Mulch Ado About Nothing
Aristotle coined the idiom ‘Nature abhors a vacuum’, to illustrate his belief that empty and unfilled spaces are unnatural — that where...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Jul 1, 20229 min read
Smart Gardening
Busy people deserve a thoughtful, beautiful and well designed garden maintenance program that will save them time and money, and inspire...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Jun 3, 20227 min read
Nature's Pharmacy
Our much-loved veggie dog Dave is a constant source of amusement and inspiration for the whole family. He knows for example, that digging...
368 views0 comments
Upfront and Beautiful
May 14, 20228 min read
Trust Me. I'm Trying
How climate change has changed me for the better. ‘Observe and Interact’ is the first principle of permaculture. What this means in...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Apr 29, 20225 min read
The New Gold is Green
Garden to table in 15 minutes or less, for just pennies per person For many reasons, I’ve given up investing in the traditional sense....
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Upfront and Beautiful
Apr 14, 20224 min read
Mother Knows Best
It seems fitting that, as we wait impatiently for winter to depart our chilly corner of the country and take with it the unseasonally...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Apr 1, 20228 min read
Growing Nutrient-Density
Why we should educate children about the crazy cool soil food web and life-giving mycelial networks, while they are very young — while...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Mar 18, 20227 min read
Grow the Change You Want to See
Sunday May 20th is Plant a Seed Day in North America. I love this collective food-security inspired call to action to plant a seed, but...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Mar 4, 20229 min read
Sowing Seeds of Change
- Soil biology is quickly becoming my favourite subject to contemplate, read, talk and write about. Soil health, as an agent of change,...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Feb 18, 20224 min read
Hope Springs Eternal
Two years ago, our front yard looked like most others in most neighbourhoods — plenty of grass surrounded by a hedge of tall non-native...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Feb 5, 20226 min read
Wild Enthusiasm
The late great humanist, biologist, environmental theorist, author and philosopher E.O. Wilson wrote, “If all mankind were to disappear,...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Jan 21, 20226 min read
Sweet Victory
Following the crazy ‘cold-snap of a lifetime’ that fell bracingly here in Vancouver, Canada, between alternating flights of wet snow and...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Dec 30, 20218 min read
Resolutions For Change
Wishing readers a happy new year seems inappropriate somehow, insensitive possibly, given the social, environmental, and economic...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Dec 23, 20214 min read
Salt Of The Earth
As 2021 draws to a close and I sharpen focus on the time and resources that I have to honour family and friends, the wide funnel of...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Dec 16, 20214 min read
Biochar By The Jar
Always at this time of year, I am thinking about coal. I reflect on the proverbial lump of carbonized plant matter that we joke about...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Dec 10, 20217 min read
Observe and Interact
One of my favourite quotes about gardening, speaks insightfully to its least celebrated season. “And don't think the garden loses its...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Dec 1, 20218 min read
Taking Stock on Giving Tuesday
On ‘Giving Tuesday’ of this week, my regional seed supplier was still hosting its week-long Green Friday 50% Off Sale on all vegetable,...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Nov 26, 20219 min read
Spirited Gifts From The Garden
80-proof infusions may encourage family and friends to stay hopeful and close to home. We don’t have a choice really, here on the edge of...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Nov 18, 202113 min read
The Nature of 'Things'
I could feel it coming; something was in the wind. Just moments after the first soft frost of the season, an unseasonably warm wind...
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Upfront and Beautiful
Nov 12, 202110 min read
Sleep is Delicious
Not only is sleep delicious, it is nutritious. Sleep feeds our bodies, minds and souls in ways that we are only beginning to fully...
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