Into the Garden Week 6

Plant(s) of the Week

With the help of Dos Amigos landscaping, I’ve finally found the solution to my backyard quagmire. We’ve decided to fill in the wasteland with two natives, Canadian hemlock (Tsuga canadensis), and river birch (Betula nigra). The hemlock, a columnar evergreen with tiny needles, will help to screen the neighbors’ looming terrace. River birches, known for their gorgeous exfoliating bark, can grow up to 70 feet tall. Attracting over 400 different moths and caterpillars, I expect the birds will soon be flocking. 

Guest

Award-winning horticulturist, artist, plantsman, and author Kelly D. Norris joins me to discuss his latest book, New Naturalism. Kelly encourages gardeners to “plant on the wild side,” embracing a looser, more natural aesthetic with far-reaching ecological benefits. Rather than working against the earth, we can partner with it. New naturalism is a mindful approach to horticulture that asks gardeners to become stewards. Our job? To keep the garden in motion. 

https://kellydnorris.com/

Playlist

  • It’s time to start hardening off your indoor plants. Watch the weather and be mindful of frost!

  • Early perennial division: Cutesy blue forget-me-nots (Myosotis) are great self-sowers. Ask a friend if you can collect some seeds and shake them over your garden—easy as pie.  

  • Other easy-dividing self-seeders to consider: Phlox subulata, foxglove, and columbine.

To Listen: 

  • Tom Christopher’s podcast Growing Greener.     

https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcast

Into the Garden Week 5

Plant of the Week

The state tree of Missouri, North Carolina, and Virginia, the native dogwood is mighty popular. Its beautiful white and pink flowers are a springtime staple in Virginia. The flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) is bred to sit in the full sun, but it also makes wonderful understory. Plant them at the edge of your woods and marvel at your blooming treeline. 

Guests

This week, I chatted with Historic Garden Chairwomen Michele Hayes Silver and Robin Cherry about the Historic Garden Week Tour. All ticket proceeds support the Garden Club’s many important missions, including funding three conservation studies fellowships and the restoration of 39 historic sites. I’m so happy and humbled to be sharing my Albemarle garden alongside two gorgeous Charlottesville and Rivanna gardens. If you buy a ticket, you will be treated to a collection of showstopper specimen trees, including an enormous American elm, a redwood, a dove tree, and a backyard that houses over 22 varieties of Japanese maples. For those of us who haven’t seen a dove tree in bloom, the flowers “look like white silk handkerchiefs blowing in the wind.” 

https://www.vagardenweek.org/

Playlist 

  • Now is as good a time as any to get mulching! 

  • Avoid mulching trees and certain perennials like German irises and peonies. 

  • There’s no need to mulch everywhere. Let your leaf litter be—it’s great for insects.

To Listen

Up Next

  • Tune in for my talk with horticulturist Kelly D. Norris about his latest book New Naturalism.

Into the Garden Week 4

Plant of the Week

I’m sorry (not sorry) to say I fell off the native plant wagon with my Edgeworthia chrysantha, the Chinese paperbush plant. This guy is known for his winter flowers, fragrant clusters of lemon-yellow and white umbrils. Join me and brighten your home with fresh Edgeworthia cuttings—it’ll be our little secret. 

Guest

This week, Richmond-based botanical artist Anne Blackwell Thompson joined me on the pod. There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to botanical art. Anne describes her car as a “botanical crime scene,” complete with ladders, machetes, and scalpels. Anne’s art is a labor of love. Some pieces are composed of over 300 parts, and plant material can take anywhere from 2 weeks to 9 months to dry properly. When collecting specimens, she focuses on the shapes and curves of a single leaf or flower, selecting only the very best. As Anne says, Mother Nature drives the bus and we’re just along for the ride.

https://www.quirkgallery.com/main-gallery-charlottesville

https://www.blackwellbotanicals.com/

https://awaytogarden.com/

https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/edgeworthia-chrysantha/

Playlist

Temperatures are on the rise and it’s time to get you into the garden.

●  Before putting them outside for the night, acclimate your potted plants with several sun/air baths.

●  Remove your annual winter weeds, like dead nettle, yellow rocket, chickweed, and hoary bittercress. I know they’re cute, but remember: off with their heads!

●  Prune anything and everything. If it doesn’t make you happy—cut it out!  

To Listen

●  Margaret Roach’s A Way To Garden

●  BBC’s Gardeners’ Question Time

Up Next

Join me for my talk with Historic Garden Chairwomen Michele Hayes Silver and Robin Cherry.

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