Podcast

September 25, 2019 Fall Reset, Valerius Cordus, Edward Kemp, the Sequoia National Park, Francis Kingdon-Ward, Felicia Hemans Birthday Garden Poem, Living Decor by Maria Colletti, Cutting Back the Garden, and the September Garden from 1915

If you’re feeling a little glum about the end of the gardening season, here are a few activities that can help you rebalance: First, support your local farmers by shopping at a local farm stand. Often the growers will have insights on plants and practices that apply to your own garden. Get inspired by seeing some of the different varieties of apples, gourds, zucchinis, pumpkins, and other vegetables. Second, refresh your mulch supply. Topdressing before winter feels as good now…

September 24, 2019 Magnolia for Four-Season Interest, William Herbst, Wilhelm Nikolaus Suksdorf, Samuel Butler, Not Just Desserts by Susan Belsinger, Strategic Garden Tidy Up, and Apples, Peaches, Pumpkin Pie

One of my favorite shoulder season plants is my magnolia. The beautiful white blossoms in the spring and the glorious yellow leaves in the fall, bookend a summer of greenery. Then all winter long, the dormant flower buds will pop out, adding interest and promise during those final snowstorms in late March and April. If you’re looking for something that provides something new every season, add magnolia to your list. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the…

September 23, 2019 The Autumn Equinox, Kubla Khan, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Plants by Lewis and Clark, Stuart Robertson, Ruth Patrick, Poems about September, Plant Parenting by Leslie Halleck, Moving Plants, and the 1937 Rose Garden in Hershey, Pennsylvania

Today is the first day of Autumn, also referred to as the Autumn Equinox. Equinox means ‘equal night.’ On this day, both day and night are nearly the same lengths. Thereafter, the dark part of the year begins. Brevities #OTD Today is the birthday of the grandson of Genghis Khan, Kubla Khan, who was born on this day in 1215. Kubla Khan’s Summer Garden at Xanadu is the subject of Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s 1797 poem Kubla Khan.…

September 20, 2019 The Harvest That Never Came, Lorenz Scholz von Rosenau, Margherita Caffi, Mary Sophie Young, Anna Pavord, Carl Sandburg, Big Dreams, Small Garden by Marianne Willburn, Pot Up Herbs for Indoors, and the Rhodum sidus

Folklore and legends are often intertwined with plants and gardens. Today I stumbled on a Swedish Legend called “The Harvest That Never Came,” and I thought you’d get a kick out of it. The story has been used in lesson plans to teach kids problem-solving. I’m going to abbreviate it a bit, but I’ll share a link to a good English translation in today’s show notes. A young man named Arild was the son of a Danish noble family. He…

September 19, 2019 Early Fall at the Botanic Garden, Mildred Mathias, Orville Redenbacher, Francis Darwin, Dr. James Duke, Louise Seymour Jones, The Backyard Homestead by Carleen Madigan, Moving Houseplants Back Indoors, Dr. Oliver Sacks and the New York Botanical Garden

There’s are some lines from a TS Eliot poem that go like this : “Oh, do not ask, ‘What is it?’ Let us go and make our visit.” If you’ve never visited your local botanic garden this time of year, you really should go. I have a friend who recently did this, and she posted terrific pictures from her visit to the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. She said this: “This is my PSA : Get yourself to the Arb ….now .…