Nothing defines the traditional beauty of a flower as much as the rose.  Roses conjure up images of love and romance, as poets and writers continue to equate love and beauty through the multi-petalled appearance of this fragrant flower.  Th rose has been the ideal metaphor for love and pain over the years.  Writers have for centuries equated the beauty of the rose to romance – an element in existence even today – and the broken heart to the ever present thorns that come with the flower.  Roses are the epitome of love and pain…no other flower carries with it

There is one thing that gardeners can no longer afford to take for granted and that is water.  We know that nearly two thirds of the planet is covered with water, but did you know that only 3% of that is actually available for consumption and use?  One of our most precious natural resources, water is finite; it cannot be recreated or produced in any other fashion.  What we have is all we have.  Along with global warming, the World Health Organization is predicting unprecedented water wars in the next century over the shortage of drinkable and usable water.  Certain

Ornamental grasses have been gaining in popularity as of late.  Imagine each blade of grass to be representative of a hair in an artist’s paintbrush.  Brought together to form a multitude of blades, the brush has endless possibilities in the creation of form.  This is precisely the effect that ornamental grasses have in a garden.  They can add fluidity with the whisper of a breeze or become majestic as they stand tall against a backdrop of snow.  This diversity of form distinguishes ornamental grasses from all other plants. There are three groups of ornamental grasses: 1.         Small Grasses-this variety includes

There is nothing as invigorating as running through a field of wildflowers, their beauteous scent inticing the senses and their exquisite colourful blooms differentiating them from all others.  But, what defines a wildflower?  Many people erroneously use it interchangeably with native and naturalized plants.  In fact, all flowers are derived from wildflowers. Wildflowers are just as the word implies, flowers that are wild.  The word wild means not tamed and cultivated, anything that grows without the aid of man is solely a product of nature.  Therefore, any plant that has always survived on its own without any human intervention is

Gardening for moist areas is usually taken for granted as most plants tolerate wet soil for short periods of time.  As we know, our spring thaw often produces a great deal of moisture in gardens.  But, for areas that are like this all year round, certain moisture-loving plant species should be selected for optimal beauty and survival.  The information that follows is useful when determining the types of planting you want in your perpetually moist garden. SHADE TREE Red Maple     Acer Rubrum and Cultivars Silver Maple Acer Saccharinum Alders Alnus Species River Birch Betual Nigra Pin Oak Quercus Palustris Willow Salix

Perennials are most definitely here to stay.  Until recently, annuals were the flowers most sought after because of the variety of bright colours.  More and more people are realizing the benefits of perennial gardening and are developing a great amount of respect for those plants that endure and yet still provide us with beautiful colour all year round.  Perennials provide us with constant change, a garden that changes in character from month to month.  You can never get bored at seeing the same thing in a perennial garden because colours do not remain stagnant. The defining difference between perennials and