Down The Garden Path Podcast

In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw welcomes Carla Bailey to discuss Women in Landscaping, a supportive community for green professionals that encourages women to enter the profession.

About Carla Bailey An HR professional for over a decade, Carla Bailey honed her expertise working for a leading landscaping company in London, Ontario. Dedicated to creating a positive work environment and resolving employee matters, her commitment to staff growth led her to discover and implement various government initiatives to support employee development.

In 2018, Carla and three other green professionals founded Women In Landscaping to introduce women to green professions and provide a community to help them thrive.

Here are some of the questions and topics covered in this episode:

• What led to the creation of Women in Landscaping (WIL)?
  • Business support for women in the Landscaping industry with a variety of issues in addition to business development
• When was WIL started?
  • The group started in the greater London area in 2018.
  • It grew quickly until the pandemic hit. They held their numbers steady and registered as a non-profit in 2024.
• How often does WIL meet?
  • WIL currently holds monthly drop-ins on the fourth Thursday of the month across the province. Approximately 10-20 women attend, ranging from new to the industry to 30-year business owners to women going through career changes.
• 100,000 jobs in the trade in Ontario, with 25,000 vacancies. Still less than 30% are filled by women.
  • This demonstrates that the industries have not been successful on their own in attracting women into the landscaping industry.
• In 2023, WIL hosted the Touch-a-Truck event to promote awareness of women working in green professions, and 3,300 people turned up!
  • WIL has five Touch-a-Truck events planned for July 20th this year and another for September.
• WIL has partnered with Landscape Ontario
  • They will be hosting a Women in Landscaping Luncheon at the Landscape Ontario Congress in January 2025.

You can find Women in Landscaping on Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn.

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

You can also email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne via her website: down2earth.ca

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.

You can now catch the podcast on YouTube....

In this episode of Down the Garden Path, Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing discuss bushes with berries for the birds that you can add to your landscape. These bushes are different than other fruit bushes like blueberry and raspberry, etc.

They came up with five different ones for you to consider and a few honourable mentions.

Five shrubs to attract, feed, and help shelter birds in your yard in the colder months of the year:

• Common Snowberry, Symphoricarpos alba
• Black Chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa
• Chokecherry, Prunus virginiana
• Beautyberry, Callicapra americana
• American elderberry, Sambucus canadensis

Honourable mentions:

• Viburnums, Viburnum spp. (Listen to our Viburnum podcast here.)
• American Bittersweet vine, Celastrus scandens.
• Eastern Red Cedar, Juniperus virginiana
• Oregon Grape Holly, Mahonia aquifolium
• Cotoneaster, Cotoneaster spp.

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

You can also email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect with Joanne and Matthew via their websites:

Joanne Shaw: down2earth.ca

Matthew Dressing: naturalaffinity.ca

Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden

Each week on Down The Garden Path, professional landscape designers Joanne Shaw and Matthew Dressing discuss 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. A horticulturist and landscape designer, Matthew Dressing owns Natural Affinity Garden Design, a landscape design and garden maintenance firm servicing Toronto and the Eastern GTA. Together, they do their best to bring you interesting, relevant and useful topics to help you keep your garden as low maintenance as possible.

In their book, Down the Garden Path: A Step-By-Step Guide to Your Ontario Garden, Joanne and Matthew 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. It's now available on Amazon.

Don't forget to check out Down the Garden Path on your favourite podcast app and subscribe to be notified of new content. You can now catch the podcast on YouTube and Patreon.

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.

Email your questions and comments to [email protected], or connect via her website at down2earth.ca.

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.

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