Podcast

September 11, 2019 Roadside Chicory, Rudolph Jacob Camerarius, José Mutis, Lyman Bradford Smith, Beverley Nichols, Mastering the Art of Vegetable Gardening by Matt Mattus, Cold Frame Prep, and September Asters

If, throughout the summer, you found yourself driving down the road and spying a little electric blue blossom by the side of the road, chances are, you are looking at chicory. Listener Danny Perkins shared a post at the end of August sharing beautiful photos of chicory. A few years ago, I used to drive the boys into St. Paul for basketball camp, and when I pulled off the freeway, there it was. Chicory. Impossibly growing in between cracks in…

September 10, 2019 Time to Power Wash, David Hosack, Richard Spruce, George Bentham, Beverley Nichols, Oak by William Bryant Logan, Addressing Rot ASAP, and Plants on the Pill

Right about now is the perfect time to get out the power washer. Clean your water features, edging, rocks, fountains, and your outdoor entertaining spaces. The reality is that once you start up that power washer, the list of things that you can clean with it goes on and on. As you’re working, you invariably find more things to wash. When it comes to our maintenance-free decking, I’ll add a little Dawn dish soap to help release the dirt out…

September 9, 2019 The Miracle Tomato, Flowers of the Forest, Georg Ehret, James Arnold, Beverley Nichols, The Proven Winners Garden Book by Ruth Rogers Clausen and Thomas Christopher, Plants for Next Year, and Red Carnation Day

I thought I’d start today’s show off with a quote by Beverley Nichols from his book, Sunlight on the Lawn: “Why do insurance companies, when they want to describe an act of God, invariably pick on something which sounds much more like an act of the Devil? One would think that God was exclusively concerned in making hurricanes, smallpox, thunderbolts, and dry rot. They seem to forget that He also manufactures rainbows, apple-blossom, and Siamese kittens. However, that is, perhaps,…

September 6, 2019 Planting in September, Jean-Baptiste Van Mons, Thoreau leaves Walden Pond, James Veitch Jr, Joseph Hers, Kathleen Basford, Bartlett Giamatti, Montrose by Nancy Goodwin, Sowing Flowers, and Stolen Flowers

September is my favorite month for planting trees, shrubs, and perennials. The cool air makes outdoor exercise a joy, and the ground temperatures add the perfect amount of warmth for plants to get established. Planting in the fall is preferred because it’s the time of year when perennials experience less transplant shock. At the same time, there is still sufficient time for plants to establish their roots in the garden in time for winter. After their season of dormancy, when…

September 5, 2019 Growing Cucumbers, Michel Sarrazin, Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, Asa Gray, Charles Darwin, Katherine Warington, Andrew Marvell, Tussie-Mussies by Geraldine Laufer, the Case for Coleus, and the Suffolk Tombstone of gardener Edward Ward

If you have struggled to grow tomatoes successfully, maybe it’s time to give cucumbers a try. They are much easier to grow than tomatoes. Just add some organic matter to the soil and mulch around the base of the plant. Cucumbers benefit from support, so install a trellis for the vines to climb. That’s it. The saying, “cool as a cucumber,” refers to the fact that it’s about 20 degrees cooler on the inside of a cucumber. And, cucumbers contain…