I’m a sucker for variegated foliage, so much so that I need to stop myself from adding more fancy patterned leaves to the garden to avoid creating a muddled mess. As a result, many of my houseplants are striped, spotted or variegated. One of my current favourites is a rex begonia (Begonia rex) that spends summers on the screened porch and winters in the sunniest window I … [Read More...] about The allure of variegated foliage
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Caring for grocery store primroses
During the dregs of winter, having a few small pots of flowering plants in the house is a mood brightener. Cheerful primroses (Primula vulgaris), readily available at most grocery stores and florists … [Read More...] about Caring for grocery store primroses
Looking to the past
It has been a week of snow days in Southern Ontario, and other parts of the country have been more winter-ish than spring-like, too. It’s a good time to curl up with a book, perhaps a gardening book … [Read More...] about Looking to the past
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Starting tuberous begonias
When you consider that tuberous begonias can flower continuously from June until frost, have blooms that last more than a week, are easy to grow, and come in just about every colour, … [Read More...] about Starting tuberous begonias
Blooming where we’re planted
Much of North America is still deep into the winter of its gardening discontent. Here in the Maritimes, we’ve been buried in so much snow, we can’t even claim to have a garden of winter interest, … [Read More...] about Blooming where we’re planted
Big and little Hubbard squash
Rooting around in my green grocer’s winter squash bins, I was impressed by some of the monolithic Hubbard squash, looking more like granite boulders than vegetables. Surely these blue-grey monsters … [Read More...] about Big and little Hubbard squash
Tasting notes from Stokes trial gardens 2016
Many of us are still enjoying the vegetables that we’ve grown and harvested this summer, but plant growers and retailers are busy deciding what new varieties to offer in spring 2o17. Stokes Seeds, a … [Read More...] about Tasting notes from Stokes trial gardens 2016