I started my flower seeds last weekend and I am not using a greenhouse. I am using my growop — a bank of lights tucked into a niche off the kitchen.

The phrase "grow-op" has certain negative implications but I swear I'm not breaking any laws. I love flowers and I hate the big price of buying them retail so I am starting a few at home from seed.

Flowers and vegetables that offer some tasty tidbits for your table

So, time to fess up now. Do you ever feel like a bit of a show off?

I might have been showing off a bit when my new Italian friend Josie dropped by last week to see my greenhouse.

Five tips for big gardens in small spaces

A dog needs to bark and a cat needs to meow. Does that mean a gardener needs a garden to garden?

Not really.

Some of the best gardeners have tiny balconies or do all their gardening on their front step. I learned this lesson in Dubrovnik, a centuries-old city in Europe where entire gardens are built on front steps.

Echeverias proving popular for summer nuptials

Two out of two brides have asked me to help them find the same plants for their wedding this summer.

OK - it's true - I only know two brides-to-be, but I was surprised they both inquired about the same plant. My niece Ayla and the daughter of my university roommate , Kendra, asked me about succulent plants for their big days.

Hardy flowers for the cool spring season

A giant cardboard box of flowers arrived last week. Every plant was primly upright and not a drop of soil had escaped a single pot.

What?

Who gets their annuals shipped in?

Slithering serpents can be very helpful in the garden

My neighbour George, now in his late 80s, told me he had to tear down his old greenhouse because it was full of snakes.

His wife Barbara was very afraid of the small serpents. The only place I have seen an overabundance of garter snakes in Calgary is in a rock garden in Edgemont. The rocks, seemingly alive with slithering serpents, were a little unsettling.

Cats are different from dogs.

If you arrive home late, cats pretend they don't even remember you. They scoot under your bed, spill their water or mess with their cat box if you are late or even think of being late. Dogs however, are licking your face before the key is out of the lock and demanding to know if you want to go for a walk.

There is confusion among new gardeners when it comes to growing plants from seed. Can you really use toilet paper rolls to start seedlings? Sure – if you have a stack of them on hand and don't mind them falling apart just when you need them to hang together.

How about seeding into eggshells? Fine, if you buy jumbo free-range eggs. Some of the regular eggs are so fragile, it's difficult to get them out of the fridge without crumbling the shell. Free-range eggs are usually tough enough but are they big enough? A small container such as a tiny eggshell needs to be misted and watered continuously.

I am working on my garden and the soil is hitting the ground but I haven't left the kitchen. It's a Sunday morning in January and I am planting micro-greens. I am also wear my fuzzy slippers.

Sold at many markets, so called "baby" lettuce is also called microgreens and I am growing my own. From seed, they take a few weeks to mature and size up for eating. It doesn't really matter when you get started and I wouldn't plan a dinner party around it, but micro-greens grown indoors under lights germinate overnight and keep growing until cut.

It's not the busiest season in the garden but at the job site, one garden business is so busy right now no one is allowed to take a day off until after Christmas.

Despite their name, BC Greenhouse Builders Ltd. in Langley B.C. is a small family-owned greenhouse construction business. Selling home and commercial greenhouses right across North America, the company is shipping a huge greenhouse to Saskatchewan the day I arrive for my tour in early October.