Any Advice for Home Gardeners in the GTA?
Proper plant selection is key to the success of any garden. When a plant fails to thrive, or is overtaken by weeds, it was likely a poor choice for the existing (and future) soil, light and water conditions.
So how can we know what plants will succeed?
There are various factors involved in growing a happy plant, and unfortunately all these factors can't be placed into simple boxes such as climate zone, or sun/shade.
Garden soil varies, even from one neighbourhood to another in the same town. In most cases, the soil is whatever the builder used as fill after construction. If you don't have experience gardening, look in your own neighbourhood for what species are thriving in the same soil conditions (probably dense red clay, or, if closer to the lake, sand).
Are you saying that a garden should look like every other one on the street?
No. Get creative.
Create a layout that serves all your functional needs, then employ the elements of point, line, shape, form, space, colour & texture to create a design that considers balance, proportion, perspective, emphasis, movement, pattern, repetition, rhythm, variety, harmony & unity.
