The Growing Season

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. 

Are you sneezing with bloodshot eyes and a swollen mess? 

Yup. It’s that time of year. Seasonal allergies running rampant ruining your routine regularly.

Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland discuss all things pollen on this week’s episode of The Growing Season.

Jack and Lynne discuss the absolute monster of a bald faced hornets nest that has appeared in one of their trees.

What are the different methods of pollination?  How are tropical plants pollinated? 

The most heavy duty pollinating plants are explored and the timeframes when they seek to procreate are highlighted.

What’s pollinating right now?

Matt recounts a lilac story that resulted in some hard feelings between his client and a neighbour.

Will climate change effect pollination? What are the heavy hitters of pollination?

Pine pollination is highlighted. It’s an interesting activity.

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. 

We’ll that’s a laborious undertaking.

Horticultural construction can be a tiring but rewarding endeavour.

Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland celebrate Labour Day by discussing some of the ways they make professional horticulture easier.

Jack discusses the differences between how a jobsite was run in the 1970’s compared to now.

Matt dives deep into how he makes pruning easier for his clientele after they’ve had their property upgraded by The Growing Season.

“Tuning their pruning…”

Can you use animals feces as fertilizer?

Matt talks about why he’s implemented using a toolbelt on-site.

Is there any way to make mulching flower beds easier?  There is and Matt outlines how he does it.

How to reduce your cleanup after cutting your lawn quicker comes into focus. Matt tells a story about a rock and a Mercedes.

Interlock patio hacks. Yup we have those as well! 

How do you get stains off of landscape pavers?  The trio discuss.

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. 

The days are getting shorter.  The nights are getting cooler.

Its August, but that doesn't mean that the growing season is over.

Speaking of The Growing Season, Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland touch on the all stars of August on this week's show.

BUT FIRST:  We have officially survived the rainiest summer on record in the GTA.  Yeah. It’s been that rainy. We’ve over doubled our average rainfall for the months of June to August, pummelling the old record into oblivion.

Biologically, how does all this rain effect your plant materials? It’s surprising what they do to deal with all this water.

Speaking of plants, Rozanne perennial geranium, phlox, coneflower, black eyed Susie and many more are chatted about.

Cheyenne Spirit Coneflower for the win!   

Matt chastises Jack about his antiquated attitude regarding Russian Sage.

If you’ve never used Sedum you may want to join the fan club after this show.

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.
 

We’re seeing red! 

The TGS Colour Series continues its colourful journey on this week’s episode of The Growing Season.

Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland highlight all things red and horticultural.

Roses feature prominently to the surprise of no one. Matt discusses some of the rules he’s set up for himself with regards to roses.

There are supposedly “indestructible” roses. Is that true?  We highlight it.

Do the pollinators see red? How about hummingbirds?  The McFarland’s suggest plant materials that will attract your polliniferous pals.

Japanese quince, honeysuckle, and DOGWOOD.

Many dogwood have the most glorious red bark that look glorious in the winter months.

With the topic being “red” the trio discuss tomatoes and the blossom end rot affecting many of the tomatoes growing across the GTA.

How do you battle blossom end rot?  Lynne discusses.

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. 

"The world is a wondrous place.

Filled with sights, sounds and imagination. 

Childhood innocence gives way to our adult realities. 

Do not adjust your podcast, join The Growing Season for strange, BUT true."

The Growing Season ventures into the wonderful world of weird and The McFarlands are on-board.

Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland offer some insight into an interesting idea that they came up with over the winter months. 

Ants, Tamarisk, Belladonna and Coal are all seemingly innocent parts of our lives but they all come with spoonfuls of strange. 

Its Unsolved Mysteries meets Nat Geo...

Are diamonds just an over compressed lump coal?

What is a salt cedar and why aren't they used any more?

Is there a vine/plant creeping around your flower bed that is capable of killing a human with its on-board defences?   Yes!  And you've seen this plant before.

Why are ants so prolific this year?

You'll come away learning some wonderful facts you can lay on your fellow campers whilst sitting around the fire...

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. 

Cue "Holiday Road" by Lindsay Buckingham...  You know the song - from the Vacation Movies.

I found out long ago
(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)
It's a long way down the Holiday Road
(Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh)

Holiday Road...
Holiday Road....

BUT THEN DISASTER STRIKES!

Mosquitos, wasps, hornets, ants, flys, poison ivy, poison sumac and poison oak are just some of the things that can ruin a rendezvous with Christie Brinkley in her Ferrari 308 GTS Quattrovalvole (WHAT. A. CAR!).

Jack, Lynne and Matt McFarland break down the horticultural hazards that can make your vacay go sideways on this week's episode of The Growing Season. 

Jack McFarland has completed his course of radiation and updates the listeners on his health. 

Spiders...AHHHHH.  Why are they necessary? 

How to rid yourself of wasps and mosquitos can be easy if you know what to do.   The trio outline the steps you need to take.

Can your pets get poison ivy AND can a human develop a tolerance to it?

The most deadly insect?  You'd be surprised to learn...

Do flys pollinate and what exactly is purpose of an ant?

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.