The Avant-Garden Shop: Your Garden & Bird Store

Avant-Garden Blog

GARDEN GATE: Episode 312 – New and Coming Soon! (February 14, 2025)

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  Just recently we were at the gift show in Toronto, and were able to find some new artists to feature in the shop! Here are some of the new and wonderful finds we’ve ordered. They’re not in the shop yet, so consider this a tease!  Amanda Brown of Scarlett Dahlia Artistry in Saskatoon, hand dyes, … Read more

Made in Canada – What’s New and Coming Soon!

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We’ve been shopping!! It’s that time of year to see what our artists are adding to their repetoire and we’re pretty excited to have our orders in! At Avant-Garden Shop, we’ve spent the last 22 years stocking our shelves to reflect our landscape. Anytime we can replace an internationally-made item with a Canadian-made one, we … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 311 – Why it’s important to support Canadian artists (January 31st, 2025)

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We’ve been hearing a lot about “buy Canadian” lately. It’s so great to see this support coming to the forefront. We have so many talented Canadian artists in our country, so why not support them? We have beautiful works from artists across the country. Over the 22 years that we’ve been in business we’ve been … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 310 – Seed Cylinders! (January 17th, 2025)

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A very popular feeding option for our backyard birds are seed cylinders! These are made fresh by the company that brings our bird seed every week. Woodpeckers, blue jays, nuthatches and chickadees really love these. Ingredients like hulled peanuts, meal worms, cranberries, sunflower seeds and safflower make them very attractive. Approximately 3lbs of compressed seed is held together in each cylinder so the birds really have to work away at them. This means we get to see them at our feeders longer! There are many different ways you can hang or add a cylinder to your feeding station. Pop by the shop and we’ll find which one is right for your birds! ** Please note, some birds shown in this video are from stock footage and may not be relevant to the area of Peterborough Ontario. **

** Please note, some birds shown in this video are from stock footage and may not be relevant to the area of Peterborough Ontario. **

GARDEN GATE: Episode 309 – The Best Bird Seed For Winter (January 3rd, 2025)

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As the days get shorter and the nights get longer and colder, birds have to eat from dawn to dusk to have enough energy to survive the nights.  Offering fatty seeds like hulled peanuts and sunflower seeds are some of the best options to provide quick easy energy to the birds. We also have a Niger seed blend with chips of the hulled sunflower which is very popular with finches. It’s also a great time to give your feeders a good cleaning as you can expect a heavier flow of birds. Checking your feeders often for freezing and clearing off the snow really helps them have easier access to the seeds. Doing this will help you see many different birds enjoying themselves at your feeders this winter!

** Please note, birds shown in this video are from stock footage and may not all be relevant to the area of Peterborough Ontario. **

GARDEN GATE: Episode 308 – Feeding Birds (not squirrels!) in the Winter (December 20, 2024)

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It’s getting colder at night so during the day birds (and squirrels) are busy eating and storing up energy. The Squirrel Buster Plus, (which really is squirrel proof!) is a great feeder to use to keep the squirrels from gobbling up all the seeds before the birds get a chance. When a squirrel gets on the feeder its weight closes off access to the seed. Our Seasons Woodland blend is a great option to use in this feeder, offering a mix of high-quality fatty seeds for all the birds visiting your feeders. This Buster holds over 5lbs of seed and is adjustable to also keep out some of the bigger bully birds.

Feeding suet in the winter is especially tough, as it is VERY attractive to the squirrels. The Squirrel Buster Suet feeder helps to solve this problem! It comes with two suet cakes, can be adjusted for different weights, and like all the Squirrel Busters, has a lifetime warranty against squirrel damage! Stop by the shop and we’ll show you how they work!

Minding Our Business: Happy Feet = Happy Planet

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  Solmate’s successful reduction of waste in textile production reminds us that every company makes a deliberate choice how (or if) they want to be part of the climate change problem or solution. They also prioritize employee wages and benefits. These choices are why we’re featuring them in our Minding Our Business profile series. Minding … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 307 – No Tax on Puzzles!! (December 6, 2024)

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Puzzling is a great past time for cold winter days.

We have the most beautiful puzzles that are sometimes hard to keep in stock! We carry a few different lines. Pomegranate, Galison, The Occurrence and Michael Storrings.

When we’re looking for puzzles (and just about any product) for the shop we try first to get Canadian made, then we aim for high quality. These puzzles fit the bill.

The Occurrence line is made in Canada and all the artists who design the art are also Canadian. Even the boxes are Made in Canada!

Pomegranate puzzles are beautiful works of art. The pieces fit together very well and the colours are stunning. With images from artists like VanGogh, The group of seven, William Morris and more, people often glue and frame the work. Or if you like something a bit more vintage or groovy, check out the Rex Ray puzzle.

We get supply regularly so drop in often for your next project puzzle. From Dec. 14th, 2024 to February 15th, 2025 all puzzles are tax free thanks to the Federal government initiative.

 

Canada’s Got Talent

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As a downtown business owner, it’s easy to see the benefits of shopping local. Whenever we sell ?original art and gift items created by local?, Canadian artists and companies, we see that money going into their pockets; real pockets of real people who are eager ?to re-invest in their own communities by supporting local health, arts, and sports initiatives.   … Read more

GARDEN GATE: Episode 306 – Canadian Made! (November 22, 2024)

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Over the past 22 years The Avant-Garden Shop has been building up a wide collection of Canadian Made items. As much as possible, we will support local and Canadian artists because this supports our local economy and community. When you shop locally and purchase Canadian made items, we are then able to donate to the … Read more

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