In this week's episode of Down the Garden Path, Matt and Joanne welcome Guy Ruccolo, the owner of Blue Star Nursery, a gardening centre located in Windsor, Ontario.

Don't miss our conversation with Guy Ruccolo, owner of Blue Star Nursery.

Guy answers a few of our questions:

• What's your background in the industry?
• How did you come to own Blue Star Nursery?
• What happens each season at Blue Star? Can you give us a year-at-a-glance look?
• Tell us about the products you carry at your garden centre. Do you grow your own plants?
• How do you find climate change affecting the plants we're selecting and planting?
• Do you warranty your plants? (The unpredictable weather has affected plants so much that now they are warrantying regular-priced plants until Nov 1st.)
• What do you do with the plant material you don't sell by the end of the year?
• What is the effect of certain bans on insecticides on plant choices?
• How have you found the pandemic has affected the horticulture industry?
• What have your biggest challenges been over the last year and a half with Covid-19?
• What are some of the new and hot plants your customers are asking for?

Guy said the hot trend this year is fruit trees, especially the four-in-one fruit tree!

He also recommended applying nematodes on your lawn to address grubs. The Windsor area is currently being hit hard by them. Mosquito Barrier (made with Californian Garlic Juice) is amazing for treating your yard for mosquitos and can even help with Japanese beetles.

Here are Guy's plant recommendations for 2022:

• Firelight Tidbit Hydrangea– new dwarf paniculata hydrangea
• Summer Crush Hydrangea– intense " red" macrophyla hydrangea
• Firefly Nightglow Diervilla – Native Pollinator, Burgundy Foliage with yellow flowers, part shade to shade
• Brandywine Maple– Acer Rubrum, seedless 30ft Maple tree

You can find Blue Star Nursery online at www.bluestarnursery.com.

To learn more about how to apply nematodes, listen to our episode Applying Nematodes.

Each week on Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designers Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing discuss 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.

And Matthew Dressing is a horticulturist and landscape designer. He owns Natural Affinity Garden Design, a landscape design and garden maintenance firm servicing Toronto and the Eastern GTA. Together, Joanne and Matthew do their best to bring you interesting, relevant and helpful topics. Their goal is to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible.

Don't forget to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe!