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Dozens of people have travelled with us over the years - to China, South Africa, Japan, France, Italy, England, Ireland, Spain and on and on. We have done a total of 32 tours. Each time we go, we like to take a few group shots. Here are some taken over the years. Enjoy spotting your friends. Florence South Africa 2012 Lunch on...

Pleaching is a clever technique that involves twining together the branches of a row of closely planted trees to create a stylish, formal hedge-on-stilts. It’s not something you see here in Canada or even in the U.S. much. But in Holland, and especially in France, you see it everywhere. Some of the best examples I’ve seen include rows of pleached chestnuts in...

Today, I’m pleased to announce two unique international garden tours - a 15-day one to Sicily and Malta in September, and a 14-day trip to Southern England and the Channel Islands in May, 2023.  They are both fabulous. You may like one more than the other, although some people have told me they intend to do both. Yes, the Sicily-Malta tour...

Here’s a quick look at six of the best vines to plant in your garden this spring. These will get visitors to look up. Raising their head will give them a positive feeling and you'll also be giving them something beautiful to look up at. This list, of course, is just a start. There are many other vines worth...

What did Darwin, Dickens, Monet, Bronte and Van Gogh all have in common? Well, they all had the chance to listen to the music of Mozart, Haydn and Beethoven and see a play by Shakespeare and see a painting by Rembrandt. I feel even luckier to have been born this end of history’s timeline when we have antibiotics, classics at our...

In 2017, I visited Ireland with friends, after being in England’s Lake District and North Wales.From Dublin, we went down the east coast to Wexford and Waterford, seeing some fabulous gardens on the way.It was a glorious adventure. The gardens of Ireland are simply fantastic, far better than I ever imagined. I am still talking today about how wonderful...

It is only a few weeks now until the start of our fabulous 15-day Ireland Grand Circle Tour which will start in Dublin on Oct. 1. (THIS TOUR IS NOW SOLD OUT)The tour will sweep around the picturesque south and beautiful west coast of the island, up to the north, with visits to Derry, Belfast and the Giant’s Causeway and...

Some friends brought us a huge bouquet of gladioli the other day - four bunches containing red, purple, orange and peach ones. They were barely in flower when they arrived, but they have since started to open up and we have placed them in two tall vases and they actually look very good. In fact, the more the flowers open,...

Back in my garden today after five weeks away, leading garden tours in England, Wales and Ireland, and I already see how much work I need to do. There is so much morning glory. It has grown everywhere. How has it managed to get a hold so fast in such a short time. Jet-lag meant I woke early this morning and was...

My next garden tour-adventure will be a 13-day Beautiful Cities Tour from May 17-29, starting in Berlin, then moving on to Prague and concluding in Vienna with a side trip to Bratislava in Slovakia.(AS OF JAN. 4, THIS TOUR IS NOW SOLD OUT)This tour will be a fabulous trip to some of Europe’s most beautiful, historic and culturally delightful...

I have walked through Leicester Square in London many times over the years. I lived in London for a time in the 1970s when I worked as a reporter for the Evening News and I’ve been a frequent visitor to London since I came to live in Canada. 

I know exercise is important. These days I'm content to walk the dog or go for a swim or a bike ride. That's about it. My days of jogging and playing soccer are over. Not that I lack energy, but I know I don't have the same muscle strength to support knees and ankles and hips from being injured from...

It’s been ages since I last saw my friends Lambert and Marjanne Vrijmoed, owners of Free Spirit Nursery on 32nd Avenue in Langley. I’m not sure why we haven’t seen more of each other over the past few years. I guess other things have been pressing in and we were away when they were here and they were away when...

It’s not at all unusual for gardeners to grow old and discover they are unable to take care of their garden as well as they would like. It’s a sad but common eventuality. And what often happens is that such gardens - even very beautiful ones that have taken years and years...

My next garden tour will be a wonderful 12-day trip to Northern Italy from April 27 to May 9, 2025. Milan's Galleria. The tour is designed with lavish three day stays in four great cities in Northern Italy. We will start in Milan before going on to Verona and Parma and ending in Genoa. The plan is to visit other destinations...

Well, it certainly looks as if the obsession with honeysuckle pillars that I caught at Powis Castle Garden in North Wales earlier this month has already taken hold in my garden. At the weekend, I installed a large 6-by-6 timber post and planted two Goldflame honeysuckles at opposite corners. I first saw these pillars used in an attractive, repetitive design at...

We travelled in a luxury double-decker coach from Berlin to Prague, stopping on the way in Dresden where we had a splendid lunch and time to shop and look around.Dresden was tragically bombed during the Second World War and much of its heritage downtown was turned into rumble.  Dresden area next to the Church of Our Lady Over the past 20...

Today, I am delighted to announce the official launch of my next tour, the quirkiest, most eclectic adventure of them all, a 15-day exclusive Top to Bottom Tour, from Sept. 22 to Oct. 6, from Edinburgh, Scotland, to London, England.  Lake District to Stratford, Liverpool to Oxford and more: Tour will be a party from start to finish On the way,...

Our last garden tour adventure, The Top to Bottom Tour, started in Edinburgh on Sept 22 and concluded in London, 15 days later, on Oct 6.We gathered in Edinburgh at the lovely George Hotel on George Street in the salubrious West End (New Town) part of the city. The George in Edinburgh This gave us easy access to the Royal Mile,...

Just to get those creative juices flowing as you step into the garden this spring and think, hey, what can I do that is new and fun and different. Here are a few silly, serious, fun and quirky ideas to make you think outside the box. Cup of alliums. Okay, too late to plant alliums, but how about a big jug of...