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Is your garden soil giving your plants everything they need to thrive? Last November, Joanne welcomed Amy Ellard-Gray to the podcast to explore why soil testing is one of the smartest steps you can take toward a healthier garden. Discover how understanding your soil can help you solve plant problems, avoid costly mistakes and take the guesswork out of gardening.  About Amy Amy runs The Hobby Homestead in suburban Guelph, where she cultivates over 100 varieties of native plants to support the local ecosystem. Through her YouTube channel, Instagram, website, and in-person consultations, she helps people design and troubleshoot their own food-growing spaces. Her mantra, "growing food in harmony with nature," guides everything she does, from tending soil life to welcoming wildlife into the garden. Topics discussed in this episode: Understanding Your Soil: Why Testing Matters: Amy and Joanne discuss why healthy gardens start with healthy soil and explore the benefits of professional soil testing. Building Healthy Soil for Better Gardening Results: From choosing quality triple mix to using compost, mulch and organic matter, Joanne and Amy share practical ways to improve soil health. They also discuss raised beds, container gardening, crop rotation and how working with nature can create healthier, more productive gardens with less maintenance. Growing More Food in Small Spaces: Amy explains how thoughtful planning, good soil and sustainable gardening practices can help homeowners grow more food, even in smaller yards, raised beds and containers. Find The Hobby Homestead at www.thehobbyhomestead.com and on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Resources Mentioned in the Show: Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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 owner of Down2Earth Landscape Design, Joanne Shaw has designed 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.

Have you ever wished you could save your favourite annuals instead of replacing them every spring? In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw shares three ways to save your annuals, from bringing entire plants indoors to growing new plants from cuttings and storing dormant tubers. Learn which methods work best for popular plants like coleus, geraniums, begonias and million bells, along with practical tips for keeping them healthy through the winter. It's a great way to stretch your gardening budget and give some of your favourite plants a second season. Topics discussed: How to Save Your Annuals Over the Winter Many annuals can survive the winter indoors and grow again next spring. Joanne explains how to bring plants inside, prepare them for dormancy and care for them through the colder months. Three Methods for Overwintering Annuals Learn how to save annuals by keeping the whole plant indoors, propagating new plants from cuttings or storing dormant tubers and bulbs. Discover which methods work best for plants such as coleus, geraniums, begonias, million bells and cigar plants. Save Money and Grow More Plants Next Spring Overwintering annuals can help reduce gardening costs while giving you more plants to enjoy or share. Get practical tips for managing light, watering, humidity and temperature. Resources Mentioned in the Show: Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden h3>Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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.

Is October really the time to cut everything back and put the garden to bed? Not necessarily. In this episode, we've gathered some of Joanne's best tips for October in the garden. She shares why October can actually be one of the easiest months, with just a few simple tasks to focus on and plenty you can leave alone. Here are some of the topics discussed in this episode: Do less this fall: There's no need for a major fall cleanup. Most perennials can be left standing, leaf litter can remain, and spent plant material provides a winter habitat for beneficial insects. Prepare for next year: October is a good time to assess the garden, take photos, identify gaps, water newly planted trees and shrubs deeply, mulch fallen leaves into the lawn, and plant garlic. Bulbs and lawn care: Discover why you should buy spring bulbs now but wait until late October or November to plant them. Learn more about fall lawn care, including reseeding, leaving grass taller, fertilizing and dealing with weeds. 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. Are you a landscape or gardening expert? We'd love to have you on the show! Click here to learn more. Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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.

Not sure what to do with your roses this fall? This week on Down the Garden Path, Joanne is joined by master gardener and author Cauleen Viscoff to talk about making rose care a little less intimidating. They cover fall rose care, winter preparation, planting and moving roses, climbing roses, common pests and, of course, pruning. Cauleen also shares the story behind her upcoming book, Pruning Roses: From Mystery to Mastery, and why understanding how a rose grows is the key to knowing how to prune it. Here are some of the topics discussed in this episode: Fall Rose Care and Winter Preparation: Why fall is not the time for major pruning, how mulch can help, when winter protection is actually necessary, and why choosing hardy roses suited to your zone makes a big difference. Choosing, Planting and Growing Roses Successfully: Learn more about hardy shrub roses, carpet roses, hybrid teas and climbing roses, including companion planting, moving roses in fall, proper watering and how to train climbing roses for better flowering. Taking the Mystery Out of Rose Pruning: Cauleen explains how learning the different growth habits of roses makes pruning much easier and shares how her own sketches became the foundation for her upcoming book and pruning reference cards. To learn more about Cauleen and her upcoming book, visit lush-gardens.com. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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.

Have you considered adding native ornamental grasses to your garden? They're often overlooked but add colour, texture, and movement while providing food and shelter for birds and other wildlife. This week on the podcast, Joanne takes a closer look at a few standout varieties that can bring interest to the garden well beyond the summer months. Some of the topics covered in this week's episode: Why Native Ornamental Grasses Belong in the Garden How native grasses add structure, movement and seasonal interest while also providing food and shelter for birds and other wildlife. Big Bluestem, Little Bluestem and Their Cultivars Joanne compares these native grasses and highlights varieties such as Standing Ovation, Blackhawks and Red October, including their size, colour and growth habits. Getting More Seasonal Value from Ornamental Grasses Leave grasses standing through fall and winter for visual interest, wildlife benefits, and stronger garden structure. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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.

Looking for a hydrangea that gives you plenty of colour without taking over your garden? This week on the podcast, Joanne shares three dwarf hydrangeas she has grown in her own garden: Fire Light Tidbit®, Little Lime Punch® and Invincibelle Limetta®. She looks at how each one grows, where it performs best, and why these smaller varieties can be such a good fit for today's gardens and smaller spaces. Some of the topics covered in this week's episode: Three dwarf hydrangeas for smaller gardens: Fire Light Tidbit®, Little Lime Punch® and Invincibelle Limetta®  offer long-lasting blooms and strong garden impact without taking over the space. Choosing the right dwarf hydrangea for your conditions: Joanne compares the size, colour, bloom style, sunlight needs and growth habits of each variety, helping gardeners understand where each dwarf hydrangea is likely to perform best.  Using dwarf hydrangeas in your garden design: Learn how smaller hydrangea varieties can work in perennial beds, shade gardens, mass plantings and compact landscapes, making them a versatile option for townhouses, newer homes and gardens where space is limited. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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.

Wondering what you can still get done in the garden before the season wraps up? This week on Down the Garden Path, Joanne explains why fall is still a great time to add compost, plant new perennials, divide and move existing plants, and even start a brand-new garden bed. She also shares an easy, low-maintenance way to create a new garden using cardboard, compost and mulch so you can be ready to plant when spring arrives. Some of the topics covered in this week's episode: It is not too late to add compost or soil to your garden. Organic material is best. You probably have enough soil, and if you want to increase the volume or improve the soil, adding compost or manure is best. It is not too late to plant new plants. You can safely add plants to your garden until the end of October. It is not too late to move your existing plants or to divide plants and relocate them in your garden. Peonies especially prefer to be transplanted in the fall, and it just makes sense for spring-blooming plants so that you don't miss out on the blooms. It is not too late to start a new garden. Removing sod, adding triple mix plus more compost, then adding the plants really gets you ahead for next year. And if you don't want to remove the sod, consider Hellstrip (aka lasagna) gardening. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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, along with their combined experience 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.

Thinking of buying mums for your fall garden? In this encore episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne reviews the pros and cons of fall mums and shares why asters may be the better choice. Some of the topics covered in this week's episode: The pros and cons of fall mums: While mums are incredibly popular for fall colour, they can be higher maintenance than people expect, especially when planted in the garden or purchased too early in the season. Asters as a better long-term fall garden choice: Consider asters as a perennial alternative that can return year after year, bloom late into the season, and work in a range of garden conditions. Supporting pollinators with late-season plants: Asters provide important late-season food for bees and butterflies and serve as host plants for many caterpillars, which in turn support birds and the wider garden ecosystem. 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. Are you a landscape or gardening expert? We'd love to have you on the show! Click here to learn more. Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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, along with their combined experience helping others create and maintain thriving gardens, into one easy-to-read monthly reference guide. Get your copy 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.

Late August and early September are important times for migrating butterflies like monarchs, swallowtails, and painted ladies, and the plants in our gardens can make a real difference. This week, Joanne shares simple ways to support butterflies by providing the right host and nectar plants, even if you only have a small garden, a patio, or a few containers. Some of the topics covered in this week's episode: Host plants are just as important as nectar plants: Learn the difference between plants butterflies feed from and the specific host plants they need for laying eggs and feeding caterpillars. Late summer is an important time to support migrating butterflies: The garden season may feel like it is winding down, but late-August and early-September butterflies still need reliable food sources before migration. A butterfly-friendly garden is part of a healthier, more biodiverse garden: Reducing harsh chemical use — and tolerating some caterpillar feeding — will help create a diverse garden that supports butterflies, other beneficial insects and ultimately birds as well. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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.

Looking for something beyond hostas for your shade garden? This week, Joanne shares three standout shade-loving perennials that bring height, texture, colour, and serious foliage interest to darker garden spaces. Some of the topics covered in this week's episode: Adding height and structure to a shade garden: Larger perennials like Sun King Aralia, Bugbane, and Rodgersia can give a shade garden the height and presence of shrubs while still dying back as perennials each winter. They work especially well behind hostas, groundcovers, and other lower-growing shade plants. Using foliage, not flowers, to create impact: The real appeal of these plants is their foliage: chartreuse, burgundy, large tropical-looking leaves, different textures, and contrasting shapes. These are plants you choose primarily for their leaves and the visual interest they bring to darker areas of the garden. Creating a shade garden that changes through the season: These later-emerging plants can take over visually after early-season favourites such as bleeding hearts and columbine begin to fade. This creates a more intentional transition through spring and summer rather than leaving gaps once early perennials are finished. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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.

Does your August garden need a fresh burst of colour? In this episode, Joanne shares three of her favourite white perennials for sunny spaces that add contrast, brighten the garden at dusk and keep blooming well into fall. Some of the topics covered in this week's episode: White perennials bring late-season impact White flowers brighten an August garden, create contrast against darker foliage and remain visible at dusk. They can also fill visual gaps after spring and early-summer plants finish blooming. Three reliable perennials for sun 'David' tall garden phlox: tall, sturdy and mildew-resistant White Wands Veronica: compact, long-blooming and pollinator-friendly Calamintha nepeta: softly mounded, fragrant, pollinator attracting and resistant to deer and rabbits August is not too late to plant You can keep adding perennials through late summer. Even when plants are not displayed at garden centres, customers may be able to order fresh stock through the perennial manager, a grower or a landscape professional. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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.

What does your garden need this August? After the heat and stress of July, many lawns, containers, vegetables, shrubs and trees could use a little extra attention. In this episode, Joanne shares practical advice for watering, pruning, feeding and refreshing your garden while preparing for the season ahead. Some of the topics covered in this week's episode: Reviving and maintaining a heat-stressed garden Learn the importance of deep watering, replenishing depleted soil, removing damaged growth, monitoring for mildew and pests, and recognizing when plants need attention rather than replacement. August maintenance Get practical advice for refreshing herbs, succession planting cool-season vegetables, trimming tired annuals, controlling crabgrass, pruning shrubs properly and avoiding lawn fertilizer during dormancy. Preparing for fall while still enjoying summer August is both a maintenance month and a planning month. It's time to start researching fall bulbs and garlic, identify gaps for late-season plants, and photograph your garden for future planning. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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.

In this mid-summer tips episode, Joanne answers some commonly asked questions about managing your lawn and garden. Some of the topics covered: Practical mid-season planting advice:
You can still plant trees, shrubs, and perennials in July, provided they are watered consistently. When purchasing discounted plants, check the roots rather than judging them by their above-soil appearance. Managing common summer garden problems:
 Learn more about Japanese beetles and crabgrass, including how to properly position beetle traps, interrupt the beetles' life cycle, remove crabgrass before it sets seed, and avoid spreading weed seeds while mowing. Choosing native plants thoughtfully: Add native plants gradually and intentionally rather than removing healthy, established non-native plants. Choose the right plant for the right location while considering pollinator value, growing conditions, and how aggressively a plant may spread. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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.

Wondering what to do in your garden in July? This week on the podcast, Joanne reviews the essential July garden tasks every gardener should know, including deadheading, weeding, pest control, smart watering, and summer lawn and vegetable care. Some of the topics covered in this week's episode: July garden maintenance: The cooler spring, heavy rain, and sudden heat have left many gardens behind schedule, with some plants blooming weeks later than usual. Gardens will catch up, so focus on practical July tasks like deadheading, cutting back perennials, and staying on top of weeds. Managing perennials, shrubs, evergreens, and pests wisely:
Do you know what to prune, what not to prune, and when to act? Joanne explains deadheading for second blooms, the Chelsea chop for tall/floppy perennials, careful handling of spring-blooming shrubs, and pest control tips for box tree moth and Japanese beetles. Watering, lawn care, and easy edible gardening in July: Fast, heavy rain does not always soak into the soil, so gardeners still need to check moisture levels, especially around new or expensive plantings. Let lawns grow longer in hot weather, and if you want to try growing vegetables, Joanne suggests easy vegetables like lettuce, cherry tomatoes, hot peppers, and potatoes. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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.

Peony season may be over, but there's still plenty to learn about these garden favourites. In this episode, Joanne explores the different types of peonies and explains what makes each one unique. She also shares practical tips for planting, supporting, deadheading, and caring for your peonies so they return beautifully year after year. Some of the topics covered in this week's episode: The three types of peonies: Learn the differences between herbaceous peonies, tree peonies, and Itoh/intersectional peonies, including how they grow, bloom, and how deeply each type should be planted.  Planting, moving, and caring for peonies: Discover the best practices for proper planting depth, fall transplanting, careful handling of the roots, watering deeply, and avoiding burying the crown with soil or mulch. Post-bloom peony care and support: Joanne explains what to do after peonies finish blooming, including deadheading, choosing proper supports for herbaceous peonies, and helping the plant put energy back into its roots for next year. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. 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.