You might think that as June becomes a distant memory, lilac season is over. It is true that most of the lilacs – the common lilac, the little-leaf varieties and lastly the villosa lilacs have all completed their bloom cycle for another year. There is, however, one magnificent lilac display left – and it usually
Extending The Lilac Season
Forget-Me-Nots — An Old Favourite
Forget-me-nots are early bloomers and will come into flower in June and July. Sometimes, amid the hype contained in catalogues and advertisements about wonderful new plants, we forget some of the old tried-and-true flowers that have been reliable garden favourites for decades. One of these is the forget-me-not. As its name suggests, we gardeners should
Using Antiques In The Garden
The objects can be left with their natural patina or painted. We all have artifacts and older items that we keep around, partly for sentimental reasons, partly because they are often a link to our past, and often, simply because we cannot throw something away that might someday come in handy. Some gardeners have taken
Using Stepping Stones In The Landscape
The depth of the stones can be adjusted by adding soil or sand to the holes until the correct depth is reached. Gardens can have many landscape features, but I think one of the most enchanting is a garden path. Although we all have walkways from driveways to the front door, and sidewalks that take
Globeflower — A Perennial Favourite
A mature clump of globeflower will grow anywhere from 45 to 60 centimetres tall and wide. In late May, and throughout most of the month of June, one of my favourite perennial plants puts on its spectacular show. The common globeflower (trollius europaeus) is a hardy, easy-to-care-for perennial that never fails to perform, year after
Succession Planting Of Vegetables
I usually plant lettuce and radish every three weeks from April until August. Many gardeners look forward in the spring to that first salad made from homegrown produce, but most people continue to eat salads almost on a daily basis during the summer. There is rarely a summer barbecue or social event involving a meal
Easy-To-Grow Beans
Whether green, yellow or purple, raw or cooked, beans are delicious! They are a common garden vegetable in Prairie gardens mostly because of their wonderful taste, but also because they are quite prolific and also relatively easy to grow. The green varieties are called “string” beans; the golden ones “wax.” Like all vegetables, it is
We’re Ready For A Breath Of Spring
Choose a pot of bulbs that have buds but not blooms. There is nothing that shouts “spring!” as loudly as a pot of spring bulbs in full bloom. Cheerful golden mini-daffodils, lovely pink or azure hyacinths or jaunty purple, white or yellow crocus all seem able to make us believe that spring is just around
Calla Lilies — Perfect For The Container
Giving calla lilies a head start indoors before they are put outdoors may extend their bloom period. Many plants that grow from tubers and bulbs add an exotic touch to the garden because they have such exotic-looking foliage and flowers. Such plants are also easy to grow compared to starting things from seed – you
Start Sweet Peas Indoors Soon
I plant my sweet peas indoors in early April in cell packs that have fairly large cells. For a lot of years I would be a very frustrated gardener in late August and early September when the first fall frost ended the display of sweet peas in my garden. It seemed that every year the
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
