Explore
Exploring the world of gardening. Observations, gardens to visit, thoughts on ecology, gardener interviews, and commentary.
Save Me
Nina Simone belts, “Save me, somebody save me” through my headphones and even though I know she is singing about a love gone wrong, not gardening, for just a moment I think she is singing about me. This could be my current theme song. You see, I might be drowning. In plants. And gardening. And …
Sunlit Grass
I just found out that it is ‘Roid Week and have decided that I will post all Polaroids in the Daily Botanical for the remainder of the week. I took this photo on December 13, 2009, our third day in Dominica but our first in the little cottage we would stay in for the remainder …
Yellow and Orange Cosmos
Recently, I’ve started some of my summer flowers from seed and the potential for future colour and perfume laying dormant in those little packages has got me daydreaming once again about all of the inspiring and cheerful cosmos I saw in the Caribbean.
Red Clerodendron
Today’s photo is a mixed botanical of sorts, representing tropical colour explosion at its best. I took this photo on a street corner in the town of Soufriere, St. Lucia. I can spot roses and croton (big colourful hedges) in the background, but what stands out most are the two red clerodendron (aka Clerodendrum) flowers …
Skirt Aloe (Aloe alooides)
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Meanwhile, Over at the Greenhouse
We have been enjoying an unseasonably warm March here in Toronto that has lead into the warmest early April I can recall, ever. Temperatures are supposed to soar this weekend, sending gardeners (including me) into a flurry of activity. I have already sown spinach and mâche into containers on the roof. The chives have been …
What Makes a Good Gardener?
This year, more than any other year in the last decade, I have heard from more burgeoning or wanna be gardeners admonishing themselves or simply stating, “I can’t garden; I kill plants.” Statistically, a huge number of people have taken up gardening for the first time over the last few growing seasons (hooray!) so it …
Orchids at the Montreal Botanical Gardens
Last month, I spoke and signed books at the Annual Montreal Seed Fair held at the Montreal Botanical Gardens. When things got a bit harried at the event, I took the opportunity to relax with walks through the greenhouses. Inhale deeply. Exhale deeply. I’ve said it at least a dozen times, but of the greenhouses …
Peperomia rotundifolia
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Oxalis Corymbosa
This morning, I set out to post a different photo until I was reminded that it is St. Patrick’s Day, a day I most often associate with clovers. Technically oxalis and clovers aren’t the same thing, but they are often mashed together around this particular holiday. In truth, I’m going through a rather rabid oxalophile …
Descending into the Valley of Desolation
I took this panoramic photo in Dominica as we were just beginning our descent down into the Valley of Desolation, the most incredible place I have ever been in my entire life. Worth all of the pain it brought my body. Three hours into the hike and I was kicking myself for forgetting to bring …