Daylily (Hemerocallis)

painting 16x16 inches acrylic on canvas SOLD

I love plants, and this daylily caught my attention. Plants equal life. Without them we could not survive. All life on earth depends on plants.

Everything we use is plant based. When we are in the presence of them, plants are also therapeutic. They promote mindfulness, are quiet companions, purify the air, among many other benefits.

 

Green Pitcher Plant

 Sarracenia oreophila, I grew this one in a tall glass jar. The roots are in peat moss and I only used distilled water. It grew to 12 inches tall.

Pineapple sage

 

This is the first year I've attempted to grow Pineapple Sage.

I bought it this Spring, re-potted it and let it go. I erected my small cold frame on the patio early October, and put it in. Today I discovered these blooms!

What a lovely surprise!

Winter bouquet

 a lovely dried bouquet from my garden in a handmade Raku pot. Raku is a low fired ceramic that is porous, and can not hold water. It is most suitable for dried arrangements.

Ipomoea nil, Japanese Morning Glory!

Organic seeds from 2021 available now!

 $2.00 for 40 seeds

These are lovely, non invasive annuals. I grew this years' crop on my balcony.

What a surprise! A bus stop poster of my garden!

 

Found at a bus stop on Broadway at Clark. The Collingwood Neighbourhood House creates collectible cards every year. My garden was featured in 2016.

"Deeville"......a Tiny village

I had a client with developmental disabilities. Her nickname was "Dee", so I created this tiny village in her garden. The plot did not get much rain as it was under the Skytrain, so we had to focus on Xeriscaping. I used perennial ground covers such as Thymus serpyllum.

 

 

You can see the spider web in the round window. He lived there for many years.

My crop of black tomatoes

My tiny balcony is south facing, yet does not get many hours of direct sun that tomatoes love. Still, I managed to harvest these fine specimens.
 

mermaid

Wet Summer day in the garden

Strathcona Community Garden

Weeping Fig (Ficus benjamina )

I rescued this ficus from certain death. When I found it, there were almost no leaves, and it was only 3 feet high. Because it was outdoors for a summer, millipedes had invaded the soil. I replaced the soil and washed the roots thoroughly. This is after the first winter inside, around six months after I found him the previous September.

Eventually it grew to the ceiling in height and had to be re-potted once into a large Chinese preserved egg container. I cared for this plant, whom I named Robert, for eight years.

green pitcher plant (Sarracenia)

I finally found a spot with enough light in my east facing window. I have had this plant for over six years and it was moved from a moist, east facing bathroom to a dark room where it barely thrived. When I moved it back to an east and brighter light, took off! They like nutrient poor soil (peat moss and a bit of charcoal) and distilled water.

Sundew (Drosera capensis)

This was a terrarium I made a few years ago. This particular Drosera capensis lasted for over three years in this container. The secret is distilled water!

Purple Peony Poppy (Papaver somniferum)

I found these beautiful specimens in the Strathcona Community gardens. Here is a great link to growing them:

getting back to my roots

The one constant in my life has always been plants. As a child, I spent many hours in my Grandmother's garden, she showed me where to pick herbs for tea and where the best blackberries were. As a young woman, I lived in the forest and foraged plants. I have always had a garden or at least a plant in an apartment. This blog is dedicated to all my fellow gardeners.