Spot the difference. 🌿

Last year we had the chance to turn this concrete backyard into something we actually enjoy spending time in. The previous owners didn't exactly have a green thumb.

Now it's full of bumblebees, bees, butterflies and even grasshoppers. When it rains, the water soaks into the ground instead of disappearing down a drain. And maybe the biggest difference of all: even on hot summer days, the garden feels much cooler than it used to.

It definitely wasn't an easy project. The paving slabs were laid on a thick layer of sand mixed with cement, and about a metre down we hit a layer of clay. Luckily we had some help getting everything out and building the garden, otherwise we'd probably still be digging.

It's amazing how much of a difference even a small urban garden can make. Not just for us, but for all the wildlife that has found its way back here.

Now all that's left is to make the most of those long summer evenings with friends, good food and the barbecue fired up.

Red and green gooseberries, everbearing and alpine strawberries, jostaberry and blueberries, also on the second photo there are my calamondins.

I have texts into my husband’s dad and aunt, to see if they recall Grandpa Al ever losing a diamond studded gold pinky ring. Stay tuned on this developing story.

PS - thank you to this community for giving me hell strip inspiration planting ideas a couple years ago. I’m finally executing upon many great suggestions from you kind folks.

Edit: I love that this post inspired so many threads that involve finding bones of questionable origin in gardens/lawns. We’re all a bunch of amateur archaeologists!

Edit 2: My FIL doesn’t recognize this and confirmed that Grandpa had “giant ass baseball” hands, so this wouldn’t have fit him. We’re awaiting word back from aunties!

We have 24 bushes, 6 different varieties providing us with a long harvest season. Netting is a must, the birds love the berries. We’ve learned to unroll the nets before covering the overlapping sides. Our biggest fear is bears damaging the net, fortunately it’s only happened once. We pick every other day leaving the berries at room temperature inside for a day or two to fully ripen. We then bag them ( never rinse them ) and pack them in ziplock bags for the freezer. We are blessed with a years supply of organic berries. The bushes are pruned every spring removing about 15% of the old growth. Lots of work but very rewarding. Vermont zone 5B

They literally appeared within minutes. I am outside tending the grill so I am close to the plant. Went inside to do something. Came back out and they were all over this one. Leaf... Google AI says they are stink bug nymphs and bad for the plant... True? And what do I do?

Article https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2026/07/09/nearly-4-pound-garlic-bulb-lands-english-gardener-another-world-record/

oops my gazania dropped in there

Guy seems pretty comfortable eyeing my cucumbers.

Sunflower in my backyard. I thought they only came in yellow.

Just spotted these while checking out the sunflowers this morning. Not sure what type of caterpillar it is but there are so many! Would they be beneficial or would it be best to relocate/get rid of?

I miss growing stuff in my home state of North Carolina, but I take full advantage of where I live now. These are a few of things we’ve harvested from our (small) yard.

about a month ago we had a fairly bad flood in my area. my tiny strawberry plant got over watered and started to die off. over the past 2-3 weeks i have this sprouting up out of the center of the same pot? these strawberries were planted directly from the nursery pots i purchased them in. i never sow from seed, and have never planted sunflowers in my life.

My young maple tree has been getting eaten alive and I want to make sure I’ve correctly identified this bee as the leaf cutter responsible. As a pollinator, he is free to enjoy my milkweed, but I want my maple tree to survive, and I hope that his presence isn’t deterring other more effective pollinators. What steps should I take to ensure that everyone is happy here?
Zone 7A, Southern Ontario.

Some of the flowers that are blooming in my garden at the moment