This week on the Down the Garden Path podcast, landscape designers Matthew Dressing and Joanne Shaw are joined by Mary Phillips, Head of Garden for Wildlife™ at the National Wildlife Federation. Mary discusses the Federation's wonderful initiatives and shares how we can play a part in growing a bright future for the monarch butterfly and many other iconic native wildlife species.

About Mary Phillips

For eight years, Mary has led Garden for Wildlife™ and Certified Wildlife Habitat® as an ambassador for native plants. Her work ensures all habitat programs and resources are rooted in sustainable practices and the latest science. Since 1977, Garden for Wildlife has been the nation’s oldest and largest Backyard Habitat program generating and supporting millions of wildlife gardeners in North America.

Most recently, Mary helped launch the Garden for Wildlife Native Plants Collection™. The goal of this social enterprise is to increase the native plant supply, reduce carbon impacts, and secure the survival of iconic species, such as the monarch butterfly, native bees, and songbirds. The pilot launch in 2021, resulted in over 4,000 native plant collections sold in five months, 237,000 sq ft. of new garden habitat.

Join Joanne and Matt as they welcome Mary Phillips, Head of Garden for Wildlife™ at the National Wildlife Federation.

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

• Tell us more about the Garden for Wildlife organization.
  • Can you describe the different habitat programs you have?
  • What are your native plant collections?
  • There are so many native plants which are not available to gardeners and the public. How is the Garden for Wildlife Native Plants Collection™ increasing the native plant supply?
  • How do you know which collection is right for you?
  • Can you describe how someone’s garden becomes a Certified Wildlife Habitat?  Can Canadians get certified?
  • Do you ship to Canada?
  • Do you sell seeds?
• Monarch butterflies
  • What makes a species iconic?
  • Can you share with us what is happening with the monarch? Why are they getting so much attention this summer?
  • What should we all know about the life cycle of the monarch?
  • There is so much we can be doing to restore the native habitats for monarchs and other native wildlife populations. If we could do one thing after the show to help monarchs, what would you recommend?
• How do we get involved with native plants?
• Do you work with any Canadian wildlife organizations?
• What are some of the resources listeners can find on your website?
•  Is there anything you’d like to bring to the attention of our listeners?

Find Garden for Wildlife™ online: Website: www.gardenforwildlife.com Facebook: @gardenforwildlife Twitter: @garden4wildlife Instagram: @gardenforwildlife Pinterest: @gardenforwildlife TikTok: @gardenforwildlife

Find National Wildlife Federation™ online: Website: www.nwf.org Facebook: @nationalwildlife Twitter: @nwf Instagram: @nationalwildlife Pinterest: @nwfpins YouTube: @nationalwildlife

Other resources discussed: Canadian Wildlife Foundation – Similar Canadian Resources. www.invasivespeciescentre.ca – Dog Strangling Vine information. www.monarchjointventure.org

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.