The one touch of yellow makes me think of a trendy young woman who dyes a single lock of her hair in an odd colour.

Following My Tree: November

I haven’t followed my tree, a linden or basswood (Tilia americana), since August. The reason is simple — in September and October I was travelling during the time when the Tree Following meme (originally hosted by Lucy Corrander of Loose and Leafy and as of this month hosted by Squirrelbasket) was open. But I’m at Glen Villa today, so a…

These maple trees have offered shade for over 100 years. They line the bank above the lake. An old asphalt path runs alongside them; it was built for guests at Glen Villa Inn.

Trees at Glen Villa

Trees play a major role at Glen Villa, my garden in Quebec’s Eastern Townships. They provide shade in summer, colourful foliage in autumn and the promise that comes with spring green buds. In winter bare branches of deciduous trees offer a stark colour contrast outlined against the snow, and evergreens provide structure and a touch of colour…

This photo is from 2007, the spring after we planted the muscari bulbs for the second time.

The Dragon’s Tail

One of the first flower beds I added at Glen Villa was The Dragon’s Tail, a line of grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) that sweeps across a flat grassy area like a child’s scribble.     I laid out the shape with a lawn mower, cutting a gentle curve, then altering it slightly to add a bit more…

After a first pruning, the shrub was looking vaguely like a large bonsai.

The Gravel Garden

  Beside our house, next to a wooden deck that is rarely used, is a juniper planted when the house was built in 1969. Or to put it more accurately, beside the house and next to the deck are the remains of one. For the last few years, the juniper has been slowly dying. The photo below shows how…

The trees that the storm blew down were big, but shallowly rooted.

What’s With the Weather?

  Despite the bright sun that was shining half an hour ago, there’s a cloud bursting now, right outside my window. This cloudburst follows another one last night that knocked out our electricity and blew down three birch trees and a maple.     Cloudbursts happen. Rain comes. But these storms are faster and fiercer than…