Less work in the garden means more time to enjoy it, so we're dedicating this pre-Labor Day episode to labor-saving ideas. Featured shrub: Red Balloon viburnum.

Soil is a vital and valuable natural resource - it's not just dirty ol' dirt. That's why we're celebrating it throughout this episode. Featured shrub: Lo & Behold Pink Micro Chip butterfly bush.

Some plants play starring roles in the landscape, while others play supporting ones. Meet these valuable plants and learn to use them in the landscape. Featured shrub: Happy Face White potentilla.

In this episode, learn about decumbent growth and get to know Low Scape Mound aronia, a native flowering shrub that exemplifies the concept. Learn how planting mophead hydrangeas can discourage insects from visiting your home, and growing hydrangeas for shade. We’re always ready to answer your garden questions, so don’t hesitate to reach out!

Rick and Stacey’s discussion of the botanical phenomenon of heterophylly leads to sharing facts about the world’s record sassafras tree in Owensboro, Kentucky; Tortuga juniper, which also exhibits heterophylly, gets put on trial, we help listeners troubleshoot some issues with their peppers and zucchini this season, and in Branching News, learn about this year’s world record pumpkin, a deer caught in a hammock, and the elements of curb appeal.

Fall is in the air on this episode of Gardening Simplified! Rick and Stacey talk about bioluminescent mushrooms, marram grass (Ammophila breviligulata), and also define the word “peduncle.” We talk about The Velvet Fog smokebush, a plant normally known for its summer display that also boasts excellent fall color. Rick and Stacey answer listener questions about apples, pruning butterfly bush, and rose of Sharon seed pods. Finally, in branching news, we talk about sorghum replacing corn in mazes, a Palestinian farmer’s discovery of an ancient mosaic as he planted a tree, and King Charles III’s new perfume.

In this episode of the Gardening Simplified Show, Stacey and Rick talk about how fall is for planting and why Mums are synonymous with fall planting. There are other great plants however for fall color and on today’s show, Stacey will teach Rick how to say Symphoricarpos, a plant with great fall color.

Take me to your weeder: Stacey and Rick discuss two prevalent weeds right now, nutsedge and pokeweed! When it comes to weeds, they have pull! A reminder that fall is an excellent time of year for weed control including winter annual weeds that germinate in fall. We discuss pokeweed’s stunning appearance.

Finally, a discussion on phytoplasma takes place as nutsedge has been discovered as a host. Yikes! No need to call Dr. Peter Venkman from Ghostbusters; We’ll address it in the branching news segment.

Full Show Notes with links can be found here:
https://gardeningsimplifiedonair.com/episode-2-9-17-22/

Introducing the Gardening Simplified Show, where Rick and Stacey share their love and knowledge of gardening. In our first episode, we talk about why roses get a new lease on life in autumn, how to keep cats from visiting your yard, and why flower color may fade at the height of summer. In our news segment, learn more about monarch butterflies, the invasive spotted lanternfly, and why some areas of California are paying residents to remove their lawns.


Complete show notes and links for this episode can be found here:
https://gardeningsimplifiedonair.com/episode-1/

Plants are naturally dynamic, but some undergo dramatic natural changes in flower color and leaf color through the season. Learn what they are and why they're so amazing. Featured shrub: Simply Scentsational calycanthus.

Ah, weeds - maybe the #1 thing that discourages people from gardening. But weeds are interesting and become a lot easier to manage when you apply some basic IPM principles. Featured shrub: Sugar Tip rose of Sharon.

Join us for a celebration of all things hummingbird! Three outstanding guests share their expertise on hummingbirds and welcoming them to your garden. Featured shrub: Snippet Dark Pink weigela.

What makes a plant easy to grow? Planting it in the right place, for one. We'll elaborate on that and share other tips for selecting and growing plants to simplify gardening! Featured shrub: Little Quick Fire panicle hydrangea.

Decorators take a unique approach to plant shopping: they know what they want, they get it, they plant it. We discuss how you can use this approach to make plant shopping easier and more fun. Featured shrub: Anna's Magic Ball arborvitae.

The month of May and lilacs seem to go hand in hand, so we're devoting this episode to everything that makes them special. Featured shrub: Bloomerang Purpink lilac.

Rick and Stacey share the stories of those who have influenced their horticultural perspective in life. We'd love to hear about yours!

A listener recently commented, "Shade is hard," and we agree. So in this episode, we simplify it and provide plant-based solutions. Plus, learn when it might be time to replace a plant in your landscape. Featured shrub: Sweet & Lo Sweet Box.

Ultimately, a garden is just combinations of plants - but how to put them together? We share tips and ideas on building a beautiful border. Plus, hydrangeas oozing sap and maple helicopters. Featured shrub: Flavorette Honey Apricot rose.

The color peach, whether in foliage or flowers, is a useful blender in the garden. Join us for a celebration of this happy hue! Featured shrub: Ringo All Star rose.

The term "beneficial insects" gets thrown around a lot but what does it really mean? We explore the concept and share which ones you're likely to find in your backyard, and how to best support them. Featured plant: Lo & Behold 'Blue Chip Jr.' butterfly bush.

There's lots growing on in the garden now, so join us for timely tips on lawn care, weed management, soil testing, and more. Mike Connor is our guest, sharing his expertise on trees and bees. Featured shrub: Yuki Snowflake deutzia.

The internet is teeming with fake AI-generated plants and digitally manipulated photos - we give tips on how to spot them. Plus, pruning dogwoods and Birdman is back! Featured shrub: Invincibelle Mini Mauvette smooth hydrangea.

Wondering how to spend your garden budget this season? We've got you covered with our can't-miss plant lists! Plus, helpful tips on pruning and transplanting. Featured shrub: El Niño desert orchid.

The right tools for the task are just as important in the garden as they are in the shop. Learn our must-haves and favorites. Plus, pruning whorled hydrangeas and Supertunias. Featured plant: 'Aphrodite' sweetshrub.

From bugs to bunnies, pests are part and parcel of gardening. And IPM - integrated pest management - gives us the tools to resolve issues using smarts and strategy. Learn what IPM is and how it can help you problem-solve, indoors and out. Featured plant: Ginger Wine ninebark.

Whether it's from poor drainage or a high water table, wet soils can be hard to deal with. But there are lots of beautiful plants that will thrive in them! Learn what they are and other tips for dealing with soggy situations. Featured plant: Sugar Shack buttonbush.

Should you be pruning now? Today we talk about what you should prune in spring and what you should not. Hear how this unusual spring is affecting honey bees and tapping maple trees for maple syrup with beekeeper and expert, Don Snoeyink. Featured plant: Rise Up Lilac Days climbing rose.

When spring fever hits, the temptation to start seeds becomes irresistible. But when is the right time? What's the right equipment? We'll tell you! Featured plant: Still Waters clematis.

Are those recommendations for light on plant tags arbitrary, or do they mean something? Find out in this episode, where we also discuss spring fertilizing and animal weather prognosticators. Featured plant: Fairytrail Bride Cascade Hydrangea.

Panicle hydrangeas are dominating the landscape right now - learn just how easy to grow they really are. Plus, an interview with Dr. Allan Armitage on North vs South gardening. Featured shrub: Limelight hydrangea.

Drought: it's dusty. It's dry. And plants can help make it a whole lot prettier. Learn about what makes a plant drought tolerant, and how you can alleviate drought with a DIY drip irrigation system. Featured plant: Double Take Scarlet flowering quince.

How many houseplants do you have? Whether it's one or one hundred, we're celebrating the indoor gardening renaissance. Plus, learn the secret to success with gardenias indoors (and outdoors), and hear about the rise in bonsai theft. Featured plant: Steady As She Goes gardenia.

A garden planted in layers is dynamic, interesting, and beautiful. Learn what it means and how to do it! Plus, plant cold hardiness, pruning elderberries, and biophilia. Featured plant: Cesky Gold dwarf birch.

Meet the 2024 Proven Winners all-star team: the Plants of the Year! Learn about each variety and how they are chosen. Plus, causes of brown arborvitae, planting bulbs in January, and the Pantone Color of the Year. Featured shrub: Fizzy Mizzy itea.

Do you have new year’s resolutions for 2024? Or maybe, your new year’s resolution is to avoid new year’s resolutions – either way, we’d love to hear your thoughts! Learn about different types of fertilizers, which is best for your plants, and when to apply it. Featured plant: Just Chill Red Tip camellia.

Do you have a gardening playlist? Listen in for our favorite plant and outdoor-related songs. Plus, using pine needles as mulch, planting around black walnuts, and a winter update from Birdman Bill Stovall. Featured plant: White Album wintercreeper.

Evergreens lift our spirits during the holidays and carry our landscape through winter. Learn the two types of evergreens, and the benefits they bring to the landscape. Plus, snowload on trees and shrubs and a guest on herbal teas. Featured plant: Castle Spire blue holly.

In mid-November, the USDA put out a new hardiness zone map, the first since 2012. Learn what's new in it, and why, and what it might mean for what you can grow. Plus, hydrangea growing questions and a waterless waterpark. Featured plant: Blue Diddley vitex.

December is here, and along with it, holiday decorating. Grace your containers, windowboxes, and maybe even a few spots indoors with cut branches and greens! Hear our suggestions and get advice from designer Deborah Silver.

We're celebrating our 100th episode with the concept of "gardentopia" - creating a dreamy place to escape the world, right in your own backyard. Featured shrub: Cedar Rapids false cypress.

Cape Cod is synonymous with hydrangeas, but as Rick discovered at this year's Hydrangea festival, polar conditions threatened the display. We talk hydrangeas that stand up to the cold and other solutions. Plus, hydrangeas blooming in fall and javalinas. Featured plant: Tuff Stuff hydrangea.

When cooking and eating vegetables, it can be easy to forget they started as plants. We discuss the joys of growing veg and sharing them on your holiday table - and maybe even getting kids to eat them. Author and ethnobotanist Lisa Rose joins us to talk about her new book, Urban Foraging. Featured plant: Arctic Fire Yellow dogwood.

Gardening with native plants gets a lot of talk these days, but what does it really mean? We explore the possibilities, benefits, and myths of gardening with natives in what may be our most controversial episode yet. Featured plant: Low Scape Snowfire aronia.

They're colorful, they're abundant, they're...useful? Yes! Fallen leaves are perfect for improving soil. Find out what to do with yours, plus, mystery fungus, a fence-climbing Chihuahua, and new vocabulary words about leaves. Featured plant: Tiny Wine ninebark.

Whatever your reason for moving a shrub or perennial - the site has become too shady, the plant outgrew the spot, or you just don't like where it is - now is the perfect time to move it. Learn how in this episode. Plus, overwintering plants in containers and fall foliage that can be seen from space. Featured plant: Oso Easy Italian Ice rose.

A garden path gets you from point A to point B, but it's the path materials, the shape of the path, and of course, the plants, that make the journey worthwhile. Hear our favorite path materials, along with bumblebee pollination, crabgrass prevention, and why Rick made an Amazon delivery driver cry. Featured plant: Midnight Sun weigela.

No one likes to make a mistake, but the mistakes you make in gardening tend to be the lessons that stick with you most. Hear the mistakes Rick and Stacey have made and what they've learned from them. We end the show with an extended in-studio interview with the one and only Birdman Bill Stovall. Featured plant: Let's Dance Can Do hydrangea.

In this week’s episode, Stacey and Rick discuss what perennials you should be pruning in fall, and which you shouldn’t. Stacey reminds gardeners when in doubt, don’t prune! If you’ve noticed more acorns this year, it isn’t just you - Rick talks about Oak Mast and explains what’s happening. Plus, learn why a rose of Sharon may not bloom and more in Questions Answered.

It's time to plant fall bulbs! Learn how you can be successful selecting, planting, and growing bulbs. Stacey shares a shrub perfect for planting next to your bulbs for a stellar spring display. Stacey and Rick talk about gardening next to Black Walnut trees and how to handle the presence of juglone in soil.

As gardeners, we tend to enjoy working in our gardens. But we should also take the time to enjoy being in them, looking at them, and appreciating our hard work. Plus, gravel in flower beds and removing annuals in fall. Featured plant: Gatsby Gal hydrangea.