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

Hana Earth Gardens, 80 Lillington Avenue, Toronto, ON (2025)

08/08/2025

Before you order the bulbs, check your garden pictures in spring or early summer when the bulbs were in bloom.

Note which bulbs were blooming well or not, then what you need more and where you want them.

Or if your garden doesn't have any bulbs or not enough bulbs, imagine where they'll look good.

Most of bulb plants need sun but if they're early spring blooming and there's no evergreen trees and shrubs or something shadowing the area, you could still plant some bulbs in half shade area.

I even planted some tulips and daffodils near the foot of some shrubs but they do fine because I know the shrubs don't leaf out yet by the time those tulips and daffodils are in bloom, so they get enough sun.

So think more like holistically, not just things in separate.

And of course, if you have a clay soil, you might want to amend the soil for the bulb planting.

Garden design with bulbs is a bit tricky because bulb plants are not visible all the time and when you buy more bulbs, they're all gone and you might have forgot where they are.

I used to have something called 'bulb map' which I meticulously recorded where the bulbs are in my garden, this is just a hand written map, nothing fancy that you need a software, but I needed to start over sometimes after some years, so it might be easier to do it digitally (sorry, I don't know which software is good for this, if you know, please share!)

I actually had another map that I recorded all the other plants like shrubs and perennials, this would help where to plant bulbs, thinking about the whole garden design.

Now we have a phone with camera and it made so much easier to record things with pictures, so you might not need this 'map' but it is very helpful, maybe you can even use these pictures and modified to add text.

In terms of design, try planting a cluster of the same variety of bulbs here and there like in a drift or scatter them all around in your garden, rather than have them in a straight line or row.

And as I said it before, keep it simple, your garden will look way better if you have the same variety in bulk, rather than all the different varieties in small quantities everywhere.

08/06/2025

More about Darwin Tulips and about my upcoming Bulb Sale.

Even though there are more Darwin Tulip varieties now, I only offer a small selection of Darwin Tulips that I personally like and these are tried and true varieties.

Darwin Tulips are first introduced in the 1950s, so they've been around for a while but it's only around last several years that more colours finally started developing and I don't know about the quality or true performance of these newer varieties.

There are, indeed, some new nice coloured varieties but I couldn't get much information about them.

I could, still just get them to offer but I don't really want to do it without knowing their performances.

So I'm sticking with the ones I know they do well.

Not just Tulips but with other bulbs like Alliums or Daffodils, I've tried many varieties and even though I do have my favourites mainly because of their looks, but if they don't perform well like not coming back for several years, then I don't offer them to my customers.

This is exactly why I don't have as many varieties that I used to offer, only 2 different Allium varieties and no daffodils this year.

I do love Daffodils but you can get them from all sorts of other places, so I don't feel like I need to offer them this year.

I want to keep my selection small and these are really the ones I can recommend for both performances and the looks.

More details and the order page will come later!

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

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

08/05/2025

I hope everyone had a wonderful long weekend!

Before I start introducing each bulb variety that I'll offer, I just want to talk about Darwin Tulips.

If you're following me for a long time, you probably know that I'm a big fan of them.

Darwin Tulips, sometimes also called 'Darwin Hybrid Tulips' are a cross between single late tulips and early emperor tulips.

I love them because they're very reliable perennial tulips with large showy flowers (about 20-24" tall).

I don't want to grow tulips that only bloom for one season, especially now the bulb prices are so expensive, also, I feel growing those 'annual' tulips are not sustainable as I want to be.

So, if I had to choose just one type of tulip to grow in my garden, it should be a Darwin hybrid.

They're just like Single Tulips with a classic tulip shape bloom and long stem, they're great for landscaping and also for cut flowers as well.

Even you cut the flowers, they'll still come back next year (of course if you don't dig the whole bulb up for a longer stem length like lots of flower farmers do).

They do bloom for quite a long time, usually bloom between late April to mid May in my garden but my garden plants bloom later than other gardens (even compared to other gardens in Toronto) so, it's more like bloom from mid April.

I know they don't have the fancy double flowers or the Parrot variety like intricate looks, but now they actually have more colours.

I remember when I first started having Darwin Tulips, there were only basic colours like red, yellow, pink and not different colours of pink or salmon, and now they have some kind of 'bi-colours', more like subtle gradient colours, and even have purple, too, I think.

More to talk about Darwin Tulips, so this will continue to tomorrow's post!

08/01/2025

I'm happy to announce that I will offer some Bulbs!

The selection will be very small, but these are all of my favourites and the varieties that doing well in my garden.

Here is the list:

Allium aflatunense 'Purple Sensation'
Allium siculum ssp bulgaricum
Galanthus nivalis (Snowdrop)
Darwin Tulip 'Mystic van Eijk'
Darwin Tulip 'Apricot Pride'
Darwin Tulip 'White Clouds'
Double Late Tulip 'Copper Image'
Species/Botanical Tulip, Tulipa tarda

I'm working on the order page and it might take a while but I just want you to know!

For both pickup and shipping in fall, probably in October.

Please note I don't have the actual bulbs yet, so some varieties might not be available in case of crop failure or something, so this isn't 100% guaranteed selection for now.

The prices will be much affordable than other sellers, even though the bulb prices went up so much since 2023 (the last time I offered the bulbs).

I'm hoping more people will buy from me, not from the big box stores like Costco, etc.

I know it's cheaper but your support for local and small business means so much to us.

Anyway, I'll post more about each variety later!
And more info to come, so make sure to follow this account or add to favourites!

Have a wonderful long weekend, everyone!

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

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

07/31/2025

I love perennials, lots of herbs are annuals (like basil, arugula, etc.) but there are some perennial herbs for Ontario.

Sage, Thyme (mainly creeping one), Mint, Oregano, Fennel, Anise Hyssop, Beebalm, Chives, English Lavender, Feverfew, Echinacea, etc.

These are the ones you can get the seeds from my online shop but of course there are more!

Parsley is actually biennial, so it'll overwinter, and you might see the flowers in its second year.

I don't offer seeds but Sorrel is also perennial, I have a potted plant, left outside for winter without any protection and it overwintered!

There are some annual herbs that self seed well like dill, shiso, borage, etc. as well.

Also did you know that you can overwinter Lemongrass indoors then bring the container back outdoors when it's warmer?

Oregano is blooming right now in my garden and you can use both flowers and leaves for cut flowers!

I love using herbs in flower arrangements, some you can use the flowers, if not, the leaves are great fillers and add nice fragrance as a bonus!

What is your favourite perennial herb?

You can see all the herb seeds here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/herb-seeds

***

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

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

07/30/2025

Painted Sage or Clary Sage, Salvia viridis (or used to be Salvia horminum) is another easy to grow annual.

The colourful flowers (but actually they're 'bracts' and not technically flowers, the real flowers are hidden by the bract and inconspicuous) are very attractive both for us humans and pollinators as well!

I love this mixed coloured variety, which is kind of hard to find now.

The colours include violet-blue, rose-pink and white.

Painted Sage is also good for cut flowers and dried flowers, harvest fresh cut flowers when bracts are fully colored, but for drying, harvest when colored bracts have stiffened a little.

It's also great for containers, too!

When you sow the seeds, don't bury the seeds, just press them into soil, covering only enough to hold seeds in place, as light is required for germination.

Whenever you see the seed sowing depth is 'Surface sow' or 1/8", I usually just sprinkle fine vermiculite over the seeds then mist to keep the moisture.

Then bottom water or keep mist watering so the seeds aren't washed away and buried under the soil.

This will keep the seeds in place and still get enough light and moisture.

I find without vermiculite, sometimes the seeds can't get the enough moisture, or easily moved around and buried into the soil.

if you have hard time for surface sow seed varieties, try this fine vermiculite + bottom water or mist method.

It's really important to see the sowing instructions, some seeds are very specific about condition of their germination.

Anyway, you can find the seed here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/product/painted-sage-mixed-colours-20-seeds/743

***

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

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

07/29/2025

Instead of Queen Anne's Lace, why don't you try Ammi, the common name is False Queen Anne's Lace, so it looks very similar.
(Btw, another common name is 'Toothpickw**d'😂)

The difference is that the Queen Anne's Lace has a dark red spot in the center of the flowers, but the Ammi doesn't have this spot and all white.

And it's not as aggressive although, it does self seed in my garden (as you can see in the picture here with our dog, Daisy, sitting right next to the plant, which grows in the cracks of our driveway🤣)

The Latin name 'Ammi' means 'sand', which tells you it prefers well drained soil.
I usually don't need to water the plant, pretty drought tolerant.

I have Ammi visnaga, I like this variety for more fuller than probably more popular variety, Ammi majus.

Some Ammi visnaga flowers can be more green-ish and there's also a specific variety called 'Green Mist', too.
(I don't offer this variety, sorry)

If you want your own cut flower garden, make sure to grow some 'filler' plants, and this is good for that!

You can find the seed here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/product/ammi-visnaga-20-seeds/1099

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

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

07/28/2025

Easy to grow and beautiful annual : Daucus carota 'Dara'.

I love this dark red/pink version of Wild Carrot (or Queen Anne's Lace, Daucus carota)!

While the colour range can be quite wide from dark red to pale pink, it's kind of random, but usually more pinkish colour is normal.

There is a variety called 'Dara Dark Red' for the specific dark coloured blooms, if you want that particular one (but I don't offer the seed, nor hunt for the seed for you, sorry).

Or if you see the very dark flowers, mark the stem and save the seeds for yourself!

Good cut flowers and wonderful garden plant as well.

It self seeds here and there in my garden and I just let it.

While the regular white Wild Carrot might be considered invasive (I don't see it in the Ontario invasive plant list, though), I don't find this 'Dara' to spread much, but be cautious.

This is why I don't offer the regular white Queen Anne's Lace seed anymore.

Anyway, you can find the 'Dara' seed here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/product/daucus-carota-dara-20-seeds/514

***

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

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

07/25/2025

Another great pollinator plant,

White Echinops (Globe Thistle) is blooming in my garden now!

https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/product/echinops-ritro-globe-thistle-white-10-seeds/1967
(You can find the seed the link above)

Usually it's known for the beautiful deep steel blue flowers but I love this white blooming variety.

It's easy to blend with other colours, still add a nice interest to your garden and cut flower arrangement as well.

And like I said, it's loved by lots of pollinators.

This isn't an Ontario native plant (native to Europe and Asia) and some people might say it's w**dy but it's easy to control.

Like the common name says it's like thistle and having prickly leaves.

Echinops seed has better germination when you insert the seed vertically into the soil but not the bury the seed.

I explained this seed sowing tip here⬇️
https://www.instagram.com/p/DDh56H6PT6W/

***

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

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

07/24/2025

Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) is also blooming in my garden for a while now.
(The last picture isn't my garden though, it's a city garden bed & no w**d removal after the city installed some native plant beds🙄)

This is another Ontario native plant, probably the most popular 'Monarda/Bee Balm' varieties.

I offer 2 other perennial Monarda varieties and one annual variety (this one isn't Ontario Native)

You can see all here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/shop/monarda/110

I love the beautiful pink/light purple flowers, this is one of the easy to grow from seed native plants.

And I think this is also a good ornamental native plants, too, the another Monarda, Scarlet Bee Balm (Monarda didyma) might not be everyone's flower, because of its colour, but Wild Bergamot's softer colour is probably easier to pair with other plants.

I know the powdery mildew might be an issue with the plant and so make sure to have a nice air circulation, or cut down the plants when it happens, don't worry, it doesn't kill the plant and will come back next year.

Why it's called 'Wild Bergamot'?
It's because the plant has the scent of bergamot orange.

The Latin name Monarda fistulosa comes from:

'Monarda' from the 16th century Spanish physician and botanist Nicolás Monardes, and 'fistulosa' comes from the tubular (pipe-like) shape of its flowers.

If you think native plants are too 'wild', then try this one, it doesn't get too tall, probably up to 4ft, in my garden it's usually around 3ft. though.

You can find the seed here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/product/monarda-fistulosa-wild-bergamot-20-seeds/861

***

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

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

07/23/2025

Blooming in my garden right now:

Rusty Foxglove (Digitalis ferruginea)

This might be my favourite Foxglove, actually!

The muted cafe au lait kind of colour is gorgeous and this particular Foxglove is a bit different from the regular Foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea), it's perennial, it might not bloom every year but the plant doesn't go away after the blooming year.

So you don't need to sow the seeds every year or every other year, unless you want to have more of this plant or make sure to see the blooms every year.

You still need to wait until its second year to see the blooms after the seed sowing, though.

The flower stems get quite tall like 4-5 ft, the flowers are smaller than the regular Foxgloves' but I like the way it looks more slender and delicate despite the height.

The leaves of this Foxglove is definitely different from the regular ones, more slender and darker, and overwinter well, not like the regular ones can get damaged from all the snow/ice moisture.

Like regular Foxgloves, if you cut the first flush of blooms, it might produce smaller blooms later in the season.

The Latin name 'ferruginea' means 'rusty'.

This is a very beautiful Foxglove variety, if you don't want to keep sowing the regular Foxglove seeds every year or if you want something different, try this!

You can find the seed here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/product/digitalis-ferruginea-rusty-foxglove-20-seeds/1732

***

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

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

07/22/2025

Another Wreath base I offer is
12" Wire Wreath Frame

This Wire Wreath Frame is great for evergreen winter wreath making.

This doesn't look much and maybe it might look intimidating if you never made your own wreaths before.

But what you need to do is just bundle some evergreen stems and put the bundle over the frame and secure with a string of wire, then put the next bundle over where the wire is to cover, repeat.
(I'm sure there are tons of videos available now to watch😉)

I love simple evergreen wreaths, sometimes all you need is just evergreen foliage and a nice ribbon.

You can use one evergreen (juniper, pine, fir, boxwood, etc.) to be super simple, or mix some of them to enjoy the different textures and colours.

Or gather whatever from your garden or forage (do it responsibly, please, only take what you need and ask if it's someone else's property, of course), like grass plumes, pine cones, rose hips, etc.

I even use some of the red twigs of dogwood from my garden.

No need to buy an expensive wreath, why not try making yourself!

This frame is only $3.5!
Only 4 available for pickup.

Find them here
https://www.hanaearthgardens.ca/product/12-wire-wreath-frame/NYHIFLID5UDJYUAMCCUM6K5W

BTW, natural/botanical dyed ribbons are wonderful to use for a wreath!

Check out (from Ontario) or (from around Ottawa) or (from Yukon), I know there are more businesses and shops sell botanical dyed ribbons in Canada and these ladies don't have the products on their websites but they're the ones I know and contact them if they have something you can buy!

***

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

HOPE IS IN A SEED
-HANA EARTH GARDENS-

Hana Earth Gardens

08/08/2025

08/06/2025

08/05/2025

08/01/2025

07/31/2025

07/30/2025

07/29/2025

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07/25/2025

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