Cara Gardens

06/02/2026

Rabbits are cute until your lettuce, beans, strawberries, and seedlings disappear overnight.

They’re not trying to ruin your garden. They’re choosing the easiest, safest food source available.

I put together a guide on Ontario’s native rabbits and hares, what they eat, why they choose gardens over wild plants, and how to peacefully redirect them without harming wildlife 👇

Rabbits can be charming visitors until they begin eating lettuce, beans, strawberries, seedlings, flowers, and young fruit trees. In Ontario gardens, rabbit damage often shows up as clean, angled cuts on stems, missing leafy growth, chewed shoots, clipped flowers, and bark damage on young shrubs or....

05/31/2026

Squirrels are cute until they start digging up your planters and stealing the fruit right before it ripens.

They’re not “bad” animals, they’re just following food, shelter, and instinct.

I put together a guide on Ontario’s native squirrels, what they actually eat, why they keep coming into gardens, and how to peacefully deter them without harming wildlife 👇

Squirrels are some of the most familiar wildlife in Ontario. They are quick, intelligent, adaptable, and extremely skilled at finding food. They can remember food locations, recognize safe travel routes, and adjust their behaviour around people, pets, feeders, gardens, and buildings. This is why the...

05/22/2026

Wild strawberries are tiny, but they do a lot more than people realize.

They’re native to Ontario, support spring pollinators, spread as a living groundcover, and produce small sweet berries that taste nothing like the oversized store-bought ones.

I put together a simple guide on how to grow wild strawberries successfully in Ontario, including where to plant them, how to manage runners, how to get better berries, and how to overwinter them properly 👇

Wild strawberry (Fragaria virginiana) is one of Ontario’s most useful native edible groundcovers. It stays low, spreads naturally by runners, flowers in spring, and produces small red berries with a sweet, concentrated flavour. It is not the same as a large grocery store strawberry, and it should ...

05/09/2026

Not all garden fountains are made for Canadian weather.

Some look heavy and durable in the store, but crack, flake, fade, or peel after a few freeze and thaw cycles.

I put together a guide on which fountain materials actually last here, which ones to avoid, and why winterizing matters more than people think 👇

A garden fountain is constantly exposed to water, weather, and temperature change, which means the material is not just decorative. In Canada, it determines whether the fountain lasts for decades or fails after a few winters.The main issue is that many fountain materials are designed for appearance....

05/03/2026

Most kitchen scraps shouldn’t go straight into the garden.

Some help the soil, some need to be dried or composted first, and some can cause problems if they contain salt, oil, or too much sugar.

I put together a guide on how to turn common food waste into safe garden amendments, including what to use, how much to apply, and what needs extra caution 👇

A no waste garden system only works well when the inputs are balanced, measured, and processed properly. Kitchen scraps can absolutely become valuable soil amendments, but they should not be treated as something that can be endlessly dumped into garden beds without consequence. Even natural material...

04/28/2026

04/20/2026

Most people think a sunflower is just… a sunflower.

It’s not.

Some give you huge seed heads, some are grown for oil, some keep flowering all season, and some don’t even look like what you’d expect a sunflower to be.

I broke down 30+ types based on what they actually produce and what they’re best used for 👇

Sunflowers are one of the most adaptable crops you can grow because their purpose changes depending on the genetics you choose. Some are built to concentrate all their energy into a single, massive seed head, while others spread that energy across dozens of blooms over time. This allows them to serv...

04/19/2026

If eggplant hasn’t worked well for you before, it’s probably not you.

A lot of varieties just aren’t suited for our climate.

There are some that produce consistently here and don’t stall out halfway through the season.

Here are 20 that actually perform 👇

Eggplant can be one of the most rewarding warm season crops, but in Canada, success depends heavily on matching the plant to the environment. Unlike crops that tolerate cooler swings, eggplant is sensitive to temperature, especially at night. When conditions fall outside its preferred range, growth....

04/18/2026

If your zucchini plant isn’t producing much, it’s usually the variety or how it’s being managed.

Some types are built to produce heavily, others aren’t.

Here’s a breakdown of 20 zucchini that actually give consistent harvests 👇

Zucchini is one of the most productive crops you can grow because it is built for speed and repetition. A single healthy plant can produce continuously for weeks, often supplying more than enough for fresh eating, cooking, and sharing.This productivity comes from how the plant grows and reproduces.....

04/17/2026

Most people deal with rodents after they show up.

By then, they’ve already found food, shelter, and a reason to stay.

I put together a simple guide on what attracts rodents to your garden and home, and how to deter them properly without relying only on traps.

Prevention works better than cleanup 👇

Rodents such as mice and rats are highly adaptable and will settle wherever basic survival needs are met. In both urban and rural areas across Canada, gardens and homes often provide ideal conditions without people realizing it.Effective control starts with understanding what attracts rodents, follo...