Down The Garden Path Podcast

This week on the podcast, Joanne discusses the importance of watering your trees and evergreens throughout October and November. Topics discussed: This summer was the driest summer on record, with only 96 millimetres of rain Although 2024 had more rain, half of it came in a single storm: our rainfall patterns are inconsistent and insufficient By late July or early August, many people give up on watering their gardens and lawns due to the dry conditions Water trees, especially a the drip line rather than just the trunk, once or twice a week until the ground freezes Consider using tree bags for young trees to provide slow, consistent watering Provide winter protection for Japanese maples by staking and wrapping with burlap Pool owners, pay special attention to the trees surrounding your pool, as there is generally not a lot of space between the pool patio and the garden, and the trees take a lot of abuse While many people may not consider it their responsibility to water city trees, doing so benefits the entire community How to water trees effectively, including targeting the drip line and using tree bags for young trees Evergreens and ornamental trees need to be watered well before winter, as they may not show signs of stress until it's too late Be proactive in caring for your trees: the investment in water is worth it for the long-term health and beauty of the trees in your yard Resources Mentioned in the Show: Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden Have a topic you'd like me to discuss? Please let me know what other topics you would like me to discuss. Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with me on my website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. Down the Garden Path Podcast On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon. Don't forget to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe! You can now catch the podcast on YouTube.

This week on the podcast, Joanne Shaw welcomes Jazmin Albarran, the Executive Director of Seed Your Future, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting horticulture and inspiring the next generation of green industry leaders. About Jazmin Jazmin has over 20 years experience in youth development, outreach, and mental health, and is passionate about creating opportunities that empower young people and showcase the diverse career paths within horticulture. Under her leadership, Seed Your Future has launched innovative programs like Seed to STEM and Green Career Week, which provides industries with a toolkit to connect students to horticulture employers. Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: Joanne and Jazmin discussed the importance of promoting the industry to students, as it is often misunderstood as a hobby rather than a multi-billion-dollar business. Over 900 individuals have downloaded their toolkit, which includes resources for setting up field trips and class presentations, as well as social media guidance. The goal is to showcase the passion and commitment of the horticulture industry to the next generation. Seed Your Future aims to raise awareness of horticulture as a business and industry, particularly among middle school students and career changers. Jazmin shared that Seed Your Future assists individuals in finding opportunities in the industry, even without formal education. They also discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the plant industry, with Jazmin citing a survey by the Garden Media Group that found 16-18 million people discovered plants for the first time during the pandemic. Joanne shared her own experience of having a second career in horticulture and the challenges she faced in finding education opportunities. They announced the upcoming 5th Green Career Week from March 3rd to 7th, which aims to connect students with green careers and promote awareness of local businesses in the horticulture industry. Jazmin also mentioned the availability of internships and apprenticeship programs, which are more prominent in the United States. The website is open to anyone interested in learning about horticulture careers, featuring 147 different career profiles. Joanne shared her personal experience of transitioning to a landscape design career, and Jazmin confirmed that their program covers all aspects of the industry. They also touched on the potential for careers that don't involve direct contact with plants but still offer immersion in the industry. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect via her website at down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. Down the Garden Path Podcast On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon. Don't forget to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe! You can now catch the podcast on YouTube.

Fed up with critters stealing your bulbs or waiting for the foliage to die back after your bulbs finish flowering? In this episode of Down the Garden Path podcast, Joanne Shaw explains why creating a layered bulb planter may be the solution you're looking for. How to build a layered bulb planter: Choose the container carefully. Size and drainage are important. You can choose a plastic one that you will then use as a liner inside a "prettier" pot, or you can plant it right into a decorative pot -- just make sure you can move it to the garage now and back out into the garden in the spring. Choose at least 3 types and or sizes of bulbs. Be sure to consider the bloom times. Do you want them to stagger out a few weeks to bloom, or do you want them to bloom at approximately the same time? This is not an exact science so there are no guarantees that bulbs will bloom when you want them to. Make sure the bottom layer of bulbs is tall enough to grow out of the pot. Start by adding at least 1 to 2 inches of potting soil at the bottom of the pot. You can sprinkle a bit of bulb fertilizer if you would like. Insert the bulbs approximately a couple of inches apart, close enough for the bulbs to support each other. Top with another 2 inches of potting soil and a handful of fertilizer, then add the second layer of bulbs. Repeat for the subsequent layers. Water the container thoroughly after planting: you should see that a bit of water has come out of the drainage hole. These pots can then be stored in an unheated garage, shed or sheltered area between garages for instance. Do not store in direct sunlight. The goal is to avoid the freeze and thaw that inevitably occurs in our winters. Throughout the winter, water the plants thoroughly but intermittently. Think about doing it when it rains or snows outside. You don't want the soil too wet or the bulbs may rot. If there's snow, you could even top them off with a shovel of it to keep them watered and cool. In the spring, take them out of storage and place them around the yard. You can also do this on a smaller scale to have some small bulb planters in the house for spring or maybe even an Easter centrepiece or gift. These would make great Christmas gifts for other gardeners or people in an apartment or condo. Resources Mentioned in the Show: Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden Have a topic you'd like me to discuss? Please let me know what other topics you would like me to discuss. Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with me on my website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. Down the Garden Path Podcast On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon. Don't forget to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe! You can now catch the podcast on YouTube.

In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw discusses how to extend the blooming season in your garden by adding asters. Topics covered in this week's episode: Gardens don't have to stop blooming in September. We can extend the season to October and November. It's very important to have because the pollinators still need something blooming. There are over 30 different species of asters. They have a huge variety of growing conditions, so there is an aster for whatever challenging growing condition you have. Here are the five asters discussed: New England Aster, Symphyotrichum nova-angliae The showiest, and likely the one you're most familiar with Native to most U.S. states and provinces It is large and very showy, with a bright cozy blue flower with a yellow centre The leaves on the stem are densely arranged on the stem Prefer soil moist and they can grow in part shade One of the larger varieties: up to six feet tall Whitewood Aster Eurybia divaricata Delicate looking flowers Grows in dry shade which means it makes a wonderful addition to the shade garden Not super showy like most shade plants Found in Ontario in dry, deciduous forests So that's exactly what we want in our garden. If you have maple trees, pine trees, or something like that where the soil underneath is very dry and it's very shady, then this is something worth giving a try to Only gets two to three feet tall Smooth Aster Symphyotrichum laeve Similar to the New England Aster, although hence its name, it has leaves that are very smooth lavender and blue Has a daisy-type flower with a yellow centre Blooms from August to October A huge pollinator for butterflies and a larvae host for the pearl crescent butterfly Heart leaf Aster Symphyotrichum cordifolium Lavender to light blue It is one of the latest ones to bloom and actually goes into November An excellent pollinator for butterflies and bees at late in the season Spreads slowly by rhizomes and it lightly self-seeds Two to three feet tall, sandy to loam soil, and part shade to full shade Panicled Aster Symphyotrichum lanceolatum This one blooms with sprays of white flowers, open spreading form, so also known as floppy Best grown with other plants to kind of support it If you already have a native garden, or if you're planting a native garden with other large tall plants, then this could be an addition if you want that Prefers moist soil, but it likes full sun You can purchase seeds from Wildflower Farm and you can again, sprinkle them or plant them in your garden this fall You can also start them like you normally would do if you wanted them to grow in February/March under lights and go through that type of thing indoors and then put them out next year Resources Mentioned in the Show: Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden Fall Mums and Asters Have a topic you'd like me to discuss? Please let me know what other topics you would like me to discuss. Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with me on my website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. Down the Garden Path Podcast On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon. Don't forget to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe! You can now catch the podcast on YouTube.

In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw discusses some of the issues you may be experiencing with your hydrangeas this month and what you can do about them. Topics covered in this week's episode: Hydrangeas not blooming Know what variety is especially important with this issue. In Joanne's experience, if you have a nice large green bush but no or few flowers then you have a Macrophylla variety They bloom on old wood that is unfortunately susceptible to late spring frost damage. The buds form on the old wood in early spring and then a late frost comes and kills the bud. The plant still grows nice and lush, and you don't know anything is wrong until it doesn't flower. Extra water and fertilizer provide a nice full-leaved plant but no blooms I have tried all the techniques to try and prevent this and protect the plant, but I gave up and replaced it with a hardier variety. If you are in an area where you often get a late frost after a nice warm-up, then consider swapping to another variety Hydrangeas discussed: Macrophylla Paniculata Quercifolia Serrata Arborescence Which hydrangeas grow on old or new wood Hydrangeas getting too large/floppy The preferred pruning practices to mitigate that Smaller variety recommendations of each type to have a hydrangea that stays smaller: Munchkin Oakleaf Hydrangea Invincibelle Wee White Hydrangea Invincibelle Limetta Little Lime or Bobo Hydrangeas All are a great way to have more hydrangeas in a smaller space Related Episodes/Resources Mentioned in the Show: Tips To Extend The Blooming Season Of Your Endless Summer Hydrangea Hydrangeas Hydrangeas Part One Hydrangeas Part Two BLOG POST -- Hydrangeas: When They Don't Work And What You Can Do About It Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden Have a topic you'd like me to discuss? Please let me know what other topics you would like me to discuss. Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with me on my website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. Down the Garden Path Podcast On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon. Don't forget to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe! You can now catch the podcast on YouTube.

In this encore presentation of Down the Garden Path, landscape designers Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing discuss applying nematodes, the primary method homeowners in Canada use to control pests such as grubs on our lawns. It's been a heavy Japanese beetle season in the Greater Toronto Area, with a lot of damage done to the foliage of our trees and shrubs. As the hot days of summer come to an end, so will they! However, where there are Japanese beetles, there are white grubs. And right now, those white grubs are beginning to hatch and eat our lawns, growing and becoming next summer's Japanese beetles. So, what can we do? This is where applying nematodes comes in. Nematodes are microscopic, colourless worms that travel through water in the ground to attack and kill grubs and other pests. If you want them to work, you have to water your lawn well. They don't bother humans, pets, or plants but will attack various soil-borne pests instead. When nematodes find a host they want to eat, they work their way inside them, consuming their host using powerful bacteria. A single nematode can kill a pest in 24-48 hours, making them a quick and efficient solution to infestations. We discuss what nematodes are, how they work and the best practices for applying them. If you've been seeing the effects of Japanese beetles in your garden this summer, you won't want to miss this podcast. We offer lots of great tips to help your garden and lawn thrive into the fall and prepare it for success in the spring. Where to find us: Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. You can also email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with Joanne and Matthew via their websites: Joanne Shaw: down2earth.ca Matthew Dressing: naturalaffinity.ca Other helpful resources: Applying Nematodes (blog post) Seasonal Stressors August in the Garden Down the Garden Path Podcast On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon. Don't forget to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe! You can now catch the podcast on YouTube.

In this encore presentation of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing show you how to keep your garden and landscape cool and colourful in the summer heat with tips and tricks and do's and don'ts for your July garden. Here are some of the questions and topics covered in this episode: Pros and cons of the recent hard fast rain and things to consider with your garden and containers. Lawns The importance of watering deeply but less frequently The best type of fertilizer for your lawn situation The best time to fertilize Staying on top of weeds Perennials/Annuals in the Garden Deadhead perennials to clean up or encourage new growth It may be time to clean up your annual containers and replace individual plants if they are dead or it's a poor-growing one. Make sure the annual containers are not being over under or overwatered Time to fertilize containers as well Shrubs: Pruning spring bloomers after flowering Trees: Fertilizing shrubs and trees, the best timing depending on the weather. Best ways to deep-water trees; do not rely on rain only Matthew and Joanne's vegetable garden Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. You can also email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with Joanne via her website: down2earth.ca Down the Garden Path Podcast On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon.

AI has moved into the world of gardening! In this encore presentation of Down the Garden Path podcast, Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing speak with Dale and Carrie Spoonemore, creators of the new garden AI app, Seed to Spoon. Here are some of the questions and topics covered in this episode: Why did you decide to create this app? Where does the gardening information come from? Who is this app geared towards? Is it North-America based only? Can users customize their profiles so the app remembers their location? How does it differ from Google search? Find From Seed to Spoon online: www.seedtospoon.net Facebook: @seed2spoon Instagram: @FromSeedtoSpoon YouTube: @FromSeedtoSpoon Tiktok: @seed2spoon Pinterest: @fromseedtospoon Twitter: @fromseedtospoon Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. You can also email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with Joanne via her website: down2earth.ca Down the Garden Path Podcast On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon.

In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw welcomes Carla Bailey to discuss Women in Landscaping, a supportive community for green professionals that encourages women to enter the profession. About Carla Bailey An HR professional for over a decade, Carla Bailey honed her expertise working for a leading landscaping company in London, Ontario. Dedicated to creating a positive work environment and resolving employee matters, her commitment to staff growth led her to discover and implement various government initiatives to support employee development. In 2018, Carla and three other green professionals founded Women In Landscaping to introduce women to green professions and provide a community to help them thrive. Here are some of the questions and topics covered in this episode: What led to the creation of Women in Landscaping (WIL)? Business support for women in the Landscaping industry with a variety of issues in addition to business development When was WIL started? The group started in the greater London area in 2018. It grew quickly until the pandemic hit. They held their numbers steady and registered as a non-profit in 2024. How often does WIL meet? WIL currently holds monthly drop-ins on the fourth Thursday of the month across the province. Approximately 10-20 women attend, ranging from new to the industry to 30-year business owners to women going through career changes. 100,000 jobs in the trade in Ontario, with 25,000 vacancies. Still less than 30% are filled by women. This demonstrates that the industries have not been successful on their own in attracting women into the landscaping industry. In 2023, WIL hosted the Touch-a-Truck event to promote awareness of women working in green professions, and 3,300 people turned up! WIL has five Touch-a-Truck events planned for July 20th this year and another for September. WIL has partnered with Landscape Ontario They will be hosting a Women in Landscaping Luncheon at the Landscape Ontario Congress in January 2025. You can find Women in Landscaping on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. You can also email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with Joanne via her website: down2earth.ca Down the Garden Path Podcast On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon. You can now catch the podcast on YouTube.

This week on Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw welcomes author Alan Heeks to the podcast to discuss his self-help book, Natural Happiness: Use Organic Gardening Skills to Cultivate Yourself. About Alan Heeks Alan Heeks is an inspiring guide to helping people cultivate their well-being through parallels with Nature. After a Harvard MBA and a successful career managing building materials businesses, Alan has spent 30 years creating nature-based learning venues, and leading groups there. In 1990, he started Magdalen Environmental Trust, converting 130 acres to a mixed organic farm. Since 1992 he has created Hazel Hill Wood as a 70-acre conservation wood and retreat centre. Alan has led many workshops with his Seven Seeds of Natural Happiness approach, including individuals, community groups, and NHS doctors. Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: Natural Happiness can help you dig deep and stay cheerful in these stormy times. It shows how you can use gardening methods such as composting, mulching, and crop rotation to cultivate human nature, too. A gardener applies skills like observation, patience and creativity, and you can adapt them to deal with daily stresses and big issues such as climate change. Alan's approach is positive and practical, easy to use for gardeners and others. On the podcast and on YouTube, they talked about the interesting and practical exercises sprinkled throughout the book The Nourish Your Roots exercise suggests trying Tree Talk. Imagine yourself as a tree and consider whether all parts of you are in balance. The roots, the trunk and your branches. It is a practical and helpful exercise, especially when it encourages us to do some pruning! Another self-help "quickie" we discussed was how we handle compaction in our lives. Alan related it to the soil in a garden, which for gardeners is a very clear analogy. If our soil has good structure and is permeable then the air, heat, water, and nutrients can get in. The opposite is compaction. Many of us know how to handle compaction in the garden more than we know how to handle it in our lives. This book is full of these practical and thought-provoking exercises. With such chapters as "Use Natural Energy Sources," "Compost Your Troubles," "Cultivating Community" and "Growing Through Climate Change," you are in for a wonderful helpful book even if you are not a gardener. This book also inspires the child in all of us who remember drawing trees, climbing trees and playing outside. Whatever you might have going on in your life, Natural Happiness: Use Organic Gardening Skiles to Cultivate Yourself would be a wonderful addition to your bookshelf. Where you can find Alan Heeks: Website: www.naturalhappiness.net Buy his book here. Sign up for Alan's free newsletter here. Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. You can also email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with Joanne via her website: down2earth.ca Down the Garden Path Podcast On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible.

This week on Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw welcomes Julia Dimakos back to the podcast to discuss growing tomatoes. From starting tomatoes from seed to transplanting the seedlings into the garden, Julia shares her tried-and-true tricks to growing them successfully from seed. About Julia Dimakos Julia Dimakos' 7000 square foot kitchen garden is in Mono, Ontario, on 25 acres on the Niagara Escarpment. Julia has been growing vegetables and writing about gardening for over 13 years. She was twice published in Canadian Organic Grower magazine and became a published author in July 2022 with her first book, Tea Gardening for Beginners. Here are some of the questions and topics covered in this episode: How to start tomato seeds and the type of pots to use It's not too late during this first week of May to start as the seedlings are quite tough. You can put many seeds in a container: as they grow, they are easy to separate from the roots. The difference between determinate and indeterminate tomatoes It is important to know what variety you can and want to grow so you know how to support the plant in the garden appropriately. Spoiler alert: indeterminate tomatoes need support in the form of very TALL stakes! Julia shares some great tips on fertilizer and watering The importance of watering to avoid blossom end rot on your tomatoes Tune in and then go buy some seeds of an unusual variety of tomatoes! Click here to watch this episode on YouTube! Where you can find Julia Dimakos: Website: www.juliadimakos.com Instagram: @juliadimakos YouTube: @gardeninggirl Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. You can also email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with Joanne via her website: down2earth.ca Down the Garden Path Podcast On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon. Don't forget to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe! You can now catch the podcast on YouTube.

In this episode of Down the Garden Path, landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses Hosta Virus X with returning guest Dawn Golloher from Gardens Plus. Dawn Golloher is the owner-operator of Gardens Plus, an independent garden centre in Peterborough, Ontario, specializing in easy-care perennials. Here are some of the questions and topics covered in this episode: Can you tell us more about Hosta Virus X? The virus was first discovered in 1996. It spreads from the sap in the hosta leaves and roots. The best way to protect your plants is to buy from reputable sources and to practice good hygiene when dividing or cleaning up hostas. Use disinfectant wipes or have a bottle of diluted bleach handy to spray down your tools and then wipe off. This would help many things from spreading throughout our gardens, including powdery mildew. Hosta Virus X doesn't kill the hosta. It will just have mottled or blotchy colouring and the hostas may not thrive in the long run. It will also not spread to other perennials in your garden. The best way to remove an infected plant Three ways to recognize Hosta Virus X: ink bleeding mottled tissue collapsed tissue Gardens Plus is opening May 9th this year and will be open Thursday to Sunday until June 30th, 2024. Find Gardens Plus online: www.GardensPlus.ca Facebook: @gardensplus Instagram: @gardensplus YouTube: @gardensplus Pinterest: @gardensplus Twitter: @gardensplus Find Down the Garden Path online: Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. You can also email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with Joanne via her website: down2earth.ca Down the Garden Path Podcast On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing distill their horticultural and design expertise and combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy today on Amazon. Don't forget to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe! You can now catch the podcast on YouTube.

In this episode of Down the Garden Path, landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses hellebores with returning guest Dawn Golloher from Gardens Plus. Dawn Golloher is the owner-operator of Gardens Plus, an independent garden centre in Peterborough, Ontario, specializing in easy-care perennials. Here are some of the questions and topics covered in this episode: Can you give us a bit of a history on hellebores? There are several classifications of hellebores. Helleborus niger and Helleborus orientalis are the most common. Helleborus niger also called Christmas Rose. Native to the mountains of southern and central Europe. Christmas Rose can bloom around Christmas time in warmer regions. It is an early blooming perennial for part-shade to shade conditions. They have rose-like petals, some single and some double. The foliage often comes up after the flowers are evergreen. They are a low-maintenance, slow-growing plant and long living in your garden. Because they are slow growing, they are often quite expensive. Helleborus orientalis is slightly larger than Helleborus niger and is also called Lenten Rose. It is native to Asia Minor, Eurasia, Greece and Turkey. Also blooms late winter into spring. The foliage is dark glossy green, evergreen and palmately divided. They require shady to part-shade conditions, but it is important to note that they need well-drained moist soil. Not recommended for dry shade. The flowers are distinctive and a lovely palette of colours is available, so it is hard to have only one in the garden. Thanks to their early blooming, they do make a good pollinators. They are disease-resistant, toxic to cats and dogs (so bitter tasting that they really never get eaten) and deer-resistant, as well. Some of the favourites that Dawn highlighted were: Ivory Prince (hardy for lower zones) The Wedding Party series of double-flowering hellebores, including Blushing Bride, Confetti Cake The Honeymoon series of single-petaled flowers New York Night and Carnival Dawn provided some other easy-care perennial recommendations for this year. How is Gardens Plus different from larger nurseries? They add a personal touch to everything that they do. Gardens Plus is opening May 9th this year and will be open Thursday to Sunday until June 30th, 2024. Find Gardens Plus online: www.GardensPlus.ca Facebook: @gardensplus Instagram: @gardensplus YouTube: @gardensplus Pinterest: @gardensplus Twitter: @gardensplus Find Down the Garden Path online: Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. You can also email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with Joanne via her website: down2earth.ca Down the Garden Path Podcast On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As the owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has been designing beautiful gardens for homeowners east of Toronto for over a decade. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. Her book Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden is available on Amazon. Don't forget to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe! You can now catch the podcast on YouTube.