Blog Entries Tagged: Gardening
Found 10 blog entries tagged as Gardening.

Creating a bee-friendly garden in Calgary is a rewarding way to support local pollinators while enhancing your outdoor space. Plus, did you know we're considered the official Bee City?

The City of Calgary writes, "Calgary is an official Bee City and designated as a Bird Friendly City. The City of Calgary is committed to providing habitat and resources for wildlife by incorporating native plants into our parks and greenspaces. Calgary is a mecca for native bees and 199 different types of bees have been documented in our city. Calgary may contain more kinds of bumble bees than any other city in North America, three of which are endangered species. Climate change, disease, pesticide use and habitat loss have all contributed to the decline of…

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After a long winter in Calgary, Alberta, there's nothing quite like the sight of new growth and the promise of a vibrant garden. To make the most of the upcoming spring season, it's important to prepare your garden properly. Whether you're a seasoned gardener or just starting out, these tips from gardening experts will help you get your garden ready for spring:

  1. Be sure it is the right time to get started: "Research should be the first task on your list. Before you start digging in your garden, make sure that it's the appropriate time to do so based on your agricultural zone... If the ground is still frozen and there's still a threat of frost, you'll mostly be wasting your time" (Martha Stewart).
  2. Clear away the old to make way for the new:…

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Our ecosystem is powerful; but fragile. One missing link can set off a catastrophic domino effect, just as when one area of it is thriving, the rest has the opportunity to thrive. One member of this ecosystem is our precious pollinator: the bee. Bees don't simply gather nutrients from flowers for their own honey and hive; they also help to cross-pollinate plants to ensure greenery thrives and continues to regenerate every season. Without bees, our ecosystem would be in serious danger. 

The biggest threat to bees is, believe it or not, us! With more land being developed, natural habitats are lost. With carefully manicured and planned our gardens and lawns, the plants bees need for their nutrients are cut down and plucked like weeds. With insecticide and…

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Gardening in Calgary is not for the faint of heart!

Calgary experiences all four seasons in full force. Our Springs are wet, our summers scorching, our falls blistery, and our winters freezing. In the regular gardening season that spans from Spring-early Fall, we often experience every single type of weather: heat waves, snowstorms, hail and more. Frankly, we can experience all those types of weather in just one day! These conditions make gardening challenging; but not impossible. 

So, how can you successfully garden in Calgary? Here are the steps:

  1. Invest in good soil. Kath Smyth, a horticulturist with the Calgary Horticultural Society, tells Avenue Calgary, "Soil is the foundation of any good garden. Compost to create soil that is…

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Gardening season is upon us, and the secret to a great garden is great soil. What makes soil great? Compost!

Thanks to the City of Calgary, every home has a Green Compost Bin. You can regularly put compost waste in it for collection, or you can keep it inside your yard and do your own thing. If you choose to make your own compost, here is what you need to do:

Add Base: Food scraps are the base for your compost. You can basically compost any kind of food, except for meat & dairy products. This is because meat and dairy will attract rodents and maggots, but also compromises the nutrient balance of the compost. Have a mini compost container in your kitchen for easy access, then regularly dump it into your compost bin outside and clean it to reduce…

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Spring is a peculiar time for Calgarians. It seems like the moment we reach temperatures over zero degrees, the shorts come out and the toques are packed away. However, any true Calgarian knows that the moment you pack away your winter clothes you have officially jinxed the season and Mother Nature will strike back with the full force of a negative forty degree blizzard.

Weather in Calgary is delicate and undecided. It can never quite make up its mind on when spring will officially come. Therefore, we are launched into a constant back-and-forth between warm, sunny days and freezing, windy cold. While us Calgarians may be strong enough to handle this, sometimes our gardens are not.

The biggest problem people have is their garden beginning to…

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Soil: it is everywhere. It on the backroads we drive, it is what your home was built on, and it is what brings life to the land surrounding us. It is not dirt, grimy and useless. It is rich with minerals, nutrients, and everything needed to grow grass, plants and trees. Soil like planet Earth has is rare and extremely valuable.

If you are fond of gardening, you know how important soil is. It is most particularly important this time of year as farmers and gardeners begin to access the quality of their soil in order to decide what it needs to be as healthy as possible. After all, if you do not have healthy soil, you will not have healthy plants.

During the wintertime, soil freezes into a crust. Thousands of micro-organisms still flourish inside…

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Spring is here and each day more and more of Calgary blossoms and comes alive. We are so thankful that Calgary gets all four seasons, especially when beautiful weather like we have had today is the outcome. The birds are chirping, the bees are buzzing and we cannot wait to start seeing gardens come alive.

Calgary is home to some very dedicated gardeners who put hours of hard labour into creating beautiful landscapes for all to enjoy. A quick drive through most neighbourhoods will reveal many beautiful gardens, each with their own themes and plants. A drive through some of the most dedicated communities, such as Bowness and Mount Royal, are better inspiration than any Pinterest search.

For those of you looking to start your own garden or are looking…

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What is the hottest trend for this spring and summer? Do-it-yourself indoor herb gardens. One need not look far on Pinterest or in home decorating magazines to see that the herb garden craze is blowing up this season. Why? Because herb gardens are useful in every single way imaginable.

First off, herb gardens are extremely cheap to make. Later on in this article we will walk you through how to make your own. Herb gardens are extra cost effective because it will prevent you from ever having to purchase herbs from the store. Furthermore, indoor herb gardens make homes look fresh, the liven up bland living spaces and they make the room they are in smell amazing.

There are so many benefits to making your own indoor herb garden! So, here is how you can…

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Even if you live in a condo doesn’t mean you have to give up gardening. But it does mean you have some unique considerations when it comes to exercising your green thumb.

For starters, be sure to read the governing documents to see what restrictions you might face: there may be limits as to how much weight you can have on your balcony, certain kinds of plantings that may be prohibited (due to their attractiveness to pests), and/or you might not be allowed to affix anything to your balcony, such as hanging baskets and planter boxes.

You’ll have to carefully consider your choice of plants given your unit’s location. If you have a north-facing balcony, or one that’s simply steeped in shade due to a large overhang, you aren’t likely to have much success…

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