Sometimes I come across a plant in an unusual way and last summer I did just that. I am a thrift store junkie and a garage sale addict! Early in the summer I was in Brandon, and made my usual stop at the MCC Thrift Store. This interesting establishment has a big window near which
Try a pot of baby’s tears
Continued care of your chrysanthemum
Maybe it was because of the lovely warm, sunny autumn that we enjoyed, but for whatever reason, retail shops and garden centres were filled with potted chrysanthemums in the weeks leading up to Thanksgiving. Even after Thanksgiving, there was an abundance of potted mums available for people to use in their autumn décor. The colours
A good year for pumpkins
At this time of year, we see piles of pumpkins at market gardens that have been picked off the frozen vines and are ready for purchase. Huge orange giants, paler varieties that grow even bigger — the ones used in pumpkin-growing contests, ghostly white pumpkins, and miniatures; they are all there in vast array. Of
What to do with all those leaves
Every autumn most gardeners face a deluge of fallen leaves as the deciduous trees shed their garb for another year. Even gardeners who do not have such trees in their landscape are usually blessed with at least some leaves that blow into their yards from adjoining properties. Gathering them up can be time consuming and
Fall tree planting
A couple of years ago I splurged and bought a tree, a “Purple Spire” crabapple. I put a lot of thought into choosing the location for the tree but alas, like so many gardening plans, this one did not go as intended. Since planting the tree, I have had to take out my mature mountain
What’s wrong with my tomatoes?
I get phone calls from gardeners all the time, and this year I have received a lot concerning tomatoes. Many seem to be experiencing problems on their tomato plants so here’s an update on some of the diseases. The most serious is late blight which is caused by a fungus, develops very quickly and invariably
Nothing standard about a standard
There has been an explosion in the development and marketing of shrubs and trees grown as standards in the last several years. A standard is simply a shrub or tree grown on a single stem and not allowed to get more than a couple of metres high. Usually the top part is grafted to a
Coleus for the sun
Coleus have long been an important component of shade plantings; whether planted in the ground or grown in containers, they have traditionally been popular plants for those spots in the garden that receive little direct sun. The older varieties, such as the “Rainbow” series, are all suitable for use in the shade and in fact,
Chairs in the Landscape?
When is a chair not a chair? When it is used as a plant stand or as a decorative object in the landscape. A chair is a good accent piece to incorporate, sometimes in a difficult area where hardly anything will grow, on a hardscape surface where some colour and interest are required or maybe
Mosquito plant — fact or myth?
We have all heard the term “urban myth” a term that describes stories and supposed occurrences that never really happened and are not true, although they are widely believed to have happened or be true. Maybe we should coin a new phrase, “garden myth,” to encompass some of the things that gardeners believe even though
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
