Plantrama - plants, landscapes, & bringing nature indoors

Ellen and C.L. talk about three interesting edibles from the True Leaf Market catalog, explain what they're working on and catch up with some listener emails. They end by talking about seven seed starting tips offered by our friends at Gardeners Supply Company, and invite listeners to join them at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show in Seattle. :30 What's For Dinner: Our top picks from the True Leaf Market catalog 7:23 Eat/Drink/Grow: What's new with the Plantrama team. 19:46 Insider Information: 7 tips for seed starting

Learn about turning Hydrangea flowers blue, how to tell if you're looking at Queen Anne's lace or the poison hemlock, and not enough room for all these plants! Plus C.L. loves listening to the Audible version of Michael Pollen's book, This is Your Mind on Plants. :29 True or False: To turn Hydrangeas blue, place rusty nails in the ground 3:48 Eat/Drink/Grow: Queen Anne's Lace and Poisonous Look-Alikes 15:04 Check This Out: Michael Pollen's book "This is Your Mind on Plants" 20:30 Love Letters and Questions: Candace writes: "There isn't room in my house for all of these plants…not if I want to say married. Help!"

In this Encore presentation from 2017, Ellen and C.L. start the end-of-summer party off with suggestions for snacks and garden hors d'oeuvres. The second segment offers ways that you benefit from an outdoor office, and no, it's not the low rent. Our main segment suggests ways you can spruce up (horticultural pun intended) your yard and gardens for summer gatherings. Whether you're holding a simple barbecue, birthday celebration, rehearsal dinner, cocktail party or other event, here are ideas for hiding eyesores, improving what you've got and adding color. Our fourth segment addresses a plant noob's question: "Will this plant will come back to life or is it dead?" We end with an email from a listener who asks about end-of-year bargain plants.

Ellen and C.L. discuss whether the use of mulch robs the soil of nitrogen, and we take a dive into the Polygonaceae family…smart weeds and knotweeds. We give you the scoop on two informative webinars for anyone interested in growing hydrangeas, and answer a question about the odd, jelly-like forms that a listener has found on some junipers. 1:42 True or False: Mulch robs the soil of nitrogen. 6:21 Eat/Drink/Grow: Is your weed smart or knot? 12:31 Insider Information: Hydrangea webinars given by C.L. 16:33 Love Letters and Questions: Aliens in the juniper! Thanks to our sponsors at Dramm Rainwands! https://rainwand.com/

What can you pickle this summer? Should you buy a tree that's tiny? Ellen and C.L. discuss these topics, plus what to do with bare or just unattractive spots in the garden, and whether summer planting makes sense in July. :29 What's for dinner: Pickles. 7:12 Insider Information: Don't be afraid to start with small shrubs and trees! 12:30 Eat/Drink/Grow: Dealing with bare areas where plants have died or construction had to happen. 22.52 Love Letters and Questions: Bailey wrote about moving to a new property in the heat of the summer. Brought to you by our friends at https://rainwand.com/

Have you seen the photo of plastic forks, tines up, in the garden? Wondering about spraying fertilizer on the leaves of plants to give them added nutrients? And how about that auto-flowering type of Cannabis…should you be harvesting in July? :36 True or False: Plastic forks in the garden? 7:21 Eat/Drink/Grow: Foliar feeding. 18:20 Love Letters and Questions: Manny asks about Cannabis

C.L. and Ellen have suggestions for edible flower petals, whether you want to use them for visual or taste appeal. Hear a discussion about taproots - what are they and what they mean for you – and hear if you need to be concerned about crop rotation. :38 What's For Dinner: Flowers petals! 5:53 Eat/Drink/Grow: Tap roots. 20:18 Love Letters and Questions: Amanda asks: "Can you recommend any books or reliable resources for crop rotation?

Ellen and C.L. talk about a common insect that causes damage in many vegetable gardens: flea beetles. Next they address questions and issues that arise when houseplants have been put outside for the summer, review an inspiring new book, and answer Ryan's question about possible ground cover crops for weed suppression in flower farms. :28 Plant Noob: Flea beetles 7:37 Eat/Drink/Grow: So your houseplants are out for Summer Camp 18:12 Book Review: The Urban Garden 22:12 Love Letters and Questions: From Ryan about weed control in a flower farm.

:38 What's For Dinner: Dill. 8:59 Eat/Drink/Grow: "Is it too late to plant?" 20:14 Insider Information: What alliums do. 22:42 Love Letters and Questions: Donna re: miniature lemon cypress tree In this first of five June episodes, C.L. and Ellen talk about growing dill, planting in the summer, and what allium foliage does when these bulbs come into bloom. Plus we answer a listener's question about growing lemon cypress trees indoors…was she given bad advice?

The Plantrama team discusses the best way to fill a raised bed, why the practice called hugelkulture is getting so much buzz, a podcast recommendation, and finding a garden mentor. :30 Plant Noob: Why you shouldn't fill a raised bed with only compost. 5:24 Eat/Drink/Grow: Hugelkultur 16:29 Check THIS Out!: a plant podcast that C.L. loves. 18:48 Love Letters and Questions Morgan in Michigan writes about finding garden mentors.

It's pasta for dinner, and everything coming up roses in this episode of Plantrama. Ellen shares her nettle pasta recipe, and C.L. talks about a quick way to use any garden greens with linguine. We discuss the highs and lows of growing roses, and end by answering a listener's question about catkins. :37 What's For Dinner: A go-to garden or foraged pasta. 6:55 Eat/Drink/Grow: Roses. 24:50 Love Letters and Questions: Diedre asked What is a catkin? Brought to you by our friends at Rainwand.com

The Plantrama team gives those new to vegetable gardening some advice about raised beds...how deep, what to fill them with, and whether they need a weed barrier underneath. We talk about how to remember what you've planted, without sticking ugly labels next to every plant in your garden. In a new segment, we tell you about a couple of great things that we've discovered. :45 Plant Noob: Raised bed Tips 10:46 Eat/Drink/Grow: Methods for remembering what you've planted 21:36 Check THIS Out!: C.L. raves about Fleurs de Villes and Ellen talks about Spice Jungle! https://www.spicejungle.com/ https://www.fleursdevilles.com/ Our podcast is supported by our friends at Dramm – check out all of their wonderful products at https://rainwand.com/

The Plantrama team gets their fingers sticky with strawberry juices today as we talk about foraging for wild berries, and how to grow strawberries in your garden. Hear about the types of plants, protecting berries from critters, using this plant as groundcover, and more. We end with some thoughts about soil temperatures. Here is a great chart from the Cooperative Extension-Sacramento County, showing how long seeds take to germinate in different soil temperatures. :38 What's For Dinner: Strawberries 3:45 Eat/Drink/Grow: Strawberries 19:25 Insider Information: The importance of soil temperatures