Category: Home & Garden

  The technique of espaliering trees or plants against a flat surface originated in ancient Rome.  In the northern hemisphere, a south-facing wall is best for espalier and vice versa for the southern hemisphere.  South or west-facing walls (northern hemisphere) reflect sunlight and also retain heat which extends the growing season.   Taking advantage of… Continue reading Espalier… →

  "The Wind in the Willows" is a much-loved children's book by Kenneth Grahame about four animal friends.   This photo of a Weeping Willow almost mirrors the scene of the first meeting of Mole and Rat (characters from the book) at the river.  Rat then takes Mole for a boat ride. Weeping Willow trees… Continue reading The Wind in the Willows… →

    The interiors of the movies written and directed by Nancy Meyers... "Something's Gotta Give", "The Holiday", "The Intern", and many more... are the envy of most of us, but it's the kitchen garden in "It's Complicated" that I have coveted.  That garden had the formal "bones" consistent with the French style potager. I… Continue reading A Kitchen Garden… →

      Ahhh...Spring the season of unpredictable weather!  We've seen it all where I live...warm, sunny days followed by wild winds and rain and my favourite...the snowy, sleet and sunshine mix within minutes of each other! I've spent the week in the greenhouse transplanting the seedlings I started in March.  The fireplace has been… Continue reading The Greenhouse… →

  Dahlias were discovered by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century growing wild on the Mexican hillsides. Botanists were brought along on these excursions to the New World to bring new plant species back to the homeland.  Empress Josephine, who had a special fondness for dahlias, first introduced them to France (in the 1800s) and… Continue reading Dahlias… →

                        On the warm, sunny days of Spring, I long for a clothesline like we had in the 1950s suburb that I grew up in.  I've washed my winter bedding, down quilts and pillows and, most importantly,  dried them outdoors (draped over chairs) before… Continue reading Spring Linens… →

    When I was in London several years back,  I fell in love with the floral displays lavishly spilling out of the window boxes on the elegant townhouses (home to many of the foreign embassies),  lining many of the streets in the upscale neighbourhoods.  That Spring the colour scheme included white and blue/lavender flowers (pansies,… Continue reading Sowing beauty… →