I was out mowing the long grass in the Tranquil Garden today and occasionally studying the fading blooms of the echinacea and the Bee Balm. Normally I would be thinking about snipping those deadheads off, but I’ve been reading the news feed from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology‘s Facebook page and one of the things it...
Category: Gardening
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The Joy of Beauty in Public Places
In my neighbourhood there is a park with three parts to it; there are tennis courts, a playground for kids, and a small area for walking or sitting, complete with park benches, trees and shrubs. It’s a lovely park and I take for granted what a hub of activity it is in the summer. People...
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Not the Glamour Jobs
Yesterday, I finally decided to investigate the (first) compost bin to see how it was developing and take out the mature compost, if any. This is way later than I normally tackle this job, but my excuse is that I was away for four out of the last six weeks. This must be close to...
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Mid-summer Slump and Thoughts of Italy
I got back from Italy two days ago and with all the house organizing I have to do after a trip, I didn’t really get into the garden to do any work. Of course, I took a couple of tours around it to see what was going on, and I noticed that the usual mid-season...
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Roses, and why I grow them
As some of you may remember, I planted three new rose bushes last year. I already had five other roses in the Tranquil Garden, most of which are very hardy and only cause me a small amount of heartache every year. The ones I planted last year are Canadian-bred hardy roses, too, and I’m grateful for that; I...
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Back from Huge Plant Country
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...
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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...