Podcast

September 18, 2019 The Secret Garden, Bernard McMahon, John M. Darby, Abel Aken Hunter, Prose on Autumn Denis Mackail, Straw Bale Gardens Complete by Joel Karsten, Winterizing Strawberry Beds, and the Mary Statue in South Natick

Last night I shared the trailer for The Secret Garden remake, which just dropped. It is a visual feast for lovers of gardens everywhere. The new adaptation of the children’s classic stars Colin Firth and Julie Walters and is set for release in April (2020). It looks fantastic. The Secret Garden is a children’s novel written by American author and gardener Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was first released in the early 1900s as a serial in The American Magazine. The…

September 17, 2019 Planting Iris like Mom with Rebecca Stoner Kirts, Olaus Rudbeck, Antoine Laurent de Jussieu, Peter Barr, The Milkweed Poem, Hot Color Dry Garden by Nan Sterman, Pumpkin Care, and the Story of a Grass Reader

Listener Rebecca Stoner Kirts recently shared a photo in the Facebook Group of her transplanted iris along with an enchanting caption. She wrote: Mom’s 50 year iris rescued and replanted. Mom always told me, “they like their own space and plant them like ducks floating on a pond.” There you go mom. Rebecca’s mom’s analogy of planting iris-like ducks floating on the pond is a good one to remember. As I mentioned on a show a while back, they…

September 16, 2019 National Indoor Plant Week, Lisa Eldred Steinkopf, Charles V of France, Robert Fortune, Charles Darwin, Robert Finch, The Chinese Kitchen Garden by Wendy Kiang-Spray, the Final Push to Plant Perennials, Kate Furbish, and 19th Century Female Scientists

#NationalIndoorPlantWeek is this week! Be sure to follow my friend, Lisa Steinkopf – the @HouseplantGuru – on twitter for a chance to win copies of her books and some houseplants. And remember, it’s all week long – so Happy Indoor Plant Week. Go get yourself something new for the Indoor season, which is just around the corner if you live in a colder climate. Brevities #OTD Today is the anniversary of the death of Charles V of…

September 13, 2019 The secret to beautiful begonias, Caspar Wistar, Roald Dahl, Beverley Nichols, English Cottage Gardening by Margaret Hensel, Dividing Bearded Irises, and for the Love of Toads

What’s the secret to beautiful begonias? I asked this to a friend recently who has gorgeous begonias every single year. Her answer was simple: fish emulsion. This means you should feed your begonias with fertilizer. Since we love that begonias flower and they do flower their hearts out, that makes begonias are heavy feeders. Since fish emulsion (5-1-1) is a low-intensity total fertilizer, it’s perfect for promoting large, healthy, beautiful begonias. Just feed every 3-4 weeks and follow the label…

September 12, 2019 Charmed by Yellow Wax-Bells, Daniel Cady Eaton, Arthur Shurcliff, Chinese Wilson, Agatha Christie, Beverley Nichols, Lemon Herbs by Ellen Spector Platt, Hanging Basket Tidy Up , and a Record-Setting Apple from 1843

How’s your garden doing? Is there something blooming that is stealing your heart? In my garden, I’m especially enjoying the Yellow wax-bells or Kirengeshoma palmata (“kih-ren-gesh-OH-mah palm-AY-tah”). Heidi Heiland installed these for me last summer during my garden renovation. They are right up by my front door in a North-facing garden – and I see them every day as I go in and out the front door. I have to say that this plant has slowly won my heart. All…