Flowers are the trademarks of my Country Home and Blooms Instagram account. No wonder some of the arrangements crafted with peony flowers from my garden are among my followers’ favorites. In no particular order… See this publication on Instagram A publication shared by Céline| Country Home & Blooms (@countryhomeandblooms) See

I choose “Love Me” in “Love-me / Love-me-not”! As a child, my favorite flower was the common daisy of the uncultivated fields. Resilient even in the streets and alleys of urban Montreal where I grew up, the oxeye daisy _ or marguerite in French_ originating from Europe and Asia has

The result of crossing herbaceous peonies and tree peonies, Itoh peonies also called intersectional peonies combine the best features of both: [Top photo: Paeonia ‘Impossible Dream’ in my garden] Named for Toichi Itoh, the Japanese peony breeder who first succeeded in hybridizing them, Itoh varieties are not as numerous as

Think about solutions including plastic strips and DIY metal markers and printed labels. Every fall and spring it happens again. Raking leaves from the gardens, I find them, the little plastic tags with pretty pictures or not, half broken and sometimes faded. They are the precious common and scientific names

It may take one or two years for newly planted peonies to establish themselves and bloom. Sometimes one has to wait for the third year for them to become prolific bloomers. Here is a photo recap of some of the lovely herbaceous cultivars blooming for the first time in the

Why and when preparing your garden for the Winter months This Fall has been glorious for gardening. Not only was it mostly sunny, it was also unbelievably warm, hitting quite a few temperature records. Nonetheless, I am always behind yard work, so many things to do before our long and

A retrospective gallery about my garden We acquired our nearly 6-acres, semi-wooded property in equestrian country West of Montréal, Québec, 7 years ago. Since then, in the respect of the existing landscape punctuated by magnificent specimens of mature trees, we are creating a country-style garden, while pursuing our respective passions:

The graceful foxgloves are an interesting choice for a shade border. Here are the pros and cons for growing them. Foxgloves, Digitalis purpurea, are ornamental plants hardy in zone 4-9. Typically biennials, they form a basal rosette of leaves the first year and will send long floral stems the second

The best companion plants for a peony border Is peony season too short for you and you are worried to dedicate a border to peonies only? First, plan to buy peonies that are early to late season bloomers. And then carefully add bulbs, annuals and perennials to your design. If

Display fresh cut flowers with a vintage flair. Here are some more examples of my arrangements from Instagram in this second part of Out of the glass vase 1. Served cold in soup tureens Soup tureens are the easiest to transform into country style vases because they are usually low.

2021 was a consolidating year in my garden with many new projects 1. The peony borders More is better  I am beginning my review the same way I did last year: My love for peonies grew much more again this Summer! I started the Spring by enlarging (twice) 2 of

At the invitation of gardening guru Linda Vater, I realized a little mid-June tour on YouTube. In this 7 minutes long video, I present the borders of hostas under the shade of mature maple trees and then talk about the different types of peonies I grow in the sun. I

5 tips that will help extend the dahlia blooming season 1. Deadheading Pruning spent flowers will boost more flowering. Your dahlia should use its energy to produce floral buds instead of seeds How to: Spent flowers have a pointy shape while the coming floral buds are round and somewhat leaning

Did you know you may extend your peony season by choosing early to late bloomers? Peonies are surely the symbols of the late Spring cottage garden. In zones 3-8, peonies are perennials blooming over a period of 6 weeks, starting in April up to mid-July, and even later, depending where

Use chicken wire to build an overflowing cottage style peony arrangement I’ve been asked many times how I construct some arrangements with chicken wire as a flower holder. Chicken wire is durable, recyclable and a great alternative to floral foam which in fact is petroleum derived material and which decomposes