The Edible Flower is a thick book with gorgeous photos. Erin and Jo write about how to grow edible flowers (that’s Jo’s department) and how to use them for cooking (Erin’s). Erin always hoped to write books because she loves them, so when she became a cook (a title she prefers to chef) she knew she wanted to write a cookbook. She uses flower petals in salads, but also in a larger way in recipes like folding them into a babka for a colourful display when it’s cut or pressing them into the dough when making pasta.

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Given that Earth is getting warmer rapidly, what is the consequence for trees? This is a concern for Davey Tree experts Dan Herms, Vice President of Research, and Joe Steinfeld, who works in Urban Forestry and Arboriculture in the Toronto office. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, spoke with both of them about the state of trees today and what is coming in the near future.

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orget about oceans of calamine lotion, this is the real dirt on poison ivy and all of its kin. Susan Pell, executive director of the United States Botanic Garden. She did her PhD on members of the pistatchio family (Anacardiaceae), which includes the genus Toxicodendron, of which poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac are members. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, had a talk with Susan about these plants: how to identify them, what gives you a rash, and what you can do about it.

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People of all ages become fascinated with the monarch butterfly when they learn about its long flight from Canada to Mexico in a single generation. Joan Harvey is a member of Monarch Teacher Network, and she joined Master Gardener Julianne Labreche in an event called Meet the Monarch last summer. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, chats with the two about the life cycle of monarchs and how to build a monarch garden.

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Mario Doiron is a modern homesteader in New Brunswick who raises fowl and grows vegetables on a small farm. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, talks with him about how he grow vegetables and what gardeners can do to maximize their efforts and save money.

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Bamboo is a kind of plant in the grass family (Poaceae) with over 100 genera. Most of them are tropical, but a few will survive and even thrive in Canada. Garry Hedberg and his wife Brenda had several clumps of them growing in South Surrey, in the Vancouver area, some as tall as 60 feet. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, talks to Garry about his experience growing this plant, which is fairly uncommon in Canada.

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Dorothy Dobbie is the originator of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, a former Member of Parliament, President of the International Peace Gardens on the border of Manitoba and North Dakota...

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Darryl Cheng is an industrial engineer who became interested in houseplants a few years ago. He would do time-lapse videos of his plants on social media, and that led to a huge Instagram following and book deals, including his popular book The New Plant Parent. 

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Mehdi Sharifi is a research scientist at the Summerland Research Station in British Columbia and Dana Johnson was a research assistant there who was partially responsible for developing the first federal Indigenous Demonstration Garden at the site. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, talked to them both about planning and instituting the garden.

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Greg Auton is a garden writer and podcaster from Nova Scotia who grows hundreds of garlic plants every year. Although he is a very prolific writer, has a family of four and maintains a 2500-square foot vegetable garden, these are things he does in his spare time, when he is not working as a civil servant. 

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