By Mary FRAN McQUADE Usually, right around now, gardeners would be thinking about what we want to grow this year. But nothing’s usual about this March and April of 2020. Garden centres and nurseries are closed for in-person visits. They aren’t included on the list of essential businesses the province released on March 24. But […]
By MARY FRAN McQUADE Ka-boom! In less than a month, Canada Blooms opens. The annual spring flower and garden show in Toronto celebrates all things gardening. and this year, there’s a twist – it’s packed with things to do for kids on March Break. A romp for the kids Every day, in the morning and […]
By MARY FRAN McQUADE I’ve always been glad of the start of a new year: new calendars, new plans, clean slate (more or less). For gardeners, we also have a rebirth of our gardens to look forward to. Dates have already been set for several key gardening events, and here are some dates to mark: […]
By MARY FRAN McQUADE To a gardener, it’s odd that poppies are so prominent in November. Cold-loving chrysanthemums make more sense at this time of year. Lately, even Christmas greens and trees are already appearing in garden shops. The bright red poppy rightfully belongs to the month of August, the hot harvest-time. But, as most […]
By MARY FRAN McQUADE Did you think of your garden during your Thanksgiving celebrations? I’m pretty sure my vegetable gardening friends did. They’ve been posting photos of their luscious tomatoes, crisp green beans, and brilliant orange carrots for weeks now. And my turkey stuffing wouldn’t taste right without its sage and parsley cut fresh from […]
By MARY FRAN McQUADE Flowers and food are the stars of today’s gardens. But we tree-huggers, who cherish the peace and privacy our trees give us, have to find other things to fill our shaded spaces. Beachers Ursula and Doug Eley have found the way to make the most of a shady garden. They’ve deliberately […]
By MARY FRAN McQUADE The month of August is a sort of Bermuda Triangle for gardeners. It’s sunny and hot, too early to plant bulbs and put the garden to bed; too late to start anything much from seed; too hot to put in new plants. It’s a time to lie around on porch or […]
By MARY FRAN McQUADE Once upon a time, gardens were filled with bright flowering plants that bloomed their pretty heads off all summer long. Impatiens, tiny fibrous begonias, marigolds, geraniums, snapdragons and more covered garden beds, public and private. Then people caught on to the idea of perennials, and annuals were left behind in the […]
By MARY FRAN McQUADE My very first job in Toronto was working in Eaton’s flower shop. One of my co-workers was so good at getting people to buy that my boss often said, “She could sell dirt!” I’ve often laughed ironically to myself since then. Sell dirt? Heck, everyone does that. But plain old dirt […]
By MARY FRAN McQUADE We’ve got the light – now all we need is the warmth. April flounces in with a few flutters of green, and gardeners go gaga. Frost is still in the air, and snow is a possibility, but we can get our hands on green and growing things, so who cares? Earth […]
