A noun. A verb. A blog.
I made a trip out to a great resource for bird feeding in Toronto yesterday, a store in north Toronto called Birdwatch. It was freeeeezing cold, minus 20 windchill outside, but inside the shop was full of harbingers of spring: wildly creative bird houses galore, and a beautiful metal birdbath created by metal artist Dog […]
It being Reading Week I was hoping for a getaway. In the weeks coming up to this one I indulged in a little fantasy web browsing, looking at south sea island destinations. Pure fantasy this year, but I started thinking about other destinations closer to home that would give me that sunny, summery “growing things” […]
I was extolling the virtues of the Canadian Wildlife Federation’s website the other day, mostly because of its beautifully designed, and expensive looking, graphics. I thought, “How unusual, for an environmental organization to have the funds to splash out on design services like this”. See post below. A reader quickly informed me of the hidden […]
Environmentally friendly publications and websites very often lack funds for professional graphics, and frequently come across as lacklustre and sad looking. It’s the bad side of the leftover 70s Hippie Culture: poor, underground, overlooked, just scraping by. So I was thrilled in more ways than one to click on this website this morning on a […]
We’re blessed in this city to have such a plethora of local shops willing to feed our garden fever. In our east-end neighbourhood alone, there are half a dozen within walking distance. Here are some of my favourites. The little one above, f’rinstance. My kids have grown up spending their not-so-hard-earned allowance on sour gummies […]
Although it’s safe to plant out many perennials as soon as the ground can we worked in spring, Victoria Day weekend is Toronto’s traditional “safe” planting day. So it’s natural that today a friend asked me where I get my plants. Not that I have room for more plants, of course. I gave her four […]
Our Aunt Beryl, a hardy gardener transplanted from the north of England to the north of Canada, turned me on to worms. In one of her guises she ran a daycare centre and composted organic waste from lunches using vermiculture, or worm composting. The kids just loved the worms. “How do you do it?” I […]
I’m trying to control my addiction to books. Especially garden books. There’s only so much space on the shelves. Plus, with an astounding wealth of info on the Internet at the end of a few keystrokes, I try to buy only those books I’ll refer to again and again. Yet, sometimes I’m faced with an offer […]
Deadheading can be strangely satisfying. Unlike indoor chores, dishwashing, for instance, where you do the same thing over and over and get the same result—clean dishes—deadheading has a double reward. One, the wonderful cleanup effect Ugly seedheads are off so your garden looks less forlorn and…dead. There’s nothing that perks up a garden like deadheading. […]
A quick post in praise of my sister’s ingenuity. While houseplants and seedlings wither and die in my hands, Sarah makes potted things grow. Invention is the necessity of mothers. And this little mother can invent up a storm. Here is her crazy-but-it-works idea for a “roof garden” greenhouse. First, an inexpensive plant stand with […]
After such a looo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooo-ooong, cold spring how nice to see the crocuses finally arrive. Those blasts of colour amidst the detritus of fall and winter. Opening wide to capture the sunlight. Then came the sudden summer last weekend, and all the little darlings plopped on their sides and expired. Still, they were glory itself for […]