Exploring the world of gardening. Observations, gardens to visit, thoughts on ecology, gardener interviews, and commentary.
Since The City of Toronto is week three into a city workers strike that includes garbage collection, it appears (see above) to be a very good time to reintroduce some resources on small space composting. One sure-fire, easy way to compost that I haven’t included here is to dig a hole. Yes, like the infomercials …
The following article was printed over the weekend as a part of my food gardening series in The Globe & Mail. Summer has been a late arrival around these parts — heavy rains and thunderstorms have been in the forecast regularly since spring. It’s been great in some ways since many of my plants are …
I went to visit some city chickens yesterday afternoon. Chickens! I have a fascination with chickens, but alas, it is not legal to keep them in Toronto. And even if it were legal, I do not have a backyard. Some people do keep chickens on a roof, but between the raccoons, possoms, my cat, and …
Question: We always love your articles and website. Keep it up!! In this past weekend article on tomatoes, you didn’t answer the burning question: what did your brother do about the squirrels??????? They have already chomped the small tomatoes that were forming on our one plant and I know they are just waiting for more. …
It’s like the wild animal kingdom around here lately. We discovered dozens of these newly hatched garden spiders (Argiope aurantia) crawling all over the sides of the compost bin at the community garden the other day. I’m glad I brought this little digital camera with me, even if it’s a crappy one. I wasn’t going …
I woke up this morning to the news that the mantids had begun hatching from the egg case (aka ootheca) and were filling up that little bag. I honestly didn’t think it was going to happen and had been wondering if the case was a dud. Turns out I was just too impatient. I bought …
I wrote this piece back in February for The Guardian UK, and am now posting it here in its entirety as promised. You can read my preface to it here. —————— My gardener’s story is atypical. There were no childhood summers frolicking in the garden of a rosy-cheeked matriarch eager to pass on a passion …
As previously mentioned, I bought a praying mantis egg case at the Parkdale Horticultural Society Plant Sale the other day. It’s not exactly the most effective form of pest prevention in the garden for a few reasons: 1. Praying mantids are not discerning and will eat any and all insects in the garden, including the …
Over the weekend, I decided to read Jamaica Kincaid’s “The Autobiography of My Mother” for the second time. Opening the first page, I notice a note scrawled into the top right hand corner in my own handwriting, “pg 143.” Turning to page 143 I find the following passage underlined: “He had an obsessive interest in …
I spent Arbor Day weekend in the countryside outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, speaking and conducting workshops at Terrain, the new garden center opened by the company that owns Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, among others. The best word or phrase I can come up with to describe Terrain, besides stunningly beautiful is well-appointed. It is by …
Hello Pennsylvania! I’m going to be giving two workshops and a presentation this coming Earth Day/Arbor Day Weekend at Terrain at Styer’s in Glen Mills, PA. Where: Terrain at Styer’s 914 Baltimore Pike, Glen Mills, PA, USA When: Saturday, April 25, 2009 and Sunday, April 26, 2009. Saturday: Windowsill Herb Gardening Workshop 11am & Container …
Another spring and a new crop of garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) is setting up camp for the season. We found a few small plants in the street garden cleanup last week and several at the community garden, many that were already much larger and lusher than any of the other cold hardy perennials growing there. …