Hands in the soil
In-person workshops at Happyville. Organic, non-GMO, beginner-friendly.
Gardening with Gramma Green Thumbs · Gatineau Hills You don't need
You don't need
300 acres.
You need a garden spot.
Hands-in-the-soil workshops for ages three to a hundred and three. Real food, real flowers, the simple way.
grow something today
What grows here “I bring the fun of growing,
“I bring the fun of growing,
preparing, and eating good food.”
Nobody teaches this in school. So we do.
Grow your own food
Garden boxes to aeroponic Tower Gardens. No yard required.
Grow it, cook it, eat it
Pick it fresh, then cook it. Recipes from Cooper's Kitchen.
Why it matters
Kids grow when they grow things
Three or sixty-three, there's a wide-eyed kid in you the day a seed you planted pushes up.
Patience
A seed teaches what no screen can: good things take time.
Wonder
First sprout, first bee, first ripe tomato. Awe, handed back.
Confidence
“I grew this.” Three words that stand a kid (and a grown-up) taller.
three to a hundred and three 🌻
Collect the garden
Know your plants
A card for each one: sun, water, when to plant, when to pick.
- ☀ Sun
- Full sun
- ♦ Water
- Low
- 🌱 Plant
- Late May
- ✿ Harvest
- Aug–Sep
- ☀ Sun
- Full sun
- ♦ Water
- Medium
- 🌱 Plant
- Late May
- ✿ Harvest
- Aug–Sep
- ☀ Sun
- Full / part
- ♦ Water
- Medium
- 🌱 Plant
- May
- ✿ Harvest
- Jul–Sep
- ☀ Sun
- Full sun
- ♦ Water
- Medium
- 🌱 Plant
- May
- ✿ Harvest
- Jun–Jul
- ☀ Sun
- Full sun
- ♦ Water
- Medium
- 🌱 Plant
- June
- ✿ Harvest
- Jul–Sep
- ☀ Sun
- Part shade
- ♦ Water
- High
- 🌱 Plant
- Apr–May
- ✿ Harvest
- Jun–Aug
- ☀ Sun
- Full sun
- ♦ Water
- High
- 🌱 Plant
- Late May
- ✿ Harvest
- Sep
- ☀ Sun
- Full sun
- ♦ Water
- High
- 🌱 Plant
- Late May
- ✿ Harvest
- Jul–Sep
Upcoming · book through Luma
Come get your hands dirty
Small groups, a small fee to hold your spot. Some seats are gifted, just ask.
New workshops are being planted. Check back soon, or join the Friday letter below to hear first.
Find us at Happyville
209 Usher Road, La Pêche, QC · in the Gatineau Hills, near Wakefield. Two driveways: take the one to the gardens.
Every Friday, one lesson from the garden
All entries The garden journal
Plant a few flowers for the bees
Tuck flowers in among the vegetables and the pollinators will do half your work. No bees, no tomatoes.
Read →A windowsill is a farm
You don't need a yard to grow basil, parsley, and mint. A sunny sill and a pot will feed you all summer.
Read →
Carrots want loose, stone-free soil
A forked carrot is a carrot that hit a rock. Loosen the bed deep and fine, and they grow straight and sweet.
Read →
Meet Gramma Green Thumbs A lifetime of growing,
A lifetime of growing,
shared with you
Elaine grew up in Quebec’s Eastern Townships, watching her grandmother point out the “little pixie faces” of the pansies. That memory became a children’s book, an animated short, and nine years teaching kids to grow at fairs across three provinces.
Back-to-the-land farmer in the seventies, health coach and holistic chef now. Her mission: pass on what she knows, and have fun doing it.
— Elaine 🌻
The Friday letter One lesson from the garden,
One lesson from the garden,
in your inbox
What's growing, what to plant this week, and why it matters. English & français.