Plantrama - plants, landscapes, & bringing nature indoors

Ellen and C.L. start celebrating the planting season by talking about herbs in containers. Next they answer the question, "What the heck are hardiness zones?" In the main part of the podcast the topic is planting. Does your planting have to be done by a certain date? Do you really have to add peat moss to a planting hole? And what about removing that burlap or wire basket? All of these planting questions are answered, followed by a Sunflower Story and an email from a listener. It's planting season...let's play in the dirt!

In this episode we disagree about how to pronounce "Plantrama" which leads to a discussion about the pronunciation of plant names. We also talk about successfully growing herbs by the kitchen window, and answer a listener's emailed question.

In this episode we talk about two lovely self-seeding annuals, being worried that a plant problem will spread, and growing random acts of kindness.

In this episode C.L. gives a tip for growing strong seedlings under lights, we talk about dealing with weeds in the yard (spoiler alert: Ellen wants you to eat them!) and we share some of our favorite "What's for dinner?" plants.

In this episode we talk about two of our favorite plants for fragrance, rant a bit about the practice of putting rocks and shards in the bottom of pots, and discuss the pros and cons of heirloom plants.

What's for dinner? In the fall, the answer might be mushrooms and eggplant. We begin by talking about growing and cooking eggplants and foraging for mushrooms. Next we talk about aphids on plants and then move on to discussing planting for privacy.

Did you grow succulents in your window boxes or strawberry jar this year because they are drought tolerant and just look so cool? If so, you might be wondering if you can keep them for next year. This episode explains the hows and whys of saving succulents. We also talk about an under appreciated plant, moss, and ask each other, "What's for dinner?"

Fall is the time for planting bulbs, but how deep should you plant them? And how can you prevent the squirrels (aka, those bastards!) from digging them up? In this episode we talk about bulbs, why evergreens just might have "better clothing" and keeping container grown plants through the winter.

The combination of plants commonly sold as dish gardens or gift baskets usually need the plants to be separated and repotted after a month or so. Today Ellen and C.L. talk about this, and explain how to know if your seeds from previous years are still good to grow. We also talk about insects and why it's good to know about their different mouth parts.

Sometimes the preconceptions that we come to the landscape with don't do us any favors. For instance, did you know that the leaves that come down from the trees in the fall are GOLD for your garden? Have you considered that the lowly dandelion might be a desirable plant? And if you've been told that Epsom Salt is the cure for just about everything, we're here to ask you to think again...