The hardy apple tree ‘Norlove’ in bloom. Most of the fruiting apples and crab-apples bloom in white or pinkish white, while the ornamental flowering crabs bloom in varying shades of pink and red.  They fruit too, of course, but that fruit is a good size …

 This flower bed amazes me every year.  Every winter the snow comes off the steeply sloping metal roof in an avalanche, and there was well over four feet of heavily packed snow on this bed a month ago.  Some years there is six feet, and …

A vegetable garden in MacKenzie, B.C. (2004.)
Vegetable gardening is regaining popularity
More and more people (myself included) are getting excited about the possibilities for back-yard vegetable gardening in short-season climates. North-central B.C. used to be famous for the quality of its farm products; potatoes, cabbages and carrots …

 Small signs of spring give me hope – even though it snowed yesterday the new layer melted almost right away, and these early ‘Gypsy Girl’ crocus and Puschkinia don’t show any ill effects.  Puschkinia scilloides var. libanotica, to be exact, goes by the common name of Striped squill, …

Does the world need another website, one more blog?  Maybe not, but it’s obvious from the questions I’m getting on a regular basis that quite a few people – new to gardening or just new to the north – need some practical advice on gardening in the …