WONDER HOW to get ready for the mad stash—just how to prep and then where to put all those tender plants to hopefully make it to next year? Or maybe you wonder about what went wrong with your hydrangeas if they didn’t bloom as well as you hoped this summer. With help from Ken Druse (longtime friend and author of many popular garden books including “Making More Plants” and “The New Shade Garden” and “Natural Companions”), I tackled these Urgent Garden Questions in the latest installment of our ongoing series.
That’s my rex begonia vine up top, Cissus discolor, one of my recent victories in last winter’s experiments in finding the right offseason storage spot for the right plant.
Read along as you listen to the Sept. 24, 2018 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).
begonia boliviensis and eucomis
Q. We’ve have our first taste in the Northeast of fall in some recent days. So I thought it was a good time to sort of talk about bringing things in and getting ready, even if it’s not time urgently yet. We had a question from Amy, who wrote in about her Begonia boliviensis—do you remember those? Have you ever grown those?
A. Yes, I think I’ve killed two of those.
Q. Excellent. Then we’ll be sure to take your expert answers. [Laughter.]
It’s kind of a tuberous begonia thing, and she wrote in and she said it’s been so wet where she gardens this late season and she’s concerned: should she get a jump on it and help it to sort of dry off? She says she lives in Omaha, and does have a nice cool dark basement there, in Zone 5B. The plant was great over the summer, but it’s a wet late summer so far so she’s
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Like a carefully crafted sentence, the garden needs proper punctuation to read well, and clearly convey what’s going on. On the November 28, 2016 edition of my public-radio show and podcast, Ken and I discussed design challenges that these tall and narrow things answer; the technical difference between the columnar and fastigiate plants; and some of his favorites.Read along as you listen to the Nov. 28, 2016 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).columnar tree and shrub q&a with ken druseQ. You got me thinking on our phone call the other morning—we were talking about earthworms and all these other crazy things…A. [Laughter.]Q. …and then you started talking abo
My longtime friend Ken, an award-winning garden photographer and author of many books, including “The New Shade Garden” and “Making More Plants,” produced his own “Real Dirt” podcast for 10 years, all available on KenDruse dot com.Read along as you listen to the May 15, 2017 edition of the program using the player below (or at this link). The May show is a doubleheader, and includes a whole “overtime” segment (starting at about 24 minutes into the audio file), which I’ve separated into its own transcript and is at this link (and includes questions and answers on what to do next, after you pull or dig invasives like garlic m
Your Urgent Garden Questions have been arriving in blog comments, on Facebook, and in emails, and we’ve rounded up the most representative ones to tackle today, in the monthly Q&A episode of the program. (All past editions of our Q&As together are at this link.)Ken, an award-winning garden photographer and author of more books than I can count, including “The New Shade Garden” and “Making More Plants,” produced his own “Real Dirt” podcast for 10 years, all available on KenDruse dot com (and on iTunes, too).Let’s dig right in:Read along as you listen to the April 24, 2107 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).Oh, an
The selection is unlike in the early 1990s, when Ken published his first big shade-garden book and most people knew maybe two, hostas and astibles. Then, gardeners cursed shady areas of their yards as a liability to be eliminated instead of a refuge to be celebrated and expanded upon.Ken has been called the “guru of natural gardening” by “The New York Times,” but I just call him my old friend and the longtime master of the shade, and I’m was glad to welcome him back to my public-radio program to talk about making gardens in th
In Part 2 (transcript at this link coming shortly) we tackled powdery mildew prevention and aftercare, and what to do when an abundance of roly-poly or sowbugs and pillbugs has descended on the garden. Should you use copper-based fungicides against tomato blight—and what to do after an infestation by the garlic bloat nematode?Ken, of Ken Druse dot com, is a longtime garden writer, author and photographer and all-around great gardener—and great friend. If you have a question for a future show, you can submit it in the comments on either of our websites, or use the contact form to send us an email from either site, or ask us on
I’ve asked garden writer, photographer and longtime friend Ken Druse of KenDruse dot com to help me answer all your Urgent Garden Questions about overwintering tactics, which is the topic of this month’s Q&A on my public-radio show and podcast. In a regular segment plus an overtime bonus 15 minutes, we covered lots of plants, from figs and rosemary to cannas and callas and dahlias and elephant ears, to potted trees (including citrus) and shrubs and more. After each brief discussion of a plant, I’ve also included a link to more comprehensive how-to about caring for it in the offseason.Read along as you listen to the Oct. 2, 2017 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).overwintering tender plants: basic strategies(and fungus gnats)Q. You
Thanks for submitting lots of good Urgent Garden Questions this month to me and Ken. You can always ask us anything, urgent or otherwise, on Facebook, or in comments on this website, or using the contact form here or on Ken Druse dot com.Plus: We’re giving away a copy of Ken’s book “Making More Plants.” See details for entering at the bottom of the page.ligustrumRead along as you listen to the Jan. 29, 2018 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or S
WHO AMONG US doesn’t have at least one Urgent Garden Question? This month on my public radio show and podcast, Ken Druse and I answered a diverse list:
This month on our Q&A segment we crammed in as many as we could by taking a shortcut, and instead of having live callers, we gathered more questions than ever and I just shouted them out. Call it our Lightning Round.Important note: Got a question for a future show? Ask it in the comments or contact form on A Way to Garden dot com or KenDruse dot com, or on Facebook dot com/A Way to Garden and we’ll scoop them up as we plan for next time.Read along as you listen to the June 12, 2107 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on
I’ve rounded up some of the best to tackle in the monthly Q&A segment with help from my friend Ken Druse. Ken, an award-winning garden photographer and author of more books than I can count, including “The New Shade Garden” and “Making More Plants,” produced his own “Real Dirt” podcast for 10 years, all available on KenDruse dot com (and still available on iTunes, too).Read along as you listen to the March 6, 2107 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).Part 2 of the transcript of this month’s doubleheader is at this link (incl
Read along as you listen to the July 2, 2018 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).You can also browse all the past Q&A’s with Ken Druse at this link, or visit him at his website.urgent garden questions, with ken druseQ. Hello, Ken.A. I was going to complain.Q. Oh. [Laughter.]
I’ve rounded up some of the best to tackle in the monthly Q&A segment with help from my friend Ken Druse. Ken, an award-winning garden photographer and author of more books than I can count, including “The New Shade Garden” and “Making More Plants,” produced his own “Real Dirt” podcast for 10 years, all available on KenDruse dot com (and still available on iTunes, too).Read along as you listen to the March 6, 2107 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here). This is the second segment of the March Q&A program—find the first