A group of serious gardeners will be visiting Glen Villa on July 2 and I’ve been busy getting the garden in shape. This takes time and effort, as every gardener knows, and the results never seem good enough. Particularly in large gardens, there is always too much to do and not enough time to do it.…
When I look at the wildflowers blooming in the fields and woods at Glen Villa, I wonder why I plant a garden at all. How can I hope to compete with this? Buttercups turn the Upper Field to gold.The partially visible metal structure is a sculpture called Bridge Ascending,by Louise Doucet and Satoshi Saito. Simple…
Finally the corkscrew hazel (Corylus avellana ‘Red Majestic’) has leafed out. The colour and texture of these leaves caught my eye last year.Impulse buying: not a great idea. The rich deep burgundy leaves are the main reason I bought the small tree last year. The leaves and the wonderfully contorted branches. The twisted branches create a…
My last two posts have been about some of the Italian gardens I visited recently while leading a small group of women on a 9-day tour. I still have a lot to write about what I saw, and what I thought of it, but in the Eastern Townships in Quebec, where my garden Glen Villa…
From Roman times, the contrast between sun and shade has played a major role in Italian garden design. Understandably so, in a country where people search for shade in the summer and for the warmth of sun in winter. This traditional feature is a major design element in a contemporary garden near Siena, Bosco della…
I returned recently from nine days in Italy where I visited gardens between Florence and Rome. Historically, they ranged from the 1st century (Villa Adriana, or Hadrian’s Villa) to the 21st century (Bosco della Ragnaia). Weeks later, my head is still spinning with all I saw — and with all I learned about history, art…
After a month away, it feels good to be home again in North Hatley. I was travelling for four weeks, first in southern Africa and then in Italy where I co-led a group of women through gardens that ranged from the first century A.D. to a contemporary art installation garden that is still very much…
A botanical garden is a special type of place. It’s a garden but it exists for scientific purposes and not for beauty. Yet I think that most people visiting a botanical garden expect to see a beautiful place, a landscaped garden where plants are displayed with artistry. Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden achieves both of these…
South Africa’s national flower is the protea. Most of us are familiar with the king protea — it’s available in florist’s shops around the world. But finding it in the wild is a totally different experience. Wild king protea growing in the fynbos, east of Cape Town. The area around Cape Town, South Africa, is…
For a week I’ve been out of the loop — no internet, no email, no phone. (It’s been frustratingly wonderful.) Instead of posting blogs, I’ve been touring game parks in southern Africa, seeing amazing animals and even more amazing trees and shrubs. Here’s a sample of some of the vegetation — a tasty buffet, as…