https://www.hummingbirdforestgarden.com/garden-notes daily 0.75 2026-03-26 https://www.hummingbirdforestgarden.com/garden-notes/god-was-in-the-library monthly 0.5 2026-03-13 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/fd076eeb-5923-48bd-8a24-2b17145c24e7/Forest-Garden-Flowers-September.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - God was in the library - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/350cc17e-3caa-4418-be9d-9b81df94b479/Forest-Garden-hummingbird-ottawa.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - God was in the library - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/0b5fa60e-c534-4607-8534-ca96c673d97f/Forest-Garden-cosmos.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - God was in the library - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773423790292-7KEPC10LGWIQA5M5M84I/Ottawa-food-forest.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - God was in the library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773423793872-4T9H2FPQZZBT5V02E2H2/food-forest-diversity.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - God was in the library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773423792692-IRDIPMHVUE7GTD08TJTQ/food-forest-ottawa-area.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - God was in the library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773423790355-53D7ZIM1DPL513Q5M3GV/permaculture-food-forest.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - God was in the library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773423791607-TGS5L3NYY3HLMQ0IFIEX/forest-garden-permaculture.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - God was in the library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773423793955-0VGL2PR3C2VR0LWD2FJP/diverse-forest-garden.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - God was in the library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773423792888-WC96FQUP7WIRVR6H0E8K/food-forest-garden-ottawa.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - God was in the library https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773423791575-XSVE60G7U37OD772LX33/forest-garden-sunflowers.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - God was in the library https://www.hummingbirdforestgarden.com/garden-notes/khaki-campbell-drakes-leave monthly 0.5 2026-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/dafd4568-5434-468c-8d4e-e68be0c6618d/Permaculture-ducks-food-forest+%281%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Ducks in the Forest Garden | A Love Story - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/3ec3c7ec-74a5-4eb0-92d6-a526734d8669/khaki-campbell-ducks-permaculture.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Ducks in the Forest Garden | A Love Story - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/28a63000-bb1d-4fa9-9851-67b5725bfc66/male-drakes-khaki-campbell-ducks.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Ducks in the Forest Garden | A Love Story - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/4a7d69d4-b82f-4948-ab17-5f1c69763feb/male-khaki-campbell-forest-garden.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Ducks in the Forest Garden | A Love Story - Make it stand out Saying goodbye isn’t easy. https://www.hummingbirdforestgarden.com/garden-notes/beautiful-black-sheep-you-belong monthly 0.5 2026-03-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/58e58e4a-db62-4da2-9bf9-1ab176d7c0f7/forest-garden-rest.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Beautiful Black Sheep - Hold On. You will sit in that garden you are dreaming of. - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/76f0b7cb-290c-4262-9254-766009fa6d93/black-sheep-quote.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Beautiful Black Sheep - Hold On. You will sit in that garden you are dreaming of. - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1f4ba430-d6fb-4131-968c-5a3fb0971ee0/black-sheep-quote-reflection.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Beautiful Black Sheep - Hold On. You will sit in that garden you are dreaming of. - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1ccac8d4-3798-4e10-8a03-e4ea1f325475/reflection-on-being-black-sheep-cptsd.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Beautiful Black Sheep - Hold On. You will sit in that garden you are dreaming of. - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.hummingbirdforestgarden.com/garden-notes/cold-climate-perennial-food-forest monthly 0.5 2026-03-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/f6a48c26-2432-475f-9d67-8a945c45495e/food-forest-garden-ottawa-gatineau.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Cold-Climate Perennial Food in our Forest Garden | Quebec, Canada - Make it stand out This garden is right beside the house and is part of the whole system. Perennial food in this area includes; an apple tree, an apricot tree, serviceberry tree, bergamot, walking onions, asparagus, chives, oregano, tarragon, kale (comes back for a second year and self-seeds here), lettuces of many kinds, common purslane, dandelions, garlic (we let it go to seed too so it’s a self-regenerating system), garlic chives, native violets, wild strawberry, purple coneflower, haskaps, raspberries (a few kinds) and more. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/33a791b6-b270-45f2-9519-6d50fd188b06/blueberry-bush-quebec-food-forest.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Cold-Climate Perennial Food in our Forest Garden | Quebec, Canada - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/a71aa250-87b1-4721-9749-cb9ca6a38b85/Asparagus-perrenial-food-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Cold-Climate Perennial Food in our Forest Garden | Quebec, Canada - Make it stand out The plant in front is one of our 4 rows of perennial asparagus. The BEST reason for spring!! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/e045fc74-4c61-4b4a-ab85-6944395ead0a/red-elderberry-native-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Cold-Climate Perennial Food in our Forest Garden | Quebec, Canada - Make it stand out Red Elderberry - native and grows all over the place here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/da2db852-daaa-4ede-b20b-498983389e0e/raspberries-food-forest-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Cold-Climate Perennial Food in our Forest Garden | Quebec, Canada - Make it stand out Heritage Raspberry that was here when we moved in - we found out what it was because I dug it up to share with a friend and the label was still on the roots. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/5e8f0e64-5365-454b-a40f-8477b70ef649/native-pollinator-plants-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Cold-Climate Perennial Food in our Forest Garden | Quebec, Canada - Make it stand out Small 2 year old Apricot Tree doing great surrounded by native flowers and veggies. It is on the South facing side of the house and has its own little microclimate. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773435449645-9C1NPNVB4GXGV372EDU3/toddler-food-forest-eating-chives.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Cold-Climate Perennial Food in our Forest Garden | Quebec, Canada https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773435451881-YE7I4A0JXIFWGBM8RCEX/Garlic-chives-seeds-food-forest.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Cold-Climate Perennial Food in our Forest Garden | Quebec, Canada https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773435450775-Y5TPMIGDM8V5FWZSJQP9/walking-onion-garlic.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Cold-Climate Perennial Food in our Forest Garden | Quebec, Canada https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773435450798-C0V6360VA7Z4JCY0V0LQ/chives-spring-onion-quebec-forest-garden.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Cold-Climate Perennial Food in our Forest Garden | Quebec, Canada https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773435449480-XM4FMZ3L8ONTUOP00LLQ/chantarelles-mushroom-quebec-food-forest.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Cold-Climate Perennial Food in our Forest Garden | Quebec, Canada https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/73e2670f-bc45-491b-b734-44ab5b8bf6e2/apple-tree-food-forest-ottawa.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Cold-Climate Perennial Food in our Forest Garden | Quebec, Canada - Make it stand out The huge apple tree that has been growing here LONG before we arrived! There is a pile of wild Canadian Plums behind it - the flowers are so beautiful in the spring! https://www.hummingbirdforestgarden.com/garden-notes/vertical-gardening-in-the-food-forest-zone-4-quebec monthly 0.5 2026-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/515c3e15-0c21-4d06-bace-f9ecce4b3aab/little-guy-in-tall-garden.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Make it stand out Our little guy in his city of Ottawa garden that was 5 times his height! The tomatoes went to the roof! We used what we had so they could keep growing. This was an amazing micro-climate as it was south-east facing and the garden was warmed by the house bricks. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/3f77d7e1-6511-4b4d-85ce-6f2ddab3931d/using-vertical-space-food-forest.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Make it stand out Using what we have on hand to create more vertical space in our food forest gardens so we can grow more food and increase diversity and harvest. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/4a4a4a14-7e36-4e43-9574-1368c17b10dc/tomatoes-growing-above-roof-garden-ottawa.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Make it stand out I haven’t found a photo of it, but this one is close enough. These tomatoes and bean vines at our old house in Ottawa would grow up to the top of the roof! We used what we had on hand (and things I found on the side of the road on garbage day) to invite the plants to grow up. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/2bc4a1ce-8f2f-4d54-83b8-9aeda30834de/using-items-to-grow-vertically.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Make it stand out Old ladder for cucumbers! The white fence to the left was from the old house and we re-purposed it to grow food. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/183270a8-357d-43f2-8400-1a98bc7f23fd/using-bamboo-poles-garden.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Make it stand out These bamboo poles were found on the street on garbage day and we STILL use them 10+ years later in our current food forest! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/ffd76f0a-3a9e-4ae6-8a8a-d4421a4eb3b0/permaculture-garden-vertical-space.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Make it stand out Here are the bamboo poles again! Notice we also used the cut piece of deer fencing that I repurposed for beans and peas last summer. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774298729859-KQN0NCLK4ZLVDSK6HMKY/cattle-panel-trellis-food-forest.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Cattle panel with beans and you can see the tomato trellises toward the water there too. They are permanent structures though we may move the tomato ones this year. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774298728749-MAR628ZXWW9780Q4USAS/cattle-panel-grape-trellis.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Grape Trellis in Ottawa https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774298727401-Q8UWO5MO7CSNO6R5TLIV/bean-growing-up-cattle-panel.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Beans on Cattle Panel https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774298730040-EYD66QVCT6OWY4AW58M5/vertical-gardens-food-forest-zone-4.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Garden Gates made of Cattle Panels and found wood They are so beautiful when they get covered in beans with flowers!! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774298728663-UEWAX563I596VIZ3IYSU/vertical-gardening-food-forest-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Home Depot is our gardening friend https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774298727347-L3Q84HJAJKOL5P6752I8/cucamelon-vine-ottawa-gatineau.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Cucamelon growing on Cattle Panels https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/4b94eec5-d24a-4a23-a7ad-742c32112439/purple-beans-vertical-garden.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Make it stand out Dog treats. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/768b6bec-bd30-4195-b7f9-21cc880ecccd/vertical-gardens-ottawa.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Make it stand out Combination of using the fencing (in the city it was dog and rabbits!) and bamboo poles to grow vertically. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/89f9536e-4c81-4803-9848-a71b53495302/beans-growing-up-deer-fence.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Make it stand out Growing beans on the deer fence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/08f76563-d1be-4c42-ad70-03ed296f4003/vertically-grown-zuchinni-huge-havest.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Vertical Gardening in our Urban and Rural Food Forests (Zone 4 Ottawa-Gatineau) - Make it stand out The zucchini plant that taught me the magic of growing zucchini vertically!! https://www.hummingbirdforestgarden.com/garden-notes/fruit-tree-guilds-the-basics monthly 0.5 2026-03-24 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/0559117b-4883-4e41-8863-cc6d40ba59bf/apple-tree-fruit-guild-ottawa-gatineau.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - A Fruit Tree Guild for Your Ottawa-Gatineau Urban Garden - Make it stand out Fruit tree guilds are a collection of plants that create a supportive system for your fruit tree and the surrounding plants. Each plant plays a role and makes the system diverse and resilient. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/f8e5e391-5f18-42f1-88c6-6141516edce0/Basic-Fruit-Tree-Guild-Ottawa-Gatinea%2B%281%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - A Fruit Tree Guild for Your Ottawa-Gatineau Urban Garden - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/f72b69fe-bd35-4c65-9cb7-607ba1ad884a/wild-bergamot-pollinators-food-forest.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - A Fruit Tree Guild for Your Ottawa-Gatineau Urban Garden - Make it stand out Wild Bergamot is so good for pollinators, tea, adding to salads and to just smell all day long. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/573709e4-fa84-47cb-93f1-dd6f169c5690/native-groundcover-fruit-tree-guild.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - A Fruit Tree Guild for Your Ottawa-Gatineau Urban Garden - Make it stand out Notice wild strawberry as groundcover below butterfly milkweed and black-eyed susans. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/d7074306-dfb7-4b32-b9a3-b2cfb08ab9f6/native-pollinator-plants-quebec+%281%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - A Fruit Tree Guild for Your Ottawa-Gatineau Urban Garden - Make it stand out Notice there are two fruit trees in this area, but the one on the left side of the screen (apricot tree) is the easiest to see. IT is surrounded by so many plants and flowers and it is thriving! Purple is Wild Bergamot and Blazing Star, red is Scarlet Bee Balm, Yellow is coreopsis and goldenrods. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/88b55dde-618c-4e1c-a1d9-297944d967a1/fruit-tree-guilds-Ottawa-gatinea.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - A Fruit Tree Guild for Your Ottawa-Gatineau Urban Garden - Make it stand out This old apple tree provides lots of applesauce and apple-chips year-round - including lots for sharing with our friends! It has wild native clematis vine climbing on it though it’s not visible here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/54661681-e1a7-4dd6-8852-3aaeb25d952e/apple-tree-harvest-ottawa-gatineau.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - A Fruit Tree Guild for Your Ottawa-Gatineau Urban Garden - Make it stand out May you have a bountiful harvest in time and lots to share! https://www.hummingbirdforestgarden.com/garden-notes/native-plants-in-quebec-forest-garden monthly 0.5 2026-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/2ea94cb3-1a68-4604-8806-676e98b2d64e/quebec-native-plants.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Make it stand out Butterfly Milk Weed, Coreopsis, and Pearly Everlasting in our gardens and around fruit trees to create diversity and attract pollinators. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/d891ee84-7b4c-42ea-8927-c9e159d9a5c3/Scarlet-Bee-Balm.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Make it stand out Scarlet Bee Balm - hummingbird and pollinator magnet! We have this planted all around the annual veggie garden and along the driveway. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/232f3848-7745-4222-be67-4469e60490ea/grey-headed-coneflower-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Make it stand out Grey-headed coneflower is along the edge of our kitchen garden. It attracts pollinators, and so many birds come to eat the seeds later in the season! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/389605e8-edc0-49fc-ba0b-bf9e08d5f331/pagoda-dogwood-native-tree-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Make it stand out Black Cherry tree (overstory), Pagoda Dogwood (understory) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/58a25c68-29d6-4bbb-8e9d-39f6e67d816a/blue-flag-iris-quebec-native-flower.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Make it stand out Blue Flag Iris grows at the lake. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/c90c71f4-b2aa-4363-a857-feadddb8fea0/fleabane-native-flower.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Make it stand out Fleabane (will update with correct name when I can). Our non-native strawberries are surrounded by native plants, which attract a variety of pollinators. They grow easily and with no care, so they are an easy choice to leave in the garden. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/8aeba216-6a38-41b8-99ae-7c89cdc3760a/Fruit-tree-harvest-food-forest-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Make it stand out So many asters, goldenrods, grasses, blue eyed grass, pussy toes, white pine trees, alders, pagoda dogwoods, wild plum, choke cherries, black cherry and so much more grow here. We mow paths for walking and otherwise let nature do her beautiful thing. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774460510343-YVPT0QV9D1WDBSRD89TR/planting-white-pines-native-trees-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Planting Eastern White Pines Thank you city of Val des Monts! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774460512482-W6TOXS9L23HW87PV2U5V/transplanting-quebec-native-trees.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Transplanted Native Trees Dogwoods, White Pines and Alders https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774460509018-EZB1W8ZZP51EUV5MRV4E/planting-pin-cherry-trees.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Transplanting Pin Cherry Trees There was a pile of Pin Cherry Trees behind the garage that needed to be moved, so we transplanted them. 2/3 have survived. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774460509267-QIDY0RO9QFI5FJ5LSI5S/planting-white-cedar-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - White Eastern Cedar We purchased some trees from Ferguson in Ontario to bring back the upper waterfront area that had been cleared. We hope to bring it back to as natural a waterfront as possible. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774460507060-40IXT1A0P01HJIN7DF12/milkweed-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Common Milkweed and Monarch The land here is covered in beautiful milkweed. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774460510838-4SHYO6JVAWD0HKQEN8FA/red-elderberry-native-quebec+%281%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Red Elderberry This native species grows all over the land and in the surrounding forests already. It is so beautiful! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774460505701-44ZVD090VTW78KBB1ELO/blue-eyed-grass-quebec-native-plants.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Blue Eyed Grass This lovely grass is everywhere already! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774460507077-GPEDYVP831E6VSCYKY45/native-nannyberry-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Nannyberry This is one of my favourite native trees in this area. They grow all over the place! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774460511679-EYD59KFZSVSMFCHHTZFT/rewilding-landscape-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Inviting Nature to take the lead here We spread old trees and rotten logs here to support insects and more as we let this land go back to the forest. We have since planted lots of native flowers here. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774460512880-NSTEQRY9JC4HAEGOCJ9W/trout-lilly-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Trout Lilly Grows everywhere here too. It seems to enjoy shady spaces under the spruce trees. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774460505686-E0GB8VY2NZUDAUJ163FI/high-bush-cranberry-native-bush-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - High Bush Cranberry This one is quite common around here. It is already growing here but we have since planted more. My efforts at propagating it have not worked out well due to a certain dog that lives here... https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774461116628-8ES976M315UI34I82V26/anise-hyssop-pollinator-support-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Anise Hyssop, Scarlet Bee Balm, Goldenrod, Wild Bergamot The vegetable and herb gardens are intentionally planted with surrounding native flowers. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774461115643-7U4ON5X217NX8XJC9ZG1/native-pollinator-plants-quebec+%282%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Mid Summer Garden Wild bergamot, scarlet bee balm, blazing star, wild strawberry and more surround the veggie garden. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774461115638-EUPEUMXV50V8I8VK3MGS/grey-headed-coneflower-liatris.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Native Pollinators Supporting the Veggie Garden Grey headed coneflower, blazing star, asters, fleabane… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774461114388-1A9ETWKVSKQMZ4TRZW8I/smooth-oxeye-sunflower-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Smooth Oxeye Sunflower and Echinacea Purple Echinacea is a “near-native” and it is LOVED by bees, birds, and butterflies! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774461114181-PZ8I5RBKDGUCSE6G9FUI/goldenrod-pionneer-native-plant-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Goldenrod It is here because this land was once cleared as a farm - and it is a pioneer plant. It shines here and the birds and insects love it year-round! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774461113427-3I5LJYI0B3NOISSUVAPX/wild-bergamot-pollinators-food-forest+%281%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Wild Bergamot https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774461113246-I44H9IPK74J33XLI697A/ninebark-native-tree-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Ninebark We have planted 5 ninebark bushes around the gardens. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774461112552-UXLLEERQVYOWVRAU8E6X/scarlet-bee-balm-garden-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Scarlet Bee Balm in the Garden Brings in the pollinators for all our annual vegetables and looks beautiful! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774461112158-1MYWCOVQ3W3VW39LR7RR/fireweed-native-flowers-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Wild Golden Retriever with Fireweed Both very supportive of the food forest system. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774461111625-4WE9C8W2LIJQ2Y5UEDNM/eastern-redbud-growing-in-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Eastern Redbud - a nitrogen fixer This was a gamble as it is not in our zone - but both trees are thriving despite my dog eating them down to the ground the first winter. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774461110921-SZ2S19FP5IIEQ3SQEBJ6/scaret-bee-balm-native-canada-flower.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Scarlet Bee Balm Nursery This is where I share Bee Balm from as it spreads so quickly - so I call this the nursery. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774461110654-OBKZTW1LI0E2CS7NETKA/fleabane-quebec-native-flower.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Fleabane Not a weed! A native plant that supports many species of insects, butterflies, and moths! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/4d7051aa-22be-4118-8859-2a04a45ef0d5/canada-milk-vetch-tree-guilds-nitrogen+%281%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Make it stand out Canada Milk Vetch is the one in the middle that looks like a fern. Bean pods will appear in the fall. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/5f223eef-03c8-4c25-b532-2faf18eb6b24/Native-Plants-For-Forest-Garden-Booklist.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Make it stand out Some books to start. List below. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/ad0cf8e5-4fba-42a9-9d73-9d81d6aeedf0/happy-frog-quebec-forest-garden.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Native Plants in our Forest Garden | Zone 4 Quebec (in photos) - Make it stand out Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference. https://www.hummingbirdforestgarden.com/garden-notes/how-the-gardens-were-created monthly 0.5 2026-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/55378033-9ff5-4e27-a0d7-a9ded40940b4/Food-forest-garden-quebec-3.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Make it stand out Year three of one of our Forest Garden areas, which in time will all be connected to each other. There are fruit trees, berries, annuals, herbs, and perennials here, all creating a diverse system that supports itself, the pollinators, and provides us with a lot of food! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/4b6ec310-e16e-4b25-9c5a-40298f4a12f5/Before-Food-forest-Quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Make it stand out This photo was taken in the first week when we moved in. The snow was still melting. By 2023, this space will look like the first photo in this post. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774464070391-FTV53MY3131MIEFNZYCE/Food-forest-before-picture.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Before Food Forest Garden This was the space looked like before we laid out the tarp. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774464071912-HBQ495JYZBHJT7NGN9WP/Building-Food-Forest-Quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Measuring out the area This is Andrew setting up stakes after measuring the forest garden space so we could lay out the tarp. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774464120126-AWF6PUTU2ELG7VFJPJEU/solarizing-meadow-build-garden-quebec+%281%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Sillage Tarp down This was us laying out the sillage tarp so nature and the sun could work their magic all fall, winter and spring. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774464072999-NN5BG87HI5NXWDF0AOVM/solarizing-garden-quebec+%281%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Children helping set out sillage tarp We weighed the tarp down with what we had laying around - bricks and bags of heavy old compost. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774464069978-CY0QO0TO7H90YD12SIAZ/food-forest-solarizing-meadow.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Let the Occulation Begin and then we left it until the next spring. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/9d13be7c-30cf-4473-9411-44fc0e993cba/food-forest-garden-year-2.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Make it stand out I used a shovel to “broadfork” and give the soil some movement, air and space without turning it over and then created rows and pathways with wood chips. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/b1d52f11-7bb6-49ac-8da1-a3824290167e/year-two-food-forest-garden.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Make it stand out Year two - a new start. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774465013885-VCU6LBUXA99146D9NYMZ/Food-forest-garden-year-two.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - First Year Abundance This is a very happy garden. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774465015978-PTAZMTBW3SI9FZ8EW7A6/Food-forest-garden-vegetables-year-two+%281%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Picking Beans We succession plant all spring, summer and fall. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774465014933-9RT2EE8LI4HKQ0OTMMIQ/Food-forest-quebec-dahlia.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Beautiful Dahlias They will always be part of the dream. The beauty and joy of them is immeasurable! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774465065970-P19EY23C7R762B4NHE73/basil-food-forest-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Basil So much pesto! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774465013809-5AGZOAFXPNN271MVDM24/Food-forest-year-two-pumpkins.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - So many pumpkins and winter squash We had enough to last through the next spring!! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774465014984-FB3MLBC1PDTABQE1E0WD/potato-harvest-food-forest.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - One of the many potato harvests We spread the planting of potatoes so we had lots of them at different times. A treasure hunt for kids! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/91bb7653-2676-4076-8cd4-afa82cf6fc23/early-food-forest-1.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Make it stand out Spring 2024 before the fence. Notice the daffodils and spring onions happy as can be edging the whole space. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/2f5da7a2-bfcd-49e2-85af-9bc9ac2ed2b4/Food-forest-garden-year-three.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Make it stand out Spring 2023 with new deer fence. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774554036830-DDOIDWVKLFHMME4CEMR5/Forest-garden-year-three-diversity.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Diversity is key! Roman Chamomile for tea, sunflowers, dahlias, asparagus, strawberries, basil, squash, zucchini, beans, marigolds, nasturtiums… https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774554036814-9XMRYH4SSMVE6ICUSX0J/native-flowers-food-forest-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Supporting with Native Perennials Grey-headed coneflower, anise hyssop, blazing star, wild bergamot…and sunflowers (not native) https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774554038082-SALKUHJVNBJWZMTTIXSO/Hummingbird-forest-garden-ottawa.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Facing the lake In time this space and beyond will be filled with bigger fruit trees, the hedgerows will be grown in and raspberries will be taller and fuller. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774554038084-91TMVJ3GIH2Q31S01SJB/dahlias-add-diversity-food-forest.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - The Wisdom of Dahlias Joy, beauty, and they bring people together! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774554038962-0DBLC4JE0GW9AL9ZFJ5F/raspberries-food-forest-quebec+%281%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Raspberries They are prolific, they spread (inviting us to share with friends!), and they provide a great place for small birds and frogs to hide. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1774554039529-AQEYPD6EXFTTI8JNMCH4/apple-harvest-food-forest-quebec.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - The Old Apple Tree There is a HUGE apple tree that we are so lucky to have on the land - we have made a lot of applesauce for school lunches! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/77b6852c-9af0-44ea-92d6-d6825d2fe164/permaculture-ducks-khaki-campbells+%281%29.jpg Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - Occultation: How Our Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest Began - Make it stand out Our sweet little crew of Khaki Campbell Ducks who now rule the forest garden. https://www.hummingbirdforestgarden.com/garden-notes/soul-layer-of-food-forest monthly 0.5 2026-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/dfe260fc-0888-43a0-8b27-1a99d42e56df/Elle-Odyn-childhood-forest-river.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - The 7 Layers of a Forest Garden (and Kid-Conversations with the Soul-layer) - Make it stand out I grew up on a river and spent most of my time outside exploring the nearby forests and our backyard which was wild for most of my younger years. I had been talking with the plants, trees, birds and flowers already for years at this point. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/6a50f5db-adc2-4464-a630-f66e5e4b96b1/Flowers-food-forest-ottawa-area.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - The 7 Layers of a Forest Garden (and Kid-Conversations with the Soul-layer) - Make it stand out Not a lot has changed…the location yes, time has passed yes, but the conversations with the trees and plants are the same. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/09cf398c-cb5b-4f1c-a953-ccf6935d6035/ottawa-food-forest-winter.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - The 7 Layers of a Forest Garden (and Kid-Conversations with the Soul-layer) - Make it stand out WINTER in the young food forest year three. We are working with what’s here already and planting to fill in all the cleared spaces. In 5 years this will look completely different with so many fruit trees and perennial food sources. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/341ae7b2-3875-48f3-b9c2-80883ddcb898/pagoda-dogwood-native-tree-quebec+%281%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - The 7 Layers of a Forest Garden (and Kid-Conversations with the Soul-layer) - Make it stand out Quebec Zone 4: Notice the natural layers of the forest here. Black Cherry and White Pines, next the Pagoda Dogwood and Red Elderberry - this is a beautiful demonstration of how the forest sets itself up for resilience. Vines such as wild grape and clematis. Below are raspberries, ferns, grasses, native flowers like foam flowers, and trout lily - then mushrooms. This is the forest on the outside of the land we live on. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/fb604f92-85cb-41f6-b75d-eabb047be567/Food-Forest-South-America.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - The 7 Layers of a Forest Garden (and Kid-Conversations with the Soul-layer) - Make it stand out Youth Challenge International - human-influenced food forests are the norm where we were. I was so intrigued! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/953fb340-1b5d-4d8a-8441-bec0843d36d2/Elle-Odyn-Forest.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - The 7 Layers of a Forest Garden (and Kid-Conversations with the Soul-layer) - Make it stand out 4-5 years old - I was in full-conversations back then with the forest. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/f6beee07-d491-4e9b-a682-ff0d41a11929/Elle-Odyn-Amazon-Guyana.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - The 7 Layers of a Forest Garden (and Kid-Conversations with the Soul-layer) - Make it stand out Amazon Rain Forest in Guyana - It was a dream come true and I spent a lot of time just sitting there. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1d571c99-dfe2-4be4-a182-5e8cf139f515/Humans-in-food-forest+%281%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - The 7 Layers of a Forest Garden (and Kid-Conversations with the Soul-layer) - Make it stand out My daughter harvesting beans from the forest garden which we hope are helping create a healthy soil layer as this forest develops. https://www.hummingbirdforestgarden.com/garden-notes/how-to-organize-a-seed-sharing-event monthly 0.5 2026-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/7c69ea97-374a-449a-9704-4051a51d3769/Food-forest-seed-sharing-event.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - How to Organize a Seed-Sharing Event - Make it stand out One of the social media posts to invite people to seed saving and sharing events. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/ae1b120d-67cf-495b-8203-6bdc3f9f82ff/food-forest-garden-ottawa-gatineau+%281%29.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - How to Organize a Seed-Sharing Event - Make it stand out You can arrange to meet at a community space, a library room, a coffee shop, a school gym, or at someone’s home or farm. We have run many events at our old home and here at Hummingbird Forest Gardens - most of them outside and a few inside in the winter. It is fun to meet outside where one can see the seeds in action or learn how to save seeds right there in the garden. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/4af36b48-26ec-4c90-bb94-1ee010810b5b/seed-sharing-exchange-ottawa-gatineau.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - How to Organize a Seed-Sharing Event - Make it stand out Seeds laid out on tables for easy access. Labelled as well as possible. Seeds create conversations as people learn from each other. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/26a61824-ffa0-4bd7-b29d-721be62d9b29/seed-sharing-events.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - How to Organize a Seed-Sharing Event - Make it stand out Seeds left over from other seed sharing events collect sometimes - so I just bring them back out for the next event! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/a946d12b-efaf-43f9-affe-440704848092/diverse-garden-healthy.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - How to Organize a Seed-Sharing Event - Make it stand out We have hosted seed saving events in our actual garden (both in the city and now here) where people can come and learn how to harvest seeds right then and there (season dependent). If not, you can walk through the garden and show people how to collect seeds in their own gardens when the season is right. Late fall is a great time to do this! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/3f64ddb8-ead3-4e2f-b2e2-b0ff0653c107/Food-Forest-Exchange-Ottawa.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - How to Organize a Seed-Sharing Event - Make it stand out Simple social media post created in Canva with date, time and general location. If people want to come they can contact me for the address. I put these posts on my personal Facebook account as “cover photos” so more people see them! I make sure the caption is detailed and sometimes I use hashtags so people who don’t know me can see the post too. #ottawaseedsharing #foodforest for example. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/86046f38-098d-4441-9576-3748f7452267/permaculture-books-laid-out.webp Garden Notes | Zone 4 Quebec Food Forest | Ottawa Gatineau - How to Organize a Seed-Sharing Event - Make it stand out Books and magazines create opportunities for conversation or for someone who is looking for a quiet moment to sit and read for a bit. https://www.hummingbirdforestgarden.com/home daily 1.0 2026-03-26 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773370951729-LAAI8O6RZTY9ZUDNQYPI/Hummingbird+Forest+Gardens+Ottawa-Gatineau.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69b377a18fdf3a2a4db9044d/1773370988676-OWDPA88NT70N1QBC1E9G/Hummingbird-Forest-Gardens-Family+%281%29.jpg 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