Planning a new garden is exciting, and can also be overwhelming and budget breaking. If you’re doing it yourself, the time commitment can also be intense! Phased garden planning resolves all of these issues and is easier then you think.

No-dig garden beds are ideal for those strapped for time, who have physical limitations or those that want to support the soil health while creating a beautiful and functional space for your family. They are one of the easiest forms of gardening that I have come across and they can be done for free without any special tools.

Year after year I do not have enough indoor space for all the seedlings I start. In a small urban garden, where real estate is limited, a seasonal extender has to play many roles to justify the space it will occupy. A Geodome Greenhouse was my solution. I share all the details on how you can build one too!

Thank you for swinging by and providing a home for my excess seedlings. Growing more then we need and being able to share the wealth brings our household so much joy. The feedback from last years give away table rocked my world! This post includes all the info you’ll need to care for the plants or seeds that you picked up.

Toronto being Canada’s largest city, it’s plentiful wildlife populations may come as a surprise. Urban gardeners in Toronto have to contend with their own special breed of critters; the fearless (insert choice swear word) squirrels. These small, fluffy creatures are ballsy and will easily destroy your flowers and vegetable garden, leaving fruit and flowers with one single nibble, to taunt you on your front step.

You’ve picked a beautiful native tree with great four season interest, one of the main features being it’s spring flowers. Hot pink buds dotting the bare branches. The flowers showcase beautifully against the lime green of the new leaf growth in surrounding trees. Yet, your tree isn’t blooming!

Many misused terms get thrown around in gardening forums, Facebook groups and general conversations when discussing plants. This occurs even more when native plants are concerned. We get to the bottom of common terms such as invasive and aggressive, which will allow you to garden more confidently, when selecting plants for your space.

Toddlers have this knack for stomping on precious plants with complete unawareness to the effects of their actions. Boundaries are an important life lesson, whether they are material or emotional. Teaching and enforcing boundaries is an art, that once mastered can reset many areas of your life. Keep toddlers out of the garden with these 5 simple steps.

Naming the beings around us creates a sense of familiarity, comfort and community. We are far from alone in this world but we are currently out of touch. Greeting our fellow beings by name is a simple way to rebuild that relationship.

“This plant makes me happy! I must have it!!” But at what expense? Let’s do a little case study! Three early-spring plants that all bloom around the same time. Three very different effects on the environment around them.

These aren’t hacks. This is a practical, frugal list of ways to garden. Ontario’s continuous lockdowns to counter Covid have caused supply shortages, price inflations and access inequalities amongst residents of Toronto. Gardening does not need to be only for the affluent and land owners. There are many ways to garden on a budget utilizing things you and your community already have access to.

Sleep is arguably the most precious commodity as a parent and typically one of the hardest elements to secure. We resort to trainers, books and products to help get us there and focus the majority of our efforts at bedtime. We often forget a powerful tool that we already have.

Around the 6 month mark, babies suddenly bloom and become incredibly aware of the world around them. At this age they love nothing more then exploring and interacting with their environment. This exploration only evolves as their mobility increases. This makes it the perfect age to introduce a sensory garden.

Time is the most limited resource. You want gardening to be fun, not another task on your already full plate. Taking the path of least resistance or easing into a new activity can help you stay the course and eventually level up your skills. Be kind to yourself and try out some of the easiest to grow vegetables when first jumping into gardening.

Strawberries are a ‘gateway plant’ for getting kids to garden. If you plant them, they will come, and snack, and snack and snack. So having just a basket of strawberry plants is not enough. How can you avoid the ‘dirty dozen’ woes of supermarket strawberries and get your own harvestable crop fast, cheap and easily?

The garden has many lessons to offer all of us and is a brilliant mediator and connector. Including chores in your children’s daily routine has the potential to be “the best predictor of young adults’ success in their mid-20’s.” We’ve got lists of age appropriate tasks to help you connect as a family.

The fear and overwhelm is real! There are so many details that go into gardening. You can spend a lifetime and never learn all there is to know. But you know what you can do? Start! And we’ll show you how!

If we have a mild enough winter, it is possible to enjoy nearly 12 months of blooms in your Toronto garden! Broken down by the month, we have blooms that appear long before tulips, no forcing required.

Starting clean ups too soon can have harmful effects on the space you are attempting to nurture. It is possible to love and overcare for your garden too much!

When should you begin cleaning up the garden in Southern Ontario?

Landscape companies make decisions that weigh out income, time and resources. The window of opportunity to do a spring clean up, late enough to not be disrupting pollinators, early enough to maximize our growing season, is small. Home gardeners who choose to do it themselves have the opportunity to make a greater, positive impact on our ecosystem.