I saw this wildflower in the woods last week and was surprised to learn its botanical name, Cardamine diphylla. I was surprised because only a week or so ago, I looked up the name of another plant, now growing in damp areas in the garden and in the fields at Glen Villa. Its botanical name…
One of the first projects I undertook at Glen Villa was the China Terrace, a contemporary folly that honours an old resort hotel that once stood on the property. I first wrote about it as a conceptual garden. Following that, I wrote about it sporadically, focusing on the changes I made — the bed that shook off its annuals…
In 2016, in order to discourage Canada geese from ‘littering’ the lawn, we began to transform it into a meadow. We didn’t follow the advice given by experts on how to create a meadow — their process involved too much work and too much expense. Instead we simply stopped cutting the grass. We let it grow throughout the season…
Today it is grey and rainy but yesterday felt like spring. And how wonderful that was! Despite the soggy ground, covered in many places with deer pellets and dead leaves, I spent an hour or so wandering around the garden, enjoying the sunshine and the new growth that was popping up in every warm corner.…
Spring just won’t make up its mind. One day it cracks open the door, the next day, slams it shut. And I’m fed up! Come on, Spring, get a move on. Some years, snowdrops have finished by now. This year, they have barely started. In a normal spring, by now water would be splashing gaily…
The Upper Room is as glorious in winter as it is in spring, summer and fall. The highlight in every season is the beautiful screen outlining the bare branches of a dogwood tree. Drawn by the Montreal artist Mary Martha Guy, the tree branches become more starkly striking with the late afternoon sun…
It’s grey and nasty today and all I can think about is spring. I know it will come but its arrival seems a long way away. So instead of moaning, I’m dreaming of snowdrops … and crocus … and buds beginning to bloom. I’m dreaming of stretching out on the…
It’s fascinating to see plants you think of as house plants growing outside. During a recent trip to Florida, I visited a friend and took a quick walk around her garden. The colours and textures were astonishing. I can’t name any of the plants, although they may be familiar to those of you…
I love trees. Not surprisingly, many of my favourites are in my own garden, Glen Villa, and I wrote about some of them here. But in my travels, I’ve come across many other special trees, and they stand out in my memory for different reasons. One I remember because of its size. The Angel Oak,…
A piece about specimen trees in the on-line magazine Gardenista started me thinking about trees and how special they are to me. Having recently planted a long allée of crabapple trees at Glen Villa, (and having written about it here) where the impact stems from the sheer number of trees and the precision of their placement, my…