Here’s a city bus tour of a different kind: every Saturday morning throughout the season, the Garden Promenade bus takes visitors to Ottawa/Gatineau on a freewheeling floral trip that highlights the cities’ 50 gardens. Yes, 50 gardens! Surely that makes the National Capital Region the Garden Capital of Canada. Travelling through city neighbourhoods (including Sussex Drive’s … [Read more...] about Travel the Garden Promenade in Ottawa/Gatineau
MosaïCulture Gatineau 2018: A Magnificent Journey
On May 29, 2018 — the day of the Flower Moon — MosaïCulture Gatineau opened its gates in Jacques Cartier Park for the second year in a row. A monumental fete that brings together sculpture, horticulture and leading-edge engineering, MosaïCulture was mounted in Gatineau, Quebec, in 2017 for Canada’s 150th. So popular was the exhibition that 30,000 people petitioned to bring it … [Read more...] about MosaïCulture Gatineau 2018: A Magnificent Journey
Getting to know sanguisorbas
The secret’s out. Long favoured by British and European gardeners, sanguisorbas are finally starting to show up in Canadian gardens. That’s because the subtle charms of these understated perennials are more than matched by their extreme hardiness (some stand up to Zone 2 conditions), easy care and, most of all, congenial attitude toward their garden companions, especially … [Read more...] about Getting to know sanguisorbas
How to grow a pawpaw tree
Until the recent frenzy that saw chefs clamouring to add pawpaws to their menus, the only time you may have heard of this sweet fruit (sometimes described as tasting like banana, guava and persimmon, all rolled into one creamy fruit) was in the lyrics of a traditional American folk song: “Pickin’ up pawpaws, puttin’ ’em in your pockets.” But its culinary popularity … [Read more...] about How to grow a pawpaw tree
5 ornamental grasses for shade
When we think of ornamental grasses, visions of sun-kissed meadows and sky-blue prairies come to mind. But some grasses and grassy look-alikes hail from shadier parts, and in the wild, they’re found along woodland streams, on cool mountainsides or on moody moors. With their grassy blades, airy plumes and sometimes variegated or golden foliage, they offer a variety of textures … [Read more...] about 5 ornamental grasses for shade