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Sustainable gardening for beginners
There’s something wonderful about starting a garden in the spring. It’s that feeling of reconnecting with nature, welcoming a new year, and knowing that warmer days are just around the corner — along with fresh, delicious fruits and veggies (without the grocery store price tag!). If you’ve ever felt intimidated by the idea of gardening or assumed you’d need a backyard, fancy tools, or a big budget, good news: you don’t. Gardening can be simple, accessible, and surprisingly affordable. In this post, I want to inspire you to start a small, sustainable garden on a budget – easy, low-maintenance plants that thrive in containers and give you the biggest return…
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Backyard garden: Spring 2024 update
This year my backyard garden is going to look a little different. In past years I’ve focused on growing vegetables, with various levels of success. But last year I so enjoyed going to properties with cut flower gardens and decided I wanted to try it for myself! There’s something so calming and uplifting about a bright bunch of flowers and I’m hoping to be successful enough to have lots of flowers to share. I had already been rolling this idea around in my mind, and then saw a post not long ago about how store-bought flowers can be less than optimal for the environment. I had never thought about it…
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Backyard garden: 2023 season update
As the seasons (abruptly, here on the southwest coast of BC!) change, it’s a good time to look back on the gardening season that was. As it’s all too easy to forget the nuances of the year, it’s helpful to make notes about what worked, what didn’t, and what could be changed up for next year! All in all I’d have to say it was a pretty good year, see below for highlights! Read along about past years here. Best thing made with garden produce (so far) Have you ever heard of a tomato mill or strainer? I hadn’t until a couple of years ago but then I discovered this…
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Plastic Free July: Gardening
Today I’m sharing about how to reduce plastic use in our garden – gardening containers, packaging, and garden accessories are all areas where plastics can sneak up on us. In this post, we will explore the concept of plastic free gardening and discover practical tips to create an eco-friendly garden that nurtures both plants and the planet. Starting seeds Traditional seed starting often involves the use of plastic pots or trays, but there are several eco-friendly alternatives. Opt for biodegradable options such as peat pots, coconut coir pots, or even homemade seedling pots made from recycled newspaper, or even eggshells! These alternatives can be directly planted into the ground, reducing…
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Winter garden update and seeds to start now
Its garden time! Today I’m sharing how my winter garden plants did and what seeds I’m starting now. I’ve also been watching helpful videos and tracking down some items I’ll need for the year, so will share those with you to help start your garden planning! A great place to start is finding out when you can sow or start the plants you’d like for your garden. Get inspired by reviewing the Westcoast Seeds planting chart by region here! For more inspiration, check out past garden posts shared by Alison and I: Backyard garden Gardening while renting Progress of winter garden seeds started last fall I was hoping to have…
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2022 Backyard Garden Update
Backyard garden background As I had posted in my 2022 backyard garden kick off post – we had realized that our garden wasn’t producing well in the past couple of years and weren’t sure why. To understand what was wrong and get back into good production, we had a consulting session with Seed and Nourish and found out where we had likely been going wrong – and so made some changes! We purchased a load of organic soil and spread a few inches onto each of our garden beds, and made sure we had fertilizer and have been applying it at regular intervals to support growth. I’ve also been watering…
