Growing Galanthus
They arrive early in the spring along with the hellebore, and the crocus, and the few other earliest of the early flowers. They are a gift. They greet us silently and yet there is an audible gasp when their bobbing heads are spotted above the debris. Oh thank god we’re gonna make it after all saint Mary Tyler Moore the worst is over. The world is coming alive again. You can stop holding your breath now. More
Garden Tour: Erika’s Small Apartment of Small Plants
Yesterday afternoon I was invited into the apartment of a fellow Parkdale resident to check out her collection of fascinating and unusual plants. The visit brought the plant junky in me out in full force. I went home conspiring to get my hands on a few of those amazing plants myself and then spent the remainder of the afternoon rearranging and caring for the gazillions of houseplants I do have. Visits to other peoples’ gardens never fail to motivate me to do better by my own plants. Mesembs in the front window. Erika collects alpines, Mesembs (conophytum & lithops aka living stones are examples), Gesneriads (not African violets), orchids, and euphorbias. Looking back on our conversation, I’m not completely certain… More
Comments Off
Creating a Naturalized Bulb Garden
Guest post by “The Bulb Lady” Debbie Van Bourgondien Before I start, let me issue a word of caution. If you have any ideas about planting daffodils in your lawn for that Wordsworth-like field of golden daffodils effect – don’t. That is not what I mean by naturalizing bulbs. A friend of mine, seduced by the copy in a bulb catalog (not ours!) ordered hundreds of daffodil and tulip bulbs and, according to instructions, knelt in her side yard and tossed them gently on the lawn, planting them wherever they fell to achieve a natural look. She achieved it. But then the grass began to grow – and the foliage had not yet begun to ripen, so mowing wasn’t possible.… More
