Garden Wisdom Blog — category: Articles and Instructions

Plant Hardiness Zones offer general guidance to the kinds of plants that will succeed in your area. The warmer your climate, the higher the number of the Zone you live in. Zones assume that all plants are receiving adequate water. The accuracy of zone coding can be substantially distorted by a lack of water. Zones are also affected by altitude, soil aeration, light, day length, air movement, surrounding structures, and soil pH. Microclimates like English Bay in Vancouver can provide enough protection to grow palm trees. However, neighbours on a hilly street in North Vancouver may find themselves in different...

Known since ancient Greece and Rome, the modern cabbage is a descendant of wild mustard. The Roman statesman Cato the Elder wrote of its medicinal properties, “It is the cabbage which surpasses all other vegetables.” The seventeenth century English physician and botanist Nicholas Culpeper recommended using cabbage to treat hoarseness, snake bites, kidney stones, liver disease, consumption, eye troubles, cankers, swelling, and other maladies. But this wealth of benefits is not without its drawbacks, as Culpeper points out: I know not what metal their bodies were made of; this I am sure, Cabbages are extremely windy, whether you take them...

Before you venture out to the garden and harvest a bunch of flowers for the dinner table, it’s important to remember that some flowers are poisonous. Make sure you’ve made a positive identification of each variety you’re using. Obviously, you should avoid flowers that may have been sprayed with pesticides or other chemicals, so either grow your own organic flowers, or harvest them from a location you’re sure about. Organic or not, all flowers should be shaken and washed in cold water prior to use, as they may to be homes for insects. Pick your edible flowers in the morning,...

Winter is a gift: it’s nature’s down time, a time when many plants go dormant and many animals have a winter’s rest. However, for those animals that are still active, winter can be a challenge. It’s hard to keep up your energy levels when you’re small, wet, and cold. Add food for the birds into your garden plans, and you’ll give the birds a very precious gift: Suet feeders provide fuel to stay warm in the cold winter season. Suet is one way to help out winter birds. It’s animal fat, and it’s an excellent food for woodpeckers, nuthatches, and...