LittleTree Garden Market

06/01/2026

To our senior gardeners, we continue to learn from you, and we salute you.

June is Seniors Month!

Throughout the entire month of June, the Victoria Park Seniors Centre will be hosting multiple events and workshops to celebrate the seniors in our community.

Visit www.centrewellington.ca/VPSC for more information on these events.

05/30/2026

PDB Favourites Series

Spigelia ‘Little Red Head’ is PDB’s best selling shade perennial. Native to Eastern North America, this stunning beauty offers blue green foliage topped with jewel red trumpet shaped flowers that culminate with a bright yellow star.

It enjoys a slightly moist location in partial shade. When in bloom it is a hummingbird magnet. This is definitely a case of do as I say, not as I do because red and yellow are PDB’s least favourite garden colours, but he makes a huge exception for this beauty. Take one of PDB’s all time favourites home for your woodland garden today.

05/30/2026

PDB Favourites Series

Optunia humifusa (oops, even PDB can mess up a name!) is also known as the native Prickly Pear. Endemic to limestone outcroppings, it requires super well draining soil as it is essentially a Cactus.

Bright sunlight is also key to its success. It will flower, producing bright yellow flowers followed by fruit that tastes similar to watermelon (and not pear as its common name suggests. PDB suggests growing it in a pot and bringing it inside for the winter where it attain incredible flat, pancake like growth habits. Or leave it outside where the ‘pads or pancakes’ often break off and root to create new plants.

05/30/2026

PDB Favourites Series

Thalictrum delavayi ‘Splendide’ is one of PDB’s all time faves. With delicate lacy foliage that reminds you of Maidenhair ferns, these two majestic beauties can grow to a staggering 3m in height so will require staking. Tall, hollow stems culminate in hundreds of small balloon like flowers that open to reveal four delicate petals with a delightful golden boss of stamens.

The pink variety is the tallest while the pristine white variety tends to grow about half as tall. Both prefer dappled shade with humus enriched soil. PDB uses an obelisk to help protect those tall hollow stems from breaking if planted in a windy situation. PDB recommends using Compost Plus and Root Rescue when planting.

05/30/2026

PDB Favourites Series:

If you’re as shady as PDB, you simply must grow Epimedium. These two selections are both hard to find and are you-know-who’s favourites.

Epimedium ‘Sandy Claws’ has the longest, spiniest foliage ever. Bruised purple mottling appears on the leaves as they emerge, with tiny yellow flowers that float in wiry stems.

Epimedium ‘Domino’ also has those long, elliptical leaves, heavily mottled with purple ‘bruising’ as they emerge in Spring. Near black wiry stems hold literally hundreds of ‘claw’ shaped flowers that are cream with a plum centre. This one is a rebloomer making it an exception within the genus.

Both plants prefer rich, loamy soil in part shade. Their shallow root system allows them to form colonies when happy, but they are easily divided and transplanted. Since the foliage is evergreen, PDB recommends cutting back the foliage in the Fall, which allows for the flower buds to emerge in the Spring without the fear of being cut off when removing any winter damaged foliage. Their shallow root new foliage emerges shortly thereafter. PSB recommends planting with Compost Plus and Root Rescue.

05/30/2026

PDB Favourites Series
Deutzia ‘Yuki Cherry Blossom is a diminutive variety with literally hundreds of pink buds that open to pink and white flowers. Prefers a bright sunny location with well draining soil. Overall height and spread is under 1m making it a perfect selection for the front of a border. PDB recommends Compost Plus and Root Rescue when planting.

05/28/2026

‼️ Another plant me instead post with yours truly PDB. We will NOT be carrying Buddleia aka butterfly shrub this season. Here are the reasons why:

Buddleia aka ‘Butterfly Bush,’ is another Chinese species that finds itself on a number of invasive lists. The other problem is that many of the newer hybrids are not reliably winter hardy in our area, making them an expensive annual !!!

Listed below are a few alternatives, many of them native to North America.

Physocarpus aka Ninebark can take sun or part shade, with flat clusters of flowers mid to late summer. A variety of cultivars with different heights and phenomenal coloured foliage.

Amelanchier canadensis is the native Serviceberry and offers elliptical foliage in early Spring followed by tiny white butterfly like flowers and lovely edible fruit in the Fall that cedar waxwings devour in minutes. Tree and shrub varieties available.

Clethra alnifolia aka ‘Summersweet’ is a deciduous shrub to 1m in height with long clusters of flowers mid to late summer. It is a lovely native selection that attracts pollinators and butterflies alike.

With the perennial choices, Liatris or ‘Blazing Star’ is a tall native selection with tall flowering stems that resemble a feather duster. There are many native species to choose from and are essential for butterflies and other pollinators.

Vernonia, aka New York Ironweed is a sublime, majestically tall late season plant with dark purple raceme like flowers that bloom August through October in the garden. Happiest in a meadow situation, this plant can colonize if given the opportunity.

Stop in and chat with PDB today about these and other alternative choices. Thank you for choosing plants that aren’t on the ever expanding invasive lists.

05/27/2026

A lot of herb problems start with cutting them the wrong way ✂️ These little harvesting habits help keep plants fuller for longer:
🌿 Basil: Pinch above a leaf node so it branches instead of turning tall and skinny.
🌱 Cilantro and parsley: Cut outer stems near the base and let the center keep growing.
🌾 Rosemary: Stick to green growth and avoid cutting hard into old woody stems.
🌿 Mint: Cut it back more boldly to keep it bushy and fresh.
🌱 Thyme: Light, regular trims are better than hacking the whole plant down at once.
My tip: I try to harvest herbs before they get too overgrown. Small regular cuts usually make the plant respond better than one big haircut.