Gardening on the Wild Side

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…

Following my tree: June

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…

Following my Tree: May

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…

Following my Tree

I was hoping that on this, my second ‘follow a tree’ post, the Corylus avellana ‘Red Majestic’ would have shed its winter coat.  After all, the first week of April is over. But that hasn’t happened. Along with all the individuals I met up with, wandering around Montreal last week, (and wrote about here) his…

follow2B3-1.jpg

Following a Tree

Lucy Corrander, an English garden blogger at Loose and Leafy, has invited bloggers from around the world to join her in ‘following’ a tree. Her invitation really caught my attention. It sounded like a great idea … a good monthly discipline and a way to focus on the changes that occur in a tree over…