Welcome to the website dedicated to the creation of my garden Lilac Hill. Purchasing this 1/4 acre property in the fall of 2018 was very exciting, we loved the house located in the picturesque area of Mowat Bay, Powell River and the site had great potential for a really spectacular garden! This is the 3rd…
Dreaming of Wildflowers
Last year I had a very charming wildflower garden and for a small space it really grew a lot of flowers. This past winter I grew lots of sun-loving annuals from seed for the new, large wildflower area I am planning for the bottom of the hill. The area is about 10 feet by 20…
Seed Starting on Lilac Hill
I really love zinnia flowers so last year in a haste I dug some holes and dropped the seeds in, and nothing happened, not one seed germinated! It was too cold to direct sow the seeds. My dream of a garden full of zinnias was never realized. So this year after a winter of watching…
Early Spring in the Garden
Everyday I walk around the garden to enjoy all the plants in bloom and check to see which ones are starting to emerge, its so exciting to see those first new shoots poking out of the soil! One of the earliest plants to awaking from its winter rest is the rhododendron ‘Snow Queen’, its white…
2022 in Review
2022 was my 4th year gardening on this site. There was no garden to speak of when we moved in late summer 2018. The garden in 2022 had its highs and lows as all gardens do, a low point was I did not germinate the seeds I ordered properly so I had no zinnias and…
Fall Fireworks!
Wow! Has it ever been a busy past 6 months, we have worked every chance on the two new buildings on the property. We built a workshop with an attached storage room and a cute potting shed. We started breaking ground in May and now its October and both are almost winter ready. The garden…
The New Comers!
The climate in Powell River allows me to garden almost all year around. The only time I don’t work in the garden is for a month or so when the ground freezes hard. My favourite time of the year is early spring when I can put my winter plans in action. Summer is the time…
Poppies in the Wild Flower Bed
Last year I built a small bed where I could scatter wild flower seeds. The purpose is to grow plants to attract bees and butterflies and pollinating insects in general. With any wildflower mix you can expect a few surprises and this year a large variety of poppies came up. Poppies are by far the…
Turn off the Taps!
It has been raining hard for what seems forever! Some plants like the trees and shrubs are all big and green as the rain has gone deep into the soil. Most of my herbaceous plants and annuals for that matter would like the taps turned off! My tree peony was fantastic this year and I…
Ready for Red!
It’s the year to plant red in the garden, yet many gardeners including myself struggle with best how to use this strong colour in our plant combinations. Understanding the colour wheel is a great pace to start. The wheel consists of the colour spectrum and was designed into the wheel form in the late 17th…
A New Season Begins
Even though it’s still chilly here in Powell River every now and then the sun pops out and warms things up. The garden is really trying hard to get going but until its warmer plants are staying dormant, for now. We are going into our 4th gardening year on Lilac Hill. The first year and…
Gardening on Lilac Hill 