The Garden Mixer

Stephanie Rose is a prolific gardening author, and in this episode we discuss her 11th book, "The Regenerative Garden". The Plant of the Week is the Eranthis hyemalis, or Winter Aconite, and although I threw 'pruning climbing roses' into the title, there are lots of additional hands on seasonal gardening tips in this episode, such as cutting back liriope, dethatching your lawn, how to plant and pr...

This week's Plant of the Week is a house plant for most, in honor of our guest, Author of "House Plant Warrior" Raffaele Di Lallo. Lots of questions from listeners this week (REAL listeners) spring clean up in the garden and more-- tips on Boxwood pruning too. 

The Plant of the Week is the Paper Bush, an early spring bloomer, and Karl Gercens talks with us about Longwood Gardens, where he is the Manager of the West Conservatory, which is the only conservatory at the moment. Gardening tips about spring clean up in the garden, and forcing daffodils, and a couple of my garden fails. 

This is the video version of the interview of Episode 53. Tanya Anderson of Lovely Greens discusses her new book, A Woman's Garden . 

Tanya Anderson of Lovely Greens has written a book about crafting with plants. She features her soap making and 7 other woman gardeners and the way they use their plants to do more. I talk a little about a plant I don't know, the Hepatica, and a bit more about one I do know, Helleborus foetidus. The Play List includes the basics of boxwood pruning. 

A year of Into the Garden with Leslie! That went fast...  This week I celebrate the early tiny Snow Drop (Galanthus) that is blooming in my garden.  Emma Biggs, who wrote Gardening with Emma: Grow and Have Fun joins me and we discuss her garden, gardening in a small space in Toronto, and her book written at age 15 to get kids into gardening. I finish my Hyrdrangea pruning series with tip...

I couldn't resist paying homage to an outdoor plant that made me so happy while I was hanging out all smug in Horticultural zone 10 for a few weeks, but I will be happy to get back to my zone 7B indoor orchids. Serome Hamlin tells us all about his miniature Enchanted (but not Fairy!) Gardens (8:45) and after chatting about the evils of Nandina and the virtues of the native (to Virginia and other S...

Because this is the FIFTIETH episode of Into the Garden with Leslie we celebrate by choosing the Golden Alexander as the Plant of the Week. Amanda the Ever Hopeful Gardener talks to us about compost (6:40) and we go on to the NEXT type of Hydrangea, the paniculata type, (45:16) with pruning tips. Remember-- you never have to prune! 

I had no idea that the Ficus incorporates so many different type of plant (including epiphytes) and is even the name for a type of sea snail found near Singapore. But in the episode I concentrate on plants-- house plants mostly. I have a chat with the delightful Nanny Noo (Julie Hart) of Launceston, Tasmania and before going into the normal gardening topic of pruning Hydrangea macrophylla (which y...

This week I choose a huge plant that is right outside of our Florida rental as the Plant of the Week (2:18) and it is the Live Oak. Kelly Lehman and I chat about her flower farm, social media success and hydrangea pruning tips (6:30) and in The Play List I start what will be a series of winter pruning tips that I love to employ in cold weather. 

This week is all about a plant I hadn't known much about until I heard from Jenks Farmer (Augustus Jenkins Farmer III) and heard about his book, titled Crinum: Unearthing the History and Cultivation of the World's Biggest Bulb. The Crinum is also the Plant of the Week, and on the Play List I talk about getting the heavy snow off of your evergreens (sometime you don't have time to be gentle) and I...

A baker's dozen of my best guests, including a special one from Launceston, Tassie, who my listeners haven't even been acquainted with, tell us what they are up to in 2022. Kelly D. Norris , Jenny Sioux Hopkins , Christy Wilhelmi , Brie Arthur , Andy Brand , Bunny Williams , Scott Beuerlein , Dean Norton , Marianne Willburn , Lizzie Fox , Erin Schanen , Steph Green and Julie Hart , aka Nanny Noo,...

Merry Christmas to all! This week I explore 4 plants that are commonly in people's homes this time of year, including my favorite type of tree, the Frasier fir. My sister Kim of Canine Connection in Alexandria teaches about how to enjoy our new Covid pups, and all dogs, in the garden. And in terms of listening, it's to your family this holiday season, and all that they may have to offer you. 

Besides learning that the Amaryllis is actually, in most cases a Hippeastrum, you will hear my rationalization for enjoying those bulbs without trying to get them to re-bloom the next year. I chat with Ellen Zachos about foraging for food (and cocktail enhancements!) in your own backyard: why you would even want to do this, and how to do it safely. Tips about planting spring bulbs in pots and thou...

Tim Schipper , owner and founder of ColorBlends gives us the low down on bulbs-- what the 'blends' are, ideas on how to keep them coming back or not to worry if they don't and planting times. ColorBlends is my favorite bulb source and I just love how you get a brown scaly golf ball in fall and it becomes a magical flower a few short months later. The Plant of the Week is the Big Leafed Magnolia, w...

Plant of the Week is the Winterberry or Ilex verticillata, and I chat with Carolyn Mullet of CarexTours, which gets interested American gardeners to the most amazing European gardens! My head cold brings several sections of this episode down a half octave or so, but I still enjoyed making it! 

Steph Green of Contained Creations of Richmond helps us to figure out how to wow with Holiday Containers. Lots of great tips, whether you tend toward glitz or nature. The Cornus sericea, or Red Twig Dogwood, is the Plant of the Week and I talk about choices on fall clean up in your garden, rejuvenation pruning vs winter snips, and The Play List feature Johnny Mathis, with me accompanying (don't fr...

In this episode, I give a fox update, answer questions about trugs and indoor plants (don't laugh! I knew the answer!), and interview Landscape Architect Anthony Bellomo of Millbrook, NY about his pivot to open the lovely Orangerie garden store and his garden at Clove Brook Farm . I also give you some ideas garnered from Christie Wilhelmi's YouTube about Fertilizer vs Compost .

I highly recommend you get your fall fiesta from the native Acer saccharum instead of that other colorful thing that is taking over our native forests: Burning Bush or Eonymus alatus. Erin Schanen the Impatient Gardener and I talk about most anything and everything, including her new naturalistic garden. And I take you through some basics of perennials division, planting a tree, and what to do wit...

After a scintillating fox update (if you follow me on Instagram, you know that's a thing) I choose the Silver and Gold, or Ajania pacifica as the Plant of the Week. Sister Sue and I delve deep into how to plant bulbs, and maybe what bulbs to plant, and I deal with questions on Vinca minor, moving peonies and what to do in the garden this week. Shout out to the Home Grown National Park-- $20 for 20...

The color that most Oak Leaf Hydrangea leaves turn this time of year reminds me of a fine red wine sipped by the fire, so that means it has to be the Plant of the Week. You are going to be charmed by Lizzie Fox , a young woman in Norwich, England, who is turning seed shopping a shiny, beautiful and new direction, and other details include pruning hydrangeas, watering chores (at this time of year?...

Because we haven't featured a native Plant of the Week for a while, and because I could not ignore the Honorine Jobert in my yard, we double dip with both the Japanese anemone and the Anemone virginiana, which, although it isn't blooming now like our Asian friend, blooms in spring and is pretty too! Christy Wilhelmi and I flit around the garden topics, touching down on compost, no dig gardening, m...

This week the author of Tropical Plants and How to Love Them , Marianne Wilburn , takes us through steps on what plants we may want to over winter, and how to make them happy. This is Marianne's second visit because she is so fun to chat with! The Plant of the Week is the Rex Begonia, and I also talk about some trees I have planted recently, more on composting, and one of my favorite tools, the so...

This week we get all pumpkin spicy autumnal with the mum as our POW, some dried hydrangea and dahlias cutting tips, and a long chat with sister Sue Ann about what is happening in her garden, mine, and others of which we are jealous. Timely information about bringing indoor plants back in NOW is a great preview for next week's visit with Marianne Wilburn. 

Gregory Britt, "That Nice Guy Who Creates Epic Floral Artistry" joins me for a wandering (literally, as I chase him around the studio with my lame microphone and we battle traffic noise) chat about flowers, gardening, and house plants. I have collected good basic (read: for idiots like me) info on the Asian Jumping Worm and the classic Zinnia is the Plant of the Week!