This week on the Down the Garden Path podcast, landscape designers Matthew Dressing and Joanne Shaw are joined by Bob Osborne, author of Hardy Apples: Growing Apples in Cold Climates, to talk about how to select, grow, and care for our apple trees in cold climates.

For over a decade, the gardening world has seen the continuous rise in popularity of growing your own food and food security. One of the most popular plants of this growing movement are apple trees, and if you live in the northern part of the country where winters can be long and unforgiving, hardiness is just as important as flavour.

About Bob Osborne

Bob Osborne owns Corn Hill Nursery in New Brunswick, Canada. He is a gardening author, a columnist on CBC Radio and a member of several horticultural organizations.

Join Joanne and Matt as they welcome Bob Osborne, author of Hardy Apples: Growing Apples in Cold Climates.

Here are some of the questions and topics covered in this episode:

• Tell us a bit about your background as a gardener.
• How did you start Corn Hill Nurseries?
• How are apple trees produced for wholesale/retail?
• What are the top cultivars you recommend for first-time apple growers in northern climates?
• In your book, you have a note on taste.
  • Can you share that with us?
• When at the garden center, what should customers look for when purchasing an apple tree?
• What should customers consider before planting an apple tree?
• It's home and planted, now what?
  • How do we care for our apple tree?
• What are some of the common apple pests and diseases we'll see no matter where you're growing apples?
• In your dedication, you thank all the "apple explorers who are helping save countless cultivars from oblivion."
  • Can you tell us more about those efforts?

Find Bob Osborne online: Website: www.cornhillnursery.com Facebook: @cornhillnursery Instagram: @cornhillnursery

His book, Hardy Apples: Growing Apples in Cold Climates, is available for purchase on Amazon and Indigo.

Down the Garden Path Podcast

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. A horticulturist and landscape designer, Matthew Dressing owns Natural Affinity Garden Design, a landscape design and garden maintenance firm servicing Toronto and the Eastern GTA. Together, they do their best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible.

In their new book, Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and Matthew distill their horticultural and design expertise and their combined experiences in helping others create and maintain thriving gardens into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. It's now available on Amazon.