Restoring joy to every blade of grass

Easter weekend will be blessed with unseasonal temperatures, possibly reaching up to 24 degress in Stratford. Commercial greenhouses will surely bloom with eager gardeners and spring fever patients who want prepare their lawns and gardens for the summer season ahead.

As we consider lawn maintenance approaches, it’s important to remember long-term effects to ourselves, our family members, pets, neighbours and the earth. While pesticides are now banned in Ontario, there are several products that duck just below the radar, still laden with harmful chemicals.

The potential health threats of using pesticides far outweigh the benefits of having a weed-free lawn and garden. Recently, scientists have observed associations between pesticide exposures and adverse effects on reproductive and neurological health, as well as some forms of cancer. Spraying lawns and gardens also kills good forms of life. Eventually the area is dependent on chemicals for survival and can no longer sustain the natural balance that keeps it healthy.

In Stratford, we’re fortunate to have a wonderful – and free – resource called Stratford Naturally, a group advocating a new approach to gardening in this area, without the use of any harmful chemicals. Following its environmentally-friendly guidelines will help us rebuild our ecosystems, banish health risks to people (particularly more susceptible infants, fetuses, children, prospective parents and the elderly) and enjoy healthier lawns, plants and flowers filled with enchanting and helpful butterflies, songbirds and bees.

Here are some brilliant lawn care tips, taken from the Stratford Naturally website:

1. Aim for healthy soil without adding substances that kill organisms in the fragile soil ecosystem (even vinegar) if you can.

2. Aerate your soil. Once it’s healthy, the earthworms will do the job for you.

3. Overseed with grass. Use a three-way mixture: perennial rye grass, creeping fescue, Kentucky blue.

4. Consider adding White Dutch Clover. As a legume, it will provide critically important nitrogen fixing in your soil.

5. Set your mower high. Cut to a height of 3”. Grass is a plant and its blades need to absorb sunlight and carbon dioxide. Short grass stresses the plant and soil, leaving it open to pest infestation.

6. Leave grass clippings on the lawn. They provide natural compost.

Let’s work together to garden naturally and inspire others in our neighbourhoods to do the same.

“When one tugs at a single thing in nature; he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” – John Muir

Vinyl records turned eyewear at hip new local haunt

When I was a kid, I loved playing vinyl records - especially my mom's old 45s and those Walt Disney book-and-record sets that prompted you to turn the page with a chime. I loved the feel of them in my hands, full of lustre, beautifully crafted with mesmerizing lines that guided you to the next song. I was always so careful not to scratch them too because let's face it - a scratched record had an immediate way of becoming useless junk. Or so I thought.

Whatever happened to all those scratched vinyl records - the ones that didn't make it to halls of fame, E-bay or collector exhibits? Well, I recently discovered where some of these retro little numbers have found rebirth: in eyewear, of all places!

Yesterday I took a drive with my son to beautiful Bayfield, Ontario. It was here that we visited three-week new Main Street Optometric, practice of Dr. Richard Samuell and home of the grooviest eyeglasses this side of Toronto.

Now I'm a sucker for designer frames, so I was giddy to learn Main Street Optometric carries Gucci, Dior, Versace, Jimmy Choo, Boss, Ray Ban and Silhouette (Tag Heuer's on the way). But what really caught my eye - pardon the pun - was Tipton, a hot new eyewear line made from recycled products such as cinematic film and vinyl records.

Main Street Optometric knows where it's at, having discovered the sweet spot between hip and green. Even its furniture and cabinetry have been reclaimed, recycled or restored and it carries the coolest line of vintage frames from the 1950s and 60s.

There's a great selection of kids wear too. Introducing glasses to a young one seems daunting enough, but show them a pair of Spiderman, Batman, Moxie or Juicy Coutures, and you've just sweetened the deal.

What's fantastic about Main Street Optometric is its location; why worry about scheduling an eye exam or picking out new frames at home in the frenzy of your week when you can book an appointment or browse unique and designer frames at your leisure when you're at the cottage, beach or out for a Sunday drive to a glorious part of the province? Especially when the prices are comparable to those you'd find at big scale eyewear chains.

Check out Main Street Optometric for your next eye exam or when you want to own a pair of frames that stick out from the crowd.

Or if you just really miss the feel of those old vinyl records.

Dr. Richard Samuell's wife and business partner, Erin Samuell of A Simple Photograph (the most talented photographer I know), took some photos of yesterday's adventures in eye-candy-land.

Best RMT in town helps cultivate self-care

About six years ago, I wrote a column for The Record called 'Confessions of a Newlywed.' I remember one article where I confessed my cluelessness in the garden, insisting the perennial patch my husband and I acquired with our new home was infringing on our wedded bliss. It's amazing how much I've grown over this period of time. Today, as a more, dare I say, "mature" wife and mother, I have learned to find solace in the garden. It has a funny way of making me kinder. More patient. Nurturing and compassionate toward living things. Amazing that these powerful life lessons were found in a pile a dirt.

Of course, I've only just touched the topsoil. I still have many layers to unearth.

Taking care of the garden has also helped me understand how important it is to take care of myself. Simple but true: you reap what you sow. And so during this busy maternity leave year that is quickly coming to a close, I've learned that taking care of myself just makes everything else in my life (and notably, in my family members' lives) run smoother. It's the replenishing rain that isn't just a nice touch, but necessary.

One way I've learned to take care of myself is by scheduling monthly massages. And I'm confident that I've discovered the best registered massage therapist (RMT) in town. Her name is Nonie Ferguson and she works at the Brunswick Massage Centre in Stratford.

Nonie is clearly passionate about her craft and it was no surprise to learn that she was top of her class. Before she begins treatment, she spends time talking with you to understand what muscles to target and the best approach to take that day. She's incredibly knowledgeable and even when I was nine months pregnant, I trusted her completely.

I like that Nonie consistently greets me afterward with a glass of water and a short debrief on what she noticed during treatment. She's quick to demonstrate exercises you can do to target specific muscle groups to continue the healing at home. I leave Nonie's office feeling like all the stress and tension I had (and some I didn't realize I had) lift away like a cloud on a breeze. I always sleep better that night and feel the effects of the massage the next day.

Self-care isn't a luxury. It's important. It has the power to prevent you from slipping into depletion and martyrdom. Running on fumes isn't good for you or the people around you - believe me, I know. Massage therapy is one way to take back a little piece of yourself; its nourishment always seems to have a ripple effect.

Many employers cover registered massage therapy in benefits packages because it contributes to healthy living. In a sense, it removes the weeds and nourishes the soil, helping you grow into the colourful living entity you were meant to be.

And as my shoulders reunite with the raking, digging and planting season, I have a feeling Nonie's going to have her work cut out for her this spring!

What may be lurking in your lingerie drawer...is edible

It's not just to aromatize your bathtub, potpourri your drawers or repel scorpions in the south of France (ever seen 'A Good Year?' Brilliant movie). Lavender is for eating! The French have been ingesting it for years and I hear they think we're tellement fou for not cooking with it sooner!

Culinary Lavender is totally hot. Gastronomic gurus from near and far are using it in their most decadent dishes. It's popping up in ice cream, preserves, honey and even chocolate.

Lavender Blue was one of the many joys I discovered at the Stratford Garden Festival last weekend. It's a line of gourmet products and gifts derived from an exquisite lavender farm just outside of Sparta, Ontario.

Proprietor, Suzanne Steed, is a Stratford native and collaborated with her sister, Kristene Steed, owner of Rheo Thompson, on Lavender Blue chocolate. While I was suspicious of its splendor, I was sold at first bite. This stuff is awesome.

I also picked up a jar of lavender-infused honey. It's wonderful in herbal teas and baking and I understand it makes a terrific glaze for grilling chicken or pork.

Lavender Blue's line extends to bath and body products, jams, jellies, house and garden products and gift baskets.

But seriously, about the chocolate, you gotta try some. There's a stash of it at Rheo Thompson and I'd love to hear if you enjoy it as much as I do.

Blooming good fun

Spring has sprung in Stratford. The sun is shining, I'm tracking mud into the house and the Stratford Garden Festival is blooming all weekend at the Rotary Complex, in support of The Lung Association.

Each year, I am amazed at the work that must go into this indoor festival. It's absolutely enchanting, like a magical fairy garden nurturing each of your senses.

As I walked past the admission booth ($8 for adults), the first thing that struck me was the glorious smell of fresh spring flowers. Nothing overpowering, just fragrant and full, offset by the rich, earthy smell of cedar wood chips. The sound of gently flowing waterfalls relaxed me, as did running my hands over the smooth, beautiful stone that surrounded them.

In addition to the splendid display gardens and interesting exhibits, there are presentations and a Speaker Series, where you can learn about everything from planting an organic vegetable garden, pollinators, and how to reduce garden maintenance, to garden edibles, water enhancements and making the most of your garden containers.

Tonight is Family Fun Night, where 'little sprouts' can create a garden craft, participate in a scavenger hunt and enjoy storytelling, face painting and complimentary refreshments.

If you happen to fall into a bad mood this weekend, do yourself a favour and go to this festival. Go anyway! You can't help but feel alive, well and joyous. Everyone is smiling.

Peace out

I can't sleep. And for no good reason. So I came downstairs, opened the pantry (how Nigella Lawson of me) and discovered a beautiful herbal tea I completely forgot I purchased from Vincenzo's. It's called Peace Tea (couldn't we all use a little more of that?) and it's made by The Algonquin Tea Co. in Eganville, Ontario.

Peace Tea is said to promote security, tranquillity and sleep; so with any hope, this blog entry will be short. The other five varieties include:

Sweetfern Tonic - a daily immune booster
Sacred Blend - for tranquility and focus
Homestead Blend - for cold and flu
Awakening Tea - balanced energy stimulant
Lucid Dream Tea - enhanced dream recall (zowee, maybe I should've tried some of that!)

All of The Algonquin Tea Co. herbs are sustainably handpicked in the wild. Rarer herbs are grown organically using non-mechanical, ecologically integrated and permacultural methods. It uses bleach-free tea bags and its packaging is 100% Canadian-made, using 100% recycled materials.

The Algonquin Tea Co. advocates that Canadian herbs are renowned worldwide for their medicinal potency and have been used for thousands of years. The company harvests wild plants in canoes by glistening rivers, in warm morning fields of flowers and cool spring valleys full of roots.

And that image, my friend, is soothing enough to put me to sleep.

My cup is now empty.

Night-night.