Grow what you need to make the best homemade pizza

"Are you the gal who left the free tomatoes outside your gate last week?"

My "Free – help yourself," sign last summer had invited everyone to take home gorgeous, fresh tomatoes, and I thought the man was stopping by to thank me.

Ordering seed for the horticultural season ahead

"I'll start ordering seeds soon," I think to myself, as I browse the catalogues that are filling my mailbox and inbox.

As a gardener, I don't have to wait for catalogues to arrive to get in on seed mania and neither do you.
If you have a balcony or a patio, you can dream of growing Tiny Tim or Siderno Tomatoes, Delize strawberries, Mascotte green beans or flower dragon muskmelons in pots later this spring.

Plant-friendly solutions for icy walkways and homegrown winter refreshments

Slippery When Wet
It's nothing to brag about, but after months of false starts and delays, we finally got our new sidewalk poured this fall. It is so pretty, but it does get slippery when snow melts and water freezes.

So off to the store I went to buy a solution for icy walks. There was just one problem: almost every product for melting ice contains salt, and all the labels warn against use of salt on unsealed or new concrete.

Gathering in the beauty of the season

Weather changes in Calgary quicker than a fashion model on a runway. Clear and sunny becomes snow, and then rain and wind follow – sometimes all in one day.

But don't fret: Calgary holds the record as the sunniest city in Canada. This means we still have sunny days ahead this month. Take advantage of the light and boost your natural vitamin D levels while finishing up some last-minute garden jobs. Gardening builds health and happiness while you create a great yard and enhance neighbourhood beauty. While you are out in the garden, don't forget to:

Preparing for the winter ahead

It's October and it's time to get serious about the fall garden. Plant bulbs, rake apples, empty compost and clean out plant pots before the sleet and snow freezes everything solid like a jellied salad.

Gardening tips as summer winds down

August in the garden means the harvest is underway, but everything in the garden isn't ready in the same way or on the same day. Here is a primer for garden work this month:

Gardening tips as autumn arrives

I walked the dog in a sweater this morning. Soon I will be wearing my down jacket. So, is this all we get? Is it the end of the garden season? No way!

Hold your horses and follow these dos and don'ts to get the most out of our shrinking garden season this month.

How to freshen up houseplants in the shower

Do you have a layer of dust on your indoor plants from the pre-Obama era?

As the sun shines on my plants, I can see it's been too long. If I can write my name on the leaves in dust, I know it's time to send my greenery to the shower.

Light levels are so low in February in Calgary that any extra interference, like dust, slows houseplants down and blocks the already limited light. If leaf tips are browning or whole leaves yellowing, the plant is probably cutting its losses by getting rid of the lazy leaves that are too shaded to give back.

In nature, regular rains wash leaves clean, but in your apartment or house, plants need a helping hand.

How eco-therapy can warm the soul during the holidays

Whether you believe in gift giving or not this is the time of year to be thankful for your garden and for nature. And the physical benefits gained aren't limited to things we have to buy.
Here is a seasonal selection of garden gifts to ponder:

Winter

Chelsie was at the landfill in late November when she noticed someone else had left large birch branches behind. Knowing these could be striking additions to her seasonal garden containers, she swapped out her waste for someone else's, and happily left with a few striking white branches. Later, she included them in her seasonal outdoor pots and planters.

Try a last-minute salad crop

It was well after her neighbour had finished their veggie harvest and late into November last year when my daughter, Chelsie, allowed her son, Cohen, to fulfill his final garden wish of the season.

First, she asked eight-year old Cohen to fill eight more bags of Kale from their patch.

The next morning, when the temperatures crashed and the remaining crop was crisply covered with frosty icing, Chelsie gave Cohen the go-ahead. He bounced high on his trampoline and lept off into the frozen kale patch. The kale cracked into shards on impact, and the still-soft soil broke his fall as he tumbled like a gymnast down the row. You couldn't imagine a bigger smile and a better way to say goodbye to summer.