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Put ornament in the winter garden

3/2/2019

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Every winter I'm fascinated by the way snowfall transforms the garden. Trees acquire new definition, as do now-leafless vines, and shrubs take on softened shapes.  Snow has a way of sculpting the garden, giving it an entirely different visual presence.  

Most articles about 'The Winter Garden' focus on the structure and interest that untrimmed perennials and grasses lend to the landscape.  Some writers suggest pruning shrubs or small trees in a specific way to capture snow and add winter interest.

But I agree with Marlene Mullet, an Ohio reader who commented in Fine Gardening, "Ar
bors, birdhouses, rocks, and other garden decor along with untrimmed vines and shrubs also look lovely with snow cover.  Every year I try to come up with more ways to keep my winter gardens from looking dull and drab.  It's another way to enjoy the garden all year!" 

Marlene's rustic winter arbour is an example of how simple structures and ornaments can create winter interest – if we plan ahead.
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Photo: Marlene Mullet
Ceramic containers and fragile ornaments have to be put away in the fall, of course, but other pieces can stay in place.  Post-mounted bird houses, lend charm to the winter garden as miniature rooftops gather snow.
Snowy birdhouse

Photo: Lynda Bobinski
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​Even small metal ornaments – like this cheery little frog prince – can offer a happy surprise when they peek through the snow. 
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birdhouse in winter
metal frog sculpture
I hung an old lantern in late fall and watched it transform with the arrival of a wet snowfall.  Another suggestion:  grapevine weathers well and when woven into a wreath, it lends texture to a fence or trellis.  A wreath can last several seasons.
barn lantern in snow
grapevine wreath in winter
And here's one of my favourite images.  A heavy birdbath stays in place year 'round in a friend's yard, proving that snow brings true poetry to the winter landscape.
Urn with snow

'Holding up Winter'
Pihoto: Geoff Hudson
The structures we place in the garden are a wintertime diversion.  When temperatures plummet and we must stay indoors, these 'snow catchers' give us something to admire from inside.  And wouldn't you love to have one of these giant pine cones created by Beamsville, ON metal artist Floyd Elzinga?  Out-sized and simply marvelous.
Pine cone sculpture

Photo: Floyd Elzinga
 As writer Jodi DeLong observes in Saltscapes Magazine, "Winter is more than a season of hibernation in our gardens; it offers insights and visual delights... It’s a softer, more subtle sort of garden, especially when snow wafts gently down or sunlight adds watercolour shadows to the mix. We just relax, enjoy what’s already planted, and think about what we might want to do next spring.​"
In seed time learn, in harvest teach, in winter enjoy.
 ― William Blake

Special thanks to L Bobinski and G Hudson for their photos. Unattributed photos in this post are by  therebloomsagarden.com.  
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How do you put  ornament into your winter garden?  Share in a comment.

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2017 Trends in Garden Design

3/11/2016

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Garden Design, the e-newsletter from the American West Coast design magazine, arrives in my inbox each week.  I love to dive into the lush photos and high-end design ideas featured in each mailing.  As one reviewer writes, "Garden Design magazine is so highly, gloriously visual that it’s almost fragrant."  It never fails to inspire me.  
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In this week's blog post, I am bringing back 'Potpourri', a feature that was lost under the mulch.  It seemed like the right thing to do, given that Garden Design published a rich article by Pam Penick highlighting the 2017 Trends in Garden Design.  Along with stunning garden spaces, there are ideas for growing indoors – just the thing as we look towards the winter months.  So enjoy!  
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Tillandsias and maidenhair fern.
Photo: Mary Gray, Potted in LA | http://www.pottedstore.com/

Garden Design magazine is published four times a year; the e-newsletter is free.

Browse these links on There Blooms a Garden for more Potpourri posts ...
Trees in a Tree Museum?
Swedish Postcards
Visit a Potted Oasis
Masterful Masterworts


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Winter is for 'armchair gardening'

19/1/2016

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Ever heard of 'armchair gardening'?  It's what gardeners do in the cold season while our plants rest.  There are so many books to advise, inspire and help you plan for great things in your garden.  I recommend a trip to your public library.  In the depths of January, I can almost guarantee gardening titles are on the shelves, just waiting for you. 

Here are some suggestions from the catalogue at the Thunder Bay Public Library.
Perennial plants can represent quite an investment.  In our northern region, we need to choose plants that are hardy in our Zones 2/3 conditions.  Mike Heger's book, Growing Perennials in Cold Climates provides information on "selecting, siting, planting and maintaining perennials in northern climates." 

Heger draws on his experience managing plant displays at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.   His book is a good reference for novice gardeners as it includes advice on preparing a site and buying potted perennials, as well as "composting, watering, mulching, fertilizing, weeding, staking, deadheading, pruning, protecting plants in winter, companion planting and dealing with disease and insect problems."  Truly an all-in-one-guide.
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Rosalind Creasy is the name most often associated with edible landscaping.  She has been planting flowers and vegetables together for more than 25 years, with fabulous results.

Beside her now-classic Edible Landscaping (updated in 2010), Creasy has written a series of themed books, including The Edible Flower Garden, The Edible Salad Garden and others highlighting Asian, French and Italian vegetable and flowering plants.  If you want to learn more about how to add veggies to your existing garden bed, these books are an excellent place to start.
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I was happy to discover Planting : A New Perspective by Piet Oudolf and Noel Kingsbury available in the Thunder Bay library.  In this significant book, the technique of intermingling long-lived perennials and woody plants is illustrated with beautiful photographs and planting plans.  These expert European garden designers describe "how to choose the right plants, how to group them, and how to combine them with other elements to make beautiful gardens that require minimal use of resources."

If you want to dream about your green space and how it might come alive in a new way, this is a book for you.  Also, for pure inspiration, glimpse the many Oudolf gardens in Europe and the US.
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We are discovering the importance of native plants in supporting pollinators and building more sustainable gardens.   Lorraine Johnson's book, 100 Easy-to-Grow Native Plants for Canadian Gardens "provides basic horticultural information for many native perennials, as well as vines, ferns, annuals and grasses, many of which can be grown in almost all regions of the country."  It includes full-colour illustrations. 

If you want to know more about how to select and grow native plants, this title is worth a look.

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This season, why not make yourself a reading nook with a selection of inspiring books?  What could be better than a little 'armchair gardening'?

All titles in this post are available from the Thunder Bay Public Library. Links are provided for more detail and online purchase if you wish to add to your own library.  Remember, public libraries in Ontario share books through inter-library loan. If you cannot find a title you want, just ask a librarian for help.
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Writers make gardens bloom online

10/12/2013

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PicturePhoto: There Blooms a Garden
Winter has well and truly come to Northwestern Ontario.  The harsh temperatures have me hunkered down indoors, using my computer as a window on gardens that bloom online.

I am amazed at where a few judicious links can take an avid reader-about-all-things-horticultural.  And, I'm equally grateful for the talented landscape designers and plantsmen who tend a weblog as well as a garden or two. 

I've selected three sites – each exceptional in my view – that offer views (and lovely vistas) related to naturalist planting. I invite you to dip into the writing on these sites.

PicturePhoto: Noel Kingsbury
Noel's Garden Blog
Noel Kingbury is a noted UK educator and researcher who has collaborated on many excellent gardening books. His blog is an excellent window on horticulture in Britain and the EU.

PicturePhoto: Noel Kingsbury
Thomas Rainer's Grounded Design
Provocative posts highlight trends and shifting thinking in landscape design, particularly in the US.  Find out about 'intermingling' – the latest trend in landscaping – and the broader movement to naturalize our landscapes.


PicturePhoto: Tony Spencer
The New Perennialist
Toronto-based garden writer Tony Spencer offers his views on landscape design in his weblog about perennial plantings.



There now. Didn't that soften the bite of winter?  Visit these sites in the cold weeks ahead and warm to new ideas in plant selection and design.

Do you have a garden blog to recommend?  Share the link in a comment.
Find other suggested garden blogs and reliable online resources in The Resource Trug on this site.

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Go wild with colour, if you dare

7/9/2013

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Colour is a happy preoccupation in my life.  In a hardware store, I gravitate to the paint section just to admire the colours on display.  Something similar happens in a fabric store, and well, rows of blooming annuals in a greenhouse are downright thrilling! 

So you will appreciate my pleasure in reading about Toronto artist Keeyla Meadows and her fearless use of colour in the garden.  Wherever you garden, you can take inspiration from this beautiful space.

Thanks to fellow bloggers Helen and Sarah Battersby of Toronto Gardens for their delicious post and pictures featuring Meadows' whimsical and truly art-full garden. 

Click the pic to take a peek!

Potpourri

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garden ideas that are fresh, fun,
even fragrant
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Mosaic bench designed by Keeyla Meadows
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