The Garden Next Door

07/10/2024

Dear neighbours and customers. Apologies for the very belated announcement. A rainy day seems like the right moment.. The Garden Next Door is on hiatus this season. Letting my thoughts - and my gardens - grow a little wild for now. I hope to be back next season with my full subscription service of locally grown flowers.

10/06/2023

A last few blooms from our local field farmers before the cold sets in. Dahlias with delicate japanese anemones.

09/29/2023

Loving the glow of this colour palette. Locally grown dahlias, salvia, and straw flowers with native big blue stem grass.

09/27/2023

A look at some of the fresh beauty delivered to my porch each week. Many of the stems were still in the fields early this morning.…

09/20/2023

Running late on clearing out my fridge for fresh flowers this week. So pwyc Tuesday has become pwyc Wednesday…!

Help yourself to locally grown dahlia’s from my porch at 29 Hendrick Ave. Pop a toonie in the mailbox if you’re able - I’ll put it towards my end of season community contribution.

09/17/2023

Embracing fall with dahlias grown by

09/11/2023

Fiery colours from last week’s subscription jars.

08/29/2023

A couple tiny pwyc jars out today at 29 Hendrick. Pop a loonie in the mailbox if you like or just help yourself.

08/26/2023

So pleased to be starting to harvest from my native cutting gardens right here in the neighbourhood. This jar includes woodland sunflower, nodding onion, and grass leaved golden rod, all ontario natives. And I leave plenty for the pollinators of course…

08/21/2023

Treated myself last week to my very favorite zinnias: queen line orange. The longer I look the more colours I find in them…

08/10/2023

I love working with “mixed buckets” assembled by our growers. Boyh of these subscription jars are from the same bucket of ”cool colours”, grown by the incomparable Garden Party Flower Farm in St. Agatha.

08/08/2023

Taking a poll. How would you feel if this cutey popped up on a jar of fresh flowers on your kitchen table? Type “COOL” or “EEK” below to vote…

One of the beauties of working with local, ecologically grown flowers is knowing that the stems I use have been feeding pollinators while they were in the friends. Problem is that sometimes an uninvited guest hitches a ride back to my flower fridge…

Monarch eggs are tiny so this guy didn’t show himself until the jar was on my customer’s table. She was delighted and sent me a pic. But I’m wondering whether others might prefer their flower
jars less… “lively”…?

08/02/2023

Lemon yellow sunflowers grown by in Uxbridge

07/28/2023

I hope folks are surviving the heat! Last chance to sign up for my late summer subscription. 8 weeks of my small mason jars starting August 10th. Drop me a line by Monday July 31 to be added to my list.

07/16/2023

A chance to see a beautiful garden featuring native plants. Hosted by Chris Kingdon in Richmond Hill.

Chris is the designer of my little native cutting garden on Arlington and my go-to expert on all things horticulture and native plant gardening.

You’re Invited! It's that time of the year again - come join us tomorrow at the Habitat Blooms Open Garden!

When: Tomorrow (Sunday July 16th) from 8am-12(noon)
Where: 10 Candlelight Dr, Richmond Hill, ON L4E 5E4.

The gardens consist of a small woodland garden at the front, a wild hillside meadow, large pollinator gardens full of native & cultivated flowers and shrubs, a small wildlife pond & meandering dry riverbed raingarden. We also have a small veggie patch & unheated greenhouse potting shed, as well as various garden pathways & seating areas to enjoy. The garden is a constant buzz of activity with 42 species of birds, 6 reptilies & amphibians, 14 mammals, and countless insects visiting regularly. I will have a small selection of native plants on sale so pop on by! If you're lucky our new 4month old golden retriever puppy Willow might come out to say hi too :)

07/15/2023

For those who who have just started following me, a bit about my flowers…

I work from my small home studio in the St. Clair West neighbourhood of Toronto, designing with locally grown and native flowers.

I purchase flowers directly from local flower farmers and supplement with stems from my own garden and from a small all-native garden I’ve planted in a neighbour’s yard. I enjoy incorporating buds, seed pods, fragrant herbs, and foraged materials.

My designs are modestly priced and sized and I keep my work as sustainable and low-waste as possible at every step.

For the moment, all my flowers are by porch pickup. This season I am offering an weekly late summer subscription. Starting August 10, pick up a mason jar of seasonal flowers every week for 8 weeks. Drop me a line for details or to be added to my list. Email is best for inquiries: [email protected]

06/30/2023

Clearing out my flower fridge early this week for a weekend project. I have some pwyc goodies outside at 29 Hendrick Ave. Help yourself, and pop some change in the mailbox if you are able (it will go towards my end of season community donation).

06/25/2023

A simple jar of fresh local peonies getting ready to open up.