The Gardenangelists: Flowers, Veggies, and All the Best Dirt

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Dee and Carol talk about plants for fall containers, pumpkin care, a new book on houseplants, and more.

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Insect of the Week:

We decided to feature milkweed bugs, and other insects you’ll find on your milkweed especially this time of year. Find out more from the Univ. of Illinois extension. 

Flowers:

What would we put in a fall container? We have quite the list, or rather Dee does. I offered. few plants she forgot. Do you have a special fall combo for your containers? Tell us about it in the comments!

Vegetables:

We talked about how to care for pumpkins on the porch so they won’t rot out before Halloween. What do you do to keep your pumpkins from rotting out too early or becoming a critter’s dinner? 

Also, check out the new world record for a giant pumpkin, on Instagram

On the Bookshelf:

More Than Just a Plant: How to Care for Your Plants as They Care For You by Krystal Duran, Creator of PlantswithKrystal (Amazon, Bookshop). The author is on Instagram with 1.1 million followers! Thank you to Quarto for review copies.

Dirt:

Uranium glassware for watering? On Instagram

Rabbit Holes:

Dee is watching Widow’s Bay on Apple TV, 

Carol has  been reading books including some that take place after World War II, including Our Noble Selves by Kate Atkinson and The Dancing Bear by Frances Faviell (1954).  

A Garden to Visit:

Visit an arboretum that people are dying to get into… cemeteries! Many of them are listed as arboretums because of their beautiful trees, including Cave Hill in Louisville, Spring Grove in Cincinnati, Crown Hill in Indianapolis, etc. Is there a cemetery arboretum around you?

Thank You!

As always, we appreciate all of you for listening to our podcast and for reading this newsletter! If you’d like to support us, check out our affiliate links here. Book links are also affiliate links.

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On Instagram:  Carol: Indygardener, Dee: RedDirtRamblings, Our podcast: TheGardenangelists.
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Carol and Dee talk about what you can plant in the fall, winter squash (again) and a commonplace book.

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To watch us on YouTube, click here.

Flowers:

What can you plant in the fall? 

Vegetables:

We got another opinion on Winter Squash from Autumn Prairie Pumpkins, LLC 

On the Bookshelf:

The Country Commonplace Book by Miranda Mills (Bookshop, Amazon) and The Cozy Commonplace Book (Bookshop, Amazon).  

Dirt: 

Have you ever heard of Birth Month Herbs. W 

Rabbit Holes:

An Instagram post with one of the best readings of Wendell Berry’s poem The Peace of Wild Things

Lost Lady of Garden Writing, Violet Stevenson. .

A Garden to Visit:

Scott Arboretum, 

Thank You!

As always, we appreciate all of you for listening to our podcast and for reading this newsletter! If you’d like to support us, check out our affiliate links here. Book links are also affiliate links.

And, if you have suggestions for topics for us to discuss, send us an email or leave a comment.

Support the show

On Instagram:  Carol: Indygardener, Dee: RedDirtRamblings, Our podcast: TheGardenangelists.
On Facebook: The Gardenangelists' Garden Club.
On YouTube.

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This week, we talked about theme gardens, assessing your vegetable garden at the end of the season, a new book featuring Beatrix Potter’s plants and drawings, and more.

For more info, check out our Substack newsletter.

To watch this episode on YouTube, click here.  

Playing Favorites:

Dee’s greenhouse is finished! Of course that would be her favorite this week. For me it’s the combination of Verbena bonariensis and Signet marigolds around my mailbox. 

Question of the Week:

Where did you go, Dee, and what did you see?  

Insect of the Week:

Junk bugs info from University of Arkansas.

Flowers:

Would a theme garden help you out as you decide what to plant in your garden? It might. Also, check out Theme Gardens by Barbara Damrosch. (Amazon)

Vegetables:

It’s fall, so time to assess what went well and what didn’t go well in your vegetable garden this season. What will you change for next year? Tell us about it in the comments.

On the Bookshelf:

We were delighted to get review copies of Beatrix Potter’s Botanical: The Art of Flowers and Fungi by Marta McDowell ( Bookshop, Amazon), which is coming out October 13th. 

We also think you might enjoy Marta’s other book from 2013: Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life: The Plants and Places That Inspired the Classic Children’s Tales (Amazon, Bookshop)

The video Dee talked about is this one: Beatrix Potter video Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit.

Dirt:

“I spent a week living like Beatrix Potter” on YouTube

 Rabbit Holes:

Dee’s rabbit hole was doing a bit of research for her trip to Montreal. 

My rabbit hole was for the next Lost Lady of Garden Writing coming up on Wednesday. 

A Garden to Visit:

Dee tells us all about her visit to the Montreal Botanic Garden.

Thank You!

As always, we appreciate all of you for listening to our podcast and for reading this newsletter! If you’d like to support us, check out our affiliate links here. Book links are also affiliate links.

And, if you have suggestions for topics for us to discuss, send us an email or leave a comment.

Support the show

On Instagram:  Carol: Indygardener, Dee: RedDirtRamblings, Our podcast: TheGardenangelists.
On Facebook: The Gardenangelists' Garden Club.
On YouTube.

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Dee and Carol talk about garden obsessions and more.

Links:

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Insect of the Week:

Ambush Bugs (Univ of Wisconsin info)

Flowers:

Have you ever been obsessed with a flower?

Vegetables:

Vegetable garden obsessions

On the Bookshelf:

The Tree Collectors: Tales of Arboreal Obsession by Amy Stewart (Amazon, Bookshop))

Dirt:

Monty Don is leaving Gardener’s World!

Rabbit Holes:

Dee: Jujube fruits, aka Chinese dates. 

Carol:  Mary Mason Campbell, a new Lost Lady of Garden Writing 

Also mysteries written by Anna Katherine Green. First one is The Leavenworth Case (1878).  

A Garden to Visit:

Elizabethan Gardens, Manteo, NC

As always, we appreciate all of you for listening to our podcast and for reading this newsletter! If you’d like to support us, check out our affiliate links here. Book links are also affiliate links.

And, if you have suggestions for topics for us to discuss, send us an email or leave a comment.

Support the show

On Instagram:  Carol: Indygardener, Dee: RedDirtRamblings, Our podcast: TheGardenangelists.
On Facebook: The Gardenangelists' Garden Club.
On YouTube.

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Dee and Carol talk about the health benefits of gardening 

Question of the Week:

What’s wrong with Carol’s clematis? Clematis Wilt, most likely. More info on Epic Gardening

Insect of the Week:

Back to wasps… cicada-killing wasps are here! 

Flowers:

Gardening for wellness. How gardens make us healthier.

Vegetables:

Why growing vegetables makes us healthier.

On the Bookshelf:

The Well-Gardened Mind: The Restorative Power of Nature by Sue Stuart-Smith (Bookshop, Amazon)

Dirt:

Green Colour Psychology: What it actually does to your brain and body

 Rabbit Holes:

Dee: Crape Myrtle ‘Tightwad Red’

Carol: Rachel Peden, the latest Lost Lady of Garden Writing, (check out her books on Amazon, Bookshop) plus Wendell Berry. Check out the Berry Center website, where you can buy the 50th anniversary edition of The Unsettling of America. And What an Owl Knows by Jennifer Ackerman (Amazon, Bookshop) 

A Garden to Visit:

Yew Dell BotanicalGardens, Crestwood, KY

Thank you:

As always, we appreciate all of you for listening to our podcast and for reading this newsletter! If you’d like to support us, check out our affiliate links here. Book links are also affiliate links.

And, if you have suggestions for topics for us to discuss, send us an email or leave a comment.

Support the show

On Instagram:  Carol: Indygardener, Dee: RedDirtRamblings, Our podcast: TheGardenangelists.
On Facebook: The Gardenangelists' Garden Club.
On YouTube.

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Dee and Carol talk about buying and planting bulbs, garlic, and butterflies this week.

For more info, check out our Substack newsletter.

To watch us on YouTube, click here.

Question of the Week:

What’s really wrong with Carol’s Black-eyed Susans?

Septoria leaf spot, most likely. And particularly susceptible is ‘Goldsturm.’ Listen to Hans Hansen talk about it on Instagram.

Insect of the Week

Butterflies, and how now is a great time to see them in your garden. The adults are flitting and mating and moving on.

Flowers:

Bulbs.

Vegetables:

Garlic 

On the Bookshelf:

The Language of Butterflies: How Thieves, Hoarders, Scientists, and Other Obsessives Unlocked the Secrets of the World’s Favorite Insect by Wendy Williams (Amazon, Bookshop)

Dirt:

State Animals

Rabbit Holes

Carol: I listened to The Book of Margery Kempe, by Margery Kempe, and is working on the next Lost Lady of Garden Writing.

A Garden to Visit:

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, in Richmond, Virginia

Thank you:

As always, we appreciate all of you for listening to our podcast and for reading this newsletter! If you’d like to support us, check out our affiliate links here. Book links are also affiliate links.

And, if you have suggestions for topics for us to discuss, send us an email or leave a comment.

Support the show

On Instagram:  Carol: Indygardener, Dee: RedDirtRamblings, Our podcast: TheGardenangelists.
On Facebook: The Gardenangelists' Garden Club.
On YouTube.

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Dee and Carol talk about flowers that shine in the waning days of summer, winter squash and more.

For more info and links, check out our Substack newsletter

To watch this episode on YouTube, click here

Insect of the Week:

Thread Waisted Wasp 

Flowers:

Flowers and plants that peak or look great waning at the end of summer

Winning Zinnias from All-America Selections

Vegetables:

Winter squashes and why we don’t grow them  

On the Bookshelf:

A Green and Pleasant Land: How England’s Gardeners Fought the Second World War by Ursula Buchan (Bookshop, Amazon)

Dirt:

People who read live longer: Instagram

Rabbit Holes

Another Lost Lady of Garden Writing, Alice Lounsberry.

A Garden to Visit:

Biltmore House and Garden, Asheville, NC

Thank you!

As always, we appreciate all of you for listening to our podcast If you’d like to support us, check out our affiliate links here. Book links are also affiliate links.

And, if you have suggestions for topics for us to discuss, send us an email or leave a comment.

Support the show

On Instagram:  Carol: Indygardener, Dee: RedDirtRamblings, Our podcast: TheGardenangelists.
On Facebook: The Gardenangelists' Garden Club.
On YouTube.

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Carol and Dee talked about refreshing container plantings for fall, new veggies for the vegetable garden, a book of garden columns, and more.

Check out our Substack newsletter for more info.

To watch us on YouTube, click here:

Insect of the Week

Great Black Wasp… a solitary pollinator. 

Flowers:

Is it worth refreshing annuals in late summer for fall?

Vegetables:

It’s not too soon to plan for 2027. 

All-America Selections Winners for 2026:

Tomato BadaBing! F1

Kale Rubybor F1

Pole Bean ‘Majesty’

Butter Lamp F1 Winter Squash

Basil Treviso - 

New Varieties sent to Carol from Burpee

Akoya Small-Fruited Tomato 

Sweet 150 Small-Fruited Tomato 

Pick N Pop Orange Sweet Pepper

Monteverde Late Flowering basil 

On the Bookshelf:

Back to the Garden by Ursula Buchan (2009) (Amazon for used copies)

Dirt:

The five plants every pollinator garden needs

Rabbit Holes:

Judi Dench’s Shakespeare: The Man Who Paid the Rent. 

Carol’s blog post for Garden Bloggers’ Bloom Day.

A Garden to Visit:

Holcomb Gardens at Butler University and the Indiana Native Plant Society (INPS)

Thank you:

As always, we appreciate all of you for listening to our podcast and for reading this newsletter! If you’d like to support us, check out our affiliate links here. Book links are also affiliate links.

And, if you have suggestions for topics for us to discuss, send us an email or leave a comment.

With a shared love of gardening…

Support the show

On Instagram:  Carol: Indygardener, Dee: RedDirtRamblings, Our podcast: TheGardenangelists.
On Facebook: The Gardenangelists' Garden Club.
On YouTube.

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Dee and Carol discuss favorite summer annuals, what to do I the veg garden in August, and many books.

For more information, check out our Substack newsletter

To watch us on YouTube, click here.

Links, etc:

Question of the Week:

What’s wrong with my tomatoes?  

Insect of the Week:

Black Saddlebags Dragonfly

Flowers:

Our favorite summer garden annuals. Branching out from perennials and native plants obsession.

Vegetables:

Timely reminders for August

On the Bookshelf:

In the Land of the Blue Poppies: The Collected Plant-Hunting Writings of Frank Kingdon Ward (2003) (Amazon, Bookshop)  

Dirt:

Hydrangea Pruning: What Stays, What Goes and When by Lorraine Ballato (Amazon)

Rabbit Holes:

The Churchill Sisters by Dr. Rachel Tretheway. (Bookshop, Amazon). 

The Kennedys and the Windsors: The Story of Two Dynasties, One Born, One Made by Caroline Hallemann (Bookshop, Amazon) 

Shakespeare: The Man Who Pays the Rent by Judi Dench (Amazon, Bookshop). (Listen to Judi Dench recite Shakespear on Instagram)

 Adele Dawson, another Lost Lady of Garden Writing.

Dear Hugo by Molly Claverly (Amazon, Bookshop), and sloes, the fruit of blackthorn.  

 The Artist and the Feast by Lucy Steeds. (Amazon, Bookshop)  

Dee’s buying Bulgarian food  

A Garden to Visit:

Tulsa Botanic Garden

Thank you:

As always, we appreciate all of you for listening to our podcast and for reading this newsletter! If you’d like to support us, check out our affiliate links here. Book links are also affiliate links.

And, if you have suggestions for topics for us to discuss, send us an email or leave a comment.

With a shared love of gardening…

Carol and Dee

Support the show

On Instagram:  Carol: Indygardener, Dee: RedDirtRamblings, Our podcast: TheGardenangelists.
On Facebook: The Gardenangelists' Garden Club.
On YouTube.

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Dee and Carol talk about mandevillas, veggie cookbooks and more in this week's episode.

For more info, check out our Substack newsletter.

To watch us on YouTube, click here.

Insect of the Week:

Lily leaf beetle, prompted by a reader’s questions. Check Wisconsin Extension on how to identify and how to control. This site shows the range 

Flowers:

Mandevillas and Bougainvillas

Vegetables:

More recipes from the garden.

My New Roots: Inspired Plant-Based Recipes for Every Season: A Cookbook by Sarah Britton. (Bookshop, Amazon) Check out her website and her Instagram account

Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables by Joshua McFadden (Bookshop, Amazon)

On the Bookshelf:

My Summer in a Garden by Charles Dudley Warner (1899) (Bookshop, Amazon)

Dirt:

Chatsworth Garden Design Revealed in the Drought

Rabbit Holes:

The Botanist’s Assistant by Peggy Townsend (Bookshop, Amazon) Lots of interesting deadly plants mentioned. 

Also  Time Traveler by Merriam-Webster: Words that first appeared in print for the year you were born…

A Garden to Visit:

Beth Chatto’s Gravel Garden

Thank you:

As always, we appreciate all of you for listening to our podcast and for reading this newsletter! If you’d like to support us, check out our affiliate links here. Book links are also affiliate links.

And, if you have suggestions for topics for us to discuss, send us an email or leave a comment.

With a shared love of gardening…

Carol and Dee

Support the show

On Instagram:  Carol: Indygardener, Dee: RedDirtRamblings, Our podcast: TheGardenangelists.
On Facebook: The Gardenangelists' Garden Club.
On YouTube.