Wild blue violets are one of the first flowers to pop up in your spring garden. The beautiful deep blue flowers and heart-shaped leaves of the violet plants provide a wealth of benefits including culinary and medicinal applications. The wild violets that occur across Canada and the US are known as Viola Odorata. Violets have many medicinal uses, especially as a blood cleanser, respiratory remedy, and lymphatic stimulant which reduces swelling in the lymph nodes. Violets have traditionally been used as a remedy for dry hacking cough, bronchitis and whooping cough. Leaves and flowers are edible ..read more

Spending time outside offers tons of opportunities to immerse yourself in nature. Whether you’re planting a new patch of flowers in your garden or going hiking or camping, spending time outdoors can lead to multiple mental and physical health benefits. However, although devoting some time outside lets you enjoy the fresh air and benefits of a vitamin D boost, you may also be exposed to sun damage. Even a regular daytime activity like mowing your lawn can lead to sunburn or even heat stroke after long hours in the garden without proper protection.  Heading outside allows you to explore you ..read more

This magnolia simple syrup will elevate your cocktails with its gentle floral flavor and stunning color. You can also put this over ice cream and pancakes or dilute with sparkling water for a lovely summer drink. 4 Cups Magnolia Flowers 4 Cups Boiling Water 4 Cups Sugar Pick the flowers first thing in the morning and shake out to free any bugs. Place the flowers in a medium bowl. Add boiling water to make a tea and leave to steep overnight. Strain out flowers and then pour the magnolia tea into a medium pot. Add the sugar sugar and bring to the boil . Boil until all the sugar is dissolved (ab ..read more

A chicken coop isn’t just a housing unit, it is a home. The coop and run are where your flock will spend all of their time, so it’s important that they feel comfortable and secure in it. There are plenty of nice chicken coops available for purchase, but you may want to consider building your own. Determining Your Flock’s Needs Differently sized flocks will have different space needs. Whether it’s the number of chickens you have or the physical size of each bird, a bigger flock requires a bigger coop. There are a couple things that can happen if your flock does not have enough room to roam. Num ..read more

A chicken coop isn’t just a housing unit, it is a home. The coop and run are where your flock will spend all of their time, so it’s important that they feel comfortable and secure in it. There are plenty of nice chicken coops available for purchase, but you may want to consider building your own. Determining Your Flock’s Needs Differently sized flocks will have different space needs. Whether it’s the number of chickens you have or the physical size of each bird, a bigger flock requires a bigger coop. There are a couple things that can happen if your flock does not have enough room to roam. Nu ..read more

Are you looking to go camping, but want to keep some comforts of the modern world with you?* A solid 54% of campers don’t receive electrical hook-ups in their campsite. If you are a modern camper, this won’t do. Sure, being one with nature has many perks, but you still need all those creature comforts. This is why you need a camping generator. The question is, which one? Yamaha EF2000ISV2 Yamaha generators are among the best generators for RVs, and for good reason. It’s one of the lightest and least noisy options and provides high-level performance. Yamaha packs revolutionary technology into ..read more

Despite significant leaps in tobacco harm reduction, there are still around 1.3 billion cigarette smokers in the world. Though the environmental consequences of this habit have been well-documented in research, some smokers may still be underestimating the impact of cigarettes on the planet. One Tobacco Prevention and Cessation study discovered that smokers appear to be less informed about climate change effects and the specific activities that contribute to it. In addition, they are less likely than non-smokers to be informed about their city’s air quality or avoid throwing cigarettes and oth ..read more

Dispersals; on plants, borders, and belonging by Jessica J. Lee examines our perceptions on what it means to be invasive. Lee’s exceptional knowledge and colourful story telling draws parallels between the invasive species of plants that surround us and her own feelings of belonging to any one place. The child of immigrants, Jessica was born in Ontario, and wonders how it is that people and plants come to belong. She traces the travels of plants who have crossed borders as she herself moves from one place to another, finding roots and history as she goes. While tracing the dispersion of her pa ..read more

Nun’s farts are delicious fried choux pastry balls, essentially beignets. Not to be confused with Pete De Soeur (translated it means farts of the religious sisters) which is more like a mini cinnamon bun with puff pastry. Nuns must be really flatulent to have so many confections named after them, but this one is a quick and easy winner! Originally from France, nun’s farts are also enjoyed in French Canada, the US, England and Spain. The first recorded recipe is in the Oxford University’s Household Encyclopedia from 1859. We have added a little Rose to ours, because a nun’s fart by any oth ..read more

We’ve all made forays into the outdoor solar lighting world–I have several around my garden that shed light on paths and garden features. But I don’t take them very seriously. Recently, we decided to install a large outdoor light. This would need to provide substantial lighting on our driveway entrance. We live in the country and it gets really dark at night. There is no ambient lighting and we would need something reliable that would shed significant light on our driveway entrance. Of course we initially thought of an electric light, but running power down the driveway and using such a valuab ..read more