I’m available to give any of the following presentations, in person or online. Please contact me to arrange a talk, or for more information.
Click the title or scroll down for more details about each presentation.
10 City Veggies: Veggies you can grow in pots or on small urban lots
All From a Little Seed: How to start seeds
Culinary Herbs (Usually delivered with hubby, Richard Guenette)
Lessons from My Big Fat Garden Reno
Getting Started, Taking Stock
Heavenly Heritage Tomatoes
Organic Gardening 101
Seed Saving & Storage
Thugs, Bullies & Sneaks: Plants to be Wary Of
To Everything there is a Season: Phenology 101
The Edible Garden
Plant Guilds: Taking Companion Planting to the Next Level
Gardening with Wildlife
Preserving the Harvest
Gardeners, Contain Yourselves!
Climate Change & Your Garden
Water Wise Gardening
Phenology for You and Me
10 City Veggies
Veggies you can grow in pots or on small urban lots
Beans on a fence, carrots in pots, anyone can grow these easy plants! This presentation is offered in both official languages and provides an overview of easy plants that novice gardeners can grow in a confined space. The emphasis is on food plants that also have some ornamental value.
12 slides, 20-40 minutes
All From a Little Seed
How to start seeds
This presentation is all about SEX — plant sex, that is, and how home gardeners can save money, have fun and breed new varieties by starting their own seeds. We begin with a discussion of why gardeners might want to start plants from seed. There is an introduction to the lexicon for seed starting and a discussion of the importance of documentation. We talk about sources of seed, and viability. Then we discuss equipment and supplies for seed-starting, and what seeds to start where and when (indoors versus outdoors). There are some tips for getting a head-start on your seed-starting, and we end up with some trouble-shooting and the basics of hardening off.
14 slides, 45-60 minutes
Culinary Herbs
(Usually delivered with hubby, Richard Guenette)
his combination talk and demonstration includes an overview of herbs versus spices, varieties to grow and cultivation tips, followed by a taste of four different dishes, using four different herbs.
Note: There is a minimum fee for the demo portion of this talk because we provide food samples, including shrimp, guacamole and bruschetta.
13 slides, 20-30 minutes without cooking demo, or 60-70 minutes with demo
Lessons from My Big Fat Garden Reno
Over a ten-year period, a small suburban garden was transformed into a tranquil refuge for people and wildlife. This talk is a very personal take on comprehensive garden make-overs. Whether you just want to refresh your garden, or create an entirely new look, you need to answer some key questions before getting started. Also covered are the merits of DIY versus hiring professionals, budgeting strategies, relevant bylaws and building codes, and check lists of many other aspects that need to be considered before embarking on a garden renovation.
40 slides, 60-75 minutes
Getting Started, Taking Stock
This abbreviated version of “My Big Fat Garden Reno” was developed as part of the curricula for a day-long garden design workshop. It is less personal, and more intended to inform home-owners of the many details they need to check before embarking on a garden renovation.
19 slides, 30-45 minutes
Heavenly Heritage Tomatoes
What are heritage tomatoes, and why should we grow them? This talk covers some definitions of heritage tomatoes, discusses different types and how best to grow them. There is also a brief introduction to some of the main breed programs for “new heritage” varieties. You will also learn about sources of seeds, a bit about starting tomatoes from seed, and the pluses and minuses of heritage tomatoes.
11 slides, 20-30 minutes
Organic Gardening 101
An introduction to the topic of organic gardening, with a focus on growing food. Topics covered include: some definitions of organic gardening; pros and cons; tools of the trade; getting to know your garden; some simple soil tests; managing weeds, bugs and diseases; crop rotation; and companion planting. The talk ends with a list of resources for the Ottawa area.
20 slides, 45-60 minutes
Seed Saving & Storage
Learn the basics of saving seeds, plant genetics, collection techniques, storage and viability. You may even be able to breed your own varieties, adapted specifically to growing conditions in your garden! This presentation provides an introduction to seed saving, beginning from the premise that in today’s concentrated market for seed producers, saving seeds is an act of quiet revolution. The differences between hybridized and open-pollinated plants are discussed. We revisit Gregor Mendel’s 19th Century experiments with peas to get a better understanding of the dominant and recessive traits for some common vegetable seeds. We will also look at seed varieties that are suitable for beginner, intermediate and expert seed-savers. Timing and collection methods are discussed, along with information on seed sanitation and storage. Finally, we discuss long-term viability of seeds, and the presentation ends with a list of useful resources.
15 slides, 45-60 minutes
Thugs, Bullies & Sneaks
Plants to be Wary Of
Good for spring presentations, this talk addresses the issue of selecting the right plant for the right location. It offers a review of plants that have thuggish tendencies or other unfortunate outcomes when improperly sited.
19 slides, 30-45 minutes
To Everything there is a Season
Phenology 101
Have you ever wondered why some years are really bad for earwigs? Or why all the blooms in your garden peak just before or just after, but never during, that special occasion you were planning? The answer may be found in phenology. Phenology is the study of periodic plant and animal life cycle events and how these are influenced by seasonal and multi-year climate variations. This session will provide a novice-level explanation of phenology and how it impacts home gardeners. The talk includes some history of the science of phenology, definitions, and a look at the various uses of phenology, including for planting, harvesting, predicting bloom times, and climate change monitoring.
43 slides, 60-75 minutes
The Edible Garden
This presentation discusses incorporating edibles, particularly perennial edibles into your landscape. Reasons for growing food in your garden, a discussion of perennial and ornamental edibles, and a brief introduction to permaculture are included. There is also a section on techniques for measuring your productivity, tips on using what your grow and building community as well as resources conclude this talk.
41 slides, 60-75 minutes
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Plant Guilds
Taking Companion Planting to the Next Level
This presentation begins by distinguishing between plant guilds and companion planting. It encourages listeners to think in terms of modifying their conventional gardening strategies to begin creating a self-sustaining eco-system that will become more productive and result in less work over time. Achieving these objectives requires delving into the different functions that plants serve in the landscape. Building on the principles of permaculture, we explore examples of plant guilds, connection, natural patterns, and zones that help gardeners put together the pieces of that self-sustaining eco-system.
36 slides, 45-60 minutes
Gardening with Wildlife
There is both joy and challenge in gardening for wildlife. Gardening for wildlife requires different approaches and strategies — even a different mind-set! — from regular gardening. This talk addresses the characteristics of plants and garden design that will help you create a wildlife-friendly garden, strategies for including food, shelter, and water, and practices that will encourage birds and beneficial insects to make their home in your garden. Resources specific to the Ottawa area are discussed. We conclude with a brief overview of the process for certifying your garden as wildlife habitat, or as a monarch way-station, and encourage the audience to consider joining the growing army of Citizen Scientists who are helping us better understand how people are changing the natural world.
41 slides, 60-75 minutes
Preserving the Harvest
This talk and demonstration describes ways to preserve the harvest and covers: drying (drying herbs; dehydration of fruits and vegetables); cooking; canning (preserves – jams, jellies, chutneys); vinegars; freezing; and curing.
31 slides, 60 minutes
Gardeners, Contain Yourselves!
This talk combines humour, imagination and sound gardening advice to present the possibilities of gardening in containers — all kinds of containers!
56 slides, 60-75 minutes
Climate Change & Your Garden
Climate change is the defining challenge of our times. This talk provides a brief explanation of what climate change is and an update on the current situation, including how climate change is already impacting our weather, water, plants, food and wildlife. For each of these topics, I suggest the positive measures that gardeners can take to begin climate-proofing their gardens. The talk ends with suggested resources and a list for further reading.
56 slides, 60-75 minutes
Water Wise Gardening
As climate change brings hotter weather and more extreme precipitation events, including both droughts and floods, how can we gardeners adapt? This presentation addresses strategies for water-wise gardening including: preventing run-off; harvesting water; watering wisely; conserving soil moisture; xeriscaping and plant selection.
45-60 minutes
Phenology for You and Me
No, it’s not the study of the bumps on your head. Phenology explores the timing of cyclical events in nature. The turning of the year, seasons, cycles of the moon and daily circadian rhythms all have an impact on life on earth. The earliest hominins were expert phenologists. They had to be to catch game from migrating herds and know when to look for the tender sprouts of edible plants. Scientists today are increasingly turning to phenology to understand how climate change is affecting the natural world. As gardeners, an understanding of phenology can help us plan for continuous blooms, use natural pest control effectively, and contribute to climate research as citizen scientists. This talk introduces the subject of phenology, discusses its history, the current state of the science, and how gardeners can benefit from this information.
50-60 minutes
Gardening at Last 