When we sat down to plan out this episode Steve asked, “So what kind of wildlife are we talking about here?” Good question. As it turned out we decided to focus mainly on plants that attract a plethora of birds to your landscape. So rest assured—this isn’t a podcast about how to get more deer and voles to show up.  We’ll briefly touch on some general principles for attracting feathered friends before launching into descriptions of specific plants that are loved by birds of all sorts.  Holly Scoggins then shares a hilarious story in expert testimony about her battle (and eventual peace) with birds in her blueberry farm in Virginia. Listen now to be educated—but mostly amused! 

Expert testimony: Holly Scoggins is an associate professor of horticulture at Virginia Tech University.

There isn’t much a great ground cover can’t do. It can crowd out weeds, stop erosion, fill in the gaps between larger perennials, and even soften the edges of walls and curbs. However, not all ground covers are created equal. The best ones require little care, look great in multiple seasons, and mass out quickly. Steve and Danielle discuss some of their favorite candidates for this laundry list of objectives in this LAAP episode. Their recommendations include perennials and shrubs that fit the bill. Horticulturist Joann Vieira weighs in with several ground cover options that she has used in the past at botanic gardens and private gardens alike. This episode starts off with Danielle *finally* gifting Steve with a few plants that he’s been wanting for years. Listen now to find out which ones.

Expert testimony: Joann Vieira, is the director of horticulture for the Trustees of Reservations in Massachusetts. 

For any bonafide plant nerd, visiting Plant Delights Nursery in Raleigh, North Carolina is a bucket list trip. Home to countless unheard of genera and cultivars of common plants that you’d be hard pressed to find anywhere else on the planet, this place is, in a word, unbelievable. So, of course Steve and Danielle had to take the show on the road and record a live episode on the grounds of Plant Delights (and while wandering around their display beds which form Juniper Level Botanic Garden). The duo found a plethora of amazing plants to talk about, and even had owner Tony Avent weigh-in on their personal shopping choices from the greenhouses. In this episode you’re guaranteed to hear about some plants that you never knew you wanted, much less even knew existed.

In a perfect world, every plant we purchase would be well-behaved, pest-free, and a show-stopper 12 months a year. This is not a perfect world.  Despite our best intentions, sometimes we buy or inherit plants that are mistakes…big mistakes (we’re talking to you miscanthus). In this cathartic episode, Steve and Danielle lament and vent about all the plants that brought them nothing but headaches. Some may look pretty, but aren’t worth the troubles they bring with them. All we can say after listening is, “You’ve been warned.”

Expert testimony: Jeff Epping, director of horticulture at the Olbrich Botanical Garden in Madison, Wisconsin.

Steve, Danielle, and special guest assistant editor Carol Collins, sit down to discuss plants that really got them fired up from the recent FG Plant Sale. Some are little-known cultivars, some are brand new varieties. There were several interesting shade plants that captured the attention of the podcast hosts including one with such cool texture, it made Danielle squeal.  Some options were so unique, none of the staff had ever heard of them, let alone seen them in person.  Find out what plants were worth the FG staff spending an entire paycheck on in this new episode.

Steve and Danielle, as you know, love a trip to the nursery and in this episode we find the dynamic duo at Shakespeare’s Garden in Brookfield, Connecticut. Their mission was to find an array of annuals to fill their various pots and create incredible combinations. They found unusual options for shade including a fuchsia grown for its brilliant foliage—not flowers—and show-stopping selections for sun, too. Spoiler alert: Danielle actually admitted that certain varieties of coleus aren’t that bad after all. Taped on location at a bustling garden center in late spring, this episode is sure to inspire you to get creative this season with your annual purchases. 

Expert testimony:  Jason Reeves, curator of UT Gardens in Jackson, Tennessee . 

Ahhh, the lovely peony:  In late spring there truly is no more beautiful flower. They are all stunning, but in this episode we highlight the extraordinary cultivars that make us swoon. From the most fragrant to the largest blossom, our list of must-have peonies is wide ranging. We also highlight a few lesser-known species such as the fernleaf peony and the woodland peony that thrives in full to partial shade.  We’re happy to give a concise primer on the differences between herbaceous, tree, intersectional, and Itoh peonies, too. Join us for the most gorgeous episode of the year!

Expert testimony: Kathleen Gagan, owner of Peony's Envy in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

The soundtrack of this episode might have been the classic Queen song, We are the Champions. Not because of its triumphant refrain, but because of the lyric acknowledging all the mistakes made in life. When it comes to their gardens, Steve and Danielle have definitely made mistakes—some bigger than others—yet all lessons that they’ve had to learn the hard way. In a departure from the normal plant heavy content of LAAP, this funny episode has the hosts recounting several blunders they’ve made in their gardens in the hopes of saving listeners some grief of their own. In expert testimony, we’ve got the brilliant horticulture professor Holly Scoggins recounting why perhaps a water garden isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Listen now to laugh at us, and with us!

 You may think you don’t have a place for vines in your garden because you don’t have a fence or arbor for them to climb. But, truth is, you don’t need a traditional support system in order to grow vines. Many of the recommendations in this episode are vines that love to scramble or politely cling to other plants, and end up being the glue that brings the landscape together. Many gardeners are fearful of incorporating vines because they’re afraid they’ll engulf or choke out everything in their path. Fortunately, there are a plethora of options—several of which we highlight here—that are not so thuggish and in fact, might just end up being the missing piece to your garden puzzle.

Most gardeners have some sort of pathway in their landscape. Planting along that walkway—or even in it—can be a challenge. In this episode we discuss low-profile plants that can truly take being stepped on and even run over by the lawnmower. But, we also offer options for plants that form polite, petite mounds, making them perfect for planting along the edges of a walkway. These guys are the ideal candidates for softening up the lines of a path, but without getting too messy and sprawling into the transit route.  The episode is rounded out with a guest appearance by  garden designer Riz Reyes who provides some super unique plant picks, many of which you may never have heard of.

Expert testimony: Riz Reyes, garden designer in Seattle, Washington.