Landscaper and horticulturalist Jonas Spring can name every one of the more than 100 species that live in his greenhouse in Etobicoke.
Three growing seasons later, Minkhorst has transformed his garden with native plants and shares it with 50,000 followers on TikTok. Spring said that his business grows a lot by word of mouth, since dedicated gardeners who love to use native plants often know each other well, but aren’t very active on social media.
"It's a popularity contest," said Minkhorst. "People only want what they're familiar with. … It's a profit game in these stores. They're not there to promote ecological diversity. They're there to make money." Spring established the Toronto Plant Market and Native Plant Supply in 2022. He's grown the business every year and now offers more than 100 species of native plants. Some gardeners come from as far away as Niagara for hard-to-find species like the Canada yew grow best in the shade and dry soil, so they will thrive under the tree outside the average suburban house.
Check out our podcast and radio show. This week, we take on another burning listener question: is hand-washing dishes or using a dishwasher better for the planet?drops new podcast episodes every Wednesday and Saturday. You can find them on your favourite podcast app, or on demand atwrote: "My wife and myself also live in Toronto and, as vegetarians, our total food cost is around $5K/year. We buy fresh produce and cook almost every meal.