When I was just a boy growing up on the farm, I started a flower garden. Of course, this was before the era of designer plants and before bedding plants were available in the spring, at least in rural Saskatchewan! If you wanted to grow flowers you did it the old-fashioned way — you planted
Plant an old favourite
Create a lawn area with sod
When I am going to establish a lawn area in my garden, I find that using grass seed is frustrating and I am not always assured of good results. Even if the soil is kept constantly moist for a couple of weeks, germination can be spotty, particularly if the weather turns hot and there is
Try this plant in your garden
It is always fun to try a new plant in the garden. A number of years ago I was given a seedling of bloody dock — also called bloodwort, wood dock or bloody sorrel — by a friend whose plant had self-seeded in her garden. Its Latin name is Rumex sanguineus. I planted it in
Mother’s Day is coming up
Sometimes a mother who is, or has been a gardener, appreciates receiving a less traditional potted plant for Mother’s Day. A plant that is a bit on the unusual side will show that the gift giver has put some extra thought into choosing it, and one possibility is the cineraria. The cineraria’s cousin, dusty miller,
Keep that Easter lily
Perhaps you were fortunate enough to receive a potted Easter lily as a gift this spring or maybe, like me, you bought your own. I was lucky enough to find one with buds not yet open — one bud was just on the verge of opening — so I will get to fully enjoy every
Need a spring tonic?
April is a dreary month in the outdoor garden as everything is usually still brown. Although we go about our outdoor spring chores, and revel in the sun on cloud-free days, there is not a lot of colour. However, we can add a blast of colour to our indoor space by buying an inexpensive primrose.
Getting an azalea to rebloom
Were you lucky enough to receive an azalea as a gift plant for Easter? Azaleas are popular pot plants used as gifts for special occasions such as Easter and Mother’s Day. Although an azalea can be enjoyed until it has finished blooming (a healthy plant will bloom for several weeks) and then discarded, many gardeners
Regal geraniums
The regal or Martha Washington geranium has long been a popular pot plant for the early-spring market and you will see many of them on display in garden centres and retail shops around Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and Easter. They produce a wondrous show of bloom — the individual florets of a regal geranium are
The passion flower
The passion flower Growing exotic-looking houseplants can be a challenging but very interesting endeavour. No plant is more exotic looking than the passion flower and around Easter time it takes on an increased significance as it has religious symbolism connected to this Christian season. Each bloom consists of a flat base of petals above which
Trying something new? How about elephant ear?
Every year I like to try a couple of new plants in my outdoor garden and I while away quite a few hours during the wintertime looking at catalogues and deciding which newcomers I will welcome into my garden. Often, but not always, I grow these new-to-me plants in containers so that I have more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
