Weeds, weeds, weeds ... it is difficult to keep up at this time of year.

As the ground begins to warm up and blossoms are everywhere, the Point starts to buzz again with arrival of cottagers and the opening up of their summer Shangri-las.

Right now in my cottage garden, food is still growing in the veggie patch.

Recently, a Garden Club member asked for advice on winter vegetable gardening.

Dear Santa: You know that I enjoy unwrapping gifts beneath the tree, but this year I have an unusual request.

I suspect every gardener heaves a little sigh of relief around this time of year as the last of the gardening tools are hung up in the shed for the winter.

People often ask me about composting and how to do it, so I thought that I'd take some time to share my thoughts on the matter.

Visiting other people’s gardens has its many pleasures; not least of which is that you can indulge in all the visual and sensory delight they offer without the accompanying work!

Summer is finally here! A springtime spent mulching, feeding and pruning grew a bounty of plant material in my little garden. The lushness can be truly overwhelming but must be dealt with, and it’s luxurious to have such a long list of garden chores.

With my garden springing to life, my thoughts have turned to things I wish I had never planted. Each gardener’s hate list is personal, and each of us should put some thought into what we might regret before we introduce a plant to our gardens. My personal blacklist is headed by plants that are not well-behaved.

A container garden can be a thing of wonder: a guest-welcoming visual feast for the eye, a curbside showstopper, a fresh culinary resource or the perfect décor for the summer deck. And May is the month to get it all started.

Have you been bitten by the gardening bug? Do you dream about your garden? Do perennial, seed and bulb catalogs top your favorite reading list? Does at least one reference to gardening sneak into any conversation with friends or family? I’ll personally confess to being guilty on all counts, and I used to wonder what caused this jolly obsession.

Heirloom plant … do you ever see that term in seed or plant catalogues? Does it bring back memories of grandmother’s garden? A cozy cottage? Seed and plant merchants use the term to describe plants grown in gardens in the first half of the last century.

I love hearing Brian Minter talk. Here we are in the grip of freezing temperatures, blistering rain, sunlight deprivation and the want of a beach vacation, while on the popular CBC’s noon hour show Brian is happily extolling the virtues of winter gardening.

The bones of my garden are visible now. The leaves have fallen from the deciduous trees and shrubs. Some perennials, if left for the birds, are spindly sticks topped by seed heads.

Do you have poor soil? Does your back complain as you bend over to garden? Are you eager to jump-start your garden in spring? One solution to these problems is raised bed gardening: the use of garden beds raised above the natural level of your garden.

The crisp, often warm sunny days of early fall are perhaps the very best for getting out into your garden and planning for the next season.

It's been a tough summer for red tomatoes. Find out how to turn green into red.

They’ve done it again. Deer, squirrels, mice or rabbits – it doesn’t matter. This winter, Point Roberts critters have chewed through 75% of the tulip bulbs planted in my little cottage garden. And, quite frankly, I can’t afford to indulge their expensive appetites.