The Wheelbarrow Gardener

08/31/2026

A little fall team get-together at Highlands Golf Course today 🌿💚

As another garden season starts to wind down, we had a chance to get together, catch up, share a few laughs and talk about the weeks ahead.

This crew has worked through rain, bugs, mud, heat, weeds… and then more rain 😂 — all while giving so much care and attention to our clients’ gardens.

We’re incredibly thankful for our team, but also for all of you who trust The Wheelbarrow Gardener with your outdoor spaces. We truly appreciate being welcomed into your gardens season after season. 🌿

Still a few busy weeks ahead before we hang up the gardening gloves for the year!

And yes… apparently we do clean up pretty well when we’re not covered in dirt. 😂💚

07/09/2026

🌿 THANK YOU, EDMONTON! 🌿

With full hearts, we want to share that The Wheelbarrow Gardener’s regular garden maintenance schedule is now full for the season.

Thank you to every client, referral, neighbour, and supporter who has helped make this such a wonderful year in the garden. We are truly grateful to be trusted with so many beautiful outdoor spaces across Edmonton and area.

While we are not taking on any additional clients for the current season, we are now welcoming inquiries for a limited number of new regular garden maintenance spots for 2027.

🌱 Now accepting inquiries for the 2027 season
🌼 Weekly and bi-weekly seasonal garden maintenance
📅 April through October
📍 Serving Edmonton and surrounding area
🌿 Garden care only — no lawn care

If you are interested in regular seasonal garden care for 2027, please send go to our website and fill out the contact us form. We would be happy to learn more about your garden and add you to our inquiry list.

Thank you again for your kindness, support, and trust. We appreciate every garden we care for and every kind word shared along the way. 💚

With gratitude,
Susan & The Wheelbarrow Gardener team

05/14/2026

Custom created on- site planters have started🍃💐

03/28/2026

🌿 𝗦𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟴!

The Wheelbarrow Gardener and our team of 𝟭𝟰 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 are excited to be getting back into the gardens for the 2026 season across 𝗘𝗱𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀. 🌷

Spring pruning, garden cleanups, 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀, compost applications, planting, and thoughtful ongoing garden care will soon be underway.

If your garden needs a little love this spring, now is a wonderful time to get in touch. Once the season gets rolling, spring fills up quickly. 😊

We’re so looking forward to another beautiful year of helping gardens grow.

🌿 𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿.𝗰𝗼𝗺

03/25/2026

03/05/2026

Some vegetables grow in completely different soil layers and never compete for space.
Pairing deep roots with shallow feeders doubles the harvest from the same ground.

- Tomatoes & Lettuce — tomato taproots dive deep while lettuce feeds from the top inch
- Carrots & Onions — carrot roots push straight down past onion's shallow fibrous mat
- Peppers & Radishes — radishes finish fast in surface soil before pepper roots spread
- Squash & Spinach — squash sends roots deep while spinach grazes nutrients near the surface
- Corn & Peas — corn's deep fibrous roots leave upper soil free for pea nitrogen fixers
- Beans & Beets — bean roots stay medium-depth while beet taproots mine minerals below
- Eggplant & Arugula — eggplant anchors deep and arugula skims the topsoil quickly
- Cucumbers & Garlic — cucumber roots spread wide at mid-depth around garlic's shallow bulbs
- Melons & Lettuce — melon taproots reach down while lettuce takes only what it needs above

03/05/2026

A fruit tree alone is half a fruit tree. 🌳
Most people plant a fruit tree, mulch the base, feed it occasionally and wonder why it never quite reaches its potential. The tree survives. It produces. But it never thrives the way old orchards do the ones where trees live for a hundred years and yield more as they age rather than less.
The difference is almost never the tree variety. It is almost always what grows around it.
Traditional orchardists planted guilds communities of specific companion plants around each tree that collectively do every maintenance job the tree needs. Pest suppression. Soil feeding. Moisture retention. Pollinator attraction. Mineral accumulation. All handled by the guild. No human intervention required.
A guild is not random companion planting. Every plant in a guild has a specific function. Every function serves the tree.
The classic fruit tree guild three essential plants:
🌿 Comfrey (Symphytum officinale)
The most important guild plant on earth. Deep tap roots up to 1.8 metres mine subsoil minerals that fruit tree roots cannot reach, pulling up calcium, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium from below the tree's root zone and depositing them in its leaves. Chop the leaves and drop them around the tree base instant mineral-rich mulch that breaks down within weeks and feeds the tree from above simultaneously. Chop six times a year. The tree gets a mineral feeding six times a year for free. One comfrey plant lives for decades and never needs replanting.
Also comfrey flowers are one of the most important early-season bee forage plants available. Bumblebees specifically seek them out. More bees at comfrey means more bees at your fruit tree flowers means more fruit.
Plant three to five comfrey plants in a ring around the tree drip line not touching the trunk, at the outer canopy edge where the feeder roots are.
🧄 Garlic
Planted around the tree base in autumn, garlic does three things simultaneously. Its sulfur compounds deter aphids the primary pest on most fruit trees in spring through volatile emissions that the insects find overwhelming. It suppresses certain soil fungal pathogens that affect fruit tree roots, particularly those causing collar rot. And when the garlic tops die back in early summer they add organic matter directly to the root zone.
Scatter plant garlic cloves between the comfrey plants 15 to 20cm apart, informal, no need for rows. Harvest the bulbs in summer. Replant a portion in autumn. The guild renews itself.
🍀 White Clover
The ground cover layer of the guild. Spreads naturally to cover all bare soil under the tree canopy suppressing weeds completely without any human intervention. Fixes atmospheric nitrogen directly into the soil through root nodules feeding the tree's feeder roots at exactly the depth they need it. Flowers continuously from spring through autumn providing one of the longest and most consistent pollinator food sources available. Low enough to never compete with the tree canopy. Self-seeding so it never needs replanting.
White clover is the perfect ground cover for one specific reason it grows vigorously enough to suppress weeds but not so vigorously it ever threatens the tree or the comfrey. It knows its layer.
Additional guild plants worth adding:
🌼 Yarrow Mineral accumulator, beneficial insect attractor, particularly attracts predatory wasps that control aphid populations
🌸 Nasturtium Aphid trap crop aphids prefer nasturtium to your tree and colonize it instead. The plant sacrifices itself so the tree doesn't have to.
🌻 Borage Bee magnet, self-seeds prolifically, trace mineral accumulator, decomposes fast when chopped
🌿 Chamomile Calcium accumulator, antifungal properties in root exudates benefit neighboring plants, attracts hoverflies
The principle:
Every guild plant occupies a different ecological niche different root depth, different canopy height, different seasonal peak, different functional contribution. Together they create a self-maintaining system that improves every year as the plants establish and the soil biology builds.
Year one the guild looks sparse and deliberate
Year three it looks intentional and productive
Year seven it looks like it was always there
And your fruit tree is producing more than it ever did when it stood alone. 🌳
✅ Start guild planting at tree installation establishes together
✅ Comfrey must be planted from root cuttings not seed Bocking 14 variety is sterile and non-invasive
✅ White clover seed is cheap broadcast by hand, water once, it takes care of itself
✅ Garlic planted in autumn harvested in summer perfect seasonal rhythm
✅ Guild works for apples, pears, plums, cherries, figs, citrus all fruit trees
Stop maintaining your fruit tree. Build its community instead. 🌿
Save this and plant a guild this season. 🔖

03/04/2026

🌿✨ 𝗡𝗢𝗪 𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚: 𝗚𝗔𝗥𝗗𝗘𝗡 𝗖𝗔𝗥𝗘 𝗦𝗣𝗘𝗖𝗜𝗔𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 ✨🌿
𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗪𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿

Do you love plants more than lawns? 🌸
Do you see gardens as living ecosystems — not just “yard work”?

✨ 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 gardeners, horticulture students, Master Gardener students, and true plant lovers!

Come help us care for beautiful, vibrant gardens across Edmonton & area. 🌿🐝 Service areas include: Edmonton, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain, St. Albert, Beaumont, Leduc & Fort Saskatchewan.

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🌼 𝗔𝗕𝗢𝗨𝗧 𝗨𝗦
For over 15 years, The Wheelbarrow Gardener has specialized in thoughtful, organic garden care.

🌿 No mow-and-go lawn routes
🌸 Perennials & pollinator-friendly gardens
🌱 Soil-first, environmentally responsible practices
🍂 Four-season beauty in our clients’ gardens

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🧤 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨’𝗟𝗟 𝗗𝗢
• Maintain and develop garden beds
• Detailed weeding, planting, dividing, pruning, edging, mulching
• Monitor plant health, pests, and soil conditions
• Suggest plant moves or small design improvements
• Spring & fall clean-ups and seasonal garden care

You’ll eventually work independently at client properties, representing our company with warmth and professionalism.

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🌻 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗬𝗢𝗨 𝗕𝗥𝗜𝗡𝗚
✅ Solid plant knowledge (perennials, shrubs, native/pollinator plants for Edmonton)
✅ Strong eye for detail & aesthetics
✅ Reliability, good time management, clear communication
✅ 𝗗𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿’𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 + 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗹𝗲
✅ Comfortable with garden tools (or willing to learn)

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🌞 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗪𝗘 𝗢𝗙𝗙𝗘𝗥
📅 Seasonal work: April–October
🕘 Flexible daytime hours: 15–40 hrs/week (choose your schedule)
🌿 Hands-on learning with a Master Gardener
🐝 Meaningful work supporting pollinators, soil health, and beautiful local gardens
🤝 Supportive, respectful, plant-loving team

✨ We welcome applicants from all backgrounds — parents, retirees, students, Master Gardener students, and career-changers.

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📩 𝗛𝗢𝗪 𝗧𝗢 𝗔𝗣𝗣𝗟𝗬
Email your resume and a short note about your gardening experience (or why you’d love to learn):
𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗼@𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿.𝗰𝗼𝗺

🌿 Please share with your favourite plant people!

Discover The Wheelbarrow Gardener's expert gardening services in Edmonton. We specialize in residential, commercial, and HOA garden care, ensuring vibrant and sustainable outdoor spaces.

12/03/2025

Had a bit of this a bit …. A bit of that left —/so I finally had a chance to do my own 

12/03/2025

Big RED was the request 🎄🎄