Summer has ended and some of you might be wondering why I haven’t posted anything since June. I have been in Toronto enjoying a quiet time with occasional visits to cottages in the country, and there hasn’t been much to write about.
I enjoy gardening and help out some family members with their gardens in the summer. I live in a high rise building in the city centre, like one of the ones you see above and my apartment is on the 40th floor. I have a large balcony and this year, I decided that in addition to flowers, I would plant herbs and vegetables in pots.
I wasn’t expecting much as it can get windy up there but to my surprise, everything grew as you can see below. I even saw a bee one morning which seemed like a miracle. I couldn’t believe that a bee could, and would, fly up that high. It gave me the greatest pleasure picking vegetables and herbs as I needed them. Next year, I’m going to try more things.
Basil, rosemary, parsley chillies 
Cherry Tomatoes 
Kale 
Green Beans
My sister’s cottage is in southwest Ontario, with farms nearby growing corn, soyabeans, pumpkins, watermelons, ginseng, tobacco, blueberries and other crops.
There are Farmer’s Markets in various towns. My favourite is the one in Port Rowan, a small market on the edge of the lake. It is held once a week and is very relaxed with people chatting to each other and discussing how they grow their produce.
The vendors have small farms where they grow organic produce in small quantities and experiment with unusual varieties. I can’t reproduce this bounty on my balcony but I’m already thinking about what to plant next year as I will have to harvest everything in a couple of days. Autumn is on its way and the days are getting colder.
