Tulips are beautiful spring blooms. When the snow begins to vanish from the garden you can see the bulbs poking through the ground. Tulips are perennial plants that grow from bulbs. The bulbs are planted in the Fall and … Continued
Chives are a perennial herb that belongs to the onion family. I have two types of chives growing in the garden, each flowering at different times of the season. The common chives have tubular leaves/stalks and blooms in May and … Continued
The poppies start to poke themselves through the ground about mid April. Poppies belong to the Papaveraceae family and there are at least 100 varieties either annual, biennial or perennial. While I wait for the blooms to appear I’ve been doing … Continued
4 o’clocks or Marvel of Peru or Mirabilis jalapa is an annual plant where I live in Canada. The blooms of many colours usually open in the late afternoon, all night and close up the following morning. The plant likes … Continued
Horse tail is a wild plant that grows in the damp, wild area of the garden. It is also known as snake grass, scouring rush, bottle brush or puzzle grass. It is considered a a living fossil and a prehistoric … Continued
A few years ago I was given a cutting from a Rose of Sharon bush and this year it is finally big enough to bloom. And not just one or two blooms but it is going to have lots of … Continued
Seeing the rhubarb poke through the ground on a chilly day is always a good sign that the garden is awakening after the long winter. Technically rhubarb is a vegetable but we tend to treat it as being in the … Continued
L is for Lady’s Mantle – alchemilla mollis. This beautiful perennial plant is best known for its leaves. I love to photogaph the cup shaped leaves after a gentle rain. The rain drops will bead up on the leaf and … Continued
Ligularia, a perennial plant, was added to the garden in May 2015. This plant has yellow daisy like flowers dark green leaves with a purple/reddish underneath. It seems there are different varieties of ligularia. The plant came with the tag Ligularia Praewalskii on … Continued
Have you ever grown elephant ears or colocasia? The plant gets its name because of the huge leaves that resemble ears on elephants. In my Canadian garden zone of 5b this plant is a tender perennial. I know I said … Continued
I chose some new plants for the garden this past spring, ones with interesting foliage and ones that wouldn’t require a lot of maintenance. Painter’s palette was one of the plants with cream and green leaves and a v shaped … Continued
The Polish Spirit clematis grows happily in the trellis garden for many years. It provides many lovely purple blooms. In 2010 the trellis had to be moved for some renovations on the basement and the clematis was dug and put … Continued
Lovage is an edible, tall and erect, herbaceous perennial plant that is one of the first to start poking through the ground in early April. It belongs to the umbellifier family and can grow up to 2.5 meters tall. The name lovage comes from the … Continued
Yucca or Adam’s Needle is a gorgeous, tall perennial, ornamental plant for the garden. It is classified as an evergreen shrub that doesn’t shed its needles and it doesn’t have a trunk. It likes dry and sandy soil conditions. A … Continued
S for Shoofly … or Nicandra physalodes … or better known as Apple of Peru. This annual plant, a member of the Solanaceae (nightshade) family, prefers full sun and moist soil. It is a native of South America. the plant can … Continued