Recycling and Karma Dahlias.

This week we submitted our plant stock orders for the 2012 growing season.  We have ordered some new plant stock and some previously grown reliable plant stock.   Will go into more details in the coming months about the new selections we will have available this Spring.  The Karma dahlia's will once again be available this year.  We had many people stop by at the market to tell us about how well their Dahlia's performed for them.  I have always had nothing but the highest praise for these workhorses, as each and every year I have been growing them, they have produced an abundance of beautiful cut flowers.  Fred Gloeckner has developed an orange Karma dahlia, but I have not been able to secure a Canadian wholesaler that carries this as of yet.  I am hoping that it will be available to Canadians in 2013.

I have come across a few tidbits of information regarding keeping the environment in mind this holiday season.  If every family in Canada wrapped three presents with reused paper or cloth gift bags we would save enough paper to cover 45,000 hockey rinks.  So let's get creative with our Christmas wrapping, such as using cloth gift bags or using a bathroom towel or kitchen towel as wrapping paper.  Use empty cereal boxes and decorate with cutouts of  last years Christmas cards or make colourful snowflakes and paste them on the boxes.  Recycle bows, ribbons, gift bags and paper from last years festivities.  Send e-cards to family and friends with an e-mail account.  When needing to replace Christmas tree lights, consider LED lights.  Purchase a Saskatchewan grown Christmas tree.  Consider taking a drive to a Christmas tree farm and purchasing directly from the grower. Whatever you decide to incorporate into your plans, you will be making a positive impact on our environment.

Think Local.

Beautiful work of art by the local wasps.

As the festive season once again nears I just wanted to focus your attention on a couple of words.  

"Think Local"

This holiday season try to make an effort to purchase one of your gifts from a local entrepreneur.  Try to find items that are made in Canada, made from recycled materials, grown organically or naturally, have been produced from products which were locally grown.  The Saskatoon Farmer's Market is a great place to look around for items that fit any of the above categories.  It is a diverse marketplace where you can find everything from vegetables to skin care, and everything in between.  Starting  Sunday Nov 13th, the Saskatoon Crafters are going to be offering their products to the public, along with the regular Market vendors from 10:00-3:00 on Sunday's.  Check out their website www.saskatooncrafters.com.

Another website I wanted to bring to your attention is www.localsask.ca.  This is a website that showcases products which have been produced locally in Saskatchewan.  It has been around for only a few months and was created by a local entrepreneur, Marsha Lemon.  The website is a one stop shop for everything made in Saskatchewan.  Check out the site often as more and more businesses are featuring their products.  If you are looking for clothing which are ethically produced stop in at a new shop called Luna + Hill at 208-3rd Ave South.  They carry lines of clothing which are new and/or have been created from recycled materials.  Their website is www.lunaandhill.com.  Another very diverse shopping experience is The Better Good at 640 Broadway Ave.  Items they offer for sale in their store must fall into one or all of the following categories, Organic, Local, Fair Trade, Handmade, Natural, made from Reused or Recycled products.  Their website is www.thebettergood.com.

If we all make an effort to gift a gift which falls into any of the categories above, the world will be a better place for future generations.