I travelled to Canada earlier this month. In a country where the weather is so extreme, you wouldn’t think that anything interesting is growing at this time of year – but you would be wrong!
I managed to spot lots of unique and inspiring gardening styles – and here are 9 that got me really excited…
1. Wildflower combos
I simply couldn’t get enough of this Canadian native flower colour combo, the rich purple of Aster with the playful yellow of Solidago. I got to thinking about how we could emulate this in our own gardens, it works really well. Liatris with Doronicum, perhaps?
2. Chrysanthemums and Pennisteum
These blew my mind, and it took me a while to work out how they were made! Apparently, the containers are pre planted with Pennisteum grass plugs when very young, surrounded by Chrysanthemums, which later develops into a fantastic fireworks concept!
3. Euphorbia and Ivy
4. Glass gem corn
As everywhere in North America, fall (also known as autumn to us) is celebrated widely. Decorations are placed outside the home, and lots of chrysanthemums are on sale this time of year, plus gourds, pumpkins AND these fantastic Glass Gem Corn!
5. Huge Hostas
Hosta, in bloom, off the scale! Barely troubled by slugs too. What a dream world!
6. Mosaic gardening
7. Innovative containers
In a lot of the planting around Niagara area, there is a great deal of innovation, especially with containers. Who would’ve dreamt that Parsley could be used as a filler??
8. Roses as powdery mildew indicator
9. Unusual bedding choices
Michael has been involved with gardening and plants since he was just five years old. He is a self-professed Plant Geek, and was listed in the Sunday Times top 20 most influential people in the gardening world, thanks to his plant hunter role at Thompson & Morgan.
Michael was responsible for new plant introductions such as the Egg and Chips plant and the FuchsiaBerry and keeps busy travelling the world in search of new plants as well as lecturing worldwide, including stints in Japan. He is very active on social media – so why not give him a follow at @mr_plantgeek or Facebook – and writes a plant-focused Substack called Grow This, Not That.
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