Try these tips to create stunning hanging baskets Planting a hanging basket is one of the more creative and satisfying gardening projects in spring. It can be as simple as planting a single, fast- growing plant like a Proven Winners’ Supertunia in a small hanging basket, or as complicated as adding a host of plants including numerous fillers, spillers and thrillers that combine to create a breathtaking hanging basket. In our primarily shaded woodland garden, six hanging baskets play a vital role in providing much-needed colour in the garden. In fact, the combination of hanging baskets and cont ..read more

Are birch trees good for wildlife? No matter how much I love dogwoods, it’s the birch trees that take centre stage in our woodland garden. Three large clumps of White Birch create the main focal point in the backyard, whether you’re outside on the patio or looking out the bay window from the kitchen/dining room. I decided to plant the trees quite close to the house directly in front of the windows so we could experience everything they bring to the garden winter, summer, spring and fall. The mini birch grove creates a secluded spot surrounding a dry river bed and small bubbling rock. For more ..read more

Simple scanner converts slides and negatives to digital If you’re like me and have boxes or binders full of old slides and negatives collecting dust in the basement, you might be thinking of the best way to turn them into digital images. A quick look on Amazon, Ebay or one of the many on-line photography sites turns up a host of options from flat-bed scanners that include slide and negative attachments, to small, stand-alone scanners that store the scanned images directly on to an SD card, eliminating the need for hooking into a computer to scan the images. This image, originally shot on slid ..read more

A native Bumblebee covered in pollen works the flowers of a beauty berry. A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee: Creating Habitat for Native Pollinators by Lorraine Johnson and Sheila Colla (2022 paperback) 250pp Douglas & McIntyre Authors explore benefits of using native plants in our gardens Native plant gardening – once a bastion for former tree-hugging hippies – is fast becoming an acceptable almost trendy form of gardening from inner cities to suburbia and from beginners to seasoned gardeners. And that’s just fine with garden authors Lorraine Johnson and researcher Sheila Colla wh ..read more

This spring image shows many of the unique characteristics of the Pentax Q 07 Shield Lens that takes on the personality of both a Lensbaby and a lomography camera. Although the plastic lens renders the image mostly soft and out-of-focus, it is capable of obtaining extreme sharpness in central parts of the image. Lens combines lomography and lensbaby effects Is it possible that the Pentax Q is the ultimate lomography camera? Purists would scoff at the idea that a digital camera – even one as quirky as the miniaturized Pentax Q – could ever be considered a leader in the world of lomography. But ..read more

Foamflower, with its white or pink spring flowers, is an idea woodland ground cover that spreads into impressive drifts. Creating a thriving woodland garden requires incorporating native ground covers and, if they include a lovely flower, all the better. Three top choices for native ground covers in a woodland garden are Wild Ginger, Foamflower, and Allegheny Spurge. Of the three, foamflower is by far the showiest providing delicate white or pink flowers in spring that look especially impressive growing in a large, natural-looking drift. Wild Ginger, known for its heart-shaped leaves and uniq ..read more

A woodland garden scene with bee balm and a large fern garden. If Lorraine Johnson’s 1998 book, Grow Wild, was a pioneering effort to convince gardeners to use native plants, it was also a stark warning that adapting our gardens to a more wild and native state is critical if we hope to protect the ecosystems and wild ones that share our ever shrinking world. And nowhere was it more important to adapt this approach than in and around the Great Lakes regions of southern Ontario and northeastern United States. “The land itself seems to be literally disappearing. Favourite nooks and crannies of u ..read more

North America’s only marsupial is outstanding for controlling ticks in the garden My first experience with an Opussum, also known as possums, was about seven years ago when my dog Holly and I stumbled upon one in the backyard after returning from a walk. It all happened very quickly. We rounded the corner of the house and the possum was right there. Holly, of course, dashed right over to her instantly putting the possum into the “play dead mode,” or “playing possum.” Laying on her side with her mouth open scared me into thinking she might have had a heart attack, but I remembered that “playing ..read more

A close-up image of an orchid photographed by window light with an Olympus EM10 with the MCON-P01 close-up attachment on the 45mm f1.8 Olympus lens. Five tips to photograph indoor flowers by window light Flower and garden photography is not quite like riding a bike. Hopping back into taking memorable images is more complicated than simply jumping back on a bike and pedalling. The complexities of today’s modern cameras makes regular usage to maintain familiarity almost a necessity. If you are a photographer who rarely picks up your camera for five to six months of the year waiting for spring ..read more

Grow Wild is an excellent introduction to native plant gardening both in Canada and the Northern United States. Ornamental grasses and hardy plants are focus of Prairie gardens Many native plants we consider stalwarts in our gardens, such as coneflowers, black-eyed Susans and many ornamental grasses, actually have their roots in the Prairies. Garden author Lorraine Johnson is a pioneer in the use of native plants in the garden. These are tough plants – from the grasses of the lowlands to the flowers and plants that once filled wide open stretches of land as far as the eye can see, Many are w ..read more