Native plants shopping spree in Markham

Do you remember our native woodland garden that we started last year in our front yard? Well, we are really excited that almost all the native plants we planted came up this year. (A detailed front yard update coming soon.) There are some areas that need to be filled in, so we decided to go to the North American Native Plant Society's (NANP) annual plant sale to pick up some plants. 

This was our third time attending this event and we knew we had to get there early as the plant selection diminishes by the minute. It was held again in Markham and we managed to get there right on time. 

The event is very well organized with different sections for shrubs, flowers, trees and grasses. The flower section is further divided into dry, sunny, wet and shady sections to easily find what you are looking for.

There were many people and it felt like we needed to make quick decisions on the plants otherwise our fellow native plant lovers would grab them. There is an option to pre-order plants which worked well for us last year. This time around we decided to take our chances.

                   

The plants were $6 each and we ended up buying a few Running Strawberry Bushes, Blue Phlox, Large Leaf Asters and Wild Bergamot.

In addition to the shopping, it was also great to chat with like minded people and get some more tips on what to plant under our Norway Maple. We even got some admiring praises as we described how we went for it and transformed our whole front yard into a native garden.

This plant sale is a great introduction to native plant gardening. If you want to attend next year I would recommend to prepare a list of plants you want to pick up. There is not much time to look around as plants get picked up fast and the whole event is done by the early afternoon.

Mia

The Green Living Show and what we liked about it

Today I was thinking that our house is a mess and the builder is still working on our bathroom so why not get out of the house and check out The Green Living Show . I proposed this idea to Misha and as it was a cold and rainy day, he quickly agreed. We had never been to The Green Living Show and we thought we might get some green project ideas, so there we went.

When we got there we were surprised to see so many people. We could barely get through some of the aisles especially the food ones. We began tracking in Misha's military grid line system, to not miss any booths. We passed by tons of organic food booths giving away free samples.

We briefly considered purchasing a bamboo vegetable brush, but resisted. I am happy about that.

We tried out organic mattresses. We will visit Soma Organic Mattresses at their retail location as they also sell organic couches that I would consider for our living room.

Misha couldn't resist discussing the plans of the Eglinton Crosstown Light Rail Transit with a Metrolinx employee. He was pressing him on how likely it is that this project will happen.

We signed an Environmental Defence petition for mandatory ingredient labeling...

...and took a picture with Kevin, from Eco Building Resource. He is our go to person when it comes to green renovation advice and products.

We got briefly tempted by the solar panels. It is a great idea but still very costly.

We checked out the green areas of the Greater Toronto Area...

...and loved the steel roofs on display. We will definitely consider them once the time comes to replace our asphalt shingles.

 We couldn't leave without a gardening idea. Misha might give this slug trap product a try.

And last but not least, I have to mention this buckwheat pillow that Misha was so fascinated by. It is filled with buckwheat husks. I told him that I will make him a buckwheat pillow like this for his birthday. He doesn't believe me.

It was great to see so many people being interested in green living. Hopefully this event will grow each year. If you are in the Toronto area, check it out, it is still on tomorrow.

Mia

The Farm Crawl

With our lavender planted and thriving it was time for an excursion to the country. The GO train ride from Toronto to Burlington made us feel like we were leaving Paris for a weekend in Provence.  We met my Dad at Aldershot Station and drove west to Dundas, Ontario for the first stop on our three farm tour.

Kevin and Abigail of Weir’s Lane Lavender had invited us on a Farm Crawl they organized with two other farms. When we pulled up to Kevin’s farm the rows of lavender in the front field and the stucco, Mediterranean style house made us wonder if in fact we were in Provence.

Kevin was just starting his beekeeping demonstration when we arrived.  Mia kept her distance but I had kept bees in my youth so I got right in there and helped with the demonstration.  Not only do the bees pollinate the lavender, but they produce amazingly delicious lavender honey.

After checking out their recent planting and striking established rows, Mia tried her hand at making a lavender wand.

I thought she might cast wonderful lavender spells with it but she mostly uses it to smack me when I annoy her;  at least it smells nice when she does.  The lavender releases fragrance when the flowers are bruised by rolling it between your hands or whacking your partner with it.

Abigail and Mia showing off the final lavender wand.

We toured the farm store, sampled some lavender flavoured food and were struck by the many herbs lavender can be mixed with.

I am going to try and grow all the herbs for Herbs de Provence in the herb garden next year.  I even bought two Royal Velvet lavender plants to plant in our garden.  They are one of the nicest edible varieties.

Misha and Kevin checking out the front lavender field

Our next stop was ManoRun Organic Farm. This rustic mixed farm featured organic vegetables and herbs, horses, cows, chickens and an outdoor brick pizza oven. 

We learned something about the borage that is growing in our yard.  I had no idea you could eat it and use it to flavour water.  It’s great for skin health and apparently a great addition to the compost heap once it is harvested.  We love borage!

The last stop was Jerry’s berries where we filled up on raspberries.  The berries were amazing but I kept trying to switch rows because the berries in the adjacent rows always seemed a little nicer and more plentiful.  Of course once I got to the other row, the row I had come from looked better.  Suffice it to say, Mia filled her container in half the time I did by staying in the same row.  After a short jam making demo we were back on the road and headed to the train station.

The search for the perfect berry; check out the perfect berry picking form.

On the train ride back we reflected on our amazing day in the country and felt completely satisfied with our little taste of Provence as we pulled into the station in Paris. 
Misha