Garden Design, Garden Makeover, Garden Coach
I read an article the other day about propagating shrubs from softwood cuttings, which inspired me to have a go. I have two Sambucus nigras-- a 'Black Lace' and a 'Black Beauty'. The 'Black Beauty' has been wonderful--dark foliage, a lovely shape, and beautiful umbrella-like pink flowers in the late spring. 'Black Lace' should be the... Continue Reading →
Successful Squash A few years ago I tried to grow squash from seed for the first time. Actually first time for growing it from anything. I'm not a big fan of zucchini and other summer squashes, and just didn't want to bother with an entire growing season of caring for winter squash for the sake of one... Continue Reading →
Ironwork Or is it steel work? Saw this at Granville Island yesterday:
The "bones" of a garden are usually provided with two very different features: hardscape and shrubs. I'll leave the hardscape to another post and address shrubs for now. Layers I think the thing I find the most essential in a perennial border or garden space is variety of heights. Even when my garden was very... Continue Reading →
Hybridizing Daylilies--Hemerocallis If you want to increase your plant stock economically, you can't do better than hybridizing daylilies. But that's not why I did it. When I saw how easy it was, and that I actually got seeds, and that I could plant them, and that I could get brand new, never seen before daylily flowers,... Continue Reading →
Pergola I knew I wanted this pergola to be simple, streamlined, and strong enough to carry the weight of the swing, even if the swing had adults on it. Designing it with SketchUp turned out to be quite successful, but I had to know what I was going to do before I did it. So Max... Continue Reading →
Water-Wise Gardens With the uncharacteristic drought we've had in coastal BC this year, it's a good time to consider drought-tolerant, even drought-loving, plants. Before I go any further, most drought-loving plants need to be established with benefit of water before they will be truly drought-happy. There are a few exceptions to that, which I'll mention at... Continue Reading →
Real Life Garden Solutions 