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DIY - Making Your Own Potting Soil for Herb Containers
If you want herbs to grow well in containers, then I can't stress it enough - making your own potting soil can't compare with store-bought bags.The old adage: you are what you eat. It bears a lot of...
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Plant Profile: Calycanthus floridus / Carolina Allspice
There's nothing more enjoyable than spotting a beautiful, not so common shrub among the familiar.Having visited the Toronto Botanical Gardens today, I had the privilege to take some photos of the...
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Apiosporina morbosa - AKA Sh*t on a Stick
Please excuse the crudeness of Sh*t on a Stick, but that was the first coined term I was taught 25+ years ago. It stuck and I will never forget it. lolIt certainly depicts poop on a stick, doesn't it?...
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Mutant Rudbeckia
I like to introduce you to a two headed Black Eyed Susan.Rudbeckias (Black Eyed Susan) are part of the Asteraceae family, typically the daisy group of plants. They are known to have these anomalies now...
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Jewelweed: A Natural Treatment For Insect Bites
This time of year, there isn't a day where I don't get stung or bit by some insect. Whether it be from accidentally disturbing an ant colony hill while weeding a bed, or pruning shrubs that harbour...
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500,000 Views!
Feeling blessed!There's been many times I nearly quit - so here's hoping the garden continues to teach me things that I can pass along to you!Thanks for visiting and making comments!
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Why I Remove All Hemerocallis Leaves In Early August
I get frustrated when folks complain about how their Daylilies look once the heat of the summer roles in. There's a way to avoid all that.This year, the summer heat may have come later than normal, but...
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Why I Collect Slugs In Autumn
I always try to find alternative methods of insect control. This wet spring and early summer made for a wonderful breeding ground for slugs. Â But alas, we still have way too many slug holes.I've been...
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Foraging: Shaggy Mane Mushrooms
I have fond memories of my Aunt (Tante) teaching me how to make hunter sauce with mushrooms (Jager Pilzsoße). She used fresh Chanterelles, but what I gleaned at the time, was the beauty behind foraging...
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Nippon Daisy - Spotted Cucumber Beetle
Usually our Nippon Daisy has glorious large flowers which last forever. Â The warm autumn we are experiencing in Southern Ontario has made our Nippon Daisies a huge attraction to bees, butterflies and...
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Calendula - Collecting Seeds and a Simple Trick To Have Them Come Back Year...
Growing Calendula since a child, I never tire of this amazing plant. Whether you grow it for medicinal purposes, or just for it's blooms.......it's one of the self seeding annual plants that every...
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Drying Herbs For Pantry
The cold came fast in the GTA. Real fast. Minus -10º C overnight. Once weather reports warned of this onslaught, I took quick action and cut back our herbs growing in containers.We love cooking with...
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This Year's Christmas Containers
My outdoor Christmas Containers were rather varied this year.From making some for retail:Even though I have been making these for ages, I never tire of it (until you make the 50th + :) !  The best part...
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Christmas Flower Show 2017 - Centennial Conservatory (Centennial Park)
I had the great privilege being asked to work at Centennial Conservatory a few weeks ago.Fantastic staff and plant material = a wonderful Christmas Flower Show display filled with delight. I had such a...
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In The Bleak MidWinter - Not Bleak At All...
Yes, IT'S COLD! Â But let's be thankful!We had a true white Christmas! You can hardly tell we made up our winter planters with greens - the snow depth has been really great!Southern Ontario and pretty...
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Living Walls - Still not sure...
When I first came across a sample of an indoor living wall 2 years ago, I thought - that's awesome! Â But now... well, Â I'm still not sure of their environmental value. I truly like the concept, but...
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Garden Inspiration - Collaging
Sometimes the length of the winter just drags on....all I want to do is dig in the garden.Over the years I have collected many gardening magazines and if I were to have kept them all, I'd have to buy a...
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Spring Ice Storm 2018 - Garden Woes
This isn't the first time I've experienced snow/ice in mid-spring.I have recollections of snow falling in May. Global climate change may be a factor but I think this is just a strange meteorological...
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Evergreens Falling Over in Wind Storm
If only my phone camera could have captured as many fallen evergreens as my eyes have seen in the last 4 days.The GTA suffered from a serious wind storm that took shingles off roof tops, toppled limbs...
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Living Walls - Update
I was hoping to be pleasantly surprised when visiting this living wall again. It has been nearly 4 months since I last stopped to take a look. Â Here is my last post to refresh your memory: Â Living...
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Tree Sweaters - Yarn Bombing
This post may not have true horticultural content, but I felt compelled to share.I usually have many distractions walking downtown Toronto. There's so much to take in. Like today, I couldn't help but...
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Creeping Jenny Eaten By Sawfly Larvae
What's eating my Creeping Jenny?Golden Creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'), is a staple in any garden. Used as a perennial ground cover or trailer for containers and hanging baskets - it...
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Rose Gall - Diplolepis rosae
Watering my garden this morning, I noticed yellowing leaves on my Rosa glauca. A sign of heat stress. Yet, as I looked closer, I saw a mossy mass which I've only ever seen once before.I knew this is a...
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Beauty in Ashes: Our Trip To Alberta
As I reflect this Thanksgiving season, I decided to post our trip to Alberta. We were on a mission this vacation. To visit family and spend time away from work. To focus on things of importance: peace...
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When Sempervivums (Hens and Chicks) Flower
It's a rare treat to see Sempervivums flower. When they do, unfortunately, the plant that flowers (the parent plant) - dies.To show the progression of flowering, I've photographed this plant over a...
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