Three of the best Carolinian under story trees (perfect for small yards)
If you are lucky enough to live in the Carolinian forest zone in Ontario or the United States you are able to grow some of the finest understory trees. Here are three of the best understory trees, Redbud, dogwood and Pawpaw. They are small trees perfect for today’s smaller backyards.
Garden photography: Tips to photographing hummingbirds in flight
Backyard bird photography involves planning, patience and the right equipment. Months of planning, hours of waiting and about five seconds of shooting resulted in this photograph of the hummingbird at a native cardinal flower.
Garden Revolution: Ecological gardening made easy
Garden Revolution joins a growing list of informative books calling for a new ecological approach to gardening. It is a book that will change the way future gardeners approach their land not only because it encourages a more ecological approach but because it shows them an easier and simpler way to manage their gardens big or small.
White pine: Native evergreen that helps birds and wildlife
Our native Eastern White Pine is an elegant, open evergreen that deserves a place in more gardens. The tree’s beauty is evident in its early stages. The fast-growing tree eventually becomes a stately, flat-topped tree that has captured artists for years. It is also an important tree to attract wildlife to our backyards.
A Winter Woodland wish for the holidays
The beauty of the woodlands and our backyard birds is illustrated through photographic images, poetry and quotes. Together, they remind us of why we love our backyard woodland gardens that bring birds to our yards and joy to our family's hearts.
Building your Woodland: One Tree at a time
Dream of what your woodland garden can be and we will work together to make it real. By using native and non-native trees, plants and flowers, you can transform your garden into a wildlife haven. Then spend the day photographing the nature around you.
Seven Viburnums: Top shrubs to attract birds to your garden
Building up the number of viburnums in your garden design is a great way to not only beautify your backyard but create a garden that is attractive to a wide variety of birds. Viburnums provide an abundance of flowers in spring, attract pollinators, insects and caterpillars throughout the summer, outstanding leaf colour in fall and an abundance of berries in fall lasting well into the winter.
Review: Click and Grow shines light on native plants
If you are like me, winter can be a long cruel time when all we have is our dreams about what can be come spring time. Growing next year’s woodland plants from seed over the winter is an excellent way to get ready for spring. The Click and Grow system makes growing plants, including native wildflowers simple.
Is a Gorilla cart better than a wheelbarrow?
It’s time to talk about the Gorilla in the garden. Gorilla Carts have earned a reputation for being extremely useful and rugged garden helpers. Just a few weeks ago we purchased a small Gorilla Cart, and I’m not sure how we gardened this many years without one. Although the carts are available in different sizes, from heavy-duty all metal versions, to smaller polycarbonate carts, we chose a small polycarbonate cart with a dumping mechanism. It’s already earned its keep.
Why we feed birds in our woodland gardens
Why do we don boots and coats on frosty mornings and tramp out to our bird feeders and, with freezing fingers, fill them lovingly for our feathered friends? Good question. Let’s take a close look at why we feed the birds.
How to attract nuthatches to your woodland garden
How can you not love our Nuthatches? Spunky, busy little blue-grey bundles of energy that, for most of the year, can’t stop talking. And how can you ignore their acrobatic routines while they make their way up and down tree trunks and branches looking for insects?
How to protect birds from cats
Every year millions of birds become victims of outdoor cats allowed to roam free. Birds are not the only victims, chipmunks, rabbits and red squirrels are also victims in the killing fields of backyards across Canada, the United States, Europe – anywhere where cats are allowed to roam. Clawed Monet was not part of that problem. He was a good boy.
Tips for using water to attract birds and other wildlife
Bringing water into the garden provides so much enjoyment not just for gardeners, but for the birds, mammals and reptiles that depend on it for their survival. It does not have to be a large complicated pond. Here are a host of alternatives to garden ponds that are easy, inexpensive and rewarding.
How to choose the best binoculars for birding
Some say a birders’ best friend is their binoculars, and I can believe it. A high quality pair of binoculars, a good cup of coffee and a comfortable chair are all I need in the morning to check out the backyard birds along with my trusty ebird app to let me know what I’m looking at through the binoculars.
Buying solar lights for your garden
Solar garden lighting has come a long way. It is now a viable and, probably preferred, landscape lighting choice both for its environmental and cost benefits. We look at the best solar landscape lighting products and how best to use them in your landscape design.
How to prevent birds from striking windows
More than 900 million birds are killed in the U.S annually from window strikes. 25 million are killed in Canada. Gardeners need to take action in their own backyards to ensure that they are not part of the problem. There are simple steps that can be taken to reduce bird strikes including putting commercially available stickers on windows and ensuring feeders are placed far away from windows.
Plant the perfect Redbud (a Carolinian zone favourite)
I consider the Eastern Redbud equal to Dogwoods when it comes to understory trees in the Woodland Garden. It’s incredible spring bloom turns into a green architecturally elegant tree in the summer that comes to life again in autumn with its spectacular canary-yellow fall foliage. What’s not to love about this native understory tree that lights up the spring landscape with its pink blooms and the fall landscape with its golden leaf colour.
Carolinian Canada is a diamond in the heart of Southern Ontario
Carolinian Canada is a sweep of land that extends from Toronto to Lake Erie and down through Windsor to Lake Huron. Its diversity of flora and fauna is unmatched anywhere else in Canada. The Carolinian forest also stretches through much of Eastern United States.
Five great books for woodland gardeners
A gift guide to five great woodland garden books that every gardener young and old will cherish in their collection and use this winter to help create a vision and turn it into a reality this spring.
Expandable hose takes pain out of watering your wildlife garden
Today’s expandable hoses are a must for any gardener still struggling with the traditional hose. The best ones are everything they advertise. Kinks are a thing of the past and they all but put themselves away when you are done with them.