The Marigold Library

With their soft, velvety leaves and clusters of colourful blooms, African violets are beloved houseplants that have brightened windowsills and kitchen tables for generations. Despite their delicate appearance, they're surprisingly resilient once you understand what they need, rewarding a little patience with flowers that can bloom for much of…

Some plants seem determined to thrive where few others can. Lewisia cotyledon is one of them. With its rosettes of fleshy evergreen leaves and clusters of vibrant flowers, lewisia cotyledon brings an unexpected splash of colour to containers, rock gardens, and perennial borders. Despite its delicate appearance, it's a remarkably resilient plant that evolved in rocky mountain habitats where soil is scarce, water…

Some flowers make a statement, others cute daintiness win people over and of course the adorable little english daisy belong firmly in the second category! Thanks to their cheerful cartoonish blooms, and their wild appearance, english daisies have been loved by gardeners for centuries! Though small in stature, they show off an undeniable charm…

When people think about gardening, they often think about flowers. The bright colours, the blooms, the pollinators buzzing from blossom to blossom. Flowers are beautiful, but they're also something much more important. They are part of a complex web of relationships that…

Few flowers work harder in a northern garden than violas! They have cheerful blooms, remarkable cold tolerance, and the ability to flower long before many summer annuals. It's no wonder violas are a favourite of gardeners around the world! They bring colour when gardens are just waking up from winter, support early…

It only felt right that the very first entry in our Flower Care Series would be marigolds! Bright, cheerful, hardy, and surprisingly practical, marigolds are one of the most recognizable garden flowers for…

Earlier this month, we had the opportunity to attend the Lac La Biche Tourism Kick-Off to discuss the future of tourism in our region and how local businesses, growers, makers, and community members can help shape and support it moving forward. As newer members of the community ourselves, it was and incredibly meaningful experience. We were so grateful to…

This past weekend marked another big milestone for us at the Marigold Market: our first double market weekend! We want to start by wishing a very happy Mother’s Day to all the mothers, grandmothers, caregivers, nurturing figures and fellow fur-mother’s in our community. We saw so many people picking out thoughtful gifts of flowers for the people they love, and it…

Often when people picture flower farms, they imagine long summers, early springs, and endless sunshine and good growing weather. As we know, Northern Alberta has other plans. We’re in Zone 3a, which means…

After what felt like a never-ending winter, things are finally starting to wake up again! The grass is getting greener, the trees are beginning to bud, and little by little, we’re starting to see…

Often when people picture flower farms, they imagine long summers, early springs, and endless sunshine and good growing weather. As we know, Northern Alberta has…

On April 10th, we officially attended our very first market as the Marigold Market at the Lac La Biche Farmers' Market, and honestly it still feels a little surreal to say that out loud! It may seem like a small step, for for us it’s a huge milestone! Since January, our basement has slowly transformed into a miniature greenhouse oasis filled with seed trays, grow lights, soil bins, and more plants than we’ve known what to do with at times. After months of…

We have some exciting news! Next week, we’ll officially be joining the Lac La Biche Farmers' Market for our very first market as the Marigold Market!

When we first started planning our…

March is such a strange time of year, technically, it’s spring. Looking out the window and at the weather forecast says differently. I don’t know about you, but we’re sick of the snow. Not just because the kids are stuck inside and it’s miserable outside, but because we want to be outside prepping beds and planting seedlings! For us as growers, though, it feels like we’re very much in a “hurry up and wait” situation, which is something I frequently hear Ashley say these days. But this time of year…

One thing nobody really prepares you for when starting a flower farm out of your home is…

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…