Gardening with Candy Venning
Who are you planning your garden for?
By Candy Venning Maybe a bit of a personal question, but just who is your garden for? At this time of year, I really start to dream and plan ahead with my ‘garden goals’. A place for myself in the hammock is high on the list, but I also have other guests on my mind –...
The Gardeners Holiday List
by Candy Venning Hmmmm…. What to get that gardener on your list – or perhaps ‘wanna gardener’ or maybe just thinking about becoming a gardener while collecting houseplants kinda’ gardener? A family Membership to the Royal Botanical Gardens – supporting beautiful...
SIX WAYS FOR YOU, FOR EVERYONE, TO LOVE YOUR GARDEN HARDER
By Candy Venning 1) First let’s talk about the 3 B’s – and creating habitats for them Birds; planting species in your garden that support our feathered friends not only in the seeds a plant provides but also for spring foraging on insects and larvae (they need to feed...
Fall Gardening
By Candy Venning Hello there, remember last spring how every time you saw a crocus or snowdrop you smiled and then…wondered why you don’t have any in your yard? Yup! Time to think about spring bulbs – and if you didn’t order in advance from @flowerbulbsRus or a...
THE BEST TIME OF THE YEAR FOR PLANTING IS NOW!
By Candy Venning If you aren’t seeing any perennial blooms in the garden right now – you definitely have a shortage of Asters, Hydrangeas, Coneflower, Dahlias, Canna lily, Chrysanthemums and Monkshood / Aconitum. So what’s next? Glad you asked; planting, yes planting...
CREATING A BUZZ WITH PLANTS… THE NEW POLLINATOR GARDEN
By Candy Venning Looking back over my 20 years of professional gardening it seems that many of us used to be divided between growing vegetables and fruits (homesteading) vs ‘Pretty gardens’. The pretty garden camp was further divided into perennials vs annuals and now...
A Plea for Stewardship in Hamilton
By Candy Venning Nature is not somewhere we go – it’s where we all live. It’s so easy to get disconnected – we walk along pavements and are tuned to the architecture, people, cars, music, shops and other human-centric aspects of our surroundings. It’s absolutely...
Did I Really Plant That?!
Whether you’re a fresh gardener or an expert, you’ve planted something that you came to regret – a lot. It may have been the pretty flower, the ‘friend's' recommendation or the label that lured you in but eventually it became a monster. A recent discussion on...
5 Big Backyard Strategies for Maximum, Small Yard Enjoyment.
SUBMITTED BY CANDY VENNING 1) Great access – from your house to your yard. Many of the older houses were built when outside space was more for hanging laundry or growing veggies than the spa-like oasis we expect of a garden now. Many houses often have odd access to...
10 Front Garden Design Guidelines
(followed next month, with design tips for backyards) by Candy Venning Going grassless or losing the lawn? Awesome! Skip the boxwoods; they’re not native, they’re all starting to succumb to box blight and there are other choices. Try for a 70% native mix (Liatris,...
