Talking about cold-hardy fruits and nuts and native pollinators.
Cold-Hardy Fruit and Nuts
In the first part of the show, we chat with veteran fruit growers Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano, founders of Hortus Arboretum and Botanical Gardens.
Their focus is cold-hardy fruit and nuts with good disease resistance and minimal pest problems — plants suited to home gardens and landscapes.
They tell us about:
Medlar
Mulberry
Himalayan Chocolate Berry
Honeyberry (a.k.a. Haskap)
Hazelnut
Their new book is Cold-Hardy Fruits and Nuts: 50 Easy-to-Grow Plants for the Organic Home Garden or Landscape.
Creating Habitat for Native Pollinators
In the second part of the show we talk about native bees and how we can support them in our gardens, with bumblebee researcher Sheila Colla and native plant expert Lorraine Johnson.
They tell us about:
Gardening as a way to support native bee species
How honeybees can impact native bee populations
The disappearance of the rusty patched bumblebee in Ontario
Their new book is A Garden for the Rusty-Patched Bumblebee: Creating Habitat for Native Pollinators.
Connect
Allyson Levy and Scott Serrano: hortusgardens.org
Sheila Colla: savethebumblebees.ca
Lorraine Johnson: lorrainejohnson.ca