The Real Gardener » Blog

When plant descriptions aren’t purple prose

Cristina — Fri, 11 May 2012 15:29:12 +0000

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…

How about those haskap berries?

Cristina — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:00:34 +0000

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

Growing Potatoes

Cristina — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 20:59:28 +0000

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.

A change of tweetup name

Cristina — Sat, 14 Apr 2012 15:13:17 +0000

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

It’s showtime!

Cristina — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:04:45 +0000

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.

Five frost shattering practices

Cristina — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 15:25:27 +0000

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…

Twitter me a #Soilchat

Cristina — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 17:48:02 +0000

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.

Repurposing in the Garden

Cristina — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 18:15:09 +0000

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

Gardening trends put into perspective!

Cristina — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:47:14 +0000

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

Let Nature tell you when to plant

Cristina — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:38:34 +0000

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!