It’s been a busy year at gardenstead. We’ve had a marvellous twelve months of growth, adventure and exploration. And, while you could say that every year is a year of learning in the garden, we feel like this one was a particularly good one for us.
So, we took a minute (or three) to look back over our year to celebrate. Join us!
The (short) story of our busy year
Just what did we get up to this year? Lots! We thought we’d share links to the adventures Katie mentions via a transcript of her narration. Here we go!
We visited the Spanish mountains, to learn about an off-grid life lived in harmony with nature, and the outdoor studio of an artist who makes her own all-natural plant-based paints.
We learned the ins and outs of healthy soil, with our favourite plant and soil expert…hi, Aaron!
We visited a backyard flower farm…in March…in northern Ontario, to learn about northerly gardening tricks and to find out just how early you need to start seedlings to get flowers in June.
We met a pair of women who started a flower shop around a genius idea — sustainable, build-your own flower bouquets.
We took a walk in the woods to learn about invasive plants and how to manage them, and learned how to make garlic mustard pesto from one of North America’s most prolific invaders.
Then, we took it inside to learn about really big houseplants — how to take care of them, how to repot them, and where to put them in our homes.
We visited an amazing, solar-powered farm to learn about sustainable and regenerative agriculture…and then we took a side trip to Montréal, because we just can’t get enough of flowers, flowers, flowers!
We asked the questions — what is gardening for wildlife? And why is it so important? We got the answers from a super knowledgeable habitat creator and native plant nursery owner.
We met an enterprising young gardener who was growing enough in her small Toronto front yard to feed a whole neighbourhood.
We started a podcast! We spoke to experts! And we answered community questions…lots of community questions.
We played outside with our kids to truly learn that spending time in nature is good for all of us, and we spoke with a psychiatrist about the healing power of gardening — and wandered around his permaculture food forest.
We shared how to grow, how to harvest, and how to preserve vegetables.
We met amazing gardeners from faraway places, and took a tour of an urban farm that’s feeding city neighbourhoods and demonstrating the importance of fresh local food — right in gardenstead’s backyard.
And then — we capped off the year by exploring a Christmas tree farm and having a little bit of fun. Okay, maybe a lot of fun.
Happy New Year, everyone. Here’s to another productive season in all of our gardens.
