ABOUT OUR APPROACH

We see lots of garden glamour. Picture-perfect plants pose in picture-perfect gardens.

We bring you real gardening.

Trust us…it’s still fun.

We take a serious—yet fun—look at gardening tips, concepts, and products.

And we tell you when we think we spot gardening guff.

ABOUT COACH DONNA

Gardening Pedigree

  • Farmer’s daughter
  • Horticultural Science major, University of Alberta 

Occupation

  • Garden Consultant: Recent large projects include horticultural consulting for historic landscapes including Central Memorial Park and Reader Rock Garden in The City of Calgary. Advises gardeners in their own backyards.
  • Radio Personality: Radio gardening show on CBC radio in Alberta.
  • Television Personality: Co-host of internationally broadcast Bugs & Blooms.
  • Writer: Specializing in local and regional books and articles, with a regular column in The Calgary Herald for over fifteen years.

Location

Generation

  • Boomer

Likes

  • Simple techniques
  • Soil-friendly methods

Hates

  • Gardening guff

Favourite Plant in 2010

  • Cardoon 

Claim to Fame

  • Common-sense approach and simple solutions. (OK, the TV show too)

Incidentally

  • Donna likes to check out new products and try every gadget or garden-related product at least once so she knows whether to suggest it to listeners and clients.

ABOUT COACH STEVE

Gardening Pedigree

  • Some wives are hockey widows on game night. On weekends, Steven’s wife, Shelley, is a gardening widow.
  • Horticultural Science major, University of Guelph

Occupation

  • Freelance Journalist: Focused on gardening, farming, and food.
  • Garden Consultant: Specializing in growing vegetables in urban areas. 
  • Parent: Home-based father of three young kids. 

Location

Generation

  • X

Likes

  • Simple techniques
  • Low–input approaches

Hates

  • Gardening guff

Favourite Plant in 2010

  • Edible figs

Claim to Fame

  • Steve was once foolish enough to believe that parsnip wine might actually taste good…and used his bumper crop of parsnips to make wine. Yuck.

Incidentally

  • Steve tends to be cheap when it comes to buying gardening gadgets, though since meeting Donna has splurged on a worm composter. 

 Visit our LEARN page for lots of free online Guff-Busting gardening advice.

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Garden Coaches Chat: No Guff. Lots of fun.
Donna Balzer and Steven Biggs
Garden Coaches