Down The Garden Path Podcast

Megan Cain, the Creative Vegetable Gardener wants you to know that you can grow great food and be a successful vegetable gardener. Thanks to all her gardening experiences she has created a wonderful workbook called the Smart Start Garden Planner. Megan joins me on this episode to tell us all about it and she share a lot of tips and tricks for your garden planning. I guarantee this planner will be essential to get you started this growing season. It is available hard copy or ebook. It's a wonderful planner for beginner and experienced gardeners alike. Learn more about it during our chat here or order a copy for yourself here.

So many of us would love a water feature for our garden or yard but have many questions. Listen to this informative show with Ernest Williams, from Aquascape, Inc. He walks us through the many common misconceptions when it comes to water features. We also learn the variety of options that are available. Ernest teaches us all about the different liner options and how to calculate the correct size of pump. Yes, we had to do some MATH! Tune in to learn more about what Aquascape has to offer including their Authorized Contractor program. It is a jam-packed episode we hope you enjoy.

This week I wanted to speak with a Landscape Contractor. Chris Ray from Humber Valley Landscaping joined me live to discuss all things landscaping.

Humber Valley is a dedicated, creative landscape design and build team servicing the Toronto, Richmond Hill, York Region, West Durham regions. At Humber Valley Landscaping, they want to create beautiful, functional outdoor spaces that fit your lifestyle. They know that each project requires specific expertise, a keen creative eye and quality products and materials. Their team will take a professional and personable approach toward creating your own outdoor oasis.

As we head into another landscaping season I thought it would be helpful to talk directly to a Landscape Contractor. We focused on the Landscape process and client expectations as well as the benefits of investing in a Landscape Design. Have a listen and let me know your thoughts.

Jane Paradis has been an avid bird watcher most of her life! She enjoys going to local birding spots all year round. She has worked for Urban Nature Store for 9 years and truly enjoys helping customers with all of their birding questions and needs.

Canadian-owned and operated, Urban Nature Store is an independent retailer that prides itself on being able to select just the best products for our customers. No head office pressure, just good quality, reasonably priced products that we use ourselves and that we believe in.

On the show, Jane discussed how to be successful at Winter Bird Feeding and why it is a good idea to feed the birds in the Winter.

The best type of food to buy for different birds and how by purchasing different varieties you can determine which birds visit your feeders.

We also chatted about the importance of water in the Winter for the birds. Yes, they can eat the snow but it is often not the best option for them. There are several options of electric bird baths available at Urban Nature Store. They will be happy to help you choose the best one.

In addition to some other great tips, Jane also highlighted the different types of feeders to use for the birds AND your budget.

Tune in to listen all about it.

All about Orchids on this episode of Down the Garden Path.

Manuela Poli, is an avid gardener, plant collector and she holds a Garden Design certificate from George Brown College. She is also a member of the Southern Ontario Orchid Society. ( S.O.O.S.).

Manuela joined us to talk about the Society and to discuss the upcoming Southern Ontario Orchid Society Show and Sale. It is taking place on February 10 & 11, 2018. It the largest Annual Public Orchid Show in Canada. It is being held at the Toronto Botanical Gardens.

Tune in to hear all that is happening at the show this year.

The Society's objectives are orchid & habitat conservation and education and each year the S.O.O.S. are able to contribute a large donation to support these causes.

Manuela also shared some wonderful tips regarding growing Orchids, we are sure there is a lot to learn during this show.

We get excited about Spring in this episode as we learn all about Canada Blooms.

Canada Blooms was founded in 1996 by the Garden Club of Toronto and Landscape Ontario. Today, it is the largest flower and garden festival in the country, celebrating the very best in Canadian gardening and floral design!

David Turnbull, the Horticultural Director of Canada Blooms joins us to talk about this annual event.

The theme for Canada Blooms 2018 is Let's Go to the Movies, which sounds like a theme that will allow for a lot of creativity by the garden designers, builders and floral designers.

We learn about the different gardens that will be featured. The popular and successful Front yard and Backyard display gardens return this year and new this year are Balcony display gardens.

David shares with us many more highlights for this year's show and even some behind the scenes details. Tune in for more all about Canada Blooms.

2018 Landscape Designers' Conference Recap

We welcome everyone back to our first show of 2018.

The previous week Matthew and I attended the 2018 Landscape Designer Conference in Toronto.

On this episode of Down the Garden Path, Matthew and I shared all about the Landscape Designer Conference. An annual conference that takes place in Toronto. It is then followed by 3 days for Landscape Ontario Congress, more workshops and a trade show for the industry.

We chatted about the Speakers for the day and what inspiration they left us with.

We also introduced a new segment to the show that we hope will be a hit. Down the Garden Path Design Dilemmas. Since we are both Landscape Designers we thought it would be nice to help others with their " Design Dilemma's" on the show. Feel free to email us your dilemma and you can even include a picture.

[email protected] is the email for when we are in the studio otherwise you can get in touch:

Twitter: @joanneshaw_d2e and @nataffinity

Instagram: @joanneshaw_d2e and @naturalaffinitydesigns

Facebook : http://bit.ly/Down2EarthPage

I hope you enjoy my interview with Landscape Architect and Author Jan Johnsen.

Jan Johnsen is a highly regarded landscape designer, author and teacher with a passion for plants and beautiful gardens. In her book, "Heaven is a Garden - Designing Serene Outdoor Spaces for Inspiration and Reflection', she draws on ancient traditions and modern trends to reveal the deep connection between the natural world and our emotions. An advocate of the transformational power of Nature upon our well-being, she is an award-winning instructor at the New York Botanical Garden and writes the popular blog, "Serenity in the Garden." She is a co-principal of the design/build firm, Johnsen Landscapes & Pools, in Westchester County, New York.

Are you tired of decorating with artificial greens for the holidays? No storage space for all the decorations the other 11 months of the year? Well, there is a lot of Christmas holiday decorating you can do with live plants and live plant material, like evergreen boughs and shrub branches.

On this episode Matthew and I discuss decorating with a variety of holiday plants:

Pointsettia

Amaryllis

Christmas Cactus

Norfolk Pine

In addition to adding holiday decorating to your space all of these plants are excellent for gift giving.

We discussed best practices to successfully bring evergreen boughs inside for decorating your:

- Mantle

- Staircase banister

- Table centrepiece

Why sometimes it is better to purchase a centrepiece from a florist for even more longevity

Then we shared tips for your outdoor urns like using Wilt-pruf and reasons why we no longer use oasis for our outdoor urns.

Thanks to the listeners that wrote in during our show. I know they were sad to hear this was the last show of the season but we are looking forward to being back with even more great shows on Jan 22, 2018.

This episode of Down the Garden path is all about Everlasting vs Real Christmas trees, Matthew talks all about it with our station manager, Gary. They have a great time discussing the pros and cons of Everlasting or Artificial Christmas trees vs purchasing a Real Christmas tree.

Everlasting ones have come along way in how they look and the varieties available. But if the environmental aspect is important to you then you will learn why going with a Real tree IS more sustainable and environmentally friendly. Listen in to find out why along with a few other interesting tidbits.