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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Click here to read more.

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For many gardeners, power tools sound like something their partner or friend would be more interested in. But at some point, even the luddite might be interested in getting jobs done faster and with less pain, if a little more noise. Kris Kiser is the president and CEO of the Outdoor Power Equipment Institute (OPEI) in the United States. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener print magazine, talked to Kris about lawn mowers and leaf blowers, what’s out there and what she needs to tend to a medium-sized urban garden.

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

For more info, click here.

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

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Dorothy and Shauna talk with arbourist Ryan Statham about invasive insects and trees.

Ryan is an arbourist with Davey Canada, a company that specializes in urban forestry. Trees of all kinds hold a special interest for Dorothy, a member of the Tree Canada board. They discuss the emerald ash borer and its proliferation throughout North America, wherever ash trees grow. Trees can be treated or inoculated with a derivative of neem oil.

For more info, click here.

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John Barrett started with growing sunflowers on two acres with the vague idea of selling sunflower seeds, but that first year was a disaster with the birds being the biggest beneficiaries of all that hard work. John was never a quitter and he persevered. Several years later, he was growing 60 acres of sunflowers and found himself on the acquisition list of one of PEI’s major businesses: Veseys Seeds.

Click here to read more.

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Helen Hogue is a Winnipegger with an interesting hobby, or rather, passion. Helen raises monarch butterflies, from egg to adult, then sets them free. It is estimated that people like her increase the survival rate from 5 percent to 95 percent.

For more info, click here.

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Shauna and Dorothy discuss their garden tour of BC and Alberta over the summer. This was the first part of Shauna’s 2021 cross-country trip of seeing and photographing gardens.

For more info, click here.

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Shauna and Dorothy talk to Mario Doiron, a modern Acadian guy in New Brunswick who moved his family from the city to an acreage in Kent County. He and his wife now enjoy excellent health, spring water and an incredible diversity of food they grow themselves. He calls himself a homesteader, and we cannot think of a better way to describe what he does.

For more info, click here.

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Dorothy and Shauna talk with Winnipeg landscaper Keith Lemkey. He has worked on gardens in Canada’s Local Gardener and Manitoba Gardener in the past and has contributed stories to the magazines over the years. Hear about why you should consider hiring an landscape professional for your garden.

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Mike Rosen, the former President of Tree Canada, joins Dorothy and Shauna to talk about these gentle giants who influence our gardens. Tree Canada is the only national non-profit organization dedicated to planting and nurturing trees in rural and urban environments.

For more info, click here.

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Colin Remillard is a co-owner of St. Leon Gardens in Winnipeg, a seasonal shop selling locally grown fruits, vegetables, seeds and plants. He talked to Dorothy and Shauna recently about the business and they traded tips about what he’s doing in his brand-new yard and what gardeners should look for when buying plants at the garden centre.
To read more, click here.

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Did you know that you can give too much compost to your garden? Also, there isn’t a “best” fertilizer for tomatoes or roses or trees. Robert Pavlis is a garden writer, speaker and educator with a background in science. He lives in Guelph, Ontario and gardens at his six-acre home called Aspen Grove Gardens. He has published a handful of books and maintains two websites, gardenmyths.com and gardenfundamentals.com. He speaks with Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, about the nutrients that plants need, dispelling myths along the way.

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Larry Hodgson is a blogger and broadcaster in Quebec who has written over 60 books on gardening in English and French. His blog can be found at laidbackgardener.blog, and he adds to it every day. Dorothy and Shauna have a chat with him about so many things, ostensibly on the topic of “What’s growing in your garden?”

Along the way, they find out about his favourite tool (a Proplugger he picked up at a Garden Writers’ convention), an insect coming to destroy your aruncus (the goat’s beard sawfly, or Nematus spriaeae), and a new plant disease coming to Canada (Septoria rudbeckia, which attacks black-eyed Susans). Larry is ready for S. rudbeckia, gradually replacing all his black-eyed Susans with ‘American Goldrush’, a resistant variety.

For more info, click here.

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Guest: Greg Auton of MaritimeGardening.com
Greg Auton is The Maritime Gardener, a podcaster and YouTuber in Nova Scotia, with 2500 square feet of vegetable gardens. Shauna and Dorothy set out to talk to him about extending the gardening season, and they did. In part. But they talked about so much more. 

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Guest: Sherrie Verslius of Preferred Perch

Sherrie Versluis, the owner of the Preferred Perch in Winnipeg, speaks about backyard birds, what they eat, how they survive winter, and how you can keep them singing in your own backyard. Bit of advice? Don’t feed them bacon fat in place of suet and watch the type of feed you are providing. Some of it can be contaminated. In fact, if your birds are turning up their beaks at your offerings, chances are it could be mouldy seed or worse. . .

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Guest:  Jan Pedersen of Shelmerdine Garden Center

Flowering shrubs are a giving type of plant in gardens across Canada, with every season bringing a different bloom or colour or shape. Jan Pedersen of Shelmerdine Garden Centre talks about various varieties with Dorothy and Shauna, giving a few tips about pruning and cultivars that really perform.

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Guest: Kevin Twomey of T & T Seeds
Starting tomatoes from seeds seems like an easy thing to do, but once you actually do it, there are a number of things to remember. What do you plant them in? Do you need a heat mat under the seedlings? Do you need special lights?

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Every gardener ordering seeds has one big question: what the heck happened last year? And will it continue this year? And next?

Dorothy and Shauna speak with John Barrett from Veseys Seeds, on of Canada’s largest and oldest seed order companies. 

John talks about the pandemic explosion faced by seed companies as well as the viability of seeds, pelleted versus non-pelleted, organic verses standard and the Safe Seed Pledge.

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Country Cue 1 by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Artist: http://audionautix.com/

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Promo for Canada's Local Gardener Podcast first episode with John Barret of Vesey's Seeds as guest. Hosted by Dorothy Dobbie and Shauna Dobbie.

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

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

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

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The Edible Flower is a thick book with gorgeous photos. Erin and Jo write about how to grow edible flowers (that’s Jo’s department) and how to use them for cooking (Erin’s). Erin always hoped to write books because she loves them, so when she became a cook (a title she prefers to chef) she knew she wanted to write a cookbook. She uses flower petals in salads, but also in a larger way in recipes like folding them into a babka for a colourful display when it’s cut or pressing them into the dough when making pasta.

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

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orget about oceans of calamine lotion, this is the real dirt on poison ivy and all of its kin. Susan Pell, executive director of the United States Botanic Garden. She did her PhD on members of the pistatchio family (Anacardiaceae), which includes the genus Toxicodendron, of which poison ivy, poison oak and poison sumac are members. Shauna Dobbie, editor of Canada’s Local Gardener magazine, had a talk with Susan about these plants: how to identify them, what gives you a rash, and what you can do about it.

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How annuals make it to your garden

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

Glenn shares what it means to be a propagator, how new plants are selected from thousands of trials, and why Proven Winners varieties consistently outperform others in the garden. He talks about the rigorous breeding process, the global supply chain of cuttings, and what makes a plant worthy of the Proven Winners name.

You’ll hear practical insights on how to grow thriving containers, what shade really means in gardening, and which low-maintenance plants work best for pollinators. From the popularity of Supertunia Vista Bubblegum and Prince Tut papyrus to the pollinator-magnet Cuphea Vermillionaire, Glenn offers suggestions based on firsthand experience in his own home garden.

This episode is packed with garden inspiration and expert knowledge, plus a few surprising tips — like why caladiums don’t always love Canadian summers, and why non-flowering shade baskets are flying off shelves.

Whether you're a backyard hobbyist or a container gardening enthusiast, you'll come away with a better understanding of what goes into the plants you love — and how to choose varieties that truly perform.

Tune in to learn more about plant breeding, pollinator-friendly gardening, and the behind-the-scenes world of wholesale nurseries — all from a distinctly Canadian perspective.

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In this episode, Shauna sits down with Ryan Statham, arborist with the Davey Tree Expert Company, for a deep and practical look at the state of our trees in a time of rapid climate change.

They start by talking about the difference between climate and weather, and how extreme swings—like sudden jumps from freezing to 30°C—are becoming more common across Canada. Ryan shares recent examples from Ontario, highlighting how unpredictable winters and erratic storms stress urban forests.

From there, they explore the threats that keep arborists up at night: pests and diseases like spongy moth, aspen leaf miner, cedar leaf miner, southern pine beetle, and more. Warmer winters mean less die-off for these pests, allowing their populations to explode and damage more trees. Ryan explains how some infestations defoliate entire forests and why healthy, well-maintained trees are far more resilient.

They also dig into the big picture. Canada has vast forests, but trees alone can’t “save” us from climate change. Ryan explains the limits of carbon sequestration, the importance of planting for the future, and why species diversity is crucial—something Winnipeg learned the hard way after Dutch elm disease and now emerald ash borer.

The conversation also turns to Winnipeg. The city’s canopy has shrunk to about 17%, and the city removes roughly twice as many public trees as it plants. Unlike Ontario or B.C., there’s no private tree protection bylaw there, and funding and staffing for urban forestry remain limited.

But it’s not all bad news—Ryan shares actionable tips for homeowners, like choosing the right species for your site, contacting an arborist for guidance, and the right way to mulch without inviting pests. Whether you have a single tree in your yard or care about the health of our whole urban forest, this episode will give you a better understanding of what’s at stake—and what you can do to help.

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

Terrie sketches everything — plants, recipes, even moments with her family — in pen and ink before bringing them to life with watercolour. Over the years she has filled five journals, beginning in 2013 with tentative lines and simple sketches, and gradually building confidence and richness in style. The pages chart more than her growth as an artist. They reveal how everyday beauty unfolds season by season, from planting to harvest, and how the act of sketching itself becomes a way of seeing more deeply. As Terrie explains in our conversation, drawing first in pen forces her to slow down and pay attention, and the result is a sense of calm and connection that gardening naturally encourages.

The road to publication wasn’t simple. After one disappointing experience, she eventually found a supportive home for her work with Wild Skies Press, where the photographs of her journal pages could be reproduced with clarity and colour. Terrie’s hope is that readers, even those who don’t consider themselves artists or gardeners, will discover that wonder is always within reach. A flower, a walk, or a quiet moment in the yard can all become moments of insight and joy if we pause to notice them.

In this episode of the CLG Podcast, Shauna Dobbie sits down with Terrie to talk about her journey. They explore her creative process, the stories behind her garden “rooms,” the role of family in her art, and the lessons she’s learned about resilience, creativity, and positivity. At its heart, Terrie’s story is about finding joy in the everyday — and her message is one the world really needs right now.

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