Events You Won’t Want to Miss!
International Garden Festival
Grand-Métis, Quebec
June to September
The International Garden Festival is recognized as one of the most important events of its kind in North America.
Canada Blooms
Toronto, Ontario
March
Canada’s largest garden show.
Philadelphia Flower Show
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Now in summer!
The world’s largest indoor plant show.
Chelsea Flower Show
London, England
May
The most famous flower show in the world.
Hampton Court Palace Flower Show
London, England
July
The world’s grandest summer flower show!
Great Gardening Information
A great source of gardening information and host of the All-America Selections.
A plant sales web site that offers practical information on a whole range of plants. Check it out and you’ll see!
A curated weekly garden newsletter with some of the very best articles from the top gardening blogs and magazines.
A very handy blog about houseplant care and propagation.
A nursery offering a wide range of plants in just about every category—trees, shrubs, perennials, seeds, bulbs—as well as services gardeners will appreciate, plus a wealth of gardening information.
The Laidback Gardener is a member of:
GardenComm
Formerly the Garden Writers Association
An international association of garden writers and communicators that holds an annual symposium and garden visits in different parts of North America.
The Laidback Gardener’s Favourite Gardens
Roger-Van den Hende Botanical Garden
A small botanical garden, part of Laval University in Quebec City. I give it extra Brownie points because it is only minutes away from my home. It features over 4,000 species and cultivars grouped by family connections. It features a water garden, a herbacetum, a rhododendron garden and a rose garden.
North America’s premier botanical garden comprising 190 acres of thematic gardens and greenhouses and a collection of more than 20,000 plants.
Renowned as one of the most beautiful gardens in North America, the Domaine Joly-De Lotbinière is an immense romantic garden-park dating back to the mid-19th century. An oasis of peace and beauty, the Domaine now boasts 15 thematic gardens featuring over 2,200 varieties of plants.
The Reford Gardens (Jardins de Métis) are recognized as one of Canada’s outstanding horticultural attractions. They were created between 1926 and 1958 by an avid gardener, Elsie Reford. Visitors can admire the splendours of some 3,000 varieties of native and exotic plants. Every year, the Gardens host the International Garden Festival.
Canada’s Garden Route is the most comprehensive listing of Canadian gardens and garden experiences. If you’re planning to stop in and visit some of the finest examples of horticulture the country has to offer, this is the website that will help you find the perfect garden experience you’re looking for.
For over 30 years now I have travelled the world looking for the planet’s most extraordinary gardens… and this is my favourite! Absolutely the best garden to visit, anywhere! Everything you’ve ever wanted to see in a garden all in one place.
East Ruston Old Vicarage Garden
I’ve visited well over a hundred gardens in Great Britain over the last 30 years, but this privately owned garden is my favourite. The innovative landscaping and unusual plants mean there is something for every gardener.
Plant nuts will go wild over this garden, which houses more different plants (over 30,000) than any other in the world. Only the Montreal Botanic Gardens even comes close! Every time I go to England, I spend a few days here, yet I still haven’t seen it all!
I’ve seen tropical gardens galore in my travels, but this one beats all the others by far. Lots of exotic gardens, including a butterfly garden in the shape of a butterfly, plus a huge collection of tropical plants. They’ve even recreated Stonehenge… but in living colour! Wow!
With your sharing, I can find out many useful information. Thanks.
Truly enjoy your practical info…
Trying to recall your advice for,killing tree stumps. Remember the drilling & plastic covering, but not what to put into the drill holes. Would you mind a repeating this part of this handy tip?
Here you go: You can easily and inexpensively rot a stump away with a commercial stump remover, available in just about any hardware store. Start by drilling holes into the stump at least ¼ inch (1.25 cm) in diameter and about 8 to 12 inches (20 to 30 cm) deep, then fill the holes with the product. They’re generally rich nitrogen and that stimulates natural bacteria to work extra hard and thus rot the stump away.
Most stump destructors these days are just potassium nitrate (KNO3), a highly concentrated synthetic fertilizer. If it were sold in its natural form, the product would be labeled saltpeter, a naturally mined mineral, and you could get away with calling it an organic product, but these days, potassium nitrate is generally made synthetically, so no dice. If you do object to synthetic chemicals, anything rich in nitrogen will do the job. Some people simply use blood meal.
Add water to the holes, following the manufacturer’s instructions, and keep the stump moist afterwards (covering it with a tarpaulin or pail will help). When the wood becomes soft and spongy, which can take 4 to 6 weeks (a year or more for blood meal), you’ll need to work the stump over with an ax or a crowbar, removing it chunk by chunk. Often, people will burn what remains of the stump (see the following point).
Thank you!
I appreciate you taking the time to repeat the info.
Very helpful!