Episodes

  • Eco-Lawn & Native Plant Mixes with Miriam Goldberger from Wildflower Farm

    Eco-Lawn & Native Plant Mixes with Miriam Goldberger from Wildflower Farm
    Sep 16 2024
    This week on Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw speaks with Wildflower Farm's Miriam Goldberger about Eco-Lawn, the answer to a truly low-maintenance lawn, as well as some of her favourite native plants you can include in your garden. About Miriam Goldberger Miriam Goldberger is the founder and co-owner of Wildflower Farm, a wildflower seed production company in Ontario — a magical 100 acres where the flower gardens and meadows thrive without pesticides and are a pollinators' paradise. To learn more about Miriam’s journey, visit the Wildflower Farm website. Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: Miriam’s book, Taming Wildflowers, was published over 10 years ago. Joanne noted how Miriam has become a pioneer in the industry of native plants and wildflowers.The book contains helpful information about how to grow native plants in specific locations and is available on the Wildflower Farm website. Miriam recommends three of her favourite “polite” wildflowers: Black-eyed Susan, a stable perennial for late-summer/early-fallGaillardia or blanket flower, a vivid and bright yellow/orange/red colour that will stay in bloomPrairie drop seed, a clump-forming, non-aggressive grass that looks beautiful from late spring right through into the fall. Miriam also discussed Eco-Lawn: Our customers had urged us to develop a lawn that was just as sustainable, drought tolerant and low maintenance as our wildflower gardens and meadows.While walking in the forests of Ontario, we spotted clumps of rich green grass growing in the deep shade of the northern woods. Could these emerald patches be used as natural grass pathways around and through our wildflower meadows?After three years of research and trials later, Eco-Lawn was born.Since its introduction in 1998, it has changed the face of lawnscaping across North America for homeowners, businesses and municipalities.Eco-Lawn combines several native fescues that grow together to create a matte or lawn.The roots are deeper than our Kentucky Bluegrass which makes it much more drought tolerant and can grow under a variety of light conditions.You can start a new lawn with the seed or slowly convert an existing lawn into a low maintenance Eco- lawn.The fall is the best time to start Eco-lawn! Full instructions on how to prepare for applying Eco-lawn are available on their website. You can find Wildflower Farm at www.wildflowerfarm.com. Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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.
    Show more Show less
    50 mins
  • Fall Mums and Asters

    Fall Mums and Asters
    Sep 9 2024
    In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw discusses fall mums and asters. Topics covered in this week's episode: Chrysanthemums, many horticultural varieties and cultivars exist including tender florist mums (a favourite because of how long they stay blooming in a vase).Or Garden mums, more commonly known as fall mums.All Chrysanthemums are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. They became popular in North American gardening during the early to mid-20th century.Overall, fall or autumn gardening in the U.S. became particularly prominent in the 1950s and 1960s. Their popularity grew thanks to their vibrant colours of mums—ranging from deep reds and oranges to yellows and purples—this made them a popular choice for fall displays.Their ability to bloom late into the season and withstand cooler temperatures also contributed to their popularity in autumn gardening.Fall mums grown for our gardens are fertilized and pruned heavily to maintain their dense growth while in containers.It is possible to overwinter them in the garden but without regular maintenance, they can get quite large (tall and wide over a season or two).You often hear of gardeners or articles mentioning mid-summer to cut back or pinch back the foliage on garden mums that are being grown in the garden to slow down their growth and size.If growing in the garden, they benefit from mulching to protect them from the freeze and thaw most of us experience in our Ontario gardens or gardens in zones 4-6.They can be prone to spider mites and aphids as well as powdery mildew. Mildew especially if they are allowed to get large in the garden and then crowd with other plants and especially when there is high humidity and/or overhead watering.The downside of mums: As a designer, my goal is to create gardens that are all season with something happening at all times and for there really not be a need for high-maintenance annuals. I do realize that there are times and places in the yard where one might want a pop of colour -- even me!Potted mums perform much better in cooler temperatures. Unfortunately, garden centres seem to start selling them earlier and earlier each season.They are thirsty plants when in pots, especially in the heat.If the pots aren’t watered regularly they die very quickly and I think homeowners think they can revive them.Once they have dried out, they are a throwaway plant. Don’t get me started on the plastic waste they generate! A better plant option for fall: asters! There are 32 different species of aster in Ontario and over 100 species in North America.There is a place for one in every garden or even a pot if you choose!While some pollinators might visit garden mums for pollen that is where the benefit ends.Asters not only supply pollen for honeybees and native bees, they also feed adult butterflies and we all want more of those in our gardens.They are host plants or over 100 species of caterpillars, nature's bird feeders. Where there are caterpillars, there will be birds!You may be lucky to find New England asters in pots at your big box store.They are transplantable and will overwinter in the garden. In addition to the New England asters, there are several other native varieties that are sold in the perennial section of your garden centres.There is a variety of aster for every garden. New England Asters Symphyotrichum novaeangliae: (purple, light purple) Full to part sun, blooms August to October, moist average soil.Swamp Aster Symphyotrichum puniceum: (purple, light purple) Full to part sun, August to October, wet garden areaWhite Wood Eurybia divaricate: Part shade to full shade, September to October and will grow in a garden from moist to dry.Heart Leaf Aster Symphyotrichum cordifolium: (lavender to light blue) Part shade to full shade, September to October, medium to dry soil Note: It is also recommended to pinch back or cut back asters in June to prevent them from getting too big and floppy. 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 ...
    Show more Show less
    15 mins
  • How IssueID Revolutionizes Landscape Management with Jason Hoke

    How IssueID Revolutionizes Landscape Management with Jason Hoke
    Sep 3 2024
    This week on Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw welcomes Jason Hoke to the podcast to discuss IssueID, the revolutionary software solution he co-founded that addresses the challenges in the landscape industry. About Jason Hoke Denver native Jason Hoke is an innovative entrepreneur with a diverse career spanning music, landscaping, and technology. At 15, Jason started at A Cut Above Landscape and purchased the company in 2016, growing it to a team of over 30. In 2022, he co-founded IssueID, a revolutionary software solution that simplifies the management of extras and enhancements, helping contractors boost revenue while reducing costs. Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: Jason's early start to the landscape industry, what made him stay and buy the company.What Jason loves about landscaping.The services available at A Cut Above LandscapeHow Jason's music experience ties in. What parallels can be drawn between the music and trades industry? Jason's journey to creating IssueID.How IssueID helps capture, collaborate and close more projects. Where to find IssuedID: www.issueid.ioFacebookYouTubeInstagramLinkedIn 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.
    Show more Show less
    1 hr and 1 min
  • What's Wrong With My Hydrangea?

    What's Wrong With My Hydrangea?
    Aug 26 2024
    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 bloomsI 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 varietyHydrangeas discussed: MacrophyllaPaniculataQuercifoliaSerrataArborescence Which hydrangeas grow on old or new wood Hydrangeas getting too large/floppy The preferred pruning practices to mitigate thatSmaller variety recommendations of each type to have a hydrangea that stays smaller: Munchkin Oakleaf HydrangeaInvincibelle Wee White HydrangeaInvincibelle LimettaLittle Lime or Bobo HydrangeasAll 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.
    Show more Show less
    19 mins
  • Seasonal Stressors

    Seasonal Stressors
    Aug 20 2024

    In this encore presentation of Down the Garden Path, landscape designers Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing answer listener questions about the seasonal stressors we're experiencing in our gardens this month.

    Here are some of the questions and topics covered in this episode:

    • Is it one or two inches of water every week for our lawns?
      • What about in this drought here in the GTA? More water?
    • Reminder to water newly planted trees.
    • Using water timers on hoses to help with watering.
    • Any tips for choosing an apple tree for my yard?
    • How do we apply nematodes?
      • When's the best time?
    • Watering for a week at night for nematodes: won't that do the damage you talk about for our lawn?
    • Is fall a good time to plant?
    • Growing an aloe plant
    Resources mentioned during the show

    Suzanne Poizner's Urban Forestry Show on RealityRadio101.com.

    Applying Nematodes

    About the podcast:

    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

    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.
    Show more Show less
    58 mins
  • Applying Nematodes

    Applying Nematodes
    Aug 13 2024
    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.
    Show more Show less
    1 hr
  • August in the Garden

    August in the Garden
    Aug 6 2024
    In this encore presentation of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing show you how to keep your garden and landscape thriving during the August heat with tips and tricks and do’s and don'ts for your August garden. Tune in to hear Joanne and Matt discuss what you should (and shouldn't) be doing in the garden in August. Here are some of the questions and topics covered in this episode: Plan what fall bulbs you’d like to plant for your spring garden. Order now and buy early for the best varieties.Source garlic bulbs from a local farmer or reputable seed company to have them ready for fall planting.To encourage flavourful new growth, continue to trim herbs like mint, chives, dill, etc.Cover ripening fruit to protect from birds and critters.Sow seeds of beans, beets, spinach, and turnips for a fall harvest.Check fruits, vegetables, annuals, perennials, trees, and shrubs for pests and diseases and remove as necessary.Use Japanese beetle traps to control populations. Remember, one is enough for urban landscapes.Apply nematodes in mid-August, or sooner, to control white grub populations in the lawn.Continue to deadhead annuals and perennials to promote new blooms.Continue fertilizing containers, window boxes, and hanging baskets with a water-soluble fertilizer once every two weeks until Thanksgiving or you dispose of them for the season.Apply a new layer of rich compost to garden beds.Continue to weed your lawns and hardscapes.Remove small errant shoots from topiaries, shrubs, and hedges. 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 Resources mentioned during the show Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario 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.
    Show more Show less
    34 mins
  • Extending the Blooms in Your Garden

    Extending the Blooms in Your Garden
    Jul 31 2024

    In this episode of Down the Garden Path podcast, landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses the importance of succession planting so that you always have something blooming in your perennial garden. That is the gardening addiction, after all!

    Topics covered in this week's episode:

    • The best way to "deadhead" a perennial
    • Popular garden perennials that when trimmed back at the right time should provide another flowering or can help the plant continue to flower
    • Some of the plants mentioned:
      • Salvia, Catmint, Dianthus or Pinks, Lavender and Plhlox for the sunny garden
      • Columbine, hostas and ferns for the shade garden
    This episode is brought to you by:

    Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden

    Have a topic you'd like me to cover?

    Please let me know what other topics you would like me to discuss. Join the Down the Garden Path Podcast Facebook group, where you can share pictures of gardening dilemmas or ask questions! You can also 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 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.
    Show more Show less
    19 mins