I’ve been back from B.C. for several days now and haven’t written a blog post. My excuses are many; my daughter moved back in with us and needed my help; I messed up my arm and neck a bit (too much computer, or moving heavy furniture, not sure which); I’m distracted by all the chores...
Author: Vivian Lee (Vivian Lee)
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More on Shade and Transformation
A friend asked me in an email recently to recommend some shade plants to her. I’m very happy to expound on shade gardening, because I love the mysterious quality of shade, and the relief it provides on a hot day. The previous post I devoted to shade gardening can be found here, so if it seems...
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Life: a series of little mysteries
It’s true, isn’t it? We all wonder all the time. What are we here for? For how long? Why do people act the way they do? Why doesn’t my dog stop chewing my shoes? Why didn’t my Gaillardia come back this year? The latest mystery for me is that last one. Why didn’t my Gaillardia...
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Transformation
My son, Travis, recently commented on a post I wrote about looking at weeds in a new light and seeing how they can be useful. He made me see how much the garden has to teach us. The first thing you learn in the garden is that there can be no transformation without work....
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The Garden Palette
I’ve been filling in the front yard with divided plants from the Tranquil Garden (aka the backyard) and it struck me that I feel like a painter with a blank canvas in front of me and the plants are my paint palette. Since I use exclusively perennials in my garden (I buy annuals only for...
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Seat-of-your-pants Gardening
Are you a planner? I read a lot of gardening articles about people who have a “ten-year plan” for their gardens. I have trouble planning what I’m going to do this year, let alone ten years from now. I find it admirable, but I’m totally uninterested in gardening within that kind of framework. I do plan...
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Eye of the Beholder
I was walking down the street yesterday, checking out people’s front yards, and musing to myself: “What makes a flower desirable?” So many perfectly lovely flowers are looked at as scourges by many, if not most, gardeners. I’m talking about the ones we call weeds: dandelions, goutweed, creeping charlie, etc. On the other hand, some people leave...
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Glorious!
Those of you who live in my neck of the woods (which includes most of Canada, for the present purpose) have experienced the worst spring in living memory, right? So, today’s weather feels absolutely glorious. Even the high winds couldn’t dampen my enjoyment of the warm sun on my back, the freedom of being out in...
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Shopping for flowers!
Well, I didn’t make it to Jasmin by the end of April, so I missed using my 40$ off coupon and on top of it I forgot the 20$ coupon at home when I went today. Oh, well. I still had a great time picking and choosing flowers for my garden. I bought quite a...
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Primroses and Other Beauties
I don’t think I’ve rhapsodized about primroses lately. Probably it’s way overdue. I was just reading an article about them in my latest Garden Making magazine and I remembered how much I admired their wonderful colours and neat shapes. There’s also nothing wrong with a flower that blooms in the spring, (tra-la!). The article was...