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
- 9 min
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
- 7 min
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...
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Upfront and Beautiful
- May 14
- 8 min
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
- 5 min
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
- 4 min
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
- 8 min
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
- 7 min
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
- 9 min
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
- 4 min
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
- 6 min
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
- 6 min
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, 2021
- 8 min
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, 2021
- 4 min
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, 2021
- 4 min
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, 2021
- 7 min
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, 2021
- 8 min
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, 2021
- 9 min
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, 2021
- 13 min
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, 2021
- 10 min
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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