Lee and Susan Patriquin: Petals and Blooms Nursery
By Elizabeth Spence. Lee and Susan have been running Petals and Blooms Nursery on Brule Shore Road, Tatamagouche for well over twenty years now. Jennifer and I went to visit at the beginning of May, and the first thing that struck us was that this was a nursery based on simplicity, order and beauty. We […]
Kaleb Schriefer: It’s All About the Bees, About the Bees – – –
By Elizabeth Spence To say that Kaleb Schriefer is obsessed with honeybees is an understatement. They are his life, his reason for living. Although professionally a carpenter, Kaleb ran a bee business in Ontario with the delightful name of Obeewan Kenobee before moving to this area a couple of years ago. He took over a […]
Gwen Locke: It Began with an Ancient Bean
By Elizabeth Spence Jennifer and I heard rumours of a “Wilson” bean that was still being grown after it had been brought over to our area by an original settler about 200 years ago. This, we thought, was worth investigating! Could it be that some of the original pioneer plant stock was still being grown? […]
Peter Martyn: Let’s Start at the Very Beginning . . .
by Elizabeth Spence Peter Martyn is proud to admit that he does indeed know one end of a spade from the other. But plants and planting – not so much. For his mother and late wife, he was the one who dug the holes, carried the stuff, mowed the lawns, raked the leaves, did the […]
Amanda Howse
By Elizabeth Spence The first time I was in Germany in the 1960s I was introduced to sauerkraut. The word means “sour cabbage” in English. I hated it. It was disgusting and I swore I would never touch it again. But then, not too long ago, I came across a brand called Nova Kraut at […]
Michael Ashton
Interviewed by Elizabeth Spence You can’t help liking Michael Ashton. He is tall, has a cheeky grin, a wry sense of humour and a very noticeable accent from the south-east of England – Brighton to be precise. The Royal Pavilion, Brighton, U.K. He is the owner of Ashton’s Garden Centre in Tatamagouche. After his experiences […]
Silvana Castillo
Interviewed by Elizabeth Spence Guatemala. The tropics. Luxuriant, vigorous plant growth threatening to take over the house. These are Silvana Castillo’s first memories of her family’s small city garden in the land where she was born. Switch to Nova Scotia. Challenging climate for horticulture, to say the least. We are sitting here with a cup […]