Seasonal Gardening Guide

Summer-time bliss

Summer is a time to enjoy getting outside, feeling the sun on your face and the breeze against your skin. While time spent working on the garden can be relaxing and rewarding, it is good to have some time just to enjoy the fruits of your labour and all that nature has to offer. Find a quiet spot in the garden to sit quietly for a while and you will be amazed at the amount of activity going on. From a scurrying tiger beetle, to a surreptitious toad cooling off under a shady fern, to a colourful warbler flitting among the trees, nature has a whole host of entertainment to offer those who are patient enough to pay attention.

For that rare gloomy summer day we have put together some articles that will inspire ideas and allow you to enjoy both nature and gardening’s glory from the comfort of your home. Hopefully, our Feature Creature will pique your interest in the colourful rose-breasted grosbeak. If it does you will also find some great ideas for welcoming them to your garden. And if you really want to add some of nature’s beauty to your garden, be sure to check out our feature plant – Liatris. Its spectacular blooms draw the admiring attention of both human and wildlife visitors.

Prepare to get your hands dirty with our guest columnist this season, and learn more about vermicomposting– using worms to break down garbage. This squiggly topic is a fascinating one that shows that worms are not only a gardener’s best friend but great recyclers as well.

If you’re planning to travel this summer, peruse our feature garden for the ultimate destination vacation! This season’s feature is a wonderful property overlooking the Okanagan Lake in British Columbia. Built in a way that respected and maintained the natural features of the landscape, the owners’ care and admiration for nature is reflected in all aspects of the property. If taking a gander at the property online isn’t enough, you are in luck, because this garden also happens to belong to a bed and breakfast. Pack your bags!

For those of you who are lucky enough to own a shoreline property, our backyard habitat article focuses on what you can do to enhance your property for wildlife. With a little bit of effort you can ensure that days at the cottage are rewarded with lots of exciting wildlife encounters. After all, what would time at the shoreline be if it weren’t for the excitement of spotting the bright blue of a kingfisher as it hovers at the water’s edge, the relaxing call of frogs as dusk settles, or the haunting call of a loon echoing across the lake.

Kick off your summer right with this issue of Wild About Gardening!

Enjoy,