I love using and promoting plants that are easy-to-grow, versatile and adaptable. And I was really happy to discover that the National Garden Bureau showcases plants similar to my criteria.

Written on Monday, October 31, 2011 in Plants

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Written by Cristina da Silva

We got our first real frost this morning. Now, many gardeners dread this day, it marks the end of gardening. But frost isn’t all doom and gloom; there is an upside to frost in the garden. There is a sweet side to frost.

Written on Saturday, October 29, 2011 in Plants

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Written by Cristina da Silva

Today, I volunteered 6 hours at the Mississauga Master Gardeners’ booth at the International Home Show. My reward for giving advice all day is discovering the number one gardening question in late October.

Written on Friday, October 28, 2011 in Plants

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Written by Cristina da Silva

It was the uniformity that gave it away. Fifty or more anthuriums packed together in a tiny booth resplendent with glossy red spathes, all absolutely alike. There’s only one form of propagation that produces such uniformity: micropropagation.

Image courtesy Westland Greenhouses

Written on Thursday, October 27, 2011 in Plants

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Written by Cristina da Silva

Yesterday I hosted  #treechat on Twitter about Trees and Literature. Tweets went fast and furious for an hour. The underlying thread from the  twitter stream was our love for children’s literature. We all reminisced about great children’s books that featured trees.

Written on Thursday, October 20, 2011 in Plants

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Written by Cristina da Silva

My Christmas cactus has started blooming!

These lovely houseplants with spectacular blooms, Schlumbergera hybrids, challenge our paradigms. They are cacti, but don’t originate in a desert. Their native habitats are rainforests. The flowers appear at the end of what appear to be leaves, but are actually flattened stems.

Written on Sunday, October 16, 2011 in Plants

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Written by Cristina da Silva

On a cold blustery day, I like nothing better than a hot bowl of soup. My favourite soup? Kale soup made with kale leaves grown in my garden.

Written on Saturday, October 15, 2011 in Plants

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Written by Cristina da Silva

There’s a lot of spin that goes into naming plant varieties. It’s misleading and dishonest: a constant source of irritation to me. But once in a while marketing equals reality.

Written on Thursday, October 13, 2011 in Plants

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Written by Cristina da Silva

What do Baby Bear, Little Boo and Ghost Rider have in common?

Written on Sunday, October 9, 2011 in Plants

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Written by Cristina da Silva

If you haven’t brought your houseplants from outside already, you really should do so before a hard frost occurs.

Written on Friday, October 7, 2011 in Plants

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Written by Cristina da Silva