Every year we visit the Toronto Gift Fair along with 1000’s of other retailers looking for new and exciting things for the shop! We are always on the look out for Canadian made and this is just one of the places where we’re able to find a few things, although the majority of items at […]
Category: Avant-Garden Blog
Garden Gate: Episode 183 – Best places to bird in Peterborough with Michael Burrell (Jan. 31, 2020)
On our last episode of the Garden Gate we met Michael Burrell and he told us about the book he and is brother recently had published. On this episode we delve a little deeper into places locally that are his favourite birding hot spots. Including the Lakefield lagoon!
Garden Gate: Episode 182-Best places to bird in Ontario (Michael Burrell) Jan. 17, 2020
It’s no secret: Ontario’s rich natural landscape and diverse wildlife provides some of the most exceptional birdwatching Canada has to offer, attracting thousands of bird-lovers each year. In this user-friendly guidebook, local experts Mike and Ken Burrell show us why. Outlining thirty of their personal favorite spots at which to enjoy the province’s birding, […]
Making a life is more than just making a living
I left a job with Peterborough GreenUP almost 20 years ago to help start the Avant-Garden Shop with my then business partners. My primary focus (and worry) at that time was, of course, on whether or not I could actually make this new venture work. That fact that the store is now in its 18th […]
Garden Gate: Episode 180 – Artist Christine McGrath (Dec 20 2019)
https://youtu.be/1Erkdispsyo Bibelot Design Studio was started in 1994 by Christine McGrath and her husband Reid Maltby. They began by designing jewelry, but since have evolved into creating a line of fresh, modern home accents using glass, textiles and wood veneer. Each piece is handcrafted from start to finish with great attention to detail. There are […]
Garden Gate: Episode 179 – Ideas for Christmas (Dec 6 2019)
On this episode I share a few of our most popular Christmas gift ideas. Michel Design is a company from the US and they have designers working hard to come up with beautiful patterns and fragrances for their line of soaps, napkins, placemats, aprons and so much more. Always a customer favourite! You can find […]
Garden Tips: Where are all the birds?
Lots of folks are asking why there are so few birds at their feeders this winter, as compared to last year. The answers to these types of questions are never as straightforward as we might think. To start off, different numbers of birds are here from one winter to the next. A variety of factors […]
Garden Tips: Are your feeding efforts helping or harming birds?
Feeding birds can be a source of tremendous pleasure. Whether songbirds at a seed feeder, woodpeckers at suet cage, or ducks and geese by a pond, watching them eat what you offer is at the same time exciting and calming. As the weather gets colder, migrating and overwintering birds can certainly use the extra calories […]
Garden Gate: Episode 175 – For the puzzler!
You might not think of The Avant-Garden Shop as a place to pick up a puzzle, but we have them! And they’re beautiful! Super high quality pieces that stick together well and are vibrant colours. And because we love flowers and birds there are lots of puzzles in those themes. In addition we have puzzles […]
Garden Gate: Episode 174 – Bird migration with Andrew Jobes (Sept. 27, 2019)
As the days get shorter and the nights cooler, birds begin their migration to warmer climates. Andrew Jobes, local ornithologist joins me on this episode of the Garden Gate to discuss bird migration.
