Greener Garden Shopping

Last weekend was the first official long weekend of the summer-ish season here in Canada.  Many of our fine citizens look forward with great anticipation to the Victoria Day weekend because it usually means that it’s safe to plant annual flowers and vegetable plants outside.  It’s usually taken as the “frost free” date in Ontario, but this spring the weather has been much chillier than usual.

Although I didn’t make it out to any garden centres over the long weekend (it’s my personal policy to avoid any shopping that has the potential to become a contact sport), I wondered if the owners of nurseries and garden centres in towns and cities in Southern Ontario were left standing around, scratching their heads, wondering about the weather and whether it would keep gardeners away.

Fortunately, the long weekend weather has just been delayed to this coming weekend, as temperatures are expected to rise to seasonal levels at long last.  This means that no doubt the garden centres will be filled with anxious customers.  Wear your elbow pads!

This month at BlogHers ACT Canada, we’re focusing on greener gardening, so before you head out to buy plants that will pretty up your yard, balcony or garden for the summer, check out our handy tips for doing your garden shopping with a green focus in mind.

Avoid plastic.  This is going to be tough.  Most flowers and vegetables are grown commercially in plastic pots.  However, it is possible to find some plants, such as hanging baskets that are sold in fibre pots.  If you can’t find any plants in fibre pots, which naturally decompose in the compost pile at the end of the year, try to find a garden centre that will allow you to return your plastic pots for reusing or recycling.  This year for the first time, Loblaws and SuperStore garden centres across Canada are recycling flower pots and plastic flats.  Shoppers can return clean pots and flats to recycling bins at Loblaws and SuperStore garden centre locations.

Attend local plant sales.  Supporting the local sale of plants is a great way to help reduce your carbon footprint.  Most garden centres ship in plants that are grown far away, at large-scale growing operations.  Most of us have heard of eating locally, and growing locally is an extension of that concept.  Watch your local newspaper’s community section for upcoming plant sales in your neighbourhood.  Yard sales are also a great source of cheap plants.

Swap!  Instead of buying new plants, find a neighbour or a friend who is willing to swap cuttings from their plants with you.  This way, you both get to try growing a new kind of plant without having to drive to the store to purchase it.

Go organic.  Buy organically grown flowers and vegetables whenever possible.  Urban Harvest in Toronto is a great source for interesting varieties of organically grown heirloom vegetables and flowers.  Make the responsible decision not to buy any chemical pesticides or herbicides.

Have fun in the garden this weekend, and don’t forget to stretch!  Wear a sunhat!  Wear sunscreen!  Go green!