Tara Nolan » Gardening

2019 Speaking engagements

admin — Sun, 30 Dec 2018 14:58:51 +0000

I’m working on a new project this year, so I’ve only booked a small number of speaking engagements. Here’s where I’ll be!

March 18: St. Catharines Horticultural Society

March 19: Milne House Garden Club

April 9: Orangeville Horticultural Society

April 13: Lee Valley Tools Burlington (free in-store talk and book signing)

April 16: East Gwillimbury Garden & Horticultural Society

April 23: Alliston & District Horticultural Society

April 24: Brooklin Horticultural Society

And I’ve already booked some talks for 2020…

Richmond Hill Horticultural Society: March 3

Brantford Waterwise Gardening Seminar: March 9

Canada Blooms: March 13

Trenton Horticultural Society: June 18

CAA Magazine: Feeding the birds in winter

admin — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 15:25:35 +0000

For the winter 2018/2019 issue of CAA magazine, I wrote an article about feeding the birds throughout the winter in your yard. It included tips on keeping a healthy feeder, leaving flowers and their seed pods in the garden for the birds, as well as other food to nourish feathered visitors.

The article was in the print magazine and also appeared online here.

CBC Life gardening articles

admin — Mon, 29 Oct 2018 15:15:56 +0000

Throughout 2018, I wrote several gardening articles for CBC Life.

Here is a list:

Sow what? Everything you need to grow vegetables from seed, starting now

Pre-season sowing: Get a head start on growing season with these cool-weather-loving veggies

How to grow your own salad at home — yes, we said grow!

Small space edibles: Food you absolutely can grow in your tiny garden

New plant picks to look out for at garden centres this year

It’s time to make those superstar container arrangements

Perennials that pop: Stunners to put down once and marvel at year after year

Natural/eco solutions for keeping insects and other pests out of your garden and grass

Savvy Gardening wins Gold at the GWA Media Awards

admin — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 20:05:59 +0000

All members of Savvy Gardening—Amy Andrychowicz, Niki Jabbour, Jessica Walliser and myself—attended the recent GWA: Association for Garden Communicators conference in Buffalo, NY. On the last evening, there is always an awards banquet where the best articles, publications, photography, blogs, videos and more are judged.

We attended knowing that we had won a Silver Medal award for Best Blog (Overall Site). At the ceremony, Gold Medals are awarded for the best of each award class. Savvy Gardening swept the entire Digital Media Category (with the best blog, video, website, etc.) to win a Gold Medal for Best Overall Digital Media.

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The Globe and Mail: Trends from the 2017 RHS Chelsea Flower Show

admin — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 18:38:03 +0000

I had the honour of receiving press accreditation to the 2017 RHS Chelsea Flower Show. When I got back from my visit in May, I gathered up some of the most inspiring ideas from the show and wrote a piece for The Globe and Mail’s Life section. It appeared in both the newspaper and online: Eight garden design trends inspired by the RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

CBC Life: Plant picks

admin — Fri, 19 May 2017 18:35:12 +0000

My first article for CBC Life was published in May. I was contacted by an editor to pitch some ideas in advance of the long weekend—aka planting weekend in Southern Ontario, depending on the spring we’ve had. I wrote a piece called Plant picks to look out for when you hit garden centres, which includes edibles and ornamentals for the garden, as well as a few tips for the garden centre!

Travel Life: Volunteering at Maui Nui Botanical Gardens

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 17:42:31 +0000

I’m really proud of the fall and winter issues of Travel Life. I got to edit some interesting articles by talented writers and I got to contribute one of my favourite pieces of 2016 to Pay It Forward, a column that explores voluntourism.

In February 2016, during a mountain biking trip to Maui, I chose a Wednesday morning and joined The Weed And Pot Club at Maui Nui Botanical Gardens. They meet each week and work at weeding and potting (as the name cheekily suggests). Dig In! Volunteer for a short-term opportunity, like gardening, when you visit Maui appeared in the fall issue.

I also wrote a little piece called Avant, Après and in Between about unique après ski destinations around the world. I haven’t been to all of them, but I think I might need to try fat biking in Gstaad next winter.

Published: Fall 2016 and Winter 2016/17 (print)

2017 speaking engagements

admin — Thu, 24 Nov 2016 20:03:00 +0000

In 2016, I gave my “Why Raised Beds Rule” talk to 18 different garden clubs, horticultural societies, municipalities, master gardener groups and even my alma mater, McMaster University. I have a number of talks booked for 2017.

Please email me at taranolan00[at]gmail.com if you are interested in booking me for a talk. Besides my expertise in raised beds, I also have a talk about Garden BFFs: Why you should plant ornamentals in your edible garden and vice versa. My partners and I have written about this topic on Savvy Gardening. I can also adapt my talks to suit the audience.

2017 speaking engagements

* March 10, 2017: Canada Blooms
* April 8, 2017: Barrie Garden Club
* April 10, 2017: Author event at Hamilton Public Library’s Central Branch
* April 11, 2017: Beeton Horticultural Society
* April 13, 2017: Terryberry branch of Hamilton Public Library
* April 18, 2017: Ancaster Horticultural Society
* April 20, 2017: Kenilworth branch of Hamilton Public Library
* April 21, 2017: Mount Hamilton Horticultural Society
* April 22, 2017: Aylmer & District Horticultural Society
* April 23, 2017: Plant World
* April 24, 2017: Ayr Horticultural Society
* May 1, 2017: Waterdown branch of Hamilton Public Library
* May 3, 2017: Toronto Botanical Garden
* May 6: Lee Valley Tools, Burlington
* June 6: Lee Valley Tools, Vaughan
* June 12, 2017: Georgina-Brock Garden Club
* June 15, 2017: East York Garden Club
* September 25, 2017: Midland Horticultural Society

Toronto Star: Fall décor and gardening articles

admin — Fri, 14 Oct 2016 16:57:54 +0000

This fall, I’ve written several décor pieces for various special sections in the Toronto Star. The first two appeared September 3 in a section called Your New Home.

For my first article, I interviewed paint legend Annie Sloan Q&A style. For the second piece, I featured a beach-inspired bathroom renovation created by Rebecca Hay of Rebecca Hay Designs, whose work has appeared on HGTV’s Income Property, among others. I’ll post a link to the PDFs as soon as I get them.

My next articles appeared in a Restyle Your Home section that was published Thursday, October 13. My articles for that section included:

* A Q&A with Michelle Slatalla, editor of Gardenista.com and author of the new book by the same name. I met Slatalla who was the keynote speaker at an influencer summit I attended earlier this year at P. Allen Smith’s Moss Mountain Farm.

* A product roundup, featuring décor items that will keep you cosy in the fall, both indoors and out.

* An article about extending your growing season with a cold frame. It featured a photo of the cold frame I designed using an old window for my book Raised Bed Revolution.

#MyHamilton: 5 reasons to visit the RBG’s new Rock Garden

admin — Tue, 12 Jul 2016 19:30:56 +0000

The David Braley and Nancy Gordon Rock Garden recently reopened in Hamilton, Ontario, after a 5-year renovation and rejuvenation project. Tourism Hamilton asked me to write a #MyHamilton post about the launch. As a volunteer, I already had a sneak peek of the garden during a couple of events and was eager to share my experience.

Now that the garden is open to the public, hopefully this post will inspire both locals and tourists to visit this fabulous outdoor space.

Here’s a link: 5 reasons to visit the RBG’s new Rock Garden