It's July and we are surrounded by tomato mysteries. Why are listener Jaime's tomatoes doing weird leaf stuff? Why is Gabe's one "volunteer" tomato plant so gigantic? How can a home gardener transform their tomato nightmares into tomato dreams come true? Gabe and Rebecca also sing the praises of a cut flower garden and offer tips on cutting Hydrangeas for lasting blooms in the vase. By the way, anyone else's hydrangeas going gangbusters this year? And finally, Rebecca debuts a poem called… 10 Things I Hate About Slugs.

All this plus recommendations and endorsements!

Visit gardenforwildlife.com and use the code LEAFINGOUT for 10% off your purchase.

Recommendations:
Growing Floret
https://www.floretflowers.com/growing-floret/

Floret's list of recommended bulb and plan sources:
https://www.floretflowers.com/favorite-bulb-plant-sources/

Green Thoughts by Elenor Perenyi
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/129540/green-thoughts-by-eleanor-perenyi/

Dramm Rain Wand
https://www.acehardware.com/departments/lawn-and-garden/watering-and-irrigation/nozzles-and-wands/7084007

Thank you for rating and reviewing us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you're listening!

Gabe and Rebecca talk about what they're working on in the garden, they're favorite things about Spring, some mistakes, opportunities, and recommendations.

Show Notes:

Bloodroot - https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=saca13

Jacob's Ladder Purple Rain - https://www.bluestoneperennials.com/POPU.html

Mayapple - https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=POPE

Hibiscus - https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=HIMO

Hori hori knife - https://nisakujapan.com/collections/gardening-knives/products/nisaku-stainless-steel-weeding-knife-7-25-inch-blade-650-weeding-knife-serrated-blade

Anne Helen Petersen Garden Study - https://annehelen.substack.com/p/welcome-to-garden-study

Like that zombie plant that you thought for sure was absolutely dead until it miraculously sprung to life, Leafing Out is back! Gabe and Rebecca announce a new May to October season and give some advice on how to prepare for Spring.

Find your last frost date: https://garden.org/apps/frost-dates/

Some fave seed suppliers:
https://fedcoseeds.com/
https://www.highmowingseeds.com/
https://www.prairiemoon.com/
https://www.johnnyseeds.com/
https://ptlawnseed.com/

Reddit's Native Plant Gardening board has a source list for native seeds: https://old.reddit.com/r/NativePlantGardening/wiki/index

Please don't use Round-Up or other weed killers: https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/29/us/roundup-cancer-verdict-philadelphia-bayer-monsanto/index.html

Email us or send us a voice memo at [email protected]

@Leafingoutpod on instagram for sick gardening memes

Leafing Out season 2 starts May 15th!

Gabe and Rebecca introduce a learn-from-our-mistakes segment inspired by Hugh Grant in Notting Hill: whoopsie daisy! In this case the topic is: don't forgot to water your damn plants! But is watering that simple? How much water do plants really need? And what does it mean "water until established"? They get into all that and so much more.

We're talking about the equinox, early signs of spring in our garden, and Gabe's garden obsession: compost!

Gabe & Rebecca chat about what's happening in garden in winter, everything from evergreens to dried flower blossoms to overwintering insects. 

We're in the dog days of summer when lots of blooms have come and gone, but a few of our favorites (echinacea, hydrangea, clematis) are carrying us through!  Plus, follow along as Rebecca describes her journey from bug phobia to bug appreciation.

Gabe tries to figure out the age of the red oak in the backyard and in the process finds out a lot about the fallibility of common (non-invasive) tree-dating methods.

What info is on a plant tag?  Not enough! Gabe & Rebecca talk about why scientific plant names are good for more than just sounding snobby. And they talk about how they've gone wrong with bachelor's buttons. Learn from their mistakes so you can get this showy blue flower to sparkle in your garden!

Gabe and Rebecca discuss how to start planning your garden layout and they go deep on what, exactly, is a perennial.