66 OF THE WORLD’S BEST GARDENS
There are many wonderful gardens in the world. Over the last 10 years, I have travelled to see some of the best in England, Italy, France, Wales, Ireland, Holland, Belgium, Scotland, Spain and other parts of Europe as well as in Japan, China, Brazil, South Africa and Morocco. Here's a look at 66 of my favourites, from the lovely...
Exciting new plants for spring
Looking for some new plants to add to your garden this spring? Here are some new varieties being offered by Heritage Perennials, of Abbotsford, one of the prime suppliers of top notch perennials to garden centres across Canada.
New varieties of Itoh peony. Paeonia - This new breed of peonies, offering the hardiness of garden types plus the exotic flower colour of...
Oh no, Namaqualand has no flowers! This is a big disappointment
Namaqualand, one of the world’s top landscape wonders for majestic spring flower displays, is in the grip of the worst drought in 100 years.
As a result, there are few, if any flowers. It is a total waste of time coming to Namaqualand right now to see blooms - there are none.
I spent all day scouring the landscape here with...
Italy Islands and Lakes Tour 2018 – NOW SOLD OUT
October 6, 2017Today, I am delighted to announce the launch of our 15-day Italy Islands and Lakes Tour for May 6 to 20, 2018. THIS TOUR IS NOW SOLD OUT.There is no other tour like this being offered anywhere. It is one of a kind - unique in design, pacing and content.The tour will start in Lugano, Switzerland, where...
Time to see great gardens in England, Wales and Ireland
Today I am heading to the UK to lead two garden tours in England, Wales and Ireland, starting in Manchester, then to the Lake District and North Wales, then over to Dublin and southern Ireland and from there down to London for the magnificent Chelsea Flower Show.
More than 60 people are coming with me; 30 on each tour. It is going to wonderful.
To get...
Two perfect plants for Canada’s 150th
Want to do a special planting for Canada Day this year?
Here are a couple of plants that are being marketed this spring specifically to appeal to those gardeners who want to show their patriotism when it comes to celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday on July 1.
Dahlia 'Canadian Celebration' is a striking white dahlia with red stripes that is expected to...
Love me tender: it’s the hottest new trend in clematis and exotic vines
People don't care anymore when they buy a clematis if it dies at the end of summer. They just want to have good flower impact on their patio, balcony or deck for a few months.
After, they don't care what happens to the vine.
This according to Rob Wein, one of the owners of Clearview Horticultural, the biggest grower of clematis...
BC garden centres still hoping for big sales
It's been a crippling spring for garden centres in Metro Vancouver. Rain, rain and more rain has kept gardeners indoors.
And exceptionally cold weather has put flowering times behind, some say by as much as a month. It is May, but it feels like early April.
Garden centres have had the worst April sales in years.
Last year, it was the opposite....
Hedges damaged by heavy snows get the chop
We knew this would be the outcome. The heavy snow of winter crushed many plants, especially hedges throughout Metro Vancouver. We could see the damage right away. The snow came so fast overnight and was so wet and heavy by morning that there was little gardeners could do to save their treasured plants.
Now, in spring, we see the results....
Hot new perennials for my sunny border
First thing this morning, I found room for a bunch of new perennials in a sunny spot already home to some ornamental grasses and weigela and burgundy and lime green ninebark.
I put in six Coreopsis Uptick, considered the “kings of summer” and have the added appeal of being hybrids of a native North America species.
The names of the ones I planted...
David Austin introduces more beautiful roses
Austin roses has introduced several new varieties over the past few years, including Sir Walter Scott, Desdemona, Roald Dahl, Bathsheba, The Ancient Mariner, Olivia Rose, The Lady of the Lake, Poet’s Wife and Imogen. To see them all go to Austin Roses UK site.
“Our new roses each make their own special contribution to the diversity of our collection. Whilst all...
Next stop, Cape Town, South Africa for a 15-day tour
In September, I will be heading back to Cape Town, South Africa, to lead my second garden tour there.
In 2012, I led a tour out of Cape Town along the Garden Route, calling at Stellenbosch and Knysna on route before leaving the Western Cape to jump over to Durban and Swaziland and on to Johannesburg.
This time, we will...
All for the love of a beautiful, clipped hedge
Every year, Daniel Truong and Nina Nguyen come to my garden to clip hedges. They do a wonderful job, shearing, clipping, trimming and shaping cedar and boxwood hedges, leaving them with super-straight lines, razor-sharp corners and wonderfully flat and even sides and tops.
Daniel and Nina pick up every last shred of clippings, so there is never a mess at...
A little shocker for some summer fun
What’s the quirkiest plant on the shelves this spring?
It could well be the “electric daisy” (Acmella oleracea), possibly the hottest novelty plant of 2017 that also is known as the toothache plant. This also goes by the botanical name Spilanthes acmella.
It has glossy green leaves and golden, bud-like flowers with a dark red eye.
In Brazil, where it is an...
Upcoming England-Wales-Ireland Tour
Next month, I will be leading two back-to-back garden tours to England, North Wales, Ireland and then to the Chelsea Flower Show in London.
Each day of these tours I will be posting stories and photographs here. You can follow along with us as we move. And you will get to see and hear about some of the fabulous gardens...
Hurrah for Garden Starters
I just received by shipment of "plug plants" packages from Garden Starters, the mail-out service provided by DeVry's Greenhouses, of Chilliwack.
This is a new service that allows you to select annuals, herbs and vegetables and have them grown for you and delivered as baby "plug plants" to your door.
It is an interesting way of buying plants online. The saving...
Can you repeat that – it looks so good, just keep doing it
Visual repetition always catches my eye. I love it when it is done well. In the garden, it is a very clever way to create rhythm and add impact.
On Beatty Street in Vancouver this week, I found this repetitive planting of variegated Carex ‘Ice Dance’ grasses used in a series of rectangular concrete planters placed to divide the...
Do hostas look better with or without their flowers?
Do hostas look better with or without their flowers?
Many people don't like the flowers and cut them off the moment they appear on their long stalks.
Other love the flowers and would never think of cutting them when they are their peak.
It really comes down to a matter of taste. But the conflict of whether to cut or not to...
Putting the garden to bed for winter and I need help
Oh my, time once again to put the garden to bed for winter.
Kew has mighty forklifts to place heavy citrus box planters into storage. But I have my own heavy-lifting apparatus - my son, Peter, who comes, without complaining every October, to help me lift heavy pots of tender plants into their winter quarters where they will be protected...
Garden Tour Reunion Party was a blast with lots of fun memories
The Garden Tours Reunion Party on Sept 2 - a celebration of the 22 garden tours I have led over the past nine years - was a big success.
Eight-two people attended the event at the Shadbolt Centre at Deer Lake in Burnaby, next door to one of the nicest gardens in the Lower Mainland, Century Garden.
The Cory Weeds Trio...
