This week on We Dig Plants, join Carmen & Alice on a virtual tour of The Royal Botanic Garden Kew’s Illustration Collection which includes prints and drawings that range in date from the great masters of botanical illustration of the 18th century, such as P.J. Redouté and the Bauer brothers, through to George Bond and Walter Hood Fitch in the 19th century. They also reveal one of their favorite parts of Kew: The Marianne North Gallery. They’re joined by Christopher Mills, Head of Library, Art and Archives at Kew Gardens. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

What makes a flower blue? What is true blue? Get your brain working on a colorful episode of We Dig Plants!. For their 150th episode, Carmen DeVito and Alice Marcus Krieg are joined by friend and horticulturist Scott Appell, who helps them break down the science behind plant color and what it means for garden design! This program was brought to you by White Oak Pastures.

What do horticulture lovers do in the winter? Well, there are flower shows, trade shows and plenty of other reasons to get out of the house and that’s the topic on this week’s episode of We Dig Plants! Carmen & Alice Marcus Krieg are joined by Portland-based garden designer, manager of Plant-O-Rama, owner of the shop Contained Exuberance and friend of the show, Bob Hyland. Bob talks about the various events that happen across the country during this time, including the The Philadelphia Flower Show and more floral fun in 2015. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

What does God have to do with plants? Find out on the season finale of We Dig Plants! Carmen DeVito and Alice Marcus Krieg are joined by Shelley Cramm, author of

“The anticipation that comes with gardening is wonderful. You look forward and move forward.” [18:00]

–Shelley Cramm on We Dig Plants

It’s the holiday show! Tune in to We Dig Plants as Carmen and Alice celebrate being done with gardening season by sharing some of the best things they’ve read and experienced in 2014. Get a great list of book recommendations, gift tips and general plant talk! Later in the show, Fonda Sara, owner of Zuzu’s Petals, joins in on the conversation. This program was brought to you by White Oak Pastures.

–Fonda Sara on We Dig Plants

Learn about plants that are extraordinarily useful in cooking, homeopathy, and more on a brand new episode of We Dig Plants. Carmen and Alice are joined by Stephen Orr, author of

“If you broadly define a herb, it’s any useful plant. That makes it very broad.” [16:00]

–Stephen Orr on We Dig Plants

Tune into another great episode of We Dig Plants as Carmen DeVito and Alice Marcus Krieg are joined by horticulture superstar Rochelle Greayer. Author of Cultivating Garden Style, Rochelle Greayer is the founder and editor of Pith + Vigor, a literary newspaper and online magazine for garden enthusiasts. In addition, she is the creator of the popular blog Studio ‘g’, named one of the top ten gardening blogs by the editors of Better Homes and Gardens and BHG.com; co-founder and editor of Leaf Magazine, a digital design magazine for garden makers; and a weekly columnist (The Gardenist) for Apartment Therapy, “one of the most influential interior design sites on the Web” according to Forbes magazine.

“Garden designers come into peoples homes and take a read on a person – what they’re wearing, what their home looks like. If you cant take that read on somebody you really struggle!” [41:00]

“There’s something really beautiful about the tangible nature of a newspaper. It pairs really well with gardening. It’s slower and more tactile.” [48:00]

–Rochelle Greayer on We Dig Plants

Get in the Thanksgiving spirit by traveling in time on a brand new episode of We Dig Plants! Carmen DeVito and Alice Marcus Krieg are joined by Kirk Ryan Brown, Vice President of the Garden Writers Association, who channels the legendary John Bartram and Frederick Olmsted! Hear about these two horticultural legends join in on a conversation about Thanksgiving, plants, democracy & land use – from the redwood forests to the gulf stream waters! This program was brought to you by Fairway Market

“I can look back over many seasons and se all those mistakes and how many more we are compounding them with as we pass by.” [12:00]

–Kirk Ryan Brown on We Dig Plants

Are some plants aphrodisiacs, or is that just a myth? This week on We Dig Plants, Garden expert and plant detective Helen Yoest takes us on a romp through history, lore and ethnobotany to find out plants got their “hot” reputation – and what modern science has to say about it. Discover which common garden plants and favorite edibles have that “”something extra,”” and why. Her book, Plants With Benefits is filled with lush photography, growing tips, and recipes for preparing teas, potions and tasty treats for your pleasurable use. Can a plant create feelings of arousal, contentment or receptivity? It looks like the answer is yes. This is the first book about selecting garden plants for their sex appeal. This program was brought to you by Heritage Foods USA.

“Certain foods put you in a receptive mode, like cayenne pepper. it’s heating the body and making you receptive.” [14:00]

–Helen Yoest on We Dig Plants

This week on We Dig Plants, solo host Alice Marcus Krieg is talking garden myths with author and radio show host C.L. Fornari who joins on the phone via Poison Ivy Acres on Cape Cod. Talking about her new book “Coffee for Roses,” C.L. elaborates how the book came about and how important it was to have a humorous spin. According to the book, word-of-mouth may be a great way to learn about some products, but word-of-mouth gardening tips can be a very bad idea. The age-old practice of passing along gardening tips and tricks is no guarantee you will get a good result…it might even do the opposite. In her new book, garden expert C. L. Fornari looks at 71 common garden practices and uncovers the truth behind the lore. Do marigolds keep the bugs out of the veggie patch? Will rusty nails turn hydrangeas blue? With humor and affection, she goes back in time to sort out the good, the bad and the just plain silly and tells us why. “Coffee for Roses” combines gardening history and expert advice into one useful, time- and money-saving package. This program was brought to you by Fairway Market.

“There are numerous home remedies that didn’t make it into the book either.” [13:38]

“People are prone to be a little wacky when it comes to products that are under the kitchen sink and spreading them around the garden.” [13:53]

—C.L. Fornari on We Dig Plants