Mission Statement

Horticulture is a fascinating subject that the inhabitants of Canada have limited knowledge. In our post-industrial society that has become increasingly a service oriented economy, people have distanced themselves from the land.  Growing and nurturing plants for food has become the domain of large corporate farms or the importation of food from developing countries. In a sense we have lost the ability to feed ourselves.  In our urban cities , we have arable land surrounding our dwellings that could be used to grow food to supplement our diet with organically grown food.  Moreover, we do grow flowers to add beauty to our yards.  In Calgary, where we have a four month growing period, the residents are the largest buyers per capita in all of North America in buying bedding plants.  Transplanting flowering bedding plants is big business. On more than one occasion all the bedding plants that are planted on the May long weekend, supposedly the last day where there is no danger of a killing frost have been destroyed by an untimely cold snap which is great news for the retailers selling bedding plants. Come spring the market is inundated with plants from Costco, Safeway, Lowe's, Home Depot, Rona, Golden Acres, Sunnyside and the surrounding nurseries. These plants that we buy are started as seedlings as far away as Kenya, Mexico, Ecuador, California and grown in the greenhouses of the Fraser valley in British  Columbia.  The environmental carbon footprint for importing bedding plants is enormous and we as consumers should be starting our own bedding plants from seeds.  By learning to grow our own plants we  will become a more environmentally responsible consumer.  Moreover, by learning to grow our own plants we will be able to reconnect to our natural state that will provide  a natural recreational and emotional relief in our urbanized lives to improve our quality of life.  This blog will explore different activities where one can grow one's own plants.  Creating indoor gardens in container pots that can be wintered inside the house during the winter months is another alternative or even starting your own bedding plants in the early month of April will create a unique natural lifestyle to reconnect with nature.   I am including a photo of a Zen Cactus garden, I made as an example of a low tech container garden that is low maintenance that adds color to your house and is aesthetically pleasing during the winter months.  Maintaining houseplants removes airborne toxins in the air while  contributing oxygen while removing carbon dioxide.