Tara Nolan

CAA Magazine: 4 Easy Road Trips for Cool New Winter Adventures

admin — Tue, 19 Feb 2019 15:30:16 +0000

I wrote about the winter sports I enjoy, and suggested a few different places in driving distance of Southern Ontario to have a winter adventure for the online version of CAA Magazine.

My suggestions included Bracebridge and Arrowhead Provincial Park in Ontario, the Laurentians in Quebec, Jay Peak and Stowe in Vermont, and Ellicottville in New York. All of these places offer fat biking, XC skiing and snowshoeing.

Here’s a link: 4 Easy Road Trips for Cool New Winter Adventures

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

Visit Hamilton guide 2018/2019

admin — Sat, 29 Sep 2018 15:20:01 +0000

As Tourism Hamilton’s “Outdoor Explorer” for their #MyHamilton blog, I was asked to write a couple of articles for the Visit Hamilton 2018/2019 guide.

I wrote a “Choose your own outdoor adventure” article that outlined where to cycle, mountain bike, hike, kayak and enjoy the outdoors in the Hamilton area. I also created a little waterfall guide, showcasing some of the area’s renowned waterfalls.

Here is a link to the guide on Issuu.

Canadian Cycling cover story: Emily Batty

admin — Sat, 29 Sep 2018 15:05:07 +0000

For the August/September issue of Canadian Cycling magazine, I interviewed Olympian Emily Batty about her mountain biking career. “Beyond the Pearls” was the cover story for that issue.

I also wrote a review of the Liv Pique Advanced mountain bike and about how Louis Garneau is preparing kits for the athletes going to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

2018 speaking engagements

admin — Wed, 10 Jan 2018 15:52:16 +0000

One of the most fun tangents of my garden writing career is the opportunity to speak to organizations, garden clubs and horticultural societies about the gardening topics I’m passionate about.

My main topic is about raised beds (I’ve included a synopsis below). I also run longer workshops.

Raised Bed Revolution: Why raised beds rule
Whether you have a teeny tiny patio or a big yard, raised beds are a great gardening solution that allow you to garden almost anywhere. There are also multiple benefits to building raised bed gardens, from covering up poor soil and providing better accessibility to extending the growing season. Learn about the benefits, and come away inspired by ideas that you can use to create your own raised bed. Not handy? No problem! There are lots of premade kits available to let you get started right away. You’ll also learn where to put your new garden, what soil to use and what to plant—edibles, as well as ornamentals for the pollinators!

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 can provide a presentation 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.

Here is where I’m booked in 2018.

January 11: Brantford Garden Club
March 5: City of Brantford
March 9: Canada Blooms
March 14: Scarborough Horticultural Society
March 17: Wilmot Horticultural Society
April 9: Oro-Medonte Horticultural Society
April 10: Royal Botanical Garden
April 19: Westdale Library
April 21: Lee Valley Tools
April 23: Markham Horticultural Society
May 2: Etobicoke Horticultural Society
May 7: Glen Morris Horticultural Society
September 13: Niagara Master Gardeners
October 10: Uxbridge Garden Club
October 20: Lincoln Garden Club
October 23: Guelph Horticultural Society

Canadian Cycling: MTB in Winter Park Colorado and Miranda Miller profile

admin — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 21:03:10 +0000

For the August/September 2017 issue of Canadian Cycling, I wrote two really fun features. The first was about a mountain biking trip I took to Winter Park, Colorado.

Also called Mountain Bike Capital USA, Winter Park has over 600 miles of cross-country trails and two lift-accessed bike parks.

My second article continues my lucky year of getting to interview female mountain bike and cyclocross racers. I interviewed Miranda Miller at the beginning of the season and was so happy to see her become the downhill world champion at the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships.

* You can read You Can Shred for Miles and Miles about Winter Park, Colorado, here.

* You can read Beyond the Broken Bones about Miranda Miller here.

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.