Hello Canadian Gardeners

What a wonderful summer I had! I travelled through the West with my mother, Dorothy, and we saw the most spectacular gardens. I went to one in Ontario with my husband, then did three on my own near Niagara, then travelled east by car with my younger daughter, Claire, and all of these with my camera to capture the gardens you’ll see in this magazine. I have the best job.

My conscience niggles that I need to come clean: I didn’t get to Newfoundland and Labrador this summer, and more is the shame for me because I have never been. But I’ll be flying there for sure next summer, and meanwhile, the incomparable Todd Boland from the Memorial University Botanical Gardens is writing a couple of garden stories from there.

Three of the gardens I visited are in this issue. Stephanie Rose is a writer and the driving force behind the website GardenTherapy.ca. Mom and I had a lovely visit to her home and garden in Vancouver in June and thrilled to see how she fits so much in such a limited space, and how she does it so beautifully. We also visited Doyle Piwniuk’s garden in Virden, Manitoba. Doyle is a tree man (and a Member of the Legislative Assembly) and the way he knits together his collection is spectacular. Finally, Claire and I visited Francis Bird in Charlottetown and we thoroughly enjoyed the unassuming, restful joy of his garden. I feel honoured to have been welcomed to these people’s havens.

Now, the first thing you will find in this issue is a feature on clematis, a genus with a dizzying variety of flowers. We also have a feature on garlic from maritimegardening. com’s Greg Auton, and one on bleeding hearts from Todd Boland. There are shorter pieces on keeping rosemary alive inside and preparing your soil for the winter. Tree expert Michael Rosen gives various tips on how to tell evergreens apart, and I look into some of the giant wasps—both stinging and non-stinging—you may see in your garden. We also have the first-person story of Linda Crabtree and how her garden came to be despite her disability. If this magazine tells me anything, it’s that you can do whatever you put your mind to.

Finally, I’m pleased to announce that Canada’s Local Gardener has been selected as the English magazine partner for Year of the Garden 2022. Watch Canada’s Local Gardener for more news about this very special year. We have a couple of surprises to come!

Shauna Dobbie

Editor

shauna@pegasuspublications.net