
Plants That Make You Go HMMM
Plants That Make You Go HMMM By Rob Sproule It’s that time of year again where our fancy turns to thoughts of sitting at desks, staring at screens and books, pining to be outdoors. Few
Growing 101

Plants That Make You Go HMMM By Rob Sproule It’s that time of year again where our fancy turns to thoughts of sitting at desks, staring at screens and books, pining to be outdoors. Few

Poisonous Perennials By Rob Sproule A vibrant, blooming perennial bed is one of the hallmarks of a gorgeous garden (and a savvy, dedicated gardener). But we forget that behind the aesthetics of perennials lie separately

In Search Of “Local” By Rob Sproule You don’t get buzzier than the buzzword “local”, these days. From small town Farmers’ Markets to nation wide grocery chains, everyone is waving the banner and trying to

Combating Nature Deficit Disorder By Rob Sproule Kids are spending less time in nature. We could argue about causes, whether it’s too much screen time, fear about getting hurt or heavily scheduled extra-curricular time, but

Cherry Maggots by Rob Sproule We’ve heard a lot about apple maggots lately and, unfortunately, the prognosis for backyard apple growers is pretty dire. For every fruit there is a pest, it seems, and for

Gray Mold by Rob Sproule Most fuzzy things are just plain cute. Who can resist an over-plushed teddy bear or a fuzzy caterpillar in the palm. This article is about one fuzzy thing that’s more

Ground Beetles: Gladiators of the Garden by Rob Sproule In old Hollywood movies you always knew who to root for. The good guys were handsome and the bad guys were ugly. It’s a money making

Vinegar: Garden Cure-All or just Salad Dressing? by Rob Sproule With 2 small kids and an aversion to chemicals, I love vinegar in home. In most cases, a spray bottle with 1:1 vinegar to water

For the Love of Hostas by Rob Sproule I’ve come to learn that those who love hostas, love them a lot, and those who don’t love hostas.. still like them quite a bit. They’re one

Raspberries 101 by Rob Sproule Fresh raspberries and ice cream is one of summer’s sweetest delights. For the number of people who adore raspberries, it’s surprising that more aren’t growing them. Granted, they have a

Permaculture 101 by Rob Sproule The term is derived from the idea of “permanent agriculture.” The idea being that while modern agriculture often imposes our artificial techniques onto nature, permaculture emphasizes using nature’s patterns

Training Your Tomato by Rob Sproule Tomatoes embody the best of summer. From the nostalgic smell of the leaves to the juice running down your chin, they’re Canadian’s far-and-away favourite edible to grow, and for

Growing Strawberries by Rob Sproule Eating strawberries right off the runner is the sweetest way to spend a summer afternoon. A slightly tarter, but still delicious way to wile away the hours is to munch

Cabbage Worm by Rob Sproule The Cabbage worms are out early this year! If you love to munch on broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower and the crisp, broad leaves of kale, you’re not alone. While we wait

Where is Zone 3 Anyway? by Rob Sproule I don’t want to alarm you, but it gets cold in Alberta. It-hurts- when-I- breathe cold. On the plus side, we don’t have Zika, Ebola, or ants

Gardening As An Antidepressant by Rob Sproule If you’re reading this article, there’s a good chance that gardening makes you happy. Growing plants is an uplifting, life-affirming contrast with our often frustratingly repetitive daily routine.

How To Plant A Container Garden by Rob Sproule So you wanna plant a container garden? It can be intimidating, especially if you’ve been surfing the net looking for inspiration on professional gardening sites. Stop

Top 3 New Annuals Of 2016 by Rob Sproule Gardening is as timeless as hobbies get. But while we’ve been growing daisies and pansies for hundreds of years, and will be hundreds of years from

Avoiding Potato Scab by Rob Sproule If you’ve ever grown an Alberta spud, you’ve probably encountered potato scab. As common as a cold, scab is a bacterial infection that results in nasty scabs across the

Gardening With Succulents by Rob Sproule Have you noticed that Succulents are everywhere? From wedding magazines and home decorating magazines to sustainable gardening sites, they’ve become a versatile, alluring, easy-to-care-for wonder plant. Increasingly, savvy gardeners

Men In The Garden by Rob Sproule As both a garden writer and a Garden Centre owner, I pay a lot of attention to who is gardening. Even as I write this, I know (sorry,

Top 3 Gardening Trends For 2016 by Rob Sproule Gardening is self expression. It moves through trends like any creative paradigm, simultaneously a reflection of what’s happening in society and what’s happening inside the

Cut And Come Again by Rob Sproule How we grow food is changing. The traditional method of planting long rows and waiting, weeding and waiting and weeding, then harvesting once they mature, is optional now.

Pruning in April By Rob Sproule April is the gardeners’ pacing month. The snow has melted, the sun warms us and the brown, bare garden taunts us. When it’s too warm to be inside but
Read through our Growing Guides for tips to enrich your garden!