Category: Landscaping
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Mid-Century Modern Ottawa: Briarcliffe
Briarcliffe’s twenty-three houses represent mid-century modern domestic architecture at its best… This is one of Canada’s first protected heritage areas of midcentury modern architecture. ~ Exploring the Capital: An Architectural Guide to the Ottawa-Gatineau Region I turn left off Montreal Road and onto Blair, coast down the hill, brake and turn into the wooded subdivision.… Read more
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Perennial Splendour
This is it. The day Bella and I cut the first bouquet is my hands-down, best-of-the-best, favourite day of the calendar year. Peonies. Catmint. Lilac. Chives. Lemon balm. Siberian Iris. Roses. False Blue Indigo. Spirea. So many perennials to choose from that decisions centre around what to leave out, rather than what to add in. There… Read more
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Just Peachy
Two seasons ago I added a peach tree to the mix, siting it in the sunniest, most-protected corner of the property. The nurseryman, who successfully grew one in his own yard, said that it was self-pollinating and would take two years to produce fruit. I wish I could tell you the cultivar of the Prunus… Read more
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Bouquet
An early morning bouquet for Bellissima’s room: peonies, third wave of lilacs, rosa rugosas, prolific lemon balm, rotund chive blooms, Siberian iris, Nepeta and all. Seems early for some of these lovelies, a treat for Miss Bella, the bees, and me. Read more
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Leading Me Down the Garden Path
The path to the potager seems shorter in person. But I can attest to its length by the volume of plants required to fill the flagstone and the hours spent on my knees, unnaturally bent. The flagstone was a sunk cost – I already had it – but between the cost of the filler plants and… Read more
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Feral
These days I wake up at cat o’clock. Puss meows to escape, the birds twitter and fuss, a din moments before first light appears on the horizon. Little cat’s seasonal wildness begins mid-April or so, while mine lies dormant for another month. By mid-May we are in cahoots while the house sleeps on. There are… Read more
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The Oracle at Lee Valley
Yesterday morning Husband and I had one of those insanely stupid thirty-second flash arguments, this time about the best way to sharpen the garden tools. My rule of thumb is he/she who actually does the work has absolute sovereignty – including the last word – over the purchase, maintenance and use of tools/systems around that… Read more
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I Smell Summer
Today was, without a doubt, a great day verging on perfect. It was hot, the blue skies were deep and I bore witness to the indubitable arrival of summer. The grass was trim, my twelve ‘Madame Lemoine’ lilacs saturated the air of the formal fragrance garden, the peonies and iris waited with bated breath… Read more