Peony season may be over, but there's still plenty to learn about these garden favourites. In this episode, Joanne explores the different types of peonies and explains what makes each one unique. She also shares practical tips for planting, supporting, deadheading, and caring for your peonies so they return beautifully year after year.

Some of the topics covered in this week's episode:

The three types of peonies: Learn the differences between herbaceous peonies, tree peonies, and Itoh/intersectional peonies, including how they grow, bloom, and how deeply each type should be planted.

Planting, moving, and caring for peonies: Discover the best practices for proper planting depth, fall transplanting, careful handling of the roots, watering deeply, and avoiding burying the crown with soil or mulch.

Post-bloom peony care and support: Joanne explains what to do after peonies finish blooming, including deadheading, choosing proper supports for herbaceous peonies, and helping the plant put energy back into its roots for next year.

Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca

Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast.

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.

Do you have a lilac bush in your garden? If you've ever wondered when or how to prune it, don't miss this week's episode. Joanne shares timely tips for caring for your lilacs and explains why now is the perfect time to prune.

Some of the topics covered in this week's episode:

The importance of pruning lilacs right after they bloom

Lilacs bloom on old wood, so timing matters. The best time to deadhead or prune is immediately after flowering, usually in June, before the plant puts energy into seed production or begins setting next year's blooms.

How to rejuvenate older, woody lilacs

Two approaches: a drastic cutback of very old, unproductive lilacs, or a slower three-year rejuvenation plan in which the oldest stems are gradually removed. Remember to use sharp pruners, not hedge trimmers, and be intentional about which branches are removed.

Understanding different lilac varieties and their care needs

Joanne compares common/French lilacs with newer repeat-blooming varieties like Bloomerang, as well as dwarf types like Miss Kim. Even repeat bloomers benefit from deadheading after the first flush so they can produce more flowers later in the season.

Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca

Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast.

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, we revisit last spring's conversation with Ernest Williams from Aquascape about how pondless water features can bring the beauty, movement, and soothing sound of water into your yard.

Here are some of the topics discussed in this episode:

Pondless water features offer beauty with less maintenance: Pondless waterfalls, fountainscapes, spillway bowls, bubbling rocks, urns, basalt columns, and disappearing streams allow homeowners to enjoy the sound and movement of water without the maintenance and safety concerns of a traditional pond.

Water features can transform the feel of a yard: Water adds calm, sound, movement, and atmosphere to outdoor spaces. Use water features to create a backyard oasis, improve curb appeal, attract birds and wildlife, soften traffic or neighbour noise, and make your home feel more like a cottage retreat.

Water features can also solve practical landscape problems: Pondless features, aqua basins, aqua blocks, and rainwater collection systems can help manage runoff, wet areas, downspout water, drainage challenges, and stormwater concerns.

To learn more about pondless water features and everything Aquascape offers, visit them at www.aquascapeinc.com and view their videos on YouTube.

Email your questions and comments to downthegardenpathpodcast@hotmail.com, or connect with Joanne on her website: down2earth.ca

Find Down the Garden Path on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube: @downthegardenpathpodcast.

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.