Sommaire pour Winter 2021 de Harrowsmith

Gastronaut, author, artist and eight-time Guinness World Record holder BOB BLUMER is best known as the creator and host of Food Network’s award-winning shows Surreal Gourmet, Glutton for Punishment and World’s Weirdest Restaurants. He has also written seven cookbooks in which he transforms ordinary ingredients into wow-inspiring dishes through simple cooking methods and whimsical presentations that have become his culinary trademark. His other car is a Toastermobile. MARK AND BEN CULLEN Mark is an expert gardener, author, broadcaster and tree advocate and holds the Order of Canada. His son, Ben, is a fourth-generation urban gardener and a graduate of the University of Guelph and Dalhousie University in Halifax. Follow them at markcullen.com, @MarkCullen4 (Twitter) and @markcullengardening (Facebook) and look for their latest book, Escape to Reality. ILONA DANIEL is all…

SUPER SUNRISES Editor’s note: In our Summer 2021 issue, we asked you to send in your favourite sunrise photos. Here’s what you shared. The January sun breaks over rural solitude in Grey County, Ontario, 2021. Marilyn Holley, Hanover, Ontario Sunrise in Kawartha Lakes, on Lake Chemong, Ontario, on April 30, 2017. The pink morning light woke me up, so I grabbed my phone and went outside on the deck to capture the beauty. Tracey Hehn-Zwicker, Selwyn, Ontario An early autumn sunrise off of Sooke, British Columbia. It was taken in October 2020 while we were “social distancing” by going fishing! Tracy Ferreira, Victoria, British Columbia Our winner, Tracey Hehn-Zwicker, received a copy of Growing Under Cover and Seaweed, An Enchanting Miscellany. A LOVELY SURPRISE! Just picked up Harrowsmith’s Almanac. I…

Most Canadian gardeners hang up the trowel for the winter and settle in for a break. While there is less to do in the garden when the snow is flying or waist deep, there is one job that is best timed for the “off season”: pruning. Pruning is perfect for when favourable weather conditions and personal ambition intersect. For us, this occurs while holding our second cup of coffee and staring out the kitchen window at our gardens on a bright, sunny and crisp winter day. What You Should Cut Remove any broken branches. Also cut minor branches back to where they meet a major branch or the main trunk of the tree. Make a cut about one-third through the bottom of the branch first and then cut it through…

Planting trees is not a simple case of digging a hole and covering the roots of the new tree with soil. Trees for Life has adopted the Vineland Tree Planting Protocols, based on extensive research at the Vineland Research and Innovation Centre in Niagara, Ontario. The Vineland protocols call for the remediation of existing soil; the addition of generous quantities of compost; deep watering at the time of planting; followup monitoring for water; and usually the use of a coco fibre mat and mulch to reduce weeds and hold moisture at the root zone. Vineland staff have coached us and monitored our work throughout the 8 years of the Highway of Heroes Tree Campaign, with highly successful results. Our current tree survival rate is over 85 percent. In most cases,…

I am sitting at a table made of walnut, on an oak chair of deep mature colour. As I rub my hands on the smooth careworn arms, I remember someone, a dear family member, who sat in this very chair for many years. I am surveying the landscape of my life, and the woods speak to me. There is a cabin of strong hemlock beams that was given body through honeyed pine boards by my husband’s family. Hewn from the surrounding woods, they are a mirror of family life on this land. I look out at the shimmering sunlight through the reaching branches of the cedar grove to glimpses of a lake that lies just beyond. I am soothed by the warmth of the woods within, and the embrace of…

Getting out to see the night sky is a visual adventure in astronomy and more impressive than just reading about it. To help make the dark night sky more accessible, the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada (RASC) has embraced over two dozen sites across Canada into their Dark-Sky Sites Program. Sites fall under “dark-sky preserves” (DSPs), which have very dark night skies with visitor services; “nocturnal preserves” (NPs), which are dark and have no services; and “urban star parks” (USPs), which have fair skies and public access. The DSPs and NPs are usually remote, but USPs can be in your neighbourhood. The sun sets in the west, so the West Coast is the last place to see daylight in Canada. On the eastern side of Victoria is Cattle Point, which…

British Columbia is Canada’s most westerly province and boasts a diverse geography that includes rugged mountains, inland deserts, rocky coastlines, breathtaking beaches, sprawling forests, turquoise lakes and grassy plains. This unique landscape has served as the backdrop for a most singular cuisine and approach to food, which can be highlighted in the following three ways. NO.1 FISH Given that it’s a coastal region, it is natural to expect a bounty of finfish and shellfish to punctuate the cuisine of British Columbia. This West Coast tomato-based seafood stew, cioppino, was the way that Italian-American fishers were able to use the remainder of the daily catch that was not able to be sold as part of their repast. The sensibility of these resourceful fishers transcends borders and coastal obligations. There is no…

Stone Soup for a Sustainable World: Life-Changing Stories of Young Heroes by Marianne Larned (Stone Soup Leadership Institute, Inc., 2021) Featuring the stories of 100 young climate change trailblazers, environmental justice changemakers, sustainable business leaders, and green inventors and entrepreneurs, from 38 countries around the world and 32 U.S. cities, Stone Soup for a Sustainable World: Life-Changing Stories of Young Heroes showcases the young environmental heroes who are creating innovative and sustainable solutions to the global climate crisis. From 18-year-old Jerome Foster II, founder of OneMillionofUs, who was appointed to President Joe Biden’s White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council, to Lilly Platt, a middle school student from the Netherlands who created Lillys Plastic Cleanup to fight plastic pollution in the oceans, and 23-year-old Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate, whose Rise…

Hand pruners. These are for light work. Use hand pruners for shaping existing tree branches and for reaching into young, woody growth to remove 1- to 3-year-old growth that has bent over and broken under the weight of the ice. Good-quality hand pruners run between $25 and $80. Pruning saw. Forget the crosscut and the ripsaw in the basement; a pruning saw is designed for the unique purpose of cutting through green, living wood. It has teeth that are arranged alternately so that you get a “purchase” on the wood on the forestroke and the backstroke, which means you use less energy when cutting branches and limbs. A hand-held pruning saw will cut wood up to about 10 cm (4 inches) in diameter, sometimes larger, depending on the wood. A…

Gardening for winter interest is becoming increasingly popular as our changing climate brings us outside more often during the winter months. Here’s how to enjoy and enhance your landscape’s natural beauty. There are plenty of options to enjoy natural interest in a winter garden no matter where you live, and there’s no doubt that the best place to draw inspiration from is Canada’s West Coast — British Columbia has some of the most spectacular gardens in the world! And many of those phenomenal gardens are the work of Paul Sangha, principal landscape architect at Paul Sangha Creative, an internationally recognized landscape practice in Vancouver. Sangha has designed gardens all around the world and has an exceptional vision for uniting the landscape, built form and site. There is no need to…

Adding fresh winter decorations is a beautiful way to adorn your home for the season. And while flower shops and garden centres are fabulous places to find these items, making your very own creation with your garden clippings or purchased greens is the most gratifying — and, even better, it will save you a few dollars. Summon your fa-la-la and get started with these three easy projects. WILD & WONDERFUL Start creating your wreath by collecting an assortment of boughs of greenery and clipping them into 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 inch) long pieces. Here, we used a combination of spruce, dark green B.C. cedar and lighter green emerald cedar branches with cones. Next, layer the branches together and pinch the bottom so that the greenery fans out…

This Nutella-centred molten chocolate cake recipe, from my book Flavorbomb, adds another layer of decadence to the timeless classic — and presents the perfect opportunity to use up some of the fresh berries that you squirrelled away in the freezer for the winter. Don’t even think about adding sugar to the berries. Their natural tartness is the perfect foil for the richness of the Nutella and the sweetness of the cake. Simply purée and strain. If necessary, add a splash of water to thin the sauce — or even better, a splash of Cointreau, Grand Marnier or brandy. It’s winter, after all. Time 30 minutes + extra time for Nutella to freeze Yield Serves 4 Advance Work Batter can be made earlier in the day and baked just before serving…

I just celebrated my 70th birthday this past year. Our culture attaches great importance to decades only because of the calculations of some forgotten Byzantine astrologer, not because there is any cosmic significance to the decimal system. Still, these birthdays with zeroes pop up like the zeroes on the truck odometer and prompt us to reflect on who we are and what’s left to do. An old friend who farms on the North Channel of Georgian Bay, Ontario, told me recently: “I still like living on the farm, but I find the work between the meals is starting to lose its appeal.” I reminded him that this is a perfectly natural phase and not to be resisted. The purpose of the old farmer is to convert his decades of experience…

Where’s the best place to sit down and have a coffee in your town? I really like the Sunterra Market coffee shop. When you go to the local farmers market, which vendor do you visit first? Generally the bread vendor. When company arrives from out of town, where do you take them? Oh, to Banff. Does your town have a mascot or any unusual roadside attractions or monuments? Well, there’s Harvey the Hound, from the Calgary Flames. What’s the strangest annual event or festival or little-known fact about your town? There’s a wonderful thing called the Lilac Festival. It’s every spring, down on Fourth Street, which is really lovely. What kind of bragging rights does your town have? The 1988 Olympics were held in Calgary. The Calgary Stampede. The mountains…

THE WINDOW DECAL ON OUR TRUCK READS “A TREE FOR EVERY HERO.” THE HIGHWAY OF HEROES TREE CAMPAIGN WAS HATCHED ABOUT 8 YEARS AGO, WHEN A SMALL GROUP OF CONCERNED CANADIANS IDENTIFIED A SCHEME TO BOTH HELP SAVE THE PLANET FROM THE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND PROVIDE A PERMANENT MEMORIAL TO THOSE CANADIANS WHO LOST THEIR LIVES DURING WAR, SINCE 1812. As part of the campaign, 117,000 trees are being planted along the highway that provided transport for the 158 Canadian soldiers lost in the Afghan conflict. During those 10 years of conflict, tens of thousands of Canadians stood silent while the hearses drove by along Highway 401 in all kinds of weather. The soldiers’ bodies repatriated on Canadian soil at Canadian Forces Base Trenton, they were driven to…

Grapeholly ( Mahonia aquifolium ) A glossy broadleaf evergreen with beautiful yellow flowers. Calamagrostis ‘Karl Foerster’ A sturdy grass that holds its shape through the winter. Christmas flowers ( Helleborus ) These cold-weather-loving perennials bloom for weeks (at Christmastime in the West Coast, early March in central Ontario) and maintain glossy leaves throughout the winter. Amber gold cedar ( Thuja occidentalis ‘Jantar’) An evergreen with stunning yellowy chartreuse foliage that turns an amber gold in the winter. Columnar European hornbeam ( Carpinus betulus ‘Columnaris’) This shapely dense tree grows like a living column, providing structure and form to the garden in all seasons. Chinese witch hazel ( Hamamelis mollis ) A fragrant and showy winter-flowering shrub.…

1 Repair or replace damaged window and door screens. 2 Rid your property of standing-water sources, including old tires, children’s toys, flower pots, swimming pool covers, buckets and cans. Really, this would be any object where water can accumulate. 3 Clean out clogged eavestroughs. 4 Change the water in wading pools, bird baths and pet water dishes frequently. 5 Screen rain barrels and water tanks to keep mosquitoes out. 6 Encourage natural mosquito predators to visit your property. Birds, frogs, dragonflies, damselflies and bats are among the creatures that prey on mosquitoes. 7 Apply an insect repellent containing DEET or icaridin, and wear pants, long-sleeved shirts, socks and hats when heading outdoors during mosquito season. 8 Drape mosquito nets over baby carriers. 9 Avoid going outside at dawn and dusk,…

Summers can get pretty dry where I live on Manitoulin Island, Ontario, and this means it makes sense to feed a bit of hay out on pasture during the summer, before the fall rains kick in and the pasture starts growing again. I feed hay in round bale feeders during times like this, and even though I move the feeder with each new bale, the cattle still trample the ground and kill the pasture in a circular shape. No problem if you’re frost seeding, though. Chances are great that you’ll have nearly perfect germination where the bale feeders were — a nice green circle of very nutritious clover and trefoil — and for at least several years after.…

For most of us, there’s nothing like a cup of tea to soothe the soul on a cold winter’s day. For Margit Nellemann, though, tea is about more than flavour. “It’s tradition. Celebration,” says the co-founder, tea specialist and clay maker at Westholme Tea Company. Nellemann and Victor Vesely created Westholme Tea Company (westholmetea.com) out of their home in Duncan, British Columbia, back in 2008, driven by their passion for tea. “At the time, I had a ceramics business, making teapots and such,” says Nellemann. “We converted an old dairy barn on our property into a tea shop and started putting on tea-focused events. Then we began creating tea blends from our own unique recipes, and it grew from there.” Interestingly, Nellemann’s fascination with tea began, of all places, in…