Gardening Simplified

Learn various ways you can give your plants a spa day and why you shouldn’t add Epsom salts in your garden. At Last, a groundbreaking rose is put on trial and Dr. Judson LeCompte joins us to talk about plant genetics and the differences between gardening in the South vs North.

Do plants really repel mosquitoes? We look at the evidence. Plus, learn why your hydrangea might not be blooming, and how police used a YouTube video to save ducklings. Featured plant: Incrediball Blush hydrangea.

Are you a Southern gardener longing for the North? Or perhaps the other way around? We break down the pros and cons of gardening in hot climates. We move on to a gardener with fire ants in her potted lemon tree, then Adriana, our producer, shares garden photography tips. Featured plant: Center Stage Red crapemyrtle.

Variegation: love it or hate it, we discuss this unique plant mutation from a scientific and aesthetic standpoint. Plus, we dive into the truth about controlling Japanese beetles using milky spore, and end with an interview with Proven Winners ColorChoice plant breeder, Megan Mathey. Featured shrub: My Monet weigela.

We're suffering through dryness not seen in 100+ years here in Michigan, so watering is on our minds. Join us as we talk water conservation tips, a high performance, drought tolerant spirea, controlling cucumber beetles, and the time-honored tradition of the "Chelsea Chop."

Whether it's just a pot of basil or a whole garden's-worth, having fragrant herbs as close as your backyard is luxury. Learn our favorites, plus how to grow cilantro successfully, a trick for more chives, and a brand new slug solution from Oregon State University.

Planting annuals is one of the most joyful parts of gardening - listen in as we share our thoughts on this time-honored tradition, and our favorite plants. Plus, learn what it means to be an innovative plant and how to manage hydrangea leaftiers. We end with an interview with Mike Connor, who shares his extensive knowledge of pollinators with us.

Learn why the right soil matters, especially when it comes to plants like our Plant on Trial today, Dandy Man® Purple rhododendron. Now is a great time to start hardening off plants! Hear tips on how to get your plants ready for their new home outdoors. In Questions Answered, we talk about the danger of Oak Wilt and how you can help avoid this dreaded disease.

Gifting plants to Mom on Mother’s Day has been a go-to for most people. In this episode, Stacey and Rick talk about what plants make a good gift, including a revolutionary new rose. Find out if you can grow garlic and spring and still get a harvest. In Branching News, Rick talks about a “novel” idea if you enjoy houseplants and reading.

Container gardening has come a long way in the last few years! Learn our tips and favorite plants for containers, plus how to use your containers for flowering shrubs and evergreens. And by popular demand, Birdman Bill Stovall is back! The Birdman gives an update on his Loons, talks about a few other quirky feathered friends, and discusses migration season.

In today’s episode, we talk about the cut flower trend. Rick and Stacey talk about the rising popularity of growing your own cut flowers and which types they recommend. Our Plant on Trial this week is a sure sign that spring is here, Show Off® forsythia. Get helpful tips on designing and growing plants in containers during our interview with Renee Clermont from Second Nature Designs.

Learn all about perennials in today's episode! Stacey and Rick discuss the best care practices, what their favorite perennials are, and why. Stacey highlights a compact butterfly bush that fits perfectly into any perennial garden. In Branching News, Rick tells us about a moose on the loose!

Spring blooming trees are ubiquitous and a welcome splash of color before warmer days start to come in. Stacey and Rick talk all about spring blooming trees and highlight the beautiful and shade tolerant Golden Shadows® Pagoda Dogwood. Learn about fun facts about frogs and how they help a garden's ecosystem during our interview with amphibian expert Professor Raymond Gates, also known as "The Gator."

New to gardening? Wondering how to get started? This is the show for you! We talk best plants for beginners and how falling in love with a plant can kick off your garden journey. Plus, the perfect hydrangea for beginners, a rose of Sharon dropping its flowers, and a cow on a tennis court.

In this week’s episode, we put the spotlight on the much-loved vine, the clematis! Stacey and Rick discuss care practices and easy to grow varieties, like our Plant on Trial, Pink Mink® clematis. In our Questions Answered segment, Stacey and Rick break down and simplify composting. And in Branching News, find out what dinner hosts stress over and what plant is stopping traffic.

It's finally, officially spring, and the weather's vine! We dedicate much of today's show to climbers and twiners, and spotlight a woody vine in the midst of an identity crisis. Stay to the end for a fascinating interview with birdman Bill Stovall, where we talk loons, cranes, bluebirds, and orioles.

Let's talk hedges! Whether they're evergreen or deciduous, used to screen off an ugly view or to add structure to your landscape, they're incredibly useful. Plus, learn about a fast-growing arborvitae for hedges, growing ferns indoors, and an interview from a professional composter.

This week we talk about one of the feistiest little birds out there, the hummingbird! Learn how you can help support hummingbirds - from plants to use in your garden to food you can easily make yourself. Our plant on trial this week is not only great for hummingbirds, but for our fellow gardeners in those hot USDA zones (looking at you, 8-10!). In branching news, hear about “The Age of the Brussels Sprouts.”

Spring is in the air and in the studio! Today we talk all about tomatoes, including best practices for selecting and growing. Instead of putting just one plant on trial today, we’re putting 64 plants on trial in our Shrub Madness competition. Learn what Shrub Madness is all about, how you can participate, and hear about the awesome plant prizes. We’ve talked about eating in bed, but today we talk about what people are eating in their showers.

Specimen plants are those that transform your landscape from one that merely exists to one that grabs everyone's attention. We discuss our favorites, those that have been little more than fads, and those that have truly stood the test of time, like the oak tree that Olympic champion Cornelius Johnson planted outside his Los Angeles home. Plus, we talk spring emergence of bulbs and Mr. Mustard Ural false-spirea, answer listener questions on lilacs, and the latest on Central Park's escaped owl, Flaco.

It's the fragrance show! Join us as we discuss the phenomenon of fragrance, our favorite fragrant plants (including today's plant on trial, Scentara Double Blue lilac). Finally, we start "planning for canning" with The Canning Diva, Diane Devereaux.

Whether you call them indoor plants or house plants, we've got the tips to keep them looking their best - although that may involve mayonnaise (seriously!). We also talk about a super cold tolerant native shrub that blooms all summer, gardening with your partner, and a California woodpecker who has been very, very busy.

Butterflies visiting your backyard is one of the true joys of gardening - learn what to plant and how to maintain your garden to make it a true haven. Plus, bees eating mushrooms to heal themselves? Yes! Hear all about it in this episode of Gardening Simplified.

It's the bee show! Rick and Stacey talk bees: honeybees, bumblebees, native bees, through the show and with special guest, beekeeper Don Snoeyink. Find out what bees eat through the season and what to plant to make your yard bee-friendly.

Learn why plants go dormant yet animals hibernate, meet a flowering shrub that likes to sleep late on spring, plus succulent rescue after a freeze, and a harrowing video showing a man rescuing a deer with a paint can stuck on its head.

Meet the 2023 Plants of the Year, learn about a colorful new option for attracting hummingbirds, why you needn't panic if your bulbs are emerging in January, and the antics of Elvis, the crocodile who stole a lawnmower.

Moon gardens, small spaces, growing your own cut flowers: these are 2023's garden trends! Plus, learn about Puffer Fish panicle hydrangea, whether you can really grow a mini-forest of pine trees from a pine cone, and a yellow cardinal sighting in Tennessee.

From hot peppers to hot weather, Rick and Stacey look back on what they learned in the garden in 2022. Plus, viburnum pollination, houseplant questions from listeners, and New Year's food traditions from Spain and Grand Haven, Michigan.

Join us to learn about the joys of birdwatching in winter and learn what to plant to attract more of them to your yard. Plus, we interview meteorologist Ellen Bacca on the difference between astronomical and meteorological winter.

Gather 'round for the Celtic mythological tale of the Oak King and the Holly King while learning the surprising facts about oaks in the UK. Plus: native holly, plant spacing, and more.

Roses have come a long way - find out why you may no longer need to protect them over winter. Plus, experience the most enticing sound in the garden, get some holiday arrangement inspiration, and find out how panicle hydrangeas are getting easier to grow and enjoy.

Got deer? We've got plant suggestions! Plus, we talk about the beauty of boxwood, the benefits of mulch, and amazing owls.

Learn to make festive arrangements from what’s growing in your own backyard, a colorful, easy-care, native shrub, and more in this episode of Gardening Simplified.

Shrubs in containers over winter? In this climate? Yes, it's possible! Learn how, what to plant, and why. Plus, meet one of our most cold-tolerant evergreens, what it means to have "moist, well-drained soil," and a question on pruning hydrangeas - the first of many, we're sure!

What in the world does "frim" mean, and what does it have to do with compost? Find out in this episode, as well as learning about our native oakleaf hydrangea, concerns about planting garlic, ground covers for sandy spots, and what IPM stands for and how it can help you manage insects and other pests without burning down your house.

In this episode, we talk cannas, planting and growing garlic (it's surprisingly easy!), a fabulous native viburnum for your landscape, and we answer listener questions on planting bulbs, privacy hedges where deer are an issue, and managing yucca.

Did you know that evergreens are not truly evergreen? Learn why it’s normal to see pines and arborvitaes turn yellow and drop their needles in autumn. We also talk Metasequoia glyptostroboides, a living plant fossil, Temple of Bloom Heptacodium miconioides, seven-son flower, how to get rid of English ivy as well as how to get it to grow, and the salad-eating habits of the average American.

Fall color is at its most fabulous right now: learn the science behind it, and why each season is different. We present Legend of the Fall fothergilla, which brings the full spectrum of fall color to your garden. We answer listener questions, including revisiting a mysterious green pepper problem, and talk about a giant potato, Daylight Saving Time, and the cutest little tree library we’ve ever seen.

In this episode, learn about decumbent growth and get to know Low Scape Mound aronia, a native flowering shrub that exemplifies the concept. Learn how planting mophead hydrangeas can discourage insects from visiting your home, and growing hydrangeas for shade. We’re always ready to answer your garden questions, so don’t hesitate to reach out!

Rick and Stacey’s discussion of the botanical phenomenon of heterophylly leads to sharing facts about the world’s record sassafras tree in Owensboro, Kentucky; Tortuga juniper, which also exhibits heterophylly, gets put on trial, we help listeners troubleshoot some issues with their peppers and zucchini this season, and in Branching News, learn about this year’s world record pumpkin, a deer caught in a hammock, and the elements of curb appeal.

Fall is in the air on this episode of Gardening Simplified! Rick and Stacey talk about bioluminescent mushrooms, marram grass (Ammophila breviligulata), and also define the word “peduncle.” We talk about The Velvet Fog smokebush, a plant normally known for its summer display that also boasts excellent fall color. Rick and Stacey answer listener questions about apples, pruning butterfly bush, and rose of Sharon seed pods. Finally, in branching news, we talk about sorghum replacing corn in mazes, a Palestinian farmer’s discovery of an ancient mosaic as he planted a tree, and King Charles III’s new perfume.

In this episode of the Gardening Simplified Show, Stacey and Rick talk about how fall is for planting and why Mums are synonymous with fall planting. There are other great plants however for fall color and on today’s show, Stacey will teach Rick how to say Symphoricarpos, a plant with great fall color.

Take me to your weeder: Stacey and Rick discuss two prevalent weeds right now, nutsedge and pokeweed! When it comes to weeds, they have pull! A reminder that fall is an excellent time of year for weed control including winter annual weeds that germinate in fall. We discuss pokeweed’s stunning appearance.

Finally, a discussion on phytoplasma takes place as nutsedge has been discovered as a host. Yikes! No need to call Dr. Peter Venkman from Ghostbusters; We’ll address it in the branching news segment.

Full Show Notes with links can be found here:
https://gardeningsimplifiedonair.com/episode-2-9-17-22/

Introducing the Gardening Simplified Show, where Rick and Stacey share their love and knowledge of gardening. In our first episode, we talk about why roses get a new lease on life in autumn, how to keep cats from visiting your yard, and why flower color may fade at the height of summer. In our news segment, learn more about monarch butterflies, the invasive spotted lanternfly, and why some areas of California are paying residents to remove their lawns.


Complete show notes and links for this episode can be found here:
https://gardeningsimplifiedonair.com/episode-1/