Podcast

August 27 – National Banana Day, Maria van Oosterwijck, Edwin James, Emil Christian Hansen, Brian Lawrence Burtt, Alice Waters, Sarah Orne Jewett, Nueva Salsa by Rafael Palomino, Tall Herbs, and Cut Flowers with Ruth Cameron

Today is National Banana Lovers Day. Botanically speaking, the banana is a berry – a many-seeded fruit. And, banana trees are not trees. The banana plant is a giant herb. Inside the guts of the banana tree trunk is a white tube. It may be cooked and tastes like bamboo shoots. Under a black light (ultraviolet or UV), ripe bananas glow a beautiful bright blue. Scientists believe this is a signal to banana eating animals like insects and bats that…

August 26, 2019 Top Four No-Fail Fall Perennials, Stephen McCormick, Edward Beard Budding, the State Flower of Alabama, Dame Helen Gwynne-Vaughan, Victor Nekrasov, Rachel Carson by Linda Lear, Peony Sarah Bernhardt, and Helen Sharsmith

If your garden looks a little sad right now, it could probably benefit from the addition of some no-fail fantastic fall perennials. Here are some of my favorites: If you have a sunny, wet area, Joe-Pye weed is a perfect choice. The blooms are super tall and a favorite with pollinators. The Latin name is Eutrochium purpureum. Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ (Hylotelephium telephium) is fantastic this time of year. It’s super easy to propagate as well – in the spring when…

August 23, 2019 Cutting Back the Garden, the Patron Saint of Gardeners, Alexander Wilson, Eliza Sullivant, Hazel Schmoll, Rose Kingsley, The Prickly Pear Cookbook by Carolyn Niethammer, Spring Plant Swap Prep, and the 1942 Michigan Botanical Club Meeting

Sometimes I think cutting your bangs is a great analogy for pruning in the garden. You know how when your bangs are growing out – maybe a little past your eyebrows – and you think, “I am gonna grow these bangs out. I’m gonna have amazing hair.” Then, they start to go past your nose, and you realize that this was a complete mistake. Then, you don’t have the stamina to make it all the way to having no…

August 22, 2019 My Mullein, the White Rose of Scotland, Edward Beard Budding, Jacob Weidenmann, National Eat a Peach Day, Cecil Day-Lewis, Herbal Healing for Women by Rosemary Gladstar, Sprucing Up Ironwork, and a Story about Elephant Ears

At the cabin, a Mullein has seeded itself in one of my beds, and I’m letting it grow. (I was touring gardens in Washington DC a few years ago, and the garden had a section for Mulleins. It was so pretty.) On more than one occasion, I have had to rescue it – to make sure that no one in the family pulled it or weed-whacked it. Now, there it stands; 6 feet tall, big leaves, soft as lamb’s ears,…

August 21, 2019 Living Mulch, the Patron Saint of Olives, George Celery Taylor, Adelbert van Chamiso, Dorothy Cadberry, Mary Bowerman, August Prose, Medicinal Herbs by Rosemary Gladstar, Cardinal Flower, and Taking an August Break

How do you start adding living mulch to your garden? One of the simplest ways is just to look for the spots in your garden that are bare. Look for the open areas and start there. Look under your shrubs. Look along the edges of your beds. Instead of adding another layer of mulch, add plants. Think about planting these living mulches in terms of plant families, or planting en masse. This is what the naturalists and ecologists do naturally;…