

Written on Friday, May 11, 2012 in YES! Garden Moments

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What’s hot this year? Haskap berries. At least that’s what I think. But I am biased. I’ve converted my backyard into an edible and ornamental delight, so all things edible are foremost and forefront in my mind. How about those haskap berries?

New haskap berry. Photo courtesy of President’s Choice

Written on Friday, May 4, 2012 in Blog, Plants

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Remember I talked about letting Nature guide you with gardening tasks? Well, another sign has popped up. The serviceberries are blooming…it’s time to plant potatoes.

Written on Monday, April 16, 2012 in Blog, Gardening

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My weekly soil tweetup has transformed to #groundchat.  Same day, same time, same great chats!

Written on Saturday, April 14, 2012 in Real Gardeners

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This week is a very busy one for me. And it all revolves around the Successful Gardening Show, which starts this Thursday, April 12 at the International Centre. 

Written on Tuesday, April 10, 2012 in Talks & Flower Shows

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With weeks of warm weather in March, many trees and shrubs’ buds broke and started growing and perennials sprung out of the ground. Some gardeners — with uncharacteristic enthusiasm – planted their vegetable seeds.

But now the weather has returned to April temperatures…and risk of spring frosts. Northern gardeners started to worry about frost damage on even the most cold hardy plants. But there are ways of protecting our prematurely growing plants. Read on…

Written on Tuesday, April 3, 2012 in Gardening

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I am a great fan of Twitter, but with so much information and people, it’s easy to spend most of your time tweeting without really “talking” to anyone. The solution?  Tweetups: an organized focused session on a particular gardening/landscaping topic.  It’s the best filter for finding excellent garden-related information.

Written on Thursday, March 29, 2012 in Talks & Flower Shows

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I didn’t realize that repurposing had trickled into the garden social consciousness until I saw a few gardens at Canada Blooms. Pallets, timber, stones, chairs and old appliances were used in clever creative ways.

Overview of bsq Design Studio’s pallet garden at Canada Blooms

Written on Monday, March 26, 2012 in Blog, Design & Landscaping

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Last year I found out that plant breeders follow fashion to determine colours for their annuals. I was surprised. It’s not the gardening community that was setting the colour trends. So I wondered, how are other gardening trends set?

Canada Blooms Pallet Garden by bsq. design
www.bsqdesign.com

Written on Tuesday, March 20, 2012 in Gardening

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With temperatures in the mid-teens, it really feels like spring this week. All the signs of early spring are here: the arrival of Downy Woodpeckers, Red-winged Blackbirds and American Robins. Even the Silver Maples, the harbingers of spring, are almost past their bloom. But just because it is spring doesn’t mean I going to charge out and plant any annuals or perennials.

Silver maples flowering!

Written on Wednesday, March 14, 2012 in Gardening

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