Plantrama - plants, landscapes, & bringing nature indoors

In this episode you'll hear what you can forage for in May, learn about what plants do in the nighttime, and discover the joy of planting annual sunflowers. Ellen and C.L. also explain how some plants deliver beauty inside during the winter and outdoors in the summer. Plus we answer Sara's email asking if it's too late to plant in her yard and gardens.

:32 What's For Dinner: May foraging

4:27 Insider Information: What plants do at nighttime.

10:49 Eat/Drink/Grow: Why you should grow annual sunflowers.

17:00 Did You Know: Double duty plants. Why some plants can be used for outside décor and indoor plants.

22.39 Love Letters and Questions: Sara asks if it's too late to plant.

In this episode Ellen and C.L. toast the month of May with spring cocktails, explain how to figure what amount of mulch you need, and talk about creating beautiful salads that are foraged or farmed. Plus we end with Pete's question about liming lawns.

:35 What's For Dinner? A toast to May! Spring cocktails.

4:48 Did You Know? How to calculate how much mulch or loam you need.

9:48 Eat/Drink/Grow: Gorgeous salads, gardened or foraged.

17:11 Love Letters and Questions: Pete asks about liming lawns

Formula for calculating cubic feet of mulch or soil: L (in inches) x W(in inches) x D (in inches) ÷ 1728 = cubic feet

Learn how you can eat dandelion flowers, the best method for planting shrubs and trees and why perennials may need to be split and divided periodically. Plus the Plantrama team talks about planting tomatoes with Tums… a good idea, or not?

:30 True or False: Plant your tomatoes with tums to prevent blossom end rot. 5:27 Plant Noob: What's this I hear about dividing perennial plants? 13:45 Eat/Drink/Grow: planting trees & shrubs 21:21 Love Letters and Questions: How to eat dandelion flowers?

This episode of Plantrama was recorded live at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle. Ellen and I talked about outwitting rabbits and deer, plus we argue about the benefit of pebble trays filled with water for humidifying plants. We had a great audience and the attendees asked many interesting questions.

:50 Did You Know: Rabbit & Deer in the garden…may The Force be with us! 10:25 True or False?: Pebble trays filled with water for houseplants…do they increase humidity or not? 12:50 Inside Information: Lessons from the flower show 14:52 Eat/Drink/Grow: The Leaf stack challenge and questions from the audience including the following: Can deer be trained? Why no egg repellant spray on edibles? Does cannabis repel deer? And more!

For the recipe to make C.L.'s homemade rabbit and deer repellent, go here.

In this Plantrama episode Dock and Dill are on the spring menu, we vow to make May baskets this year, and look at stems from the point of view of science, art, and dinner. We end with Todd's question about squash bugs in his vegetable garden.

:30 What's For Dinner: Dock and dill

9:05 Insider Information: May baskets

14:32 Eat/Drink/Grow: Stems

22:43 Love Letters and Questions: Dealing with squash bugs

C.L. and Ellen discuss what the weeds are telling you about your soil, the pros and cons of raised bed vegetable gardens, and the widespread myth about black walnut trees poisoning other plants.

:32 Did You Know: Signature weeds

4:56 Eat/Drink/Grow: Raised beds

18:46 Inside Information Black Walnut myth busting

In this episode Ellen and C.L. talk about growing and foraging for mustard greens, explain what is meant by the term "hardening off," and discuss a favorite spring flower. We wonder why pansies are said to "have faces" and answer Carl's question about the brown leaves on his rhododendron.

:30 What's For Dinner: Mustard greens, wild & tame

5:34 Plant Noob: What is hardening off?

13:44 Eat/Drink/Grow: Pansies and Violas

23:23 Love Letters and Questions: Browned leaves on evergreen plants.

At the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle, Ellen and C.L. talked about foraging for garlic mustard and C.L.'s favorite summer squash. We give recommendations for plants that Bambi and Thumper don't like, and take questions about succulents and mushrooms.

:35 What's for dinner: garlic mustard and summer squash 7:40 Insider info: deer and rabbit resistant plants 19:58 questions: succulents indoors or outdoors and mushrooms in the garden

In this Plantrama episode we talk about eating the invasive Japanese knotweed, three of C.L.'s must-plant vegetable varieties, growing Mandevilla vine and poison green potatoes.

:32 What's For Dinner: Foraged Japanese knotweed.

5:10 Insider Information: Three of C.L.'s must-grow vegetables: Black Beauty Eggplant, Chinese Red Noodle Beans, Bright Lights Chard

11:12 Eat/Drink/Grow: Mandevilla Vine – why you want to grow this tropical vine, which varieties to look for, and whether it is worth keeping it over the winter.

20:18 Love Letters and Questions: Mandy asks why it's bad to eat green potatoes, and how to prevent the ones she grows from turning green again.

We start out talking about why you might eat stinging nettles, or just avoid these painful plants. Learn about varieties for your tomato garden and why heirloom tomatoes aren't always the best choice. Plus dormant weed seeds and basil downy mildew disease.

:30 Did You Know: Nettles

7:12 Eat/Drink/Grow: Planning your tomato garden

Inside Information: Fiendish Weed Seeds

23:43 Love Letters and Questions: Paul asks why his basil keeps dying in mid-summer.

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In this episode we mention an article on a weed seed experiment published in the January/February issue of The American Gardener magazine, published by the American Horticultural Society.