Thanks to everyone who entered the contest. It was great to read your stories. It seems many of us share a common start to gardening: our parents. Or more specifically, our mothers. That’s why it’s kind of cool that the first name drawn was Emma, who wrote that she’s getting into gardening because she wants […]
Covert operation #1
If you’re careful not to look down, the view from the east of our home is stunning: all the mountains and trees of a tourism brochure. But if you look down, as inevitably you must, you are faced with the Ghetto House, as we affectionately call it. It’s the burnt-out shell of a 1940s bungelow, […]
Welcome to Heavy Petal!
Welcome to the new home of Heavy Petal. Please update your links and bookmarks. I’m hugely excited about how pretty this new site is (thanks, Industrial Brand Creative!) and to celebrate its launch, I’m having a contest! The fine people at CobraHead have agreed to give five lucky Heavy Petal readers one of their tools. […]
Cherry blossom time
the long road boughs of white blossoms light the way Helen Baker North Vancouver, British Columbia This is one of my favourite times of the year; of course, there’s the beauty of the spring garden and the potential it holds, but it’s also a time that makes me feel extra blessed to live in Vancouver […]
Spring is here!
Today, I went out without a jacket. This weekend, there’s a work party organized for my Community Garden. This can only mean one thing: Spring is here!
Garden aesthetics
So I bought this raised bed kit from Lee Valley Tools for my roof-top veggie garden. I was hoping that it would look as passable as it does in the above photos, but, when I got it home and assembled it, it looked like I had nicked a curbside recycling bin. In short: it’s ugly. […]
Sprouting
Phew! That didn’t take long. Seeds are a continual source of amazement to me; they’re like little miracle pods. These, from a West Coast Seeds lettuce variety mix, rewarded me in just two days!
The sacred garden
I’m happiest in nature. It shouldn’t come as such a surprise to me to realise this. In a world I’ve often struggled to make peace with, I’ve always felt most calm, most content, in the forest or garden. Sometimes, when I work in the garden, it feels like a holy rite. Something sacred. It’s like […]