Welcome to The Fabulous Garden!
My name is Jennifer Arnott and I created this site to be a resource for people who want a garden they can be proud of.
Please scroll down this page to see my most recent posts, use the search box if you're looking for something specific, or select one of the following topics:

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,…
Read MoreThe 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.…
Read MoreHow 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…
Read MoreHow 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…
Read MorePlant 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.…
Read MoreCaring 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…
Read MoreTwo 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…
Read MoreThe 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…
Read MorePlant 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…
Read MorePlant profile: Tuberous Begonias
Tuberous begonias are super plants for containers and hanging baskets. They have large, luscious blooms in colours ranging from white and pale pink to brilliant…
Read MoreWhat we can learn from greenhouse tomato growers
Last fall, while visiting The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, I came across a very neat exhibit–it was a 38 foot mobile “greenhouse education…
Read MoreA city gardener’s nightmare
One of the “features” of our front yard is that it has a bright yellow fire hydrant at the northwest corner. When I first bought…
Read MorePlant profile: Night Blooming Primrose
Night blooming primrose (latin: Oenothera flava) is a really fun plant to have in your garden, as the flowers open right before your eyes! Individual…
Read MoreGarden quotes and sayings
Gardens and the act of gardening have inspired writers and artists for centuries. Here is a collection of some of the best garden quotes and…
Read MoreVisit to a miniature village in Niagara
This past weekend we took a drive to the Niagara Parks Commission’s Floral Showhouse. We wanted to see the poinsettia display in the greenhouse and…
Read MoreHow to figure out your zone
Has a gardening friend or nursery salesperson ever asked you if you “know your zone?” It’s not a pick-up line (well, it’s usually not a…
Read MoreGet tree sap off your hands with two ingredients from your kitchen
The one down side from making your own Christmas wreath out of fresh greenery, or doing any holiday decorating with pine and other sap oozing…
Read MoreStoring Tubers Over The Winter
I wrote previously about how to dig up tender tubers–the roots of dahlias, cannas, and begonias–to store them over the winter. I know that a…
Read MorePreventing Snow & Ice Damage to Cedars
When winter storms come and pile on heavy snow and ice, it can spell disaster for some trees, especially evergreens, which have needles that hold…
Read MoreFuss less in the fall
Every year at this time articles about “putting your garden to bed” seem to pop up like dandelions. Worried new gardeners stop me to ask…
Read MoreMaking and Maintaining MOSAICANADA150
The MOSAICANADA150 exhibit held in Gatineau, Quebec this summer was a stunning combination of gardening and sculpture. I focused on the sculptural aspect in my…
Read MoreA Visit to MOSAICANADA150
I’ve been looking forward to the Mosaiculture exhibit in Gatineau, Quebec since January. After a busy summer, I finally got to see it, just a…
Read MoreMonarch butterflies love this fall blooming tree
Earlier this year I heard many, many stories of people raising monarch butterflies by hand, in order to help shore up their declining numbers. Well,…
Read MoreWhat’s happening in my fall garden?
When I mentioned to a friend that someone was coming over to see my garden last weekend she was surprised and said “What’s going on…
Read MoreFrost protection
When you live in a climate with real winter, frost is a fact of life. But when frost comes too early, a gardener has to…
Read MoreA Visit to Chanticleer
I’ve been hearing great things about Chanticleer garden in Pennsylvania for several years. I’ve also attended inspiring talks in Toronto from visiting Chanticleer staff and…
Read MoreTomato problems. But are they really a problem?
In an ideal world, our plants would never have a blemish and would produce bumper crops continuously. I do my best to practice good…
Read MoreHow to save your coleus for next year
I’ve written before about how much I love coleus and how I’ve had a hard time finding my favourite variety at any of my local…
Read MoreRain barrels and why gardeners should have one
I think everyone who has a garden would benefit from having a rain barrel–I have four in my yard (three catching rain off the house…
Read MoreA Visit to Whistling Gardens
Three years ago I drove an hour and a half out of Toronto, to Brantford, to see a garden. I’d heard that a gardener with…
Read MoreDo you know the dry spots in your garden?
Rain doesn’t fall the same everywhere. I’m not just talking about the difference in rainfall between one side of town and another, I’m talking…
Read MoreAt the end of your hose?
We haven’t had a good, garden-soaking rain in my area for more than a week, and it’s been hot so I’ve been doing a lot…
Read MoreA Visit to the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden
I first visited the New York Botanical Garden (NYBG) in September of 2010. I was awed by much that I saw, including the Peggy Rockefeller…
Read MoreDeadheading makes a difference
Deadheading is the process of removing spent flowers from a plant—in plain language that means cutting off the dead flowers. There are two main reasons…
Read MorePruning tomatoes
I manage the growth of my tomato plants in order to keep them growing on one or two main stems. Left to their own devices,…
Read MoreSedums grow better if you pinch them back
Sedums, sometimes known as Stonecrops, are great plants–they have nice flowers, they’re drought and heat tolerant, and they are beloved by bees and other pollinators.…
Read MoreSupporting heirloom tomatoes
I really enjoy growing tomatoes, especially somewhat unusual heirloom varieties. By nature, these tend to be very tall plants, growing 8 to 10’ tall in…
Read MoreSupport structures to keep your plants from flopping over
Have you ever admired the beautiful blooms on a peony but lamented that they were at ground level, possibly splattered with mud, because the flowers…
Read More