The Garden Mixer – Details, episodes & analysis

Heather and I met at a speaking gig in North Carolina last fall. Her mantra is Garden Thoughtfully. What a coincidence because my presentation at that Master Gardeners symposium was called Thoughtful Gardening. We are on the same page in terms of gardening with both beauty and habitat in mind.

Did you feel the dog days of summer WAY earlier than you usually do? Marianne Willburn and I talk about climate change in the garden and some good strategies to learn from what your plants are experiencing, without succumbing to the doom and gloom that generally accompanies the topic.

Each year, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society comes out with a list of trends that we should be on the lookout for in the gardening world. Erin the impatient Gardner and I break down this list and go through all 10 points, offering opinions, critiques, and support for some wonderful gardening ideas. You may be interested to know that halfway through our interview, there's a knock at the zoom door, and Marianne Willburn sort of lets herself in. Well, I did send her the link…. Lots of laughs and lots of good gardening information on episode 117.

I follow through on last week's threat of choosing the plant species named after a venereal disease as the Plant of the Week (Lobelia siphilitica) and Bunny Williams and I chat about gardens, garden design, HER garden, which is spectacular, and her garden book, On Garden Style at 5:55. The Play List includes info on spider mites, flagging annuals, and the possibility of an organic lawn. 

When in Maine... you go see the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and chat with Andy Brand (5:17) about how wonderful they are! The Plant of the Week is a the state flower of Maine, but here's the catch: it's not a flower. The Play List includes some timely veg transplant and seed starting information, none of which I will take advantage of, but you can! And Rusty Gear, who provides my into music, has another album out. Must hear!

Mountain Mint is a total winner-- edible native deer resistant pollinator that performs as well in sun as in shade. And edible ornamentals are the expertise of Brie the Plant Lady, who tells us all about foodscaping at 5:48. The Play List (25:12) talks about tomato pruning, the difference between purslane and spurge, and the Temptations, and I,  Wish it Would Rain.

The Plant of the week is another native, and a classic stalwart in the summer border, the Phlox paniculata. I chat with sister Sue Ann  at 5:34 about how to get your garden ready to party, and give you a few garden chores in The Play List at 26:18, and I recommend 99% Invisible, which is a captivating podcast based on design, architecture, culture and history. 

The Plant of the Week is the coneflower-- a great American native that blooms for months in summer. We chat with Steph Green of Contained Creations (7:13) about having gorgeous containers, and turn to pests in the garden (32:45) and whatever can we do about bunnies and Japanese beetles? 

Plant of the Week is Persicaria (00:40); good info from recent gardening podcasts such at ticks from Tom Christopher's Growing Greener (5:02), Nature and Gardening from Margaret Roach's A Way to Garden (9:49); and the Joe Gardener Show's discussion National Gardening Association's Annual Survey (14:18). I also touch on why we use Latin in gardening and some timely gardening tips. Into the Garden with Leslie is now available on Podchaser. S95v0UUWGdYdRxLsnKb2

Icky things (a worm and a snake) I posted on Instagram; Plant of the Week is Monarda, and the interview (at 7:21 is with Christy Wilhelmi of Gardenerd Tip of the Week podcast and website. Christy is a California small space organic gardening guru! The Play List (26:15) includes questions on ivy on trees, Magnolia leaves, and lots of information on proper watering techniques. And what to listen to? Christy's Gardenerd Tip of the Week Pod, of course!