Our new oyster mushrooms. (Photo: Rebekka Hutton)
Growing food in an apartment or small space isn’t always easy—especially without an outdoor deck or balcony. Here at our downtown Toronto office, we’re growing delicious oyster mushrooms on the top of our fridge, and they’ve just started to fruit after only two weeks.
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Posted by Erin from Communications
New Jersey Tea flowers (Photo: ©Jim Stasz. United States, MD, USDA @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database)
Also known as red root, Ceanothus americanus is a drought-tolerant shrub native to Ontario and Quebec, that can grow on rocky bluffs, woodland edges, savannah and even on urban rooftops.
Attractive to birds and butterflies with creamy white flowers in spring, it makes an excellent tea. It has been used medicinally and to produce dyes. What more could you ask for in a plant?
Learn more about New Jersey tea and other native shrubs in Evergreen’s Native Plant Database.
Hey Toronto! Find this plant at Evergreen Gardens, our new, mission-driven retail garden center at Evergreen Brick Works.
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Posted by Christine from Volunteering
Agnew H. Johnston Public School, Thunder Bay, ON (left); Alex Ferguson School, Calgary, AB (right).
If you’re like me, you have an excess of energy for spring DIY projects. I’m always looking for easy ways to make my space feel fresh and revived after a long winter. One of the easiest things you can do to renew your outdoor space on a budget is to incorporate art.
2 Comments | Art, Gardening, Green Tips, School Ground Greening | Permalink
Posted by Anne from Learning Grounds
First customer of Evergreen Gardens. (Photo credit: Nancy MacPhee)
There’s something going on down in the valley – the native plants have been organized and are now on sale at Evergreen Gardens, a new retail garden centre at Evergreen Brick Works. Pictured here is Evergreen’s Board Member and Evergreen Brick Works Committee member Leith Moore, our very first customer!
The shop opened on Friday, May 7, with eight staff members who battled the wind, rain and cold all weekend and did well in spite of it all. Come out and pick up your native plants and edibles at Evergreen Brick Works, located at 550 Bayview Road, Toronto, ON, M4W 3X8.
Evergreen Gardens is open every day from 10am–7pm and is a social enterprise benefiting Evergreen, an environmental charity. All revenues will be re-invested to support Evergreen’s programs and mission-based activities.
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Posted by Aurelia from Operations
Leaves of a trembling aspen. (Photo: ©J.S. Peterson. USDA @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database)
This fast-growing member of the willow family, Populus tremuloides, is a pioneer species, often used in the first phase of restoration projects. Tolerant of a wide range of soil and moisture conditions and found in every province and territory of Canada, it appears to be trembling or quaking when the wind blows, hence it’s name. Growing 12 to 25 m high, this native tree attracts insects, birds and browsing wildlife. It sends up suckers from spreading roots, producing groups of genetically identical trees that can include thousands of trees covering areas up to 80 ha. Because of this some consider it the world’s largest living organism.
Learn more about trembling aspen and other native trees in Evergreen’s Native Plant Database.
1 Comment | Gardening, Native Species | Permalink
Posted by Erin from Communications
Locket-shaped hearts of the Pacific bleeding heart. (Photo: Brother Alfred Brousseau @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database)
Native only to British Columbia in Canada, Dicentra formosa, or Pacific bleeding heart, is an excellent choice for any urban garden in BC. It thrives in moist environments with sun, partial shade or full shade and its purple/pink locket-shaped flowers are a major attraction for hummingbirds and other wildlife from May to June.
Learn more about Pacific bleeding heart and other native wildflowers from Evergreen’s Native Plant Database.
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Posted by Allison from Evergreen British Columbia
Beautiful blooms and liver-shaped leaves. (Photos L–R: Linda Read, Alex Hume)
Get set for spring by brushing up on your native plant knowledge!
Introducing Anemone acutiloba (formerly Hepatica nobilis var. acuta). This showy woodland wildflower is a great addition to the urban garden and produces white/cream or pink flowers when it blooms in the spring. It gets its liver leaf name because the shape of the leaves resemble a mammalian liver. It does not cure liver ailments as some early herbalogists thought!
You can find this member of the buttercup family in woodland habitats in Quebec and Ontario in normal to moist soil conditions.
For more information about this and other native species, check out Evergreen’s online Native Plant Database.
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Posted by Sarah from Learning Grounds
The finished product, waiting for visitors! (Photo: Evergreen)
Watching the birds come and go from a backyard feeder can be fun and stress relieving. Enticing them to your lawn or shared space doesn’t have to be complicated either. With a few simple steps, you can create a low-cost feeder using found materials and a few other basic household items.
This is a great activity to do with children, or to bring out the child within!
1 Comment | Craft Corner, Gardening, How to Love Winter | Permalink
Posted by Jenn from Communications
Radishes peeking out of the ground in the Community Garden at Eva's Place (Photo: Evergreen)
Royal Burgundy beans, atomic red carrots, bull’s blood beets and dinosaur kale are among the scrumptious seeds our community gardens will plant this spring thanks to a successful Seedy Saturday (on a Sunday) this past weekend. We purchased an assortment of heritage varieties including strawberry spinach and Callalloo – a leaf vegetable used for a popular Caribbean dish and a favorite among many of our community gardeners.
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Posted by Mel from Development
Colourful blooms can brighten up your February. (Photos: Erin Elliott)
This week, I asked Evergreen Learning Grounds’ Debby Morton how she is surviving the drab winter months without her garden. She takes her inspiration from colour, colour, colour!
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5 Comments | Gardening, Green Tips, How to Love Winter | Permalink
Posted by Erin from Communications
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