In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw welcomes author Margot Anne Kelley to discuss her new book, A Gardener at the End of the World.

A gardener’s pandemic journal that combines memoir with an exploration of the natural world both inside and outside the garden, it explores questions of what we can preserve - of history, genetic biodiversity, culture, language and what we cannot. It is ideal for any reader curious about the overlap of nature, science and history.

Here are some of the topics covered in this episode:

• Margot’s pandemic journal and interest in seeds became the raw material out of which the book evolved.
• The book is a gardener's pandemic journal with a lovely overview of her garden throughout the season, complemented with a timely history of previous world pandemics and how they related to the current one as a way to understand what was going on.
• An overview of seeds and plants and their origins, and how they travelled the world and impacted how and what we eat now.
• How researching past plagues and pandemics was therapeutic: the human race survived many horrible things before and it gave her hope that we would prevail again
• We can all relate to Margot's solace in her evolving garden, as many of us turned to gardening during that time and even still see the importance of growing our food or at least supporting those who do.

A Gardener at the End of the World is available on Amazon.

Find more information about Margot Anne Kelley:

• Website: www.margotannekelley.com
• Social Media: @margotannekelley

Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast.

You can also email your questions and comments to [email protected], 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.