The Garden Shift

Brand new to birding? No problem with Project Feeder Watch. Winter is coming and you can join a community project that will deepen your connection to nature. Andrea Gress, Special Projects Coordinator for Birds Canada tells us all about the birds she loves -Plovers to Evening Gross Beaks, and the birds you can get to know. Brand new to birding? No problem with Project Feeder Watch. Watch a mini habitat in your yard and record your observations. We also discuss The Warblers, an award winning podcast that Andrea hosts. Full of delightful stories from across Canada.

Birds Canada-Project Feeder Watch

Gardening For Birds

The Warblers

Rooted in science and guided by biology Colleen wants you to activate your soil. As a certified Soil Food Web Laboratory Technician she will show you the microbial life in your soil.

She produces hig quality compost , teas and extracts and conducts analyses of garden, forest and agricultural soil samples. Her advice is targeted to your garden. Rewild Soils is a gardeners dream resource.

Rewild Soils

This episode is filled with stories, from Kevin's early life in Quebec working summers in bogs and wetlands propagating blueberries to fundraising and advocacy work while at the University of Toronto with the Botany Conservation Group. Kevin then spent years working for National Conservation organizations like World Wildlife Fund and Nature Conservancy of Canada.

Today if you go to Kevin's nursery be ready to be awe struck- mature specimens of magnolias, rhododendrons , azaleas, paw paws and dogwoods, to name a few, form a storefront forest that demonstrates what he has built in the last 20 years. It's not only about the plants- it's the whole story - a charmed ecosystem where passionate staff will spend time to make the right choices.Kevin tells us to be concerned gardeners, spend time slowing down and really looking at nature, get excited, get motivated and get planting. That's a hopeful message and xactly what we need to hear.

South Coast Gardens

Gardening For Birds

Audrey Martel wants you to find your place in nature. Having worked with The Nature Conservancy of Canada and now as an ecology writer for the well known Laidback Gardener blog she has developed a unique way to communicate science. Her articles are full of charm and joie de vivre. We talk about a restoration project at her local lake in Granby Quebec, making friends with unloved critters, the benefits of messy gardens, growing garlic, and a whole lot more.

The Laidback Gardener

https://jardinierparesseux.com/

Growing Garlic

Pickled Milkweed Pods

Phenology explores the timing of cyclical events in nature. Your garden is part of the natural world. Rebecca Last Guenette is a scientist and Master Gardener. She wants you to know that if you tend your garden and pay close attention to how it works and develops during the seasons that you're a 'phenologist'.

She says , "Scientists today are increasingly turning to phenology to understand how climate change is affecting the natural world. As gardeners, an understanding of phenology can help us plan for continuous blooms, use natural pest control effectively, and contribute to climate research as citizen scientists.

In this episode we talk Victoria Day planting, earwig explosion, newly updated Canadian Hardiness Zones and Artificial Light At Night. It's a fun episode hosting by friend of The Garden Shift Tena van Andel and full of good advice.

Gardening At Last

Canadian Hardiness Zones

Earth At Night

iNaturalist is like Facebook for people who want to be in nature and help collect data on everything wild , like animals and plants. Friend of The Garden Shift Pat Concessi joins to talk about her experience as a user of this social network and public database. There is a fun quiz at the end and keep listening after the goodbyes to hear a special 'in the field' clip where we make observations and identifications using the APP.

EDDMaps

Toronto Nature Stewards

Invasive Species Reporting

Merlin

Research on Garlic Mustard

Rebecca Davis Scott has found magic in her career in horticulture. As Program and Volunteer Manager at Green Thumbs Growing Kids her fascination with insects and their associations with plants has become part of her work day. We discuss why growing food, food literacy and nature connections are so important in the curriculum she brings to children and youth. We also talk about a 10,000 square foot rooftop urban garden, a work in progress, that provides fresh veggies and fruit to the Cabbagetown Farmers Market.

Green Thumbs Growing Kids

Cabbagetown Farmers Market

University of Guelph - Horticulture

Native Bees of Ontario-Halton Master Gardeners

Ontario Trillium Foundation

Speaking to Blaine Pearson, CEO and Co-Founder of Seedark quickly reveals a person with a creative edge. In this episode we explore a few of her initiatives like Squiirrel a mobile app that connects people who use seeds and people who collect and buy seeds.

On the day of recording Blaine is at her home and flower farm in the hills of Mulmur ,Ontario ,where she grows flowers slowly and for sale locally. Flowers are carefully selected for both beauty and ecosystem benefit. Popular peonies are followed by fall asters and goldenrods.

Blaine's work gives you hope for the future and demonstrates how making connections with nature is always good for our planet.

White Dog Flowers

Seedark

Welcome to Season Three. This episode was recorded onsite at the Toronto Plant Market. As ecological gardeners it's important to know where your plants come from- who grows and sells them. If you are in and around Toronto this is the place to go. You will meet the owner Jonas and his terrific staff. When you visit go with questions and leave with answers. Plants are organized by ecological reference based on characteristics of the most common sites in Toronto- lawn alternatives, woodland, edible, hardscape, meadow/prairie and wet.

Toronto Plant Market

You may remember Douglas from Season 2. His storm infiltration boulevard in Etobicoke is well documented. Douglas joins to continue the conversation about all the critters who visit this garden space- grasshoppers, damselflies, wasps, bees and birds to name a handful few. We talk about how creating a garden is an opportunity to watch a dynamic ecosystem and learn about all the associations between insects and plants.

Douglas is a Project Swallowtail Ambassador and gives free tours of his garden. He is also a native plant propagator, growing over 50 species at his home.

Spacing Article, Trent Weston

Subscribe to Project Swallowtail's newsletter and learn more:

projectswallowtail.ca

Contact Douglas:

dcu.humanature@rogers.com

Resources:

bugguide.net

Heather Holm https://www.pollinatorsnativeplants.com/

https://www.wildplantsfromseed.com/

Season 2 closes with Kirstin Hicks of Tidal & Timber Studio -she brings the flora and fauna of coastal and boreal landscapes closer to home through her art. Working in Thunder Bay she has spent much of her professional career in natural resource management. Inspired by the forests of Northern Ontario, Lake Superior and nature walks with her field golden retriever- her art communicates an intimate understanding of her place. Kirstin is soaking up the short summer season vibe, taking care of her rain garden and working on her next handmade item that highlights the species she loves- vascular plants.

Tidal & Timber Studio

Whispers From the North

EcoSuperior

Follow The Garden Shift on Instagram @the_garden_shift, and thegardenshift.com

Special thanks to my people:

Victoria/creative design @saltwater.agency

Luke/music @lukeottenhof

Master Gardener advisors: Pat Concessi, Tena van Andel & Dianne Azzarello

Season 3 will land in September.

Happy Summer and thanks for being eco guardians

This episode was first shared in Season One. It's one of my favorites because it's filled with good advice. Lorraine wants you to get started right where you are. Small changes in your garden can bring big results. Host plants for birds, allowing diversity of species in your lawn, planting up a hellstrip, it's all about reconciling with nature. Enjoy this jam packed episode and Lorraine's story about Sneezy (Disney) and his relationship to goldenrod.

lorrainejohnson.ca

https://www.rewildingmag.com/author/lorraine-johnson/

Are you a cottage owner, conservation practitioner, or lake association? Laura Thomas, owner of Hidden Habitat wants you to grow the right native plant in the right place. Visit her at the nursery and she will show you how. We talk about shoreline seed mixes, seed orchards and plant sex.

Hidden Habitat

Muskoka Conservancy

Can this be the year your meadow dreams come true?

New Directions in American Landscapes Designer Larry Weaner has wise words for gardeners who dream of a meadow "By understanding nature’s next ‘move’... we are better able to make intelligent decisions resulting in less maintenance requirements and a more successful end result".

In this episode Toronto Master Gardener Tena van Andel will share her personal experiences with growing meadows. We talk ecological succession, site prep, invasive species, plant choices, seed mixes and 'meadows in a can'. Tena tells a personal story about Wildflower Farm and owners Miriam and Paul.

Is it easy? Can anyone do it? Let's just say dream big , plan well and a piece of meadow can be yours.

The Meadoway

The New Ontario Naturalized Garden, Lorraine Johnson

Larry Weaner-New Directions in American Landscapes

Wildflower Farm

The Garden Shift invited Pat Concessi for an impromptu chat-between gardening friends. Zigzag Goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis), Large-Leaved Aster (Eurybia macrophylla) and Golden Alexander (Zizea aurea) are all making an appearance.

Ewa Bednarczuk knows habitats, she worked on prairies, forests, woodlands and wetlands across Ontario. Now with her online course you can learn to restore and do your part in your own yard. We talk about the lessons, Q & A Hub and community support that will make you a restorer of habitat. Ewa knows soil, plants and interactions and wants you to be a force for good.

Neighbourhood Habitat

Soil Food Web School

Kneep Wildland Rewilding Project

The Paw Paw tree, Asimina triloba, is a Carolinian tree that needs our attention. Perfect for a home or community garden, this tree has suffered habitat loss and may be further suffering from bad public relations. In this episode The Garden Shift welcomes Dan Bissonnette - he talks ecological importance of this native species. We learn how to grow from seed and what this tree needs to produce delicious fruit.

Order Manual-Contact Dan- dannaturescape@gmail.com

TVO Article

Lorraine Johnson's Post

Windsor Star Article

You may know Sayeh Beheshti from Underhill Seed Sitters, Don't Mess With the Don or North American Native Plant Society. In this episode, hosted by Pat Concessi they talk about the gift economy and how society improves when we give our time to those in need. Sayeh shares her garden with all the creatures that have been there long before she started gardening. Learn about nature journaling, back yard bee projects, The Garden Fun club and many more of her personal initiatives.

Underhill Seed Sitters

The Garden Fun Club

Nature Journaling

Mosquito fogging, cooking fiddleheads, arsenic and more. Join my guest Dianne Azzarello for an insightful look at the potential risk associated with natural elements, in our gardens. Dianne has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 38 years.

Xerces Study- Mosquito Fogging

Mosquito Bucket

Health Canada- Food Safety for Fiddleheads

Using Pesticides in Ontario

Silent Spring, Rachel Carson

The RHS is the UK's leading gardening charity- founded in 1804. In this episode we are joined by Leigh Hunt. Leigh is the Principal Horticultural Advisor at Wisley Garden where he works with over 150 scientists to help deliver gardening advice to their members. We talk about Bringing Nature Home Initiative (2026), Jennifer Owens' 30 year bug study, resilience in plants, primroses, slugs, hedgehogs and more.

RHS Bringing Nature Home

Jennifer Owens Garden Study

Ken Thomson, Ecologist