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...
How beautiful to sight those beams of morning play
Don’t you just love seeing heavenly beams of sunlight.
I started taking photos of them when I was in South Africa recently and have not stopped snapping shots whenever I see them.
The beams always remind me of evocative Turner skies or the swirling spiritual skies of El Greco.
But I also always think of these wonderful words by Housman...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Why my garden deserves a much better gardener
You might think I am making excuses, but I'm pretty sure all the problems I have with my garden today can be traced back to the fact that I wasn’t here to do work when it needed to be done in spring.
I was away in the UK all of May and the first part of June and when I...
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...
Japanese courtyard a lovely addition to Agnes Mendoza’s East Vancouver garden
I remember the first time I met Agnes Mendoza. It was back in 2004. I was driving west along McGill in East Vancouver when I spotted this garden at the corner of Slocan. I had noticed it once before but this time it had grown considerably.
I stopped and went and knocked on the door of the house and Agnes...
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...
See the wonders of India on this exciting 14-day tour
July 9, 2017
Today, I am happy to announce the launch of my next garden tour - an exclusive 14-day trip to India in February with the option of a six-day add-on to explore the spectacular Kochi backwaters.
This is the most exotic, colourful and spicy destination we have ever visited.
In the past, we have taken tours to China, Japan, South...
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...
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...
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...
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....
Goodbye The Vancouver Sun
April 21 was my last day at The Vancouver Sun, after 38 years, 26 spent writing gardening stories. My last column was in the paper April 22.
Today I'm thinking back over the 26 years of my career as a garden writer and remembering all the lovely gardens I have seen and fun times I've had interviewing talented gardeners.
HOW IT...
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...
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...
Changing faces
During my 26 years as garden writer at The Vancouver Sun, I changed my logo quite a few times and also went through a number of different looks.
Here's a fun look over my many changing faces over the years.
swhysall@hotmail.com
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...
