The Growing Season

Feeling sleepy?   

Well, its that time of year.   

Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland discuss putting your gardens to bed on this week's episode of The Growing Season. 

As they do every year, The McFarlands highlight some innovative ways to prep your horticultural spaces for the long sleep. 

Jack and Lynne have dealt with mouse issues recently.  Matt discusses the ways he helps clients to safe guard against mouse invasion.  The least you need to know?   Your AC and Furnace might be the cause of all the mice you're finding in your home.

Installing Christmas lights comes into focus.  Why do this now?  The trio explain.

Should you fertilize at this time of year. Jack outlines what fertilizers should be used during the month of November.

Leaves falling from trees and the trees that fall late and early becomes a discussion.  What to do with leaves that have blight or fungal infections...

Can't you just leave your leaves on the lawn and refrain from raking them up?   What does that do to the lawn?

"Heeling up is discussed." 

Tune in.

Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE.

What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE.

Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

Inspired by a recent job, The Growing Season dives into the ins and outs of "Courtyard Gardens."

What exactly is a Courtyard Garden?   What is the difference between a courtyard and a patio?   Are there similarities? 

The history of the courtyard its highlighted and Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland dive into their experiences with such spaces.

What plants are appropriate OR on-style for courtyard locations.  With sun and shade being considerations the trio dive into recommendations. 

With the garden being surrounded by walls how do you deal with the heat emanating from vertical barriers? 

Hardsape materials come into focus.  Are there drawbacks to specific paving materials.  Matt talks about paving design.

The impact of a small amount of grass becomes a topic of conversation.

Accent plants and unique trees creates moments of gush in The McFarlands.

Espaliers and courtyards have become synonymous.  Haven't heard of an espalier?   Lets change that.

Vines, vines and more vines...  Walls = vines!

Courtyard furniture selection and patio size are highlights. 

Tune in.

Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE.

What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE.

Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

Its the spookiest time of the year!

Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland dive into the horticultural aspects of Halloween. 

The history of the holiday, where it originated and why its still celebrated today kick the show off.

Pumpkins, beets and turnips have been used a jack-o-lanterns throughout the course of history.  A character named "Stingy Jack" is discussed. 

Can livestock eat the pumpkins after they are used on Halloween?

Sugar cane is a prominent plant material in Halloween's events.  The trio discuss.

Peanuts and how they grow are chatted about.  The query system is used to clarify the biology of the peanut plant.

Matt goes OFF THE RAILS when the discussion of artificial vanilla surfaces.  Its absolutely hilarious to hear how far he takes this episode of "Imagine If You Will."

Gum and its environmental impact are discussed. 

The heavy hitters in poisonous plants are highlighted.  Belladonna, mushrooms, yews, fall bulbs and many more topics of conversation. 

Tune in.

Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE.

What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE.

Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

Stay frosty…

Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland dive into the cold, hard facts about frost and it’s relation to the plants in your garden.

The Growing Season gets chilly.

What exactly is frost? The trio explain.

Does frost affect leaf drop on your deciduous plants?

High frost vs. low frost - the battle rages on.

Thickly leaved plants seem to tolerate frost. Ligularia, sedums and various hostas are known to be frost tolerant.

A simple sprinkler system might be the thing to delay frost damage. Mowing your lawn and frost. Is there a danger to your lawn if you’re mowing a frosty lawn?

Sheets and blankets are also used to protect against frost.

Bark thickness and cold temperatures is discussed. Specifically fruit trees.

Does frost affect plants that are blooming? Does frost affect blooms in similar ways to leaves?

Matt outlines how deciduous trees drop leaves.

Fall bulbs, garlic and winter wheat become a focus with relation to frost.

Tune in.

Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE.

What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE.

Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

Its a tough time of year to be a turkey!  BUT, its a wonderful time of year to be a tree!

Thanksgiving in Canada features prominently on this week's episode of The Growing Season. 

Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland dive into the history of Thanksgiving and why it is celebrated at different times in the Great White North.

Matt talks about the challenges of dressing his kids this time of year. Jack reminisces about this time last year.

Turkey families...How are the chicks parented?

Cranberries - why is the bog harvesting procedure necessary?

As they do on an annual basis, The McFarlands describe the processes involved with the trees leaves changing colour.   Why is it that the fall colour appears at the top of the tree first and then proceeds downwards?

Fog and grass seed are linked.

The FALL-stars as far as fall leaf colour are discussed.

Poplar, Linden, Red Maple, Burning Bush, Downey Serviceberry, Blueberries, Mountainash and many more horticultural organisms are a focus.

Birds eating fermented berries and becoming intoxicated!   Yup, you heard that right! 

Tune in.

Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE.

What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE.

Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

This episode of The Growing Season is brought to you from the bottom of a hole filled with fall bulbs. 

Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland guide this week's show into a colourful cornucopia of mums and bulbs. 

Chrysanthemums - the all-stars of this time of year but Matt argues that Asters are Asterlutely better.  Listen in to find out why.

Are the planting of bulbs and mums in fashion these days?   The McFarlands debate.

How do you choose a mum at the store? How are mums and poinsettias similar?

Mums and asters... From the same family?   

The challenges of keeping your fall planted bulbs safe from squirrels and rodents are discussed.  Matt chats about Ghostbusters.

Are bulbs more an annoyance when installing a landscape?   Matt yells.  The proper way to plant a fall planted bulb is discussed.

The types of tulips are discussed as is the required chill period necessary to make bulbs grow. 

Bulb blindness is an issue.  The McFarland's explain what and why.

Wear gloves when planting bulbs... We'll tell you why. 

Swiss Chalet... Its a topic.

Tune in.

Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE.

What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE.

Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.

It’s that time of year again.

The Growing Season celebrates 5 years on the airwaves by highlighting what they’ve learned over the last year in horticulture.

Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland discuss the weather.

Rain, rain, rain and more rain kick off the show. The GTA set records for precipitation this past summer so it’s fitting that precipitation is where we start.

Pasta. Matt talks about pasta. What?

Are cedars easy to transplant?  Not so much. Matt explains his thoughts on the subject.

What measures have those in control of flood mitigation taken to prevent catastrophe with regards to excessive water events?

Pavement doesn’t absorb water…

With all this rain, will grub infestations be on the rise?  The trio talk about nematodes and how to use them to fight grubs.

Ants, worms, mosquitoes and cockroaches come into focus.

Will it be a green Christmas this year?  The McFarlands use history to assess the chances.

Sustainable design comes up and Matt rants.

Colorado Blue Spruce and Austrian Pine are aging all over the GTA. 

Tune in.

Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE.

What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE.

Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE. 

Cottage season is drawing to a close, with many of us lamenting it’s exit.

BUT, that doesn’t mean we can’t squeeze the few final drops of cottaging into this week’s episode of The Growing Season.

Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland do an about face from last week’s affairs and dove into the colourful chaos of Country Cottage Gardens on this week’s episode of The Growing Season.

What is the difference between Japanese Gardens and Country Cottage Gardens? 

Are there tie-ins between English Gardens and Country Cottage Gardens?  Yup and we explore those connections.

Feel free to use a plethora of perennials in your Country Cottage Garden. The more stems the better as it lends to the chaos.

Can you use roses in a Country Cottage Garden and still be “on theme?”

Matt talks about an interesting technique he uses for rock that he’s applied to shrubs.

Native/pollinator plants are discussed.

Mind your neighbours - they might have a part to play in your landscape design choices. 

Tune in.

Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE.

What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE.

Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE. 

What in the Foo Dog is going on?

Things get serene on this week’s episode of The Growing Season when The McFarland’s focus on Japanese Gardens.

Jack, Lynne and Matt compare and contrast Japanese Gardens with Modern Gardens. You’d be surprised how much they have in common.

What are the elements that make up a Japanese Garden?

Statuary, evergreens, maples, rockery stone and wooden structures have all become popular links to the items you’d normally see in a Japanese garden.

Matt gets Miyagi.

Are Japanese Gardens maintenance heavy? You’d think they’d be light on the maintenance with the sparseness of their design and yet…

Gravel, a prominent feature in Japanese Gardens, becomes a subject of discussion.

Paving materials and shapes of pavers are discussed.

Tune in.

Looking to book a consult for your property?  We'd love to help.  CLICK HERE.

What is a TGS Tiny Garden? CLICK HERE.

Subscribe to The Growing Season podcast.  CLICK HERE.