Sean and I walked 7 km on the Jones Creek Trails– my longest walk since the hip surgeries last year. Cool and sunny, easy to moderate terrain, with some incredible views from the north end of the Heron (red) trail. On our way back we encountered a huge group of redwing blackbirds in a valley, READ MORE
Blog
Wintersowing workshop Nov. 16
Many native plant species require cold, moist stratification (a period of cold, including freezing, temperatures) for their seeds to germinate. That’s our basic winter, full of danger for seeds that need to land on suitable soil, avoid drought and floods, and elude hungry birds, and other winter hazards. What if there was an easy way READ MORE
A Flowery Femme Fatale
by Bev Wagar Creeping bellflower tempts the courtyard residents. I wrote this story after an encounter with Campanula rapunculoides in a public garden at which I worked. In a well-intentioned attempt to fill gaps, fellow volunteers had planted some blue flowers they had found. Of course they had to be removed, but I was struck READ MORE
A gentle look at ruderals
By Beverley Wagar, 1000 Islands Master Gardeners This article was inspired by Lorraine Johnson’s online chat on November 27th 2025, part of the ongoing “Ask a Master Gardener” webinar series hosted by the 1000 Islands Master Gardeners. For the zoom link, sign up for the TIMG newsletter (opens in new tab). Say you’ve driven to READ MORE
“Mudding In” and other planting tips
It was in 2016 when I heard the term “mudding in” at a garden club meeting—and I haven’t heard it or read it since. It sounded odd, even made-up, but coming from a Master Gardener, “mudding in” demanded some research, which I did. Yes it’s for real. Likely a British thing, but a thing nonetheless. READ MORE
Resources for Ecological Gardeners
This is a work in progress. Last update: March 31, 2026 If you read just one thing, make it this short but comprehensive article in Connecticut Gardener magazine, by Kim Eiermanhttp://monarchawardshamilton.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Becoming-An-Ecological-Gardener.pdf Another more comprehensive read for the curious and skeptical: “The Basics of Ecological Landscaping” from the Ecological Landscape Alliancehttps://www.ecolandscaping.org/10/developing-healthy-landscapes/ecological-landscaping-101/the-basics-of-ecological-landscaping/ E. O. Wilson’s classic article READ MORE
The Plunk-and-Plop School of Gardening
This article originally appeared in the October 2022 issue of Cross Pollination, the newsletter of the Halton Region Master Gardeners. Late one evening in mid-September I was walking around my small urban garden with a plant in each hand, unaware that my husband was watching. “Looking for a place to plant those?” he asked. “Yup. READ MORE
The Orange Menace
by Bev Wagar Buckthorn foists himself on Hort Court. I wrote “The Orange Menace” in September 2025, during the Terrible Trump Times in the USA. Sean and I had just moved to Eastern Ontario, a short distance across the St. Lawrence River from upstate New York, which had overwhelmingly voted Republican. But what really motivated READ MORE
A pussy willow problem
I did it before I knew better. Or maybe it was a simple lack of willpower. Taking a cutting from a plant on public property is a no-no, but this was a pussy willow, a robust species that tolerates abuse and roots easily from cuttings. On the Bruce Trail near my home in Hamilton, Ontario, READ MORE
Watch out for weird worms
A slightly shorter version of this article was published in the May 2024 of North End Breezes, a community newspaper in Hamilton Ontario. 747 words © Beverley Wagar 2024 please email me for reprint permission. Jumping worms arrived in southern Ontario at least a decade ago and, since 2019, they’ve been writhing and chomping through READ MORE