Podcast

July 30, 2019 Growing Castor Bean, Emily Brontë, Ellis Rowan, the Arkansas Apple Blossom, Russell Baker, Bev Adams, Gertrude Jekyll at Munstead by Martin Wood and Judith Tankard, Pruning Blackberries or Boysenberries, and Walt Disney’s Flowers and Trees

Have you tried growing Castor Bean? It’s one of Michael Pollen’s favorite plants. Check out the way he starts his article on the plant called, “Consider the Castor Bean”: “Pretty they are not, but a garden can labor under a surfeit “surfut” of prettiness, be too sweet or cheerful for its own good. Sometimes what’s needed in the garden is a hint of vegetal menace, of nature run tropically, luxuriantly amuck. For this, I recommend the castor bean.” While most…

July 29, 2019 A Peter Rabbit Garden, Thomas Nuttal, Edith Coleman, Ryan Gainey, The First Plant Patent, Sara Coleridge, The Education of a Gardener by Russell Page, Dividing Iris, Charles Clemon Deam, and Honeysuckle

Do you have children or grandchildren? A Peter Rabbit Garden is a lovely idea for you to consider. Of course, Peter Rabbit is the creation of Beatrix Potter, who was a noted botanist and mycologist. (A mycologist studies fungi). Potter’s garden was located at Hill Top Farm. In making your Peter Rabbit garden, you could add a little wooden fence or a low stone wall around the perimeter. Inside, use the herbs and perennials featured in the books: Herbs include…

July 26, 2019 Propagating Roses, RH Shumway, Aven Nelson, Ruth Pitter, The Rude Potato, How to Garden Through Dog Days, and Winthrop Mackworth Praed

Have you tried to propagate roses through cutting? Maybe you want to pass along an old rose from a friend or simply make more of your own. You can take a cutting of your rose, which is also called a slip. When it comes to selecting the right stem, I look for a long, young shoot. These new shoots are about the diameter of a pencil and have grown from spots I have pruned earlier in the year – which…

July 25 2019 Cleome, the Physic Garden, William Forsyth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Charles Joseph Sauriol, July Proverbs, The Fragrant Path by Louise Beebe Wilder, Farmers Market, and Flowers for Hamlet

Are you growing, Cleome? My daughter just had her senior pictures taken, and I took some cuttings from the garden for her to hold during her photoshoot. For one of the pictures, I had her hold just one large white blossom in her hands. It looked like a giant puffball, and it had a very ethereal quality about it Cleome is beautiful – but it is also sticky – so keep that in mind if you handle it. I know…

July 24, 2019 Basilmania, Benning Wentworth, Henry Shaw, Pigeon Peas, John Clare, Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West, Planting a Clock Garden, and Dial-A-Garden-Tip

Are you a fan of basil? A few years ago, I produced an entire long-format show about basil for the Still Growing podcast. It was Episode 573, and I called it Basilmania. At one point or another, we’ve all needed an introduction to basil and pesto. So, if you’ve never grown basil, or smelled basil, or tasted it, or cooked with basil – I want to introduce you to it. I’d love it if someday you look back and say…