Down The Garden Path Podcast

We created a Gardening Question Period. Each week on Down the Garden Path we discuss down to earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As Landscape Designers and gardeners we think it is important and possible to have great gardens that are low maintenance. Thanks for joining us here.

On this episode Matthew and Joanne answer listener questions. We had a jam-packed Gardening Question period answering listener questions to help them with their low maintenance gardens. Questions about pruning, planting veggies, lawns of course and even insects. Tune in for this really informative show.

We are excited to welcome Veggie guru Niki Jabbour and her latest book Veggie Garden Remix to this episode of Down the Garden Path Podcast.

One of the hottest and consistently growing topics and commodities in the gardening world is growing your own food. But knowing where to start can be a bit overwhelming. It was wonderful to chat with Niki to learn about what drew her into veggie gardening. Niki explained her inspiration for writing Veggie Garden Remix and she explains how easy it is to grow unusual vegetables, even in Nova Scotia's short season.

We learn about some of her garden favourites and some of the easiest ones to grow. Tips for container gardening and more. We enjoyed listener questions and even a few laughs.

You can also find Niki blogging at SavvyGardening.com and listen to her on radio show, The Weekend Gardener.

May in the garden brings us many inspiring ideas, but there are many not so inspiring May to do's we also need to get done to give our gardens their best chance in the season ahead. We are excited to be back with our regular monthly " In the Garden " episodes. In the last show of each month, we discuss what tasks need to happen in the garden the next month.

Joanne and Matthew talk about what and what not to do in the May garden. We learn about the 2019 garden trends which feature some of May's 'Stars of the Garden'.

The Stars of the Garden plants this month happen to be the plants of the year for 2019. We discuss the Hosta, Shrub, Perennial and Annual of 2019.

Have a listen and enjoy.

One of the highlights of Spring in the Eastern GTA is the Peterborough Garden Show. It will be timed perfectly to help us all usher in Spring. Joining me for this episode of Down the Garden Path is Cauleen Viscoff Chair of the Peterborough Garden Show. The "Everything's Comin Roses " 2019 show is bringing us a new date and a new venue and partnership at Fleming College in Peterborough.

This is the 19th year of the Peterborough Garden show. It is run by a team of volunteers of the Peterborough Horticultural Society. The Annual Garden show raises money that goes back to the community by creating scholarships for students studying horticultural related studies as well as grants to community gardens.

The Garden Show each year features over 90 vendors or artisans, most of them local. The support of local businesses is a wonderful feature of this show every year.

The Award Winning show schedule is :

Friday Evening April 26 – 5pm to 9pmSaturday April 27 – 10am to 5pmSunday April 28 – 10am to 4pm

The price of admission is $10 for the entire weekend. Cauleen gave us an update on some of the speakers and workshops taking place during the show.

Each week on Down the Garden Path we discuss down to earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As Landscape Designers and gardeners we think it is important and possible to have great gardens that are low maintenance. Thanks for joining us here. We also want to do everything we can to support our Horticultural Industry, especially local.

Remember to check out Down the Garden Path on Apple Podcasts, or your favourite podcast app and subscribe.

Irrigation is a hot topic when it comes to low maintenance gardening. Each week on Down the Garden Path we discuss down to earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As Landscape Designers and gardeners we think it is important and possible to have great gardens that are low maintenance. Thanks for joining us here.

We were really excited to talk to Daniel Domingues General Manager at Aquaman Irrigation. on this episode of Down the Garden Path. Aquaman Irrigation is a family business that has been serving the Irrigation industry in Southern Ontario for over 35 years.

Daniel is a LEED certified professional who has built numerous LEED construction projects and more recently has become WSIP certified. (Water Smart Irrigation Professional) He combines his knowledge in both areas to best serve his Clients as a steward for the Environment.

Daniel shared with us the basics of what is involved in an irrigation installation. He also shared the benefits of the New SMART controllers for irrigation systems.

SMART controllers can be installed in existing systems to improve their efficiencies. Learning that irrigation can be part of a smart water conservation plan was really interesting.

It was also interesting to learn about the trend away from hard surfaces into more gardens but also the need to be more efficient with our water conservation.

Listen in to learn more about irrigation systems and Aquaman Irrigations and how they can help you. Remember to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe.

Looking for a specific perennial, but none of your local garden centres has it? Have you tried online? Tonight's guest is Dawn Golloher from Gardens Plus, an online perennial source for easy-care perennials. Gardens Plus is physically located in Peterborough Ontario, but happily shipping across Canada!

With easy online ordering for shipping as well as pick up if you'd like to reserve your selections ahead of time. The nursery is open 5 days a week (closed Mondays and Tuesdays) from early May to July. They offer a unique experience with display gardens up front, greenhouses and stock beds out back. Gardens Plus specializes in is Hosta, Daylilies, Coneflowers, Coral Bells and many other varieties of Easy Care Perennials.

Each week on Down the Garden Path we discuss down to earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As Landscape Designers and gardeners we think it is important and possible to have great gardens that are low maintenance. Thanks for joining us here. We enjoyed learning about how Dawn's focus is on growing easy-care perennials. She feels gardeners should spend more time enjoying your gardens not just work in them during the show.

"Our Urban forests are more than just the last remaining ravines and parks. Our urban forests include our street trees, trees and shrubs we plant in our yards, and our gardens. Today we're joined Janet McKay of LEAF (Local Enhancement & Appreciation of Forests) to discuss their mission and their many programs on how to plant, care and support our urban forests."

We learn about our Urban Forests and the major threats that are affecting them. Janet explains that Urban Forests are not just found in large cities, they are also in suburban areas as well. There are a few things that individuals can do to help their communities. One of those simple things is to plant trees. LEAF has a Backyard Tree Planting Program. They are currently serving 12 Municipalities that are involved in this program. The LEAF program offers native trees and shrubs to property owners at a subsidized cost.

LEAF also have many other programs from the Young Urban Forest Leaders Program, the Bees love Trees program to the TCHC Planting and Stewardship Initiative. Please enjoy this podcast and visit their site and see if there is a way for you to get your municipality or community involved.

Grasses. These plants cover approximately 1/3rd of the planet's land mass, and no grass is more popular in North America than those we grow as our lawns. This episode we're joined by Alexander Dickie of Zander Sod Farm. We talk to him about growing sod, Zander Sod farm's operation, and what goes into creating those beautiful rolls of sod we see each Spring.

We learn how Zander Sod Farm was started over 65 years ago, and how they have grown to be the largest supplier of sod in the GTA. Alex educates on some best practices to ensure that your sod is successful. Our listeners chime in with several questions about grass seed and sod. Alex does an excellent job explaining the benefits of seed versus sod. Tune in for this really informative show and learn along with us about sod farming and growing sod in your own yard.

Each week on Down the Garden Path we discuss down to earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As Landscape Designers and gardeners we think it is important and possible to have great gardens that are low maintenance. Thanks for joining us here. Remember to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe.

Spring is in the air and Matthew and I have been dreaming about spring. Tonight we're talking about my visit to Canada Blooms, new plant introductions from Proven Winners and Bloomin Easy plants for 2019, what to do in the garden after the snow melts, and more.

Each week on Down the Garden Path we discuss down to earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens and landscapes. As Landscape Designers and gardeners we think it is important and possible to have great gardens that are low maintenance. Thanks for joining us here. Remember to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe.

As we anxiously await Spring, are you dreaming of new garden centres and locations for gardening inspiration?

Well, we have a location for you on this episode of Down the Garden Path. Whistling Gardens is a Garden Center and Botanical Gardens, in Wilsonville, Ontario. Owner and creator, Darren Heimbecker joins us to tell us all that is happening at Whistling Gardens. They have something for everyone. A unique Garden centre with carefully sourced speciality plants like unique and rare Japanese Maples and Dwarf Conifers.

The Botanical Gardens that Darren has created is now home to North America's largest public Peony Collection, thanks to an extensive donation of a private collection. It is also home to a large Conifer Collection of over 2000 specimens displayed throughout the extensive gardens. An all stone open-air amphitheatre surrounded by over 90 fountains. These fountains are featured in a daily musical performance as the fountains dance to the music several times a day.

A perfect place to go for garden inspiration, they also book wedding and other events and private tours are available.

Whistling Gardens has received national and municipal award recognition as the recipient of Canada's Best New Garden Experience Award presented at the Canadian and International Garden Tourism Awards.

Listen in to hear more about it.