🎉 This month marks the 10th anniversary of Down the Garden Path! 10 seasons—over 400 episodes—of providing down-to-earth tips and advice for your plants, gardens, and landscapes!
🌿 And let’s not forget the incredible guests we’ve had the privilege of chatting with — experts and authors from various sectors of the horticulture and landscape industries.
🥂 Thank you for being part of this amazing journey! Here's to many more seasons of growing and learning together!
👉 Interested in becoming a guest on Down the Garden Path? We're now booking guests for our 11th season. Visit the link in our bio to sign up.
🪴 Have a topic you'd like to learn more about? Email [email protected].
How to Protect Your Newly Planted Japanese Maple This Winter
🍂 If you’ve planted a Japanese maple in the past few years, protecting it over the winter months is important, especially if it’s in a windy location.
Here’s how:
👉 Once the leaves have fallen, hammer in four stakes around your Japanese maple, 8 inches into the soil — like you’re building a fort.
👉 The branch tips of the Japanese Maple should not reach beyond the stakes.
👉 Starting at the top of one of the stakes, secure the burlap firmly at the top of the stake with zip ties or a staple gun.
👉 Move from stake to stake building the walls of your “fort” around your Japanese maple.
👉 When you reach the ground with your burlap, leave a 6 to 8-inch flare on the soil surface.
👉 As this flare absorbs water, it will freeze to the ground, preventing mice and other animals from entering the barrier and feeding on the bark.
👉 Keep watering newly planted Japanese maples, trees, and shrubs, once a week to the depth of the planting hole and until the ground freezes solid.
Find more tips for your lawn and garden in “Down The Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden” by Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing. Available on Amazon 👉 https://amzn.to/3U1V1Rv
Don't put your sprinkler away just yet. We have had a warm and dry Fall so far. Your gardens, shrubs and trees need some water as they start to go dormant. New gardens and plants especially. And any evergreens you may have will benefit from a good watering this week.
New evergreens will need to be watered until the ground freezes.
Let me know if you have any questions.
🌿 I've had a lot of people ask me recently for tips on bringing ferns inside to overwinter.
Here are the steps I follow to ensure success:
👉 Water the fern well using your hose’s shower setting. Spray the top and bottom of leaves to get off any bugs.
👉 Spray with water and a drop of dish soap if there are still bugs present.
👉 To ease the transition, bring your fern inside when the temperatures outside are about the same as they are inside.
👉 Place inside by bright diffused light and away from heat vents and fireplaces.
👉 Don't worry, the fern may drop some leaves but be patient.
👉 Water when dry.
Find more tips for your lawn and garden in “Down The Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden." Available on Amazon.
A bit more of my garden including my new dwarf mockorange. I planted them last year. Look at those blooms! 3/3.
Joanne Shaw #gardendesign
A bit more of my garden along the curb of my corner property. 2/3
Here are a few peeks of garden at the beginning of June. 1/3
