Your Guide to Successfully Overwintering Your Perennials

To ensure the survival and future blooming of herbaceous perennials that go dormant in winter, especially those previously part of your summer container displays, it’s crucial to protect them during the colder months.

Hardy perennials possess roots that remain dormant until the following spring when they start their new growth phase. Examples of such perennials include hostas, Shasta daisies, heucheras, astilbe, lady’s mantle, and daylilies.

To successfully overwinter these plants, the key is to maintain their dormancy while …

Designing with Containers: Design Tips and Plant Combos to Try

Designing a container garden allows you to explore a delightful range of colors and textures. These portable gardens provide a lush beginning to the growing season and the potential for captivating displays that can be enjoyed from the peak of summer into the cooler days of autumn.

As soon as our chilly spring begins to warm up, garden enthusiasts often feel like excited children in the plant-filled wonderlands we know as garden centers.

If you want to …

Tips for Choosing Garden Pots

Before you decide which plants to grow in your container garden, start by assessing your available garden pots. Determine which ones need replacement and what new containers you need to acquire.

Practically anything capable of holding soil and water can serve as a plant container but consider both practicality and aesthetics. Larger containers not only provide ample space for a beautiful plant display but also accommodate…

How to Use Your Front Yard for Growing Some Veggies

Creating stacked boxes as containers for growing vegetables can be a delightful addition to a sunny spot near your front steps. Picture the satisfaction of arriving home from work and harvesting fresh lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and herbs right at your doorstep.

This design offers a clever solution to maximize growing space, even in a compact urban garden. Assuming the wooden frames lack bottoms, the top tier is the deepest, perfect for …

How to Make a Perennial Border in Your Garden

Perennial borders, which are often referred to as herbaceous borders, originated in Britain and were typically placed in front of fences, hedges, or walls, often on the property’s boundaries, usually in rectangular shapes.

When creating your new border, it’s essential to ensure it harmonizes with your overall garden design. In more relaxed and informal landscapes, curved borders and island beds may be a better fit.

On the other hand, in formal gardens characterized by geometric principles and straight lines, rectangular beds …

5 Amazing Plants that You Should Have on a Dry and Shady Garden

Gardening in full shade is tough, but dry, compacted soil makes it even harder. Dry shade often occurs under mature trees with shallow roots, like non-native maples. Adding soil or raising the grade won’t help much and can harm the tree.

To tackle this in my garden, I annually improve the soil by loosening it with a garden fork, adding shredded leaves for better texture, and topping it with compost or composted manure for nutrients.

Some shade-loving plants adapt to dry conditions, while others, like ‘Ice Dance’ sedge, …

How to DIY Your Dream Garden at Home

Designing your outdoor space from scratch can be intimidating, even for seasoned gardeners, and even more so for those new to gardening.

However, here’s the good news: this is your opportunity to create the garden of your dreams, and it’s a chance worth seizing, regardless of your budget and climate. Even better news: if you’re in the early stages of planning your new landscape, winter is an excellent time to begin.

The best part? We’re here to assist you every step of the way. Here are some of the steps that will …

Wildlife Haven: Crafting Beauty and Shelter for All Seasons

Pine trees, or Pinus, are a unique and enduring addition to any garden or landscape. They are known for their distinctive needle bundles called fascicles and evergreen presence, which makes them a popular choice.

Unlike some other conifers, pines, such as the Ponderosa pine and Scots pine, naturally shed their lower limbs as they age, evolving from a conical shape to a broad, open crown. This unique transformation sets them apart and adds…

Quinte’s Botanical Delight: Eastern Ontario’s Newest Attraction Opens Its Gates

The new Quinte Botanical Gardens in southeastern Ontario offers a beautiful and educational experience for visitors of all ages. Situated on a six-acre site in Frankford, Ont., the gardens were developed by Deanna Groves and John Reidl, who operate The Garden Place landscape design and installation business.

After a decade of planning and a year of hard work, the gardens officially opened in August 2017.

The gardens are conveniently located an hour from both Peterborough and Kingston and just 15 minutes from the Canadian Forces base in …

Touring a Region Along the Garden Route

Garden routes are becoming increasingly popular as tourist destinations in Canada, with garden owners opening their properties to visitors who are looking to experience the beauty of nature. “Escape from Chaos,” owned by Jacqui Laporte and John Empson in Auburn, Ont., is one such garden that is part of the 25 properties that form Discover the Gardens of Huron Perth.

Gardens on these routes can be public or private, with…