Down The Garden Path Podcast

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 downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, 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 downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, 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 downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, 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 downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, 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 downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, 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.