I WAS CRAWLING around weeding the other day and there it was: yet another turquoise-colored plastic label I knew was from the original Heronswood Nursery near Seattle, which has been closed about 15 years. No plant, just a label. I found three such lonely turquoise labels that day, as I do each spring, reminders of plants I’ve loved and lost.
Yes, plants die, even in the care of experienced gardeners (and others just need to be gotten rid of). Plants we’ve known, but no longer grow for one reason or the other, is the subject today of a conversation with my friend, Ken Druse.
Ken needs no introduction except to say he’s the author and photographer of 20 garden books, including most recently “The Scentual Garden,” about S-C-E-N-T. He joined me via Skype to talk about all the plants we’ve loved before (including Phlomis russeliana, above; photo from Wikipedia). Plus: Tell us in comments at the bottom of the page what plants broke your heart, and that you miss.
Read along as you listen to the June 2, 2020 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).
plants we knew, and loved, with ken druse
Margaret Roach: Hi, Ken.
Ken Druse: That should be a song, don’t you think? “All the plants I’ve loved before.”
Margaret: Funny you should mention that, and we’re going to play a little clip from our theme song that Willie Nelson was so kind to record with Julio Iglesias for this episode, just for a giggle.
Ken: [Laughter.] Oh, that’s perfect. That’s exactly how I feel. In your introduction you were talking about just turquoise labels?
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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
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
And extra good news: For those subscribing or listening to the podcast version instead of ion live radio, each month’s Q&A show will be longer than a normal broadcast—like a doubleheader with bonus minutes, so we can get to even more of your questions if you subscribe free on Stitcher or iTunes. Part 2 of the first call-in program—where we talked more about peas, and took questions on gardening under black walnuts, growing strawberries in pots, and badly pruned hydrangeas, is 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, until summer 2016. The Real Dirt podcast archive and much more from Ken is available on the newly re-launched website KenDruse dot com…and is still
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
When everyone else is headed to work at 7:30 AM or so, Ken‘s done with his morning shoot session—and doesn’t head back outside until late afternoon. It’s all about chasing that good, subdued, light.“White flowers disappear in the sun—and the greens all gets ‘black,’” he explains.” But besides the technical solutions Ken pursues, “I want to communicate the feeling of the place,” Ken says, “to explain in each image, ‘What does this place feel like?’”q&a on photography with ken druseQ. Let’s talk gear for a minute: In the days of film, I know you used to travel with an outfit of six or s
You can ask us anything, urgent or otherwise, on Facebook, or in comments on this website or on Ken Druse dot com, or by using the contact form on either one of our websites.Read along as you listen to the February 19, 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).q&a with ken drusehow soon to start the cleanup?Q. Fro
(Spoiler alert: probably not the sexiest stuff, but it’s what we really rely on.)Garden writer Ken Druse is author most recently of “The Scentual Garden,” a big, beautiful book about fragrant plants. Besides top tools, we also gave a sneak peek about some of the promises we made to ourselves as we put the garden to bed—what we’ll do differently next year, our early resolutions.Read along as you listen to the December 9, 2019 edition of my public-radio show and podcast usi
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
We’d love to hear what aliens of any description you are battling, whether weeds, insects, you name it—perhaps for subjects for future shows. Be sure to add a comment at the end of the story to let us know, and please say where you located. Any questions you have of any nature are also always welcome here as a comment or via the contact form, or on Facebook—not just ones related to invasive species, of course. You can also find Ken directly at his website.For answers to other questions, you can browse the archive of all our monthly segments.Read along as you listen to the podcast version of the August 14, 2017 edition of the show using the player below, and don’t forget: Keep the questions coming.august urgent garden question q&a with ken drusewhy do tomatoes crack?Q. So many questions have been coming in, because of course it’s that time of the garden season really no ma