Niki Jabbour's Blog, page 63

Unique vegetables to grow in your garden

Our vegetable garden is a flavorful mixture of traditional crops like carrots, tomatoes, and beans with unusual vegetables like snake gourds, cucamelons, and burr gherkins. I’m always encouraging gardeners to try something new in their veggie patch as there are so many unique vegetables to grow in raised beds, in-ground gardens, and containers.  In my [&hellip

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Bulb-planting design tips and inspiration from the Keukenhof gardens

After our long Canadian winters, early spring usually sees me heading outside in the yard every day to see which spring bulbs have bloomed since the day before. They’re among my favourite flowers because they are harbingers of the growing season. In Lisse, a town in the Netherlands, about seven million flower bulbs bloom each [&hellip

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Evergreen groundcover plants: 20 choices for year-round interest

Groundcovers are low-growing plants that serve many different purposes in the landscape. They limit weed growth, stabilize slopes, and add interest and texture to your yard. Plus, unlike lawn, groundcover plants don’t have to be mowed. However, in colder climates, many groundcovers die back and go dormant during the winter months. This leaves the ground [&hellip

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Learn how to garden with a cold frame

When I first started experimenting with season extension, I discovered that a cold frame is an invaluable tool in a vegetable garden. Our cold frames allow us to jump-start the spring harvest months before most gardeners begin to sow seeds and stretch our harvest throughout winter. If you want tips on how to garden with [&hellip

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Harvesting winter squash

Some crops, like leaf lettuce, are quick to go from seed to harvest. Others, like winter squash need a full season to mature. But they’re worth the wait! When I begin harvesting winter squash, everyone loves to help. It’s fun to see the rainbow of colors, shapes, and sizes of the many varieties we grow.  [&hellip

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How to get rid of moles in your yard and garden

Discovering small, volcano-shaped mounds of soil in your lawn may at first lead you to believe a massive colony of ants has set up shop in your yard. Or that your neighbor’s kid did a really poor job trying to bury his latest report card. But those hills of freshly dug dirt aren’t the result [&hellip

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Colorful shrubs for season-long beauty in the garden

There’s no doubt about it, flowers are lovely. But for true season-long interest in the garden, the best shrubs don’t just produce pretty flowers. They also have foliage that offers a burst of color and texture for months on end. Today, we’ve teamed up with the good folks at Bloomin’ Easy Plants to introduce you [&hellip

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Fall-blooming flowers for long-lasting colour in the garden

Sometimes it’s hard to think ahead in the garden. In the spring, we’re wooed by all the lovely flowers at the garden centre after a petal-less winter. But with a little planning, it’s possible to have consistent blooms in the garden from spring through to the first frost—or snow!—in the fall. Of course, annuals always [&hellip

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Plant a fall vegetable garden with these hardy crops

Do you want to grow more food and extend the harvest for as long as possible? If so, I suggest you plant a fall vegetable garden. Fall is THE time to grow a rainbow of hardy greens, fast-growing root crops, and autumn superstars like scallions, broccoli, and kohlrabi. However, it’s important to note that while the harvest takes [&hellip

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Garden spider: A welcome friend or a scary foe?

A fully grown garden spider can be an intimidating sight. Often spotted in the landscape when they reach maturity in late summer, these big, black and yellow spiders and their large, circular webs are hard to miss. They almost seem to appear overnight. But, despite their intimidating appearance, garden spiders are good guys who deserve [&hellip

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