Author: Rob Stuart, Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton; published with permission. Mid-March in Ottawa is usually the ideal time to start sowing seeds of annual flowers, vegetables, and herbs that you plan to grow this summer. Hopefully, you already have the seeds ready, either saved from last year’s harvest or purchased at a local store or…
Author: Rebecca Last, Gardening at Last, Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton; published with permission To the uninitiated, “hardening off” might sound like the name of a heavy metal band. In fact, it’s the final stage of preparation before you can plant your tender seedlings outside. I have fair skin and sunburn easily, so I always take…
Author: Shazia Y. Hussain, Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton; published with permission I am an avid gardener and a lifelong learner. My garden is an ongoing experiment, as well as a source of awe and pure inspiration. Even before I put it to bed in the fall, I find myself planning and dreaming about the upcoming…
Author: Gail Labrosse, Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton; published with permission Drying hydrangea flowers from your garden for a winter table arrangement is easy. The best time for picking the flowers is toward the end of the growing season, when they naturally start to dry out. Take a tall container of cool water with you when…
Author: Rebecca Last, Gardening at Last and Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton. Published with permission This was an amazing year for tomatoes. My small garden has produced at least ten kilos so far, and we’re not done yet! But what to do with all that bounty? After all, one can only eat so many fresh tomatoes,…
Author: Julianne Labreche, Master Gardeners of Ottawa-Carleton; published with permission My bird feeders are a source of life in the stillness of winter. From my backyard window, I can watch the fluttering of wings at the edge of the garden. Northern cardinals perch on snow-covered evergreen branches. Woodpeckers hide black sunflower seeds in the crannies…
When it comes to urban landscaping, mountain maples prove their worth as hardworking, resilient, and beautiful additions. Standing at heights ranging from 15 to 25 feet (~10 m), mountain maples are one of the smallest maple species, perfectly suited for tight urban spaces. Best of all, their modest size doesn’t compromise their visual impact, especially…
Greetings fellow gardeners, It is time to decide what to bring inside and what to take to the compost. Even though my space is limited, I decided to bring a few of my annuals inside. As my fellow Master Gardener Mary Reid mentioned at her talk the other day, many of these annuals are perennials,…
Gardening doesn’t have to stop just because it’s winter. With some planning and creativity, you can grow winter plants and vegetables, spruce up your home with house plants, and even begin planning your garden for spring. Do you know your hardiness zone? In considering these ideas, some may not apply to you depending on where…
There are people who thoroughly wash their bulbs and tubers before storing them. I let mine dry with a small bit of dirt around them, lightly packed them in newspaper, and put them in a box in the basement on a shelf. Greetings fellow gardeners, So, we got rain, and rain, and a bit more…
I packed a bunch of envelopes and a pen and was able to collect a lot of seed. It is a great time of year to collect seeds. Greetings fellow gardeners, Autumn is in full gear, and the colours are outstanding. I love this time of year. Preparing for winter gives us all time to…
I have most of my vegetables in pots at this point, so they are a little less likely to get frost damage. Greetings fellow gardeners, The air is crisp this morning, and I have an overwhelming urge to make soup. If it starts raining again, I think soup is in my future. It is a…
If you are fairly new to bulb planting, I suggest that you start with daffodil bulbs. Very few creatures will bother these bulbs. They do well in almost any situation, and they increase their number each year. Tulips, hyacinths, crocuses, and other tasty bulbs are more difficult. Greetings fellow gardeners, Oh, my goodness, what a…
This year I am determined to do my best to deadhead my flowers. If you take off the dead flowers you will get more and more flowers. Greetings fellow gardeners, This has been a scary week. When I went outside on Tuesday morning it smelled like a campfire. It was dark and the sky looked…
Bees released from their cocoons seemed very attracted to the sweet-smelling lilacs, and there were primulas and tulips nearby. One of the most wonderful things I discovered when I started studying pollinators was that butterflies and moths love heavily scented plants. Greetings fellow gardeners It has been an interesting few days. Rain and sun and…
In the garden, I never rush the spring. Be aware that all sorts of plant offerings will appear very soon and it is much too soon to start putting anything outside. Slow and steady wins the race.
As the days get longer and warmer with the arrival of spring, many people are eager to enjoy the outdoors and start gardening. Whether you’re a seasoned gardener or just starting out, there is an abundance of plants that can be grown in spring. From annuals to perennials, vegetables to flowers, herbs to shrubs –…
By Patricia Mosher While our gardens are snoozing this month, it’s easy to forget that bark, (yes, bark!), can add colour and texture to a landscape throughout the growing season, even into the depths of winter. The following suggestions will add a surprising amount of vertical intrigue to your garden all year round but have…
This hardy, ornamental shrub is my plant choice for January as it can be depended upon to deliver vibrant red colour to the winter landscape. At about 5-6’ tall and wide, this particular dogwood (also known as Red-twig) features a number of notable attributes including stunning fall leaf colour, attractive berries for the birds, vibrant…
Growing weed outside in the winter is possible, but it’s a challenging and involved process. As an annual plant with a spring-and-summer development season, marijuana requires delicate care to thrive in frigid environments. Can you take your weed seeds outdoors in a freezing country? Yes, as long as you time it right and make suitable…
With Halloween around the corner, let’s have a bit of fun. Here are five scary plants that would do any fright night justice. Venus Flytrap (Dionaea Muscipula) Starting off the show is an all time favorite and one of the most famous of scary plants – the Venus flytrap. Once called by Charles Darwin…
For Ottawa – Zone 5 Stop pruning and fertilizing, as you don’t want to encourage new, tender growth just before cold weather arrives. Continue watering plants such as fall vegetables that are still actively growing. Plant spring bulbs such as daffodils, tulips, and hyacinth (once planted, add a layer of blood meal to keep the…
It’s time to set the stage for brilliant spring color by choosing bulbs to plant in the fall to enjoy in your beds, borders, and containers in the spring. Plant before the middle of October for sheer joy next spring. For the optimal visual effect, plant in multiple groupings of 10–20 bulbs around existing perennials and…
Seed collection is always done on a sunny day because wet seeds can go moldy very quickly. Ripe seeds should fall easily from the plant. The weather has little cool bursts these days as it reminds me that fall is nearly here. I am ramping up for seed saving and starting to see ripe tomatoes….
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