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How to clean your secateurs in order to make them last and work better

How to clean secateurs

I’ve written several posts about secateurs (sometimes called pruners, even though technically a pruner is a person who is pruning–the tool used to prune is…

Plant profile: Baptisia

Baptisia australis is one of those perennial plants that bursts forth from the ground in spring with a lot of energy, unfurling fully developed leaves…

Two Ways to Prune Cedars

I have lots of cedars and a pretty small plot of land, so I’ve had to learn how to prune them. I have so many…

How to Grow Zucchini

Zucchini, also known by its French name, courgette, is reputed to be an incredibly easy plant to grow, and a prolific producer as well. During…

Another Fire Hydrant Story

I’ve written previously on the blog about the time, in 2015, when workers from the city replaced the fire hydrant that sits in my front…

How to Choose the Best Garden Trowel

A trowel is a small shovel that fits in your hand. It’s one of my most reached for tools. The only other tools I use…

Top 5 Filler Plants for Containers in Full Sun

Top 5 Filler Plants for Sunny Containers

The basic recipe when selecting plants to combine in a planter is to select at least one from each of the categories of thriller, filler…

Plant Profile: Globe Thistle

Echinops, commonly called Globe Thistle, is a spikey-leaved plant with perfectly round blue or white flowers. Actually, to be correct, what we think of…

Garden Lessons Learned in 2018

Tomato “Madame Marmande”Isn’t Worth Growing Again I like to try one or two different varieties of tomatoes every year. In 2017 I had a short…

How to make a holiday planter arrangement

How to make a winter planter arrangement

Filling planters with holiday arrangements marks the start of the Christmas season for me. I’ve been busy doing just that for the past couple weekends,…

How to Paint a Cast Iron Urn

My friends bought a new house last year and asked me for some help with their garden in the spring. The previous owners had left…

Have birdfeeders? Do this in fall to make spring clean-up quick and easy!

Have birdfeeders? Do this now to make clean-up easier in spring!

I love to watch birds eating at our birdfeeders every winter. We put our feeders out in November and keep them filled until there are…

How to avoid the most common mistakes when making winter planter arrangements

Winter Decorating Mistakes To Avoid

Creating an attractive arrangement of greenery and accessories in your outdoor planters isn’t difficult. But there are a few common mistakes I see, and a…

Do you really need to rake the leaves off your lawn? Find out...

To Rake or Not to Rake – The Truth About Leaves and Lawns

Raking leaves is as much a part of our collective idea of “fall” as drinking hot chocolate is part of our idea of what’s supposed…

Fall is the time to move peony plants--learn how in this post

Fall is the time to move peonies in the garden

I like to move and/or divide most perennial plants in early spring, as close to when they emerge from the ground as possible, as I…

How to multiply succulent plants by rooting pieces of them

How to root succulents

Succulent plants, especially members of the echeveria family, have become hugely popular the last few years, as well they should. They grow with next to…

How to save plants from your containers over the winter

Container plants come in for the winter

I’ve been checking the weather forecast several times a day lately as I’m on the lookout for frost. I have my old sheets and burlap…

How to tie back ornamental grasses without ruining the look of them

I love the look of ornamental grasses, especially in late summer and into fall when the plumes develop. When the sun hits them the right…

Petunias are a great annual flower for planters, baskets and gardens

Plant profile: Petunias

I thought about titling this post “In praise of petunias” because what you’re about to read is my strong endorsement of a plant that’s sometimes…

Planting for Privacy

I’ve had several questions lately along the lines of “What do I plant to block out my neighbours?” “What do I plant to cover a…

Cedar Trees Create Privacy and Erase Ugly Views

One of the few regrets I have about my garden is that I didn’t plant cedars (thuja) along the back fence years earlier. Instead, I…

How to save seeds from Oenothera flava, Night Blooming Primrose

Saving the Seeds of Night Blooming Primrose

One of the most popular posts on my blog has been the profile I wrote of Night Blooming Primrose (latin: Oenothera flava). It seems like…

What to do with a leaking hose

My friend’s garden hose sprung a leak just before I was to house sit for her. No problem, I thought, I’ll fix it for her…

How to keep cabbage worms from eating your kale

Not So Ornamental Kale

I don’t like the taste of kale very much, but I do like it as an ornamental plant in my garden. Some of my friends…

Highlights of Long Branch by the Lake Garden Tour 2018

Highlights from Long Branch by the Lake Garden Tour 2018

We had a wet weekend for the Long Branch Garden Tour. Very. Very. Wet. But that didn’t seem to dampen the spirit of the intrepid…

Plant profile: Heuchera

I have a problem with Heuchera (aka Coral Bells). My problem is that plant breeders keep coming out with amazing new varieties in a stunning…

Alliums and why you need to snip the seedheads off

Plant profile: Alliums

If you’ve ever wondered at the purple lollipop-like flowers, blooming amongst roses and peonies, you’re not alone. Every time I see someone encountering these flowers…

Learn about the 2018 Long Branch by the Lake Garden Tour

Tips for Enjoying Garden Tours

June is a popular month for garden tours in my area. It’s late enough that the garden has progressed beyond tulips, but early enough that…

The Magic of Mulch

Mulch can instantly transform the look of your garden and provides real benefits in terms of maintenance and moisture retention. I am a big believer…

How to Get Your Tulips to Bloom Again Next Year

Tulips are the tempermental stars of the spring garden. They put on a gorgeous show but then, if you don’t treat them just right, they…

How to Plant Tomatoes

Tomatoes are often the very first vegetable most gardeners try to grow, and who can blame them—there’s nothing like the taste of a freshly grown,…

Learn about the Container Garden Shopping Guide

The Container Garden Guide

Containers, urns, pots and hanging baskets are a lot of fun to put together and they can add a lot of pizzazz to your garden.…

How to Photograph Plants for Identification

Whether you’ve just moved into a new garden where everything’s a mystery, or see something unfamiliar sprouting in a garden you’ve had for years, a…

How to divide Bleeding Hearts and other perennial plants

How to Divide a Bleeding Heart

Although you might mistake the title of this post for an 80’s rock ballad, I’m referring to a plant with the common name of “Bleeding…

Plant Ties Like My Grandpa Used to Make

My grandparents lived through the depression, and, like most people of that era, were into “recycling” and “reusing” multiple decades before those terms were trendy.…

Garden Gloves: the good, the bad and the weird

I confess that I do not always wear gloves when I’m digging in the garden, especially when I’m doing something like planting annuals in a…

Hydrangea Pink Sensation - how to care for it

Caring for Potted Hydrangeas

Walk into any big box hardware store, grocery store, or florist right now and you’ll likely run smack into a huge display of stunning pink…

Two methods for sharpening your secateurs (aka pruners)

Two Recommended Tools to Sharpen Secateurs

It is infinitely more enjoyable, and better for your plants, to use sharp secateurs than dull ones. I’ve written elsewhere about how to choose a…

The best plant labels for vegetables

I’ve been on the hunt for a good way to label the plants in my vegetable garden, specifically, the many varieties of tomatoes. I grow…

Witch Hazel is a great early blooming shrub for your garden

Plant profile: Witchhazel

Witchhazel (Hamamelis x intermedia) is the very first thing to bloom in my garden. I knew this shrub had a reputation as an early bloomer…