Hi Chris! I have been waiting patiently for a cool day in order to plant my Cleomes and TODAY WAS THE DAY! I had the perfect bed in my back garden where they will get the morning sun and some shade in the afternoon. My Three Sisters bed (which I called the “Pumpkin Patch”) had come to an end and the soil was rich and ready for new planting. They look really [...]

Well its been hot, hot, hot here and I’ve really not had much inclination to dig in the dirt. All I can motivate myself to do as far as gardening goes is to lounge around, enjoy the garden and appreciate the birds who took over the back garden this afternoon. At one stage there were so many flitting around that I had to put the camera down just to appreciate the very [...]

My favourite plant of this Summer season has been hands down, without contest, the Mexican Petunia (Ruellia brittoniana). I first took notice of this plant when I read about it on It’s Not Work It’s Gardening and then shortly thereafter I found them at the local nursery. I bought one, planted it and within days I knew that I wanted more … bought two additional plants and now I wish I had [...]

I have had such weird and wonderful bugs coming into my garden lately that I had to do a special post on all the bugs I have met so far. Every time I step onto my back deck, I have to run and get my camera. It is as if they wait for me and pose. Thanks to a lot of our friends, we were able to identify all of them. Here [...]

In my list of Things to Do in the Garden in 2012 I mentioned that I want to prune some trees in order to reclaim a portion of mountain view. In the heat of summer we have managed to get that done and I am happy with the result. This is a small corner view as seen from one corner of the entertainment area of our back terrace. It’s a place I [...]