Welcome to the GVAG Blog

This bench from a garden in Newfoundland is next to a small pond.

The Right Bench in the Right Place

Garden benches come in all sizes and shapes. Some are strictly utilitarian, some decorative, and some add meaning to the garden through their design. The simple utilitarian version of a bench is a familiar sight, whether with a back …   … or without.     The chunky bench below was made from a single tree…

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Joe Pye weed has taken over an unused field... and every year I thank it for doing that.

Wildflowers Rule!

Labour Day has come and gone, which must mean that summer is over. But the wildflowers blooming so exuberantly in the fields around Glen Villa, my garden in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, say that isn’t so.     Ok, perhaps that’s wishful thinking. The Joe Pye weed that was so gorgeous a few weeks ago is…

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A few pots with plants that haven

Containers That Match Your Mood

Recently a friend asked if I’d written about container gardening. Her question started me thinking about how the plants on the decks around our house have changed over the years. I pulled out old photos to see if my memory was accurate. Yes, the choices I made had changed. And while that wasn’t really surprising, what…

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The entry to the China Terrace, with old pillars I found in a local antique store cum junk shop.

The China Terrace Gets a Face Lift

The title of this post might well be The China Terrace gets a Floor Lift… but that would be confusing and not entirely accurate. So what has happened? The China Terrace, a re-imagining of the grand resort hotel that once stood on the property, was one of the first projects I undertook at Glen Villa.  …

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The wrought-iron will rust eventually but we can scrape and oil it when it does.

Try and Try Again

The old saying is a good one: if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. There’s a meme in the gardening world started by Bonney Lassie at call Tell the Truth Tuesday. Despite my fair share of failures, I’ve never joined in. But La Seigneurie, one of the newest parts of my Quebec garden, fits…

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