The Helpful Gardeners
Welcome to the Helpful Gardeners, a weekly podcast diving into the home and garden topics you want to learn more about. Colin is a certified horticulturist with decades of experience working in landscaping, gardening and houseplants in various climactic zones. Brandi is a beginner with a passion to ask questions. Subscribe to catch new episodes every Sunday!
Episodes
Have you seen mystery items pop up in your garden? A shell? A peanut? A new plant?
Let us know!
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What's the deal with curb appeal?
We delve into the subjective nature of curb appeal, the balance between personal expression and neighborhood harmony, and the local regulations that govern property aesthetics. What are the benefits of curb appeal and what factors might influence poor curb appeal? Is it your place to judge? Is it your place to reach out?
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Colin found another sign of spring in his garden this week! What are you seeing in your community?
Google is a common tool for gardeners to diagnose plant issues which can be helpful especially for those weird questions you feel dumb for uttering out loud, but it can also problematic as some scenarios require a fuller picture to diagnose.
Today, we explore common gardening questions and concerns that gardeners often Google. We're talking about plant odors, noises, and health issues. Is your plant making sounds? Do you have mushr...
I think it's time to get back in the garden... Brandi has been deep in the reality TV and it's gone too far...
The gardeners are on the road this week in downtown Calgary for Earth Week at the Core Shopping Centre! Exploring a fun craft for the kiddos, some fun Earth Day activities across Canada, and 11 low effect ways to celebrate Earth Day at home!
Chapters
00:00 Celebrating Earth Week in Calgary
05:08 Fun Kids Activity
09:59 Community Events for Earth Day
15:00 Creative Earth Day Activities
20:01 Practical Tips for Environmental Awareness
2...
What is your first signal that spring is here? Find out what Colin and Brandi consider to be theirs!
As the spring growing season gets underway, what can you find growing at your local greenhouse? The gardeners explore iconic spring flowers, the benefits of buying some of your annuals early, climatizing or hardening off, home greenhouses, and effective shopping strategies.
Chapters
02:56 Exploring Iconic Spring Plants
09:00 The Benefits of Early Planting
14:49 Maximizing Growth Potential
17:43 Tips for Plant Care and Maintenance
26...
Someone was lurking in Brandi's garden this week...
We're explore some of the common critters you may find in your backyard at any time of the day and what they may be interested in. What kind of natural deterrents and preventative measures can you use to creating a balanced ecosystem?
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Thank you so much for supporting our podcast and for making the world a more planty place. Please subs...
Brandi and Colin BOTH attended their first seed swap a little while ago! Find out what their experiences were like!
Check out our episode on Seed Swaps!
We're talking Homeowners Associations (HOAs), exploring their benefits and drawbacks. In this episode we'll touch on some of the common rules imposed by HOAs, the tension between maintaining property values and allowing personal expression, conflict resolution within HOAs, the complexities of neighborhood dynamics, the pros and cons of HOAs, and more.
If you're part of an HOA, we talking about how to engage with your communities and...
Can you guess what Brandi saw in the garden the other day?
We're exploring simple and stylistic ways to incorporate plants into your outdoor and indoor living spaces. We explore inspired approaches to decorating, benefits of thrifting, working with small spaces, and even how to spread plant love to your local community.
SPECIAL GUEST
Nancy Adie | Simply Styled Inspo
Nancy is the creator behind Simply Styled Inspo. Following a move from Toronto to Calgary she began her creative jour...
Farmers and homesteaders are the ultimate gardeners. While farmers and homesteaders are working on a grander scale than home gardeners, they’re most likely working through similar challenges like we are as gardeners, just on a grander scale. Take a peek behind the curtain at some of the many ways Hartell Homestead is growing not only for themselves, but for their community.
SPECIAL GUEST
Nick Shipley is the founder of Hartell Ho...
Seed swaps have been around for a looooong time. Even indigenous groups and farmers would share seeds to grow their crops or medicinal plants. Today, seed swaps are commonly organized into large events with one of the most popular being "Seedy Saturday" across Canada. The first Seedy Saturday dates back to the early 90's in Vancouver courtesy of Roy Forster of the Van Dusan Botanical Gardens. 500+ people showed up for...
We're on the road this week exploring the Calgary Home and Garden Show! Learn about the benefits of local expertise, innovative gardening tools, and more!
Join us at the show on March 2nd at 12PM for our stage presentation on native plants!
Learn more: https://www.calgaryhgs.com/
It's Colin's Birthday!
The gardeners are sharing donuts, stories, and facts about the birthday man himself. Colin shares his favorite plants to grow, what he wouldn't grow, memorable clients, and even the challenges he's faced in his gardening career.
Chapters
00:00 Celebrating Birthdays
03:01 Donut Party!
06:05 Nostalgic Memories
15:14 Getting to Know Colin!
34:20 Garden Court Information
Next week, we start '...
It's houseplant season! Plants can bring joy and beauty to any space and there's a lot to explore! In this episode, the gardeners explore:Beginner plants, plants that require very specific care, the diversity of philodendrons, plants that can survive without soil, low maintenance plants, the stunning world of Dracaena, plants that move in response to touch, pet safety, allergies, and how to know if a plant is easy or hard. Chapters...
We're delving into popular internet trends surrounding plant care. Should you use pasta water on your Monstera? Leftover Coffee on your Cactus? Ice Cubes on your Spider Plant? What about milk on your Fiddle Leaf Fig? What about using snow?We'll also dive into some practical plant care that you can provide during these colder, darker, winter months. Sound Byte of the Episode - "Don't milk your plants."CHAPTERS:...
The Gardeners are BACK! Welcome to a brand new year of growing and we're so excited for all the fun things ahead. In this episode, we tease some of the new questions we're tackling in the gardening world, and our 3 gardening intentions that may inspire yours!
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Thank you so much for supporting our podcast and for making the world a more planty place. Please subscribe, leave a rating or revi...
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