January 20, 2014

Vol 3, Issue 1

Down The Garden Path

with Joanne Shaw

Happy New Year 2014! I hope everyone had a great holiday and had time to relax and enjoy time with friends and family.

My family did something different this year and left for a cruise just after Christmas. We chose to go on a Western Caribbean cruise with some great help from one of my customers, Susan Mathieson with CruiseShipCenters. We had a great time and it was nice to have a bit of sun and warm weather especially with what we left behind.

I hope everyone survived the power outages and had a great holiday despite the cold and ice. I am sure for many of you your garden landscape has changed very much in a way we didn't see coming since my last newsletter. I know mine has!

Trees broken, gardens frozen... future sun and shade forever altered.

And now the discussion on everyone's mind is pruning and proper tree care. Especially regarding city owned trees. And how our tax payer's dollars are being spent now to clean all of this up versus how much it would have cost to prevent it from happening in the first place, at least on such a large scale.

With a corner lot I have 3 city trees on my property all infected with Emerald Ash Borer. Two neighbours had their trees removed 2 years ago and mine were put on "wait and see". Despite knowing they were infected, I chose to be patient and hope the city would deal with it. Now I really wish I had been more forceful and pushed to have them taken down (doesn't mean they would have listened but I wish I tried harder).

I am really glad that the tree that came down toward the house didn't damage the house, but anything could have happened. And every day that I walk out of my house and see this I can't help picturing the 3 young trees that should have been planted there!

For this past years' customers, please let me know if your new young trees have damage. Do you have any damage or interesting pictures from our crazy winter so far? Please share them on my Facebook page.

Stay warm and I hope you enjoy this month's issue.

All the best for the New Year!

Joanne

Joanne Shaw

Landscape Designer

Down2Earth Landscape Design

joanne@down2earth.ca

In This Issue

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

FEATURE ARTICLE

Tips For The Yard And Garden This Month

Don't Waste Time!

5 Reasons To Hire A Landscape Designer Now

1) Designers see the big picture. Landscapes not only need to look good today they need to grow in to look good for years to come.

2) Designers save you money. If given an upfront budget a designer can help you get the biggest bang for your buck. And if you want some bigger ticket items, the implementation of the plan can be spread out over a couple of years.

3) Designers can save you time. Everyone wants low maintenance. I always say, "low maintenance is the right plant in the right spot". Why spend all the time trying to get plants, grass or trees to grow when they are in the incorrect spot?!

4) Project Management. Whether it's a small garden or large landscape construction, there are a lot of aspects of it. From picking the rocks to picking the plants a designer's passion is to work with you to create a successful landscape installation!

5) Designers have contacts. We work with qualified contractors. We work with them closely. We know their skill sets and we make sure they are the right person for the job.

If you know anyone considering a landscape project this year please to them. Even though we are only mid-way worm

through January, now is the time to start to work on a design to get a jump on spring. Remember the early bird catches the worm!

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For more gardening tips and informative articles, visit my Newsletter Archives page!

Gardening By Observing

Even if you're as passionate about your garden as my loyal customer, Donna George, it doesn't mean you have to go it all alone. I'm happy to welcome Donna as my guest author this month. Donna is a retired gardening enthusiast or as I affectionately call her, "my gardening from the deck lady". She will be sharing with you her story and how we have successfully worked together for 6 years in this month's Feature Article.

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Do you garden according to a nursing care plan? I do! I assess, plan, implement and evaluate.

When I retired in 1997, my first TO DO thing was to do my own gardening. When we lived in Aylmer, Ontario we had a very large garden, an arbour, a 3 pool pond, fish, a raised garden bed and lots of work to plan.

I had a potting shed, my potting table, and lots of thought about how to work.

I went to Lee Valley Tools in London and bought all the very best gardening tools! I had my serviceable gardening gloves, my gardening straw hat, gardening clogs and I was ready!

I amassed 19 garden books by pre-eminent authors who knew and explained to the neophyte everything there was to know about gardening and gardens.

The first book that I bought had been "Chatelaine's Gardening Book" by Lois Wilson (1970). We still lived in an apartment but I could think ahead to the DAY.

From 1972 to 1987 we lived in our townhouse in Agincourt and that only had a small private front garden. Not much work but I planted a bridal wreath spirea, a second spirea bush and some four o'clock plants.

In 1987 we moved to Aylmer, Ontario.

In 1994 we bought a house. I wanted a garden!

A friend from the College of Nurses where I worked in Toronto gave me a split from her peony bush that had been her grandfather's originally and I was ready to start!

In our 1995 garden installation there were sloping pathways and 6 distinct garden areas. There were perennials, annuals, bushes, trees and we backed onto to a conservation area that made the garden look even larger that it really was!

However, things changed. I had a sudden onset of rheumatoid arthritis in 1998, was on homecare for 2 years and all my plans were dashed.   We had a beautiful sunroom built at the rear of the house and sitting on my green wicker plump cushion chaise lounge, I could only look out over that garden.

In 2005 we moved to Whitby and by 2006 I wanted a smaller garden, one that I could look at and one that someone could manage for me!

Back Garden Spring 2008

I met Joanne Shaw who worked with me to realise my garden dream.

The rest as they say is history. I still cannot walk on uneven ground or use any garden tools. I threw out my Lee Valley clogs and now l garden from the elevated deck, taking notes for Joanne and sending her pictures of plants, spaces and trees. We have worked together for 6 years now developing my gardens that I watch over from the deck.

Back Garden Summer 2013

Joanne always says "Great Landscapes start with a great plan"....this is true even if it's a nursing care plan and Joanne understands!

Joanne Shaw is the owner and operator of Down2Earth Landscape Design. A graduate of Ryerson University in Landscape Design, Joanne has 15 years experience in designing gardens and a decade in landscape and related business, both for her own clientele and established local nurseries.

Joanne Shaw
Landscape Designer
Down2Earth Landscape Design
joanne@down2earth.ca
www.down2earth.ca
905.839.1597
905.903.2597