When I visited my grandparents’ house each summer, my grandfather and I would undoubtedly find our way to the basement family room where he’d cut one of the many cantaloupes he grew in his garden into sections and we’d each take a plateful. We’d listen to his Johnny Cash albums while biting into the sweetest, most flavourful cantaloupe I ever tasted. The brilliant orange fruit bore no resemblance to the lacklustre, bland grocery store varieties I ate back in the city. We’d talk for hours while Johnny belted out tune after tune, and we’d usually polish off a few cantaloupes during each evening, so I was grateful he’d grown so many in anticipation of my visits.

My gr…

Read more

This mass of trees may look similar to an apple tree but it is actually a combination of an older buckthorn tree and many invasive prickly ash trees. In the middle of this mass, I discovered a thin tree that looked quite similar at the base to the buckthorn and at a higher level to the ash trees; however, I visually traced one of the tree’s higher limbs and noticed apple leaves on it. Somehow, this miraculous apple tree continued to grow strangled by the other trees. Today, I discovered this little apple tree buried in the entanglement as some of the neighbouring invasive trees were removed around a different apple tree known as Happiness. This much younger tree that still needs to be re…

Read more

Spring is finally here and along with it starts the cascade of vibrant superfoods.  Obviously, some take a little longer than others to rear their heads in our gardens or farmer’s markets, but here are my picks for the top 10 spring superfoods:

Artichokes—A medium-sized artichoke is loaded with fiber (about 10 grams) and vitamin C. It also contains plentiful amounts of the heart- and muscle-health minerals magnesium and potassium.  It’s also high on the ORAC list of foods that have high antioxidant values.  High amounts of antioxidants translate into reduced free radicals linked to aging and disease. 

Asparagus—An excellent source of nutrients like vitamin K which is necessary …

Read more