WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.600 --> 00:00:07.519 Ho ho ho. Coming to you from Beautiful Studio A. It's time for 2 00:00:07.559 --> 00:00:12.439 the Gardening Simplified Show with Stacey Hervella, me, Rick Weist, and our 3 00:00:12.480 --> 00:00:18.399 engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. As you can see, it's snowing here in 4 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:22.920 West Michigan and we're getting into the holiday spirit. I have learned through the 5 00:00:23.000 --> 00:00:27.760 years that holiday branches are a form of aroma therapy. I mean, the 6 00:00:27.839 --> 00:00:32.159 holidays can be stressful, Yes, absolutely, you got to act like an 7 00:00:32.240 --> 00:00:35.960 ornament and just kind of hang in there and chill right, just just hang 8 00:00:36.200 --> 00:00:41.399 hang through it, you know. But evergreens. We know that evergreens smell 9 00:00:41.439 --> 00:00:46.159 good. And I have learned through the years, especially operating a garden center, 10 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:50.600 that many people will walk in at this time of the year simply for 11 00:00:50.960 --> 00:00:55.479 the aroma to breathe the aroma. And we especially saw that in twenty twenty 12 00:00:56.359 --> 00:01:03.679 during the COVID pandemic and everyone feeling rather claustrophobic walk into the garden center, 13 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:07.280 into the greens, into the holiday greens. And I'll tell you what, 14 00:01:07.400 --> 00:01:12.359 one of the keys with evergreen branches is to go for a mix, because 15 00:01:12.599 --> 00:01:17.439 all of these evergreen branches have a different aroma to them. Of course, 16 00:01:17.480 --> 00:01:22.680 Douglas fir that citrusy smell, had pine incense, cedar, all of those 17 00:01:22.719 --> 00:01:27.079 beautiful evergreens, and that mix is just fabulous to breathe in. So Stacey, 18 00:01:27.159 --> 00:01:34.159 I consider during the holidays using some evergreen branches and some colorful branches to 19 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:42.719 be a form of aroma therapy and some therapy as it is, because again, 20 00:01:42.040 --> 00:01:46.159 the holidays can be kind of a hectic time. They can, and 21 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:49.079 you know, I think because scent is such a strong part of memory. 22 00:01:49.719 --> 00:01:55.159 Scent is a huge part of why people have so many great memories around the 23 00:01:55.200 --> 00:01:57.359 holidays. And you know, particularly the Christmas tree, and that's one of 24 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:01.840 the reasons why Freezer furs so it's one of the most fragrant of all of 25 00:02:01.879 --> 00:02:07.919 the potential Christmas trees. Absolutely so love that smell. And of course plants 26 00:02:07.960 --> 00:02:15.879 and these branches are associated with Christmas, but they have their origins basically with 27 00:02:15.960 --> 00:02:20.879 the winter solstice and people thinking, wow, those beautiful fall colored leaves. 28 00:02:20.879 --> 00:02:24.439 There's a long period of time between them and when the daffodils and the hellebores 29 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:29.840 and the crocus start to pop out of the ground. And so it helps 30 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:35.039 us get through those shorter and colder days. Now I love to decorate window 31 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:40.159 boxes for Christmas, and of course window boxes have been around since Roman civilization. 32 00:02:40.439 --> 00:02:45.560 Also one of the keys with window boxes I have found is today we 33 00:02:45.639 --> 00:02:51.439 have these beautiful, bright led lights which are basically indestructible, and if you 34 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:54.199 lay them right on the soil of the window box before you start putting the 35 00:02:54.199 --> 00:03:01.080 branches in, then place deciduous branches in the back with evergreens draped over the 36 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:05.280 front. It makes for a great window box. And you're bearing in mind 37 00:03:05.680 --> 00:03:09.560 that during the holiday season you're going to be viewing that window box primarily from 38 00:03:09.680 --> 00:03:15.039 inside, so make sure to put those deciduous, leafless branches on the back 39 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:21.800 for some height. But window boxes are fun, and of course also containers, 40 00:03:21.840 --> 00:03:24.599 which brings us to our word of the day. And you have to 41 00:03:24.639 --> 00:03:29.960 help me with this stacy and help our listeners and our viewers. I'm counting 42 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:35.360 on you. There is a method called either coppice or copis. I say 43 00:03:35.400 --> 00:03:38.759 coppice, you say coppas all right, So we're going to go with coppice 44 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:43.599 or coppassing. The English have been growing shrubs and cutting them back hard for 45 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:49.080 centuries with the express purpose of harvesting the branches for fencing. So if you 46 00:03:49.199 --> 00:03:53.280 think about it, prior to let's say, World War One, we didn't 47 00:03:53.319 --> 00:03:57.360 have a lot of the plastics and steel and that sort of thing around. 48 00:03:57.400 --> 00:04:01.319 People would make fencing, they would make gates out of these branches, they 49 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:06.639 would use them for roofing, twine them together, and they would coppass. 50 00:04:08.039 --> 00:04:12.159 These trees a variety of trees or shrubs. If you think about it, 51 00:04:12.400 --> 00:04:16.120 these are well established trees or shrubs. So when you prune them back really 52 00:04:16.199 --> 00:04:21.279 hard, they've got a great foundation, a well established root system, and 53 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:25.959 quickly recover the next year with branches. Right, all of that energy goes 54 00:04:25.959 --> 00:04:30.279 into pushing out those branches. Now, compassing is different than pollarding. So 55 00:04:30.319 --> 00:04:33.920 compassing just means you cut the whole plant back to stumps, like a couple 56 00:04:33.959 --> 00:04:38.480 of inches from the ground, which seems extreme. But again we're talking about 57 00:04:38.800 --> 00:04:41.720 not doing this with the plant you just bought, you know, but with 58 00:04:41.800 --> 00:04:44.720 the mature plant, so it has that huge root mass that acts as an 59 00:04:44.720 --> 00:04:48.120 engine to fire up all that growth. Whereas pollarding is something that you see 60 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:51.519 more on the West Coast. I feel like, or in sure public gardens 61 00:04:53.839 --> 00:04:57.839 where you have the trunk and then you cut it back to stump. So 62 00:04:58.199 --> 00:05:00.079 with compassing you're going all the way to the ground and making more of a 63 00:05:00.079 --> 00:05:03.680 shrub, and with a polarting it's more like a tree. We're getting the 64 00:05:03.680 --> 00:05:06.720 same effect, but several feet in the air because it starts at the trunk 65 00:05:06.720 --> 00:05:10.120 of the tree, not at the ground. I see a lot more of 66 00:05:10.160 --> 00:05:14.040 the pollarding you're right in the south or the west, And of course when 67 00:05:14.079 --> 00:05:16.439 I was in Europe this spring, saw a lot of it in the Netherlands. 68 00:05:16.519 --> 00:05:20.680 Very popular. Now in this case, compassing is a highly sustainable method 69 00:05:20.759 --> 00:05:27.240 of producing rapidly growing useful wood without the need to replant. Yeah, so 70 00:05:27.279 --> 00:05:30.639 you could cut every year. And of course the best example we have here 71 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:34.800 at proven Winter's color choice shrubs I'm going to guess Stacey is probably the red 72 00:05:34.839 --> 00:05:39.720 twig or yellow twig dogwoods, right right, So that's a great example of 73 00:05:39.759 --> 00:05:43.959 a shrub that would be coppassed, primarily for esthetic reasons. As we talked 74 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:46.759 about we just covered Arctic fire yellow red twig dogwood a couple weeks ago, 75 00:05:47.399 --> 00:05:53.560 and as we discuss there, if you let red twig dogwoods there would get 76 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:57.319 too mature. It turns kind of quirky and barkie and that color disappears. 77 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:00.240 So what you do is you compass it partially or wholly, depending on how 78 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:04.160 you're using the plant, and that caused all that colorful new growth to appear. 79 00:06:04.199 --> 00:06:08.000 So in this case, we're not trying to harvest a bunch of straight 80 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:12.600 sticks for steaks or weaving fences. A lot of people used to compass for 81 00:06:13.240 --> 00:06:17.160 easily harvestable and manageable firewood for indoor cooking, so they didn't have big chunks 82 00:06:17.199 --> 00:06:20.120 of wood. So lots of different reasons to do it. But yeah, 83 00:06:20.120 --> 00:06:27.439 that is probably the application that the most majority of Americans would be familiar with 84 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:30.439 with the practice of compassing, even though they might not know they're doing it. 85 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:32.839 And we do it here, of course at this time of the year 86 00:06:32.879 --> 00:06:38.560 for the colorful branches that we like to put in holiday containers. Coming up 87 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:43.720 on today's show on segment four, we'll talk to landscape designer Deborah Silver about 88 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:47.839 that and the use of these branches in holiday containers. I like to go 89 00:06:47.920 --> 00:06:53.920 out and cut some branches that I put into holiday containers at this time of 90 00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:58.399 the year. As a matter of fact, you probably figured I put together 91 00:06:58.439 --> 00:07:01.800 a limerick on that. Here it comes Stacey, because I'd love to go 92 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:05.399 out and cut these branches, pretty branches, put them in containers. I'm 93 00:07:05.439 --> 00:07:11.680 trying to holiday decorate, create something festive, ornate. I'm throwing a bash. 94 00:07:11.879 --> 00:07:15.240 I don't have much cash. My decor motif is cheapskate. I need 95 00:07:15.279 --> 00:07:19.839 a really good price, and my neighbor's landscape is nice. Under the cover 96 00:07:19.920 --> 00:07:25.319 of darkness, they won't notice the starkness. If just a few branches, 97 00:07:25.360 --> 00:07:30.720 I'll splice just a few branches. I'll take my festive planter to make their 98 00:07:30.759 --> 00:07:34.240 bushes my shears chops, and if they don't call the cops, I'll have 99 00:07:34.360 --> 00:07:41.959 them over for fruitcake. Aren't you tempted sometimes to just cut a few branch 100 00:07:41.959 --> 00:07:45.839 because they're so you can't do that, not advising you to do that, 101 00:07:46.240 --> 00:07:49.000 okay, But of course at the end of the season, we can often 102 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:56.879 get some end of seasoned potting soil that's available at a good price, put 103 00:07:56.879 --> 00:08:00.879 it in containers, and then stick the branches in these containers. Some people 104 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:03.800 use oasis foam blocks. But whatever way you do it, you know, 105 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:07.279 in spring, when we plant these containers, we think we work from the 106 00:08:07.319 --> 00:08:13.800 center out Thriller filler, spiller or focal filler, edge or trailer, whatever 107 00:08:13.839 --> 00:08:16.079 it may be. I take a little different approach for holiday containers. I 108 00:08:16.199 --> 00:08:20.079 like to put the thriller in the center first, but then go to the 109 00:08:20.120 --> 00:08:24.959 outside and choose evergreen branches like cedar, and put the spiller in first because 110 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:30.879 they make great spillers, and then we'll layer in the other components afterwards. 111 00:08:30.879 --> 00:08:35.360 And of course things like pussy willow, red twig, dogwood, birch branches, 112 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:41.799 southern magnolia leaves. I've even seen ornamental grasses tied to bamboo snakes, 113 00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:48.240 using those as a filler, or ornamental kale, and of course hydrangea blooms. 114 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:50.600 Just a fun thing to do for the holiday, right, And if 115 00:08:50.639 --> 00:08:54.120 you don't have a red twig, dogwood or something colorful, you know, 116 00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:58.159 you can spray paint something cheaper. It's true, it's not uncommon to do 117 00:08:58.200 --> 00:09:01.639 that. And then you know it's win win. You know. My castor 118 00:09:01.679 --> 00:09:05.360 being plants this past year got to be twelve feet tall, and I pulled 119 00:09:05.399 --> 00:09:09.399 them out of the ground. Of course, the foliage froze, but the 120 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:13.440 stems were sturdy and they were bright green, and I used them as the 121 00:09:13.480 --> 00:09:16.360 center Thriller in one of my planters, and I love that great. And 122 00:09:16.399 --> 00:09:22.080 then I put some Cedris Atlantica, the blue Atlas cedars. Yeah, I 123 00:09:22.120 --> 00:09:24.519 did a little pruning on mine, not my neighbors. Put it in the 124 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:28.960 container as my spiller, and then I filled in with some euanimous. Within 125 00:09:30.039 --> 00:09:33.799 two days, the deer had come by and pulled all the euanymous and ate 126 00:09:33.840 --> 00:09:37.080 all of them. Wow, they must have had a cold. They wanted 127 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:43.000 some hungry mental action. Yeah, I'll set out some Vicks vapor rub for 128 00:09:43.080 --> 00:09:46.240 them. But I mean, it's a fun thing to do, isn't it, 129 00:09:46.279 --> 00:09:48.639 Stacey. And it's great at this time of the year. Again remembering 130 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:54.000 that originally it was more so based on the winter solstice and not on the 131 00:09:54.039 --> 00:10:00.000 holidays, that these types of containers would be put together to lift the spirits 132 00:10:00.200 --> 00:10:05.480 people. And again that aroma. I just view those evergreen branches as aroma 133 00:10:05.519 --> 00:10:09.080 therapy. Yep, they smell amazing. Coming up next, Plants on Trial. 134 00:10:09.120 --> 00:10:13.080 We'll see what Stacey has on her mind this week here on the Gardening 135 00:10:13.200 --> 00:10:24.080 Simplified Show, Prooven Winner's Colored Choice Shrubs cares about your success in the garden. 136 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:26.279 That's why we trial and test all of our shrubs for eight to ten 137 00:10:26.399 --> 00:10:31.320 years, making sure they outperform everything else on the market. Look for them 138 00:10:31.360 --> 00:10:37.840 and the distinctive white container at your local garden center. Greetings gardening friends, 139 00:10:37.840 --> 00:10:41.679 and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. You know, I'm not trying 140 00:10:41.679 --> 00:10:43.960 to get the last word in, but I did have a few more things 141 00:10:45.000 --> 00:10:50.000 I wanted to just say about compassing, please, you know, because it's 142 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:54.000 like you're going off on the holiday thing and I'm going off on the horticultural 143 00:10:54.039 --> 00:10:58.360 thing up in here. So two things. There are other ornamental reasons to 144 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:01.279 compass. It's something that we used to do. I used to be a 145 00:11:01.360 --> 00:11:05.639 rooftop gardener in New York City for a couple seasons, and it was common 146 00:11:05.720 --> 00:11:11.519 for us to plant things that had really amazing foliage if they were compassed. 147 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:18.879 So two good examples are not a smoke bush, catinas and also polonia if 148 00:11:18.919 --> 00:11:22.320 you're familiar with that. Some people call it Korean Polonium has purple flowers, 149 00:11:22.360 --> 00:11:26.519 not super hardy, but you do see them here in Michigan as well as 150 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:31.879 Catalpa. And so when you compass these plants, now what happens is you're 151 00:11:31.919 --> 00:11:35.279 generally removing the flowers so they're not going to flower. But it's that same 152 00:11:35.360 --> 00:11:39.120 concept of using the root mass as an engine to fuel growth. What they 153 00:11:39.159 --> 00:11:43.519 do in response is put out absurdly huge foliage, Like the kind of foliage 154 00:11:43.519 --> 00:11:46.480 it's going to make people, you know, stop in the street and go, 155 00:11:46.639 --> 00:11:50.320 what is that? It's going to be a plant that they're familiar with. 156 00:11:50.440 --> 00:11:54.360 I like that, but it just that's what the result of that, 157 00:11:54.480 --> 00:11:58.480 especially with the polonia, especially with the nine bark. So it's a fun 158 00:11:58.480 --> 00:12:00.720 thing to experiment with, and it kind of is one of those things that 159 00:12:00.759 --> 00:12:05.840 if you perhaps have a plant that's overgrown and you're thinking you're going to take 160 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:09.360 it out, like why not try to compass it? Especially almost any shrub 161 00:12:09.440 --> 00:12:13.559 can be compassed to some varying degree of results depending on what you want to 162 00:12:13.600 --> 00:12:15.679 do, but you might as well try it rather than, you know, 163 00:12:15.799 --> 00:12:18.720 try to coerce your neighbor with a pickup truck to put a chain on it 164 00:12:18.799 --> 00:12:22.080 and yank out your overgrown shrub. You never know what's going to happen. 165 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:24.720 I like that, And I would think willow would be really good too, 166 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:28.480 right. Willow is a very common one, not only for the English fences. 167 00:12:30.519 --> 00:12:35.840 But willow is definitely one of those plants that if it starts to grow 168 00:12:35.919 --> 00:12:37.480 too much, you're not going to get flower. You know, the flowers 169 00:12:37.519 --> 00:12:41.360 are the pussy willows where you can see them, they'll be way up ten 170 00:12:41.519 --> 00:12:43.120 twelve feet up in the air. So if you cut it back, you're 171 00:12:43.159 --> 00:12:46.960 getting that, you know, in a place where you can actually see and 172 00:12:46.039 --> 00:12:50.399 enjoy and harvest. So it's something that cut flower growers do to be able 173 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:54.799 to harvest stems. And if you are a basket weaver, you're definitely compassing 174 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:58.440 your willows so you get lots of nice straight stems for basket weaving. Love 175 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:03.679 it now. One other fun fact about compassing have If you read like a 176 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:09.120 lot of older fiction or British fiction or even nonfiction, you may be familiar 177 00:13:09.279 --> 00:13:15.919 with the word cops, copcop se. You ever hear this word like a 178 00:13:15.960 --> 00:13:20.960 wooded cops, A cops in the woods, a cops is a coppist force, 179 00:13:22.279 --> 00:13:26.080 a cop a coppast area. So it was so common in many areas 180 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:30.960 to manage the woods through compassing in England that there is actually a specific term 181 00:13:31.039 --> 00:13:35.039 for an area where the trees and shrubs are managed by compassing, and that 182 00:13:35.159 --> 00:13:37.360 is a cops so it doesn't just mean a poetic, pretty little place in 183 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:41.759 the woods. It means specifically a coppist area. That's very interesting. And 184 00:13:41.840 --> 00:13:46.320 yes, in my reading I read that in England in those areas, in 185 00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:52.720 many cases they would be using something they called sweet chestnut for those areas. 186 00:13:52.840 --> 00:13:56.679 So very cool. And while you're you know, that's great information to have, 187 00:13:56.720 --> 00:14:00.320 and I'm sitting here thinking, yeah, I took basket weaving one on 188 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:03.039 one in school, and you took linguistics. That's why you know these things 189 00:14:03.080 --> 00:14:07.120 and I don't. Well, you know, it's a very interesting part of 190 00:14:07.120 --> 00:14:11.159 garden history too, and if you go to colonial Williamsburg you can see this. 191 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:15.679 They compass their vitex to harvest steaks for their plants in the garden. 192 00:14:15.720 --> 00:14:18.639 That's one of the things that they did early on. So there's a lot 193 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:22.399 of interesting, useful horticultural reasons for compassing. So if you are so inclined, 194 00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:28.200 I would definitely recommend a deep dive at your local Internet search window. 195 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:31.600 Vitex is another Yeah, that's great. Yeah, I love it. I 196 00:14:31.600 --> 00:14:35.519 know you love Vitex. Yeah I did. Now, moving on today's plan 197 00:14:35.559 --> 00:14:39.799 on trial, it is not a plant that should be compassed. Let's just 198 00:14:39.879 --> 00:14:45.080 say that right away, coming off of the compassing discussion there now, when 199 00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:48.000 like I said, almost any shrub can be compassed, but you don't want 200 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:54.159 to generally compass evergreens. They are not gonna rebound from this process as well 201 00:14:54.240 --> 00:15:00.960 as something like a willow et cetera or a dogwood. So we're shifting gears 202 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:03.759 completely. This is not a plant you hicicappas because it is an evergreen. 203 00:15:03.840 --> 00:15:09.039 And today's plant on trial is fluffy arborvidy. Fluffy fluffy, isn't it a 204 00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:11.799 fun name? I love it. It is a fun name, and it's 205 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:16.039 the planet itself is actually quite smooth, but it has a sort of fluffy, 206 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:22.080 glowing appearance in the landscape. Now, fluffy arborvidy is a western arbor 207 00:15:22.279 --> 00:15:28.399 dy. That's Thuya plakata, and so that is basically the West coast version 208 00:15:28.639 --> 00:15:33.240 of a North American native arbor vidy. Now, the East coast version that's 209 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:37.919 much more commonly planted as hedges and that you'll certainly see growing wild in a 210 00:15:37.000 --> 00:15:41.879 number of areas across the eastern half of the US. That's Thuya occidentalis. 211 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:46.799 The Eastern arborvity. We're talking here with fluffy. It's a western arbor vidy. 212 00:15:46.240 --> 00:15:50.519 Two notable differences with a western arborvity over an Eastern arbor vity. First, 213 00:15:50.600 --> 00:15:56.159 the foliage almost has like a braided kind of effect. It's a little 214 00:15:56.159 --> 00:15:58.399 bit hard to describe. You kind of have to see it to believe it. 215 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:04.759 But it's much glossier and the design or the scales of the foliage are 216 00:16:04.840 --> 00:16:10.399 much more distinctive. They really stand out and it gives it a very strong 217 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:14.679 look. It's glossier as well. The other thing about the western arborvity not 218 00:16:14.840 --> 00:16:18.840 as hardy as the eastern arborvity. So eastern arbivities are generally hardy USDA zones 219 00:16:18.840 --> 00:16:25.120 like three to seven eight. Western arborvity only hardy to USDA zone five. 220 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:30.919 However, people continue to try and tell me that the thuya plakata or western 221 00:16:30.120 --> 00:16:36.080 arborividy is deer resisting. Well, I would not ever call it deer resistant, 222 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:40.279 but I would say it's more dear. I would say it's more deer 223 00:16:40.320 --> 00:16:45.639 resistant than the Eastern arborovidy. I agree, And part of that goes back 224 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:49.960 to fragrance. So we were talking about fragrance and evergreens. Now Eastern Arborvity 225 00:16:51.000 --> 00:16:56.600 three oxidant talents I think has one of the most delightful fragrances of any plant. 226 00:16:56.600 --> 00:16:57.639 If you break a little piece off, and if you have one in 227 00:16:57.639 --> 00:17:00.720 your backyard, by all means go out there and do it. It's just 228 00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:06.839 like a really nice, pleasant, fruity smell. Not something you would expect 229 00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:11.160 it all that resinous like many people associate with evergreens or conifers, but yeah, 230 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:15.039 just a really light fruity smell. Now, Thua plicata doesn't have quite 231 00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:19.799 as nice of a fragrance, so that might be part of why deer don't 232 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:25.279 enjoy it. But also it is thicker and glossier, so there's some of 233 00:17:25.319 --> 00:17:27.599 other differences. Now, if you live if your garden like a place where 234 00:17:27.720 --> 00:17:30.359 Rick and I do, where you're surrounded by deer all the time, then 235 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:34.319 no, probably Thuia plicata is not going to stand any better chance than Thuia 236 00:17:34.400 --> 00:17:40.200 oxidenttalis. But if you have occasional deer, then you might be able to 237 00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:41.480 get away with it, or if you can get it mature enough that they 238 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:45.119 can't reach it, which sometimes works. Now, I did mention hardiness on 239 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:49.079 the western arborvidy and I do want to say we know about the hardiness zone 240 00:17:49.160 --> 00:17:52.880 changes, and we are devoting next week's show to it. So if you're 241 00:17:52.880 --> 00:17:56.000 concerned, you're confused, you're wondering what do Stacy and Rick have to say 242 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:59.559 about the new hardiness zone map, we are going to fill you in next 243 00:17:59.559 --> 00:18:02.680 week, So please market calendar and hope you'll stay tuned. But let's get 244 00:18:02.720 --> 00:18:07.160 back to Fluffy. So I've talked about its texture, why it's fluffy, 245 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:10.759 Now let's talk about why it's in the show today, and that is because 246 00:18:10.839 --> 00:18:15.880 it is a beautiful, glowing, bright golden color. And you know, 247 00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:18.759 all of the ideas that you were talking about for window Box is whether you're 248 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:21.880 going indoor or outdoor. And I think it's worth mentioning that a lot of 249 00:18:21.920 --> 00:18:25.480 the holiday decre things that we're talking about they're not just for outdoors. They 250 00:18:25.519 --> 00:18:30.759 can be used indoors. And I think Fluffy is a great example of a 251 00:18:30.799 --> 00:18:34.160 plant that you can grow in your yard and bring indoors, and that golden 252 00:18:34.200 --> 00:18:38.920 color is really just going to bring so much festivity, and it combines so 253 00:18:40.240 --> 00:18:42.599 nicely with other things that you might have in your house, like even a 254 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:47.119 point setta. So let's say you have a point setta and a container, 255 00:18:47.599 --> 00:18:51.200 you could just kind of dress the surface of the soil with some cuttings of 256 00:18:51.240 --> 00:18:53.839 something like fluffy arborvity, and it would really brighten it up and add a 257 00:18:53.880 --> 00:18:59.319 lot of color. If you get, say as a hostess gift a bouquet 258 00:18:59.359 --> 00:19:02.119 of flowers or something like that, and you want some golden in there, 259 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:07.480 you can just take some of those branchlets off of fluffy arborvity to bring in 260 00:19:07.519 --> 00:19:11.279 that color. So I think as a color, as a texture, it's 261 00:19:11.319 --> 00:19:12.759 such a useful plant. And I do you know a lot of the things 262 00:19:12.759 --> 00:19:17.319 that we talk about. When we're saying, hey, go into your backyard 263 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:18.279 and cut the stuff, people are like, WHOA, I don't know. 264 00:19:18.359 --> 00:19:22.680 I might really kind of leave my landscape not looking so hot if I take 265 00:19:22.720 --> 00:19:26.400 everything I need, and I certainly don't take more than you need. But 266 00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:30.880 one of the cool things about arborvitis is the way that they branch. They 267 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:36.119 kind of have these fan like branchlets all over, and so you don't need 268 00:19:36.119 --> 00:19:40.599 to take a big branch that's going to leave a huge hole. With some 269 00:19:40.640 --> 00:19:45.319 selective pruney and careful looking at your plant. You can take these small or 270 00:19:45.640 --> 00:19:48.119 fan like branchlets, and they can be quite effective. You can really do 271 00:19:48.200 --> 00:19:52.079 quite a lot with them. Yeah, and they're nice to handle too, 272 00:19:52.440 --> 00:19:56.440 Oh yeah you mentioned that. Yeah, no leather gloves required unless you need 273 00:19:56.440 --> 00:20:00.079 them for warmth. They're really easy to harvest, and again, just a 274 00:20:00.160 --> 00:20:04.400 little bit will go a very long way in your holiday decor. Now, 275 00:20:04.400 --> 00:20:08.279 of course you're not gonna if you get a fluffy arborvidy this coming spring. 276 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:12.599 You're probably not going to be cutting off too much for the twenty twenty four 277 00:20:12.599 --> 00:20:17.319 holiday season, but certainly as it gets more mature, or if you already 278 00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:19.440 have one that's mature in your yard, you know, take a look and 279 00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:25.400 know that you can cut off those those soft branchlets and a little bit can 280 00:20:25.480 --> 00:20:30.599 make a really big impact. I love that. And cedar or arbor vite 281 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:34.920 again are great as spillers along the edge of a container or a window box 282 00:20:36.039 --> 00:20:40.039 or something like that. Yeah, so you're only limited by your imagination and 283 00:20:40.079 --> 00:20:42.240 of course the size of your arborvidy. Now, if you want to see 284 00:20:42.240 --> 00:20:45.599 pictures of fluffy arborvity or get all the details about growing it, you can 285 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:49.200 visit Gardening Simplified on air dot Com. We'll put everything there or visit our 286 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:53.359 Instagram page Gardening Simplified Show, And we're going to take a little break. 287 00:20:53.359 --> 00:20:56.400 When we come back, we've got the garden mail bag with some pressing gardening 288 00:20:56.440 --> 00:21:07.039 questions, so please stay tuned. At proven winner's color choice, we've got 289 00:21:07.079 --> 00:21:11.519 a shrub for every taste and every space. Whether you're looking for an easycare 290 00:21:11.599 --> 00:21:15.119 rose and unforgettable hydrangea, or something new and unique, you can be confident 291 00:21:15.119 --> 00:21:18.880 that the shrubs and the white containers have been trialed and tested for your success. 292 00:21:19.119 --> 00:21:25.720 Look for them at your local garden center. Greetings gardening friends, and 293 00:21:25.920 --> 00:21:30.400 welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. It's time to answer those garden questions. 294 00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:36.000 And even though it is now December and the ground around here is kind 295 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:38.240 of mostly frozen, although we could get some thawing with this little brief form 296 00:21:38.279 --> 00:21:41.920 spell we're having, people still have gardening questions. People are still wondering, 297 00:21:41.920 --> 00:21:45.240 they're planning ahead, they're wondering what the heck happened in the past season, 298 00:21:45.720 --> 00:21:48.680 trying to make things better for next season. So if you have a gardening 299 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:52.960 question, you are welcome to reach out to us anytime. You can email 300 00:21:52.039 --> 00:21:57.279 Help HLP at Gardeningsimplified on air dot com or just visit Gardening Simplified on air 301 00:21:57.279 --> 00:22:02.160 dot Com. We've got a contact form there can attach pictures and we will 302 00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:04.400 look at your questions and hopefully be able to answer them on air. So 303 00:22:04.440 --> 00:22:07.519 what have we got in the mail bag today? You're so right, and 304 00:22:07.640 --> 00:22:11.079 I tell you what, as I always say in life, people as well 305 00:22:11.079 --> 00:22:14.400 as gardeners, three types of people. Those who make things happen, those 306 00:22:14.440 --> 00:22:18.200 who watch things happen, and those who wonder what in the world just happened. 307 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:23.759 Tracy writes to us, al Nino desert orchid is a new and very 308 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:30.000 special North American native hybrid. I'm trying to better educate myself about our native 309 00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.039 species here in Michigan. Anyway, I'm genuinely curious how the al Ninho plant 310 00:22:34.400 --> 00:22:40.640 you posted we posted this in social media can be both a new hybrid yet 311 00:22:40.880 --> 00:22:45.480 native at the same time. I use native and non native plants in my 312 00:22:45.599 --> 00:22:51.880 landscape, including tropical plants. I'm just curious what native means for newly bred 313 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:55.920 hybrids. Yeah, so this is a great question, and it also happens 314 00:22:55.960 --> 00:23:02.039 to be about my very favorite proven winners Color Choice jobs. Al Nino desert 315 00:23:02.119 --> 00:23:04.319 orchid. It's something that was in our garden tours that we did this past 316 00:23:04.359 --> 00:23:07.960 season, and it's really just a very unique plant. What it is. 317 00:23:08.519 --> 00:23:15.359 We call it desert orchid. The species is it's got an X in front 318 00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:18.880 of it to indicate that it's a hybrid between two different genera, So two 319 00:23:18.880 --> 00:23:23.400 different genus of plants, Chittelpa, known as desert willow and that is a 320 00:23:23.599 --> 00:23:32.000 southwestern US native, and Coutelpa, which is also known as bean tree. 321 00:23:30.759 --> 00:23:33.960 Sure, I don't know some of the other names that people call it, 322 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:37.160 but certainly a plant that is very easy to notice everywhere. It grows wild 323 00:23:37.680 --> 00:23:42.960 in June when it blooms here in Michigan, very big and just the most 324 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:48.359 amazing beautiful white flowers. Also very easy to notice and fall when it gets 325 00:23:48.440 --> 00:23:52.720 these long, thin bean like structures, so it's not in the bean family. 326 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:56.759 They aren't truly beans, so they're not flat like you would see like 327 00:23:56.799 --> 00:23:59.720 on a black locust, but they're tubular and when you break it open, 328 00:24:00.160 --> 00:24:03.920 a bunch of like maple like kind of helicopter things look like cigars to me. 329 00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:08.279 That's another thing people call it. Yeah, So the the two different 330 00:24:08.279 --> 00:24:15.559 species here ch Chalopsis rather and Cautelpa are both native to North America. And 331 00:24:15.599 --> 00:24:21.880 what doctor Tom Rainy, the plant breeder, did is he collected both plants 332 00:24:22.519 --> 00:24:27.039 and he brought the pollen from one to the female parts of another, and 333 00:24:27.079 --> 00:24:30.640 god seed from that. I don't know exactly which way that worked, but 334 00:24:30.359 --> 00:24:36.319 which one he did first. But so what it actually is is a cross 335 00:24:36.440 --> 00:24:41.720 between two North American native species. So what it is is basically a native 336 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:47.079 species more so than just simply a native plant. So it's got two different 337 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:51.079 native species. Now, if they were growing in the same range, and 338 00:24:51.119 --> 00:24:56.119 I'm sure there is some area where their ranges overlap, it would it is 339 00:24:56.200 --> 00:25:02.599 potentially possible for a natural hybrid to occur. And you know your question, 340 00:25:02.720 --> 00:25:06.000 Tracy is does this mean it's still native. That's really up to each person, 341 00:25:06.039 --> 00:25:07.680 I think, to decide. And when we talked about native plants a 342 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:11.920 few weeks ago, this is basically what we had said is you know, 343 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:15.799 if you if growing native plants is important to you, then you are the 344 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:19.960 one who decides how native is native, What is okay, what is not 345 00:25:21.039 --> 00:25:22.400 okay? What's that line you're going to cross? Because for some people, 346 00:25:23.079 --> 00:25:26.440 you know, they say okay, well, I only want plants that are 347 00:25:26.480 --> 00:25:29.799 native to my county, or I only want plants that are native to this 348 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:32.559 part of my state. Some people will say my whole state. Some people 349 00:25:32.599 --> 00:25:33.880 will say, you know, the whole Eastern US is good enough for me. 350 00:25:34.240 --> 00:25:37.319 So that's really a question that you have to answer on your own. 351 00:25:37.799 --> 00:25:42.839 But I do want to say that intergeneric hybrids like desert like al nino desert 352 00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:51.920 orchid do happen naturally, and sometimes they are so well entrenched that they just 353 00:25:51.960 --> 00:25:55.839 become a new species. And there's this happens a lot with native ferns. 354 00:25:56.160 --> 00:26:00.160 Okay, you know anything that's especially is going to be wind pollinated. You 355 00:26:00.160 --> 00:26:03.839 have no idea. You know that pollen's flying all over, landing wherever it 356 00:26:03.880 --> 00:26:08.000 will, and some for whatever reason could be compatible, and just over time 357 00:26:08.160 --> 00:26:15.000 they become This is basically how new species are developed is through these random pollinations 358 00:26:15.079 --> 00:26:18.319 or hybridizations. So nature does make its own hybrid. Plant readers also make 359 00:26:18.359 --> 00:26:22.240 their own hybrids. And again it's up to you to say, hey, 360 00:26:22.279 --> 00:26:26.480 this is a hybrid of two different native species. This doesn't meet my cut 361 00:26:26.680 --> 00:26:30.839 for what's native or something that I want in my garden or not. Now 362 00:26:30.839 --> 00:26:33.000 I will say, I love this plant so much. I do have it 363 00:26:33.039 --> 00:26:38.039 in my native garden, which is primarily Midwestern, kind of more prairie like 364 00:26:38.240 --> 00:26:42.920 natives, even though it's not prairie. But I love the fragrance of this 365 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:48.160 plant. It is something like you have never smelled before. And so for 366 00:26:48.200 --> 00:26:49.720 me, when I see this plant, I'm willing to sort of bend my 367 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:52.440 own rules a little bit and say, no, this wouldn't really I mean, 368 00:26:52.440 --> 00:26:57.440 Catallpa grows around here, but to me, I'm like, I'll bring 369 00:26:57.480 --> 00:27:02.039 it and I love it. So I have one in my garden and it 370 00:27:02.079 --> 00:27:04.559 was flowering all summer. Very drought tolerant, very deer resistant, and a 371 00:27:04.599 --> 00:27:08.519 plant that I personally really like. It's an amazing plant. When I posted 372 00:27:08.519 --> 00:27:15.680 it in social media, the reaction was incredible. People love this plant and 373 00:27:15.759 --> 00:27:18.759 why not. And when we had our native plant show Stacey, we talked 374 00:27:18.799 --> 00:27:23.440 about the fact that North America is a big place. Yes, So for 375 00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:27.200 me again, when you have a cross of these two plants which are native 376 00:27:27.279 --> 00:27:34.880 to North America. For Tracy's purpose here, I would and Tracy's writing to 377 00:27:34.960 --> 00:27:41.160 us from Michigan, I approach the whole native plant thing from a North America 378 00:27:41.200 --> 00:27:45.000 approach, not a regional or a Michigan approach. But that's the way I 379 00:27:45.039 --> 00:27:48.000 wanted it, and that's for everyone to decide. So, if we've peached 380 00:27:48.039 --> 00:27:52.720 your curiosity about El Nino, whether you're interested in its amazing fragrance, which 381 00:27:52.759 --> 00:27:56.240 I think smells sort of like vanilla and melon, it's amazing flowers which you 382 00:27:56.240 --> 00:28:00.960 can kind of guess with a name like desert orchid or what the native aspect. 383 00:28:00.160 --> 00:28:04.400 Just visit Gardening Simplified on air dot Com in the garden Mailbag section. 384 00:28:04.480 --> 00:28:07.720 We will put a link to its page so you can see all those fabulous 385 00:28:07.759 --> 00:28:12.160 photos and get all that information and make your own informed decision. Fantastic, 386 00:28:12.279 --> 00:28:17.480 Thomas writes to us. My questions are regarding canis and kalladiums. I live 387 00:28:17.519 --> 00:28:21.519 in Los Angeles Zone ten. Aight, what's the best way to overwinter these 388 00:28:21.559 --> 00:28:25.799 plants? I grow everything in containers, and previously I divide cannas in the 389 00:28:25.799 --> 00:28:30.000 fall and replant in pots. However, I notice that they get brown yellow 390 00:28:30.119 --> 00:28:33.880 leaves in the summer. Are they overcrowded? I've never overwintered kalladium? Is 391 00:28:33.920 --> 00:28:37.119 there a method to doing this in a container? Or do I need to 392 00:28:37.200 --> 00:28:42.319 remove and store out of the soil. Please help Cana King and Stacy. 393 00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:48.799 I know you'd appreciate that, so I will say Thomas, first of all, 394 00:28:48.960 --> 00:28:52.440 you are in Los Angeles, USA, Zone ten. You do not 395 00:28:52.559 --> 00:28:56.480 need to do anything special to overwinter these plants. You don't need to lift 396 00:28:56.519 --> 00:29:00.240 a finger. They will get through your winter absolutely fine. You don't need 397 00:29:00.279 --> 00:29:03.960 to store them, you don't need to dry them. They may go dormant 398 00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:07.079 if it gets very if you have a frost, or it gets very dry, 399 00:29:07.480 --> 00:29:11.039 but they're fine. You won't have to worry about the bulbs themselves getting 400 00:29:11.079 --> 00:29:15.039 damaged by cold, like we would here in Michigan. But to answer your 401 00:29:15.119 --> 00:29:18.119 question about the browning foliage and being overcrowded, I would say this is almost 402 00:29:18.119 --> 00:29:22.319 certainly a water issue, There's no question. Because those rhizomes can get so 403 00:29:22.559 --> 00:29:29.119 thick, so big in the pot, crowd out the soil. It's easy, 404 00:29:29.240 --> 00:29:33.200 especially in a warm climate, to get to the point where they're just 405 00:29:33.240 --> 00:29:34.960 not getting sufficient water. Right. You can tell my husband about it, 406 00:29:34.960 --> 00:29:37.960 because he had a heck of a time trying to pull apart our cannibals that 407 00:29:38.000 --> 00:29:41.640 you gave us. He worked really hard on that. But yeah, I 408 00:29:41.640 --> 00:29:44.160 found the same thing as my can is. Like. At first, it 409 00:29:44.200 --> 00:29:48.160 is very easy to keep the container watered, and they looked lush and beautiful. 410 00:29:48.359 --> 00:29:52.079 But as they increasingly filled out that container, they took up more space, 411 00:29:52.119 --> 00:29:55.319 it was more difficult to keep it watered, and then I was getting 412 00:29:55.359 --> 00:29:59.480 a lot of browning foliage. So, Thomas, perhaps a drip system would 413 00:29:59.480 --> 00:30:04.960 help you, aren't, you know, experiencing those wide shifts in temperature and 414 00:30:06.039 --> 00:30:08.720 causing it to dry out. But as far as overwintering, patch yourself on 415 00:30:08.720 --> 00:30:11.000 the back, because you've got it easy. Yeah, And I think with 416 00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:15.799 the cannas, possibly you may have to go to bigger pots or consider the 417 00:30:15.920 --> 00:30:21.160 use of polymers. I dug up all my cannas a few weeks ago before 418 00:30:21.680 --> 00:30:25.839 this arrived and had them laying out on the floor of the garage. Hundreds 419 00:30:25.880 --> 00:30:30.839 of them. Speak of aroma therapy. Wow did that smell good? Oh 420 00:30:30.920 --> 00:30:33.200 yeah, they have a fragrance. Oh no, the fragrance of the soil 421 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:37.599 and them up and I'm drying the soil off from me. It just was. 422 00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:40.759 It was wonderful, and it's going to help carry me to spring when 423 00:30:41.839 --> 00:30:45.680 fast snow. Well, you know that smell is actually blue green algae. 424 00:30:45.480 --> 00:30:48.680 But I would say, yeah, I next year, I have learned my 425 00:30:48.759 --> 00:30:52.000 lesson because, as I said during the summer, the canna bulbs you gave 426 00:30:52.039 --> 00:30:56.680 me actually exploded through the container. They burst a hole right in the fiberglass 427 00:30:56.680 --> 00:31:00.319 pot that I was growing them in. So I am not going to pack 428 00:31:00.359 --> 00:31:03.359 them in densely like I did last year. I'm going to spread the wealth 429 00:31:03.359 --> 00:31:11.000 around, make a little mini cana forests in my backyard and hopefully have an 430 00:31:11.039 --> 00:31:14.200 easier time keeping them watered and not by it. Like I said, by 431 00:31:14.319 --> 00:31:17.920 August September, start getting that browning foliage, because it's just even if I 432 00:31:17.960 --> 00:31:19.319 was sitting there with a hose on them all day, well maybe then it 433 00:31:19.359 --> 00:31:23.599 would work, but that's not practical for anyone. So thank you Tracy and 434 00:31:23.640 --> 00:31:26.160 Thomas for your questions. Again, if you have a question for us, 435 00:31:26.240 --> 00:31:30.839 help at Gardening Simplified on air dot com, or just visit our website and 436 00:31:30.119 --> 00:31:33.839 or you can even leave a comment on YouTube and we get a lot of 437 00:31:33.880 --> 00:31:37.200 our questions that way as well, so you can reach us that way. 438 00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:37.839 Now we're going to take a little break. When we come back, we 439 00:31:37.880 --> 00:31:48.119 have a special guest for Branching News, so please stay tuned. The Gardening 440 00:31:48.160 --> 00:31:52.920 Simplified Show is brought to you by Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. Our award 441 00:31:52.920 --> 00:31:56.640 winning flowering shrubs in Evergreens have been trialed and tested for your success, so 442 00:31:56.720 --> 00:32:01.160 you enjoy more beauty and less work. Look for Proven Winners Colored Choice Shrubs 443 00:32:01.160 --> 00:32:07.200 and the distinctive white container at your local garden center. Welcome back to the 444 00:32:07.240 --> 00:32:12.720 Gardening Simplified Show. It's time for branching news and I've been really looking forward 445 00:32:12.720 --> 00:32:17.759 to this segment today because we get a chance to talk to landscape architect and 446 00:32:17.880 --> 00:32:25.160 designer Deborah Silver. Now Detroit Garden Works is a locally beloved and nationally renowned 447 00:32:25.160 --> 00:32:31.559 garden shop devoted to find and unusual garden ornaments and furnishings and specialty plants. 448 00:32:31.599 --> 00:32:36.319 I was there a few weeks ago, and it's just such a beautiful place. 449 00:32:36.480 --> 00:32:43.880 Founded in nineteen ninety six by landscape designer Deborah Silver and landscape architect Rob 450 00:32:44.160 --> 00:32:49.279 Yadenek, and Detroit Garden Works was named one of the top twenty five garden 451 00:32:49.279 --> 00:32:53.519 shops in the United States by Garden Design Magazine. Featured in Better Homes and 452 00:32:53.640 --> 00:33:00.400 Gardens Martha Stewart Magazine, Washington Post and other publications, and I can see 453 00:33:00.440 --> 00:33:04.400 why. And at this time of the year, the store is beautiful because, 454 00:33:04.440 --> 00:33:07.559 as we talked about earlier in the program, we were talking about coppicing 455 00:33:07.839 --> 00:33:15.640 and branches and using those branches as we enter the winter months and the holidays 456 00:33:15.720 --> 00:33:20.799 to enjoy, and in my opinion, no one does it better than Detroit 457 00:33:20.839 --> 00:33:23.559 Garden Works. Deborah, A pleasure to have you on the show, and 458 00:33:23.599 --> 00:33:27.640 thanks so much for joining us. Well, you're very welcome, Thank you, 459 00:33:28.480 --> 00:33:31.200 Debra. What let me ask you right off the top here a minute, 460 00:33:31.240 --> 00:33:36.839 what influenced the look of Detroit Garden Works, Because when you walk in, 461 00:33:36.920 --> 00:33:40.160 it's just, I don't know, it's inspiring. What influenced the look 462 00:33:40.279 --> 00:33:49.079 of your store? Well, we actually saw a picture of a Lanai structure 463 00:33:49.680 --> 00:33:54.160 in a book from Italy, and it had a terracotta floor and lots of 464 00:33:54.160 --> 00:34:00.920 windows and terracotta pots, and there was just something about it that so natural, 465 00:34:01.039 --> 00:34:07.480 the natural materials, so calming and so interesting. But that's where we 466 00:34:07.559 --> 00:34:13.119 jumped off with it. Now the shop now doesn't look anything like that picture 467 00:34:13.400 --> 00:34:20.039 because, of course, our individual taste and our individual buying rob does all 468 00:34:20.159 --> 00:34:24.480 the buying has influenced what we offer. Okay, well, the direction we're 469 00:34:24.519 --> 00:34:29.679 going in, of course today is the holiday season, and I saw that 470 00:34:29.719 --> 00:34:34.159 you have something. Correct me if I'm wrong that you call a branch studio. 471 00:34:34.880 --> 00:34:39.679 People love Christmas holiday containers and Debra, I'm sure you're aware of the 472 00:34:39.719 --> 00:34:45.880 fact that you're pretty popular on Pinterest. When you go on Pinterest, just 473 00:34:45.079 --> 00:34:50.800 beautiful what you do with the arrangements in the in the branch studio. What 474 00:34:51.760 --> 00:34:55.400 inspired all of that with you to develop this business? Well, I had 475 00:34:57.079 --> 00:35:02.440 had a landscape design and installation Businesness for going on thirty five years now, 476 00:35:04.000 --> 00:35:08.199 and then I always wanted a store that would have really terrific things for gardens. 477 00:35:08.880 --> 00:35:13.320 You know, back in the day when I was first starting, the 478 00:35:13.400 --> 00:35:19.440 only ornament you could buy was a golfer fountain. You know, it just 479 00:35:19.480 --> 00:35:24.159 didn't appeal to me this much, and certainly isn't appealing to a serious gardener. 480 00:35:25.320 --> 00:35:32.440 So we started out by trying to find things that would represent our aesthetic, 481 00:35:32.920 --> 00:35:37.239 no matter what the cost. You know, if we have something for 482 00:35:37.360 --> 00:35:42.119 seventy five cents, I wanted to be the best looking seventy five cent item 483 00:35:42.639 --> 00:35:50.920 possible. So and then we offer also things that are more serious and more 484 00:35:51.039 --> 00:35:58.400 expensive for people who would rather decorate their garden than fly to the Caribbean. 485 00:35:59.039 --> 00:36:04.960 You know, everyone had as something that they like to spend their discretionary income 486 00:36:05.039 --> 00:36:10.119 and spend their discretionary time on. And we appeal to people who are very 487 00:36:10.159 --> 00:36:17.400 serious about the garden and it shows in the beautiful holiday containers that you create. 488 00:36:17.599 --> 00:36:22.840 I was interested reading your blog Deborah, that once you create a form 489 00:36:23.039 --> 00:36:30.199 for a client, those forms are used for a number of years, recycled 490 00:36:30.239 --> 00:36:35.280 through. The design may change, but those forms are used for a number 491 00:36:35.320 --> 00:36:39.599 of years, making what I have to say are just spectacular Christmas or holiday 492 00:36:39.679 --> 00:36:47.960 arrangements. Well, we like to have maybe a Christmas look in November and 493 00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:53.079 December, and then if we take out some things in January. A lot 494 00:36:53.119 --> 00:36:59.199 of our clients keep their winter pots and the lighting in the winter pots going 495 00:36:59.199 --> 00:37:02.239 all winter. Sure, I get calls in March, in April think you 496 00:37:02.320 --> 00:37:07.519 better come and take this out. January and February are still big. Yeah, 497 00:37:07.519 --> 00:37:10.400 they're very dim months, so I you know, I'm all for keeping 498 00:37:10.440 --> 00:37:15.599 the decor and lights well into into winter so it doesn't get too gloomy. 499 00:37:15.639 --> 00:37:20.320 Now, what are some of your go to materials for these arrangements. You 500 00:37:20.320 --> 00:37:22.599 know, we've talked a lot about the stuff people know, red twig, 501 00:37:22.639 --> 00:37:25.599 dogwood, pine, you know, incense there. But you know, looking 502 00:37:25.599 --> 00:37:29.320 at your designs, they are so different and so interesting. So what are 503 00:37:29.320 --> 00:37:34.280 some of the materials that you look for that really make your work so much 504 00:37:34.280 --> 00:37:38.480 different? The twigs? So once you get past red twig and yellow twig, 505 00:37:39.199 --> 00:37:45.880 there's cardinal red twig, which is a hybrid. There's flame willow, 506 00:37:45.960 --> 00:37:52.400 which is orange cinnamon orange. There's curly flame when willow. There's red bud, 507 00:37:52.440 --> 00:37:59.559 pussy willow, birch. We oftentimes put coppice woods in pots from beach 508 00:37:59.840 --> 00:38:07.199 or other shrubs that are being pruned. We do buy alder branches from out 509 00:38:07.199 --> 00:38:13.199 west and they come in bunches that are oh maybe twenty four inches tall, 510 00:38:14.360 --> 00:38:19.320 and they're discreet but beautiful. Wow. We use it a lot to add 511 00:38:19.320 --> 00:38:23.960 a little airy look to the pot. I could see where older branches are 512 00:38:24.360 --> 00:38:30.320 beautiful and very elegant. Inner yep. There so beach. You know. 513 00:38:30.719 --> 00:38:35.920 I had a client, a good client and friend, who was trimming as 514 00:38:36.039 --> 00:38:37.840 beach and he said, do you want all my trimmings? I said, 515 00:38:37.840 --> 00:38:45.199 oh, yes, A vast majority of what we offer our farmed twigs. 516 00:38:45.719 --> 00:38:54.760 So we have several suppliers, one main supplier and he grows twigs commercially like 517 00:38:55.000 --> 00:39:02.440 other people grow crops, So he will cut his twigs. A percentage of 518 00:39:02.480 --> 00:39:10.599 his twigs back to the ground every year, so there's constantly a refreshing growth 519 00:39:12.119 --> 00:39:15.840 which has the best and most brilliant color. I mean, I'm sure you 520 00:39:15.920 --> 00:39:21.119 know that if you've seen red twig dogwood in the woods, it gets very 521 00:39:21.199 --> 00:39:23.800 dull when it gets old. Yeah, right, but first year growth is 522 00:39:24.280 --> 00:39:30.320 brilliant, glossy, bar just beautiful. And if you're interested in nature and 523 00:39:30.599 --> 00:39:36.320 gardens, how could you not like this? Oh? Exactly exactly. Shrubs 524 00:39:36.320 --> 00:39:39.639 of course that are cut back hard respond with vigorous new growth, and you're 525 00:39:39.760 --> 00:39:46.880 using those in these beautiful holiday containers. We're talking to landscape designer Deborah Silver, 526 00:39:47.119 --> 00:39:52.039 and Deborah, reading your blog, I took note of a comment you 527 00:39:52.079 --> 00:39:57.880 made that I loved. You said height is a welcome addition to a winter 528 00:39:58.440 --> 00:40:06.440 container. Can you give us your perspective on something like proper proportion? How 529 00:40:06.440 --> 00:40:09.519 do you get the proper proportion to a container? Because I love the fact 530 00:40:09.559 --> 00:40:15.360 that you compliment many times over your staff and your employees in your blog. 531 00:40:16.599 --> 00:40:23.239 Very talented people who do this year after year, and they certainly understand proper 532 00:40:23.480 --> 00:40:29.280 proportion correct. Yes they do. I mean I do the design work, 533 00:40:29.840 --> 00:40:35.239 and I'll just say to I have two people who are really leads on our 534 00:40:35.639 --> 00:40:37.360 couple of crews, and I'll say, this is the look I'm after. 535 00:40:37.960 --> 00:40:42.159 These are the materials I want to use. You know, I want this 536 00:40:42.320 --> 00:40:45.039 as tall as possible. I want the branches straight up and down. You 537 00:40:45.079 --> 00:40:50.400 know, there's just a feeling that you're after, and part of that depends 538 00:40:50.440 --> 00:40:54.039 on what we've done for that client in previous years. I like to do 539 00:40:54.119 --> 00:41:00.840 something different every year. Sure the height in the container. Get attention to 540 00:41:00.960 --> 00:41:06.960 your pots from the sidewalk in the street. And it's very friendly. How 541 00:41:07.039 --> 00:41:14.800 it envelops the front door or it complements the front door so that it's welcoming. 542 00:41:15.280 --> 00:41:20.320 One of the major features of the winter pots is creating a sense of 543 00:41:20.440 --> 00:41:24.360 warmth in a season when it's very cold and they're no leaves and the winner 544 00:41:24.480 --> 00:41:30.199 is going to go on for a long time. Yes, the curly willow, 545 00:41:30.559 --> 00:41:35.400 the orange look to it, the gold orange look. When I was 546 00:41:35.440 --> 00:41:39.039 in your store almost looks like a fire in the center of attempt. It's 547 00:41:39.119 --> 00:41:44.840 very warming, Yes it is. It's a beautiful color and very unexpected. 548 00:41:45.320 --> 00:41:47.840 You know. I want people when they come home to their house to look 549 00:41:47.880 --> 00:41:52.440 at their front door and oh, this is my house, and I love 550 00:41:52.480 --> 00:41:57.800 the look, you know exactly. How about adding lights, Deborah? For 551 00:41:57.920 --> 00:42:01.360 some people that's a real struggle. Some people just throwing lights into something. 552 00:42:01.400 --> 00:42:06.159 The lights you put, I think you refer to them as a light burst 553 00:42:06.840 --> 00:42:12.440 spectacular. Any advice for our listeners and our viewers on placing lights in these 554 00:42:12.440 --> 00:42:17.519 holiday containers. Well, the most difficult part of lighting that container are the 555 00:42:17.639 --> 00:42:25.960 vertical sticks. And if you can find someone who sells a light stick which 556 00:42:27.079 --> 00:42:32.239 has a brown plastic covering that has lights on it that look like but they 557 00:42:32.280 --> 00:42:37.639 will look very natural mixed in with your twigs, and we carry those with 558 00:42:37.840 --> 00:42:43.559 brown stems and with white stems. I think it's important during the day that 559 00:42:43.679 --> 00:42:49.400 you don't see all the cords and the paraphernalia with the lighting. I just 560 00:42:49.559 --> 00:42:52.400 like to see the pots. That's good advice, especially regard works carries a 561 00:42:52.440 --> 00:42:57.320 lot of those okay type of things. It's great advice, especially when it's 562 00:42:57.320 --> 00:43:00.559 super cold outside and you're in a hurry. You may, you know, 563 00:43:00.800 --> 00:43:06.800 as an individual, tend to take shortcuts as far as the lights are concerned. 564 00:43:07.400 --> 00:43:09.400 Are freezingly trying to get it done. And I've been there before. 565 00:43:09.639 --> 00:43:14.519 Yes, well, I don't know how many years ago it was. But 566 00:43:14.559 --> 00:43:21.159 we stopped doing all the winter arrangements on site and we do them all in 567 00:43:21.199 --> 00:43:23.760 our garage. We turn on the lights, we turn on the heat, 568 00:43:24.599 --> 00:43:30.719 and that way the people who are creating the arrangements can concentrate on the job 569 00:43:30.760 --> 00:43:36.719 at hand and not be you know, miserable because it's so cold. So 570 00:43:36.880 --> 00:43:44.039 that foam that we use, which is four inches thick and it fits into 571 00:43:44.079 --> 00:43:46.480 the top of the pot. It wedges into the top of the pot. 572 00:43:46.880 --> 00:43:52.719 It makes it possible to create the entire arrangement in the garage and then we 573 00:43:52.960 --> 00:43:55.079 just lift it up, put it on a truck and drop it in. 574 00:43:55.440 --> 00:44:00.000 That's fantastic. Can you talk about that a moment, Because many people will 575 00:44:00.119 --> 00:44:04.599 just stick branches into potting soil or soil that are in a container. But 576 00:44:04.639 --> 00:44:10.719 you're using foam or oasis something like that in order to develop these arrangements. 577 00:44:12.239 --> 00:44:20.679 Right, it's not oasis and it's not styrofoam either it is a foam which 578 00:44:20.719 --> 00:44:30.360 is specifically for dry material, and cut branches are considered dry material. So 579 00:44:30.480 --> 00:44:34.920 the place where we buy them, you know, they it all has to 580 00:44:34.920 --> 00:44:42.480 be custom ordered in a custom size, and they don't sell retail. They 581 00:44:42.480 --> 00:44:47.679 don't sell individual sheets of it, okay, So we do offer it and 582 00:44:47.719 --> 00:44:55.679 we do ship it. But it is a very strong material that we can 583 00:44:55.880 --> 00:45:01.320 use for a number of years. And sometimes if one teeth the form is 584 00:45:02.079 --> 00:45:07.480 disintegrating or deteriorating, we just cut that piece out and glue in a new 585 00:45:07.519 --> 00:45:13.679 little teeth, okay, so we can patch them because we don't want to 586 00:45:13.679 --> 00:45:16.719 throw those away. I mean, sure, they're expensive and it's a lot 587 00:45:16.719 --> 00:45:22.880 of work to make them. And we're talking to landscape designer Deborah Silver Detroit 588 00:45:22.000 --> 00:45:27.960 Garden Works. Deborah, when I was at your store and looking at your 589 00:45:27.960 --> 00:45:30.519 blog, also one thing that caught my eye, Stacy was the fact that 590 00:45:31.480 --> 00:45:37.480 you know, many of us in spring enjoy the pussy willows. But Deborah, 591 00:45:37.519 --> 00:45:44.559 this is something that you utilize to a big degree in the winter landscape 592 00:45:44.880 --> 00:45:49.880 and in these containers. Pussy willows is quite a thriller and a container, 593 00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:52.559 isn't it. Yes, it is. It's really great in a container, 594 00:45:53.199 --> 00:46:01.599 and typically our twigs are cut and stored it under refrigeration until it's time to 595 00:46:01.599 --> 00:46:08.039 ship, and then once the temperature around the twigs warms up, that bud 596 00:46:08.320 --> 00:46:15.639 will start to enlarge, and sometimes we have to stick the pussy willow all 597 00:46:15.679 --> 00:46:20.719 the way through the foemen into the soil, and sometimes in that event the 598 00:46:20.760 --> 00:46:24.639 pussy willow will actually root. Wow, it's amazing. You mentioned in your 599 00:46:24.639 --> 00:46:30.199 blog, Deborah that you personally you have a small urban property and you run 600 00:46:30.280 --> 00:46:35.920 up against the limits of space all the time. How do you deal with 601 00:46:35.960 --> 00:46:40.159 that? Any advice for our listeners, our viewers who live on small urban 602 00:46:40.239 --> 00:46:46.559 properties but obviously love plants like you do and we do. Any advice for 603 00:46:46.639 --> 00:46:51.440 our listeners, Well, I know there are some people who can't turn down 604 00:46:51.480 --> 00:47:00.920 a single plant, but I myself personally don't design that way. I design 605 00:47:00.519 --> 00:47:07.840 for a structure and for interest in all the four seasons, and then if 606 00:47:07.880 --> 00:47:10.880 I want to go crazy with something, I do it in my pots, 607 00:47:10.880 --> 00:47:15.360 spring, summer, winterfall. Sure. Sure, that makes a lot of 608 00:47:15.440 --> 00:47:20.800 sense. That's the part that changes. So I tried to get as big 609 00:47:20.800 --> 00:47:24.320 a pots as I could possibly get, and I sprinkle them all over my 610 00:47:24.400 --> 00:47:30.239 property and on my deck. So that's how I get a little bit of 611 00:47:30.559 --> 00:47:37.599 different look from year to year without having to touch my basic landscape. Deborah, 612 00:47:37.599 --> 00:47:42.360 whenever we interview somebody, I like to ask a very unfair question, 613 00:47:42.440 --> 00:47:45.119 but I'm going to ask it anyhow because our listeners love it. And that 614 00:47:45.320 --> 00:47:50.760 is as a landscape designer, do you have a favorite or let's say two 615 00:47:50.880 --> 00:47:54.079 favorite plants that you could share with us, where you'd say these do? 616 00:47:54.320 --> 00:47:58.800 I know it's not fair, but boy, I'd love to tap into your 617 00:47:58.880 --> 00:48:04.920 experience a couple of plants that you think everybody should have in their landscape. 618 00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:09.880 What would you suggest? Well, I do think the whole family of hydrangeas 619 00:48:10.480 --> 00:48:15.519 are very simple to grow if you give them adequate water, and they're very 620 00:48:15.639 --> 00:48:20.960 showy and they come back a year after year. They're not fussy, and 621 00:48:21.000 --> 00:48:25.760 I am especially fond of Gogo. If you need something that's very short and 622 00:48:25.920 --> 00:48:32.199 compact, it only grows three by three feet, sometimes five by five feet. 623 00:48:32.880 --> 00:48:39.159 And then there are other varieties of hydrangeas that get different heights and different 624 00:48:39.400 --> 00:48:45.360 color blossoms. But I find that the white flowered varieties such as limelight, 625 00:48:45.519 --> 00:48:52.280 which is a big grower. I find that they are the best performers over 626 00:48:52.320 --> 00:48:55.800 a number of years. In the same way I would plant lots of teenings, 627 00:48:58.239 --> 00:49:00.679 They'll be going good forever. Well, thank you for what you do, 628 00:49:01.480 --> 00:49:07.239 Deborah. And for folks who have not visited Detroit Garden Works, what 629 00:49:07.360 --> 00:49:15.199 a wonderful store, inspiring and at the holidays, also with these containers that 630 00:49:15.280 --> 00:49:21.480 are created there. She's landscape designer Deborah Silver. And Deborah again, your 631 00:49:22.159 --> 00:49:25.960 website is it Detroitgardenworks dot com? Am I correct in that, yes, 632 00:49:27.039 --> 00:49:31.239 it is all right, right fantastic. So I'd recommend to our viewers and 633 00:49:31.280 --> 00:49:36.679 our listeners to visit Detroit Garden Works sometime. Make sure to visit their website. 634 00:49:36.480 --> 00:49:39.239 And thank you for all you do, Deborah, for the industry and 635 00:49:39.599 --> 00:49:44.559 especially this time of the year, inspiring us during the holidays. Well, 636 00:49:44.599 --> 00:49:46.679 thank you very much for giving me a call. Take care and have a 637 00:49:46.719 --> 00:49:52.920 good holiday. Thank you to you. So Detroit Gardenworks is an absolute destination 638 00:49:53.000 --> 00:49:55.960 if you are in the Detroit area or visiting the Detroit area, put it 639 00:49:57.000 --> 00:50:00.599 on your list, no matter what time of year it is. Thanks to 640 00:50:00.639 --> 00:50:02.679 Dema, Thanks to you Rich, Thanks to Adriana and of course, as 641 00:50:02.719 --> 00:50:06.800 always, thank you so much to all of our listeners, viewers everywhere. 642 00:50:06.840 --> 00:50:07.320 We hope you have a wonderful week ahead.