{ Author Archive - Tara Nolan }

10 ways to celebrate Earth Day in the garden

Today the media will be focused on Earth Day and the multitude of events happening across the country to bring awareness to environmental issues. Check out the Earth Day Canada site for a list of events happening in your community.

Now when it comes to your garden, I think every day should be Earth Day. I'm definitely trying to think green throughout my yard. My rain barrel collects lots of useful water, my seeds this year are all heirloom, organic varieties and I don't use toxic chemicals to eliminate pests or weeds.

I know this sounds so cliché, but even small steps can make a big difference. Here are some ways you can go “green” in your yard.

1. Support the ban on cosmetic pesticides. Just in time for Earth Day, Ontario will be the second province to ban more than 250 chemical pesticide products (Quebec was the first). Encourage the decision makers in your province to follow suit!

2. Hook up a rain barrel. This is such an easy way to conserve water and there are lots of nice-looking barrels on the market these days.

3. Explore organic ways to fertilize your garden. Learn how to nurture your garden naturally with this excerpt from Marjorie Harris’ new book, Ecological Gardening.

4. Learn how to make your own compost. This is so cool–you can literally make your own dirt. This is one of my resolutions as my composter currently has nothing but old sod in it.

5. Attract bees to your yard. Bees are essential to the very survival of our plants. Lure them in with bee-friendly flowers and this neat little home.

6. Determine how eco-friendly your garden is. See you're your garden and gardening practices rate on an enviro-friendly scale.

7. Return plastic plant pots. Sadly, most Blue Box programs do not recycle your plant pots. However if you purchase your flowers from a President’s Choice garden centre, they will take back your pots to recycle them. Plus, if you return 25 pots or flats, you will receive a coupon for $5 off a garden purchase of $50 or more.

8. Wean your lawn off chemicals. There are plenty of options on the market now to replace all those lawn chemicals of yore. But wouldn’t it be nice to stop worrying about that elusive, immaculate square of land and fill it with something fun instead?

9. Experiment with native plants. Choose plants that are native to your area that can easily adapt to the conditions of your garden.

10. Replace old garden gear with new eco options. If you’re in the market for some new tools and garden paraphernalia, test drive one of these “green” toys.

A week ago today…

I wish I knew what kind of butterfly this was!

I wish I knew what kind of butterfly this was!

A week ago today I was in Las Vegas and amid all the casinos, glitz, monuments and fountains, I managed to find a botanical garden at the Bellagio.

This cute ladybug was made of carnations! Or were they roses? It was hard to tell...

This cute ladybug was made of carnations! Or were they roses? It was hard to tell...

With “140 horticulturists on staff,” the Bellagio Conservatory and Botanical Gardens changes its exhibits about five times a year and I have to say their current display was one of the highlights of my trip–and best of all, it was free!

These watering cans were really cool!

These watering cans were really cool!

I had to tear myself away from the butterfly exhibit–they were magnificent and so much bigger than the butterflies you see here in Ontario. My pictures certainly don’t do this imaginative space justice, but I thought I’d share some anyway to give you a peek.

Take a look at the website linked above for more fab photos. You can even see past exhibits.

My first heavy-duty garden purchase of the season

I felt so proud of myself this evening when I purchased two healthy-looking cedar trees for my backyard along with my groceries. You see there may or may not be an enormous second story eventually being built on the house behind us and I need to start planning (and planting!) some extra privacy pronto. Currently there is an old chain link fence separating our yards with some sad, spindly little cedars steadfastly growing around the middle of it. I want to eventually fill in that whole back area and these shapely cedars seemed to be a good start.

However for some reason my garden ambition clouded my judgment and I didn’t realize quite how tall and heavy these cedars would be. A very helpful young air cadet graciously left his money box with a friend and helped me drag the first cedar into the back floor of my little hatchback. After much maneuvering we finally got it in. I thanked him profusely even though he called me ma’am and decided I’d come back with some strong arms for the second tree.

Both are now safely in my backyard awaiting their destiny as a privacy fence. And I am hoping I can lift my arms tomorrow.

Hey, what happened to spring?

crocusblueflowersYesterday was a beautiful and sunny day, so I took a stroll around my yard with my camera to see if anything was growing yet. My irises and tulips are peeking through the leaves in my garden and I snapped this little crocus poking up on my neighbour’s lawn! In the backyard I found these sweet little blue flowers growing against my fence. I started dreaming of finally being able to get outside and preparing my yard for spring.
And then this morning, alas, it was snowing. I knew there had to be at least one more storm before we were allowed to enjoy spring, but things were looking so promising I thought we might escape winter’s last gasp.

daffodil3Luckily, I purchased daffodils last week to support the Canadian Cancer Society, so spring still exists in my kitchen. They were certainly a welcome sight this morning when I woke up to a raging storm!I just hope those little flowers survive this frosty weather.

Starting my seeds

Our seed packets

Our seed packets

My seeds finally arrived and last weekend my sister and I split them up so we can each test our green thumbs and nurture little seedlings into food this season. Today I got around to planting some of the seeds that can be started indoors (and as an experiment, some of the ones that recommend you start them outside–what can I say, I'm impatient!). I'm so excited to see what will decide to grow!

Here's what I have started:

  • Chives
  • Florence Fennel
  • Black Hungarian Hot Pepper
  • `Champion` Collards
  • Cilantro
  • Mesclun Greens
  • Black Calypso Bush Bean

Container planting inspiration at the TBG

The gorgeous set the TBG put together for our video shoot

The gorgeous set the TBG put together for our video shoot

Yesterday morning I headed to the Toronto Botanical Garden with our videographer Ryan Da Silva for a video shoot with the new director of horticulture, Paul Zammit. Paul is known for his stylish containers and showed off his talent to lucky visitors at Canada Blooms last week.

We wanted to capture step by step how Paul puts together his containers. Paul is a natural as a video host, because not only does he explain his design ideas as he puts everything together, he incorporates so many helpful tips into his presentation.

Every year I put together a few pots and a hanging basket. They are pretty enough, but after yesterday, this year I am so inspired to use all the great ideas I learned from Paul and really plan out my containers and spend more time on their arrangement.

Stay tuned for Paul's video, which we'll be publishing online next week! I'm certain you'll be inspired, too!

Seed storage tips winner

After a random draw to determine the winners of the seed storage box, the winners are… Sandy and Corky! Congratulations! Please email me at hgwebeditor@transcontinental.ca with your full name and address and I will mail you your prize.

Shopping for garden treasures at Canada Blooms

The shopping made me leave Canada Blooms–but only because my arms wouldn't let me carry anything else! My first purchase was… jam! I’d tried this delicious Pears & Pansies jam that my mom bought at The Culinarium. The woman who makes these unexpected combinations, like mixing pears with pansies, had a booth, From These Roots. I had to try three more flavours. I bought Apricot HoneySuckle, Black Currant & Wild Violet and Mango Jalapeno.

Next a stunning bunch of violets caught my eye, so I grabbed one in bright crimson.

At Your Creations Hostas and Perennials, I was eyeing the hellebores when I saw these huge hibiscus rhizomes. Hibiscus is one of my favourite flowers, so, despite its tropical provenance, I'm going to try my luck at growing one this summer.

At Tropical Expressions, a bonsai retailer, I saw these small, spiky and hairy sprigs. They were in a basket–no dirt, no water. Called Tillandsia–or air plants–these little specimens are epiphytes, meaning they can be placed on any surface and will grow there without needing soil to take root. All they need is to be misted with water a couple of times a week–or so I was told. My little guy is currently on my kitchen windowsill. I will try really hard to keep him alive with his minimum care requirements.

My last purchase was a little stone cabbage for my garden from this great booth that has a store in the Eglinton Town Centre in Scarborough. I can’t wait to put it outside amongst my plants! With that weighing down my bags along with some of the literature I picked up from various booths and Mark Cullen's new book, The Canadian Garden Primer: An Organic Approach, which I had received after hearing Mark speak at the press event, it was time to head home.

I could have kept going, but this Budding Gardener is on a budget!

Spring has officially arrived with Canada Blooms

beleaf2-finalYesterday I checked out Canada Blooms for the first time–what a delight! Between the inspiring gardens, the informative and interesting seminars and the shopping, I can’t decide what I liked best. More to come on my blooming adventures, but I’ll leave you with a photo of one of my favourite gardens. Designed by Be-Leaf Landscape Design, this sweet little space was whimsical and inspiring and totally my style! I love how they’ve brought life to a normal stone patio by creating a narrow ring of space to add a pop of colour and greenery.

What I'm excited to see at Canada Blooms

Last year's gorgeous tulips!

Last year's gorgeous tulips!

This Budding Gardener has never been to Canada Blooms before. I know, I know… what a gardening sin! This is the 13th year of the show and I have to make up for lost time! I was going through the website to plan my day and was overwhelmed with everything there is to see–from the feature gardens to the shopping to the seminars. I will definitely be there on Wednesday shooting some video for CanadianGardening.com and checking out the booths, but I also want to see some of the presentations.

These are some of the reasons I’m excited to visit Canada Blooms:

  • Creating an organic perennial garden of continuous bloom
    (Speaker: Lorraine Roberts)
    Because perennials are my best friends–they come up every year no matter what–and in my quest to be greener, this should be a very helpful seminar.
  • Gardening with Mother Nature the natural way
    (Speaker: Marjorie Mason)
    Because I want my garden to be an eco haven. Marjorie has written a great book called Ecological Gardening: Your Path to a Healthy Garden. It's trade paperback-sized, perfect for the subway, except I also need a pad and pen to take notes while reading!
  • Vertical vegetables
    (Speaker: Kenneth Brown)
    Because I'm planning on planting a square-foot garden and I need all the advice I can get to ensure I actually have something to eat at the end of all my hard work.
  • No more chemicals in the garden
    (Speaker: Jeff Lowefels)
    Because I need to know how to keep my ant population down without grabbing for a can of Raid.
  • Dramatic containers
    (Speaker: Paul Zammit)
    Because I need some fresh ideas for this year's pots. I will be filming a step-by-step video next week of Paul planting his gorgeous containers at the Toronto Botanical Garden! Stay tuned!
  • Since I love to travel, I'm looking forward to checking out the VIA Rail Garden Route and Tourism Ireland's Garden Travel area. Aldona did a portion of the Garden Route out west last fall and it sounds amazing!
  • The City of Toronto's 175th Anniversary Garden — to celebrate my city's birthday.
  • The Heart and Stroke Pulse Garden and the Canadian Cancer Society: Cancer Connections urban gallery for inspiration.
  • Pick Ontario Avenue because I can't resist shopping!
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