Tomatillos
The raccoons may have got a lot, but they didn’t get my tomatillos.
Author: Gayla Trail
No, Not My Precious!
A few weeks ago my beautiful blue jade corn was devastated by squirrels or baby raccoons. We’re not sure which because both have been spotted on the deck since then. I’ve been so miserable about the loss I couldn’t bring myself to write about it until today. Not only did they devour all the immature …
August on My Deck
Yikes. It’s been a long while since I’ve updated. Obviously an awful lot has happened in my gardens since my last update. The weather has been the strangest this spring/summer of any year I can recall. It has been wetter, cooler and greyer. As a result, some plants have grown taller and bigger than ever …
Garden Plot Update
It’s time to start posting updates on my gardens before things get too out-of-hand. Over at the community garden plot I dug in some fresh soil amenders and finished planting quite a while back. Thanks to some rain all the seedlings are coming in nicely. This year I planted: Purple Cherokee tomato Black Krim tomato …
Urban Plantlife
The following photos were taken on a walk along the railroad tracks in my neighbourhood today. Row1: Unknown, Viper’s Bugloss, Coreopsis (aka Tickseed) Row2: Milkweed (open flowers) Milkweed (closed flowers)
The Summer Solstice
The Summer Solstice, or “Midsummer’s Day” has its origins in paganism as a celebration of various Sun Gods. Cultures everywhere still celebrate this day, which marks the middle of summer, not, as with today’s calendar, its beginning. SOLSTICE – sol stare: “standing still sun” In Spain, the eve of solstice is called “Night of the …
The Globe & Mail – The Avant-Gardeners
An article by Karen von Hahn on Gayla Trail and You Grow Girl. “…it’s as punchy, quirky and irreverent as its hip young urban audience.” “Sanders (Trail) who is slight, intense and wears the statement eyeglasses of the srtistically inclined, also had trouble with the gardening industry’s conventional beauty ideal. “It was intimidating to see …
Herb Fair 2004
In keeping with tradition I am posting this year’s Herb Fair haul. And in further keeping with tradition I was a complete glutton.
Seeds, Seeds, Seeds
My seeds have arrived. Some are just in time for planting and some are kind-of late but manageable. Just to be clear I have done a first batch of seeds. This is a second, last-minute batch. They are all heirloom varieties purchased from Seed Savers. I’m very excited! I’ve already opened every packet and inspected …
Late May
Over May 24 weekend we did more work in the side garden. After several years we have finally expanded the garden to take up all the space next to the sidewalk. Unfortunately it looks really unbalanced now. One side has lush growth and is surrounded by fencing but the other side is all new, small …
Shade Garden
Despite being trampled and mistreated flowers are blooming in the shade garden. Here are a few photos taken this afternoon. Bleeding Heart – People say they are old-fashioned and boring but I disagree. Its unfurled, reddish foliage is one of the first signs of spring and the flowers look like crazy fifties bouffant hairdos or …
You Grow Girl is Awarded
You Grow Girl won in the category of “Favorite Place to Learn How to Grow Your Own” in the “2004 The Morning News Editor’s Awards in Online Excellence.” Thanks Morning News!