Down The Garden Path Podcast

I think of July as the month of Hydrangeas. So this week on Down the Garden Path we discussed these beloved and versatile shrubs. There truly is a Hydrangea variety for every garden.

Matthew and I discussed best practices for planting Hydrangeas.

Pruning is always a popular question when it comes to these shrubs. First, you must understand whether your variety of plant blooms on old or new wood. We describe how to differentiate one from another.

Listen in to learn about the different variety of Hydrangeas available at the Nurseries, including some of the newest varieties. Matt shares with us the most popular variety that is flying off the shelves at his garden centre.

We also discuss the dilemma with some of the non-blooming Macrophylla Hydrangeas and our recommendations for a better replacement for the non-bloomers in your garden!

This will be a great resource before heading to garden center to purchase your new Hydrangea.

We were very excited to talk to Jim Charlier all about the Garden Walk Buffalo.

Jim is a well-traveled garden tourism advocate/consultant, having been a seven-term past president of Garden Walk Buffalo, America's largest garden tour. Jim has written a gardening blog since 2008, covering his garden travels, the great gardens of Buffalo Niagara, and his own garden successes and failures.

We learned about Garden Walk Buffalos early beginning as a local block party and how it has grown to the largest tour of its kind in North America with over 400 gardens.

This year's free self-guided tour is July 28- 29. Jim explained many of the features of the tour, how the homeowners participate, how attendees can download the free map. Where to pick up the shuttles so that you can maximize your time and see as many gardens as possible.

Tune in now to learn more and to plan your visit.

https://gardensbuffaloniagara.com/

Welcome to our Roses show. The month of July is THE month for Roses in the Garden. During this episode of Down the Garden Path Matthew and I chat about the different varieties of roses.

We discuss Rosa Rugosa, Shrub Roses, Carpet Roses, Hybrid Tea Roses and some new varieties like Knock out and The Canadian Shield Rose to name just a few.

We also touch on fertilizing roses, pruning roses and winter protection for roses.

We really wanted to demystify growing roses and encourage everyone to give them a try. We believe there is a spot for roses in everyone's garden. Enjoy the show!

There is a lot to do in the July Garden and there is a lot to enjoy, that is what we are talking about in this episode of Down the Garden Path.

Our monthly feature shows are really meant to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible.

Tune in to hear about a variety of todo's in your garden this month.

Some of the highlights:

• Importance of watering your garden and some best practices for watering
• The best options for fertilizing your plants and trees
• Lawn care is always a popular topic and this episode was no different with several email questions for us to discuss. Listen in for our tips on watering and fertilizing your lawn this summer as well as a few do's and don'ts when your lawn has gone dormant.

And to continue the watering and fertilizing theme we also discussed vegetable gardens

Time to prepare for Japanese Beetle's, they are coming!

And last but not least, we discussed the Stars of the July Garden. Some wonderful plants add to your garden to extend the blooms throughout the season.

Matthew and I are sure there is something in this show for everyone!

In this episode of Down the Garden Path we revisit the topic of Vines. This is our second consecutive show on Vines in the Garden and we focus on Clematis on this episode.

We discuss the best planting practices, including the addition of mushroom compost or sheep manure to the planting holes as well as through the season for these heavy feeders.

Matthew also describes the 3 different groups that Clematis fall into. These groups help determine when the plant will flower and more importantly when they should be pruned. If in doubt about which group your clematis fall into, the advice is don't prune it!

Lots of tips from our resident Clematis Consultant, my good friend Christine Male. Christine is a passionate clematis grower and she was kind enough to share many tips and even her favourite varieties with us.

Tune in now for this really informative show... then go plant a clematis in your garden!

All about vines in this episode of Down the Garden Path.

We know you will find this episode very informative. We discuss perennial and annual vines. The difference between clinging and twining vines and some words of caution, especially about Virginia Creeper.

We described flowering vines like Trumpet vine and Honeysuckle the many ways they can be used in the garden. Also some foliage vines for added interest in the garden. What is your favourite flowering vine?

There is so much to discuss about vines that we are saving Clematis for its own show. Stay tuned for the Clematis show next week.

We had a lot to talk about in this regular monthly feature show. After chatting about what was happening in our gardens this week as well as what is happening at Matthew's garden centre we did a little rant about "PLANT TAGS"

Yes, plant tags! How misleading they can be, how many people misread them or don't read them at all. We gave some pointers and recommendations because we want everyone to be successful gardeners, especially with their annuals.

After our rant, we discussed all the things to do in your June Garden. Best practices for pruning your Spring bloomers.

We also discussed some June Stars in the garden. Recommended trees, shrubs and perennials that start showing off in June and many of them continue impressing for the rest of the season.

We hope you enjoy this episode, we are sure you will learn something of value!

Orchestra in My Garden: Lessons learned from Digging Deep is an immersive and deeply moving book from singer/songwriter, mother, gardener, and now author, Linda Brooks. In this stunning hardcover book, Linda brings together 17 personal essays on the garden as a metaphor for life, 22 beautiful new songs as a downloadable accompaniment, and a selection of captivating photos from her own evolving garden.

We talk with Linda about the concept for integrating her music and a book. We learn about her journey in the music industry as well as her gardening journey.

She shares one of her songs during our episode which I am sure you will enjoy.

The book shares her personal essays as well as wonderful photos of her own garden. Complete with a download code for her music it is truly a treasure.

We all enjoy having a green lush lawn. This episode of Down the Garden path we switch from Garde to Lawn. We discuss the do's and dont's of each season. Matthew addresses common questions when it comes to keeping your lawn healthy and green.

This week we discuss what to or in many cases not to do for May in the Garden.

We cover remind everyone that May 24th is the last frost date in Southern Ontario

Now is the time to Harden off your seedlings before planting.

For those that bring houseplants outside, it's almost time to harden off them off. Matt gives a lot of tips on how to do get them ready for the patio.

We also talked about the plants of the year.

Hosta ' World cup

Spilled Wine Weigela

Millenium Allium for Perennial of the year. Hear all about them and more on this episode.