One of my favourite gardening topics and hyper-fixations is native plants: what they are, why they matter, and whether they really make a difference in home gardens. At the Marigold Market, supporting biodiversity and healthy ecosystems is…

One of the questions we’ve already started getting is: “why marigolds?” Honestly, the answer is both deeply sentimental and incredibly boring. Like most things in our lives, it started with Ashley and I talking on the phone and throwing ideas at each other while trying to figure out what on earth to call this little flower farm we’d somehow decided to…

Why, it’s one of the most important skills in gardening, farming, birding, and nature observation, of course! Phenology is the study of recurring seasonal events in plants, animals, and ecosystems, especially how they relate to weather and climate. In simpler terms, it’s the practice of observing when natural events happen and how those patterns shift over time. Examples of phenology include…

Since moving to Lac La Biche, my animal loving and nature enthusiast heart has been singing. Not only have I experienced a plethora of new birds to add to my life list, I’ve also gotten to experience the frequent visits of deer. Seer were something I only caught occasional glimpses of back in Ontario! Here, the deer…

Winter changes everything here in northern Alberta. The biting cold takes over and many of the birds that remain through the season suddenly face a much more difficult environment. Food becomes harder to find, open water disappears, and shelter from wind and cold becomes…

This is our first year of growing, so naturally when it came time to decide on how we wanted to grow, peat moss became a topic of interest and concern. When we were discussing what values we wanted…

At the Marigold Market, supporting local ecosystems and biodiversity is one of the core values behind what we’re building. While flowers are a big part of that, so are…

Set-up day had finally arrived. After “patiently” waiting for our racks, grow lights, heating mats, trays, and buckets to arrive, we were finally able to set them up this past weekend. We took many progress photos as we set-up, and are filled with anticipation for our first year as The Marigold Market…