Blooming Lithops

I bought this one last week.

Barry’s Garden Open House

I have written here several times about fellow Toronto, Parkdale resident, Barry Parker and his exceptional backyard garden since meeting him this past spring, but I have never shown any wide view pictures. Well, as luck would have it, Barry is hosting a garden open house this coming weekend — those of you who live …

A One-Pot Garden Scraps Meal

Before I came down with the Great Attack of the TIFF Flu 2009 (named as such because the worst part coincided with the Toronto International Film Festival) a lot of our meals looked like some version of this one. They probably looked like this one throughout the flu debacle as well but 1. my memory …

‘Chinese Ornamental’ Hot Pepper

I know it’s been a slow week around here. I’ve been fighting off the worst cold/flu/virus I can remember in recent history and have been in bed all week feeling like utter crap. Today is the first day I have felt confident about sitting up for more than an hour-long stretch or forming complete sentences …

‘Cherries Jubilee’ Nasturtium

With so many options available these days, I wanted to grow a nasturtium variety this year that I had never tried before. I’ve enjoyed these bright blooms but I have to admit that ‘Empress of India’ are still my favourite variety to grow.

Snack Foods for the Apocalypse

This is how I see canning: making snack foods for the apocalypse. Because in truth, with the exception of the plain tomato jars and sauces, many of the items I put up tend to be condiments, pickles, and intense fruit preserves — food I could probably live without. If, say, we were to suffer through …

Let’s Make Tiny Vaginas, Each One Beautiful & Unique

And make our own edible version of Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party! There has been a long and harried internal debate raging in my brain for days over that title. I have avoided making this post, worried that I will offend people by using the anatomically correct word for part of the female anatomy on a …

Giant Cape Gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L)

I can’t say with absolute certainty that this is what I am growing since the plant was given to me by someone way back in the spring, and she was unsure of the origin. All we know is that the plant is much larger and taller than the smaller ground cherries (I believe these are …

Planty Things I Saw in Montreal

I am terribly behind. We took a short leisure trip to Montreal about a month ago, I took pictures with the full intention of posting about it, but then I didn’t. But now I am. I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna do it and then I’m gonna hit publish rather than starting it and then …

Innocence Lost

Remember a few months back when I said something like, “Let’s stop using war mongering language against the critters?” I can’t locate it on the site, but I know I said it. Somewhere. To someone. Was it you? That was a kinder, gentler, more innocent me. That was me during the off-season when my thoughts …