Marjorie Harris | Marjorie Suggests

In Marjorie Suggests, Plants, Summer, Uncategorized

Insecticides

Jean Cumming wrote me this wonderful e-mail: What is Paris green? Bordeaux mixture? I presume arsenate of lead is an evil poison that cannot and should not be sold or purchased? I found Canadian gardening textbooks at a garage sale, one really, two editions, 1938 and...

June 19, 2010

In Marjorie Suggests, Plants, Spring

PLANTING TREES

I am asked constantly about the planting of trees. What are the best to choose? how do you do it properly? How do you water them properly? First of all trees comes in two forms: container-grown; or balled-and-burlapped. The former is obvious; the latter means the...

May 2, 2010

In Marjorie Suggests, perennials, Spring, Uncategorized

SHADE PERENNIALS

On CBC's Fresh Air yesterday I mentioned some of my favourite shade perennials. Here's the list: Forthergilla gardenii great little shrubs with white spring bottlebruch blooms. For some great shade plants, choose from this list of natives: Woodland poppy (very hard to find but worthwhile); Aquilegia...

April 26, 2010

In Fall, Marjorie Suggests, Marjorie's Life, Marjorie's Travels, Uncategorized

Gardens and Beaches

The garden and the beach have a lot in common: they present a new face each day depending on weather and light and all the other exigencies nature throws in their way. They never fail to amaze, amuse and baffle. Which is why we...

March 4, 2010

In Marjorie Suggests, Marjorie's Life, Uncategorized, Winter

SEED CATALOGUES & NEW BOOKS

The berberis I showed below is indeed spiny and will keep all cats and skunks away from any border. Another good quality. Catalogues: Oh my, the Thompson & Morgan catalogue has drifted in to lift the misery of the blizzard going on outside. It's...

January 3, 2010

In Marjorie Suggests, Marjorie's Life, Winter

Christmas presents for gardeners

What is going on this year? In all the lists of stuff for people, we gardeners are pretty much ignored. What a change from a few years ago when garden writers were swamped with requests to make up lists for magazines and newspapers. It’s symptomatic...

December 21, 2009

In Fall, Marjorie Suggests, Marjorie's Life, perennials, Plants, Plants in my Garden, Uncategorized

AUTUMNAL PLANTS

This is one of the stars of the autumnal garden. It's called Fleeceflower (Persicaria amplexicaulis 'Firetail' and what a beauty it is. It's been quietly blooming away for weeks now but as other things die off and containers get moved, it comes into its own. The...

October 8, 2009

In Design, Fall, Marjorie Suggests, perennials, Uncategorized

autumn perennials

I have dozens and dozens of perennials in my garden. Even so people keep saying "You don't have a lot of flowers, do you?" Actually I do. It's that they all have a special place and time to actually strut their stuff. For instance right now,...

September 28, 2009

In Design, Fall, Marjorie Suggests, Plants, Plants in my Garden

autumn and the felling of trees

It seems impossible to think of taking down trees even in a small garden. But last week was my Derek week: trees left this place. Derek is Derek Welsh of Authentic Tree Service. He hates cutting down healthy trees but even in this case it...

September 6, 2009

In Marjorie Suggests, Marjorie's Life, Plants, Plants in my Garden

early autumn, bad storms, slugs and fungal diseases

I had been worried about slugs and fungal diseases in everyone's garden until the horrendous storms of Thursday evening hit. We were lucky (but scared) to have only one huge branch of a city tree (a dying silver maple) down and no other damage. All...

August 22, 2009