{ Archive for the ‘plants’ Category }

Garden eye spy: New perspectives


The great outdoors has always been a magical place for me personally. Ever since I was a little girl, immersed in storybooks of secret gardens and enchanted forests, I have adored spending time amidst pretty blooms, swaying boughs and luscious, thick grass, discovering a whole new world of tiny creatures and wondrous happenings.

That is why I am beyond thrilled to present today a new column here on the Canadian Gardening blog, entitled ‘Garden Eye Spy.’  Each week we will showcase a new photograph and a new perspective from which to view a garden space, once again capturing that childhood sense of wonder that so often becomes lost in the hustle and bustle of everyday life.

This charming snail fellow caught my eye moseying his way around a flowerbed border, an adorable reminder that gardens are not meant for rushing around in, but rather meandering through with care. Who knew a snail could instill such spring garden inspiration? Have a wonderful long weekend everyone!

Previewing plants from President’s Choice

The annual President’s Choice Lawn & Garden Insider’s Report luncheon is a hot-ticket event for garden writers, because we get to turn our plots into trial gardens. This year, a room at the Toronto Botanical Garden was turned into a greenhouse so we could preview all the hot new plants that we’ll find at garden centres this spring. And let’s face it, most of us will make it to one of Loblaw’s parking lot nurseries at least once. Who doesn’t love buying a chicken, a Joe Fresh T-shirt and a dahlia or two in one shopping trip? Plus, I have to say their plants are always top-notch and affordable. I was able to chat with some of the growers, as well as listen to them tell the whole group of us about their breeding programs and their latest innovations.

Here are just a few of the plants I’m excited about. I’ll be including others in a “Hot plants for 2012″ piece premiering next week! Also premiering next week is the Lawn & Garden Insider’s Report. Keep an eye out for it in stores!

1. Haskap berries
To be honest, I had never heard of these little gems until Signe Langford wrote about them in her 2012 “new edibles to try” piece. Apparently they taste like a cross between a raspberry and a blueberry. Apparently you need two different varieties to get adequate pollination. I got ‘Indigo Gem’ and ‘Indigo Treat’. Excited to see how they grow–and to taste the berries!

Haskap berries

2. Brunnera Jack Frost
This will be one of my first purchases from the nursery this year. Named “perennial of the year” for 2012, brunneras are deer-resistant and shade-loving. This will be a perfect plant for the back of my lot where the tree canopy casts a giant shadow for most of the day, and where the deer enter the yard if they’re in the neighbourhood!

Brunnera 'Jack Frost'

3. Suncatcher Pink Lemonade Petunias
Last year it was the black petunia. This year, it’s all about pink lemonade. The colour on these blooms is just so unique and pretty, and they’ll contrast nicely with most other hues.

Suncatcher Pink Lemonade Petunia

4. Lanai Verbena Twister Pink
This pretty little number is so unique with its ring of miniature, two-toned blooms around a hollow centre. These will be fantastic for pots. I have a cone-shaped bamboo wall planter that I bought at the Ideal Home & Garden Show in Hamilton. I think one or two are destined to be included in it!

Lanai Verbena Twister Pink

5. PC Vegetables in a Cage
President’s Choice always has great edible plant offerings for both small and large spaces. A couple of years ago it was the upside-down, hanging tomato basket, last year it was the salad bowl garden. This year they’ve introduced vegetables all potted up with a cage around them. All you need to do is add water!

PC Vegetables in a Cage

Snapping tropical blooms in Hawaii

I recently returned from a two-week trip to Hawaii. I spent one week on Kauai, which is known as The Garden Isle, and one week on Oahu. While I wasn’t there to work, I’m going to err on the side of cliché and say that it was hard to ignore the tropical splendour. Seriously, these islands are so incredibly beautiful, it was hard to put the camera down. The only disappointment was that I couldn’t really smell the flowers as I had a nasty cold for most of my trip. Fortunately I didn’t let a few sniffles ruin my time and I was able to explore and enjoy both islands. Long before I became a gardening editor, I have always managed to include a visit to a botanical garden on most of my trips. So of course I had to add a couple to my itinerary. Luckily my husband didn’t mind.

One thing I’ve struggled with is taking really great botanical shots. I try to crouch down and pick good angles, but my pics always seem to turn out pretty one-dimensional. Last summer, I signed up for a digital photography workshop with professional photographer Theresa Forte. I learned some great things about perspective and framing your shot. And then, while we were away, our friend Reuven encouraged us to take our camera off “auto” and play with the manual features. So we “went macro” with some fantastic results.

I’m going to post some slideshows of the amazing plants I saw at the botanical gardens, but in the meantime, here are some gorgeous, colourful hibiscus blooms.

This hibiscus was right outside the entrance to our condo in Kauai. This was one of the first blooms I tested out the macro lens on.

This gorgeous hibiscus was taken at Limahuli Botanical Garden, a gorgeous, plant-filled sanctuary on the North Shore of Kauai.

This delicate, pink beauty was taken outside of our B&B near Diamond Head in Honolulu.

Ok, this isn't a hibiscus, but I had to include it. This was the first time I've seen a Bird-of-paradise growing in a garden. A native of South Africa, this really looks like a bird's head, doesn't it?

Cool things to plant from PC

This past weekend marked the official launch of the President's Choice Insider's Report (Lawn & Garden edition). And as we head into the long weekend, you may want to check it out and make a list of all the great new flowers, trees, bushes, herbs, fruits and veggies that will be stocked at a Loblaw-owned store near you.

I had a bit of a sneak preview a couple of weeks ago at the annual President's Choice Lawn & Garden event. This year's plant preview took place in Beamsville where we had the opportunity to tour the greenhouses at the family-run Linwell Gardens and Freeman Herbs.

At Freeman Herbs: This particular greenhouse was All basil! I'm sure you can imagine how wonderful it smelled!

At Freeman Herbs: This particular greenhouse was All basil! I'm sure you can imagine how wonderful it smelled!

Here are some of the plants and products that I took an interest in for my own garden or that were too cool not to mention:

Sunpatiens
Impatiens no longer have to be confined to those shady areas of your garden. There's a new hybrid in town that does well in full sun.

Tumbler tomatoes
I had a nice chat at Freeman Herbs with Bob Martin from Martin Farms. I met Bob last year at a Stokes Best and President's Choice tasting event. He was excited about their tumbler tomatoes, tomatoes that were bred for hanging baskets–genius! I remember them being quite delicious. It's really neat to see something go from the test garden to the store. Another tomato that made it into this year's product lineup was red candy. It was one of my favourites from last year and I recently took one home after our magazine editor Erin did a veggie presentation. Also worth trying, the Kapelo peppers.

Starburst surprise petunias
I'm not partial to any one colour in the garden, but my favourite colour in everyday life is pink–pale or fuchsia, it doesn't matter. So I fell in love with these gorgeous, two-toned petunias and was lucky enough to take one of the luxuriant hanging baskets home. Last night as I was buying soil, I grabbed a couple more individual plants to go in my front garden along with some pale yellow beauties.

A pink Starburst surprise!

A pink Starburst surprise!

Starbright Mock Orange
We have a second story going up on the bungalow behind us, which has killed our privacy. My fingers are crossed the owners build a fence, but in the meantime, I'm going to build a living fence. Currently we have cedars (not including the ones I planted last year that died) and a mulberry tree (which is pretty, but messy). This mock orange will fill one of the vacant spots beautifully–the Insider's Report says it will grow to be about 10 feet tall–here's hoping!

They don’t look plastic!
Rather than sell their pots in something generic that you'll have to hide in one of your own pretty pots, PC has these fantastic, decorative planters that you can just plunk right in front of your house without shame.

Can you believe this is only $30!

Can you believe this is only $30!

Check out the PC Garden blog, written by City Gardening writer Lorraine Flanigan. It will give you even more ideas on what to plant from President’s Choice.

p.s. Many apologies for the delay between posts! I've been under the weather for the last two weeks. On the mend!

My new fave: The pincushion flower

It was about a month or so ago that I first laid eyes on the pincushion flower. So when I needed to figure out what I wanted to carry at my wedding (which took place this past weekend), yellow pincushion flowers came to mind not only for their unique beauty, but because I liked the sewing connection, as well. I also ordered some extra to display on the tables at our venue, School Bakery & Cafe. Besides the yellow orbs of the pincushion blooms, I was pretty clueless as to what else I could put with them. Without having an example flower on hand, Helen at Anthi Floral Boutique was so helpful recommending complementary greenery — Jamaica greens and bear grass for the vases and aspidistra for the wedding bouquets. For vases I used Bernardin jars that I got thanks to my Uncle Glenn, and then I tied black raffia around the necks as a finishing touch.

For the bouquets my sister and I carried, we removed the greenery from the lower stem of the pincushion flowers and wrapped them in aspidistra and raffia.

Below is an image of one of my vases. I was very pleased with how they turned out!

pincushion

Plants with curls

Now that my garden is fast asleep, I fulfill my gardening urges by sorting through my garden photos. We all admire plants for their colourful blooms and interesting foliage, but what about their other unique attributes.

Take curls for example. I found these two examples of plants with curls in my garden photos, but I know there are many other plants that showcase these curly tendrils. Of course I admire the plant’s ”whole package’, but sometimes it’s fun to focus on one interesting aspect. So today, it’s all about curls!

Yucca tendrils

Yucca tendrils

Pumpkin tendrils

Pumpkin tendrils

Spooky Halloween horticulture

With the arrival of Halloween tomorrow, the houses in my neighborhood are becoming ghoulish haunts. Front yards are littered with tombstones and zombies and skeletons are lurking in the shadows. I love when homeowners make the effort to create haunted gardens, even if it’s a traditional jack-o-lantern greeting children as they scream “trick or treat?”

Haunting my front door this Halloween is the Headless Horseman.

Haunting my front door this Halloween is the Headless Horseman.

Have you ever wondered why we crave pumpkins for Halloween?

The tradition dates back several centuries to Ireland, where a lazy farmer named Stringy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. When the time came to pay for his drink, Jack convinced the Devil to transform into a coin, but instead of paying with it, he put it the coin in his pocket with a silver cross to prevent the Devil from transforming back. When Jack finally decided to let the Devil go, he made the Devil promise that the he wouldn’t take his soul.

Unfortunately for Jack, he died the following Halloween (of unrelated causes) and was turned away from the Heaven because of his sinful lifestyle. Turning to the Gates of Hell as a last resort, he was turned away by the Devil because the Devil had promised not to claim Jack’s soul. Poor Jack was alone in the darkness, but the Devil took pity on him and gave him a glowing piece of coal to light his way. Luckily Jack found a turnip and put the burning coal inside. To this day, Jack is roaming the earth, carrying the turnip lantern to find his way in the darkness.

Although there are many different versions of Stringy Jack’s story, all lead to the tradition of carving turnips. Since pumpkins were more plentiful then turnips in North America, Irish emigrants decided to hollow out the large orange gourds when making their Jack-o-Lanterns for Halloween.

To read more Halloween horticulture, check out Charmian Christie’s article ‘Halloween Plant Lore.

Fabulous fall foliage

treeIf you haven’t been outside lately, you’re missing the fabulous fall foliage. As the days get shorter and the temperature drops, trees sense the approach of winter. During the fall, the green canopy of summer transforms into a colourful smorgasbord of reds, oranges, and yellows. Have you ever wondered what triggers the leaves to change colour?

5-021

This is the maple tree in my backyard. Each fall, it becomes an incredible shade of golden yellow. When the afternoon sun hits the leaves, it glows!

During my horticultural studies, my ornamental plant professor explained it best. Leaves change colour because of a chemical shift in the foliage. During the summer, leaves produce chlorophyll, which is used to absorb sunlight, which is then turned into glucose – in other words, photosynthesis. As the tree prepares to hibernate chlorophyll production slows down and the glucose and nutrients from the leaves are absorbed by the branches, trunk, and roots. Since chlorophyll makes the leaves green, the remaining pigments in the leaves take over. Yellow and orange leaves contain carotene (the same pigments that give carrots their bright orange colour). Red and purple leaves contain anthrocyanins (which give radishes and red roses their vibrant red colour).

Pretty technical, I know, but it does shed some light on the chemical shift that the leaves are experiencing. Of course, there are other factors that influence how vibrant the colours become including temperature and soil moisture. In southern Ontario, our fall colours seem to pop after we enjoy several consecutive warm, sunny days and cool nights. I can’t imagine living somewhere in the world where they don’t experience changing seasons. As we transition into each new season, the garden is filled with new splendors to explore!

Spectaular ornamental grasses

grass22One of the first gardening projects my husband and I tackled when we first moved into our house was dig up an old Privet hedge in our backyard. The hedge grew between the upper and lower patio – I think the original homeowners wanted a screen between the house and pool, but when we moved in, it was unkempt and burly. I had thought we could salvage it, but my husband wanted to remove it (Yes, honey. You were right!)

It took a whole weekend to dig out the bushes and deep roots. When we were done, we were left with a sloping L-shaped bed. Once I saw the blank canvas, I envisioned a small rock garden. I built up the bottom of the slope with rocks to create a foundation and then amended the soil with compost and topsoil. The next step was deciding what to plant. Aside from a variety of succulents planted in the rock crevices, I also added a bunch of perennials including sedum, lamb’s ear, coreopsis, creeping phlox, and Scotch moss. To add some height, I decided to plant a few ornamental grasses. Miscanthus sinensis ‘Goliath’, Miscanthus sinensis ‘Zebrinus’, Miscanthus sinensis ‘Titian’, Carex pendula (Drooping Sedge), Carex flacca (Blue Sedge), grass333and Festuca amethystina.

Two years later, the ornamental grasses have stolen the show. They’re not that showy in the spring, but by midsummer they’re quite impressive. By early fall, they skyrocket and bloom, and are quite spectacular. During the winter months, they create interest in the garden when everything else is hidden underneath the snow.

If you haven’t tried growing ornamental grasses, I highly recommend adding them to your garden. They’re easy to grow, versatile in the landscape, and incredibly showy. I’ve become addicted to ornamental grasses and have dabbled with a few in the front yard. I also want to design a new bed under a huge maple tree at the back of our yard. Ornamental grasses are definitely a good thing!

Sucker for succulents

chicks-and-hens2Most people choose plants for their garden because of the showy and colourful flowers, but I love plants with unusual foliage, especially succulent plants with cool foliage. Hens and chicks are one of my personal favourite foliage plants in the garden. chicks-and-hens

One of the reasons why I love hens and chicks (Sempervivum) is because of their fleshy rosettes of leaves. Did you know that their botanical name Sempervivum means ‘always alive’. These hardy little perennials are drought tolerante and love full sun. In my rock garden, I have a dozen or so mature plants and two of them currently have flower spikes thrusting into the air. I’m always amazed at how sturdy they are. The top heavy spikes look like they could fall over at any moment. I love how unusual the flowers are. The cluster of starshaped flowers look like something out of a sci-fi movie.chicks-and-hens-close-up

If you’re looking for more information on how to grow your own hens and chicks in garden, check out some of these great articles at CanadianGardening.com.

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