Welcome back to season 11 of Down the Garden Path podcast! After a winter hiatus, landscape designer Joanne Shaw is excited to kick off a new podcast season revisiting new topics and old favourites while gaining valuable wisdom and advice from industry experts.

Here are some of the topics covered in this episode:

• Plans for the new season, including interviews with experts and authors in the landscape and horticulture industry
• Her recent experiences at the Landscape Designers Conference and Landscape Ontario Congress:
  • At the Landscape Designer Conference, keynote speaker Dr. Allan Armitage, a professor from Atlanta, spoke about transforming chaos into contentment.
  • This concept of transforming a chaotic outdoor space into a contented and enjoyable environment emphasizes the importance of curb appeal and year-round outdoor enjoyment.
• During the Landscape Ontario Congress, Joanne attended a talk by OMAFRA, (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs) that discussed the impact of the box tree moth on the boxwood industry including prevention methods and treatment options:
  • It has spread across most of Ontario and Quebec since its first sighting in 2017 and has caused significant damage to boxwood plants.
  • While efforts to contain the moth have been unsuccessful in the east, they have managed to prevent its spread to Western Canada.
  • Joanne discusses potential remedies, including using a bacterial spray (Btk) but notes that frequent application is necessary due to the moth's voracious appetite.

Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss?

Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect via her website at down2earth.ca

Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast.

Resources mentioned during the show

Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden

What's Wrong With Your Boxwood?

Down the Garden Path Podcast

On Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designer Joanne Shaw discusses 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. She does her best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible. 

In Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and fellow landscape designer Matthew Dressing 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. Get your copy today on Amazon.

Don't forget to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe! You can now catch the podcast on YouTube.