Insect Defend Patch Seems to Work!
June 27th 2011 I’ve been trying a new insect repellant, Insect Defend Patch. They are an advertiser, and we were given some free samples, and I’ve been trying them. After the samples were used up I bought some from Home Hardware, another advertiser.
All you do is peel a translucent patch off its backing and stick it on a hairless place on your body. I put it on my left upper arm. There is no spray, oil or cream. Nothing but a small square on your body.
I’m amazed to report that I think it works. First, you should know that I have bad reactions to insect bites: big swellings that get worse a few days later, often turning into oozing, crusty sores…you get the idea. I sometimes wear a full bug veil, two layers of shirts, long pants and socks, and I still get bitten.
On Saturday morning I applied a new patch to my arm and began a day of working in my rural garden. I even went into the forest of the Niagara Escarpment in the afternoon. I kept the patch on overnight and all next day, my second day weeding and clipping at the edge of a forest, and the patch still seemed to work.
I observed that mosquitoes were still around me, that some landed on me, but quickly flew off. I did even get bitten. Twice. But my reaction was so slight that I barely noticed. The day after, I can hardly see the bites.
The package says that patches are DEET-free, contain only vitamin B1 and may be worn continuously for 36 hours. I don’t understand the science of this, but I am a believer that Insect Defend Patch works for me.
Have you tried it? What do you think of it?
Views of Canada Blooms
March 16th 2011The 15th Canada Blooms opened today at the Direct Energy Centre in Toronto, and the theme this year is rhythms. I was thinking of repetition and height when I saw the Celebrity Stage, beautifully planted to surround the featured speakers, but an inspiration for a home patio garden. Here’s Mike’s photo of part of the stage:
New this year is “JUNO Rocks,” gardens that have been inspired by some JUNO award winning musicians.
Ben Heppner explained how a scene from the opera Parsifal inspired Judith Wright to create his forest garden.
Some other aspects of gardens caught our eye.
This long walk is the opposite side of the attention-getting entrance garden, which is a long wall of bright flowers with green roofs in front. This densely planted walk of bright tulips, boxwood and cedars, makes an impressive “B side.”
I want to try this idea at once! I have a red wagon, I just have to get a load of blooming plants and tuck them in to make this charming, colourful focal point.
This interpretation of the phrase “snake in the grass” is a delightful part of the large children’s play area of slides, a climbing wall and musical instruments.
Another inspiration: this bench of logs is also part of the children’s play garden. I’ll take two or three of these for around my yard, please.
There is so much more to see (and buy) at Canada Blooms. The garden festival runs until March 20.
Special Spring Issue of Escarpment Views
March 04th 2011
The Spring issue is our garden special, because from now to June, gardeners are getting keen to get back outside, carving a bit of paradise. We feature a large rural garden that is the work of just one woman. If she can achieve these results while running a full-time business, we should be able to reach our own garden goals.
This issue also takes you near Owen Sound to look at the range of beautiful ferns that thrive along the whole Escarpment. As you can expect, we have several photos of various kinds.
And we feature the old pioneer methods of making maple syrup, and some of the wonderful festivals where we can celebrate this sweet, delicious season.
There’s much more to enjoy in this issue, but I have to make special mention of Seana McKenna’s column on performing Richard III at Stratford this year. Tickets are already selling for this history-making production, and Escarpment Views is tremendously fortunate to publish her reflections on approaching this career-defining performance. I personally know of a few people in the U.S. who are planning to travel to Ontario in order to catch Seana tackle this killer of a role. Grab a copy of Escarpment Views to learn what the excitement is about!
The Spring issue is available now for free at most of our supportive advertisers. If you get a copy from one of them, please tell them you’re happy they provide the magazine. If you want a copy but our advertisers are not convenient, you buy a copy now. We have PayPal to make it easy.
Delphinium Day at Plant Paradise
August 29th 2010
Lorraine Roberts welcoming guests to Delphinium Day.
Dining among the delphs as Christine Gill speaks.
Christine discusses delphs with nursery beds in the background.
An important event somehow was missed from our Autumn Events section. OK, it’s entirely my fault as editor, but I honestly don’t know how it slipped from my list.
The annual Delphinium Day on July 3 at Plant Paradise Country Gardens in Caledon was a lovely event on a beautiful summer’s day. Hosts Lorraine and Robb Roberts had everything organized for the garden luncheon and talk. Guests first strolled past the lavish nursery beds and display gardens and then gathered under a white tent at dining tables decked with vases of delphinium bouquets. A light, fresh lunch was provided by Léna Valliquette of Tea Boutique in Caledon East.
We were pleased to see some friends and acquaintances who had come to Delphinium Day after reading our feature interview with Lorraine in our summer issue. After lunch there was an informative presentation about growing delphiniums by Christine Gill of the Ontario Delphinium Club. After a flurry of questions from the audience, there were draws for gardening prizes. Mike was lucky enough to win a new compost holder, which he promptly gave to me as I’m more of a gardener than he is. He prefers to plant native species of trees and shrubs.
Delphinium Day ended with each guest choosing a potted Asiatic Lily to take home. This event is a must for gardeners who’re fond of delphiniums, but it’s a lovely way to spend a Saturday even if all you want is to enjoy a stunning flower garden at a peak season. One of their spectacular flower beds is in one of Mike’s photos that are in rotation at the top of this page.
For information on next year’s Delphinium Day, you can contact the Roberts. For more about delphiniums grown at Plant Paradise Country Gardens, see “Delphinium: Queen of Perennials” in our summer issue. It will appear online at this website soon.
If you grow delphiniums, what’s your secret? What other memorable gardens have you seen?
Front Yard Gardens by Liz Primeau
August 22nd 2010 
Front Yard Gardens: Growing More Than Grass is a revised edition of a previous book. Author Liz Primeau has updated and expanded on her previous collection of gardens, and is finding a whole new audience. I’m one of them, having missed seeing the first edition.
I love this book! The photographs are plentiful, large and inspiring. The captions are extensive and informative, highlighting and explaining what is shown.
Keeping up with the quality of the photos and captions is the text of the book. Primeau was the founding editor of Canadian Gardening magazine and writes in a style that is both engaging and educational. She tells the stories behind the many real-life gardens that are featured, exploring how each front garden evolved to take its current form. Some of the gardens are in the Niagara Escarpment communities of Dundas and Oakville. [And Hamilton as well, I noticed later.]
I read this book front to back, then skimmed the garden stories in reverse order, and frequently dip in again to study the beautiful photos and captions. Oh, for time, money and energy enough to create a garden like these!
If you like houses and gardens, get this book.
Firefly Books, 2010, $24.95
How do you describe your front yard?
Gardening in Fall
November 18th 2009 The weather is gorgeous right now, sunny but cool, no bugs, no harsh wind…perfect for some of the harder chores that are too uncomfortable on hot, humid days. I’m enjoying turning my compost pile, collecting the finished brown, fluffy compost and raking it into my bare vegetable beds. I’ve done some weeding. There’s tons to do in my perennial flower bed, but my vegetable beds aren’t too bad at the moment.
I’ve transplanted some lavender to what I hope will be a warmer corner of the herb garden. I’m adding cedar rails where I need to build up the edges of my raised beds. I’ve raked up some of the apples under the trees on my front lawn. I’ve pulled out some of the periwinkle where it was escaping into a woodlot. The stuff is invasive and a threat to wildflowers, so I’ve turned off it.
I’ve been stacking firewood and breaking dead brush into bushel baskets as kindling. I’ve even raked some sawdust and bark and deposited it where I need fill to be able to ride the tractor mower.
These lovely days somewhat make up for the poor summer we had. Are you doing any fall gardening?
Erin’s Garden Tour and a Connection to Erin Radio
July 13th 2009Erin Horticultural Society held its garden tour on Saturday, and my sister Barbara, who’s a member of the Society, treated me to a ticket. It took most of the day to visit six gardens located in the village of Erin and the surrounding countryside. There was a good variety of gardens, from formally groomed small spaces to rambling properties with a pond or a river running through. Each owner was attentive and generously guided us around, patiently answering our questions, which must have been asked repeatedly by many.
Our favourite garden was one that looked like an English cottage garden. With hardly any lawn, it was crammed full of colourful blooming plants and had stone and brick walkways winding invitingly through it. It was a garden to explore and was utterly charming, but we both recognized how much work it would take.
Because I’m an animal lover, I was delighted to see a pet crow in one of the gardens. Erin Montgomery is a bird expert and is involved in rehabilitating wild birds, but Russel (Crowe – get it?) cannot fly and so cannot live in the wild. I was able to have him perch on my bare arm and stroke his back.
The real revelation was seeing Erin handle him. She brought him close to her chest and he laid his head against her, positively snuggling up for her petting. Who knew a bird could adore a human so?
I discovered that Erin broadcasts a daily program on Erin Radio, appropriately enough, and now I have an appointment to give her an interview about Escarpment Views! You never know where you’ll meet fascinating people who can contribute to your life.
Which garden tours do you follow, or what’s your favourite garden style?
