Published in the Toronto Star – March 11, 2017   Good morning.  This is day two of the greatest garden festival in the country.  Are you up for it?  I am warning you that the scent of fresh flowers, the oxygen of an abundance of greenery and the sensations aroused by several hundred tonnes of clean…

Published in the Toronto Star – March 4, 2017   The most exciting time of year, for Canadian gardeners, will be here in less than a week.  Canada Blooms, the largest flower and garden festival in the country, launches at the Enercare Centre in Toronto, Friday March 10 through Sunday March 19.  This year marks…

Published in the Toronto Star – February 25, 2017 Is he a country boy who loves the city or a city boy who loves the country?  Dave Harvey asks this question openly of himself.  One thing for sure, he is no boy.  After 25 years in public service, including a stint working in the Premier’s office…

Published in the Toronto Star – February 18, 2017 Standing in front of an extensive rack of seeds at the hardware store, I reached for the cosmos.  Cosmos is different from ‘The cosmos’ you may be thinking of.  While you may reach for the stars, I will be very happy just reaching for a packet of…

Published in the Toronto Star – February 11, 2017   Consider this: One in four Canadians buy bird food and/or consume ‘birding’ products.  The average amount spent is $1,000 per year.  If that sounds crazy, count me as one of the crazy ones.  With 14 feeding stations on my property, I spend a lot of time…

Published in the Toronto Star – February 4, 2017 It is mid-winter: perfect time to review your garden seed catalogues. For many of us, it is important to grow the very best quality plants in our garden.  Why go to the trouble of ‘growing your own’ otherwise?  Where vegetable gardening is concerned, many of us produce…

Published in the Toronto Star – January 28, 2017   Not all gardeners are created equal.  My late father would have called me a ‘plantsman’.   My interest in gardening springs from a keen interest in plants and how we use them. I think that this is the result of being raised in the retail gardening trade. …

Published in the Toronto Star – January 21, 2017 Late in January is not exactly the height of the gardening season, but for this: it is the best time of year to dream about the gardening season ahead of you.  It seems that many of us urban dwellers have been dreaming about where to park the…

Published in the Toronto Star – January 14, 2017 It was just a tree.  Straightening his back and inspecting the hole that he had just dug, he was pleased.  This would make a fine home for a maple.  Not just any maple but a sugar maple. And not just any sugar maple but a sugar…

Published in the Toronto Star – January 7, 2017 Take a moment to pull the snapshot that is in your head of a gorgeous garden.  It is in your mental hard drive somewhere.  Got it?  For some this is a brilliant, blowsy place full of colour and for others it may be a large expanse…

Published in the Toronto Star – December 31, 2016 Last month I invited my ‘Facebook’ followers to answer the question, “What does your garden mean to you?”  The response was overwhelming with more than 50 people expressing their thoughts.  Many were quite personal. As I review these responses I reflect on the meaning that my…

Published in the Toronto Star – December 17, 2016 It was a sunny day in late September and the air was crystal clear.  Not bad for an urban environment.  We were planting trees in Downsview Park for the Highway of Heroes Living Tribute – one tree for each of Canada’s war dead (www.hohtribute.ca).  David Anselmi,…

Published in the Toronto Star – December 10, 2018 Christmas gift lists can be a pain.  My kids tell me that they have trouble buying for me as I seem to have everything that I want and if I need a new tie I just go buy one.  Perception is their reality: I haven’t bought…

Published in the Toronto Star – December 3, 2016 I have only been hospitalized once in my adult life. I spent a couple of days in Toronto East General (now the Michael Garron Hospital) three and a half years ago recovering from radical prostate surgery. It was the first time as an adult that I…

Published in the Toronto Star – November 26, 2016 My heart skipped a beat. I was, for a second, breathless. I had waited 10 years for this moment. As I approached my garden pond, a garter snake slithered away in front of me. A beauty, about 60 cm long, a healthy specimen dressed in black…

Published in the Toronto Star November 19, 2016 Those of us who love the outdoors and enjoy puttering around the yard are always looking for an excuse to do something in the fresh air.  This column is not for you.  This is for those who thought that they were done with the lawn and garden. …

Published in the Toronto Star November 12, 2016    “I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” ~John Muir (1838–1914) Mindfulness. Prayerfulness. Meditation.  All good ideas.  But I have a better one: a walk in the park. Remember when your…

Published in the Toronto Star November 5, 2016 “If there’s a book you really want to read, but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” ~Toni Morrison Last month a few hundred ‘garden writers’ met in Atlanta to learn more about their passion and to network.  These are the people who bring…

Published in the Toronto Star October 29, 2016 “The tweet that I love best comes from a beak.”  Mark Cullen Time was, birding season was in the winter, when there was pretty much nothing else to do while standing at the kitchen window.  My, how times have changed!  I have this on good authority: bird…

Published in the Toronto Star October 22, 2016 “Freedom is never free.”  ~Author Unknown During the Afghanistan war, Canada lost 158 men and women in the conflict.  Their bodies, once repatriated at CFB Trenton were driven to the Coroner’s office in Toronto. A very Canadian thing happened during those years: people gathered on bridges along…