Episode 349

Christmas Gifts For the Gardener

What do you plan to get that gardening friend in your life for Christmas? With just a few days left to decide, Nathan helps you with some great gift ideas for that green thumb in your life. Maybe you should just gift one of these ideas to yourself!

episode 348

Grade Your Garden!

10 Checkpoints for Looking Good

This week, Nathan urges you to test your garden and see if it passes with a stellar grade! Using winter to assess the state of your garden is perfect because you really can see "through" the garden rather than just looking at it. With the 10 checkpoints Nathan provides, you will be able to take your garden from lackluster to filled with luster!

Episode 347

Christmas Trees and Evergreens

Why keep spending money on a cut Christmas tree that you know will be brown and crispy by the second day of the new year when you could be decorating a living tree that can be planted and enjoyed for the next one hundred years or more? Nathan explains how to take care of a living tree indoors over the holidays and provides you with a list of the top tree kinds to use! He then continues the conversation on evergreens and talks about native evergreens that can be used in a variety of ways including hiding that junk pile your neighbor keeps growing in your direct line of sight!

Episode 346

New Blueberries, Bare-Root Planting, Dormant Oils, and Dividing Hellebore

Right off the bat, Nathan talks about new blueberry varieites that are both dwarf and self-fruitful, meaning if you are limited on space, you can grow these tiny blueberry plants by themselves with no need for a pollinizing partner! Then he explains the benefits of planting "bare-root" plants over winter and why spraying your plants with dormant oil in the cool months can help prevent insect and disease issues over the next growing season. Lastly, if you need to divide, thin out, or transplant hellebores, Nathan explains when and how to do it.

Episode 345

Cold Hardiness, Mulch Mistakes, and Pruning Problems

This week, Nathan tackles some concerns that need to be addressed in fall. He explains what the "cold hardiness" of a plant is and how it helps dictate what you can plant in your area and how a plant will act over winter. He gives some guidelines for choosing a mulching material and how to properly mulch. Lastly, should we be pruning over winter? Nathan lets you know the best practices when it comes to pruning.

Fall is often a troubling time of year when it comes to knowing what you can and can't do or should and shouldn't do in the garden. This week, Nathan answers some of the most timely questions he get each autumn.

Episode 343

Even More Plants for Glorious Fall Color

Last week Nathan gave you ideas for adding outstanding fall color to your garden with native plants. This week, we travel to other parts of the world and discover even more plants to enrich your landscapes autumnal color palette.

Episode 342

The Best Native Trees and Shrubs for Fall Color

Are things looking lack luster in your garden this autumn? This week, Nathan helps you select native trees and shrubs that are going to light up your fall gardening world for years to come!

episode 341

The Dark Side of Plants

Sure all plants are pretty with their colorful flowers and textural leaves, but some of them have a dark side. This week, just in time for Halloween, Nathan discusses a list of plants that might seem cute and innocent on the outside, but hide secrets within that can be down right...fatal.

episode 340

Gardening is for Kids!

As gardeners it's important for us to cultivate the next generation of gardeners: our own children! This week, Nathan talks about creative and kid-intriguing ways to get the little ones interested in all things gardening.