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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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6 Reasons not to Rake your Leaves this Fall
Cooler weather and leaves changing colour are two of my favourite things about Fall. I remember when I was a kid always hoping for big gusts of wind to blow the leaves into our neighbour’s yard otherwise I was going to have to rake them up. What I didn’t know then was that there are a number of reasons not to rake your leaves. Why You Shouldn’t Rake Your Leaves This Fall I feel that it’s a natural thing to want to tidy up your yard and rake up all the leaves that have fallen, but all of this cleaning up may not be the best thing for our yards…
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World Bee Day: Why bees matter and how we can help
May 20th was World Bee Day, a day set aside recognize one of nature’s tiniest yet mightiest heroes: the bee! Also, here in Canada, May 29th is the Day of the Honeybee and as an avid gardener I’m definitely good with this – bee day should actually be every day! This is because bees and other pollinators play a vital role in our ecosystems and food systems, and at this time they’re facing serious challenges. Let’s take a moment to appreciate bees, learn why they’re important, and discover simple ways we can protect them—plus, you’ll find instructions for a ‘sweet’ bee-themed craft for kids at the end! Why bees are…
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Planning for next year’s garden: 5 ways to make it a great year
I know, I know, it seems too early…But I had my copy of the Westcoast Seeds Gardening Guide dog-eared and was ready to order my seeds last month! I can’t be the only one… Whether you’re a long-time gardener or a first-time grower, getting ahead of planning and organizing in the fall and winter months can lead to a fantastic garden in the coming year… Which means that now is the perfect time to start planning! So as I’m going through these steps myself, I thought I’d share what I consider each year to prepare for the coming season. 1. Reflecting on past years’ gardens Before diving into planning for…
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Gardening While Renting: The Beginning of the End
I haven’t had a chance to write up a balcony garden update for this season yet and now I am faced with dismantling it all and bringing an end to my balcony garden. I have mixed feelings about this, but when you are gardening while renting, sometimes you just don’t have a choice in the matter! Balcony Garden Update: Faced with taking it all apart Gardening while renting has come with a lot of challenges and this latest one seems like the final straw. I live in an older wood framed building where the property managers have become concerned with the stability of our balconies. Because of this, there have…
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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…
