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Hana Earth Gardens, 80 Lillington Avenue, Toronto, ON (2026)

06/12/2026

Allium christophii has just started blooming in my garden!

Also known as 'Star of Persia', this is a bit unusual Allium, not so tight ball shape like regular Alliums 'Purple Sensation'.

I already talked about this Allium before
https://www.instagram.com/p/DN0rEjkYnlC/?img_index=1

but if you want different Alliums, this is a great variety.

Another good variety is Allium siculum, Sicilian Honey Garlic (which I offered bulbs before) but I do not offer the seed.

I just found I have more volunteered Allium chiristophii in my garden, might be grown from its seeds!

Light lavender blooms look a bit smokey and really beautiful, maybe not as flashy as other Alliums but they have this elegant presence.

Allium 'Purple Sensation' is done in my garden and probably other Alliums (like 'Mount Everest') are in your garden, too, but that doesn't mean Allium season's over!

If you love Alliums, add more different types and varieties to extend the Allium seasons for you to enjoy!

Garlic Chives are also in the Allium family (Allium tuberosum), too.
Or Ontario native, Nodding Onion (Allium cernuum).

And as I said, I do offer Allium christphii seed!

There are only a few left, so order now!
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/product/allium-christophii-seed-15-seeds/ZRJKRNDIGTQNYCGCI6XU6BVZ

I'm not sure if I do another bulb sale this fall, what do you think? Should I do it?

*Please note I can't give you advice individually here, if you need more help, please consider purchasing my garden coaching service

***

Please if you can, shop local and support small businesses!

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

06/11/2026

I said that we needed to fix our front steps this spring so the area next to the steps needed to be replanted.

I don't buy new plants much anymore but there was the exception!
Oh I know, I know, I can hear you saying 'Here you go!'😆😉
But hear me out!

I had the native clematis Clematis virginiana or Virgin's Bower next to the steps and let the plant to climb over the railings.

But the canes are cut (I tried to protect, though) and unfortunately I suspect it might not come back.
So I got another plant.

I love climbing plants, including clematis.
I tried several different kinds, thinking this area is good for them, the root area is shaded but it's sunny enough for the top.
But most of the clematis varieties didn't last long.

So several years I go, I planted Virgin's Bower.
This plant is great, there is a very similar looking clematis called Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora) and this is quite popular.

But Sweet Autumn Clematis is an invasive plant, so choose Virgin's Bower instead!

The differences between these two are:

Virgin's Bower
-Leaves are edgy (pointy)
-No scent

Sweet Autumn Clematis
-Leaves are smooth (more round)
-Has sweet scent

Also Virgin's Bower usually blooms earlier than Sweet Autumn Clematis.

I have to confess, I used to have Sweet Autumn Clematis, I didn't know the invasiveness of the plant back then and also didn't know about Virgin's Bower, either.

Luckily (you could say) my Sweet Autumn Clematis was gone after other shrubs and trees shaded the planted area, by then I started learning about native plants so I got Virgin's Bower instead but planted in a different area.

Just like any clematis, Virgin's Bower might take 2-3 years to mature and give you lots of flowers, but once it's established, it's fairy easy to care, it belongs to the pruning group 3, so you can give the plant a hard pruning in spring.

In my experiences Virgin's Bower grows quite long but not too aggressively, and covering our front step railings nicely.

So if you're thinking of getting Sweet Autumn Clematis, get Virgin's Bower instead!

*Sorry, I do not offer the Virgin's Bower seed or plant.

06/10/2026

Do you see anything blooming that you started from seeds for this season?

Chickling Pea or Grass Pea (Lathyrus sativus) is already blooming now, which I started the seeds indoors early April.

Chickling Pea isn't well known but this is a great ornamental annual (although it's probably more known as an agricultural cover crop for nitrogen fixation, etc.), if you like blue flowers, try this unusual plant!

It is in the same family as Sweet Pea but there's no scent unfortunately, but still a great annual, very easy to grow from seeds.

I did the 'pre-sprouting' the seeds as usual, then transplanted the germinated seeds into a container and kept it until mid May to plant outdoors.

I believe you can probably plant the Chickling Pea outside earlier just like the regular Sweet Peas, though.

They actually started blooming indoors by the time I planted them out!

So this is a good annual if you want to see the flowers early, although the seeds need to start indoors, direct sowing outdoors might delay the blooming time.

Chickling Pea is also easier to grow than Sweet Peas.

Sweet Peas aren't difficult to grow from seeds, either but sometimes they're finicky but Chickling Pea isn't, has better germination rates and growing faster overall.

It's also a great container plant, use as a trailing plant!

You can find the seed here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/product/sweet-peas-lathyrus-sativus-chickling-pea-10-seeds/529

*Please note I can't give you advice individually here, if you need more help, please consider purchasing my garden coaching service

***

Please if you can, shop local and support small businesses!

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

06/05/2026

Allium 'Purple Sensation' season in my garden!

Believe it or not, my front garden isn't really full sun now with some trees and shrubs but still 'Purple Sensation' is doing great!

So it can take some shade, but definitely some sun.

I gradually started with some bulbs and it just multiplied, plus I added some leftover bulbs from my bulb sale over the years.

This time is a bit of odd time for garden, I think, most of the spring bulbs are done but kind of too early for most of the showy perennials to bloom.

Columbines are blooming but I think I need to sow more seeds as they look less blooming this year.

There are also Geum, Bluestar.

Tree peony's short blooming time is already over, now waiting for herbaceous peony to bloom.

But mainly other than the Purple Sensation, it's predominantly green, so thank goodness for the Purple Sensation for the good display!

As I said this before, usually planting bulbs is the way to go with Alliums but if you don't mind waiting or save money, you can start Alliums from seeds.

I have Allium 'Purple Sensation' and Allium christophii seeds.

You can find the seeds here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/shop/allium-seeds/NZNVCQH2HDST42BEMLQ7G75Q

*Please note I can't give you advice individually here, if you need more help, please consider purchasing my garden coaching service

***

Please if you can, shop local and support small businesses!

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

06/02/2026

More about Echinops (for both Blue and White verieties):

Echinops (Globe Thistle) aren't fussy about soil, actually prefer poor soil rather than nutrient rich soil.

Usually prefers well drained soil.

Once established, they're quite drought tolerant.

As the common name 'Globe Thistle' suggests, both the flower and leaves are prickly, so be aware!

Echinops are kind of hard to transplant with the taproot, so be careful when you divide.

Or better yet, why not try growing from the seeds?

When you sow the seeds, insert vertically into the soil rather than laying it down horizontally.

Keep the top of the seed exposed and not totally buried.

This makes better germination for me, so try this way.

You can find Echinops seeds (both Blue & White) here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/shop/echinops-globe-thistle/228

*Please note I can't give you advice individually here, if you need more help, please consider purchasing my garden coaching service

***

Please if you can, shop local and support small businesses!

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

06/01/2026

White Echinops (Globe Thistle) is one of the perennials self seeds well in my garden.

It's kind of funny that the regular Blue Echinops doesn't self seed, or rather usually doesn't last too long in my garden and disappears after several years but this White version of Echinops stays for years and years and slowly multiplying.

Anyway, this White Echinops is very handsome, photogenic plant.

The Blue Echinops might not be everyone's favourite due to that silvery blue colour (I love it though) but this White Echinops is more discreet and easier to blend in the garden, in my opinion.

It's because even though I'm calling this 'White Echinops', the flowers are green and they turn into white as they age.

It's still very attractive and since it gets tall (even though usually listed about 3ft but in my garden it gets taller, about 4ft), it can be a nice focal/statement plant but not so 'in your face' way.

It also attracts lots of pollinators!

You can find the seed here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/product/echinops-ritro-globe-thistle-white-20-seeds/1967

*Please note I can't give you advice individually here, if you need more help, please consider purchasing my garden coaching service

***

Please if you can, shop local and support small businesses!

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

05/29/2026

Another good annual groundcover is Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia).

Other common names are Bee's Friend, Lacy Phacelia, Tansy Phacelia, Purple Tansy.

As one of the common names suggests, it's a wonderful pollinator plant, also very easy to grow from seeds.

It's also a good cover crop plant for veggie gardeners, as well!

But this is also a wonderful plant for non veggie gardeners, it's fast growing, improves soil structure, not fussy about the soil (but prefers well drained soil).

The light purple flowers are nice but they turn into kind of quirky shape, so some people might not like this plant but this is a very interesting annual!

The foliage is like Tansy's, a bit prickly and I heard some people might experience skin irritation so be cautious. (I've never had any problems, though)

Even though the foliage looks like Tansy, it doesn't have any smells, so don't worry if you wonder if it smells like Tansy.

If you never tried this plant, try it!

You can find the seed here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/product/phacelia-phacelia-tanacetifolia-30-seeds/640

Have a wonderful weekend!

*Please note I can't give you advice individually here, if you need more help, please consider purchasing my garden coaching service

***

Please if you can, shop local and support small businesses!

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

05/28/2026

For me, this is the time I start thinking about 'what to do with my garden' when I look at my garden.
I mean, I actually start thinking earlier but more site specifically since now more plants are emerging and some bare spots are more noticeable.

I talk about groundcovers quite a lot, because I love them, they're hardworking plants usually overlooked.

But most of the time they're perennials but there are some good annual groundcovers you can start from seeds.

Linaria maroccana is sometimes called Toadflax, which doesn't sound attractive but this is a cute annual, looks a bit like snapdragon.

It gets up to 24" but usually shorter, about 12".
It looks more airy and delicate than short snapdragon flowers and it likes cool weather.

Purple with yellow bicolour flowers are common but there are more colour ranges.

If you're looking for something to fill early gardening season, try this annual!

Cutting back the plants after initial flowering might encourage blooming again.
It might self seed.

There is a perennial variety, Linaria vulgaris (Yellow Toadflax) and this plant might be invasive but the annual Linaria maroccana isn't the same plant.

You can find the annual Linaria Mixed seeds here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/product/linaria-mixed-50-seeds/2249

*Please note I can't give you advice individually here, if you need more help, please consider purchasing my garden coaching service

***

Please if you can, shop local and support small businesses!

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

05/27/2026

Another easy to grow from seeds annual is Ageratum (Ageratum houstonianum), the common name is Floss flower.

You might think Ageratum is a bedding plant, but there are taller varieties such as what I'm offering.

It gets to 2ft but in my garden it's usually about 1-1.5ft.

The light blue flowers are common but there are also dark red, pink and white.

You can enjoy different looks of the flowers, as the common name suggests, the flowers first look like buttons then they turn into more fuzzy looking later on.

The fluffy seed head looks like a mini dandelion.

Usually direct sow in the ground isn't recommended but what I usually do is direct seed in containers.

Although Ageratum isn't listed as invasive in Ontario, it might grow aggressively (I've never had any issues, though) so you might want to keep the plants in containers.

You can use the flowers for cutting, also the seeds are easy to collect as well.

You can find the seeds here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/shop/ageratum/14

*Please note I can't give you advice individually here, if you need more help, please consider purchasing my garden coaching service

***

Please if you can, shop local and support small businesses!

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

05/26/2026

More easy to grow from seeds annual!

Coreopsis tinctoria (Plains Coreopsis or Tickseed) is very easy and pretty much carefree, cheerful annual.

Maybe not as popular as other annuals but this is way more easier to grow than like Zinnia or Sunflowers.

The seeds are small and the animals don't seem to care much about the seedlings.

It's not fussy about the soil, a great for containers as well.

It has cute yellow flowers with dark red centre, some flowers have pale yellow petals.

And even they're yellow flowers, they don't look garish or anything, since the flowers are small, about an inch and look more delicate.

It can get tall like 3ft but in a container, it's about 1-1.5ft.

It's a nice garden plant and for cut flowers as well!

You can direct seed, simply sprinkle the seeds and you'll see nice flowers in 2 months or so.

Deadhead so the flowers keep coming!

Don't worry, the common name 'Tickseed' doesn't mean anything to do with the ticks, it refers to the shape of the seed which resembles a bug or tick, so it doesn't attract ticks.

So this might be a perfect annual for beginners!
That's why it's in my 'Beginner Easy to Grow Mixes'.

If you never tried this cute annual, try!
It's not even too late to start the seeds now!

You can find the seed here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/product/coreopsis-tinctoria-mixed-30-seeds/667

*Please note I can't give you advice individually here, if you need more help, please consider purchasing my garden coaching service

***

Please if you can, shop local and support small businesses!

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

Hana Earth Gardens

06/12/2026

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06/10/2026

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Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 5pm