Check out the Diablo watering can, a sleek, modern-looking watering can designed to be left outdoors to collect rainwater. Why, you ask? Besides the karmic brownie points you earn by conserving water, rainwater is purportedly better for your houseplants – it contains fewer impurities than unfiltered tap water. I knew there had to be some […]
Green Gardening & Living
Good-for-the-earth gifts
While I stand by some of my choices from last year’s list of Best Gifts for Gardeners (I love my Lee Valley Seed Keeper, and you’d still get major Heavy Petal bonus points if you got me the Nature Mill indoor composter, for example), this year I’m trying to give people less stuff. More experiences, […]
Edible forest gardens
I just learned a new term! (Almost as good as learning a new word, but not quite.) I read about the two-volume Edible Forest Gardens bookset on Treehugger and became intrigued. Checking out the author’s site, I learned that, “edible forest gardening is the art and science of putting [food-bearing or medicinal] plants together in […]
Friday fun
It’s Friday and I’m so ready for the weekend. Are you feeling lazy, too? Wanna do some surfing? Check out Free Your Imagination, a blog that tracks newly discovered species. It’s an eye-opening trip that will astound you with our planet’s biodiversity. Happy Friday!
Terracycle
Okay, so I’m a bit slow on the uptake with this product. Terracycle launched in the spring, and has been available locally for at least a couple months, and I just heard about it. I blame my distraction on wedding and school madness. Terracycle’s product, which sounds to me like liquified worm castings, (or, as […]
Evergreen
I discovered Evergreen, a non-profit environmental organization, at my local farmer’s market last weekend. They were there promoting their Lawn and Garden Smart program, a garden consultation and design service created to promote ecological gardening to Greater Vancouver residents. Some municipalities, like West Vancouver and Richmond, are buying up blocks of the consultations to be […]
How to: make an organic all-purpose pesticide
If it’s not slugs, it’s aphids, apparently. The little buggers have arrived and are determined to shrivel up all the new growth on my Clematis jackmanii. It being in its third year (third year leap – check!) there is a lot of new growth at stake. I’ve always used a two-pronged approach to deal with […]
The war on slugs
I have a secret. I have a fondness for slugs and snails. I think they’re, well, kind of cute. I know I’m not alone in this! Well, maybe among gardeners. But except for that unfortunate time when I stepped on a slug and it got stuck between my toes… oh, and the time the dog […]