My garden is in suburban southern Ontario (~USDA zone 5 - Cdn zone 6a). The property is 1/4 acre in size. The soil is heavy clay. We are about a block north of Lake Ontario and are very much subject to the 'cooler by the Lake' effect in summer! Fall tends to be long and relatively mild because it takes a long time for the lake to cool off; the flip side is that spring tends to be late and cold because it takes the lake a long time to warm up again. The front yard is mostly sunny but the backyard is almost completely in shade due to a mature Green Ash, 40-60 year old White Pines and a juvenile Northern Red Oak. Ash and pines on neighbouring properties add to the shade.

The backyard is a shade/woodland garden while the front yard is a more cottagy perennial garden. We moved to this house in the fall of 1999 after doing a major renovation and addition. The construction destroyed the few garden beds that were here so this garden really began in 2000 and is still very much a work in process.