In my family, gooseberries provided everyone with a job: I grew and harvested them, my father topped and tailed them, and my mother turned them into mouth-watering pies and jam. Often thought of as quintessentially English, gooseberries aren’t mentioned in any British documents until the late 13th century, when King Edward I’s fruiterer had bushes imported from France. Their … [Read more...] about Gooseberry plants are easy to cultivate
Cut flowers, harvested fresh from your garden
At my last garden (in Toronto), I dug a large flower bed in a full-sun location with the express intention of preserving it as an area for growing cut flowers destined exclusively for the vase. The first year I planted varieties that can be difficult to blend successfully in static herbaceous borders, such as bells of Ireland, gladioli, sunflowers and tuberoses. But due to … [Read more...] about Cut flowers, harvested fresh from your garden
Cimicifugas: Superstars of the autumn garden
In my “very late” summer garden, the aristocratic purple-leaved cimicifugas are in heavy bud and the first Japanese anemones are just beginning to flower. Together with fall asters and ‘Arendsii’ monkshood, these perennials will usher me smoothly from the end of summer through autumn, and will form the floral backbone of the garden until the first killing frosts. But in my … [Read more...] about Cimicifugas: Superstars of the autumn garden
The joy of growing figs
Usually in August, I began to harvest my main crop of sweet, voluptuous and totally decadent figs (Ficus carica cvs.). If you’re only familiar with dried, store-bought figs or Fig Newtons — not that there’s anything wrong with that — you are needlessly denying yourself the singular culinary delight that this ancient fruit provides. In order to savour the real McCoy yourself, … [Read more...] about The joy of growing figs
Super-sized flowers for late summer
Those of us who live in cooler zones are already beginning to get subtle hints that autumn is not a million miles away: In my own garden this is signalled by the flowering of late summer perennials such as garden phlox (Phlox paniculata cvs.), the ripening of fruit and an increase in insect activity. Here in south-central Ontario, I’m currently enjoying the generous blooms of … [Read more...] about Super-sized flowers for late summer
