Profile of Niki Jabbour

Biography

Niki Jabbour is a horticulturist and a writer from Halifax. She welcomes e-mail at nikijabbour@hotmail.com.

All articles of Niki Jabbour

• The fragrant garden
  June is a period of intense fragrance in the garden - lily of the valley, lilacs and peonies, to name a few. Just a whiff takes me back in time ...
• Last-minute garden gifts for dad
  Did you ever notice that as soon as Mother’s Day has come and gone, all the retail shops start to set up displays for Father’s Day. From barbeque ...
• Colourful ideas for shade
  Many gardeners lament the shade, wishing instead for sunny spots for favourites like peonies, roses, lilacs and coneflowers. Yet, I've seen some ...
• The hummingbirds are back!
  Despite our recent stretch of dreary, wet weather, the hummingbirds are back! The ruby-throated hummingbird is a common, but beloved visitor to ...
• Tomato time
  What's the top garden crop in North America? Tomatoes! And for good reason - those juicy fruits come in all shapes, colours and sizes with a ...
• What to plant now
  It's finally mid-May and so far the weather has been an unpredictable combination of sunny and warm, and wet and cool. All in all, a typical ...
• May is the season for shrubs and trees
  May is a busy month in the garden with post-winter clean up, non-stop seeding in the veggie patch and of course, planting of perennials, shrubs ...
• What to Grow - 2013 edition
  With just a week or so left in April, my house has turned into a plant factory. The limited space below my four basement grow-lights is packed ...
• Potatoes are one of the easiest crops to grow
  One of the easiest, yet most rewarding crops to grow - especially for kids who love to hunt for the buried tubers - is potatoes. Not only are ...
• Looking for signs of spring in the garden
  I know that officially it's spring, but it just hasn't felt very spring-like in recent weeks. Nevertheless, I've been moving ahead in my garden ...
• Going up with vertical veggies!
  Growing food is my passion, but even with a 2,000-square-foot plot, I sometimes have troubling finding space for all the veggies that I want to ...
• Straw bale gardening
  A few years ago, I built a straw bale cold frame to house some winter crops. It was a very basic structure made up of six straw bales arranged in ...
• Spring garden ideas
  This past week, I was lucky enough to spend two days in Toronto at Canada Blooms, the largest garden show in Canada and one that runs from March ...
• Architectural plants
  One of the easiest ways to add drama to your garden is to include architectural plants that offer bold vertical interest. Architectural plants ...
• Five deer resistant plants
  Anyone who has read this column on a regular basis knows that I have a deer problem. I can look out my kitchen window any given morning and will ...
• Grow your own strawberries
  After ‘enjoying' a container of imported, tasteless strawberries that I bought at the supermarket this past week (Alas, I was lured in by the ...
• Seed starting in 10 easy steps
  With the official start to spring just a month away, it's time to start thinking about seed starting. Growing your own plants from seed is easy, ...
• Sunshine in the late winter garden
  As I sit and write, a snowstorm is raging outside my window and I'm thinking how nice it would be to be a bit closer to spring. The sunny yellow ...
• Seeds 101
  It's seed catalogue season and by I've now amassed quite a collection of my favourite seed catalogues - Halifax Seed, Annapolis Seeds, Hope Seed, ...
• The magic of mulch
  With this recent cold snap, I've held off harvesting from my winter garden. The cold frames have been firmly shut for over a week and I've left ...
• Five ways to beat the winter garden blues
  1. Order seeds. Many gardeners prefer to wait and head directly to the garden centers in spring to buy their seeds, but others like to browse ...
• A 2013 garden preview
  January has arrived and my thoughts have turned to spring. I know I’m a bit early, but to a gardener, the season is just beginning. New seed ...
• Easy to grow shoots are good for you!
  Now that the days are getting longer and each is bringing us a bit closer to spring, I’m ready to start growing something - anything! Last winter ...
• A gardeners new year
  I’m not big on making New Year’s resolutions that I know I won’t keep, but when it comes to the garden, there certainly are a few goals I should ...
• Heirloom seed catalogues
  Heirloom vegetables and flowers are extremely trendy, with entire catalogues devoted to their cultivation, but what exactly is an heirloom plant? ...
• Last minute holiday garden fun with kids!
  Now that a two week break from school is looming, it’s the perfect time to spend some family time crafting fun garden projects, like pinecone ...
• 'Tis the season for holiday plants
  Waiting in line at the hardware store this past week, I overhead the two women in front of me discussing poinsettias - obviously inspired by the ...
• 'Spruce’ up your holiday decor with natural elements
  This past week I found myself walking through the Christmas aisles of one of the many big box stores looking at the holiday decor. I came away ...
• Gifts for gardeners from Canada’s top gardener
  Inspired by a recent column in the Canadian magazine, Garden Making (www.gardenmaking.com), I decided to quiz a few industry experts about their ...
• Gifts for gardeners - Part 1
  This holiday season my goal is to shop as locally as possible and that includes seeking out gifts for the gardeners on my list from local ...