On Easter Sunday I talked to my daughter who lives in the west end of Toronto near High Park. She was enjoying a beautiful day in her garden where tulips were up about 4 inches and hydrangeas showing buds. She had just hung a blown-glass hummingbird feeder, purchased for (we agreed amazing) $5. And she was singing the praises of her shed.

Built last year and tucked into the farthest corner of the garden, it now contains all the tools and pots for gardening. Bonus is the space freed up in the basement of a tiny house.

It’s not too soon to start thinking about the benefits of a wee perfect outbuilding for your backyard and I stumbled upon a recent title that is sure to inspire. The Versatile Shed: how to build, renovate and customize your bonus space, by Chris Gleason, shows how to plan and build a shed from the ground up. He also demonstrates the adaptability of the concept to meet many needs.

• A simple shed built out of chip board with plywood siding and covered with a corrugated tin roof houses the equipment of an ardent mountain biker and skier.
• A small batten-board structure complete with French doors on one end and deck and trellis on the side has been turned into a writer’s retreat.
• A shed with wood-shake roof, stained glass windows and purple trim is used as a recording studio.
• A deluxe gardener’s shed features a greenhouse attachment and is lit by transom windows. The owner has added a sink to facilitate wine making.

So many possibilities, so many cool designs.

- Jane

I love taking pictures of gardens, both my own and others that I visit in the city and when I travel. On the left is a favourite photo of Nitobe Memorial Garden which I took earlier this year in Vancouver.

Gardens and photography are mates; taking pictures helps capture the transitory beauty of gardens with the changing seasons.

The Photographic garden: mastering the art of digital garden photography is a new title to help you hone your skills. The author, Matthew Benson, lectures widely on the topic and publishes his work in books, magazines and catalogues.

He begins with light and its impact on the garden scene. He talks about its qualities at different times of day and in different seasons. He offers tips on how to shoot into the light through leaves and behind tree limbs to soften the impact.

The very large chapter on design covers many important elements beginning with the principals of design and selecting a point of view. He shows how to use props and add narrative to your photographs. Pets and people enliven your garden scene.

The last chapter looks at the ways you can improve or manipulate the captured image with the computer using software such as Photoshop.

If you’re looking for comrades to share tips and tricks, check out our photo club which meets at regular intervals throughout the fall.

-Jane

Today's blog comes from Janet Millett, Central Library staff:

Many of us in Calgary feel lucky to live both close to the mountains and to the prairies. However, for gardeners, this often means a double whammy of cold nights and short growing seasons along with the odd freak snowstorm, droughts and dry dusty winds. In other words, growing lush gardens bursting with colour can be a challenge.

Luckily, you don’t have to despair too much about sparse underperforming gardens. Calgary Public Library has a book called Painted Garden Art, by artist Lin Wellford, that allows you to take matters into your own hands. This book will show you how to turn stepping stones into butterfly walkways or cast stone blocks into elegant baskets of colorful blooms. Stone edgings can become a parade of pachyderms or a vibrant caterpillar.

You can also work magic with different sizes and shapes of rocks to scatter turtles, frogs, lizards and even fish ponds throughout the bare spots. And the really great thing about this book is that it’s very easy to paint these artistic creations. Many of the designs are basic and there are step-by-step illustrated directions provided.

Whether nature cooperates or not, it’s good to know that there is more than one way to create and enjoy an interesting and vibrant garden space.

- Jan

Wherever I travel, I love to see gardens and, typically, they provide the fondest memories and best photos of any trip. Needless to say, gardens figure largely in any travel plans I make, on a par with great buildings, galleries and museums.

At my coffee table for the past few weeks, I have been captivated by The Great Gardens of Spain, a new book by Anneli Bojstad. She leaves me yearning for a trip to Spain.

The author, a native of Sweden writes about the colours and scents of the Andalusian patios: “I was seduced by these marvelous spaces, created to exalt the senses, embodying the concept of a garden as a recreation of paradise…”

The gardens are presented in four regions of the country and reflect the climate and culture of the area. The Atlantic region includes a cloistered garden in the pilgrim city of Santiago de Compostela where dense box hedges are clipped into massive sculptures of religious symbols.

The Artigas Gardens in the Mediterranean region were designed by the great architect, Antonio Gaudi, which is easy to see in the quirky design of the hardscaping.

In Alfabia on Mallorca she shows a sensational pergola with sprays of water that shoot across a long channel from both sides.

I am charmed by the monastery garden covered with a dusting of snow. Indeed, there are many fall and winter gardens from Central Spain pictured in the book.

The reader tours the legendary Alhambra, “the incarnation of an exotic, enchanting scene from the tales of the Arabian Nights”. This magical place is perched on a hillside overlooking the city of Granada.

On these long winter nights, how lovely it is to take an armchair trip to sunny and beautiful Spain.

Jane