Canada's Local Gardener Podcast

Artist and gardener Terrie Shaw has spent more than a decade journaling in words and watercolours. In her new book, Garden Journey , she captures not just the look of her Sherwood Park garden, but the feeling of it: the hum of bees around her grapevine café, the rich colours of calendula and sorrel, and the laughter of her grandchildren inventing stories around a mysterious purple door in the yard...

In this episode, Shauna sits down with Ryan Statham, arborist with the Davey Tree Expert Company, for a deep and practical look at the state of our trees in a time of rapid climate change. They start by talking about the difference between climate and weather, and how extreme swings—like sudden jumps from freezing to 30°C—are becoming more common across Canada. Ryan shares recent examples from Ont...

How annuals make it to your garden What makes one petunia thrive all summer long while another fizzles out? Why are certain plants chosen to become the season’s top sellers? In this episode of the CLG Podcast from Canada’s Local Gardener , host Shauna Dobbie speaks with Glenn Andersen of Nordic Nurseries — the exclusive Proven Winners annuals propagator for Western Canada — to uncover the journey...

Faced with the very arduous task of building a new gardening bed, Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, turns to veteran gardener Ian Leatt to hear about his experiences. In addition to being a long-time grower of vegetables and flowers, Ian is the president of Pegasus Publications, the company that publishes Canada’s Local Gardener. Support the show

It is seed starting time across Canada. From March through June, depending on where your garden is, you may be starting seeds indoors and out. Kevin Twomey, former owner of T and T Seeds in Winnipeg, has grown vegetables and flowers from seeds throughout his life. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener print magazine, is preparing to put in her first full-sized vegetable garden this year...

For many gardeners, power tools sound like something their partner or friend would be more interested in. But at some point, even the luddite might be interested in getting jobs done faster and with less pain, if a little more noise. Kris Kiser is the president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) in the United States. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener print magaz...

Did you know that you can give too much compost to your garden? Also, there isn’t a “best” fertilizer for tomatoes or roses or trees. Robert Pavlis is a garden writer, speaker and educator with a background in science. He lives in Guelph, Ontario and gardens at his six-acre home called Aspen Grove Gardens. He has published a handful of books and maintains two websites, gardenmyths.com and gardenfu...

Every year, growers, distributors and hybridizers of plants work on new species, and every year some of those new species make it to the market. New shrubs, flowers and vegetables come out with slight improvements and other distinguishing characteristics over the ones that have come before.  Support the show

Since 2002, Canada has been watching the emerald ash borer kill our native ash trees, starting in Ontario and moving east and west from there. Ryan Statham, the District Manager for Davey Tree in Strathroy, Ontario, is on the front lines of the battle against this beetle. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, talks to Ryan about the fight and about how we can deal with emerald...

Strawberries and raspberries have been growing in gardens across Canada since we became a country. Haskaps, sea buckthorn and ground cherries are more recent introductions for many of us. All of them and more are covered in the book Prairie Gardener’s Guide to Growing Fruit by Sheryl Normandeau and Janet Melrose. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, talks to Sheryl and Janet...

The Edible Flower is a thick book with gorgeous photos. Erin and Jo write about how to grow edible flowers (that’s Jo’s department) and how to use them for cooking (Erin’s). Erin always hoped to write books because she loves them, so when she became a cook (a title she prefers to chef) she knew she wanted to write a cookbook. She uses flower petals in salads, but also in a larger way in recipes li...

Given that Earth is getting warmer rapidly, what is the consequence for trees? This is a concern for Davey Tree experts Dan Herms, Vice President of Research, and Joe Steinfeld, who works in Urban Forestry and Arboriculture in the Toronto office. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, spoke with both of them about the state of trees today and what is coming in the near future....

orget about oceans of calamine lotion, this is the real dirt on poison ivy and all of its kin. Susan Pell, executive director of the United States Botanic Garden. She did her PhD on members of the pistatchio family (Anacardiaceae), which includes the genus Toxicodendron , of which poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac are members. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, had a...

People of all ages become fascinated with the monarch butterfly when they learn about its long flight from Canada to Mexico in a single generation. Joan Harvey is a member of Monarch Teacher Network, and she joined Master Gardener Julianne Labreche in an event called Meet the Monarch last summer. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, chats with the two about the life cycle of...

Mario Doiron is a modern homesteader in New Brunswick who raises fowl and grows vegetables on a small farm. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, talks with him about how he grow vegetables and what gardeners can do to maximize their efforts and save money. Support the show

Bamboo is a kind of plant in the grass family (Poaceae) with over 100 genera. Most of them are tropical, but a few will survive and even thrive in Canada. Garry Hedberg and his wife Brenda had several clumps of them growing in South Surrey, in the Vancouver area, some as tall as 60 feet. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, talks to Garry about his experience growing this pla...

Dorothy Dobbie is the originator of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, a former Member of Parliament, President of the International Peace Gardens on the border of Manitoba and North Dakota... Support the show

Darryl Cheng is an industrial engineer who became interested in houseplants a few years ago. He would do time-lapse videos of his plants on social media, and that led to a huge Instagram following and book deals, including his popular book The New Plant Parent.  Support the show

Mehdi Sharifi is a research scientist at the Summerland Research Station in British Columbia and Dana Johnson was a research assistant there who was partially responsible for developing the first federal Indigenous Demonstration Garden at the site. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, talked to them both about planning and instituting the garden. Support the show

Greg Auton is a garden writer and podcaster from Nova Scotia who grows hundreds of garlic plants every year. Although he is a very prolific writer, has a family of four and maintains a 2500-square foot vegetable garden, these are things he does in his spare time, when he is not working as a civil servant.  Support the show

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Bob Osborne is a grower of apple trees in New Brunswick and he has recently published Hardy Apples: Growing Apples in Cold Climates. This book tells you not only all about how apples grow and how you can encourage them, but also talks about over 90 cultivars of apples that are hardy to Zones 2, 3 and 4, which means that most Canadian gardeners will be able to grow at least a few.  Support the show

Shauna and Dorothy talk to Stephanie Rose about her new book, The Regenerative Garden. The book beautifully covers 80 projects in developing your self-sustaining garden ecosystem. Stephanie lives in Vancouver, and Shauna and Dorothy had the pleasure of visiting her last summer to take pictures of her garden for a story in the Fall 2021 issue of Canada’s Local Gardener. Click here to read more. Sup...

Lisa Steele of the website Fresh Eggs Daily visit with Dorothy and Shauna Dobbie to talk about gardening with chickens. Lisa is a 5th-generation chicken farmer now located in Maine and she has recently released a book of egg-forward recipes that anyone who can eat eggs will swoon over. For more info, click here. Support the show

Wildflowers nourish bees and other pollinators Kelly Leask of Prairie Originals tells us. They attract butterflies and help the natural ecosystem flourish among the exotics we plant in our gardens. Not only that, but wildflowers and other native plants are beautiful.  Support the show