WEBVTT 1 00:00:02.879 --> 00:00:07.599 Coming to you from Studio A at Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. It's time 2 00:00:07.679 --> 00:00:12.320 for the Gardening Simplified Show with Stacey Hervella, me, Rick Weist, and 3 00:00:12.400 --> 00:00:18.359 our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. So today Stacey, we talk about the 4 00:00:18.600 --> 00:00:24.039 decorators, the people who just want to decorate with plants. Forget the science, 5 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:28.600 forget the origin of the plant, forget the rules. It's all about 6 00:00:28.640 --> 00:00:34.039 decorating. And I loved these people when I owned and ran a garden center, 7 00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:39.159 I loved the decorators. They were some of our best customers. Well, 8 00:00:39.200 --> 00:00:41.119 you know, you've got to love a person who comes in with a 9 00:00:41.200 --> 00:00:43.799 vision. You know, they want the color that they want, They've got 10 00:00:43.880 --> 00:00:47.119 an idea, and all they want is to just get in, get out, 11 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:49.640 and get that stuff in the ground and make it look pretty exactly. 12 00:00:49.640 --> 00:00:54.119 It's understanding your garden style. It allows you to narrow down your plant selection, 13 00:00:54.640 --> 00:01:00.280 flower choices and design elements that best suit your personal taste or the personal 14 00:01:00.320 --> 00:01:03.560 taste of the individual you're working for. Now. Often in the garden, 15 00:01:03.599 --> 00:01:08.760 I recommend working in threes. Three is an easy number, it's not overwhelming, 16 00:01:10.200 --> 00:01:15.920 it looks natural, and you can basically decide on a color scheme and 17 00:01:15.200 --> 00:01:19.879 mood you want to convey. That's what I liked about the decorators. They 18 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:23.599 had an idea of what they wanted before they got to the garden center. 19 00:01:23.959 --> 00:01:30.200 Then they took plants and put them in groupings of three on their carts, 20 00:01:30.680 --> 00:01:34.319 knowing where they were going and what they were going to do, what they 21 00:01:34.359 --> 00:01:38.920 wanted to accomplish. Is kind of like you Stacey with your mom on Mother's 22 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:42.439 Day weekend, right, Yeah, you know. But I do have to 23 00:01:42.439 --> 00:01:45.760 say it is great if you go into the garden center with that mentality, 24 00:01:46.280 --> 00:01:49.359 but I don't. I actually don't. I don't go I have an idea 25 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:52.159 of what I want, but you always have to keep your options open. 26 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:53.879 So I want to say that, you know, even though we're talking about 27 00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:57.599 this idea of being a decorator and going in there and being confident and you 28 00:01:57.640 --> 00:02:01.959 know, just having this this drive to make it about the color and about 29 00:02:02.000 --> 00:02:06.959 accentuating your space, much like an interior decorator would, it's okay if you're 30 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:10.560 not that. You know, there's there's These are both valid ways to shop. 31 00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:15.000 And I think that a lot of people who you know, we've talked 32 00:02:15.039 --> 00:02:21.599 a lot recently about reluctant gardeners or hesitant gardeners, scared gardeners taking that decorator 33 00:02:21.639 --> 00:02:24.680 aspect, like you don't go into you know, like home Goods or some 34 00:02:24.759 --> 00:02:28.719 store like that, afraid that you're going to pick the wrong throw pillow for 35 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:31.280 your sofa. You just pick the pillow and if it doesn't work out, 36 00:02:31.319 --> 00:02:34.319 well, then it doesn't work out. It's not that way. You have 37 00:02:34.360 --> 00:02:38.199 a deal. You can take that same approach with gardening exactly. Now I've 38 00:02:38.319 --> 00:02:46.719 used for folks who aren't necessarily decorators or designers, I've used proven plant pairings. 39 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:52.039 So we'll have this link at the website Gardening Simplified on air dot com. 40 00:02:52.080 --> 00:02:57.599 But it's proven plant pairings and essentially you take a simple four step quiz. 41 00:02:57.639 --> 00:03:00.840 So I took the quiz yesterday. I went with pink and orange only 42 00:03:00.840 --> 00:03:07.599 because I love that combination. And the recommendation after taking the quiz was miss 43 00:03:07.599 --> 00:03:15.280 Molly, butterfly bush at last rose and color coded orange orange, you awesome 44 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:19.599 cone flower. And I thought that was great. So then I took the 45 00:03:19.680 --> 00:03:24.360 quiz again four steps, this time putting in another combination I love blue and 46 00:03:24.599 --> 00:03:30.919 yellow, and I got this recommendation Decadence, false Indigo, stand by me 47 00:03:30.159 --> 00:03:36.879 Clematis and Tuscan gold sunflower. Both of them worked. Oh I love both 48 00:03:36.919 --> 00:03:40.199 of those worked. One of those plants and so fun to do that. 49 00:03:40.319 --> 00:03:46.360 Now. Another thing that you can do is you can also use a recipe 50 00:03:46.520 --> 00:03:49.919 search Proven Winners makes that available to you. As a matter of fact, 51 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:53.159 when I went to it the other day, I saw that there were over 52 00:03:53.360 --> 00:03:59.479 one thousand, two hundred combinations. Fantastic. For example, I was drawn 53 00:03:59.560 --> 00:04:03.159 to a re called home Style, and we're gonna put that link in the 54 00:04:03.199 --> 00:04:10.520 show notes. Home style included a plant I know you love, Stacy Vermillionaire 55 00:04:10.919 --> 00:04:14.960 firecracker plant kuf oh, I love it, gotta have it every year, 56 00:04:15.319 --> 00:04:23.480 Calibricoa tropical sunrise, color Blaze Colius, Sedona Sunset, super Tuna, Bermuda 57 00:04:23.519 --> 00:04:30.759 beach and Illusion Pennilaz sweet Potato vine. And of course that combination Stacy uses 58 00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:36.079 a plant that I recommend if you want to have decorating style in your landscape 59 00:04:36.480 --> 00:04:42.040 this summer, the Colius, the color blade Blaze, Colius. It's almost 60 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:47.439 like I liken it to painting a wall or putting up wallpaper. It is 61 00:04:47.680 --> 00:04:53.720 that foliage provides season long color. You know, colias are such a great 62 00:04:53.839 --> 00:04:56.759 choice no matter what your gardening skill level is. And I'm thinking right now 63 00:04:56.759 --> 00:05:00.639 of my mom, who hopefully we will be able to find these colius that 64 00:05:00.680 --> 00:05:03.240 she likes to put in her front planners. Every year she picks these dark 65 00:05:03.360 --> 00:05:06.360 red kind of colius, and we've used a couple of different ones that we've 66 00:05:06.399 --> 00:05:10.399 been able to find, and she puts them in two great, big containers 67 00:05:10.399 --> 00:05:13.720 on either side of the garage and they echo the color of her front door. 68 00:05:14.240 --> 00:05:16.800 And she has had people stop their cars and ask her what they were 69 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:21.000 because they look so beautiful and they have just the right conditions. She waters 70 00:05:21.040 --> 00:05:25.759 them, she fertilizes them, and I mean she looks like a rockstar gardener, 71 00:05:25.800 --> 00:05:29.480 and she, you know, is not quite that. Love you Mom, 72 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:31.480 but I think she'd be the first to admit that. But like she 73 00:05:31.759 --> 00:05:35.600 loves how great they make the yard look. And all she had to do 74 00:05:35.639 --> 00:05:40.120 was again pick up on that color of the front door, find that in 75 00:05:40.160 --> 00:05:43.920 the colius, and run with it. And essentially that's the goal of proven 76 00:05:43.959 --> 00:05:48.399 Winner's plant genetics, and that is the plants are going to perform for you, 77 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:51.839 make you look like a rock star make you look like a decorator. 78 00:05:51.879 --> 00:05:56.759 And I think Colius is ideal. Again when I first came in, not 79 00:05:56.839 --> 00:06:00.399 to make myself look old here, but when I first came into the Garden 80 00:06:00.439 --> 00:06:02.439 Center, Colius was only for shade. Oh yeah, that's it, and 81 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:06.519 you could only get Wizard mixed, and you could only you got it exactly 82 00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:11.439 and just for the shade. Now you can grow them out in the full 83 00:06:11.480 --> 00:06:15.199 sun. And of course the one in this mix, the color Blaze cos 84 00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:20.319 Sodona mix. Boy, I love that. So the Container Garden recipe search 85 00:06:20.399 --> 00:06:24.319 link is going to go on the show notes so that you can do the 86 00:06:24.360 --> 00:06:28.959 same thing that I did here. And it's loads of fun even if you 87 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:33.639 don't act on these combinations, it's loads of fun just to search through them. 88 00:06:33.800 --> 00:06:36.079 And you also don't have to take the whole combination. You know, 89 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:41.079 the one that you just listed sounds gorgeous, but that's like five different plants 90 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:44.079 exactly, you know, and you could certainly take bits and pieces of that. 91 00:06:44.120 --> 00:06:46.920 And one of the really nice things about the proven Winner's combinations is it's 92 00:06:46.959 --> 00:06:53.319 not just about the colors and the forms. They have attempted to match vigor 93 00:06:53.720 --> 00:06:57.120 so that you don't have one plant that's completely overtaking everything else, and then 94 00:06:57.120 --> 00:06:59.560 that makes it a high maintenance planting because you gotta pinch it, you gotta 95 00:06:59.560 --> 00:07:01.319 prune it, and make sure it doesn't take over the whole container. So 96 00:07:01.319 --> 00:07:04.839 they try to match plants with equal vigor. And so it's still a good 97 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:08.879 starting point even if you don't want to do all five plants. A super 98 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:13.920 important point. You are right on there, Stacey, because I take an 99 00:07:13.959 --> 00:07:18.680 example of planting annuals in spring. I love the grass vertigo, but it's 100 00:07:18.839 --> 00:07:25.120 very aggressive. You put super tunias with it, like bubblegum. They both 101 00:07:25.240 --> 00:07:29.519 are very aggressive, so they manage to get along. So very very important. 102 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:33.000 You bet all right. I've got a decorator, limb a rick for 103 00:07:33.120 --> 00:07:36.759 you. And as I said at the outset, having run and owned a 104 00:07:36.800 --> 00:07:42.480 garden center, I love the decorators. I love these folks. Many of 105 00:07:42.519 --> 00:07:46.600 them will walk into the garden center not looking like they're ready to sling around 106 00:07:46.639 --> 00:07:53.000 bags of kalmanor nicely dressed, but they've got a plan, they know what 107 00:07:53.040 --> 00:07:58.000 they want, and so here's my decorator, Limerick. My flowers are ideal, 108 00:07:58.519 --> 00:08:03.160 my colors are surren My neighbors I impress, so drive by my address. 109 00:08:03.639 --> 00:08:09.600 I live for curb appeal. My front walk is gold plate. I'll 110 00:08:09.639 --> 00:08:13.759 never acclimate. My front door is jade green on the cover of a magazine 111 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:20.040 year round, I decorate my place has a pink trellis. My style is 112 00:08:20.319 --> 00:08:26.920 well over zealous. You might call it vanity, this addictive insanity, but 113 00:08:26.040 --> 00:08:31.399 I just think you're jealous. They say that I have a gift and others 114 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:37.240 got the short shrift. So each holiday I'll be giving subscriptions to Martha Stewart 115 00:08:37.399 --> 00:08:41.879 Living to heal our neighborly rift. How is that that was wonderful? My 116 00:08:41.960 --> 00:08:46.000 style is over zealous. You know, I love that because it fits you, 117 00:08:46.720 --> 00:08:50.440 but it fits everybody because you know, you can go all the way 118 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:52.919 out when especially when it comes to annuals in the garden. Like it's so 119 00:08:54.399 --> 00:08:56.080 you know, even if you don't like it, you only have to live 120 00:08:56.120 --> 00:08:58.840 with it for like three months, and then by the end of the season, 121 00:08:58.919 --> 00:09:01.840 you're like patting yourself on the thinking I'm going to do that again because 122 00:09:01.879 --> 00:09:05.320 you realize, you know, going a little overboard is what you are supposed 123 00:09:05.360 --> 00:09:09.960 to do with annuals. Stacy, do you ever put plants in pots? 124 00:09:09.960 --> 00:09:13.480 And then two weeks later pull some out and move them. Oh heck, 125 00:09:13.559 --> 00:09:16.759 yeah already. Oh yeah, of course they do say here, you know, 126 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:18.440 you don't. I think that there's a huge misconception and I feel like 127 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:22.039 I've said this before that gardeners get things right the first time, right, 128 00:09:22.200 --> 00:09:26.240 And that's not the case at all gardeners. If gardeners are getting it right 129 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:28.960 the first time, it's only because they got it wrong the previous you know, 130 00:09:28.039 --> 00:09:31.840 twenty seven times, and now they finally internalized it and can get it 131 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:35.600 right the first time. So yeah, I mean, there's no harm in 132 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:39.120 moving something even later on in the season if it's not working. Annuals are 133 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:41.559 very you know, amenable and very flexible like that, you bet. My 134 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:46.519 decorator friends, of course, no foliage is super important. We mentioned the 135 00:09:46.519 --> 00:09:52.039 color blaze colius or things like hosta or lemon, coral seed them sun king 136 00:09:52.240 --> 00:09:56.960 aurelia of course, ferns, cannas, hugh kuras love the heart to heart 137 00:09:58.120 --> 00:10:01.960 kalladiums, what a great for decorating. You can go on and on, 138 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:07.679 and of course stacey grass is also the graceful grasses like fireworks, Queen king 139 00:10:07.960 --> 00:10:15.480 or baby tut. I recently planted a favorite of mine vertigo and skyrocket. 140 00:10:15.919 --> 00:10:20.639 And you can of course get perennial grasses to incorporate too, like prairie winds, 141 00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:26.519 shy and sky Panicum. Just great plants for decorating. So try matching 142 00:10:26.600 --> 00:10:33.919 some containers in your landscape. Favorite color you look for repetition in the landscape, 143 00:10:33.480 --> 00:10:37.679 use window boxes and hanging baskets. And of course, Stacey, I 144 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:43.320 think hydranges and roses are perfect for decorating. They absolutely are. I want 145 00:10:43.320 --> 00:10:46.759 to go back briefly. You mentioned King Queen and Prince Tut. Those are 146 00:10:46.799 --> 00:10:50.720 papyrus, so like the same papyrus you learned about in elementary school with the 147 00:10:50.759 --> 00:10:54.720 Egyptians, those are such a great choice. If you have one of those 148 00:10:54.759 --> 00:10:58.480 containers, and we all have them, probably most of us do. You 149 00:10:58.519 --> 00:11:03.360 bought this beautiful ceramic container and it has no drainage, and you think, 150 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:07.559 what do I do with it? Will you plant one of those tuts in 151 00:11:07.600 --> 00:11:09.399 it? Because those can grow and standing water, they can grow in a 152 00:11:09.519 --> 00:11:13.279 muddy soil. It will be all the better for it, And then you 153 00:11:13.320 --> 00:11:16.919 know, talk about decorating. The reason we usually get attracted to those pots 154 00:11:16.919 --> 00:11:20.360 is because they were so beautiful we couldn't resist them, and that's a great 155 00:11:20.480 --> 00:11:24.879 choice for those containers with no drainage. You couldn't contain yourself exactly. So 156 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:28.960 there's so many great ones. I think easy color is important for decorating. 157 00:11:30.440 --> 00:11:35.679 I got to give a shout out to Superbina verbinash because they have a color 158 00:11:35.799 --> 00:11:43.080 range that's wide. They're very vigorous, so rock and Fuchia Salvia's so many 159 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:48.120 great plants to choose from, so little time. Speaking of which plant on 160 00:11:48.240 --> 00:11:52.039 trial is next and we're going to see what plant Stacy Joe's to feature today 161 00:11:52.240 --> 00:11:58.320 in our decorating show that's coming up next here on the Gardening Simplified Show. 162 00:12:03.759 --> 00:12:07.039 Proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs cares about your success in the garden. That's why 163 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:11.639 we trial and test all of our shrubs for eight to ten years, making 164 00:12:11.639 --> 00:12:15.399 sure they outperform everything else on the market. Look for them and the distinctive 165 00:12:15.399 --> 00:12:20.840 white container at your local garden center. Greeting's gardening friends, and welcome back 166 00:12:20.840 --> 00:12:26.519 to the Gardening Simplified Show. You know I wanted to when we're talking about 167 00:12:26.559 --> 00:12:30.000 decorating. You know, it's one thing to talk about decorating with annuals because 168 00:12:30.039 --> 00:12:33.000 annuals are mostly just for decorating. You get your containers, you put them 169 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:35.559 on the deck where you're going to be enjoying, you know, the summer 170 00:12:35.639 --> 00:12:39.159 and barbecues and all of that. But you know, when it comes to 171 00:12:39.360 --> 00:12:45.399 perennials, shrubs and trees, those have an element of decorating as well. 172 00:12:45.440 --> 00:12:48.559 And I know it's a lot higher stakes when you're investing a bigger commit into 173 00:12:48.799 --> 00:12:52.360 you know, a shrub or perennial or a tree, and so that gives 174 00:12:52.360 --> 00:12:54.200 people a lot of paralysis. And I think that a lot of that same 175 00:12:54.240 --> 00:12:58.399 paralysis is what bleeds over into the annual shopping, even though again it's much 176 00:12:58.399 --> 00:13:03.159 lower stake. So we understand how difficult that can be for people and how 177 00:13:03.159 --> 00:13:05.960 many choices you have and you want to make the right choice. So we 178 00:13:07.039 --> 00:13:11.200 have started a new playlist, a new feature on our YouTube channel that we're 179 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:16.679 calling Plant Panel, And what we do is we have people right in with 180 00:13:18.120 --> 00:13:20.600 the places they need a plant suggested, a shrub, you know, suggested 181 00:13:22.159 --> 00:13:24.440 for in their yard. They send a picture and a little description of you 182 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:28.600 know, what their situation is, sunshade, their hardiness, own obviously all 183 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:31.039 the things we'd need to know to recommend a plant, and then myself, 184 00:13:31.159 --> 00:13:37.480 my colleague Natalie, and Christina we sit down and we all make our plant 185 00:13:37.480 --> 00:13:41.720 recommendations and say why we have recommended those specific plants. Fun. It's almost 186 00:13:41.759 --> 00:13:45.519 like a game show. It is a little bit like a game show and 187 00:13:45.799 --> 00:13:50.600 the dating game or I don't know which game show Wood Squares. But it 188 00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:54.440 has been really fun and it's a great opportunity for you to get some perspective 189 00:13:54.480 --> 00:13:58.399 and ideas, and then you get three different ideas instead of just one. 190 00:13:58.759 --> 00:14:03.240 You know, I have always I've always kind of dreaded when people have asked 191 00:14:03.360 --> 00:14:07.000 plant recommendation questions because I'm like, well, I don't know what your style 192 00:14:07.080 --> 00:14:09.480 is. You know. They never say like, oh I like this or 193 00:14:09.480 --> 00:14:11.720 I love this color. They're just like, I don't know what to put 194 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:15.399 here. Help me, And this kind of gives us an opportunity to all 195 00:14:15.480 --> 00:14:16.960 weigh in. We had a lot of fun doing it and we're going to 196 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:20.960 continue to do it. So you can check that out on our YouTube channel. 197 00:14:22.919 --> 00:14:26.240 And if you want to submit your own garden for consideration by the plant 198 00:14:26.240 --> 00:14:31.720 panel, you can just go to Provenwinner's Color Choice dot Com click the contact 199 00:14:31.759 --> 00:14:35.960 tab. There is a special contact form just for plant panel in there, 200 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:39.519 so please, please please, if you're going to submit something for plant panel, 201 00:14:39.919 --> 00:14:43.080 include a photo. It's so hard to try to suggest plants without a 202 00:14:43.120 --> 00:14:46.879 photo because for me, you know, I like to pick up on those 203 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:50.679 cues of what's the house architecture, Look, what's the vibe, you know, 204 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:54.039 what else is there? And that to me helps me kind of create 205 00:14:54.120 --> 00:14:58.559 that whole narrative. And I definitely in the plant panels we have done so 206 00:14:58.600 --> 00:15:03.360 far, I have definitely created a narrative, probably more than the than the 207 00:15:03.480 --> 00:15:05.679 askers have wanted. But in any case plant panel, but of course you 208 00:15:05.720 --> 00:15:11.639 have to throw environment into that also when you're looking at these various plants. 209 00:15:11.039 --> 00:15:15.440 I like a landscape to tell a story, and you know, I like 210 00:15:15.480 --> 00:15:18.240 the stories behind plants, and that's why we do Plants on Trial in fact, 211 00:15:18.279 --> 00:15:22.919 is so we can kind of tell the story behind the plants and tell 212 00:15:22.000 --> 00:15:26.960 me all about the plants. Which brings me to today's Plants on Trial, 213 00:15:26.399 --> 00:15:31.679 and that is Anna's magic ball arborviting. I love that plant. And I'm 214 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:33.559 going to challenge you a minute, and I'm going to say, let's go 215 00:15:33.759 --> 00:15:39.120 right to the story of the individual who brought this plant to the market. 216 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:41.519 Yeah, it's kind of like this. Yeah, and I'm going to link 217 00:15:41.559 --> 00:15:46.720 this in the show notes so you can actually read it yourself. But this 218 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:50.720 plant came to us from a former nurserate is now closed down, Van Vloten 219 00:15:50.799 --> 00:15:56.279 Nursery in Canada. So Casey van Vloten, he was a nurseryman himself, 220 00:15:56.519 --> 00:15:58.519 from a nursery family. Do you know him. I love that name. 221 00:16:00.039 --> 00:16:03.159 Oh well, yeah, it's Dutch. He's Dutch. I love it. 222 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:07.720 And that's why I wanted you to go there. Okay, well, you 223 00:16:07.720 --> 00:16:11.639 know nursery in the Dutch they kind of go hand in hand. I mean, 224 00:16:11.679 --> 00:16:15.440 the Netherlands to this day is sort of the world capital of ornamental horticulture, 225 00:16:15.440 --> 00:16:18.840 and it's why we also have so many nurseries here in West Michigan. 226 00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:22.799 So because of the Dutch heritage. So Casey van Vloten selected this. And 227 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:26.759 even though the name is Anna's Magic Ball, the cultivar, so the trademark 228 00:16:26.879 --> 00:16:30.919 name is Anna's Magic Ball, the cultivar is Anna van Vloten, and that 229 00:16:32.039 --> 00:16:36.799 was named for his mother, and so we used the Anna's part in the 230 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:41.159 name and Anna's Magic Ball. It was the name that we chose, and 231 00:16:41.200 --> 00:16:42.600 so I was looking up Anna because of course I wanted to make sure that 232 00:16:42.639 --> 00:16:45.879 he was naming this for his mother and not someone else. And she was 233 00:16:45.960 --> 00:16:49.799 indeed his mother, and she unfortunately passed away in two thousand and seven, 234 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:56.440 but lived a truly extraordinary life. I'm going to link her obituary in the 235 00:16:56.440 --> 00:16:59.639 show notes at Gardening Simplified on air dot com so you can read it. 236 00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:03.119 But you know, she was born and raised in the Netherlands. Her family 237 00:17:03.200 --> 00:17:07.440 joined the resistance during World War Two, and she refused to sign a pledge 238 00:17:07.440 --> 00:17:11.920 of loyalty to the Germans. And it's just it's a fantastic story. So, 239 00:17:11.559 --> 00:17:15.000 uh, take a moment to read about the namesake Anna van Vloaton. 240 00:17:15.880 --> 00:17:18.039 But you probably want to know what it looks like before you decide if you're 241 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:22.680 going to actually add this wonderful plant to your landscape. Now, I do 242 00:17:22.759 --> 00:17:27.359 want to say I went. I really was like all of the plant choices 243 00:17:27.359 --> 00:17:30.799 were churning in my head for the special decorating episode. You know, how 244 00:17:30.799 --> 00:17:33.119 do I pick, like what's the most decorative? And yeah, my brain 245 00:17:33.119 --> 00:17:37.119 immediately goes to hydrangeas Because I cannot tell you. Over the years, the 246 00:17:37.160 --> 00:17:41.039 number of interior designers who have reached out two proven winners and asked for recommendations. 247 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:44.000 Oh, I'm an interior designer, and I'm going to I want to 248 00:17:44.039 --> 00:17:47.640 see a Hydrangea from the window in the interior colors or this, and you 249 00:17:47.640 --> 00:17:49.680 know which one would you choose? They get very you know, into the 250 00:17:49.680 --> 00:17:53.319 color. So my first thought was Hydrangea's But then I thought, you know, 251 00:17:53.359 --> 00:17:59.440 when you're when you're quote unquote decorating or landscaping with shrubs, do you 252 00:17:59.480 --> 00:18:02.880 really want to invest in something that only looks good for a few months of 253 00:18:02.920 --> 00:18:07.759 the year. And Hydrangees, for all of their wonderful qualities, they're kind 254 00:18:07.759 --> 00:18:10.640 of like they got a little bit of a short windows in terms of, 255 00:18:10.720 --> 00:18:12.200 you know, if you look at the whole year. Sure, And I 256 00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:18.440 also want something that possibly I could put into a planter or yeah, so 257 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:22.240 lots of decorative choices as well, So I thought a lot. And I, 258 00:18:22.359 --> 00:18:26.279 you know, usually try to save all the evergreens for winter plants on 259 00:18:26.400 --> 00:18:29.799 trial when they make a little more sense. But no, I said, 260 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:33.519 I'm going with an evergreen because that is what you want when you are quote 261 00:18:33.559 --> 00:18:37.079 decorating your garden with trees and shrubs is something that's going to provide year round 262 00:18:37.160 --> 00:18:41.960 interest in year round beauty, and Ana's magic ball does that in a couple 263 00:18:41.000 --> 00:18:44.000 of different ways. So it is an evergreen, it's an arbor id, 264 00:18:44.960 --> 00:18:51.880 and it naturally grows with this just darling, round, dense shape and people 265 00:18:51.920 --> 00:18:55.079 love that, right. I mean, you know when people see those like 266 00:18:55.599 --> 00:18:59.720 tidy little evergreens, it's just like it's like seeing a puppy or a kitten 267 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:00.720 or something thing. It's like the plant version of that. They just go 268 00:19:00.839 --> 00:19:04.599 crazy. It feels like all is well, everything's in order, right, 269 00:19:04.640 --> 00:19:08.480 everything's just like it's it's tidy. They know that it's not going to like 270 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:11.799 grow out of control. They feel like they can predict what it's going to 271 00:19:11.880 --> 00:19:15.119 do. And so in addition to that nice and tidy little shape, anath 272 00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:19.200 magic ball arborviety is also right cold. Is that why it's called magic ball? 273 00:19:19.279 --> 00:19:22.440 You can kind of predict what it's going to do. I didn't pick 274 00:19:22.519 --> 00:19:25.640 up on that, but I like it. Does it predict the future? 275 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:30.119 I have not shaken it up to ask it, but uh, I forget 276 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:34.880 what the answers are. Answer is unclear at this time. Okay, proceeding 277 00:19:34.960 --> 00:19:38.480 right, so it reaches two to three feet tall and wide, so a 278 00:19:38.599 --> 00:19:44.559 really great and useful shape. And I think when you have this really tidy 279 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:48.440 kind of shape for landscaping, there's so many possibilities, and I think the 280 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:52.880 possibilities become a lot more obvious than if you have something where you don't really 281 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:56.039 know how will this look in the landscape. When you have this little kind 282 00:19:56.079 --> 00:19:59.680 of like oversized bowling ball shape, it's a little bit easier to predict. 283 00:19:59.759 --> 00:20:03.160 So classic choice would be, for example, planting it on either side of 284 00:20:03.200 --> 00:20:06.599 your front porch, you know, one on either side of your steps or 285 00:20:06.599 --> 00:20:11.119 something like that. But we have it planted in the trial gardens here as 286 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:15.960 kind of a low hedge with space in between them, and we put supertunias 287 00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:18.599 between them, and so they kind of become like they're kind of rolling in 288 00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:22.319 this frothy meadow of flowers, which is really pretty. You can plant them 289 00:20:22.359 --> 00:20:27.359 closer together and get that kind of lumpy, undulating hedge look, and you 290 00:20:27.400 --> 00:20:30.759 can plant my containers and that's what you were just talking about. It's fantastic. 291 00:20:30.880 --> 00:20:34.559 And you know, some time ago we did a show on plants you 292 00:20:34.599 --> 00:20:37.720 want to touch? Oh yeah, this is a plant that fits. It's 293 00:20:37.759 --> 00:20:41.559 just so cute. It's so cute. And arbor vitis I feel like they're 294 00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:44.319 always that kind of plant you want to touch because the way that their branches 295 00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:48.880 grow, they're soft, they look kind of like coral, they're fragrant. 296 00:20:48.960 --> 00:20:52.119 I mean, arborvity is an extremely touchable plant. And I you know, 297 00:20:52.119 --> 00:20:55.200 in terms of seeing this in a container, I think it would be gorgeous 298 00:20:55.240 --> 00:20:57.680 in an urn because it is kind of a smaller plant, and so an 299 00:20:57.839 --> 00:21:02.519 urn would really help to you know, get it up higher into a visual 300 00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:06.680 plane in your yard so you can see it a lot better. Classic a 301 00:21:06.720 --> 00:21:10.000 pair of anas, magic bowl arboridi and urns on either side of your front 302 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:11.440 door would be beautiful if you want them there all year. Just of course, 303 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:15.279 make sure they are made out of a weatherproof material. It's not going 304 00:21:15.319 --> 00:21:18.920 to leave you with soil on the on the ground in the middle of January 305 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:22.480 because it's all cracked and broken. Can I put Christmas lights on it? 306 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:25.359 Can you put Christmas lights on it? Can you? Ever? You know, 307 00:21:25.400 --> 00:21:30.759 I think that's an underrated feature of plants for decorating. And I, 308 00:21:30.279 --> 00:21:33.640 you know, I used to work at tevern on the Green restaurant a place 309 00:21:33.680 --> 00:21:36.880 that was known for having like lights and just being really over the top, 310 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:41.680 and in my time there, I quickly discovered what a nightmare it is to 311 00:21:41.839 --> 00:21:45.319 try to put lights on plants that don't really necessarily have a lot of structure. 312 00:21:47.279 --> 00:21:51.440 I get those dwarf elbird of spruces and containers. Couldn't be easier, 313 00:21:51.559 --> 00:21:53.640 you know, They're just that little triangle, and so Ana's magic ball is 314 00:21:53.680 --> 00:21:56.839 similar. It's got that nice round shape. You can even use those net 315 00:21:56.920 --> 00:22:00.039 lights and just kind of cast it right over there and it will make you 316 00:22:00.039 --> 00:22:03.319 look like a professional. And that's you know, So that's another way that 317 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:07.039 you can use this plant to decorate. Now, it is hardy down to 318 00:22:07.119 --> 00:22:11.440 USDA Zone three heat tolerant through USDA Zone eight, much more heat tolerant than 319 00:22:11.480 --> 00:22:17.839 a lot of people had assumed arborvedy were. But Judson lacompt Are Southern native 320 00:22:17.960 --> 00:22:22.799 and new plant director, new plant management director, he has he's grown it 321 00:22:22.799 --> 00:22:30.200 successfully in Texas and is confident in that USDA Zone eight heat tolerance definitely is 322 00:22:30.200 --> 00:22:33.759 gonna want mulch in that area. So Arburvidy in general have very shallow roots, 323 00:22:34.160 --> 00:22:38.200 so mulch is very very helpful for keeping those roots cool and moist all 324 00:22:38.279 --> 00:22:41.279 year round. But other than that, it's an easy to grow plant. 325 00:22:41.279 --> 00:22:45.839 You're gonna grow it in more sun to part shade in the north, definitely 326 00:22:45.920 --> 00:22:48.359 going part shade to shade if you're growing it in the south, just to 327 00:22:48.440 --> 00:22:52.480 help keep it a little bit cooler. And of course, since it's an 328 00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:56.319 arbovidy not terribly deer resistant, you do need to know that. But you 329 00:22:56.359 --> 00:23:00.079 know, maybe if you don't have a terrible deer problem like Rick and I 330 00:23:00.119 --> 00:23:03.039 do, then you might be able to get away with it and earns on 331 00:23:03.079 --> 00:23:06.319 your front porch. They might not get that daring, but I think our 332 00:23:06.359 --> 00:23:10.599 deer would probably be that daring they would treat themself. They certainly would. 333 00:23:10.839 --> 00:23:14.200 So we're going to put the full details at our website, Gardening Simplified on 334 00:23:14.319 --> 00:23:17.160 air dot com. Just click on the show notes, and of course if 335 00:23:17.200 --> 00:23:19.359 you're watching YouTube, you'll see it all there. But you can see more 336 00:23:19.359 --> 00:23:23.039 about it and of course read about the amazing life of Anna van Vloten, 337 00:23:23.119 --> 00:23:26.799 the plant's namesake. We're going to take a little break. When we come 338 00:23:26.799 --> 00:23:36.559 back, we're opening up the garden mailbag, so please stay tuned at proven 339 00:23:36.599 --> 00:23:40.680 winner's color choice. We've got a shrub for every taste and every space. 340 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:45.519 Whether you're looking for an easy care rose and unforgettable hydrangea, or something new 341 00:23:45.559 --> 00:23:48.880 and unique, you can be confident that the shrubs and the white containers have 342 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:52.839 been trialed and tested for your success. Look for them at your local garden 343 00:23:52.880 --> 00:23:59.640 center. Greetings gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show, 344 00:23:59.720 --> 00:24:04.079 where it is our pleasure to help our listeners out there with their gardening questions. 345 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:07.480 And if that is you, then you can reach us at Gardeningsimplified on 346 00:24:07.599 --> 00:24:11.079 air dot com. There's a contact tab you can even attach a photo. 347 00:24:11.599 --> 00:24:15.720 Write us at your gardening conundrum and we will be happy to help and give 348 00:24:15.759 --> 00:24:21.119 you the resources you need to solve your problem, or fix the issue or 349 00:24:21.160 --> 00:24:23.799 whatever. Clarify the issue very often. So what do we got in the 350 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:29.119 mail bag? First question here Stacy, Hi, Rick and Stacy. I 351 00:24:29.160 --> 00:24:32.799 have a two inch caliper tree I just brought home from the nursery. During 352 00:24:32.799 --> 00:24:37.839 the transport, some branches were damaged. If a branch broke near the middle, 353 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:41.519 should I prune it right at the break point or prune it back to 354 00:24:41.720 --> 00:24:47.480 where the branch grew from or back to an outward facing bud. Boy, 355 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:51.720 this question is right in my wheelhouse, Stacey. Anyway, that number one, 356 00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:56.720 I've loaded many trees in the cars over the years, and there's a 357 00:24:56.799 --> 00:25:02.319 real art to loading them and transporting them home, giving them the support and 358 00:25:02.400 --> 00:25:07.680 not whipping the daylights out of them as you head for home, especially if 359 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:11.759 you're getting on the expressways. Yes, it is. Nothing makes me cringe 360 00:25:11.079 --> 00:25:17.799 like seeing a plant going down the highway in the back of a pickup truck 361 00:25:18.039 --> 00:25:22.039 with no tarp, no nothing that's painful. You just have to you know, 362 00:25:22.079 --> 00:25:23.640 you have to lay them down, you have to position them properly. 363 00:25:23.920 --> 00:25:27.400 You've got to buy some soil amendments when you buy that tree so that you 364 00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:32.359 can nestle them under the trunk of the tree to support it a little bit, 365 00:25:32.440 --> 00:25:37.119 to keep those branches from breaking. Now that said, with this question, 366 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:41.640 I have strong opinions on this, Okay. I really believe that with 367 00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:45.559 a branch like that, you cut it back to the point of origination, 368 00:25:45.799 --> 00:25:48.839 to the trunk, and of course there's a branch collar there, a swelling 369 00:25:48.839 --> 00:25:52.720 where you just prune up to that branch collar. The tree will easily heal 370 00:25:52.759 --> 00:25:56.160 itself produce new growth. Yeah, I think that's the most natural choice. 371 00:25:56.440 --> 00:26:02.240 Now, I do think one possible exception, because again my advice to this 372 00:26:02.279 --> 00:26:04.319 person was a YouTube comment was already like, by all means take it back 373 00:26:04.359 --> 00:26:07.319 to its point of origin. So if it's a main branch, that could 374 00:26:07.400 --> 00:26:11.240 mean the main trunk of the tree. If it's a side branch, that 375 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:14.559 could mean just going back to the branch that it was it was coming off 376 00:26:14.599 --> 00:26:18.039 of, so not taking off that whole branch. But it just looks more 377 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:21.119 natural now. Again, the only exception I would say to this is if 378 00:26:21.119 --> 00:26:23.720 you were if you have a really small tree that doesn't have a lot of 379 00:26:23.720 --> 00:26:29.319 branches, and taking that off is really going to leave you with very little, 380 00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:32.440 because what's going to happen is then that tree has just lost all that 381 00:26:32.599 --> 00:26:34.640 energy and it's going to be a lot harder for it to get established because 382 00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:40.640 it has less you know, leaves to make photos, to synthesize and to 383 00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:44.160 make energy. But overall, absolutely I would say take it back, find 384 00:26:44.200 --> 00:26:47.960 that branch, bark color. We have a video on our YouTube channel about 385 00:26:47.960 --> 00:26:51.640 how you make a proper cut on a tree because it's a little bit different 386 00:26:51.680 --> 00:26:56.279 than shrubs. And yeah, if this happens, it's unfortunate, But try 387 00:26:56.359 --> 00:26:59.559 not to get, you know, too sad about it. Try not to 388 00:26:59.599 --> 00:27:03.759 feel too badly about it. You know, down the road three five years, 389 00:27:03.839 --> 00:27:07.240 you won't even remember that it actually even happened, as long as you 390 00:27:07.279 --> 00:27:11.480 bring up properly exactly. Jessica writes to us, Hello, Stacey and Rick, 391 00:27:11.559 --> 00:27:14.240 got a bit of a puzzle for you today. Do you guys have 392 00:27:14.279 --> 00:27:17.880 any mulch alternatives. I live in the South, so I need to keep 393 00:27:17.880 --> 00:27:22.720 my plants cool and moist, but I'm also waging war against the fire ants 394 00:27:22.759 --> 00:27:26.759 in my backyard. Mulch makes them too hard to spot in their nests, 395 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:32.759 too easy to sneak under my nose. Any ant vice is welcome, and 396 00:27:32.880 --> 00:27:37.440 Jessica said, ant vice, not me. Yes, I did catch up. 397 00:27:37.759 --> 00:27:40.640 Very well done, Jessica, Thank you. You know, this is 398 00:27:40.640 --> 00:27:45.960 a situation where I just have to apologize to Jessica and every other Southern gardener 399 00:27:45.200 --> 00:27:48.759 who as a lifelong Northern gardener, I'm just like, oh, yeah, 400 00:27:48.759 --> 00:27:51.599 but mulch, it's fine. You know, this is one of those problems 401 00:27:51.640 --> 00:27:55.119 that I've never had to deal with, and I know from when I have 402 00:27:55.240 --> 00:27:59.680 visited the South. Fire ants are just a horrible, horrible problem, you 403 00:27:59.720 --> 00:28:03.880 know, and so it's it's not I certainly don't mean to, you know, 404 00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:07.640 just like brush this over. So I'm really grateful for Jessica for asking 405 00:28:07.680 --> 00:28:11.000 this question because it helps give me perspective on all the things that Gardner's out 406 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:12.720 there have to deal with. So I did have to turn to the internet 407 00:28:12.720 --> 00:28:17.160 and do some research on this, since I'm not super familiar with fire ants 408 00:28:17.160 --> 00:28:21.400 and in their habitat. I learned quite a bit. And I want to 409 00:28:21.440 --> 00:28:25.559 say I'm going to share the link from Texas A and M University where that 410 00:28:25.640 --> 00:28:27.960 I thought was very helpful because this was about this link that I read was 411 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:33.359 specifically about things that you can do in your yard to make it less hospitable 412 00:28:33.480 --> 00:28:37.039 for fire ants. But I do want to say that the article concludes by 413 00:28:37.039 --> 00:28:42.480 saying, quote unquote, cultural practices alone will never eliminate this pest. So 414 00:28:42.640 --> 00:28:45.920 in a lot of cases, you know, we're able to say, Okay, 415 00:28:45.960 --> 00:28:48.160 well you can get rid of aphids by doing X, Y, and 416 00:28:48.200 --> 00:28:51.279 z. You can get rid of this past by doing that. You know, 417 00:28:51.480 --> 00:28:53.519 you've heard it from the experts at Texas A and M. Just cultural 418 00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:57.079 practices are not going to be enough. And you know, with fire ants, 419 00:28:57.119 --> 00:29:02.039 if you're not familiar with them, when they it is extremely painful. 420 00:29:02.240 --> 00:29:04.160 I mean people have died from being swarmed by fire ants. So this is 421 00:29:04.200 --> 00:29:07.759 not you know, just like a nuisance ant that's just making ant hills. 422 00:29:07.799 --> 00:29:11.640 You know, they really do cause a threat to your life and to your 423 00:29:11.720 --> 00:29:18.640 enjoyment of the yard. So only small stone mulches are effective in deterring fire 424 00:29:18.720 --> 00:29:21.839 ants, so like a pea gravel or something like that, so not even 425 00:29:21.839 --> 00:29:25.440 like a larger one. Now, the trouble with that, as Jessica points 426 00:29:25.480 --> 00:29:27.960 out, she needs to keep her plants cool and moist, and stone typically 427 00:29:29.160 --> 00:29:33.119 heats up the area around the plant. So one thing that you can do 428 00:29:33.799 --> 00:29:37.039 is, you know, use that mulch over the spaces in between your plants, 429 00:29:37.039 --> 00:29:38.799 but then as you get closer to the plant, just kind of end 430 00:29:38.839 --> 00:29:42.759 it so there's like a little halo of soil around the plant, so it's 431 00:29:42.759 --> 00:29:45.920 not going right up to the base of the plant, because that will help 432 00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:51.119 keep it a little bit cooler directly around the plant itself. Now, the 433 00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:57.640 article does mention that there is some claims out there that cedar mulches can be 434 00:29:57.799 --> 00:30:02.799 a deterrent to fire ants. But they said there's no scientific research that has 435 00:30:02.839 --> 00:30:06.880 been done in that yet. But I could see that possibly working because cedar 436 00:30:06.920 --> 00:30:11.839 is slower to decompose, so maybe it's not making the environment as rich in 437 00:30:11.920 --> 00:30:15.079 organic matter, it's not breaking down as much. But again they're not saying 438 00:30:15.079 --> 00:30:18.200 this is one hundred percent true, just that cedar mulches may be effective. 439 00:30:18.440 --> 00:30:22.319 Of course, that doesn't help Jessica's issue of making them too hard to spot. 440 00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:26.079 And then another one that I wanted to mention that may or may not 441 00:30:26.119 --> 00:30:32.079 be practical depending is a new technique that's really embraced by sort of the new 442 00:30:32.119 --> 00:30:37.000 perennialist native plant movement, and that is using sedges as mulch. So sedges, 443 00:30:37.240 --> 00:30:41.599 the botanical name is carracks. There are boatloads of them, many natives 444 00:30:41.640 --> 00:30:45.079 to North America, many not. I think it's native across the entire country 445 00:30:45.119 --> 00:30:51.000 from one extreme to the other. And they tend to grow in shade, 446 00:30:51.039 --> 00:30:55.359 and they tend to spread, and so a lot of garden designers are actually 447 00:30:55.519 --> 00:31:00.359 using sedges as mulch instead of actual mulch. Now I don't really know exactly 448 00:31:00.440 --> 00:31:03.960 what plants. Do you know in terms of the fire ants, but I 449 00:31:03.960 --> 00:31:07.160 would think that the root competition hopefully makes it a little less appealing to the 450 00:31:07.200 --> 00:31:11.000 ants. Yeah, and I think this problem Stacey, is no different than 451 00:31:11.079 --> 00:31:12.720 any other problem, and that is what you have to do, is you 452 00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:18.440 have to take a look at what environment best suits this pest. And with 453 00:31:18.599 --> 00:31:25.559 fire ants, they prefer sunny, open spots. So I like that sedging 454 00:31:25.839 --> 00:31:30.960 idea, using a sedge or something like loriape at the base creating a cooler 455 00:31:32.519 --> 00:31:37.799 Using that in lieu of using multch, I think would be a great way 456 00:31:37.839 --> 00:31:41.279 to go. And then bearing in mind that if you're going to use some 457 00:31:41.680 --> 00:31:48.160 controls in addition to the living multch, remember contact controls are not going to 458 00:31:48.200 --> 00:31:52.519 work, and that baiting is far a far better way to go. Yeah. 459 00:31:52.519 --> 00:31:55.400 And you know, the thing about ant bate, and I've talked about 460 00:31:55.400 --> 00:32:00.000 this on the show before, is that it is very targeted to fire ants, 461 00:32:00.240 --> 00:32:04.039 so there's little risk to other organisms. It's not like a spray where 462 00:32:04.039 --> 00:32:07.000 things are going to land where they may. It's very targeted to the fire 463 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:10.119 ants. And again this is where IPM Integrated Pest Management comes in. You 464 00:32:10.240 --> 00:32:15.160 have to do the most effective method of controlling them. That obviously has the 465 00:32:15.240 --> 00:32:20.119 least impact on non target organisms, and of course is the most beneficial to 466 00:32:20.119 --> 00:32:23.319 your family because fire ants are no joke. Stacy real quickly, Jamie writes 467 00:32:23.319 --> 00:32:29.920 to us and sends pictures about a dogwood on their property. Bought the home 468 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.680 ten years ago and it should be well established by now. They've done no 469 00:32:34.759 --> 00:32:37.359 pruning to the tree, but are wondering if they should have. We're going 470 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:42.279 to have the pictures for you on the YouTube version of our broadcast here, 471 00:32:42.400 --> 00:32:45.240 and of course in the show notes and Stacy, when I take a look 472 00:32:45.279 --> 00:32:50.920 at the pictures that Jamie sent, of course we see the telltale lichens on 473 00:32:51.119 --> 00:32:54.880 the tree, meaning the growth is really slow. The tree isn't necessarily happy 474 00:32:54.920 --> 00:32:58.920 where it's at. And when I look at those pictures and I look at 475 00:32:58.920 --> 00:33:04.160 the surrounding turf, at least in my eye, I see compacted soil and 476 00:33:04.200 --> 00:33:07.200 that may be part of the problem. Yeah, definitely, the turf is 477 00:33:07.240 --> 00:33:09.079 not ideal for a dogwood. Dogwood's, you know, grow sort of on 478 00:33:09.119 --> 00:33:14.519 the wood edge with a loose or high organic matter soil. The tree is 479 00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:17.880 certainly established, so there's no question about that. It's tall. But Jamie 480 00:33:17.920 --> 00:33:22.839 included two photos of the flowers. It's a pink native dogwood with pink flowers. 481 00:33:22.880 --> 00:33:25.720 And when I saw the picture of the flower, I said, there's 482 00:33:25.759 --> 00:33:30.799 the problem. It has dogwood anthractnose threats. And you can see on the 483 00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:34.799 flowers it has these kind of purplish brown dots and that is a tell tale 484 00:33:34.799 --> 00:33:39.880 sign of dogwood anthractnose, and dogwood anthractnose definitely hits dogwoods that are more stressed. 485 00:33:39.920 --> 00:33:43.240 So, like you said, sort of this issue of the soil not 486 00:33:43.279 --> 00:33:46.880 being ideal compacted. I'm sure that they are pretty shade tolerant, So I 487 00:33:46.920 --> 00:33:51.680 don't think that the oaks that Jamie mentions are causing the issue. I do 488 00:33:51.759 --> 00:33:53.799 think it's the anthractnose. So what I would say to do here if you 489 00:33:53.799 --> 00:33:57.720 want to save the tree, and she says that she does, I would 490 00:33:57.759 --> 00:34:01.079 call an arborist in and get it on a treatment plan for anthracnose. And 491 00:34:01.240 --> 00:34:05.599 I think that if you are able to treat it for maybe just a year 492 00:34:05.720 --> 00:34:08.639 or two, because it's a fungal disease. So if you're able to treat 493 00:34:08.639 --> 00:34:12.239 it for a year or two and you clean up all the foliage when it 494 00:34:12.280 --> 00:34:15.880 falls this autumn, you could have a chance of controlling it. And once 495 00:34:15.880 --> 00:34:17.800 that anthractnose is gone, I think the tree, you know, maybe with 496 00:34:17.880 --> 00:34:22.320 some extra water, some supplemental water if it needs it, some mulch around 497 00:34:22.320 --> 00:34:24.159 it, rather than the grass, I think it could come back. Don't 498 00:34:24.199 --> 00:34:30.360 throw in the trowel exactly. I agree, a dogwood tree can recover from 499 00:34:30.400 --> 00:34:34.000 anthrak yep and Jamie. We will put some resources for you or anyone else 500 00:34:34.199 --> 00:34:37.199 who is suspecting their dogwood might have anthracnose in the show notes at Gardeningsimplified on 501 00:34:37.280 --> 00:34:39.559 air dot com. We're going to take a break. When we come back, 502 00:34:39.559 --> 00:34:49.239 we've got branching news. Don't miss it. The Gardening Simplified Show is 503 00:34:49.239 --> 00:34:52.920 brought to you by proven winners Color Choice Shrubs. Our award winning flowering shrubs 504 00:34:52.920 --> 00:34:58.800 and evergreens have been trialed and tested for your success so you enjoy more beauty 505 00:34:58.920 --> 00:35:01.920 and less work. Look for proven winners Colored Choice shrubs and the distinctive white 506 00:35:01.960 --> 00:35:07.679 container at your local garden center. Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. 507 00:35:07.679 --> 00:35:13.199 It's time for branching news and Stacey, I just need a little bit of 508 00:35:13.239 --> 00:35:15.760 therapy here right at the start. This is the time of year when people 509 00:35:15.840 --> 00:35:20.639 come out of the woodwork and they'll message me, call me, ask me 510 00:35:21.119 --> 00:35:24.079 for advice, ask me to stop by take a look at their plants that 511 00:35:24.159 --> 00:35:31.239 are really struggling. And I wanted to mention that so many times I walk 512 00:35:31.320 --> 00:35:37.599 into a yard and the shrubs and trees are struggling or stretched. But the 513 00:35:37.719 --> 00:35:45.480 individuals are using the same type of watering for the shrubs and trees as they 514 00:35:45.519 --> 00:35:49.400 are for the turf. And you can see the damage on the plants. 515 00:35:49.440 --> 00:35:54.519 The rhododendrons are dealing with it. The shrubs and trees just not robust and 516 00:35:54.559 --> 00:35:58.639 healthy. And the point is, and here's my therapy. I keep trying 517 00:35:58.679 --> 00:36:04.159 to get the message out when you water shrubs or trees, you water them 518 00:36:04.679 --> 00:36:08.559 when they need it. That's when you water them. And turf is so 519 00:36:08.760 --> 00:36:14.679 much different than shrubs and trees. And so if you set that irrigation clock 520 00:36:14.719 --> 00:36:20.519 in early spring, set it and forget it until Halloween, your shrubs and 521 00:36:20.559 --> 00:36:25.440 your trees are going to struggle. And trying to get that concept driven home 522 00:36:25.559 --> 00:36:29.239 sometimes it is difficult. Yeah, And you know, I've seen that my 523 00:36:29.280 --> 00:36:30.960 father in law's house, he didn't have his irrigation on there as a leak. 524 00:36:31.000 --> 00:36:34.639 He didn't fix it. And so all these plants that were used to 525 00:36:34.760 --> 00:36:38.320 years of extra irrigation, they're really struggling, even though they are mature, 526 00:36:38.840 --> 00:36:43.960 established plants, all of a sudden trying to deal now with this decrease in 527 00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:46.440 water is really taking a toll on them. So it doesn't really do you 528 00:36:46.519 --> 00:36:51.159 any favors, and it just waste water. Right, So you have to 529 00:36:51.639 --> 00:36:55.119 water when the plant needs it. And I know that's easy to say and 530 00:36:55.320 --> 00:37:00.639 more difficult to do, but you've got to pay attention to the weather and 531 00:37:00.920 --> 00:37:06.280 conditions. I found a really great website and I had fun with it. 532 00:37:06.280 --> 00:37:08.320 It had sound effects. We're going to put the link at the show notes 533 00:37:08.559 --> 00:37:15.320 Gardeningsimplified on air dot com. But this is a great website that asked the 534 00:37:15.440 --> 00:37:21.559 question is it a plant or a comic book character? And then you play 535 00:37:21.639 --> 00:37:25.599 this little game and it was fun. The crowd will cheer if you get 536 00:37:25.639 --> 00:37:30.920 it right, and of course you get the raspberries if you get it wrong. 537 00:37:30.079 --> 00:37:36.000 For example, it would put up a picture and the word cactus. 538 00:37:36.840 --> 00:37:40.119 Is cactus a plant or a comic book character? Well, I mean, 539 00:37:40.159 --> 00:37:43.800 I know it's a plant, but it could also be a comic book character. 540 00:37:43.920 --> 00:37:50.000 I don't know, So you have to select both get raspberries? Is 541 00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:53.159 there a nun? Neither? Is there neither option? No, So you 542 00:37:53.199 --> 00:37:59.920 pick plant character or both, and in the case of cactus, both was 543 00:38:00.079 --> 00:38:05.440 the correct answer. Cactus Man is a prickly plant man featured in many Marvel 544 00:38:05.599 --> 00:38:09.760 comics. He has a vegetable body and the ability to regenerate damage at a 545 00:38:09.800 --> 00:38:16.679 phenomenal rate, including replacing lost body parts. Cactus Man can fire his needles 546 00:38:17.119 --> 00:38:22.000 in a deadly barrage. Oh well, I have grown cactus in my own 547 00:38:22.039 --> 00:38:24.719 garden, and I know that having the needles in your in your skin, 548 00:38:24.760 --> 00:38:27.840 that's not pleasant, not fun. I mean, it is a weapon. 549 00:38:28.119 --> 00:38:34.599 Cactus is essentially a cucumber with aggressive behavior. You could say that, right, 550 00:38:34.800 --> 00:38:37.719 that's what a cactus is. Actually, they make great friends. They 551 00:38:37.760 --> 00:38:43.320 will never desert you. String trimmers. I got more therapy for me. 552 00:38:43.400 --> 00:38:52.400 Here go battery powered. Can't stand those gas operated trimmers, and it's a 553 00:38:52.400 --> 00:38:54.679 pain to restrain those things. Oh, everything about him is a pain. 554 00:38:54.920 --> 00:38:58.639 Everything about him is a pain. Thank you, I say, I just 555 00:38:58.719 --> 00:39:02.320 need this support, this therapy. Now here's some suggestions for you that I 556 00:39:02.360 --> 00:39:08.440 got from a professional string trimmor operator, a guy who does it every day. 557 00:39:08.960 --> 00:39:14.920 Number One, he says, store your line the replacement line in water 558 00:39:15.280 --> 00:39:17.639 like permanently. Yeah, often you have to change the water. You don't 559 00:39:17.679 --> 00:39:21.639 have to change the water if you don't want to, unless mosquitos are a 560 00:39:21.679 --> 00:39:24.599 problem. But keep your line in water. It takes about a week for 561 00:39:24.679 --> 00:39:30.400 it to completely soak. And the other thing he said, always walk from 562 00:39:30.599 --> 00:39:35.119 right to left. That's the correct way to walk, and then trim with 563 00:39:35.239 --> 00:39:38.039 the very tip of the line. The only thing that will cause a good 564 00:39:38.119 --> 00:39:43.400 quality trimmer line to break at the head or taper down for an inch or 565 00:39:43.400 --> 00:39:47.000 more is operator error, he was saying in a nice way, Rick, 566 00:39:47.159 --> 00:39:51.719 you're not doing it right. Well, I've had plenty of operator errors in 567 00:39:51.760 --> 00:39:54.599 the times I have attempted to use string trimors. It is easily one of 568 00:39:54.760 --> 00:39:59.079 the least fun jobs in the garden, even and I have an electric one. 569 00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:02.840 The other thing about string trimmers is they're dangerous. Oh yeah, you 570 00:40:02.880 --> 00:40:06.800 know. You can cause a lot of damage to plants. And I would 571 00:40:06.800 --> 00:40:07.960 say, if you have a lawn service or not, even if it's a 572 00:40:07.960 --> 00:40:12.880 family member cutting your lawn and all of a sudden, a shrub or perennial 573 00:40:12.960 --> 00:40:15.679 or something in your yard suddenly dies, you better be looking at the base 574 00:40:15.719 --> 00:40:19.920 for a string trimmor disease, because get it, it happens, you got 575 00:40:19.960 --> 00:40:23.440 it. And if you are using that string trimmer, of course where protective 576 00:40:23.880 --> 00:40:29.639 eyewear. That's really important too. But I'm going to start storing my string 577 00:40:29.760 --> 00:40:35.679 trimmor replacement string in a bucket of water instead of the package and see if 578 00:40:35.719 --> 00:40:38.519 it helps. I guess we'll see. Speaking of decorating and design, a 579 00:40:38.519 --> 00:40:45.400 California man ordered by his city to conceal the boat parked in his driveway with 580 00:40:45.519 --> 00:40:52.480 a fence, hired his artist neighbor to paint a photo realistic image of the 581 00:40:52.519 --> 00:40:57.440 boat in an act of rebellious compliance. I saw the Sure they did a 582 00:40:57.480 --> 00:41:01.920 great job. I love that at the unconstable is the name of this individual, 583 00:41:02.239 --> 00:41:07.159 he said. The boat he uses for fishing was regularly parked in his 584 00:41:07.280 --> 00:41:12.679 seaside driveway for about four years before he received a letter from the city informing 585 00:41:12.760 --> 00:41:16.440 him of a municipal code requiring boats and trailers to be screened on the side 586 00:41:16.599 --> 00:41:23.199 and front by a six foot fence. So initially a constable was angry, 587 00:41:23.280 --> 00:41:30.599 but then he hired his artist neighbor, and this thing went viral. As 588 00:41:30.599 --> 00:41:35.199 a matter of fact, the city manager himself got a laugh out of it 589 00:41:35.480 --> 00:41:38.599 and thought it was very, very creative, and they're just gonna let it 590 00:41:39.079 --> 00:41:43.039 slide now they You know, the neighbor did a great job. I'm not 591 00:41:43.079 --> 00:41:45.599 surprised it went viral because when I looked at the picture my first like just 592 00:41:45.639 --> 00:41:47.840 glancing at it, I thought it was the boat. Yeah, and he 593 00:41:47.960 --> 00:41:52.440 did such a good job with it. Yeah, so boy creative. I 594 00:41:52.480 --> 00:41:55.360 love it. So here come the puns, old boy, he was harboring 595 00:41:55.440 --> 00:41:59.960 some resentment, had a sinking feeling. The guy was going to get a 596 00:42:00.159 --> 00:42:05.920 stern talk. Actually the guy was even keeled about the whole thing and schooner 597 00:42:06.079 --> 00:42:08.440 or later you have to laugh about it, true, thank you. I 598 00:42:08.480 --> 00:42:14.480 had to get those in and I apologize for those. On average people need 599 00:42:14.480 --> 00:42:19.239 to spend sixty seven minutes outside each day in order to feel refreshed. According 600 00:42:19.239 --> 00:42:23.440 to new research, during Mental Health Awareness Month in May, we're encouraged to 601 00:42:23.440 --> 00:42:30.519 be mindful of how we're spending our time and factor outdoor experiences into our every 602 00:42:30.760 --> 00:42:36.559 day lives. And I believe that results found that those who spent time outside 603 00:42:37.119 --> 00:42:39.519 said, it relaxes them, puts them in a better mood, and helps 604 00:42:39.559 --> 00:42:45.480 them clear their head. A duh, We as gardeners have known this for 605 00:42:45.519 --> 00:42:47.719 you. Yeah, you know, if only we could spend more time outside 606 00:42:47.760 --> 00:42:52.280 here in Michigan exactly. On the other hand, spending more time inside than 607 00:42:52.360 --> 00:42:58.280 preferred can lead to feelings of depression, anxiousness, and loneliness. According to 608 00:42:58.360 --> 00:43:04.039 the results in ten will get stir crazy after spending too much time inside, 609 00:43:04.440 --> 00:43:09.840 with the average threshold of indoor time being ten and a half hours. So 610 00:43:09.880 --> 00:43:14.360 the key takeaway here is that spending time and nature and on the open road 611 00:43:14.400 --> 00:43:20.760 while traveling has both physical and mental benefits. Soaking up the sun, the 612 00:43:20.800 --> 00:43:22.800 fresh air, and of course, Stacey, as we like to talk about 613 00:43:22.800 --> 00:43:27.960 on this show, getting your hands in the dirt. Well, you know, 614 00:43:28.199 --> 00:43:30.480 it goes perfectly with the theme of today's episode, which is to say, 615 00:43:30.519 --> 00:43:34.719 if you're going to be spending that time outside, then it might as 616 00:43:34.760 --> 00:43:38.880 well be in a beautiful spot surrounded by cool stuff, cool plants, and 617 00:43:39.199 --> 00:43:43.719 you know, to me, plants that attract birds and insects. So it's 618 00:43:43.760 --> 00:43:47.239 like an ever moving, dynamic tapestry and you're not just sitting there in the 619 00:43:47.280 --> 00:43:51.320 static environment. You are part of it, and it's I don't know if 620 00:43:51.320 --> 00:43:53.519 that to me, that's what it's all about. So today's show has been 621 00:43:53.679 --> 00:44:00.840 an episode of celebrating the decorators in our lives. And I love my decorator 622 00:44:00.920 --> 00:44:05.880 friends, especially those who use plants to decorate. And Stacy, again, 623 00:44:06.079 --> 00:44:12.559 having been in the industry for a long time, what amazed me was with 624 00:44:12.719 --> 00:44:16.400 the advent of Instagram, what that did. And of course, Stacey, 625 00:44:16.880 --> 00:44:22.960 we're on Instagram too. We are on Instagram Gardening Simplified Show, and yeah, 626 00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:25.360 you can find more about the plants on trial there and you can also 627 00:44:25.400 --> 00:44:30.800 leave us messager. We're easy to find you bet you and Gardening Simplified on 628 00:44:30.960 --> 00:44:35.920 air dot com for show notes and of course as we do the Gardening Simplified 629 00:44:35.960 --> 00:44:42.920 Show, YouTube, podcast and radio all three. I don't know how Adriana 630 00:44:43.000 --> 00:44:45.960 does it, Stacy, but she gets it done. She sure does. 631 00:44:45.199 --> 00:44:49.800 She doesn't get enough credit back there behind the camera and the headphones and everything, 632 00:44:49.840 --> 00:44:52.360 so she keeps us on track. So a big thanks to Adriana Robinson, 633 00:44:52.440 --> 00:44:55.719 thank you, Stacy, and of course thank you to our listeners, 634 00:44:55.840 --> 00:45:00.480 our viewers make the Gardening simplified show. Have it, we appreciate it. 635 00:45:00.679 --> 00:45:02.760 Have yourself a great week. Talk to you next week.