A Super-Early Preview of the Sept Issue of Gardens East!

I just got the latest issue of Gardens East magazine in the mail yesterday!! So exciting.. it's always packed with so much info. And this issue featured 2 of my articles! One on an amazing Oakfield, NS garden and the other was on some of my favourite veggies for autumn. That may sound funny, but it's time to start to think about what you want to harvest this fall. Our fall/winter carrots will be planted in about a month and I've already tucked more kale seedlings into the garden.

Anyway, on to the topic at hand. I'm currently procrastinating, oops, I mean working on the Sept garden profile for Gardens East and thought I'd share a few of the photos that I took at this gorgeous Dartmouth garden.. just a few tidbits to pique your interest!! 

Hens and chicks in a chair that is painted with hens and chicks!! Love it.. Also, I'm really into the lime green/purple colour combo of campanula and lady's mantle. Finally, look at the big seashell below, planted with sedums.. I could have stared at it for hours.. so many colours and textures..

The sun is peaking out, so hopefully our dreary weather is over.. get out and play in your garden!!

Check out my latest Proven Winners blog post!

Lobularia 'Blushing Princess'

My latest blog post for Proven Winners is now live! For my take on Lobularia 'Snow Princess', click here! (spoiler alert - this has been one of my top container picks for years!)

And for my 2 minute video profiling some of my container gardens, click here! Two of the new plants I am trialing for Proven Winners are soon-to-be-released Lobularia's - Blushing Princess and Frosty Knight. So, far, they are outstanding.. for photos, just scroll down to my recent post on my planters and pots.

Check out my 1st video!!

My first ever Proven Winners video is up on youtube!! It's only a short 2 min piece on my container gardens, but it was a lot of fun to do (I should have kept the out takes - much swearing!!).. hmmmm.. might have to do a few videos for this blog..? Thoughts?

My Potted Garden - Edibles and Ornamentals

Red lolla lettuce with Lobularia 'Blushing Princess' and
Lobularia 'Frosty Knight'

I have a lot of container gardens. It's not my fault! Because I blog for Proven Winners (see that funky badge on the right side of my blog? It will take you to my posts), they send me trial plants a year in advance so that I can test out (and write about with confidence) the soon-to-be-released plants..

This year, I had already potted up about a dozen medium sized pots, planters, window boxes and hanging baskets when the Proven Winners plants arrived.. I had to scrounge around for more containers (I'm a frugal (aka, cheap) gardener, so I wasn't going to spend big $$$ on more pots) and now have a back deck that is home to about 18 containers, a few window boxes and 2 large planters.. yikes!!

Of course, I like to combine my ornamental plants with edibles, so tucked in many of my planters is a variety of leaf lettuces, 'Bright Lights' swiss chard, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants (the like the heat of the back deck) and peas. I love the way leaf lettuce really fills out a container, plus, it's only a quick jaunt to the deck to pick a few leaves for my lunchtime wraps and sandwiches..

But, I love my container gardens and they really add a lush look to the back deck.. Plus, they attract hummingbirds and butterflies like crazy! So, I just popped out and took a few updated photos of my pots, as well as a shot of my tomatoes underplanted with arugula. Thought I should document that before I start harvesting tonight for supper!!

Happy Summer!

Another shot of my lettuce and the two 2013 Lobularias.. Also,
note that electric reddish-pink Supertunia called 'Watermelon
Charm' in the back of the photo.. he's coming next year too!
If you look super close, you'll also see some green leaf
lettuce at the top of the photo too.. 

A mini sweet pepper combined with Lobularia
'Blushing Princess', Supertunia 'Watermelon
Charm', Superbells 'Lemon Slice' (another 2013
introduction) and various tidbits..

Another shot of the pepper.. can't wait to try the sweet
fruits - some are about 1-inch already!

Here's a new 2012 petunia called 'Pink Lemonade'.. It's not as low
maintenance as the Proven Winners Supertunia because I need
to deadhead the spent flowers, but I do love the colour combo!

A bit sunny out, but here's a look at my tomatoes (and a rogue borage)
that are underplanted with a thick layer of arugula - 22 days from seeding.
Time to eat!! :)

Daylily Daze is coming soon!!

I love community gardens

I spent this past Saturday morning in downtown Halifax away from my own garden (which desperately needs some TLC!), but I was thrilled to discover a gorgeous community garden tucked away behind a large apartment building near Saint Mary's University. I love community gardens and it thrills me to see so many new ones popping up around the Maritime provinces.. I had the pleasure of visiting a few on my recent trip to Saint John, New Brunswick when I hosted Marigolds for Main Street (see my older posts). The Peninsula Urban Garden Society plots that I visited on Saturday aren't new, but were established almost a decade ago with the help of Counciller Sue Uteck. It was also expanded a few years ago and now boasts about 40 plots - and a long waiting list.. which shows that we still need more community gardens!

On a related note, I also have been hearing about folks who share their yards with those not lucky enough to have space to grow food and flowers..

While I was poking around the community garden, I was hoping that some of the members would pop in to tend to their plants so that I could talk to them, but unfortunately that didn't happen.. Nevertheless, I snapped a few photos so that I could share the beauty of these productive plots that show just how much food can be grown (in mid-June!) in a small space.. note, the fun use of hanging containers to grow vining plants..

Who says food garden't aren't beautiful spaces?? Not me!

Everyone plants their own assortment of favourite veggies/herbs/fruits and flowers.

Strawberries and leaf lettuce.

Love this plot - incredibly productive for mid-June and so much variety.

Dinosaur kale, lettuces, carrots, garlic, nasturtiums, peas and so much more!

A bounty of spring greens and tomato seedlings for summer fruits.

Too cool.. zucchini, peas and a few other edible vines.

Very organized spaces and such a nice place to spend a few hours..

Asian greens and more!

There were also a few cherry trees, high bush blueberries and more.. 

A few more container garden photos..

Don't you just love how the garden changes every day?? I just gave my pots on the back deck a thorough watering and thought I would snap a few photos.. I've been bogged down with book 2 this week (and last week and the week before and...) and also need to start preparing for this weekend's radio show.. The hilarious Amanda Thomson of Kiss My Aster will be joining me for the last 1/2 hour to share some garden laughs.. she also blogs for Proven Winners, which is where we initially met. Also, Jill Covill, the owner of Bunchberry Nurseries will talk ground covers - and any other types of plants that our callers want to discuss! She is a wealth of knowledge and I always enjoy our chats.. Then, if the stars align, we'll talk to the NY Botanical Gardens about their amazing new children's gardens.. fingers crossed that I can make that one happen.. anyhow, until Sunday, enjoy these glimpses of my garden..

Love lantana so much.. and so do the bees, butterflies...

One of my pots that is really coming along - check out that deep
lettuce beside the soon-to-be-released Proven Winners Lobularia
Frosty Knight (variegated foliage)

I haven't grown nigella in years, but got a packet from Renee's Garden.
This is Persian Jewels mix and the first flower opened this morning...

Finally, here is a new Petunia 'Blueberry Lime Jam' that was sent
to me as a seed sample by McKenzie Seeds this past
spring.. It's supposed to be a mix of two varieties - one lime green and
the other purple and the first bloom opened today.
The flower is HUGE and incredibly scented.. so easy to grow
from seed!! (check out my dirt-stained fingers for scale!)