The Garden Mixer

Parking lot plants. The ones growing between the cart return and the McDonald’s drive-through. The ones shaved into meatballs and meatloaf and shapes that can’t be easily defined in meat terms. The ones that ask for nothing more than hard pan, cigarette butts & exhaust fumes — and deliver anyway.

These plants have a reputation problem. Not because they aren’t good plants, but because they’ve been used badly, repeated endlessly, and associated with the worst design instincts of the last fifty years. And yet: there is a reason they keep showing up. They work. They survive. And they look beautiful when they are transported out of the ninth circle of hell and brought to a garden where they can be the plants they’re meant to be.

Leslie and Marianne are here to raise a glass to them — and to make the case that the parking lot plant in your garden, handled with intention, is not a consolation prize. It’s a plant that has already proven itself under conditions your garden will never impose. So how about a little respect? Today on The Garden Mixer.

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In this latest Barrel-Aged episode of One More Sip of The Garden Mixer, Marianne and Leslie talk about all of their worst gardening boo-boos over the years. The format is interesting-- this is a LIVE Substack video that took place a year ago. They bring up mistakes that range from planting the wrong thing to just plain planting wrong and one story involves the explosion of a rear window. Who knew gardening could get so violent? At least it's never boring when you listen to Marianne Willburn and Leslie Harris of The Garden Mixer.

If you are interested in being up to date with One More Sip of The Garden Mixer, which is our in between episode that comes out between bigger sips (regular episodes), head over to Substack to join our community and support the show.

And thanks!

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Last December, Leslie and Marianne talked deer fences on the podcast — and Marianne’s imminent enclosure and ironic freedom. Somewhere in the middle of that episode, Founding Mixer and friend Erin Schanen, The Impatient Gardener, decided she’d had enough.

Not of the podcast. (uh, obvs!) Of the deer.

So she did what any reasonable person does when pushed past the breaking point by a herd of four-legged garden criminals: she went all in. Not with one kind of fence. With four. Simultaneously. On a suburban property with ordinances, a neighbor with opinions, a driveway that needed a gate and a woodland doubling as a deer maternity unit.

She is here to tell us how it went. And more importantly, how you might piece together a solution for yourself if you can’t just pick up the phone and call the local fencing company. Spoiler: She’s zapped herself three times on the electric fence. But her phlox have never looked better.

Join us as we discuss thinking outside the box to create a box. Today, on the Garden Mixer.

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What makes a good garden path? Gravel? Grass? Pavers? Wood chips? Flagstone? And why does something that looks gorgeous in one garden become a maintenance nightmare in another?In this Barrel Aged One More Sip, Leslie and Marianne head down the garden path—quite literally—to talk about the materials they’ve used, loved, regretted and sworn never to use again.Marianne is preparing to replace nearly 100 feet of struggling turf path with gravel, which leads to a conversation about pea gravel, stone dust, stepping stones, wood-chip paths, flagstone, edging and even those beautiful slices of tree trunk that look wonderful...until they start rotting.We also talk about how wide a garden path should be, choosing a surface that works with the style and scale of your garden, dealing with snow, weeds and wheelbarrows—and why landscape fabric under a path is one mistake neither of us wants to make again.Because a path isn't just a way to get from one part of the garden to another. It changes how you move through the garden, how you see it—and how much work you'll be doing to maintain it.And yes, gravel wins quite a few points. Whether Marianne still loves hers after installing nearly 100 feet of it remains to be seen.The Garden Mixer with Leslie Harris and Marianne WillburnGardening shouldn’t be boring.Hit the YouTube subscribe button so we can keep you smiling while you hit the mess (your garden) out there.The Garden Mixer Podcast https://episodes.fm/1561064602Full Show Notes bonus episodes at The Garden Mixer Podcast’s Substackhttps://thegardenmixerpodcast.substack.com/Socials – Pick Your Platform:Follow us on Instagram @thegardenmixerhttps://www.instagram.com/thegardenmixer/Indulge us on TikTok @the.garden.mixer https://www.tiktok.com/@the.garden.mixerSpar with us on X @gardenmixerpodhttps://x.com/gardenmixerpod“French Bistro” theme by Adieu Adieu. License D0LZBINY30GGTBBW

With some surprise and not a little relief, the garden is hurtling towards late middle age by mid-September. The promise of spring and the relentless drive of summer have departed, and with them the cultural expectation that the garden needs to look good in a crop top and pretend that it’s still May.

There are some big bonuses to late middle age. With lowered expectations now the norm for those around you who don’t garden, your plot is well positioned to surprise and delight visitors with color, texture & not a little sass. It may be the Golden Hour, but that doesn’t mean you can’t rock it.

This week, Marianne and Leslie remain so dedicated to their craft and the proposition that ‘rock it’ is more than just a salad green, that they bring the Show with them on vacation to Normandy. (Or at least Leslie was on vacation when the girls recorded this episode — Marianne was working her derrière off).

However, since they had a fine coachload of exceptional gardeners whose ideas they could harvest for fall color ideas (including a group of professional container designers) they didn’t have to work too hard.

It’s LIVE-ish from Normandy, with a surprise or two — and don’t forget to check out the YouTube silliness. Today on The Garden Mixer.

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Gardeners in cold climates dabbling with tropical and subtropical plants in their summer gardens are about to come to a hard stop: First Frost.

If you’re a gardener who loves these plants outside, but doesn’t particularly want them rubbing shoulders with you over the winter, you may be interested in which ones Marianne terms “Best Friends” in her last book, Tropical Plants and How To Love Them — plants that can be stored in dark, dormant conditions in a frost-free location.

Today on One More Sip the girls discuss the plants that can take this kind of treatment, the ones that can’t, and encourage you to safely experiment to add even more to your list.

From digging those rhizomes to the details of storage — they’ll make it easier than ever to bring some of your favorite “Best Friend” plants through the winter so you can enjoy them in your garden for years to come.

It’s planting season once again for many of us in the Northern Hemisphere – which of course means buying season, and splurging season, and did-I-really-need-that-many-clearance-plants season.

Need a strategy? Today we welcome Louisa Zimmermann Roberts, co-owner of Thanksgiving Farms in Frederick, Maryland who’s been watching the buying habits of customers for decades, and has more than a little insight on what you should be doing when you fill that cart.

She’ll have you examining that root system, squinting at plant tags, rethinking your potting soil, and generally becoming the smartest gardener on the block. Today on the Garden Mixer.

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On this Barrel Aged and decanted episode of One More Sip of The Garden Mixer, Leslie and Marianne go full listicle and shelve the “Do!” for the “Better If You Don’t Do” on a range of issues in the garden — from design considerations, to maintenance considerations, to yes…psychological considerations.

While gardening is a creative, subjective exercise, we can definitely make it harder on ourselves than it needs to be — and the girls try their best to help you learn from their mistakes (…and the mistakes of others). Join them as they put together the gardener’s ultimate Honey Don’t Do list.

Each year, millions of gardeners prowl the globe seeking ‘aha!’ moments that they can bring back to their own gardens at home. Are you one of them?

Leslie has been visiting gardens abroad for decades, and over the last two years, Marianne has built a company dedicated to bringing great gardens to great groups of people. Together they’re heading to Normandy next week to see gardens such as Giverny, Jardins d’Etretat, Chateau de Boutemont, Le Jardin Plume, and Chateau Champ de Bataille. And they want to do it right.

So what is the BEST way to see a garden when you finally decide to go? Do you study? Do you wing it? Do you spend hours behind your phone taking the perfect shot only to find you can’t remember the garden because you never experienced it? And what on earth do baby faces have to do with a garden anyway?!?

Thankfully, you don’t need a visa or a VISA to journey with them today.

All aboard! Next stop: Garden Inspiration!

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This week, Leslie & Marianne dive into the sticky world of beekeeping as a gardener.

Leslie is buzzing with questions (and incredibly bad puns) and mercilessly questions Marianne who kept bees for over 15 years and can’t let go of the possibility to do so again (just as soon as she gets her resident bear problem under control and/or moves out of her valley). Is she delusional or just in love?

Whether you’re thinking about plunging into this fascinating world — or simply need motivation to keep harvesting those 50 pound supers in the heat of summer, you’ll appreciate the helpful hints and honest perspective on a hobby that captivates gardeners and non-gardeners world-wide.

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