The Garden Shift

Speaking to Blaine Pearson, CEO and Co-Founder of Dot Dot Dash, 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 w...

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...

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.

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 owner...

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

Learn about agroecology and growing seed crops with my guest, seed farmer and author Dan Brisebois. We talk about 'First Seed Mindset' and building a relationship with a plant. What species make a good seed crop, will there be cross pollination, what's a F1 seed, don't be afraid of Brassicas, and lots of vegetable tips will be shared.

Ferme Tourne-Sol Co-Op

The Seed Farmer, New Society Publisher, 2025

Planting Guides

Junaid is an ecologist who knows nature can heal. His journey starts in Pakistan where nature was always somewhere else. Moving to Canada and now living in Peterborough he sought out a connection to the land through both traditional indigenous learning and alliances with community groups and organizations. Junaid reflects "I see my work is to weave together people's understanding of what it is to be part of nature so we can heal ourselves and each other"

https://www.truecology.ca/

The National Observer

Let Junaid Shahzad Khan Help you Work on Your...

Would you like to collaborate with a team of volunteers while enjoying some nature therapy? Toronto Nature Stewards may be the organization for you. Pat Concessi is a caring citizen and she wants you to get to know the ravines. Learn why some plants are harmful in the ravine ecosystem and need to be removed, what species may appear in your garden and how to identify , remove and dispose them.

https://torontonaturestewards.org/

Garlic Mustard

https://www.ontario.ca/page/garlic-mustard

Ontario Invasive Plant Council

https://www.ontarioinvasiveplants.ca/

Fatal Light Awareness Program (FLAP) Canada is a registered Canadian charity widely recognized as the pre-eminent authority on the bird-building collision issue. Millions of birds die every year from collisions with windows.

What can we do to safeguard birds in our yards. Michael discusses option for our windows and placement of our bird feeders.

https://flap.org/

Global Bird Collision Mapper

https://www.birdmapper.org/

Joanna Dyer is teaching her young family to love bees and bugs, removing invasive plants, experimenting with garden techniques like dead hedges and seed snails and growing new species at every opportunity. Her Shift is happening at a racing pace in her garden in Hamilton, Ontario.

Follow Joanna on Instagram:

the_native_gardening_novice

Order Wild Ginger -Ontario Native Plant:

https://onplants.ca/shop/asarum-canadense/

Remove Periwinkle:

https://www.ontarioinvasiveplants.ca/invasive-plants/species/periwinkle/

Victoria Badham joins today from the Toronto Wildlife Centre. Thousands of calls are handled on the hotline in the busy part of the year. Rescues, medical care , rehabilitation and education are all components of this charity's mission. Victoria answers questions and dispels myths around the wildlife that show up in our urban gardens. What to do and what not to do. Building a healthy community for people and animals in Toronto.

https://www.torontowildlifecentre.com/

Dr Elaine Wiersma research at Lakehead University highlights the special opportunity that gardeners have to make positive change as stewards, conservationists, guerilla gardeners, advocates, learners and teachers. We discuss her new project - Whispers From the North, a nursery she opened in 2021 in Pass Lake Ontario. Special species like Early Figwort, Northern Sweetgrass and Poverty Oat Grass are discussed.

https://www.whispersfromthenorth.ca/

Matrix Gardening:

https://wildones.org/matrix-landscape-design-with-benjamin-vogt/

Social Media sensation Grant Minkhorst is hooked on gardening. He wants you to jump in and make mistakes. A clever and often hilarious communicator , we talk the joy of flowers, starting from seed , and pest management .

gardeninggrant.com

News- How To Start Your Garden for the Season

https://globalnews.ca/video/11200929/how-to-start-your-garden-for-the-season

Grant recommends:

https://www.ted.com/talks/rebecca_mcmackin_let_your_garden_grow_wild

Sean James is an ecological landscape expert. With his extensive horticultural knowledge he creates gardens that are public pleasing. Bold features, drifts of plants and seasonal vignettes make up his designs. This episode is jam packed with plant choices that can bring both birds and bees to your garden. Some plants of note are Bladdernut , Black Cherry, Silky Dogwood and Arrowleaf Aster.

Notes

https://www.seanjames-consulting.ca/

Sean James YouTube

https://youtu.be/1K8x-vUkoMI?si=Z53QzXPjhZ25yhVO

https://landscapeontario.com/about/

In this episode you will meet community builder & Toronto Master Gardener Jen Morley. Jen cares about the natural world and does her part right in her neighbourhood in downtown Toronto. She entered the Master Gardener training program in 2023 and has fast become a rising star.  A skilled writer, editor and communicator with a knack for making connections and bringing people together. Listen in as we talk about her ongoing leadership role in the Girl Guides, a successful grant application for PollinateTo funding, and her ongoing studies that are assisting her on The Shift. Enjoy.

Notes & Link

P...

In today's episode you will hear from Andrea D'Silva the owner of Swallowtail Native Plants an online specialized seed company.

Why is growing plants from local seed important and what seeds are easy to try if you are new to growing native plants from seeds.

Winter is the time to buy seeds and Andrea gives great tips on how to have success with germination. Blue Flag Iris , Wild Basil and Prairie Smoke are a few special species we discuss.

www.swallowtailnativeplants.ca

Andrea's Native Plant Easy to Start List

In this episode we continue on the theme of naturalized gardens and out dated by-laws that penalize gardeners who want to do their part for nature. The City of Burlington is taking ecologist Karen Barnes to court over her naturalized garden, that was deliberately planted, maintained, free of noxious weeds and not obstructing any sidewalk or sightline. It's been a battle that has seen her front and back garden mowed down by the City.

Listen in to Karen joined by her daughter Julia as they detail the case based on constitutional grounds and their aim to set a...

Douglas Counter goes to court in Counter v City of Toronto (2002) to express his pro-environmental views of how to manage a garden on privately maintained public property. Listen to a passionate gardener who fought and won this case for all Canadian gardeners. Recorded in Nov.2025

Contact Douglas: dcu.humanature@rogers.com

Spacing Toronto |  https://spacing.ca/toronto/2024/08/21/from-drainage-ditch-to-vibrant-pollution-absorbing-habitat/

Fireflies- -Ontario Nature

 https://ontarionature.org/fireflies-of-ontario-blog/

The Garden Shift is back for 2026.

In this episode we define & explore common botanical terms used in ecology and horticulture. What is a weed? What makes a plant invasive? Is a naturalized plant bad for an ecosystem? Ryan Godfrey, Senior Conservation Research Associate Specialist at WWF Canada, makes sense of it all.

Use the chart found in this link to follow along:

https://wwf.ca/stories/botanical-terminology-invasive-ornamental-plants/

Listen in as we close the year with TMG Pat Concessi and Tena van Andel. This is a tell all- as we share real stories from our own gardens. Don't miss the last few minutes when we are joined by researcher David Lawrie from the Toronto Region and Conservation Authority- he will outline the work to create safe passage for an endagered species who you might recognize from The Garden Shift podcast cover.

https://wildones.org/about/honorary-directors/larry-weaner/

https://trca.ca/conservation/environmental-monitoring/searching-for-salamanders/

Dorte Windmuller has been gardening in Scarborough for over 15 years. Part of The Cliffcrest Butterflyway-a citizen-led group under the umbrella of the David Suzuki Foundation with the aim to bring back more bees and butterflies to our gardens, schools and public places. Listen and get inspiration on creating an oasis for wildlife by planting native.

Pollinator Garden by Dorte Windmuller for bees and birds and butterflies https://www.pollinatorgarden.ca/

www.Cliffcrestbutterflyway.com 

What’s the Rush? Doug Tallamy, Co-Founder Homegrown National Park® - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3KQW2BKtx4 h...

Do you love growing plants from seed, ever thought of starting a local native plant nursery? Sundaura Alford Purvis of A Cultivated Art in Ottawa, will tell you all about the magic of growing. We talk unsustainable horticulture practices, plant associations, the importance of wild gathered seed and so much more. This episode is jammed pack with detail- but don't worry included below are great links and resources . And who said you can't listen to the episode more than once?

A Cultivated Art - acultivatedart.com

VASCAN - data.canadensys.net

...

Toronto Master Gardener Dianne Azzarello returns to The Garden Shift. Part accidental, part luck and mostly experimental the results are a four season garden that provides a healthy amount of habitat services and a beautiful boulevard appeal. Included in this episode and found on thegardenshift.com in the Resource Library is her native plant list. Lots of easy to grow plants that you will want to know and grow.

Notes: https://onplants.ca/shop/geum-triflorum/, https://www.torontomastergardeners.ca/invasive-species-awareness-initiative/

Lorraine Johnson , writer, author and Cultivation Activist. With 40 years of garden know-how Lorraine Johnson brings people together to enhance their communities.

lorrainejohnson.ca

Ingrid Janssen is a Durham Master Gardener and lifelong Ecological Gardener. Her Shift has taken her to start a not for profit called Little Forests Durham. A volunteer-run community organization focused on giving tools and knowledge to people, communities, organizations and local authorities to plant Little Forests in their neighbourhoods and communities. https://littleforestsdurham.ca https://greencommunitiescanada.org/programs/mini-forest/

Pat Concessi joins to discuss yellow and purple blooms in our garden. We walk the Meadoway in Scarborough for seed collecting and inspiration. Listen to our favorite well behaved species that will work in any urban garden.

Notes:

Braiding Sweetgrass, Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants, Robin Wall Kimmerer

themeadoway.ca

TRCA- Toronto Region and Conservation Authority

https://trca.ca/conservation/terrestrial-ecosystems/ranks-and-scores/

Aster Purple Dome -Mount Cuba

https://mtcubacenter.org/plants/purple-dome-new-england-aster/

Solidago 'Fireworks'

https://hort.extension...

Trixie Reichardt is a fellow Toronto Master Gardener. We discuss her North Toronto garden evolution. Less lawn, raised beds, plants grown from seed and tricks to safe guard veggies.

Notes:

The Pawpaw Growers Manual for Ontario, Dan Bissonnette

sayehsunstudio.com- Hone of The Underhill Seedsitters

nanps.org- North American Native Plant Society

Scientist and Toronto Master Gardener, Dianne Azzarello joins to discuss critical thinking and doing your research when looking at social media. We will also talk about the value of a botanic garden in helping you on your shift.

Notes:

Spotted Laternfly

Invasive Species Centre

Toronto Botanical Garden

It's early August-what are you observing in your garden? Toronto Master Gardener and Native Steward Pat Concessi is my guest today. We talk caterpillars and more.

Tena Van Andel has been a Toronto Master Gardener since 2003. An amazing writer, lecturer on all things horticultural. You can find her at The Toronto Public Library, the Toronto Botanical Gardens and many private speaking engagements.

We discuss making the Shift, the myth of 'Autumn Clean Up' and starting native plants from seed.

https://landscapeontario.com/invasive-asian-jumping-worm-spotted-in-ontario

Botanist Ryan Godfrey of botanicallyspeaking.org shares insights and stories of plant relationships. He asks us to use 'botany eyes' to reframe our human relationship with plants. We cover growing in containers, where to get plants and a wild wild bee story.

Are you ready to make The Shift? Nature needs guardians and this podcast will get you inspired.