Sweet Event
On a warm summer evening a group of people gathered together to experience the taste of sweetness through a honey tasting prepared by underground chef and wild forager, Alexander McNaughton. While the taste of sweet can be found in many foods, I decided to focus on honey as the main vehicle for this intoxicating sensation, […]
Burnaby Food Swap
I’m excited to be working with Roberta LaQuaglia to organize a Burnaby Food Swap as part of the Moveable Feast. Originally, we’d planned to host the Swap in August so we could be outside in the garden. An outdoor swap seemed like fun, however, the steamy weather defeated our attempts! It was too hot for […]
Lemon Cucumber
Recently, I gave a tour through the garden to a group of ten children (ages 4-13) and their parents. We looked at a variety of the heritage plants that are ready to harvest in the garden. We crunched some Dragon’s Tongue Beans and Atomic Red Carrots. I think the biggest hit was this unusual looking […]
Mason Bee Homes
Landscape Architect Christine Cooper joined us in the Moveable Feast garden to make mason bee homes. Mason Bees are a non-aggressive bee that is native to British Columbia. Unlike honey bees they are solitary so they don’t live in hives or produce honey. These bees are opportunistic nesters, so they seek out narrow holes drilled into […]
Urban Bees
On a sunny Saturday morning in July, I had an opportunity to walk through the garden with beemaster and educator Brian Campbell. He is the founder of Blessed Bee Farm and The Bee School. The Farm is focussed on the integration of bees into the urban fabric. “The philosophy of The Bee School is based […]
The Savoury Feast
The first Edible Event of the project focussed on the taste of savoury. Alexander McNaughton, Wild forager and local food systems consultant, brought together a tasting of savoury delicacies to introduce everyone’s palates to the concept of “umami.” Loosely translated from Japanese the term means “delicious” and refers to a specific taste molecule found in […]
Lori Weidenhammer: The Bee Messenger
I sat down by Deer Lake with Lori Weidenhammer, artist and beekeeper, to talk about her deep interest in pollinators. We found a sun dappled location ideal for bees and conversations about them. My interview with Lori was fascinating and quite extensive. I’m including a selection of short clips now and hope to make the […]
Svalbard Seed Vault
The varieties of wheat, corn and rice we grow today may not thrive in a future threatened by climate change. Cary Fowler takes us inside a vast global seed bank, buried within a frozen mountain in Norway, that stores a diverse group of food-crop for whatever tomorrow may bring. cary_fowler_one_seed_at_a_time_protecting_the_future_of_food.html
Dwindling Biodiversity of Food Plants
Last summer National Geographic published an article called the Food Ark which focussed on the dwindling biodiversity of food plants and animals. This article contained a startling infographic showing the dramatic reduction in biodiversity over the last one hundred years.
What’s growing in the garden?
I purchased all of my seeds at Van Dusen Garden’s Seedy Saturday event. It’s an annual seed exchange so you can come and trade seeds you’ve collected from you garden or you can purchase from local suppliers. Vendors focus mostly on heirloom varieties. I spent over two hours reading seed packets and talking to producers. […]
Making a Mark
As people walk by the garden they seem curious about what’s growing in each crate. I’ve started spray painting the names of the veggie plants on each box using stencils. I just need it to stay dry enough to get all the crates marked.
Growing Up
Almost all of the seeds have sprouted now. I wrote down what I planted in each crate, but I like to test myself to see if I can identify each seedling without checking. Some are easy to recognize such as the radishes, squash, corn, and beans but the grains are a bit more mysterious. I believe […]
Puffball Mushrooms
Are they edible? That was my first question to Alex McNaughton, forager, chef and host for the upcoming Sweet Edible Event. I was walking through the garden and noticed that these round, small, white mushrooms were fruiting over the entire lawn. In Eastern Canada there are varieties of puffball mushrooms that are large and edible. […]
Planting
On a rare sunny day this June, I planted the seeds. I’m always eager to tear into the seed packets to see the shape, colour and texture of the seeds. These Dragon’s Tongue Bush Beans have a distinct speckled appearance. The bean pod will mature in a way that resembles the seeds. Purplish/red stripes on […]
Making Space
With help from Shirley (one of the gardeners at the Village Museum) and Nigel Laing the shipping crates were set up and filled with soil. The crates were made by a local crate building company using untreated plywood and 2×4’s. It’s interesting to note that when goods (including art works) are shipped usually the crates […]
Dirt, Soil or Earth
The soil for the containers has been delivered. It’s a beautiful rich, dark earth that will work well for growing vegetables. A family dropped by the garden and I found myself in conversation about the colour of the earth. Someone mentioned that she grew up in Alberta so she was used to the […]
Rhododendron Day
I wandered around the grounds of the Burnaby Art Gallery on Sunday. It was Rhododendron Day so the grounds were teaming with families taking in the sun and activities. The Rhodo festival is hosted by the City of Burnaby and the Burnaby Rhododendron and Gardens Society each spring when the flowers are in full bloom. Hundreds of these woody shrubs and trees were heavy with blossoms of white, peach, purple, and red. The weight of the flowers was barely contained by the ornamental beds of the Century Gardens.