Plantrama - Plants, Landscapes, & Bringing Nature Indoors

In late June it’s time to talk about repeat sowings of salad greens, foraging for lamb’s quarters, sending houseplants to summer camp, and all about Rosa rugosa. Ellen and C.L. end the episode with advice about how to keep a hanging basket looking good all summer. 0:35 What’s For Dinner? Planting and foraging for a continual harvest. 6:25 For the Plant Noob Sending houseplants to “summer camp.”  13:00 Eat/Drink/Grow We talk about Rosa rugosa, aka the beach rose or wild rose. Why Ellen loves it, why C.L. is a bit less enthusiastic, and how to care for this rose. 21.51 Story Plant theft! 27:24 Questions or Love Letters Quinn wants to know how to keep a hanging basket looking good all summer.

:35 What’s For Dinner? How you can preserve the plants you forage for or grow by dehydrating. 6:07 Insider Information: Herbs: The Delightful Dozen – Ellen and C.L. talk about their must-grow herbs. Chives, Fennel, Thyme, Mint, Dill, French Tarragon, Lemon Verbena, Lavender, Sage, Rosemary, Basil, Cilantro. 18:42 Eat/Drink/Grow:   Early summer perennial maintenance.   25:03 Did You Know: “Understudy Plants” Raising a few things as backup, because the show must go on! 30:40 Love Letters and Questions: Skylar wrote to ask if you can assume that if one flower is edible, does that mean all varieties of the same type are also edible.

:33 What’s For Dinner? Asparagus! What types to buy and how to grow this spring treat.  7:42 True or False? Marigolds We’ve all heard about it: “Plant marigolds to keep insects away from your vegetables.” But does it work? 11:32 Eat/Drink/Grow 28:07 Questions or Love Letters Lane asks, “Is it too late to plant?”

:40  What’s for dinner: Questions about wild-crafted cocktails and raised bed vegetables.  4:40  Plant noob: Can you have too much compost? 7:31  Eat/Drink/Grow:   We answer questions about deer, smart pots, dahlias, Rhododendron mulch, and under-planting Japanese maples. 23:11  Insider Information: Emptying a Gardener’s Supply cart, our favorite gardening books and plants, yellow jackets in pots, and why Linda hasn’t heard of us before. We end with a follow-up email from Ryan, who attended the show and now is a Plantrama regular. Thanks, Ryan!

:32 What’s For Dinner? Edible Flowers   Whether you plant them or pick them in the wild, there are many spring flowers that will make your dinner table tastier and more attractive. 6:58 Insider Information: Skunk Cabbage   If you’ve gone for a walk in a boggy area this spring, you might have caught sight of this strange and fascinating plant. 11:47 Eat/Drink/Grow: April Showers From rain chains to rain barrels, rain gauges and rain gardens...we’re all about drizzle and downpour.   23:29 Did You Know: Elevating Pots Raising outdoor boxes and containers can create a more dramatic display and give decks and patios some breathing room. 27:32 Love Letters and Questions: Micah wants to know about the best time for feeding Bulbs

Including the typical segments you’ll hear in every episode of the Plantrama podcast :15 Introduction by Janet Endsley, NWFGS Program Director 2:14 Ellen and C.L. introduce each other. (One of us is a cat person, and another a dog person…) 4:04 What’s For Dinner? The Merry Woodsman Cocktail In a cocktail shaker full of ice, combine two ounces of spruce tip infused vodka with 3/4 ounces of elderflower liqueur, and 1 1/2 teaspoons ginger syrup. Shake for 30 seconds, then strain and pour into a martini glass. Add 1 1/2 ounces of seltzer and garnish with a spruce tip. Nasturtium Leaf Hors d'oeuvres Pick some of the largest leaves and add the filling of your choice. Suggestions include cream cheese mixed with herbs, goat cheese with olives, hummus, or finely chopped egg salad. Add a nasturtium flower and either fold or roll the leaves, place on a plate garnished with more nasturtium flowers and serve. 7:02 Eat/Drink Grow: Ellen and C.L.’s Essential Plant Picks for 2018 Saffron Sentinel Cornelian Cherry (Cornus mas

:40 What’s for dinner: Rhubarb & Knotweed   Fresh stems and shoots are on the menu today – from cultivated rhubarb to the wild Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica). Early spring crops are what's for dinner. 5:16 Insider Information: Curb Appeal  What, specifically, is curb appeal? How can we all get more, and does it mean a total landscape makeover?  11:30 Eat/Drink/Grow:     The Invasion of The Garden Gnomes (aka Garden Ornaments)  The gnomes are taking some good-natured heat today as we talk about ornaments in the garden. 19:39 Did You Know: Chickweed   It’s a petite, kind of sweet and good to eat weed. The bane of a all-grass-lawn-lover, and a something to pull from flowerbeds. But Ellen tells you how to turn your reaction from “oh no” to ‘oh boy!” 25:15  Love Letters and Questions: Harper asks if the soil in window boxes needs to be changed every year.

:35 What’s For Dinner: Edible Landscaping We discuss some of the plants that do double duty in the landscape: these are attractive and edible! The plants mentioned are: Roses, crabapple trees, plum trees, blueberries (Vaccinium corymbosum) old-fashioned quince (Chaenomeles japonica 'Toyo-Nishiki’), bee balm, ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris), Oregon grape (Mahonia aquifolium), potato-bean vine (Apios americana), doyle's thornless blackberry, rainbow chard, salad greens, and nasturtiums. 10:05 The Plant Noob: Buying Plants in 6 packs vs. 4” Pots Those new to planting often wonder why some plants are sold in inexpensive six packs, while others are only available in small pots. Ellen and C.L. explain. 14:15  Eat/Drink/Grow: Growing Plants From Pits and Leftovers Have you ever wondered if you can grow an apple or orange tree from the pit of the fruit you bought in the store? And how about making a houseplant from the top of a pineapple or the seed from an avocado? 21:25 Insider Information: Those Cheerful

30 What’s for dinner: Mustards, Cresses, and Peas Spring greens and Peas What to forage for in early spring, and should you really plant peas on Saint Patrick’s Day? 5:18 Insider Information: Cymbidiums How to grow Cymbidium orchids, keep them alive through summer and bring them back into flower.   9:15 Eat/Drink/Grow: Cold Frames and Other Ways of “Pushing Spring” Ellen and C.L. explore the ways we can jumpstart our spring growing with cold frames and other means of protection. See the lyrics for Lou and Peter Berryman’s song that C.L. refers to on the Plantrama website.    21:57 Did You Know: Shamrocks At this time of year garden centers and grocery stores are filled with several types of Oxalis plants, sold as signs of spring and symbols of St. Patrick’s day. We talk about how to grow these as houseplants and use them in outdoor containers.   26:05 Love Letters and Questions: Planting pansies as early as possible.  

:33    What’s For Dinner: Jams Ellen is a big jam maker. Here how she saves fruit for cooking up jams later. She advises that people new to jams and jellies get the Ball Blue Book or So Easy To Preserve.  8:11   The Plant Noob: Lemon Cypress This lime colored small tree is often sold at Christmas time as a holiday plant. Ellen and C.L. talk about how to keep it alive as a houseplant indoors, and where it can be planted outside.  14:10  Eat/Drink/Grow: Scale One of the hardest insect pests to manage is scale. In this episode we talk about scales found on indoor and outdoor plants, how to identify this pest and what treatments you can use. 15:51  Insider Information: Seeds If you’re new to seed starting you’ll want to know when seeds can be started inside on a widow sill or under lights. Ellen and C.L. caution not to plant seeds too early!  29:04  Love letters and questions: Greenhouse Gift Plants Holding holiday gift plants until it’s time to plant them outside in spring.

:35 – 6:10 What’s For Dinner: Microgreens – you can grow these tasty, nutritious greens yourself, indoors, even in the winter time.       6:12 – 12:00 Insider Information: Spider mites – at this time of year you might find spider mites on your indoor plants. 12:05 – 23:23 Eat/Drink/Grow: Pruning – why we prune plants and a basic recipe for approaching most trees and shrubs.       23:26 – 27:56 Did You Know:  Birds in your landscape – how to attract birds and provide for them in the coldest months of the year.    27:59 – end Love Letters and Questions: Miniature roses from a greenhouse…can they be planted outside later in the spring?

0:34 What’s for dinner: Advance planning? Ordering veggie seeds for growing this spring and winter foraging. 6:37 Plant noob: Why you should know about Sansevieria, the Swiss Army Knife of Plants. 11:37 Eat/Drink/Grow:  The Art, Science and Dinner of Seeds 23:12 Insider Information: Methusela…the story of the 2000 year old palm seed that sprouted.  26:58 Love Letters and Questions Reese wants to know how we record Plantrama if we’re not in the same location.

0:37 – 4:33 What’s for dinner: Foraged Pesto and Winter Squash Soup 4:37 – 10:56 Insider Information:   “Breathing Room” 11:03 – 25:15 Eat/Drink/Grow:    The Art, Science and Dinner of Orchids 25:25 – 30:33 Did You Know: How to keep an Amaryllis from year to year. 30:36 – 35:15 Love Letters and Questions: A love note from Kerry.

0:30 – 5:37 What’s for Dinner: Calamondin Citrus   5:43 – 11:51 Did You Know: Paperwhite Narcissus   12:02 - 20:08 Eat/Drink/Grow: Cyclamen   20:14 – 24:53 Insider Information: The Franklinia Story   24:56 – 27:28 Love Letters and Questions: Addison asks about weeds to eat from the lawn.

What’s For Dinner :40 Winter cocktails are on the menu in this episode. Ellen gives a recipe for a foraged Carob Horchata and C.L. talks about using the rosemary plant your brought indoors to create a Rosemary Gin Gin. Links to recipes at Plantrama.com Insider Information 4:20 Mice! How to prevent mouse damage on newly planted trees and in other garden situations. Eat/Drink/Grow 10:02 In this section you’ll find out how C.L. feels about poinsettias (pro) and Ellen doesn’t hold back about her opinion (con) of Euphorbia pulcherrima. We discuss the history, care and advantages of this popular holiday plant. And if you think that Ellen and C.L. disagree about the merits of poinsettias in general, just wait until C.L. mentions spray-painting the plant… Did You Know 21:01 After the total disagreement about Euphorbia pulcherrima, it’s back to common ground with a discussion of luminarias and celebrating the solstice. Love Letters and Questions 25:25 Today Ellen and C.L. give the recorded equivalent of thank you note

 00: What’s For Dinner - we discuss what is on a forager’s Thanksgiving table, and what is on a vegetable gardener’s spread. Find links to the recipes here: 8:59: The Plant Noob - Today’s topic is common cooking sage, aka Salvia officinalis. 12:59: Eat, Drink, Grow - We’re growing Christmas cactus and Thanksgiving cactus in this episode. What they are, keeping them alive, and how to be sure they came into flower every year. 20:34: Insider Information – Just in time for your Shop Small Saturday, it’s time for Ellen and C.L.’s holiday gift suggestions. 30:19: Love Letters and Questions – We heard from Freddi who asked if it’s too early to put down “winterizer” fertilizer.

 :50 Did You Know...about the pros and cons of Winter Protection? Think you should wrap your evergreen shrubs in burlap for the winter? Ellen explains how to correctly construct a protective screen, and C.L. wonders why anyone would want to upholster their shrubs.   4:45 Eat/Drink/Grow: Crabapples.How to choose a tree, which varieties C.L. and Ellen are lusting after, and what to do with the fruit. The two varieties mentioned are Chestnut and Dolgo. C.L. directs you to two helpful crabapple sites. One from The Morton Arboretum and a chart from J. Frank Schmidt. Ellen gives this link on her website for crabapple recipes.   16:45 Insider Information: Last Chance Harvesting. Cool weather greens such as curly dock (for foragers), Tuscan kale, carrots, pak choi, chard and Brussels sprouts (for gardeners). Ellen also talks about ginkgo nuts. Have you heard the saying, "Stinko ginkgo?"   21:05 Love Letters and Questions: Fungus Gnats and Fruit Flies  Robbie writes "Help! I've got fruit flies in my kitchen."

Have you ever wondered if you could eat black walnuts? Or maybe you're undecided about using a winter protective mulch on your perennial garden...do our plants really need a down blanket to keep them warm? And in our Eat/Drink/Grow segment we talk about the science, art and dinner of pumpkins.

We're pleased to take you into the world of garden communicators and garden tourism in this episode. Fresh out of the GWA annual meeting and trade show, Ellen and C.L. share what they've learned about new plants and products for the home landscape. We talk about how GardenWalk Buffalo is a model for other regions when it comes to tourism dollars and community development. We talk about new plants and products that we discovered at the Garden Writers Association meeting. And we answer a listener's question about bringing Meyer lemons indoors.

In this episode we talk about how to tell if winter squash is ripe and how to preserve it. We discuss saving annuals from year to year, and give the pros and cons of fall yard cleanups. Ellen and C.L. also invite you to become inspired by the artist Andy Goldsworthy.