This is the navel-gazing section where I ponder gardening beyond the how-to and sometimes go off-topic entirely.
The Scene: The sun is about to disappear entirely and my rooftop is now mostly illuminated by the painfully bright and orange security light next door. I am still outside moving pots around and pinching back basil flowers. My neighbor steps outside. Me: I have been gardening for 7 or 8 hours straight. It started …
Quite simply, the Next Big Thing is going to be veggies. Lots and lots of veggies. Heirloom tomatoes, offbeat salad greens and stuff like that. All organically grown, of course. By us. – from Toronto Star “Urban Gardeners Are Growing Local” (July 7, 2007.) Many of us have known it all along by I am …
The grafted cactus is a bewildering but charming touch for Southern Ontario. Zone 5b. Or 6. Or whatever they’re saying our zone is this week.
Yesterday afternoon. I am standing over a table of zucchini transplants contemplating a purchase. This is a yellow variety that looks to have the interesting mottled leaf pattern I like. I am holding a tentative purchase in one hand while I scan the table, holding out for the healthiest looking plant in the bunch. I …
This is how they will look for the next few months — there’s no fighting it. I must have washed my hands about a thousand times in the last week alone. Just as soon as I get them reasonably clean they’re back in the soil again to put in a new plant or fix a …
I’ve long held the belief that there are no green thumbs or black thumbs and that gardening is a process of learning and discovery with no peak or end goal. You can garden like a maniac your entire life and never know everything there is to be known. In fact I would say that the …
I was stopped by these tulips while out walking with my camera recently. I love the way the petals have rolled down as the flowers die. Nature sure is neat.
I’m proud to be included in the recent issue of Shameless Magazine, an independent magazine for strong, smart, and sassy teen girls that breaks the mold of the typical diet tips and beauty trends magazine. I interviewed with writer Caroline Pelletier on growing food which can be found on pages 18-19. Here’s what I said …
When I started digging what would eventually become the street garden I had no idea that it would evolve into a social and scientific experiment. People often ask me if I grow food in this garden. The following twelve points should clear that question up. Hell, number two will do the job all on its …
A friend of mine recommended this New York Times piece about Prince Charles and his involvement in the Slow Food Movement. Be sure to listen to his speech on small-scale and sustainable agriculture given at the Terra Madre conference in Turin, Italy (2004). “The one resource the developing world has in abundance is people so …
Sharp-Lobed Hepatica (Hepatica acutiloba) These tiny, pretty pinkish-white flowers are one of the first blooming woodland natives to make an appearance in early spring. They are happy in partial shade with nutrient-rich soil, and can withstand very mild drought. I was admiring this patch yesterday afternoon when the gardener saw me and stopped to chat. …
Have you started your seeds yet? This has been the most common topic on everyone’s mind lately and the question I have been asked most in the last few weeks. People should know by now that I’m a late start. I rarely get my seeds started on time… you know, for the experimenting and the …