Listen to my interview with Vanca Lumsden, gardener/artist from Whidby Island. We are talking about why we plant gardens, the philosophy behind different kinds of garden styles, and things to think about when starting a new garden. Then, we talk to Judith Jones, fern grower extraordinaire, about.. ferns !

On our last show we talked to Gretchen Carnaby about her involvement with the Friends of Bush Gardens in Salem, and particularly about their upcoming sale at Riverfront Park, Friday April 18 from 10-7, and Saturday, April 19, from 10-5.  Listen to the our interview here. It's only about 10 minutes long, but we packed a lot in.

My guest is Bernadine Strik, Oregon State University Extension Service berry specialist. We will be discussing the different types of strawberries, (June bearing, everbearing, and day-neutral), the best varieties for the Pacific NW, and the best way to grow them to insure a great crop of those luscious berries all summer long (with the right varieties), year after year.  We also talk a little bit about blueberries.

Join us at the Historic Deepwood Estate in Salem, as we talk about the upcoming Erythronium Festival, and take a walk with us through the native garden and natural woods where tens of thousands of Erythroniums (Fawn Lilies) line the trail and cover the ground under the trees.

Join me and my guest Dan Heims, President of Terra Nova Nursery in Canby, OR. Terra Nova is an innovative wholesale nursery known world wide for its perennial plant breeding program and tissue culture growing methods. I talk with Dan about how new plants are bred or discovered and brought to the market, and what some of the hot new plants are !

Join me and my guest Master Gardener Harry Olson as we discuss growing our own vegetable plants from seeds. We’ll be talking about choosing the best and most interesting varieties from the great selection of seed catalogs available, get recommendations on varieties of vegetables to grow from seeds, and how to start them early in a greenhouse or in your own house.

We had a fabulous discussion with Salem Rose Society president Maryann Bierne about the correct way to prune roses in the Pacific NW.  She gave us some great information and special hints, and explained why this is such a great place to grow roses.  Listen to it here.

We’ve got worms! Diana talks to Salem gardener, retired Science teacher and worm enthusiast Sally White all about the wonders of those little red wigglers, what great things they do for our gardens, and how we can raise them for their worm castings and for the fun of it !

Diana's guest is horticulturist Steve Schmidt. They will be discussing the fascinating and mysterious world of fungi, not the typical mushrooms that this usually brings to mind, but rather, the network of fungal strands that exist in enormous numbers in the soil under our feet, everywhere, and the very important relationship they have with about 90% of the plants we grow.

On this Christmas Eve show we asked 5 local gardeners about something that they really liked in their gardens this year. Jerry talks about some of his favorite shrubs that have winter interest. Kris tells us about her dwarf fruit trees. Beth shares the building of a special sitting niche in her garden, JJ talks about one of her favorite plants groups, Vaccinum (the Blueberry family), and Alice discusses the ways that working in her garden has contributed to her personal growth.