Sonia’s gardening column, called The Real Dirt, appears every Saturday in the Living section of the Toronto Star. A shortened version can be read on line the Thursday before.

Go to: thestar.com/comment/columnists/94588

You can look up previous columns at the link above.

She does not write a blog. But during the spring and summer, she sometimes lists sources of many plants described in her columns. Click on News.

Please do not email her with gardening questions, but she welcomes comments about the columns.

Her books can be bought (or ordered) at any bookstore. Her two latest:

"Middle-Aged Spread, Moving to the Country at 50",
a humorous memoir published by Key Porter Books. Now on sale for $24.95 or less. A true story. Sonia buys, on impulse, a ramshackle homestead in the country--and discovers a brand new life plus a host of quirky characters.

Some reader comments about Middle-Aged Spread:

"Highly recommended. A very funny read" - Peter Somerville

"It provided this city mouse with food for thought." – Deolinda Neves

"Entertaining and well written...like Peter Mayle's blockbuster, a Year in Provence." — Peggy McKenzie, Toronto Star reviewer

"Deirdre the hoity hort and Elinor the eco-evangelist are hilariously funny and pointedly accurate," —Jodi de Long, Halifax Herald.

"Incredible Edibles: 43 Fun Things to Grow in the City". Due in stores in mid-April or sooner, published by Firefly Books. $14.95 in both Canada and the U.S. Information-filled paperback, colour pictures on every page, gives easy to read advice about veggies, herbs and fruit that are practical to grow in the city, along with exciting recipes. Everything from Mojito mint to container-friendly tomatoes – all of which have been tested and tasted by Sonia herself.

Her previous books, all published by Key Porter:

The Urban Gardener: How to grow things successfuly on balconies, terraces, decks and rooftops.



The Urban Gardener Indoors: How to grow things successfully in your house, apartment or condo.



The Complete Urban Gardener: How to grow things successfully indoors and out. Combines both the above books. On sale only at Chapters/Indigo for the bargain price of $15.



The Plant Doctor: A practical guide to having a healthy garden



Tulips: Facts and folklore about the world's most planted flower.

The Toronto Tree Portraits Calendar

Sonia wrote the foreword for the 2010 calendar and is compiling the text for the 2011 calendar, on sale in October. The theme is "The poetry of trees." It will feature poems and sayings about trees – some familiar, some not so – from a wide range of poets and writers.