Gardening Out Loud

In this episode . . .A frost narrowly avoided. Changing leaves, and beautiful Boston ivy. The local woodchip and leaf economy. Some cutting back (but mostly not). Surprise radishes. Cold frames and improvised low tunnels. Native seed sitting. Bulb planting tips. And a goodbye, or maybe a see you later.Otherwise this week, I'm . . .Savouring: The colours of the leaves and their crunch underfoot.Tending: Cutting back diseased plants, planting spring bulbs, digging up and dividing dahlias.Harvesting: Parsley, sage, kale, chard, green onions.I said it in the podcast, but I'll say it again: if you have feedback on this experiment, this season, I'd love to hear it. I'm not sure if Gardening Out Loud has a future, but feedback from devoted listeners will help determine that. And the episodes will nevertheless remain online if you need a dose of the growing season during the winter. Thanks, from the bottom of my heart, for your attention this season. xoJen This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .Return of the juncos. Winter's call to rest. Harvesting bean seeds. Late season harvests. The beauty of stolen yard waste. My compost cycle. Starting new beds. Specific plant varieties mentioned: Coyote tomato, Gem marigold series, Silver Years dahlia, Lakeview Peach Fuzz dahlia, Be a part of Gardening Out Loud!It's as easy as recording a voice memo on your phone. Record your name, where you live, and then describe a moment in the garden or in nature that mattered to you this year. Send them to gardeningoutloud@substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

Welcome back to another guest episode. This time I headed northwest on my bike up to the home of Mikael Walter-Campbell, the owner and maker at Sage & Thistle Handmade Goods, where she makes all kinds of wonderful soaps, infused oils, masks, soaks, and more. I wanted to see the garden that provides many of the botanicals for her products and learn more about what she grows for skincare and how it makes the transition from plant to finished product. Along the way we also talk about the importance of having something to nurture, gardening with kids, gardening in community, making mistakes, and cultivating an aesthetic that's just a little bit wild. If you'd like to learn more about Mikael and Sage & Thistle, check out her website and her Instagram, or drop by her shop at 2A Rogers Rd. in Toronto. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .Retreat recovery. The beauty (and practicality) of asters and goldenrod. Time to label dahlias and move or divide perennials. Specific plant varieties mentioned: White snakeroot, large-leaved aster, wood aster, cardinal flower, bonesetBe a part of Gardening Out Loud!It's as easy as recording a voice memo on your phone. Record your name, where you live, and then describe a moment in the garden or in nature that mattered to you this year. Send them to gardeningoutloud@substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .Shift in the seasons. Time to top tomatoes. A minor squash victory. Focus on ripening he fruits you have. Compost bin fungi and other surprises. Gardening as act of faith.Specific plant varieties mentioned: Blue Kuri squash, Cosmos Apricot LemonadeBe a part of Gardening Out Loud!It's as easy as recording a voice memo on your phone. Record your name, where you live, and then describe a moment in the garden or in nature that mattered to you this year. Send them to gardeningoutloud@substack.com. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .A tree full of birds. Tuning in by slowing down. The delights (and practicality) of the New England aster. Guest appearance by a marauding squirrel. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .In praise of Canada goldenrod. Strategies for savouring summer. A magical harvest dinner. Saving cosmos, nasturtium, and calendula seeds. My squirrels love honeynut squash. A taste of the tropics with ground cherries. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

Most of Gardening Out Loud focuses on gardeners, but in Toronto there are a few ingenious folks farming in people's gardens. Sylvia Cheng of Growing Tkaronto Floristry is one of those people growing gorgeous blooms on borrowed land, creating little pockets of abundance beside busy city streets.I came to Sylvia for her perspective on farming in gardens, working with landowners, and, of course, growing beautiful dahlias. On a beautiful late summer day, we checked out her home plot, one growing in the neighbour's backyard, and hopped our bikes to visit a front yard dahlia plot just exploding with colour.Tune in to learn a bit about some challenges of urban floristry, tips for healthy dahlias, and why growing local flowers matters. If you'd like to learn more about Sylvia and Growing Tkaronto, check out her website and her Instagram. I hope you enjoyed this little peek into urban flower farming and have a new understanding of why some of why local bouquets have higher price tags. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .On embracing creativity as an adult and finding flow state. A tour of all the plants and flowers I use in arrangements. Basic tips for bouquets and arrangements. The benefits of growing your own cut flowers. The book that taught me so much about arranging seasonal flowers: A Year in Flowers by Erin Benzakein. I get my spring bulbs from Flowerbulbsrus. (Not sponsored.) Specific plant varieties mentioned: Black Knight scabiosa, Costa Silver snapdragons, Black Prince snapdragons, Little Lime hydrangea, cosmos Apricot Lemonade, cosmos Snow Puff, ninebark Diablo, geranium Rose of Attar. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .A passionfruit-scented rose. Tomatoes, beans, cukes. The squash plants persevere. Sprouting broccoli lessons. Planters are not litterboxes (and yet . . .) Surprise cucamelons continue. Attack of the 11-foot tomato plant. Some container successes. Specific seed varieties mentioned: Purple Peacock pole beans, Blue Lake pole beans, dahlia Hollyhill Black Beauty, dahlia Lakeview Peach Fuzz, dahlia Karras 150, cosmos Apricot Lemonade, ninebark Diablo, Aspabroc sprouting broccoli, Mesclun mix, Duke blueberry, geranium Attar of Roses, Coyote tomato, Fall Gold raspberries. The ruffled tomato in the container I couldn't remember is called Costoluto Fiorentino. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .Cultivating awe. Visits from cardinals and teen robins. Updates from the zinnia and the dahlia patch. Garden time moves differently.Specific seed varieties from this episode: dahlia Hollyhill Black Beauty. Queen Lime zinnia series.If you want to learn more about awe, check out the interviews I mentioned with Dacher Kaltner: On Being and How We Live Now. You can also read Keltner's new book, Awe: The New Science of Everyday. And let me know what brings little doses of awe to your life. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .A calla lily experiment. The resilience of mouse melons. All hail the 2023 garlic harvest. First tomato. Dahlias and tomatoes are here. Plus: zinnias! Beans! Cucumbers! Specific seed varieties from this episode: dragon's tongue bush beans, Cosmonaut Volkov tomatoes, Piccolo cucumbers, Eleonora basil, tulsi (holy basil), dahlia Lakeview Peach Fuzz, snowpuff cosmos. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

Another guest episode! Last year, as part of Urban Agriculture Week in Toronto, I visited Maria Solakofski's garden in East York, and I found myself signing up for a workshop just so I could return days later. Listen in and I think you'll get a sense of why. Maria is an herbalist and educator growing a wildly abundant garden according to permaculture principles. She sells tisanes, skincare, and other herbal products, and runs workshops and a mentorship program out of her East York yard.You'll find this episode runs a bit longer than the other guest episodes, because we covered three gardens — and if you like listening as much as I liked being there, I don't want to cut it short. Tune in to learn a bit about permaculture, but also unique berries, growing in containers, soil amendment, and cooperating with wildlife. The episode also feature's the pod's first-ever groundhog guest. If you'd like to learn more about Maria and her garden, check out her website, Wild by Nature, to learn more about her offerings. I hope you enjoyed soaking in her knowledge and enthusiasm, and you too always remember her prompt to enjoy something you don't strictly need: “But wouldn't it be nice?” Lastly, I can't seem to record a guest podcast without an audio problem (

In this episode . . . After the rain (cue Jim Cuddy). Why I'm done with comfrey tea even if it's not done with me. Milkweed multiplies. Collecting kale seed. Surprise mouse melons. More edible “weeds” and surprise appearances. A special guest monarch. First zinnia (Queen Lime Blush). Leaf thievery and its many uses. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .The great fence drama of 2023, and why a chain-link fence can be a wonderful thing. First strawflowers and blueberries. Borage abounds. Pinching dahlias. A return to broccoli.Gardens I visited last weekend: Artemesia Daylilies and Fiddlehead Nursery — they're just down the road from each other. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .Snapdragons and poppies in their prime. Serviceberry mystery solved? Revelling in raspberries. On growing friendship. Mulberries as economy of abundance. If you're in Toronto and have a fruit tree you'd like harvested, or would like to help harvest other people's trees, sign up for Not Far from the Tree. Similar groups also exist in cities all over the world. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

It's time for another guest episode, this time with Butterfly Ranger and passionate front yard food grower Sarah Joy Bennett. SJ tends a farm in the front and a forest in the back (the horticultural mullet?). The lovely front yard features two raised beds and a nifty terraced side pollinator patch. (If you'd like to see the transformation of her eroding slope with the Dirt Locker, you can see some photos from installation, year one, and year two on her Instagram. It's pretty cool, and I'm not just saying that because I helped.) While we recorded, the whole space was just humming with pollinators.This is an especially useful episode if you're a renter with access to potential growing space, but we also discuss growing with kids, the wonder of berries (including the new-to-me annual huckleberry), gardening as a gateway to community, and focusing on growing what you love, which is less obvious that it sounds.If you're now invested in Sarah Joy's garden, you can follow it through the seasons through her Instagram, @sarahjoybennett. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .Garden, farm, or . . . ? Savouring scape season. Elegant cerinthe. The gift of a peony. The carrots' loss is the beans' gain. Pinching tomato suckers. Lavender haze. Strawberries are for sharing. What happened to my serviceberry? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .Climate retreat and grounding in the grass. Tomatoes love heat. A moment for scented geranium leaves. (And too many streetcars — words hardly ever uttered in Toronto. Sorry about the sonic intrusion!) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .A brief history of the garden's roses (Boscobel, Desdemona, Munstead Wood, and James Galway — all David Austin Roses). Obsessed with my clematis. Dahlias emerging. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .Visit from a baby raccoon. Flowering raspberries. Purple season continues. Planting for pollinators on a dry, shady, neglected “lawn” and the value of native plants. To find the native plants right for your region, try Pollinator Partnerships's Find Your Roots tool. Toronto has its own Native Plant Market in the west end, and you can also order plants online from Ontario Native Plants. I also recommend Lorraine Johnson and Sheila Colla's A Garden for the Rusty Patch Bumblebee, an essential native plant gardening guide. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .Purple season kicks off. Planting out tomatoes and avoiding cutworm losses. David Austin roses. Cultivating generosity. Comfrey potions and mulches. (The sterile version of comfrey is called Bocking 14.) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

Welcome to the very first Gardening Out Loud guest episode!While I wanted GOL to offer a close look at the evolution of the space I tend over the course of a growing year, there are so many other incredible gardens and gardeners I'd love to share with you. And so I'll drop periodic guest episodes into the feed, giving you a glimpse into some more amazing spaces, stories, and ways of being in the natural world.Recently I was revisiting Ross Gay's Inciting Joy, in which he asks, “What if wonder was the ground for our gathering?” And if there's an organizing principle for these episodes, it's coming together for wonder.This spring, I wanted to kick off with Ateqah Khaki, whose front yard garden I admired long before I knew her. She's a fellow daffodil superfan, and her spring garden is abundance made manifest: it just explodes with life and colour. Her eye for form is evident too, and you'll hear her discuss the shapes that really draw her in.As she gardened out loud, I relished her insights on motherhood, growing as a gardener, connecting with strangers, and decolonizing the garden. (By the way, the podcast episode she mentions on decolonizing the garden is available now — check out Don't Call Me Resilient to listen.) May we all remember to ask “what does the garden want?” as part of our regular cultivation practice.If you're now invested in Ateqah's garden, you can follow it through the seasons through her plant Instagram, @planteqah. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .The beauty of microseasons, especially this one. Lilacs and pink trees. (Relative) newcomers to the garden: firebugs and jumping worms. Uproot that garlic mustard. Eating shoots. Blueberry blooms. Tomato planting time. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .A meeting of the magnolia appreciation society. Tender plants and tender moments. The challenges of growing in pots. Robins in stereo. Cutting your flowers. Is No Mow May a helpful British import? (Fuller consideration of this by Sheila Colla here.) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .Rainy day reflections on water and the virtues of a rain barrel. Bird noticing. Asparagus arrives. Tulip time. *A note to clarify the combined sewer system, which is in place in the oldest parts of Toronto: our own sewage goes into the sewer, not into the grates of course, but what I meant was rainwater + household grey & black water are all going to the same system, and a deluge of rainwater can overwhelm that system. In newer parts of the city, there are separate pipes for grate water and household water, and the grate water goes directly into the lake (which is not without some problems either!) This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .Gathering a hungry season salad. The beauty of biennials. The honourable harvest. (N.B. I said, “Never take more than one-third,” but Kimmerer actually specifies half. Read all the guidelines here. My memory, like my gardening, is imperfect.) Pea planting and salad-fiend sparrows. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

In this episode . . .A snow white violet. Sniffing daffodils. Compost full o' worms (and crustaceans!). Perennials poking through. Trees making “leaf bouquets.” A sighting of the only royals I care about. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com

Welcome to the first episode of Gardening Out Loud, a short and sweet audio exploration of what is curious and compelling in the garden each week.So much garden content is based on the way things look, or what can be produced or extracted, but I wanted to try to capture a bit about what it's like to be here, in the moment, in this little scrap of urban jungle. I want to broadcast a little of the delight it gives me.I hope that you'll give me 15 to 20 minutes each week, and in doing that, give them to yourself. Let's take the time to get grounded together.In this episode . . .Natural wonders at home and abroad. The return of the morning chorus. Meet the Spring Garden. Mini daffodils nodding their yellow heads. Perennial herbs and flowers poking through soil. The first winter sowing update. The garden's first ever hellebore bloom.See photos and more at: https://gardeningoutloud.substack.com/p/episode-1-welcome-to-the-garden/. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit gardeningoutloud.substack.com