Podcasts about garden path

In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw speaks with Barbara Pratt about the 29th annual Gardens of Uxbridge Tour, taking place this Saturday, June 21st, 2025, from 10 am to 5 pm. The Gardens of Uxbridge Tour On this self-guided driving tour around the Uxbridge countryside, participants view eight private residential gardens in both town and country settings. The gardens featured change every year and offer a variety of sizes, designs, unique plantings, and inspiration for your own garden. A charitable fundraiser, produced in partnership with The Lucy Maud Montgomery Society of Ontario, this tour benefits the local National Historic Site commemorating this Canadian author of Anne of Green Gables fame. Here are some of the topics discussed in this episode: Lucy Maud Montgomery Society  Barbara Pratt is one of the founding members of the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society Montgomery lived near Uxbridge for 15 years, and her journals were published in five volumes by Oxford University Press Gardens of Uxbridge Tour The annual Gardens of Uxbridge Tour is a major fundraiser for the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society of Ontario Barbara explained how the society restored the Leaskdale Manse, where Montgomery lived as a minister's wife, using her historical photographs to guide the restoration The tour, now in its 29th year, was originally run by Community Care in Uxbridge before being taken over by the society, which continues to maintain both the house and gardens to attract international visitors interested in Montgomery's life and work The tour focuses on showcasing personal and unique garden styles, overcoming obstacles, and providing inspiration for gardeners This year's tour will take place on June 21st, featuring eight gardens (4 in town and 4 in the countryside) that can be visited in a single day Participants receive a passport with a map and descriptions of the gardens, along with a list of interesting side trips, such as Richters Herbs in Goodwood Tickets must be purchased online at gardensofuxbridge.org, with all proceeds supporting local community projects This year, due to road construction, the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society will serve refreshments at Showbrook Gardens instead of the manse, where they will offer their signature tea and scones along with displays The tour will highlight various artists, including Linda Virio for encaustic painting, Daniella Boerhof for metal sculptures, and Anja Kooistra for fabric sculptures. Barbara discussed the upcoming two-day conference in Leaskdale dedicated to Lucy Maud Montgomery, which will attract attendees from around the world, including South Africa, the United States, Europe, and Japan. Lucy Maud Montgomery Summer Events Barbara discussed the Lucy Maud Montgomery Society's summer activities, including weekly Wednesday teas at the historic Leaskdale Church Learn more at LucyMaudMontgomery.ca. Get your tickets for this weekend's Gardens of Uxbridge Tour at www.gardensofuxbridge.org. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, 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 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.

When Micah Clasper-Torch first designed a coat using fabric which had been embellished with punch needlework, her passion was born. Moving from the intense world of fashion design in New York to a more laid back lifestyle in California, Micah embraced the craft of punch needle and ran with it. Her passion for the craft is infectious, so much so that she launched Punch Needle World, a platform to celebrate the art, craft and history of punch needle. Micah has taught thousands of people how to punch needle through online courses and has recently written a book about the craft sharing 15 designs merging fashion and punch needlework.In this episode you can hear Micah talk a little about the history of punch needle, how she is spreading her love of the craft and how she has merged her two passions of fashion and punch needle too.If you would like to find out more about Micah, you can find her website here and her Instagram account here.For full show notes for this episode, please visit this page on the Making Stitches Podcast website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw speaks with author Susan Poizner about her latest book, Fruit Tree Pruning: The Science and Art of Cultivating Healthy Fruit Trees.  About Susan Poizner Susan Poizner is an award-winning author, journalist, urban orchardist, and fruit tree care educator based in Toronto, Canada. She trains arborists, master gardeners, and community and home orchardists in fruit tree maintenance through in-person workshops, online courses, and webinars. Her books include Grow Fruit Trees Fast, Growing Urban Orchards, Fruit Tree Grafting for Everyone and Fruit Tree Pruning. Here are some of the topics discussed in this episode: Fruit Tree Pruning and Care Pruning techniques for both mature and newly planted fruit trees How to approach neglected trees Susan mentions her previous book on fruit tree grafting and discusses whether homeowners should be encouraged to plant fruit trees, given the maintenance involved. Planting a fruit tree is a long-term commitment Avoid impulse purchases at garden centres Research disease-resistant varieties suitable for your climate and order from specialist fruit tree nurseries Start with younger, bare-root trees that can be shaped through pruning rather than older potted trees The importance of proper site selection, ensuring full sun and space for root growth Susan recommends annual mulching with compost to nourish the tree and advises against planting other plants directly under the tree Pruning timing: wait a year for transplanted potted trees, but prune bare-root trees immediately upon planting in spring Fruit Tree Pruning Basics The importance of pruning fruit trees from the day they are planted The first three years of formative pruning are crucial for shaping the tree's structure Two main tree shapes: central leader (Christmas tree shape) and vase-shaped (goblet) Remove healthy branches to improve air circulation, sunlight penetration, and fruit quality Thin fruit to ensure better size and flavour For mature trees, focus on improving air circulation by removing congested branches, limiting removal to 20-25% of the living canopy per year Prune after blossom time to avoid disease spread and encourage the tree to invest energy in fruiting buds rather than new growth Fruit tree pruning is a DIY activity that anyone can learn, emphasizing that even arborists often lack specific training in fruit tree care Learn proper pruning techniques before hiring professionals Use the right tools, such as Japanese handsaws and pole pruners, and maintain them properly Conduct a soil test before planting fruit trees and use compost for regular feeding, with occasional foliar sprays like diluted blackstrap molasses to boost tree health Susan recommends a dormant spray of lime sulphur and dormant oil in early spring before bud break as a preventative measure against pests and diseases Fruit Tree Education and Community Fruit trees are generous, providing food for generations with a single planting Susan shares her experience at community cherry harvesting events Pests and critters: With proper planning, there's usually enough fruit for both humans and animals  Susan mentions her books on fruit tree care, including titles on pruning, fast-growing techniques, urban orchards, and grafting, which can be found on her website orchardpeople.com or on Amazon. Find Susan Poizner online at orchardpeople.com and Fruit Tree Pruning: The Science and Art of Cultivating Healthy Fruit Trees on Amazon. You can also check out her YouTube channel or listen to the Orchard People podcast. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, 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 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.

The 'Woven in Kirklees' textiles festival first launched in 2019 and is due to kick off for its 2025 edition this weekend. The community festival celebrates all kinds of textiles and related crafts with yarn bombs, textile art exhibitions, workshops and talks.The biennial festival runs for a whole month and this year will have 130 different events happening throughout June. Initiated in 2019 by Kirklees Council, the festival "is owned by everyone, including community groups, textile businesses, cultural and educational organisations, artists and heritage sites across the district".Among the attractions on offer this year is 'The Red Dress'. The Red Dress is an award winning collaborative embroidery project which was conceived by the British artist Kirstie Macleod. It took 14 years to complete and features the work of 380 embroiderers from 51 different countries, many of whom come from marginalised communities. The dress is currently in the middle of a global tour and will be on display for the whole of June at Oakwell Hall in Birstall.I caught up with the festival curator Nat Walton in the busy run up to this year's launch to find out more about what people can expect to see at this year's Woven.You can find out the full programme of events at the 'Woven in Kirklees' Festival on their website.For full show notes for this episode, please visit this page on the Making Stitches Podcast website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

This week, Joanne speaks with horticulturist and author Steven Biggs about his latest book, Grow Olives Where You Think You Can't: How to Grow an Olive Tree in a Pot.  About Steven Biggs Steven was recognized by Garden Making magazine as one of the “green gang” making a difference in Canadian horticulture. His home-garden experiments span driveway straw-bale gardens, a rooftop kitchen garden, fruit plantings, and an edible-themed front yard. He's a horticulturist, award-winning broadcaster and author, and former horticulture instructor with George Brown and Durham Colleges in Ontario, Canada. His books include Grow Lemons Where You Think You Can't, Growing Figs in Cold Climates, Grow Figs Where You Think You Can't, and No-Guff Gardening, available at foodgardenlife.com. Here are some of the topics discussed in this episode: Growing Olives in Cold Climates Olive trees are well-suited for cold climates They can live for hundreds of years Olive trees are available at garden centres Steven recommends the self-pollinating variety, Frantoio, for home gardens Can be used for screening or framing garden spaces Olive Tree Care in Containers Growing olive trees in pots: the importance of full sun, well-draining soil, and regular pruning for size control and fruit production You'll also need a simple all-purpose fertilizer and amending potting soil with garden loam and sand for added weight to prevent toppling Store potted olive trees in a cool, dark place over the winter to satisfy chill hours for flowering and fruiting Joanne noted that olive trees can be brought indoors as houseplants during the winter and taken outside in the spring after new growth has hardened off Olive Tree Care, Propagation and Pruning Steven shared his experience growing olive trees, including a method used by a Vancouver Island grower who protects his trees with horticultural fleece and Christmas lights during cold weather Olive trees can be propagated through cuttings, air layering, or by taking advantage of suckers that naturally develop at the base of the tree Olive trees are relatively easy to care for, but common issues include overwatering in winter, leading to root rot and letting the soil dry out in summer Steven's potting technique: root pruning every 3-4 years by lifting the tree from its 14-inch pot, trimming the roots, and replacing the soil Olive trees need bright light indoors and can be pruned to minimize alternate bearing, which causes heavy crops in one year followed by none the next Find Steven Biggs online at www.foodgardenlife.com and Grow Olives Where You Think You Can't on Amazon. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, 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 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.

This week on Down the Garden Path, Joanne discusses strategies to prevent a box tree moth infestation and explores the moth's continued impact on boxwoods in Durham Region. Here are some of the topics discussed in this episode: The impact of the box tree moth on boxwoods Its discovery in Ontario in 2018 and its recent appearance in Durham Region Box Tree Moth Life Cycle: The adult moth has a short lifespan of 14 days but is a strong flyer, making it challenging to control The challenges in controlling the pest are due to its rapid reproduction and ability to survive cold winters Presents a significant threat to boxwoods and may be here to stay Be aware of its presence and consider protective measures for your plants Inspect boxwood plants for signs of box tree moth infestation, including webbing, chewed leaves, and caterpillars Explore treatment options, focusing on the need to kill caterpillars at the appropriate stage The only current control method is biological, using BTK spray, which must be applied diligently from mid-May onwards, ensuring thorough coverage, including the undersides of leaves Avoid moving boxwood plants to new locations to prevent spreading the box tree moth Explore alternative plants such as yews, globe cedars, strongbox holly, Japanese pieris, dwarf hydrangeas, dwarf mock orange, or dwarf lilacs as replacements for boxwood. Focus on ornamental areas rather than hedges when replacing boxwoods Find more information about the box tree moth: Canadian Food Inspection Agency Landscape Ontario The Box Tree Moth in Southern Ontario What's Wrong with Your Boxwood? Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, 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 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.

When Rachael Mills took up crochet as a means to giving up smoking, little did she realise that it would one day lead to her making a Turner Prize winning doily! Last year, when the Glaswegian artist Jasleen Kaur was named the winner of the Turner Prize, crocheter Racheal was celebrating at home in Blackburn. I was thrilled when she agreed to come onto the podcast to share her side of this amazing story.Rachael's first creative job was piece work sewing at a bridal gown factory, she then went on to set up her own sewing business when she was made redundant and later on took up crochet as a hobby to keep her hands busy when she gave up smoking. She now spends her mornings on her sewing business and her afternoons crocheting commissions and teaching up to 50 people each week in her crochet classes.You can find Rachael's creative business Facebook pages here: REM Designs for sewing and Crazy Crochet Creations.For full show notes for this episode, please visit this page on the Making Stitches Podcast website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

The traditional lawn has received a lot of heat over the last few years with many recommending alternatives such as micro-clovers and specialized lawn blends. In this encore episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing speak with Kathy Jentz, author of Groundcover Revolution, about the groundcover plants you can use to create a beautiful lawn alternative of your own. About Kathy Jentz Kathy Jentz is the editor and publisher of the award-winning Washington Gardener magazine, based in Washington, DC. She hosts the popular GardenDC Podcast and is co-author of The Urban Garden and author of Groundcover Revolution. Here are some of the questions and topics covered in this episode: What inspired you to write about groundcovers and lawn alternatives? Can you define the term groundcover? Do you consider step-ability? What zones do you cover? What benefits do groundcovers provide to our gardens? What is green mulch? How do we transition from groundcover to green mulch? Do you have favourite groundcovers? Do you need to prune or cut back any during the year? To quote Kathy's book “so many plants, so few pages.” How do we start narrowing down our choices when selecting the right groundcovers? Stepping Stones Listener questions: Is groundcover expensive? Does the groundcover get very big? What is the average height? Does planting groundcover help with erosion? If so, what is the best to plant for this issue? Doesn't groundcover attract rodents in your yard? It leaves a nice place to nest and hide. I hear the term "carpet forming" regarding groundcover. What does this mean exactly? Tips to take the next step in your gardening journey. The best selection of fruit trees and shrubs is at your local independent garden centres right now.   Trees and shrubs can be planted now, but softer herbaceous material is still too tender and should be brought in at night. Sod is available and ready for planting. Be sure not to let it dry out as it will take a few weeks to fully root and access the water in the ground below. Find Kathy Jentz online: Washington Gardener Twitter Feed:  @WDCGardener  Washington Gardener Instagram Account: @wdcgardener Washington Gardener Pinterest Account: @wdcgardener Washington Gardener Facebook Page: @WashingtonGardenerMagazine Washington Gardener Youtube: @washingtongardenermagazine Washington Gardener Amazon Store: www.amazon.com/shop/wdcgardener/   Washington Gardener BookShop Store: https://bookshop.org/shop/WDCgardener  Washington Gardener Podcast: GardenDC Washington Gardener TikTok: @wdcgardener  Resources mentioned during the show Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden Groundcover Revolution GardenDC Podcast: Groundcovers vs. Ground Covers Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, 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 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.

Today's episode is sponsored by LMNT, an electrolyte drink mix free of sugar, artificial colors, and other dodgy ingredients. Receive a free LMNT Sample Pack with your order at http://drinklmnt.com/Beet Episode Description: Natural gardens harmonize with their ecological, geological, and architectural surroundings. In this episode of the Beet podcast, Jacques talks with Kelly about how gardeners can learn from the land to create natural gardens that blend seamlessly with the local landscape. They also touch on how to grow your own natural garden, rooted in place and purpose. Connect with Kelly D. Norris: Kelly D. Norris is an award-winning author and plantsman who explores the intersections of people, plants, and place through ecological design and art. He founded The Public Horticulture Company and the New Naturalism Academy and formerly led horticulture and education at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden. Kelly now travels widely to study plants in the wild.Find more from Kelly at his website: https://www.kellydnorris.com  Find more from Kelly on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kellydnorris/  Support The Beet: → Shop: https://growepic.co/shop  → Seeds: https://growepic.co/botanicalinterests  Learn More: → All Our Channels: https://growepic.co/youtube  → Blog: https://growepic.co/blog  → Podcast: https://growepic.co/podcasts  → Discord: https://growepic.co/discord  → Instagram: https://growepic.co/insta  → TikTok: https://growepic.co/tiktok  → Pinterest: https://growepic.co/pinterest  → Twitter: https://growepic.co/twitter  → Facebook: https://growepic.co/facebook  → Facebook Group: https://growepic.co/fbgroup  → Love our products? Become an Epic affiliate! https://growepic.co/3FjQXqV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week on the podcast, Joanne Shaw speaks with Ernest Williams from Aquascape about the popularity of water features in landscaping, including pondless designs, fountainscapes, and natural swimming ponds. Here are some of the topics discussed in this episode: Pondless Water Features in Landscaping Increasingly popular in landscaping for their low maintenance and safety Enhances curb appeal and attracts wildlife Provides the sound of water without the upkeep of traditional ponds Preferred by homeowners seeking aesthetics and simplicity Pondless Water Features Design and Functionality Mimics natural water flow; includes bubbling elements and disappearing streams Built with similar mechanics as ponds but without standing water Water recirculates through a hidden basin, minimizing runoff Can integrate downspouts and rainwater harvesting for stormwater management Design and Maintenance Mini spillway and aqua basin designs allow features to fit any yard size Water should remain in basins during winter to prevent cracking/freezing Maintenance includes removing pumps before freezing temperatures Naturalistic design is achieved using varied rocks Proper maintenance and design extend feature lifespan Noise Reduction Water features help block unwanted sounds (e.g., traffic) Creates a soothing outdoor environment Watching water can lower blood pressure and heart rate An affordable and visually appealing way to improve outdoor spaces Installation Both professional installation and DIY options are available Certified landscape companies offer installation and customer service DIY products available for homeowners The Aquascape University program provides contractor training and certification Aquascape YouTube channel offers homeowner experiences and advice Construction and Materials Quality materials (granite, field stone) prevent calcium buildup and algae Kits are available for efficient construction Not all yard rocks are suitable for ponds Existing ponds can be converted to pondless features for less maintenance Aqua blocks allow efficient use of space and are load-bearing Pondless Features and Natural Pools Redesigning or converting old ponds to pondless features reduces maintenance Existing rocks can sometimes be incorporated into new designs Recreation ponds (natural swimming ponds) are eco-friendly pool alternatives Suitable for swimming and environmentally conscious homeowners Many specialized contractors are available in Ontario and Quebec Water Conservation in Yard Design Pools can be converted into natural swimming or recreation ponds Water collection systems (e.g., aqua blocks) help manage yard water issues Systems collect/filter water, reduce stormwater runoff, and address muddy yards Emphasizes the importance of water conservation and management in landscaping To learn more about pondless water features and everything Aquascape offers, visit them at www.aquascapeinc.com and view their videos on YouTube. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, 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 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.

My guest for this episode is my yarny friend, Christine Perry, who first made an appearance on the podcast back in 2021. Since chatting back then, we have become friends and when I heard that she was gearing up to a big milestone in her sock-knitting journey, I asked her if she would like to come back onto the podcast and chat about it. Last weekend, on Saturday 3rd May, Christine celebrated a whole decade of encouraging people around the world to. knit socks through her Winwick Mum Sockalong. Christine's main aim is to encourage beginners to get over their fears of knitting in the round, turning heels and Kitchener stitch and be able to set off on their own sock knitting adventures. It worked for me - I think it's highly unlikely that I would ever have attempted to knit a pair of socks before chatting to Christine! I can now proudly say that on Saturday I followed Christine's request to cast on a new pair and get knitting to mark this significant milestone (and this is my 4th pair!).I hope you enjoy listening to our chat!You can find all the details about Christine's 10th anniversary giveaway over on her Winwick Mum blog as well as her free sockalong tutorials.For full show notes for this episode, please visit this page on the Making Stitches Podcast website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this linkThe theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops.The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi. Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

This week, Joanne Shaw speaks with Deb McKee Kelly from Frontier Mushrooms, a leading producer of high-quality, sustainably grown mushrooms. About Deb McKee Kelly Deb is a longtime grower and passionate advocate for reconnecting with the natural world. Based in Grey County, Ontario, she has spent years cultivating gardens, food crops, and for the past 10 years, gourmet mushrooms. Today, her work with mushrooms and mycelium focuses on sustainable growing practices, education, and innovative uses for fungi in food systems and beyond. With a deep respect for nature's intelligence — and a belief that fungi hold keys to a more resilient future — Deb and her growing partner Darin share their knowledge with growers, makers, and curious minds alike. Here are some of the topics discussed in this episode: Overview of Frontier Mushrooms: a family-run mushroom farm Deb's background and how she got into mushroom cultivation Types of Mushrooms Grown at Frontier Mushrooms Focus on specialty mushrooms: Shiitake, Oyster, Lion's Mane, and more Discussion on the unique qualities and flavours of each type The Mushroom Growing Process Step-by-step explanation of mushroom cultivation Importance of substrate and environmental controls (humidity, temperature, light) Challenges faced in mushroom farming (pests, contamination) Health Benefits of Mushrooms Nutritional value: protein, fibre, vitamins (B, D), minerals Medicinal properties: immune support, cognitive benefits (especially Lion's Mane) Myths and facts about mushrooms' health impacts Cooking and Using Mushrooms at Home Tips for storing and preparing fresh mushrooms Simple recipe ideas shared by Deb Advice on maximizing mushroom flavour in dishes Buying Local and Supporting Small Farms Benefits of sourcing mushrooms from local growers How Frontier Mushrooms connects with the community (farmers' markets, local stores) The importance of sustainable and organic practices Common Questions from Listeners How to grow mushrooms at home: starter kits, best varieties for beginners Shelf life and storage tips for fresh mushrooms Identifying edible vs. wild mushrooms (safety tips) Deb's Favourite Mushroom Varieties and Recipes Personal recommendations for cooking and eating Unique uses for lesser-known mushrooms Learn more at www.frontiermushrooms.com. Find them on Facebook @frontiermushrooms and Instagram @frontiermushrooms. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, 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 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.

This week on Down the Garden Path, Joanne speaks with Erin Alladin and Sean Patchett about their podcast, Plants Always Win. Plants Always Win Podcast Plants Always Win is a podcast where two Ontario gardeners dive down plant-fact rabbit holes, answer audience questions, interview intriguing guests, and compete to bring you the most interesting stories and information. Erin Alladin, a.k.a. Earth Undaunted, is a professional communicator with a love for gardens, especially garden ecosystems. She's known online for her writing and videos about gardening with chronic illness and disability, as well as her background in permaculture and community garden-organizing. While chronic illness has kept Erin from making gardening her livelihood, she leaps at any chance to bring it into her work as an author, copywriter, and editor. Sean Patchett, a.k.a GardenGuyMuskoka, is a professional gardener, horticulture technician, and member of the Master Gardeners of Ontario. Sean completed the Horticulture Technician C.O.D.A. Program at the University of Guelph's Kemptville Campus and went on to build a landscaping design and maintenance business in Northern Muskoka. When he learned of The Master Gardeners in 2020, their mandate of freely learning and sharing plant knowledge inspired him to join. Sean continues to do public speaking and community projects. Sean and Erin discuss the origins of their podcast, the community they've created and Erin's latest children's book:  The podcast began with Sean's initial attempts at podcasting, which later evolved after he connected with Erin through TikTok. Their shared interests and local proximity led to a partnership, and after experimenting with different formats, they officially launched the podcast in December 2024. Episodes alternate between: Plant face-offs, where each host champions a particular plant or gardening concept (e.g., Borage vs. Cosmos) and encourages listeners to vote for their favourite. Guest interviews, featuring experts from related fields such as entomology and forestry. Topic selection is guided by a spreadsheet, trending questions from social media, and input from their Patreon supporters, who are given advance notice of upcoming episodes to submit relevant questions. Plants Always Win has an active and growing community, including a Discord group. They regularly solicit listener questions and feedback, encouraging corrections and further inquiries at the end of each episode. Sean and Erin discussed the importance of context and nuance in their research, highlighting the need to evaluate sources critically and avoid spreading misinformation. They believe in fostering a love of nature in both children and adults, advocating for hands-on experiences and the benefits of getting “dirty” in the garden. Erin is also a children's book author. Her books, Outside, You Notice, and Wait Like a Seed, aim to connect children and adults with nature, emphasizing the importance of outdoor exploration and environmental awareness. They are available everywhere books are sold. Find Sean and Erin online: Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast You can find Sean online as @GardenGuyMuskoka. Erin's blog, www.earthundaunted.com, makes the big ideas behind regenerative agriculture accessible to home gardeners. Find her on TikTok at @earthundaunted. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect via her website at 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.

When I first approached Sara from Crochet in the Glen and asked if she would like to be a guest on Making Stitches Podcast, she couldn't understand why I'd want to speak to her. Like many (thousands) of other people who follow her Instagram account I'd enjoyed seeing her posts from her home on the picturesque Cowal Peninsula on the West Coast of Scotland - not just for the scenery, or her beautiful crochet creations, but because of her "crochet supermodel" husband Sean!Sean and Sara are collectively a hilarious team. Their posts are colourful and very, very funny. Sean can often be spotted strutting down an imaginary catwalk in their home wearing some of Sara's crochet creations - often wearing several different items at the same time. I am so glad that Sara said yes to an interview and as a bonus, Sean was able to join us too. I hope you enjoy listening to them share their story as much as I did when I recorded it! You can find Sara and Sean at the Crochet in the Glen Instagram account.Since the last episode of Making Stitches Podcast was published, Making Stitches has celebrated a birthday - it's now 5 years old. Thank you to everyone who has come onto the podcast over the past 5 years, everyone who has listened and supported me along the way! Lindsay xFor the full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches Podcast website. To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw discusses growing fresh staples like lettuce, spinach and potatoes with “The Gardening Girl” Julia Dimakos. About Julia Dimakos Julia Dimakos' 7000 square foot kitchen garden is in Mono, Ontario, on 25 acres on the Niagara Escarpment. Julia has been growing vegetables and writing about gardening for over 14 years. She was twice published in Canadian Organic Grower magazine and became a published author in July 2022 with her first book, Tea Gardening for Beginners. In this episode, Joanne asked Julia about a few things we can grow ourselves instead of buying from the grocery store.  Lettuce  If we start now, lettuce is one of the fastest-growing options. Julia explains how easy it is to grow and which varieties to grow throughout the seasons. It is important to start with fresh seeds, so buy a new packet instead of using seeds from an old package. Multi-sowing is an easy way to get started. Fill a small, shallow container with soil, a moist seed starting mix. Compact the soil. Sprinkle a generous amount of seed on top of the soil. Julia explains how and why to sprinkle a layer of vermiculite on top of the seed, then water gently. Label and date your tray, then add a dome or clear cover. Put them under a grow light 2 inches above the soil to prevent the seedlings from stretching toward the light. Grow lights should be on a timer, 16 hours on and 8 hours off. Get a multicell container ready for when true leaves start to grow on the seedlings. Take the cover off when you see germination. Carefully lift out the seedlings by the leaf before their true leaves form to make it easier to separate and to successfully grow in the cell.   Lettuce produces more roots than you think, and they do not like competition. Julia explains the best way to succession plant a continuous crop. They go from seed to plant in the ground in 3 weeks. They can be planted successfully in an ornamental garden shaded by other plants. Julia also discusses how to save your own seeds, and recommends buttercrunch, iceberg, Lollo, oak leaf varieties are perfect growing in the cooler spring weather.  In the summer, try romaine varieties like little gem, shady spot or merlot. Grow in partial shade and or under other plants, e.g. tomato plants. Harvest right into a bowl of ice-cold water. Clean in a salad spinner. You can store freshly harvested lettuce in a Ziplock bag full of air for 1 week. In August, start growing the cooler varieties again, up until a hard frost. Spinach  Julia explains how growing spinach is different from growing lettuce: it is not interested in any heat at all.  Spinach is good to start now in cold temperatures, 2 to 3 seedlings per cell. It can grow right now in the garden or inside in a dome and quickly move outside. It will stop growing in the summer heat. In August, you can start sowing it again; it will grow for the fall, and then it will grow again in the spring The same plant will return and be ready for you to harvest the leaves. Spinach plants are small, only about a foot high. Julia also explains why spinach could be the best plant for spots where you grow your annuals.  You'll never have to worry about E. coli or salmonella when growing your own lettuce and spinach—no recalls! Potatoes  Homegrown potatoes are successfully grown without the chemicals that commercial growers use.  Start with seed potatoes Why it is best to purchase true seed potatoes and not use potatoes from the grocery store, even the organic ones. Buying seed potatoes ensures that you are growing tested and healthy potatoes.  Plant the seed potatoes whole for a stronger plant instead of cutting them. Julia recommends pre-sprouting the seed potatoes. Use an egg carton or shallow box, place the seed potatoes eye side up and tail down. Place them in the light with no soil to sprout. The goal is to grow short, stubby green stems. Julia prefers the no-dig method. Use a dibber or handle of a trowel to create a deep hole in the garden or raised bed and place a potato in the hole, cover lightly with soil and then a layer of straw. No need to hill or mound. Determinate varieties of potato make potatoes on one layer in the garden, so soil can be grown in a shallow container, and indeterminate varieties make many layers of potatoes, which will require deeper soil.  How to grow potatoes in a grow bag or container, even a recycling bin makes a great container. And you can line your driveway with them! The best way to harvest the potatoes and what to do for pest control.  Find Julia Dimakos online: Website: www.juliadimakos.com  Instagram: @juliadimakos YouTube: @gardeninggirl  Check out past shows with Julia and hear more of her great tips for growing herbs and more: All About Tomatoes Microgreens & Sprouting Tea Gardening for Beginners Growing Under Lights Growing Herbs Digging Deep with Veggies Growing Indoors Autumn Edibles Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect via her website at 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 also catch the podcast on YouTube.

This week on Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw speaks with Ed Lyon, president-elect of the Perennial Plant Association. About Ed Lyon Throughout his public garden administration roles and green industry experience, Ed has been as passionate about education as he is about horticulture. He has had roles in public garden education departments and served as director of three public gardens for twenty years. He retired from public garden service in 2024 and currently sits on the Perennial Plant Association (PPA) board as president-elect. Here are some of the topics discussed in this episode: The challenges of managing botanical gardens in different regions. The Fling, in Memphis, June 5-8 The Perennial Plant Association Annual Symposium in Asheville for the organization's 40th anniversary Includes educational sessions, tours, and networking opportunities for horticulture professionals Covers various aspects of the industry, from plant breeding to wholesale operations The association focuses on herbaceous plants that come back year after year, excluding annuals, tropicals, and woody plants. PPA's role in promoting perennial plants through marketing and educational programs, including the selection of the Perennial Plant of the Year The perennial plant, Big Bluegrass, specifically the variety Blackhawks A native grass known for its dark purple to black stems Featured on PPA's website A potential winner for next year's award The concept of native plants and their classification Native plants can mutate and change The term "native" does not necessarily imply purity The challenges of finding plants that are both native and non-invasive The importance of considering climate change in plant selection The PPA's role in promoting plants that are readily available, hardy, and drought-resistant The process of selecting plants for the Perennial Plant of the Year award The PPA website: a valuable resource for gardeners seeking accurate information The value of attending horticultural symposiums and visiting gardens for education and inspiration How learning from other gardeners' experiences is often more valuable than books or online resources Staying updated with the latest horticultural research, as practices like tree planting methods have changed over time Climate change's impact on gardening and how the PPA symposium addresses these timely issues through expert speakers and research presentations Learn more about the Perennial Plant Association at perennialplant.org. Register for the 2025 PPA National Symposium here. Find them on Facebook @PerennialPlantAssociation and Instagram @PerennialPlantAssociation. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect via her website at 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.

For so many of us, crochet (or any craft) is as gift which offers mental release, a chance to focus on something away from the day-to-day worries of life and that creative spark so many of us need. When Marianne Rawlins was working part-time whilst raising her very small children, crochet arrived in her life. It gave her a creative outlet and ultimately an additional career, as her hobby developed into writing and designing for Simply Crochet magazine.Our paths crossed through her work for Simply Crochet and I asked her to come onto the podcast to talk about how her hobby had opened up new doors for her. Whilst crochet is not Marianne's 'day job' it does play a very important role in her life and she takes great pleasure in not only designing and making crochet items herself but writing articles for the magazine about other makers and testing new yarns which have come onto the market for practical features. You can find Marianne on Instagram as @mazcrochets and on Ravelry too, where she sells her crochet patterns.For the full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches Podcast website. To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

This week, Joanne Shaw welcomes Art Vanden Enden to the podcast to discuss exploring a career in horticulture. About Art Vanden Enden Art Vanden Enden is self-employed as a Horticultural Advisor and Horticultural Technical Instructor at Landscape Ontario and Loyalist College. He also serves on the board at Landscape Ontario, Communities in Bloom and Garden Centres Canada. He has a long history in the garden centre industry, starting with Weall & Cullen and then Sheridan Nurseries until his retirement in 2022. Here are some of the topics discussed in this episode: The Pandemic's Positive Impact on the Younger Generation The positive impact of the pandemic on the younger generation, particularly in terms of their appreciation for outdoor activities Art shared his work with Landscape Ontario, focusing on training and working with various age groups, primarily those in their 20s and early 30s. The importance of teaching basic gardening skills and practical training to help them enter the industry The Grow Program, which provides introductory courses for those interested in the industry, and the role of job developers in matching students with employers The Landscaping Industry's Versatility and Benefits The industry offers year-round work opportunities, from using lawn mowers in summer to snow blowers in winter Adapting to various weather conditions and being able to pivot when necessary Joanne's experience entering the industry as a second career Working at an independent garden centre provides an excellent learning environment for those interested in the industry Gardening Practices and Climate Change How gardening practices have changed over the past 30 years Sustainability and the need to adapt to climate change The shift in plant hardiness zones and the impact of invasive plants The need for progressive change in the industry and the role of influencers in promoting better gardening practices How reducing demand for invasive plants would lead to their eventual decline Native Plant Promotion and Challenges The challenges of promoting native plants and the importance of being patient and supportive when advising gardeners The distinction between aggressive and invasive plants and the need for balance between native and non-native plants Joanne expressed her struggle with finding the right native plants for her clients, while Art shared his journey towards having 70% native plants in his garden The issue of invasive plants and the need for more research on creating sterile versions of these plants Supporting New Gardeners and Best Practices The need for experienced gardeners to be good coaches, stay current with best practices, and be open to change The importance of being welcoming to new Canadians who may have gardening experience but are unfamiliar with local plants Learn more about Art at www.communitiesinbloom.ca. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect via her website at 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.

After dreaming about a craft festival one night, Justine Robson woke up and decided she should arrange one. Two months later, she'd booked the venue (the South of England show ground) and ten months later Carry on Crafting opened its doors for the first time. This summer sees the fourth edition of the summer craft festival and with over 600 people camping (tickets to camp sold out in a week) a huge range of craft workshops, stalls and entertainment, it's going from strength to strength. That's not all that Justine does though, she teaches crochet, runs 8 crochet retreats each year, is the custodian of Little Box of Crochet, after its creator Amanda Bloom sought her out to take it on and she's planning to open a bricks & mortar shop! Listen to Justine explain how creativity has been a constant in her life, how reconnecting with her creative side helped her recover from a nervous breakdown and how she gets such joy from doing what she does. Thank you Justine for sharing your story with Making Stitches Podcast!You can find the Carry on Crafting Festival website here & the Little Box of Crochet website here.For the full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches Podcast website. To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

This week on Down the Garden Path podcast, Joanne Shaw speaks with Bri Petersen of Urban Gardening Canada about her new course, Adapt & Thrive: Gardening in a Changing Climate. About Urban Gardening Canada The vision of Urban Gardening Canada (UGC) is to provide accessible gardening advice to all Canadians, regardless of location, housing type or budget. Food security and sustainability are two of the main pillars of UGC. Bri believes that gardening should be accessible to all. Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: Bri left her job in finance to chase her dreams as a gardener. Has been gardening for nine years, with her garden expanding every year as she falls deeper into her gardening obsession. A Canadian gardener and course creator, she owns a blog and a YouTube channel that teach others how to grow vegetables in an urban setting during the cold Canadian season. Started Urban Gardening Canada as a climate activist, aiming to raise awareness about climate change through gardening. Created a course on gardening in the face of climate change, which she initially presented to horticultural societies. Bri emphasizes the significance of healthy soil in storing carbon and maintaining plant health, suggesting practices like cutting plants at the base instead of pulling them up to preserve soil bacteria in the soil. Adapt & Thrive: Gardening in a Changing Climate is a self-paced course on gardening, which includes multimedia content, checklists, and workbooks. A good fit for late beginners to intermediate gardeners, who would benefit from the comprehensive information provided in the course. Includes the entire gardening cycle, from seed starting to harvesting, and offers lifetime access. Covers various topics, including the importance of removing peat from gardens due to its carbon impact. Designed to be actionable, with 100 specific tasks for implementation. Tested globally, receiving positive feedback from participants in Canada, the Netherlands, and New Zealand. Joanne encourages listeners to consider Bri's course for step-by-step guidance from an experienced gardener. Bri emphasized the importance of considering climate change in gardening practices and highlighted the need to avoid synthetic fertilizers and peat moss in soil. Joanne encouraged listeners to check the ingredients of bagged soil and avoid certain companies that prioritize fertilizers over soil health. Bri discusses her personal gardening challenges with rabbits, particularly how they eat her plants despite thorns and can reach higher areas due to snow accumulation. Find Bri Petersen online: Website: www.urbangardeningcanada.com Register here for Adapt & Thrive: Gardening in a Changing Climate. Instagram: @urbangardeningcanada Facebook: @hellourbangardeningcanada YouTube: @urbangardeningcanada Pinterest: @urbangardeningcanada Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect via her website at 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.

This week on Down the Garden Path podcast, Joanne Shaw speaks with Bevin Cohen of Small House Farm about his latest book, Herbs in Every Season. About Bevin Bevin Cohen is an award-winning author, herbalist, owner of Small House Farm and host of the popular Seeds & Weeds podcast. He offers workshops and lectures across the U.S. on the benefits of living closer to the land through seeds, herbs, and locally grown food. Bevin is a food and garden writer whose work has appeared in numerous publications including Mother Earth News, Modern Farmer Magazine, and Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company catalogue. He's the author or editor of more than 10 books, including Saving Our Seeds and The Artisan Herbalist. Learn more about Bevin's work at www.bevincohen.com. Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: Bevin's book, Herbs in Every Season, which is available for sale on March 25th He explores herbs from various angles, including history, folklore, medicinal uses, culinary applications, and growing/gathering/processing techniques Suitable for both experienced gardeners and new herbalists Emphasizes seasonal gardening and container gardening, as well as the ease of using herbs for cooking and other purposes The challenges of gardening, such as dealing with pests like squirrels, and the importance of learning from mistakes Tips for growing dill, including planting in partial shade, mulching, and succession planting The various uses for dill, such as making pickles, dressings, and infused vinegar, as well as its medicinal applications The aesthetic value of herbs in gardens, mentioning bronze fennel as an example of an attractive and versatile herb The benefits of introducing wild, native plants into landscapes for their low maintenance and diverse appeal How matching plants with their preferred environment and adapting to changing garden conditions are important lessons to learn from gardening Bevin's podcast "Seeds and Weeds" where he discusses various plant-related topics with guests The current season aligns with the theme of his book, focusing on the seasons Joanne shared her excitement about starting seeds for luffa plants using a new "snail" method, which allows for extensive root growth and efficient use of space Find Bevin Cohen online: Websites: www.bevincohen.com and www.smallhousefarm.com Order a copy of Herbs in Every Season here. Instagram: @small_house_farm Podcast: Seeds & Weeds Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect via her website at 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.

This week on Down the Garden Path podcast, Joanne Shaw speaks with Nathan Gill of EcoLogic Horticulture Ltd. about native plants used for urban naturalization. About Nathan Gill Nathan Gill owns EcoLogic Horticulture Ltd., a nursery operating on 25 acres east of Calgary. The nursery focuses on producing horticulture products to accelerate ecological restoration and urban naturalization. Drawing on his 15 years of experience in the construction sector, Nathan brings a unique perspective to his horticultural work, blending environmental stewardship with practical, construction-based knowledge to provide site-appropriate plant material at scale for restoration and green roof projects. Nathan is also a passionate home vegetable gardener and wild seed collector. Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: Native plants used for urban naturalization Many municipalities are switching over their seed blends and public space requirements to incorporate Native Plants. EcoLogic Horticulture has developed some unique formats to support this transition: NaturesTurf™ EcoPatch SedumTurf ThymeTurf DirtBags The importance of engaging nurseries early in the project planning process to ensure the desired plant material can be grown in time. The need to educate designers and government agencies about the availability of native species and the best methods for their propagation and use in restoration projects. Nature'sTurf™ Growth and Challenges The growth and development of Nature'sTurf™ over the last 8 years The challenges of growing native plants, which usually have deep root systems, and the importance of maintaining the right amount of water The increased use of Nature'sTurf™ due to the growing interest from municipalities in naturalizing boulevards and large areas While more costly to produce, Nature'sTurf™ could significantly reduce maintenance costs in the long run Perennial Gardens The challenges of replacing a lawn with sedum turf, a popular alternative in the Alberta area Homeowners should consider creating perennial beds within their lawn area before making a drastic change The initial higher maintenance compared to a lawn but the eventual benefits of a well-designed native garden How a well-maintained mulched perennial area could be less work than a lawn, but requires more initial effort to establish Alternative ground covers vs. traditional turf lawns Find EcoLogic Horticulture Ltd. online: Website: EcoLogicHorticulture.com Instagram: @ecologichorticulture Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect via her website at 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.

My guests for this episode are a pair of friends who met at a tap dancing class and went on to become creative business partners. They have been sewing for more than 30 years, many of which were spent working together in their sewing studio in Ilkley in Yorkshire.Since Covid, their classes in sewing and quilting have gone from in person, on a local level, to online and a world-wide audience. They say their mission is to empower women through sewing, one stitch at a time.Their latest project, the book, Menopause Makes was borne out of many conversations between the friends about the Menopause. They had previously written a book together and decided that as it was a topic of conversation they regularly spoke about, surely many other women were doing the same, so why not write about it in a sewing context.Along with a foreword by Dr Hannah Davies, a doctor specialising in menopause and lifestyle medicine, the book contains 10 patterns, one for each of ten different menopause symptoms. There is a sleep mask to aid insomnia, a basket for lost things to help with memory loss and keep cool quilt for night sweats.As well as running classes, both online and in person, Jenni & Kay have travelled abroad to meet crafters from overseas, tell their stories and learn about their traditional crafts and techniques producing crafty travelogues as part of their online courses. Among their creative destinations have been Ireland, the Netherlands and Hawaii along with locations closer to their homes in Yorkshire, like Scotland and Northumberland.For the full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches Podcast website. To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

This week on Down the Garden Path podcast, Joanne explores the benefits of becoming a garden communicator with C.L. Fornari, president of Garden Communicators International. About C.L. Fornari C.L. is a creative gardening expert (aka plant geek) who transitioned from artist to garden communicator in 1995. She is the author of eight books including her latest, Sand and Soil – Creating Beautiful Gardens on Cape Cod and the Islands. She hosts GardenLine, a live call-in radio program heard on WXTK since 2002, and speaks to groups nationwide, in person and virtually. C.L. grows vegetables, flowers and numerous other plants at Poison Ivy Acres on Cape Cod. You can find her at GardenLady.com. About Garden Communications International (GardenComm) GardenComm provides opportunities for education, recognition, career development and a forum for wide-ranging interactions and collaborations for professionals in the field of gardening communication. Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: How did you get involved with GardenComm? What is a garden communicator? How long have you been a garden communicator? What are the rewards of becoming a garden speaker/author/podcaster/radio host/writer? What are the downsides? (there are always downsides) How does someone who loves plants and gardening get started? What are the benefits of belonging to that organization? The GardenComm Virtual Conference, and their online learning Find GardenComm online: Website: gardencomm.org Instagram: @GardenComm Facebook: @gardencommunicatorsinternational Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect via her website at 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.

Seed-starting season has officially begun! This week on Down the Garden Path podcast, Joanne Shaw gets tips and advice on seeds for your lawn and garden from Rebecca Boyar of West Coast Seeds. About Rebecca Boyar  Rebecca Boyar has an extensive and varied career in horticulture, spanning nearly 35 years. She began her journey managing an herb farm on the west coast in the early 90s. From there, she transitioned to developing a non-profit horticultural program and launching the first urban hydroponic training facility in Canada. She later worked as a Non-GMO Commodity Merchandiser at a small agricultural brokerage in southern Manitoba, focusing on soybean and organic production. In 2018, she moved into the cannabis sector, serving as a Master Grower and a Health Canada approved Quality Assurance Processor in Quebec. Currently, Rebecca is a West Coast Seeds representative in eastern Ontario, offering her horticultural expertise and knowledge in the non-GMO and organic seeds market. About West Coast Seeds West Coast Seeds was founded in 1983 in Vancouver, British Columbia, with the purpose of sourcing and supplying seeds of the highest quality while following the traditions of organic farming and gardening. They offer over 1,100 varieties of untreated, non-genetically modified seeds. For them, organic is about much more than saying no to chemicals, it is about saying yes to building a healthy soil for the future. Renee's Garden and Cornucopia Seeds are sister brands of West Coast Seeds, proudly owned and operated by the same Canadian-based family. You can find these premium-quality seeds at garden centres across Canada. Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: Rebecca discussed her journey to West Coast Seeds and how the season of seed starting is upon us. Provided tips on the seeds that need an early start and that we should start now. The new seed mix from West Coast Seeds called Grub Resistant Lawn Blend. Regular turf attracts grubs, which affects our lawns, leading to Japanese beetles, which affect our plants. This new mix of Tall Fescue and pelleted Micro-Clover forms a thick, drought-resistant lawn without the thatch that the beetles love to lay their eggs in. Rebecca discussed the best practices for applying this grass seed and there is more information on their website. West Coast Seeds has a nice variety of lawn blends for many situations including a Chafer Beetle Resistant lawn blend for those that battle the Chafer Beetle and an Alternative Lawn Wildflower mix. This blend is an alternative to having a lawn, and it forms low-growing ground cover that includes a mix of fine fescues, flowers and clover species that stay about 6-8 inches high. A nice idea for anyone with a small lawn who wants to support pollinators. You can order seed from their website or most garden centres will stock West Coast Seeds. If you cannot find something you want in a local store then you can request the store to order it for you. For those that enjoy a paper seed catalog, you can order one from their website, as well. Find West Coast Seeds online: Website: www.westcoastseeds.com Instagram: @westcoastseeds Facebook: @westcoastseeds  ouTube: @westcoastseedstv Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect via her website at 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.

It's so good to be back with you bringing another series of Making Stitches Podcast to your ears!My guest for this episode is Felicity aka Felix Ford, an artist who works in colour, sound and yarn. I first heard about Felix's work when a mutual friend contacted me and suggested she might be a good guest for the podcast – she was right!Before our chat which features in this episode, Felix asked to send me a couple of her books and an invitation to join one of her online courses so I could get a proper feel for her work. I signed up for the ‘Colour at Play' Course in the hope I would be able to improve my skills at marrying colours together when I design a crochet project. In addition to this, I discovered that Felix had a podcast herself – the KNITSONIK Podcast in which she recorded sounds and wove them together with interviews, chats about her work and her own musical compositions.I really enjoyed getting to know Felix through her work, and then by chatting to her late last year ready for this podcast episode. It was genuinely joyful to hear about Felix's experiences including learning to colour match oil paint to a basket of eggs, how designing yarny covers for her walking stick diverted conversations with strangers away from her disability to her creativity and how her work with sound, colour and yarn has led her to setting up the KNITSONIK school.I have to say a huge thank you to Felix for being so generous with her time and for allowing me to use some of her music in the podcast episode. You can find the KNITSONIK podcast here if you would like to hear more of Felix's audio work. (I can especially recommend the Shetland Wool Week episode)You can find the KNITSONIK website here.For the full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches Podcast website. To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston.

Al and Micah talk about Natsu-Mon 20th Century Summer Kid Timings 00:00:00: Theme Tune 00:00:30: Intro 00:02:30: What Have We Been Up To 00:12:54: Harvest Moon: Home Sweet Home 00:29:22: Game News 00:54:46: Natsu Mon 01:41:16: Outro Links Tales of the Shire Delay Fantasy Life i on Steam The Garden Path “Co-op” Update Spirittea “Phantom Friends” Update Sugardew Island Patch Paleo Pines Roadmap Echoes of the Plum Grove Roadmap Contact Al on Mastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@TheScotBot Email Us: https://harvestseason.club/contact/ Transcript (0:00:30) Al: Hello, farmers, and welcome to another episode of the harvest season. My name is Al, (0:00:36) Micah: My name is Micah. (0:00:37) Al: and we are here today to talk about cartridge core games. (0:00:41) Micah: Yippee. (0:00:45) Al: Welcome back, Micah. It’s actually not been that long. It’s only been about two months. (0:00:47) Micah: Thanks. No, it really hasn’t. (0:00:50) Micah: Yeah, which is wild because it feels like it’s been. (0:00:54) Micah: A lot like the last two months has felt like an entire year, so. (0:00:58) Al: Yeah, the last month specifically. (0:01:00) Al: Uh, but we don’t need to talk about that. (0:01:02) Micah: Yeah, yeah, no, no, no, yeah, of course. (0:01:06) Micah: I it’s funny because I was like, why has it felt so in that moment just now? (0:01:10) Micah: I was like, why does it feel like it’s been so long? (0:01:12) Micah: And then it clicked. So yeah, we don’t need to discuss. (0:01:14) Al: Mm, I wonder, uh, sometimes, uh, yes. (0:01:21) Al: Uh, and we still, we still don’t have any news on the story of seasons for this year, (0:01:27) Al: which I’m still expecting something. (0:01:30) Al: It’s been a very long time, but, uh, who knows. (0:01:30) Micah: Yeah. I’m too, I hear you. I’m expecting to. Yep, it’s bound to happen. It’s only a matter of time. (0:01:35) Al: I’m just waiting for that announcement and then we’ll be like, right. (0:01:37) Al: This is when we’re scheduling it in. (0:01:42) Al: Well, yeah, we have Micah here this episode because we are (0:01:46) Al: finally going to talk about Natsumon 20th century summer kid. (0:01:50) Micah: - Yay. (0:01:50) Al: We have pride a few times to actually record, uh, and things keep changing, (0:01:53) Micah: We did. (0:01:55) Al: but we finally got there. (0:01:56) Al: They didn’t shadow drop a story of seasons and we have to (0:01:59) Al: record about that instead. (0:02:00) Al: I’ve only had one case where I’ve noticed some news drop while I’ve been recording, (0:02:01) Micah: Could you imagine that it was, (0:02:04) Micah: now was when we got the story of season news? (0:02:15) Al: mainly because I’m not tend to be looking at the places where news comes in to see these things, (0:02:20) Micah: - Sure. (0:02:21) Al: but yeah, it’s never know one of these days. So we’re going to talk about that. We’ve obviously (0:02:28) Al: got the regular news. (0:02:31) Al: But first of all, maker, what have you been up to? (0:02:34) Micah: Oh, just busy. (0:02:37) Micah: Just got a lot going on. (0:02:39) Micah: I have been as far as games, though, I’ve been playing some (0:02:45) Micah: monster hunter wilds beta in preparation for that (0:02:50) Micah: at the point that we’re recording. (0:02:50) Al: and still not out yet. (0:02:52) Micah: It is going to be out next week. It’s about a week. (0:02:57) Micah: So I’m excited for that. (0:03:00) Micah: I’m also, you know, at that point in my life (0:03:04) Micah: a little bit anxious about a release for a game that I’m very excited about, (0:03:08) Micah: because then that means that I have to figure out time to play it (0:03:15) Micah: and also worry about how hyper fixated I’m going to become with it (0:03:20) Micah: and what that’s going to do to all of the other responsibilities in my life. (0:03:24) Micah: But I’m very excited for it. (0:03:28) Micah: I’ve also been playing Pokemon, I’ve been doing more shiny hunting. (0:03:32) Al: Are you still on your gen? Is it gen 2s? That’s what you were doing, I think, last time. (0:03:34) Micah: I was doing I was doing Gen three last time I was talking about it. Yeah. (0:03:40) Micah: I am doing that. (0:03:42) Micah: So I have some friends in a community that do like full odds shiny hunting, (0:03:48) Micah: which. Which adds an extra level of challenge. (0:03:54) Micah: And I almost kind of find it like a little bit more relaxing (0:03:56) Al: Sadness. (0:04:00) Micah: relaxing because it’s like it’s it you (0:04:01) Al: Interesting. (0:04:04) Micah: you settle in for it you know like it’s something that you’re doing while (0:04:08) Micah: you’re doing other stuff or while you’re like talking to people or while you’re (0:04:10) Micah: watching something because you know that it’s gonna take a long time so it’s just (0:04:14) Micah: like you kind of settle in and do your do your encounters do your resets do (0:04:19) Micah: whatever it is and don’t don’t really think about it until you know three (0:04:25) Micah: months later when you finally get the shine (0:04:26) Al: I just find that I get bored when I do it. I tried Shaiman in BDSP and I did… I can’t (0:04:32) Micah: Mm-hmm (0:04:34) Micah: Yeah, yeah Yeah, that tends to be what happens and that’s a very normal and I respect you for that (0:04:35) Al: even remember what I got to like 2000 or something. I just got bored of doing it every day and so I (0:04:41) Al: just stopped. (0:04:49) Al: I don’t think anybody has ever called me normal, but thank you. (0:04:55) Micah: But I have a I have some friends that do they they do these you know challenges throughout the year (0:05:01) Micah: They’ll have like a like this last week was (0:05:04) Micah: Shiny alpha week and it was everybody hunts in for alpha Pokemon and legends Arceus or (0:05:13) Micah: February was unknown challenge month. So (0:05:17) Micah: It was you know (0:05:19) Micah: You shiny hunt for an unknown and then whatever letter unknown you get then you have to shiny hunt something that starts with that letter (0:05:26) Micah: So like if I get it an unknown M then I can go hunt like Magnemite or something, you know (0:05:32) Micah: So yeah, there’s just (0:05:34) Micah: like fun little challenges and things to do when I’ve got, you know, if I’m like rendering (0:05:40) Micah: something or I’m watching something or in a meeting and kind of listening, but also just like (0:05:48) Micah: need something, you know, it’s just a little background thing I can do every once in a while. (0:05:54) Al: Fair enough. (0:05:55) Micah: I have downloaded a Rude factory pixel cross and I have not played it yet. So I mean, it just came (0:06:00) Al: Nice. (0:06:02) Al: Well, I mean, it only came out yesterday, so that’s fair. (0:06:04) Micah: out. Yeah. But I got to download it and I’m ready to try it. I’m excited about the potential new, (0:06:12) Micah: you know, like the positive changes to it from the story of seasons version. (0:06:20) Al: Yeah, I’m very intrigued. I’ve done a little bit of it. This is one of the games that I’ve (0:06:25) Al: played today, maybe like half an hour or so. So I’ve got a few, you know, the standard (0:06:32) Al: tutorial puzzles and a few of the ones that actually make you think. And so I’ve not (0:06:37) Al: got to any of the extra stuff like the customisation that’s in this one. But I did read on Fogu (0:06:45) Al: on there, posted about it, and it looks like it is just kind of. (0:06:50) Al: background customisation. It doesn’t seem to actually affect anything, which is what (0:06:54) Al: I expected, but a little bit more detailed and interesting than the story of Seasons (0:06:55) Micah: Yeah, yeah. (0:07:01) Al: 1. And I’m intrigued and excited to try one of the boss levels that they have. Have you (0:07:06) Micah: Oh yeah, I’m interested in that. No, I haven’t. I haven’t seen anything about it. I actually didn’t know that there were any improvements to the story of season model of it until you had mentioned it when we were talking about it on the game of the year episode. (0:07:08) Al: not seen the boss level stuff? (0:07:16) Al: Mm hmm. Yeah. (0:07:24) Micah: So I’m excited to try any of it because I haven’t seen any of it yet. (0:07:28) Al: Yeah, so I guess the big things for you would be there’s colour puzzles and the boss ones (0:07:35) Al: are timed and if you do something wrong, which, come on, who does something wrong? You’re (0:07:44) Al: just doing it too fast. It takes time off, the timer. So the timed, they have to do it (0:07:45) Micah: Okay, gotcha. (0:07:52) Al: within a certain amount of time, because obviously, technically, they’re all timed, right? You (0:07:55) Al: can see how long it is. And it’s always fun in the first few ones. (0:07:56) Micah: Right. Yep. (0:07:58) Al: to see like, Oh, can I get this one done in 10 seconds? Or can I (0:08:03) Al: get this one done in five seconds? I think I have one in (0:08:05) Al: eight or something like that. That’s the fastest one I have (0:08:08) Al: this game. But yeah, making you do it within a certain amount of (0:08:13) Al: time is an interesting different way of doing it. They do have (0:08:16) Al: two play styles. So you can skip that part of it if you want to. (0:08:21) Al: But yeah, it’s interesting. The boss stuff. Yeah. (0:08:22) Micah: Skip the the oh the bus skip the boss stuff I see okay. Yeah, I really liked them (0:08:32) Micah: Shoot I can’t remember the name of it. It was (0:08:36) Micah: Picto quest that’s what it was (0:08:39) Micah: and that was the (0:08:41) Micah: Nonogram game on the switch that and probably on PC. I don’t know but I played it on the switch and it was (0:08:47) Micah: very light RPG style of nonogram (0:08:52) Micah: like it had a little bit, you know, it was just like (0:08:54) Micah: You’re going across a map and then you challenge a goblin or whatever and then it’s just like a 10 by 10 puzzle or something (0:09:02) Micah: And then you would get upgrades if you did certain things. So they had like some there were a couple that were like, oh, it’s a boss (0:09:08) Micah: Thing, you know like a boss puzzle and I really loved that idea. It just was so (0:09:15) Micah: Bare-bones, I think such a like early idea, you know, like fresh and early idea that (0:09:22) Micah: There wasn’t a whole lot to it. So, um, I I kind of hope that there are maybe more (0:09:30) Micah: Like use cases of that like that kind of, you know adding quests and stuff to it because that adds an extra level of (0:09:38) Micah: Interest that I would I would really enjoy (0:09:41) Al: Yeah, yeah, I’m not far enough into to see whether that is there or not. One thing I (0:09:45) Al: did find interesting is that the puzzles are laid out like a map. So it’s not, it’s not (0:09:50) Al: just like you play this one, then you play the next one. It’s like, these are the ones (0:09:53) Al: you can do. And to unlock others, you have to to beat ones in specific positions, which (0:09:58) Micah: Oh, interesting. (0:09:59) Al: I thought was an interesting way of doing it. So it’s not the I think as you go further (0:10:04) Al: out, the difficulty does increase, but it’s not just like, constant, I think I saw some (0:10:08) Al: that were further away from the middle that were not hard. (0:10:12) Al: They were slightly easier, that sort of thing. (0:10:15) Al: So, yeah, interesting. See how that continues. (0:10:15) Micah: sure. Cool. Yeah. Yeah. I’m excited to try it. I’ve also been playing a Hello Kitty Island (0:10:24) Micah: adventure. Of course. Yes. Yeah. I played some on the mobile. I played some on Apple (0:10:26) Al: - Good, good, good. (0:10:26) Al: Are you on the switch for you? (0:10:30) Al: You twice, what are your thoughts? (0:10:33) Al: All right, yeah. (0:10:33) Micah: Arcade when it came out. Yeah. And yes. One hundred percent. And I’m glad that I waited (0:10:35) Al: You did the same thing as me. (0:10:36) Al: You went, “This is a fun game. (0:10:38) Al: I want a controller.” (0:10:45) Micah: much better experience on the switch, like with a controller. Becky has been absolutely (0:10:52) Micah: enamored with it. It’s her primary game that she plays now. And we did some of the multiplayer (0:11:00) Micah: together. So that was an interesting experience. It was fun just like, you know, wandering (0:11:07) Micah: around together and like doing things. There wasn’t a whole. There’s not like a whole lot (0:11:10) Micah: you can do multiplayer wise, but yeah, it’s it’s it’s great. (0:11:15) Micah: It’s such a good. I don’t know. I really I really like it. I’ve been enjoying it. And then I played (0:11:21) Micah: a little bit of vowed, but I have played a lot yet. I don’t know if you have touched it. (0:11:26) Al: I’m aware of it because I listen to a lot of different gaming podcasts and videos and (0:11:33) Al: stuff like that. (0:11:34) Al: So I’m aware of it. (0:11:35) Micah: Yeah. I like Obsidian, who’s the developer. They did Fallout New Vegas and they’ve done a lot of like (0:11:35) Al: I don’t think it’s my thing, but I can see why people like it and it sounds interesting. (0:11:47) Micah: older RPGs and stuff like that. I’m a big Elder Scrolls fan, so there’s some level of like (0:11:56) Micah: hoping that it is in some way close to Elder Scrolls, given that it’s, you know, (0:12:02) Micah: a team that has experience with Bethesda. (0:12:05) Micah: And it’s fantasy and, you know, first person and all that. (0:12:09) Micah: I really like it so far, but it’s it’s not open world. (0:12:12) Micah: It’s very, you know, like it’s it’s sectioned off, (0:12:16) Micah: which I think makes sense for the game. (0:12:18) Micah: But it’s, you know, it’s on Game Pass. (0:12:21) Micah: So you can’t really can’t really complain, you know, (0:12:27) Micah: they’re paying for. (0:12:27) Al: I mean, when is when has that ever stopped gamers before? (0:12:30) Micah: Oh, 100 percent. (0:12:34) Micah: But yeah, it’s. (0:12:35) Micah: I can’t I can’t really see myself having like bought it if it wasn’t available on game pass when it when it launched, you know, so yeah, what about you other than pixel crust? (0:12:42) Al: Yeah, that is fair. (0:12:48) Al: Yeah, well, not a huge amount this this week. I think the big thing, though, which obviously I need to talk about to you, Micah, is Harvest Moon Homes, Sweet Home. I have hit credits in Harvest Moon Homes, Sweet Home. (0:12:56) Micah: Oh, that’s big. (0:13:03) Al: Yeah, it’s the (0:13:04) Micah: Are you ready to do that all over again when it comes down on the switch or whatever? (0:13:08) Al: I will not. (0:13:12) Al: Let’s not even try and pretend that, unless there’s some way to transfer my save over, (0:13:16) Micah: Oh, that’s big. (0:13:18) Al: I’m not doing the early game again. I had a couple of thoughts that I thought might be (0:13:23) Al: quite interesting. I presume you didn’t continue playing it after our episode. No. (0:13:26) Micah: I have not played really much of anything from it. (0:13:29) Al: So I think the things, a few things I found interesting having now completed the game, (0:13:35) Al: although I’m in that annoying bit where I’m like, do I finish all these achievements or not? Because (0:13:40) Al: I have all bar. (0:13:42) Al: Let’s just let me just I’ve got it up here. (0:13:44) Al: Let me just double check achievements. (0:13:46) Micah: Now are these like in-game achievements or is it like Apple arcade achievements or whatever? (0:13:51) Al: It’s it’s it’s it’s Apple Game Center. (0:13:54) Micah: Yeah, oh yeah, sorry game center, yeah (0:13:54) Al: It’s not arcade because it’s made for, but yeah, it’s game center. (0:13:58) Al: So I have 48 of 68 achievements. (0:14:03) Micah: Holy smokes (0:14:04) Al: And I think about 10 of those ones I don’t have are just like shipping 50 of (0:14:12) Al: one specific crop. (0:14:14) Al: So I’m at the point where I’m like, I’ve basically got 10 left to do. (0:14:19) Al: But they’re things like (0:14:22) Al: completing the crops encyclopedia, completing the fish encyclopedia. (0:14:26) Al: I have not once fished in this game. (0:14:30) Al: So I’m like, I don’t know if I want to do those, but it feels like I’m so close. (0:14:34) Al: But it also no. (0:14:37) Al: So, yeah, let’s see. (0:14:40) Al: That is my, here’s my, I was in. (0:14:42) Al: Interesting thing. So I finished chapter 10. That is the final chapter and only 2% (0:14:48) Al: of players have earned this achievement, according to Apple, 2% have completed. (0:14:52) Micah: That’s incredible, you know, there’s something really interesting about this to me that (0:14:59) Micah: What was the game before home sweet home? Was it one world? (0:15:02) Al: No, one world was before that, the one before that, it was winds of anthos. (0:15:03) Micah: No one world was the one before that. Oh (0:15:09) Micah: Wins of Anthos, that’s right. And you know, it’s funny because I very distinctly remember you saying I am (0:15:17) Micah: Returning this or trading it in or whatever, you know, like as soon as I get the opportunity to (0:15:20) Al: Yeah. Yeah. (0:15:22) Micah: And here we are you have hit credits on home sweet home, which is (0:15:27) Al: Well, can I just point out, I think both of us hit credits in one world. (0:15:31) Micah: Yes, we did, yeah (0:15:32) Al: And because, I think, mainly because we were fascinated as to where it was going to end up, (0:15:38) Al: I will say that’s not why I finished this game. It’s not because I was like, “Oh, (0:15:42) Al: I really need to know what happens with this story.” The story is basically non-existent, (0:15:46) Al: right? Like it’s basically just you’re, you’re, you’re making this. (0:15:50) Al: This town more, more, that’s it. Like you’re, you’re making people happy and you’re, you’re (0:15:54) Micah: More and more (0:15:58) Al: doing things and that’s it. Um, what I found really interesting that, you know, the area (0:16:03) Al: that was like left of your farm that looked like it was a gated off area that you could (0:16:07) Al: access later on in the game. You never unlock that. That’s not, that’s not a thing. Is that (0:16:09) Micah: Oh, yeah. (0:16:15) Al: meant to come in an update or something? It’s even called, it called Alba Park. (0:16:20) Micah: - You know, I don’t know. (0:16:20) Al: And, and there’s a gate there. Why can I not go that way? I’ve completed. (0:16:27) Micah: It’s gotta, it has to be, right? (0:16:29) Micah: Well, let me ask you this. (0:16:31) Micah: Have they updated it at all since? (0:16:34) Al: Just the just the one update that came out like what a week after we recorded our last episode, which added the controller support and the well ads cloud save but the cloud says broken still. (0:16:40) Micah: Okay, that was the only one. (0:16:47) Micah: Okay, great. (0:16:48) Al: That’s the only update that I’m aware of happening. (0:16:51) Micah: ‘Cause I distinctly remember, too, that there was, (0:16:58) Micah: it looked like there were going to be spaces (0:17:01) Micah: or like placeholders for other languages, for text. (0:17:05) Al: Oh, yeah (0:17:07) Micah: And I remember thinking, oh, this is probably gonna come (0:17:10) Micah: in an update, but if they never added that either, (0:17:14) Micah: there must be a bunch of things that were just like, (0:17:17) Micah: We’ll add this in an update at a later date. (0:17:21) Micah: And maybe now it’s either they just are no longer touching it or (0:17:27) Micah: it is uh they’re just saving all those updates for the console release maybe? (0:17:32) Al: So this is where I break your brain yet again, Micah, and tell you that it has only been six (0:17:37) Al: months since this game I came out. It was August. (0:17:38) Micah: What oh (0:17:42) Micah: Yeah, that’s right (0:17:43) Micah: I remember this you did this to me on the game of the year episode two and I like (0:17:48) Micah: That blows my mind that that it’s only been that long. It feels like this game was two years ago (0:17:54) Al: So I don’t know, yeah, it doesn’t feel weird for there to be like, if we got an update (0:17:57) Micah: And that’s not just because of the last month isn’t it (0:18:08) Al: in a month, I wouldn’t be surprised that would be like, roughly about the time from the release (0:18:12) Al: to the last update. I don’t know. I don’t know if I actually believe this is coming (0:18:16) Al: to console. I feel like we would have heard something by now, right? (0:18:17) Micah: Yeah (0:18:22) Micah: Yeah, I think so too I I think I think if (0:18:26) Micah: They announce a new (0:18:29) Micah: Heart of harvest moon game that is not this I think it’s officially dead at that point, right? (0:18:35) Al: Mm hmm. No, no. (0:18:35) Micah: Like there’s no way that they’re going back to it. They are putting all of their resources into whatever (0:18:42) Micah: The new thing is if that’s the case. So either we’re (0:18:47) Micah: we’ll get something from them sometime soon, but it will either be this coming to consoles or (0:18:55) Micah: Something new and then it’s just confirmation at that point that this is completely dead in the water (0:19:01) Al: Yeah, I just I’m fascinated by this area that that doesn’t exist like I was fully expecting to unlock it at some point and it and it hasn’t. (0:19:07) Micah: This is extremely interesting (0:19:11) Al: The other couple of things I find interesting so you do so we’d complained about how it felt like you should be able to, you know, set a bunch of actions and get them to like water these 10 plants in a row. (0:19:23) Al: It feels like that’s what the interface was built for, but that didn’t seem to be an example of that. You do unlock that later on, but you have to like progress this. (0:19:31) Al: But the disadvantage of that over your standard up upgrading your watering can and now you can do like 20 at once instead you have to like individually press on all 20 and then it doesn’t manually the disadvantage of that is it still takes the same amount of time in game to water even when you have the highest level watering. (0:19:32) Micah: Oh, okay. (0:19:56) Micah: - Oh. (0:19:57) Al: So, because it’s just doing them all individually. (0:19:59) Micah: Oh. (laughs) (0:20:01) Al: Right? You don’t have to manually let go that one and now that one, you can like swipe (0:20:05) Al: over them and go like, want you to do all these or in the case of the controller, you (0:20:09) Al: can just press and drag, but it takes so long. Whereas in other farming games, you upgrade (0:20:15) Al: the watering can and you hold it down and then you’ve watered it all immediately rather (0:20:19) Al: than having to wait for your character to like go and individually water all of these (0:20:23) Al: 20 things. Such a weird decision. (0:20:28) Al: The other one is the, I unlocked sprinklers. (0:20:31) Al: And boy are the sprinklers weird in this game. (0:20:35) Al: First of all, you only unlock the top level of sprinkler after you’ve finished the game, (0:20:41) Al: which is the only one worth doing. (0:20:43) Al: Because your first level of sprinkler is just your four spots, top, bottom, left, right. (0:20:49) Micah: Yeah. (0:20:49) Al: Never do them. They are never worth it. (0:20:52) Micah: Oh. (0:20:52) Al: And your second level of sprinkler is three by three, so you get eight spaces. (0:20:59) Al: Okay, but you’ll do (0:21:01) Al: not unlock that until I think it’s chapter 7 of 10. And by that point, you probably don’t need it. (0:21:07) Al: Like, you’ve probably got most of what you need. And then at the end of the game, (0:21:08) Micah: - You just passed the point of, yeah. (0:21:12) Al: you finally unlock the one that’s five by five. But the problem is, it doesn’t fit in the plots (0:21:18) Al: properly. So the bottom plot is six by five. So you put it in there, and you’ve got one line of (0:21:24) Al: five that doesn’t get watered by it. And you can’t and you can’t put the sprinklers outside of it. (0:21:31) Al: You either have 24 fed by one sprinkler and then five manual, or 24 by one sprinkler and (0:21:39) Al: four by another sprinkler. It’s like, I’m not going to do a whole other because those are expensive. (0:21:45) Al: You have like, I think it’s 12 different gems, including diamonds, which you can only get in (0:21:49) Al: the bottom level of mine. I’m not going to waste all of those gems for four watered spaces. (0:21:56) Micah: Well, yeah (0:21:57) Al: And then you’ve got the other ones are… I know. (0:21:58) Micah: What a weird oversight (0:22:01) Al: The other plots that you unlock are something by four, not by five. (0:22:10) Al: So you’re just you’re wasting time. So I have one, which is eight by five. (0:22:14) Al: And I’ve got two watering cans on that. Sorry, two sprinklers on that. (0:22:19) Al: So they’re using up two spaces, which by the way, feels a lot more of space in this game (0:22:23) Al: than it does in any other farming game, because you’ve got such restricted space to use. (0:22:29) Al: I’m like, if it was late. (0:22:31) Al: out differently, it would almost all be covered by one sprinkler. (0:22:36) Al: It’s just such a weird decision. I don’t understand why they’ve made these decisions. (0:22:37) Micah: Hey, yeah, that’s really strange (0:22:41) Micah: And it it makes me wonder if it was like, I don’t know (0:22:45) Micah: I can’t even really think of a scenario for why that would be the kid like maybe they (0:22:50) Micah: Just missed it or like they thought that maybe it was like automated (0:22:55) Micah: You know (0:22:57) Micah: Calculations or something and it was just wrong for that. I don’t know (0:23:01) Micah: It’s it just feels like it would be something that someone would catch and be like, oh (0:23:05) Micah: We either have to like (0:23:07) Micah: Change the size of this plot a little bit or change the, you know, the ratio of spaces that this sprinkler covers, I don’t know, it’s odd. (0:23:17) Al: I think it would have been better to be like a sprinkler covers a row and then when you unlock (0:23:27) Al: the higher ones they cover more rows. So it would mean that you could have like one that would cover (0:23:33) Al: four rows and that would mean you could have one sprinkler for a section and you put it at the side (0:23:38) Al: so it doesn’t use up a crop space because crop spaces are so limited here and it would feel just (0:23:43) Al: much less frustrating in terms of the numbers. They’ve just taken (0:23:47) Al: a sprinkler in a normal farming game and put it into this game that is not done in (0:23:52) Al: a normal way because they’ve thought about it completely differently. (0:23:54) Micah: - Yeah, that’s very odd. (0:23:57) Al: The final thing I have to say is that I don’t know what we did we talk about the soil health (0:24:03) Al: in our episode. I can’t remember if we did. I don’t think we did because I don’t think (0:24:05) Micah: Hmm, I don’t remember I don’t think we did (0:24:09) Al: I don’t think we’d either of us had come across that. So soil health degrades in the get in this (0:24:15) Al: this game, which is (0:24:16) Micah: Okay. I don’t know that I even witnessed that on my, in my own. (0:24:17) Al: very much like a realism wins over fun part of this game. (0:24:24) Al: Yeah, so it does happen. (0:24:26) Al: You just probably aren’t noticing it because you don’t get told about it until (0:24:30) Al: you unlock a better fertilizer maker later on. (0:24:30) Micah: Oh, okay. (0:24:34) Al: And then they’re like, oh, your soil health. (0:24:37) Al: If you click on this fertilizer maker, you can see your soil health. (0:24:40) Al: You’re like, oh, everything is sad. (0:24:44) Al: And so you basically have to, after a– (0:24:47) Al: after a harvest of things, you have to let it sit for a bunch of days. (0:24:51) Al: And when I say a bunch of days, I mean, it feels like it’s like half a month. (0:24:54) Al: You have to let it sit for to go back to its full soil health. (0:24:58) Al: Or you can use some compost to speed it up, (0:25:01) Al: but the compost is like really awkward to craft or cost 2,500 per compost. (0:25:08) Al: It is so expensive. (0:25:10) Al: And so you spend the time rotating which plots you’re actually using for crops (0:25:16) Al: and not actually (0:25:18) Al: do anything about it, and it’s not actually doing what you want to do, and this is very much like, I understand you’re going for realism here, because that is what happens in real life, you have to rotate your crops, you have to rotate your soil, blah blah blah blah blah, but I’m not doing this for realism, right, like, it makes… (0:25:32) Micah: Yeah, if there’s I mean, I respect to the to some degree, (0:25:41) Micah: the the idea of making the the mechanics feel like they work (0:25:48) Micah: realistically the way that it would in the real world. But (0:25:50) Micah: like, if nothing else in the game really feels like it is (0:25:54) Micah: adhering very strictly to realism, then you know, I don’t (0:25:59) Micah: know that that’s really, I’m not really. (0:26:03) Micah: For realistic mechanics and I’m playing a harvest moon or like a story of seasons game, you know, like I don’t know. (0:26:10) Al: It’s always a balance for these things, where that very much is on the “no, I don’t want this” part of (0:26:12) Micah: Right. (0:26:17) Al: the thing. Oh, there’s one thing I just remembered. Horses, right? Neither of us have gotten far enough (0:26:23) Al: to buy a horse in the last episode. You can buy horses, you cannot ride the horses around the town. (0:26:24) Micah: Oh. Okay. What is the point? What do you do with them? Okay. Okay. All right. Again, maybe (0:26:34) Al: You can ride it around the paddock, but that’s it. Why would you do that? For fun, that’s it. (0:26:40) Al: That’s literally the only purpose. Why would you bother doing that? I have no idea. No idea. (0:26:46) Micah: something that was intended to be added and the future of it. Just never. (0:26:50) Al: But why can you… I don’t understand how you can ride it in one area and not in another area. (0:26:56) Al: It just has a wall, and you can’t go through it. Why? (0:27:02) Micah: It’s fascinating. I I don’t know him. Maybe there’s just some like maybe they couldn’t (0:27:10) Micah: get the pathing right or something and they just were like I will fix this later. I don’t know. (0:27:15) Micah: There’s there’s a lot in that game that feels to me like we’ll fix it later. (0:27:18) Al: Oh, that’s it, actually. So you know the press on the map and it will automatically go there. (0:27:25) Micah: Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. So that’s either okay. (0:27:26) Al: I bet that doesn’t work with horses. That’ll be why you can’t do it. (0:27:33) Micah: We’ll fix it later or we can’t figure it. We can’t figure it out. So we’re just (0:27:38) Micah: not going to include it at all. One of the two. (0:27:39) Al: Yeah. Bizarre. Bizarre decision. But there we are. It was good enough for me to finish apparently. (0:27:50) Al: And I guess tune in next time to see whether I will continue trying to finish the achievements. (0:27:57) Micah: I wish you the best of luck, Godspeed. (0:28:02) Al: I’m definitely going to do the 50 of each crop one because that I’m nearly done with that. (0:28:07) Al: I literally have everything growing for that. Like in a week in game, that woman will be done. (0:28:14) Micah: Yeah. Well, I wish you the best of luck. (0:28:16) Al: But I don’t. (0:28:20) Micah: It currently I just was out of curiosity. (0:28:22) Micah: I wanted to see on the Google Play Store. (0:28:24) Micah: It currently has a three point two out of five, which is. (0:28:27) Al: that feels fair yeah I would say that feels fair (0:28:28) Micah: A thousand reviews. (0:28:31) Micah: Yeah, I kind of feel like maybe that is accurate. (0:28:35) Micah: Oh, it says it was updated on December 10th. (0:28:38) Al: yeah that was that update it dropped like two days after we recorded that was the one with the (0:28:40) Micah: Oh, was it? (0:28:43) Micah: - Oh. (0:28:44) Micah: - Got it, got it, got it. Okay. Yeah. Hmm. Yeah, interesting. I guess we’ll see what happens. (0:28:45) Al: cloud save and the controller support which is the only reason i’m playing the game because of (0:28:51) Al: controller support I couldn’t keep playing it on the touch screen but the controller support is (0:28:55) Al: It’s actually pretty good. (0:28:57) Al: Well, there we go. (0:29:01) Al: I rushed this week to make sure I’d finished so I could talk to you about it, because I (0:29:05) Al: was like, I’m so close, I must finish before I talk to Micah. (0:29:09) Al: So there we go. (0:29:10) Micah: I’m impressed that you completed it and I’m proud of you and (0:29:10) Al: Hit credits in that game. (0:29:14) Al: Well, yeah, it’s better than, it’s better than Sugardew Valley, Sugardew Island, sorry. (0:29:15) Micah: I hope that it was worth it. (0:29:19) Micah: It wasn’t intended to sound as meat as it did. (0:29:27) Al: Well, the problem is, it’s like five bits into the game news. (0:29:28) Micah: Is that a, is that a segue? Is that a, (0:29:31) Micah: I can’t tell if that was an intentional segue or not. (0:29:37) Al: So let’s just go through the, let’s talk about some news. (0:29:39) Micah: Okay. All right. (0:29:42) Al: Tales of the Shire has been delayed again. (0:29:45) Micah: Yeah. (0:29:46) Al: Can I just say, please stop putting a date on your game, right? (0:29:49) Micah: Yeah. At this point, at this point, just like wait until you are close enough (0:29:49) Al: Just stop it. (0:29:54) Micah: that you can say, Hey, it’s coming in a couple of weeks, you know? (0:29:59) Micah: Cause that’s always like a kind of a fun surprise too. (0:30:02) Micah: When something has a sudden release date like that, uh, I, yeah. (0:30:08) Al: Yes, it is murder for organizing a podcast about games but yes, I will agree I can see why people would find that fun. Yeah. (0:30:13) Micah: - True, yeah. (0:30:16) Al: It’s now coming out on the 29th of July. So, well, maybe we’ll see. That’s what they’re currently saying, but we’re on our third release date so far so let’s see what happens. (0:30:26) Micah: Yeah, I was looking at some of the, you know, against my better judgment, some of the discourse (0:30:35) Micah: under this post, just to see what, how people felt about it. Because my initial reaction whenever (0:30:40) Micah: there’s a delay like this is, okay, that’s, you know, if you need more time, take the time, (0:30:46) Micah: work on it, perfect it, whatever. And that was, I feel like maybe a good 40 to 50% of the sentiment (0:30:55) Micah: and the other. (0:30:56) Micah: 50 to 60% was in the kind of camp of worry that because this is the second time that they’ve delayed it that if things maybe are not going great development wise but I feel like. (0:31:11) Al: Yeah, I never understand that because it’s like, no, people are just being overly optimistic about (0:31:17) Al: these things. As someone who works in, not in game development, but in software development, (0:31:18) Micah: Mm-hmm (0:31:21) Micah: Yeah, oh, yeah (0:31:21) Al: that happens all the time, right? People will be like, oh, this is when it needs to happen. (0:31:26) Al: And then other people will be like, it’s not going to happen by then, but it gets set as the date (0:31:31) Al: anyway. And then the day comes around and it hasn’t happened. And it’s like, you can’t make (0:31:35) Al: it happen, right? Like, there’s only a certain amount you can actually do. And adding more people (0:31:40) Al: belong does not actually improve. (0:31:41) Al: And sometimes it just takes more time. (0:31:44) Al: Like I could, I find this, you know, with, with, with Pokemon every time, right? (0:31:49) Al: Where people are like, Oh, they just need to add more people. (0:31:52) Al: Adding more people does not speed up development times. (0:31:54) Micah: - Mm-hmm. (0:31:55) Al: Adding more people quite often slows things down. (0:31:58) Al: It’s not worth it. (0:31:59) Al: Right. (0:32:00) Al: And sometimes you just need the time. (0:32:02) Al: I just, you can clearly see this as a fight between marketing and development. (0:32:07) Al: Um, I don’t think, I don’t think it’s a sign of like serious (0:32:08) Micah: 100%. I don’t think so either. I think people’s gut reaction is to look at, you know, other games (0:32:18) Micah: that have gone into development hell and have never made them their way out. And that’s the (0:32:24) Micah: concern. And I, you know, I, it seemed, especially for the people that were kind of that had this (0:32:31) Micah: sentiment or it’s coming from a place of like concern because they’re excited for the game, (0:32:36) Micah: You know I’m like (0:32:39) Micah: concern because they want it to be really good which is like better than you know just saying like well I don’t you know this game’s doomed or whatever you know I’m just like not really just being a doomer about it just to be a doomer but I do think from my personal experiences with stuff like this too I do think that if they were looking at something that does (0:33:08) Micah: close to like a development hell they would probably not put a second release date on it it probably would be something along the lines of we need a little bit more time to work on it and we’ll update you in the future and then at that point we probably would hear maybe a couple things and then nothing ever again but because they are putting a release date on it it makes me think that you know maybe there’s if it hits a if we get another delay after this then yeah I think it’s time to be a little bit (0:33:38) Micah: concerned about it you know it I think because they have a release date that if they missed a second release date or a third release date now if they miss it then there’s gonna be you know it’s there’s a lot more stake in that which like you know kind of contradicts what we’re saying about like just don’t put a release date on it but (0:34:00) Al: I guess the problem is those are two different things. We’re talking about just in general, (0:34:04) Al: don’t give a release date unless you actually know when it’s coming out. I guess it’s difficult (0:34:10) Al: when you’ve given a release date and now you’re like, oh, we don’t know now that I get worries (0:34:16) Al: people. And so I get why they kind of have to do that now because otherwise people are going to (0:34:20) Al: start, as you say, assuming the worst. But I’ve said it so many times, I do not think people (0:34:30) Al: put a release date on it until you are at most a month away. Give us a year, sure, (0:34:37) Al: because when people go, oh, we need some more time, it’s going to be next year. People are (0:34:41) Al: generally fine with that, especially if you’re near the end of the year, they expect that that’s (0:34:44) Al: going to happen. And then when you’re like, oh, I’m pretty confident, then you can say, oh, (0:34:50) Al: it will happen in the second half or the quarter three or whatever. But don’t give us a date until (0:34:54) Micah: Yeah, yep, definitely. (0:34:56) Al: you know it’s if you wouldn’t release it today don’t get (0:35:00) Al: as a date because it’s not gonna happen and like there are so few companies that do that (0:35:00) Micah: Right. (0:35:06) Al: they give you a date and it comes out on that date and you know one of the big ones is pokemon (0:35:12) Al: and it doesn’t always work out well for them right they give you a date six months out and (0:35:14) Micah: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I think Nintendo stuff in (0:35:17) Al: they release on that date and then it’s not a great game i’m so excited to see what happens (0:35:21) Micah: Yeah, yep (0:35:23) Micah: Gosh (0:35:25) Micah: You know Pokemon days next week. So I guess we’ll see what happens with (0:35:31) Micah: with (0:35:32) Micah: You know it when they’ve got a little bit more time to cook it. We’ll see what happens (0:35:36) Al: Well, there’s a big assumption there that they actually have taken more time, (0:35:40) Al: because we don’t actually know when the when development started on this game. (0:35:40) Micah: Yeah, that’s true. You’re right. (0:35:44) Micah: You know, and this, this applies to Tales of the Shire too, I think, but, but also for Pokemon. (0:35:49) Micah: We’re also, something to take into account is that we’re in the midst of the, of a, um, generation (0:35:58) Micah: jump where like, you know, maybe that’s not necessarily the case as much for Tales of the (0:36:03) Micah: Shire, but I could see it being a possibility where they know that a large user base for cozy (0:36:11) Micah: games like this is on the switch. (0:36:14) Micah: Or on handheld, maybe like the Steam Deck or something like that. (0:36:20) Micah: And if they’re taking time because they know a little bit more about like maybe, I don’t (0:36:28) Micah: know, a release window for Switch 2 or they’re trying to, you know, co-develop a Switch and (0:36:31) Al: Well, that’s an interesting point. (0:36:37) Micah: Switch 2 version so that they can release it on both, you know, some of that stuff tends (0:36:42) Micah: to throw a wrench in the (0:36:44) Micah: things that is kind of like not expected. (0:36:48) Al: For most games, I would say there’s no way that that is part of this delay, but I feel like (0:36:57) Al: I could see them have it like I could see that if they are I could see they could already have (0:37:02) Al: a switch to dev kit because we know that some developers do that has been leaked. There are (0:37:04) Micah: - Mm-hmm, yep. (0:37:06) Al: developers that have it. Indies almost certainly won’t have it like there might be maybe some a (0:37:12) Al: couple of big indies like maybe silk song for example is maybe that team cherry that’s what (0:37:18) Al: isn’t it maybe they have one I could maybe see for example concerned ape having one (0:37:26) Al: I could see these developers having one and so maybe that’s part of it that is a big possibility (0:37:34) Al: I would say for most people it wouldn’t be the case but I could I could see Nintendo (0:37:38) Micah: Oh, yeah, 100 percent. (0:37:39) Al: I could see Nintendo going yeah no the the people that are developing a cozy game (0:37:44) Al: about Lord of the Rings, yeah, let’s make sure that they are ready for this. (0:37:46) Micah: Yeah, it’s the token property and it’s the what a workshop like that’s there’s a lot this. (0:37:48) Al: Yeah. (0:37:56) Micah: They’re not, you know, small money. So, but, you know, and if it is that they’re taking time to, to be able to have that ready for in the event of, you know, switch to or whatever they’re working on that. (0:38:12) Micah: get and that gives them the opportunity to make sure that it’s (0:38:16) Micah: a steam deck verified and stuff like that, that really (0:38:20) Micah: improves that experience for their core audience, I think. I (0:38:25) Micah: mean, they, you know, there’s always going to be people who (0:38:27) Micah: are playing on PC or PS5 or Xbox or whatever, but cozy games, I (0:38:34) Micah: think it’s pretty safe to say the, the, you know, the core of (0:38:40) Micah: the audience is, is playing either on the switch or handled (0:38:44) Micah: to some degree so. (0:38:46) Micah: Um, I could see that being a, again, we won’t know until it’s, till we see something (0:38:55) Micah: come of it. (0:38:56) Micah: Maybe there’s, uh, you know, things coincide, like we can kind of piece together, but yeah, (0:39:03) Micah: I guess we’ll see. (0:39:04) Micah: We’ll see what happens when July 29th rolls around. (0:39:08) Al: Yeah, I mean you never know we might I would say we don’t necessarily have to wait till then because if it is our switch to thing (0:39:08) Micah: I’m very excited for it though. (0:39:15) Al: There will 100% be some games announced in April (0:39:18) Micah: Oh, sure, yeah. (0:39:20) Al: They’ll be like, you know (0:39:22) Al: Stardew Valley is going to be a switch to version that does this or whatever and maybe this will be one of them (0:39:29) Al: Who knows? I’m not saying this will definitely happen. You’ve not heard it here first. We’re not saying (0:39:35) Al: The Tales of the Shire is going to be switched to… (0:39:38) Al: but I could see it happening and I’m excited for A-1. (0:39:44) Micah: - Yeah, me too. (0:39:45) Micah: I’m also excited just for this game in general. (0:39:47) Micah: I’m very excited for this game. (0:39:50) Al: Next we have, okay, I think it’s just meant to be fantasy. (0:39:55) Al: Is it Fantasy Life I? (0:39:56) Al: Is that how you’re meant to say these games? (0:39:58) Al: Because I know this is a series of games, (0:40:00) Al: but I don’t know if it’s just Fantasy Life I. (0:40:02) Micah: This is the first one that has I in the title. So I yeah, this is this is a new experience (0:40:06) Al: Oh, is it really? (0:40:08) Al: Amazing. (0:40:09) Al: Okay, perfect. (0:40:11) Al: No notes. (0:40:12) Al: Fantasy Life I, the girl who steals time, (0:40:15) Al: we have a release date for this. (0:40:18) Al: So it’s coming on the 21st of. (0:40:20) Al: May and also it’s now coming to Steam and PlayStation and Xbox. (0:40:26) Al: So it was previously meant to just be on Switch and I believe it was a 3DS game. (0:40:32) Al: The previous one. (0:40:33) Micah: it was they also had a mobile game that did not do too great um you know they did the the uh (0:40:36) Al: Oh, surprise, surprise. (0:40:42) Micah: classic level five maneuver of just kind of abandoning it once it you know didn’t really (0:40:49) Micah: take off the way they’d hoped it did so uh it is no longer functional as a as a mobile game so uh (0:40:54) Al: Well, this is only this, if you ignore the mobile game, this is only the second game (0:41:01) Micah: Yes. Yeah. There was a. (0:41:04) Micah: Like a the way that it released in Japan was it was fantasy life and they did fantasy life link which added extra stuff to it. So it was like, you know, a definitive version of it and then we got the West got the like full release of it. (0:41:20) Micah: So there’s some like kind of weird stuff with it, you know, but yeah, this is ultimately just the second one. (0:41:28) Micah: One of the best games on the 3DS in my opinion. (0:41:33) Micah: It’s a fantastic game. (0:41:34) Al: And this, I did not realize that this was the Yokai and Professor Leighton people. (0:41:40) Micah: It is. (0:41:41) Al: So there you go. (0:41:42) Micah: Yep. Level five big fan level five. (0:41:42) Al: Now we know. (0:41:44) Micah: I’m a little bit apprehensive about anything that they’re doing from this point on because they have been very deep in the generative A.I. (0:41:55) Al: Ow. (0:41:57) Micah: You know, they did like a they recently showed off their. (0:42:03) Micah: I guess spiritual successor to Yokai Watch, which is something hotel. I can’t remember some haunted hotel property and pretty much the entire trailer was like generative A.I. (0:42:14) Al: Is that holy hardware man? (0:42:15) Micah: So I am. Yes, that’s it. That is it. (0:42:19) Micah: So I’m hoping that because this was prior to their big like this game existed prior to their big like push into generative A.I. that like hopefully it doesn’t, you know. (0:42:33) Micah: I don’t know. We’ll see. We’ll see. I have a very strong love hate relationship with level five at this point. (0:42:38) Micah: So I’m very excited and also nervous about this because I love fantasy life. (0:42:47) Micah: It’s such a good game on the 3DS, but hopefully it’s good. (0:42:51) Al: Yeah, it looks interesting. I like the graphics and everything, (0:42:57) Al: and I’m excited to try it out when it releases in May. (0:43:00) Micah: It’s got cross play - which is (0:43:03) Al: Yes, across everything. Multiplayer across play. Very cool. (0:43:04) Micah: Always excited for cross play (0:43:08) Micah: Monster hunter is doing that. I’m very hopeful that this is the future of (0:43:15) Micah: Multiplayer in general that everybody’s gonna be doing cross play (0:43:18) Al: Yes, I can understand when you’ve got a competitive game, you don’t want keyboard and mouse players (0:43:26) Al: playing with controller players, but the problem with that argument is always, well, you can (0:43:32) Al: be a controller player on a PC. (0:43:36) Al: And so you can’t restrict that. (0:43:39) Al: So why restrict the other things? (0:43:41) Al: I do think if they do something like that, I like when they do options. (0:43:46) Al: You can either be just with people on… (0:43:48) Al: your system, or you can be with anyone. (0:43:51) Al: And in this case, it doesn’t really matter because it’s just co-op, right? (0:43:54) Al: It does not a competitive, you know, every millisecond counts type of game anyway. (0:44:00) Micah: Yeah jock i’m actually shy about that I guess because it’s not a like normal thing these days (0:44:01) Al: It also has two-player local co-op. (0:44:11) Al: No, it’s cool. (0:44:12) Micah: so that’s pretty neat (0:44:14) Al: And next we have the garden path have released their co-op update. (0:44:20) Al: So you can probably guess what that brings to the game. (0:44:24) Micah: Would you say that it’s co-op? (0:44:26) Al: Yes. (0:44:29) Al: Interestingly, so if you actually look in the patch notes, (0:44:32) Al: the first update is players can now hold hands in multiplayer (0:44:36) Al: by selecting the emote in the emote selector. (0:44:38) Al: like her. I love how they’ve put in the effort to allow you to hold (0:44:41) Al: hands. There you go. I haven’t played this game. That’s all (0:44:42) Micah: I love that. (0:44:50) Micah: - Yeah, I haven’t either, so it looks interesting. (0:44:56) Micah: I mean, I really like the art style and stuff. (0:44:59) Micah: I just, yeah, it hasn’t been on my radar enough. (0:45:02) Al: Well, a game that has been on our radar, but probably not as much as we originally thought it might, is Spirit Tea. (0:45:10) Al: They have released their Phantom Friends update, which brings you can now have Spirits as Pets, which is a fun little addition. (0:45:19) Al: I think if you’re enjoying that game, this will be a nice little addition to that. (0:45:24) Micah: It looks very cute (0:45:25) Al: Also, as always with the Spirit Tea update, there’s new Spirits and Quests as well. (0:45:26) Micah: It’s a cat spirit (0:45:31) Al: Bye. (0:45:32) Al: Oh yes, Sugardew Island. (0:45:35) Al: So I would. (0:45:36) Micah: - We made it. (0:45:37) Micah: - We got, we got there. (0:45:39) Al: Goodness me, I wouldn’t normally bring up an update this small for a game, (0:45:45) Al: especially a game like Sugardew Island, which I don’t think should exist. (0:45:49) Al: But they have updated a few things that I complained about in my last episode (0:45:55) Al: when I reviewed it, so I felt like I should bring those up because if those (0:46:00) Al: specific things and not (0:46:02) Al: everything else that I said about the game with the reasons that you’re not playing it, (0:46:05) Al: then maybe you will now. So selling items in the shop no longer requires energy. Hurray. Fantastic. (0:46:13) Al: Just what we want. And you can now craft energy bars so you don’t have to go and just buy them. (0:46:19) Al: You can craft them, which is good because that was a weird decision not to allow you to eat (0:46:24) Al: anything you grow. But as I say in my show notes here, it is still not. (0:46:32) Al: A good game. So there we go. (0:46:35) Micah: I- I’m so curious, I’m just so cu- oh there’s a demo so I guess I don’t need to be that curious. (0:46:43) Al: Yes, the demo is out now. If you want to try it, feel free. (0:46:43) Micah: I can just try it. (0:46:47) Micah: I- I feel like I have to, it’s just so fascinating to me and how like anti-SugarDew Island you are makes me want to try it. (0:46:56) Al: This is the thing, I don’t like being negative about games. (0:47:02) Al: And I was talking in the Slack to some of the patrons and I was like, I don’t think (0:47:06) Al: I’ve ever been this negative about the game that I’ve covered on the podcast. (0:47:11) Al: And it’s like, every example that people brought up about a game I was negative about, it was, (0:47:15) Al: I don’t like this, but it’s not for me. (0:47:19) Al: Other people will. (0:47:20) Al: I understand it. (0:47:21) Al: It’s like, I did not like my time at Porsche, but that was because I really didn’t like (0:47:24) Al: how the crafting worked. (0:47:26) Al: If we’re ignoring all of the Switch issues with that game. (0:47:30) Al: You know, and all the, like, the Harvest Moon’s… (0:47:33

This week on the podcast, Joanne Shaw welcomes Jazmin Albarran, the Executive Director of Seed Your Future, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting horticulture and inspiring the next generation of green industry leaders. About Jazmin Jazmin has over 20 years experience in youth development, outreach, and mental health, and is passionate about creating opportunities that empower young people and showcase the diverse career paths within horticulture. Under her leadership, Seed Your Future has launched innovative programs like Seed to STEM and Green Career Week, which provides industries with a toolkit to connect students to horticulture employers. Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: Joanne and Jazmin discussed the importance of promoting the industry to students, as it is often misunderstood as a hobby rather than a multi-billion-dollar business. Over 900 individuals have downloaded their toolkit, which includes resources for setting up field trips and class presentations, as well as social media guidance. The goal is to showcase the passion and commitment of the horticulture industry to the next generation. Seed Your Future aims to raise awareness of horticulture as a business and industry, particularly among middle school students and career changers. Jazmin shared that Seed Your Future assists individuals in finding opportunities in the industry, even without formal education. They also discussed the impact of COVID-19 on the plant industry, with Jazmin citing a survey by the Garden Media Group that found 16-18 million people discovered plants for the first time during the pandemic. Joanne shared her own experience of having a second career in horticulture and the challenges she faced in finding education opportunities. They announced the upcoming 5th Green Career Week from March 3rd to 7th, which aims to connect students with green careers and promote awareness of local businesses in the horticulture industry. Jazmin also mentioned the availability of internships and apprenticeship programs, which are more prominent in the United States. The website is open to anyone interested in learning about horticulture careers, featuring 147 different career profiles. Joanne shared her personal experience of transitioning to a landscape design career, and Jazmin confirmed that their program covers all aspects of the industry. They also touched on the potential for careers that don't involve direct contact with plants but still offer immersion in the industry. Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect via her website at 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.

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 downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, 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.

Join Orchid and Rindel as they start reading the lore book "The Garden Way". The episode was produced by Rindel Zivas. You can find him on Twitter at: @RindelZivas The artwork for the episode is courtesy of Vulshok. You can find him on Twitter at: @VulshokB Guardians of Lore: Website: https://guardians-of-lore.pinecast.co Twitter: @guardians_lore Email: guardians_lore@outlook.com Discord: https://discord.gg/LoreHub You can find other amazing lore content creators at: https://www.reddit.com/r/TheLoreNetwork/ If you feel generous, you can leave us a tip at: https://ko-fi.com/guardians_lore

Hello and welcome to the Making Stitches 2024 Christmas Special! As always at this time of year, I'm taking a look back at some of the year's highlights for Making Stitches. Included in this year's extravaganza is Tansy Forster from The Longest Yarn, author and academic Barbara Burman, Emma Varnam, Dr Gemma McKenzie from Threads of Protest, Heather Gibbs from Keep Calm And Crochet On, Lisa & Lynda-Rose from The Crochet Sanctuary. Thank you to everyone who has spoken to me for Making Stitches Podcast this year! I'd also like to thank Jackie, Rachel, Nick, Nickie, Jen, Penny & Steph my fellow Crochet Sanctuary attendees who gave me their 2024 highlights for this episode.Thank you to you too for listening and following my podcast adventures for the past few years - I've loved being able to bring these creative chats to you for you to enjoy!I hope you have a happy and peaceful Christmas and that 2025 is good to you!Lindsay xIf you would like to support my fundraising effort for FareShare Greater Manchester, you can buy the FareShare Festive Feast Wreath crochet pattern here.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

We share listeners' examples of important lessons they've learned from other people's mistakes, and also what features make Wednesday a particularly enjoyable day of their week. Plus we discuss a practical suggestion for staying connected with loved ones after living through a natural disaster. Resources and links related to this episode: gretchenrubin.com/newsletter Sign-up to be a Super Fan Elizabeth is reading: The Sisterhood: The Secret History of Women at the CIA by Liza Mundy (Amazon, Bookshop)  Gretchen is reading: Down the Garden Path by Beverly Nichols (Amazon, Bookshop)  Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app.  Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app.  To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Thank you for joining me for the 80th episode of Making Stitches Podcast! This time I'm sharing a chat I had with Becky Davies-Downes from William and Tilda, who, after almost two decades working in TV & film costume departments, is now sewing beautiful bags and other accessories inspired by 1940s wartime Britain. I first bumped into Becky in September this year at the Yarndale Festival. There, she spoke to me about how her current venture had come about, as well as a little bit about her previous career. I simply had to have a more in-depth chat with her about all things 'make do and mend' as well as her previous life working in TV & film.My deepest thanks to Becky for speaking to me, not once, but twice in quick succession for the podcast! You can find Becky's website, William and Tilda here.While you're here, can I just mention my latest crochet pattern - the FareShare Festive Feast Wreath, which I have designed to raise much-needed funds for FareShare Greater Manchester? FareShare Greater Manchester is a charity which diverts thousands of tonnes of surplus food from the food industry each year to hundreds of charities and community groups in Greater Manchester and the surrounding area. It is simply wrong that so much food would otherwise go to waste when so many people are struggling to access healthy and nutritious food.The FareShare Festive Feast Wreath is a Christmas crochet pattern for a wreath based on a Christmas dinner - including sprouts and pigs-in-blankets. All the money raised from the sale of the pattern will be going directly to FareShare Greater Manchester. You can find more information about FareShare Greater Manchester here.You can buy the crochet pattern for the FareShare Festive Feast Wreath here.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

In this encore presentation of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing provide some tips and tricks and do's and don'ts for your November garden. Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: Planting bulbs Cleaning up your vegetable garden in time for winter Why you should not cut back your perennials Check out their Five Fall Lawn Care Tips for November lawn care How to protect your trees, shrubs, and evergreens from animals and winter Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with her here: down2earth.ca You can find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. You can find Matthew Dressing at naturalaffinity.ca. Resources mentioned during the show Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden Down the Garden Path: Five Fall Lawn Care Tips 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.

This time on Making Stitches, I'm doing something a little bit different. I want to speak to you about food poverty, especially in my home city of Manchester and how I need your help to try to making things a bit easier for those who are finding it tough.As the weather gets colder and we head towards winter, the terrible decision between heating and eating affects many people. FareShare Greater Manchester is a charity which rescues good-to-eat surplus food from the food industry and redistributes it to charities and community groups across the region.I started working for FareShare Greater Manchester earlier this year and since then, I've been wanting to do something with crochet to help spread the word about what we do and to raise much needed funds to support this organisation.I have designed a crochet pattern for a Christmas wreath based on a Christmas dinner, complete with sprouts and pigs in blankets. All the profits raised from the sale of the wreath will go to FareShare Greater Manchester. In this episode, I take you to work with me and introduce you to three of the women I work with, to share what they do to help those in our community who need help.You can find more information about FareShare Greater Manchester here.You can buy the crochet pattern for the FareShare Festive Feast Wreath here.I would like to thank Jane Czaja for her support in tech editing this pattern. My thanks also go to Ruth Downes, Sally Lamb & Kala Mandviwala for speaking to men for this episode of Making Stitches.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

Fed up with critters stealing your bulbs or waiting for the foliage to die back after your bulbs finish flowering? In this episode of Down the Garden Path podcast, Joanne Shaw explains why creating a layered bulb planter may be the solution you're looking for. How to build a layered bulb planter: Choose the container carefully. Size and drainage are important. You can choose a plastic one that you will then use as a liner inside a “prettier” pot, or you can plant it right into a decorative pot -- just make sure you can move it to the garage now and back out into the garden in the spring. Choose at least 3 types and or sizes of bulbs. Be sure to consider the bloom times. Do you want them to stagger out a few weeks to bloom, or do you want them to bloom at approximately the same time? This is not an exact science so there are no guarantees that bulbs will bloom when you want them to. Make sure the bottom layer of bulbs is tall enough to grow out of the pot. Start by adding at least 1 to 2 inches of potting soil at the bottom of the pot. You can sprinkle a bit of bulb fertilizer if you would like. Insert the bulbs approximately a couple of inches apart, close enough for the bulbs to support each other. Top with another 2 inches of potting soil and a handful of fertilizer, then add the second layer of bulbs. Repeat for the subsequent layers. Water the container thoroughly after planting: you should see that a bit of water has come out of the drainage hole. These pots can then be stored in an unheated garage, shed or sheltered area between garages for instance. Do not store in direct sunlight. The goal is to avoid the freeze and thaw that inevitably occurs in our winters. Throughout the winter, water the plants thoroughly but intermittently. Think about doing it when it rains or snows outside. You don't want the soil too wet or the bulbs may rot. If there's snow, you could even top them off with a shovel of it to keep them watered and cool. In the spring, take them out of storage and place them around the yard. You can also do this on a smaller scale to have some small bulb planters in the house for spring or maybe even an Easter centrepiece or gift. These would make great Christmas gifts for other gardeners or people in an apartment or condo. Resources Mentioned in the Show: Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden Have a topic you'd like me to discuss? Please let me know what other topics you would like me to discuss. Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with me on my 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.

This week on Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw explores the benefits and steps to creating a no-till lasagna garden. What is lasagna no-till gardening? Often called "lasagna" gardening because of the layering involved or no-till gardening because there is no need to dig up and disturb the existing organic matter. Reasons to consider a lasagna no-till garden: You want to create a new or expanded garden area in your yard You're considering planting a vegetable or herb garden next year When's the best time? October/ November is the best time to do it and in the least back-breaking and simplest way. Joanne's experience: Joanne did this with her garden in October 2016. Check out the Lasagna Gardening section of Joanne's book, Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden. You'll find pictures of Joanne's garden in 2016 and how she tackled creating a new garden area that she planted in the following June of 2017. Or listen to her talk about it on a previous show. Here are some of the basics and her recommendations eight years later. Joanne lives on a corner lot with no sidewalks: her garden is in the front yard, to the right of the front door from the walkway to the curb and wraps around the corner and ends at the driveway. In 2016, she had a garden in the centre of that space surrounded by approximately 3-4 feet of grass (it was actually barren, dry soil that was hard to water because of the slight slope). It received A LOT of sun. She didn't have time to baby a garden and wasn't going to baby her lawn. She liked the idea of having more garden and less lawn and was looking for a simple way to make this happen. Her research led her to lasagna gardening where you cover your lawn with layers of material to not only kill your lawn but create a “new” garden or new improved garden area to plant in the following spring. Starting a new garden by digging up an existing lawn or maybe an old one that you inherited that needs some major refreshing seems straightforward. But not only is it hard work, it is often hard for most people to dispose of the old sod, or poor garden material. The steps: That is the beauty of this method. It starts with cardboard! Lots of cardboard, more than you think you will need because you want to make sure the boxes overlap. Make sure you remove the packing tape and don't use any coated cardboard that may be found at the grocery store/or restaurants. Cover the cardboard with a quality organic material like manure or mushroom compost, at least to 2-3 inches, making sure the cardboard is completely covered. Cover everything once again with an organic mulch, again 2 to 3 inches. Don't worry if this seems high, as everything starts to break down it will “thin” out. Joanne's favourite: composted pine mulch (no dyed mulches please). This is the perfect time of year to do this and as the fall rain and winter snow (hopefully) cover the new garden, it will help everything to break down, especially the cardboard. Once May or June arrives, you should be able to start planting. It is as easy as that! This is great for areas large or small, but also ideal for challenging boulevards, where the grass doesn't grow well or you're tired of cutting it. Resources Mentioned in the Show: Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden Lasagna Gardening Have a topic you'd like Joanne to discuss? Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with me on my 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.

Hello and welcome to the latest episode of Making Stitches - back after a longer than anticipated break!This time, I'm sharing a bumper episode featuring lots of creative chats with some of the lovely people I met at this year's Yarndale festival in Skipton two weeks ago.You will hear from: Zoe Coates from British WoolEleonora from Coastal CrochetLindsey from Curate Crochet Box and Lottie & AlbertCathy from Dear Emma DesignsAmanda from Joe's ToesBecky from William & TildaNat from Woven in Kirklees FestivalYou can find the websites for all my guests by clicking on the links above, and you can find the website for Yarndale here.Thank you to everyone who took the time to speak to me for this episode - it was such fun to record!For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

In October in the Garden, Joanne Shaw reviews some of the tasks you can do this month but insists it's not as labour-intensive as you may think! Tasks you can do this month: Vegetable Gardens Clean up and remove the old stems of your tomato or pepper plants that have stopped producing. Sow cool weather plants like lettuce and some spinach: they grow better in the shoulder seasons, late spring /early summer or fall. Buy plants at a garden centre or start seeds and sow them right into the garden. Top up the vegetable garden with some compost or manure to get ahead of next year. Take pictures so you know where plants are because next year you may need to put things in different places. Plant a cover crop. Containers If you want to take advantage of the nice weather at the beginning of October, take your vegetable out of its container and pop in an aster. Annuals and Perennials Annuals: With no frost anytime soon, annuals are probably still doing okay. They may be a little bit leggy or sad-looking. Perk them up with water and fertilizer. Perennials: No need to cut them back. You can do some deadheading if things are really looking brown and not necessarily attractive. Deciduous Trees and Shrubs Trees: It is important to water deciduous trees, especially young ones, certainly ones that you just planted this year. Water them deeply every week. Evergreen shrubs: Enjoy the fall colour and shape of your shrubs. Cutting them back now is not necessary. Keep newly planted shrubs well-watered. They need some extra time to get established. Being in a drought situation as they go into dormancy in winter is never a good thing. Seeds and Bulbs It's a good time to buy and plant your garlic. Spring bulbs: find and buy bulbs – just don't plant them until the end of October, or the beginning of November! I recommend not planting tulips but instead looking at the interesting varieties of daffodils or alliums Daffodils and alliums are poisonous to squirrels and other rodents, so they will leave them alone. Lawn Care Time to apply fall fertilizer. Pay attention to the weeds, especially crabgrass which is prolific this time of year Apply corn gluten to act as a preemergent, preventing the weed seeds from germinating. It's best to apply during spring and fall. Resources Mentioned in the Show: Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden Have a topic you'd like me to discuss? Please let me know what other topics you would like me to discuss. Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with me on my 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.

Neither Tom nor Ben wants to clear the garden path… so Matthew says we're gonna have to have a flatshare slamdown!Matthew Crosby, Ben Clark and Tom Parry Wicks recorded live at The Phoenix Pub with guests Michael Odewale and Ania MaglianoWithAnia Magliano - https://aniamagliano.com/Michael Odewale - https://www.instagram.com/michaelodewalecomedyCome and see Flatshare Slamdown liveCheerful Earful - 20th October - https://cheerfulearful.podlifeevents.com/festival/pappys-flatshare-slamdown-live-show-20th-oct-ticketsPappy's - https://twitter.com/pappystweetPappy's Insta - https://www.instagram.com/pappyscomedy/Support us on Patreon - https://www.patreon.com/pappysflatshareFind tickets to all our live shows here - pappyscomedy.com/liveEdited by Emma Corsham Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw discusses how to extend the blooming season in your garden by adding asters. Topics covered in this week's episode: Gardens don't have to stop blooming in September. We can extend the season to October and November. It's very important to have because the pollinators still need something blooming. There are over 30 different species of asters. They have a huge variety of growing conditions, so there is an aster for whatever challenging growing condition you have. Here are the five asters discussed: New England Aster, Symphyotrichum nova-angliae The showiest, and likely the one you're most familiar with Native to most U.S. states and provinces It is large and very showy, with a bright cozy blue flower with a yellow centre The leaves on the stem are densely arranged on the stem Prefer soil moist and they can grow in part shade One of the larger varieties: up to six feet tall Whitewood Aster Eurybia divaricata Delicate looking flowers Grows in dry shade which means it makes a wonderful addition to the shade garden Not super showy like most shade plants Found in Ontario in dry, deciduous forests So that's exactly what we want in our garden. If you have maple trees, pine trees, or something like that where the soil underneath is very dry and it's very shady, then this is something worth giving a try to Only gets two to three feet tall Smooth Aster Symphyotrichum laeve Similar to the New England Aster, although hence its name, it has leaves that are very smooth lavender and blue Has a daisy-type flower with a yellow centre Blooms from August to October A huge pollinator for butterflies and a larvae host for the pearl crescent butterfly Heart leaf Aster Symphyotrichum cordifolium Lavender to light blue It is one of the latest ones to bloom and actually goes into November An excellent pollinator for butterflies and bees at late in the season Spreads slowly by rhizomes and it lightly self-seeds Two to three feet tall, sandy to loam soil, and part shade to full shade Panicled Aster Symphyotrichum lanceolatum This one blooms with sprays of white flowers, open spreading form, so also known as floppy Best grown with other plants to kind of support it If you already have a native garden, or if you're planting a native garden with other large tall plants, then this could be an addition if you want that Prefers moist soil, but it likes full sun You can purchase seeds from Wildflower Farm and you can again, sprinkle them or plant them in your garden this fall You can also start them like you normally would do if you wanted them to grow in February/March under lights and go through that type of thing indoors and then put them out next year Resources Mentioned in the Show: Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden Fall Mums and Asters Have a topic you'd like me to discuss? Please let me know what other topics you would like me to discuss. Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with me on my 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.

Full tutorial: https://learn.adafruit.com/garden-path-lights-with-sunset-timer In this DIY tutorial, I'll show you how to create a stunning Crystal Garden Path using modular WLED lights and the Adafruit Feather ESP32. These lights are fully customizable and can be controlled via WiFi, giving you endless color combinations and patterns. The best part? The modular design allows you to configure the lights in multiple ways, and they sync seamlessly for a mesmerizing, synchronized glow! Perfect for any garden, backyard, or outdoor space.

This week on Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw speaks with Wildflower Farm's Miriam Goldberger about Eco-Lawn, the answer to a truly low-maintenance lawn, as well as some of her favourite native plants you can include in your garden.  About Miriam Goldberger Miriam Goldberger is the founder and co-owner of Wildflower Farm, a wildflower seed production company in Ontario — a magical 100 acres where the flower gardens and meadows thrive without pesticides and are a pollinators' paradise. To learn more about Miriam's journey, visit the Wildflower Farm website. Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: Miriam's book, Taming Wildflowers, was published over 10 years ago. Joanne noted how Miriam has become a pioneer in the industry of native plants and wildflowers. The book contains helpful information about how to grow native plants in specific locations and is available on the Wildflower Farm website. Miriam recommends three of her favourite “polite” wildflowers: Black-eyed Susan, a stable perennial for late-summer/early-fall Gaillardia or blanket flower, a vivid and bright yellow/orange/red colour that will stay in bloom Prairie drop seed, a clump-forming, non-aggressive grass that looks beautiful from late spring right through into the fall. Miriam also discussed Eco-Lawn: Our customers had urged us to develop a lawn that was just as sustainable, drought tolerant and low maintenance as our wildflower gardens and meadows. While walking in the forests of Ontario, we spotted clumps of rich green grass growing in the deep shade of the northern woods. Could these emerald patches be used as natural grass pathways around and through our wildflower meadows? After three years of research and trials later, Eco-Lawn was born. Since its introduction in 1998, it has changed the face of lawnscaping across North America for homeowners, businesses and municipalities. Eco-Lawn combines several native fescues that grow together to create a matte or lawn. The roots are deeper than our Kentucky Bluegrass which makes it much more drought tolerant and can grow under a variety of light conditions. You can start a new lawn with the seed or slowly convert an existing lawn into a low maintenance Eco- lawn. The fall is the best time to start Eco-lawn! Full instructions on how to prepare for applying Eco-lawn are available on their website. You can find Wildflower Farm at www.wildflowerfarm.com. Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with Joanne via her website: down2earth.ca 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 episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw discusses fall mums and asters. Topics covered in this week's episode: Chrysanthemums, many horticultural varieties and cultivars exist including tender florist mums (a favourite because of how long they stay blooming in a vase). Or Garden mums, more commonly known as fall mums. All Chrysanthemums are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. They became popular in North American gardening during the early to mid-20th century. Overall, fall or autumn gardening in the U.S. became particularly prominent in the 1950s and 1960s. Their popularity grew thanks to their vibrant colours of mums—ranging from deep reds and oranges to yellows and purples—this made them a popular choice for fall displays. Their ability to bloom late into the season and withstand cooler temperatures also contributed to their popularity in autumn gardening. Fall mums grown for our gardens are fertilized and pruned heavily to maintain their dense growth while in containers. It is possible to overwinter them in the garden but without regular maintenance, they can get quite large (tall and wide over a season or two). You often hear of gardeners or articles mentioning mid-summer to cut back or pinch back the foliage on garden mums that are being grown in the garden to slow down their growth and size. If growing in the garden, they benefit from mulching to protect them from the freeze and thaw most of us experience in our Ontario gardens or gardens in zones 4-6. They can be prone to spider mites and aphids as well as powdery mildew. Mildew especially if they are allowed to get large in the garden and then crowd with other plants and especially when there is high humidity and/or overhead watering. The downside of mums: As a designer, my goal is to create gardens that are all season with something happening at all times and for there really not be a need for high-maintenance annuals. I do realize that there are times and places in the yard where one might want a pop of colour -- even me! Potted mums perform much better in cooler temperatures. Unfortunately, garden centres seem to start selling them earlier and earlier each season. They are thirsty plants when in pots, especially in the heat. If the pots aren't watered regularly they die very quickly and I think homeowners think they can revive them. Once they have dried out, they are a throwaway plant. Don't get me started on the plastic waste they generate! A better plant option for fall: asters! There are 32 different species of aster in Ontario and over 100 species in North America. There is a place for one in every garden or even a pot if you choose! While some pollinators might visit garden mums for pollen that is where the benefit ends. Asters not only supply pollen for honeybees and native bees, they also feed adult butterflies and we all want more of those in our gardens. They are host plants or over 100 species of caterpillars, nature's bird feeders. Where there are caterpillars, there will be birds! You may be lucky to find New England asters in pots at your big box store. They are transplantable and will overwinter in the garden. In addition to the New England asters, there are several other native varieties that are sold in the perennial section of your garden centres. There is a variety of aster for every garden. New England Asters Symphyotrichum novaeangliae: (purple, light purple) Full to part sun, blooms August to October, moist average soil. Swamp Aster Symphyotrichum puniceum: (purple, light purple) Full to part sun, August to October, wet garden area White Wood Eurybia divaricate: Part shade to full shade, September to October and will grow in a garden from moist to dry. Heart Leaf Aster Symphyotrichum cordifolium: (lavender to light blue) Part shade to full shade, September to October, medium to dry soil Note: It is also recommended to pinch back or cut back asters in June to prevent them from getting too big and floppy. Resources Mentioned in the Show: Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden Have a topic you'd like me to discuss? Please let me know what other topics you would like me to discuss. Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with me on my 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.

This week on Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw welcomes Jason Hoke to the podcast to discuss IssueID, the revolutionary software solution he co-founded that addresses the challenges in the landscape industry. About Jason Hoke Denver native Jason Hoke is an innovative entrepreneur with a diverse career spanning music, landscaping, and technology. At 15, Jason started at A Cut Above Landscape and purchased the company in 2016, growing it to a team of over 30. In 2022, he co-founded IssueID, a revolutionary software solution that simplifies the management of extras and enhancements, helping contractors boost revenue while reducing costs. Here are some of the topics covered in this episode: Jason's early start to the landscape industry, what made him stay and buy the company. What Jason loves about landscaping. The services available at A Cut Above Landscape How Jason's music experience ties in. What parallels can be drawn between the music and trades industry? Jason's journey to creating IssueID. How IssueID helps capture, collaborate and close more projects. Where to find IssuedID: www.issueid.io Facebook YouTube Instagram LinkedIn Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast. You can also email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with Joanne via her website: down2earth.ca 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 episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw discusses some of the issues you may be experiencing with your hydrangeas this month and what you can do about them. Topics covered in this week's episode: Hydrangeas not blooming Know what variety is especially important with this issue. In Joanne's experience, if you have a nice large green bush but no or few flowers then you have a Macrophylla variety They bloom on old wood that is unfortunately susceptible to late spring frost damage. The buds form on the old wood in early spring and then a late frost comes and kills the bud. The plant still grows nice and lush, and you don't know anything is wrong until it doesn't flower. Extra water and fertilizer provide a nice full-leaved plant but no blooms I have tried all the techniques to try and prevent this and protect the plant, but I gave up and replaced it with a hardier variety. If you are in an area where you often get a late frost after a nice warm-up, then consider swapping to another variety Hydrangeas discussed: Macrophylla Paniculata Quercifolia Serrata Arborescence Which hydrangeas grow on old or new wood Hydrangeas getting too large/floppy The preferred pruning practices to mitigate that Smaller variety recommendations of each type to have a hydrangea that stays smaller: Munchkin Oakleaf Hydrangea Invincibelle Wee White Hydrangea Invincibelle Limetta Little Lime or Bobo Hydrangeas All are a great way to have more hydrangeas in a smaller space Resources mentioned during the show: Tips To Extend The Blooming Season Of Your Endless Summer Hydrangea Hydrangeas Hydrangeas Part One Hydrangeas Part Two BLOG POST -- Hydrangeas: When They Don't Work And What You Can Do About It Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden Have a topic you'd like me to discuss? Please let me know what other topics you would like me to discuss. Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with me on my 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.

My guest for this episode of Making Stitches Podcast has a background in law and human rights and a passion for crochet too. Dr Gemma McKenzie is a researcher in the Midwifery Department at King's College London specialising in maternity rights and obstetric abuse. She has decided that in order to raise awareness about her work in the field of maternity rights, she is going use crochet (and knitting) to help her. Next year, Gemma is holding an exhibition called Threads of Protest in Southport in the North West of England and in central London too, to raise awareness about her work and yarn is at the centre of it. Gemma is collaborating with yarn artists to create works focusing on different aspects of abuse but is also asking for anyone who wants to join her, to send crocheted or knitted squares which will be used as part of a yarn bomb within the exhibition.The granny squares can be of any type, any colour, any yarn and use any design as long as they measure approximately 15 x 15 cm or 6 x 6 inches. They can be sent to:Threads of ProtestPO Box 239LiverpoolL37 8YUUKTo find out more about Gemma's work and the Threads of Protest Exhibition, please check out her website. Gemma can also be found on Instagram.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

When my guest on today's episode was about to leave a career in London for a quieter pace of life on the Cornish coast, one of her first concerns was where she would be able to buy yarn from. Fast forward a few years and Jane Abraham not only has her own yarn shop, she hosts creative retreats, has her own You Tube channel and has built an online community for crafters 'of a certain age' - the Cornish Flock.Jane's 'Flock' focuses on knitting, crochet, health and the wellbeing of 'mature women'. Jane says "Many women of a certain age feel isolated, under valued and overlooked. They believe that their interests and feelings are underestimated and there's not enough digital content that connects with them and caters for their continued interest in fashion".You can find Jane at her website, on Facebook, Instagram & You Tube.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston

Welcome to Season 2 of The Gamer's Hearth!

One of the unexpected things many people experience when they lose a loved one and have to sort through their posessions, can be unfinished craft projects. Maybe the person who has died was partway through making a baby blanket for a new family member, a quilt for a forthcoming wedding or simply a pair of socks or jumper for a loved one. If there's someone within the family with the skills and ability to finish that project, that's great, but in many circumstances that's not the case. That's where The Loose Ends Project can help. Two friends, Jen & Masey, decided that there must be people out there who have the skills and time to finish important craft projects which are left unfinished when someone dies or is no longer able to continue with it. They started matching unfinished projects with volunteer finishers, who complete and return the garments, blankets and accessories. In the space of less than two years, the friends' idea has mushroomed and they have registered 'finishers' in 64 countries around the world. To date, they have paired projects in 12 different countries.Jen Simonic, one of the founders of the Loose Ends Project, joined me for this episode of Making Stitches to tell me all about this remarkable organisation.You can find the  Loose Ends Project Website here.For full show notes for this episode, please visit the Making Stitches website.To join the mailing list for the Making Stitches Newsletter, please click onto this link.The theme music is Make You Smile by RGMusic from Melody Loops .The Making Stitches logo was designed by Neil Warburton at iamunknown.You can support Making Stitches Podcast with running costs through Ko-fi.Making Stitches  Podcast is supported by the Making Stitches Shop which offers Making Stitches Podcast merchandise for sale as well as Up the Garden Path crochet patterns created by me & illustrated by Emma Jackson.Making Stitches Podcast is presented, recorded and edited by Lindsay Weston