1 00:00:03,759 --> 00:00:08,720 Coming to you from Studio A at Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. It's time 2 00:00:08,800 --> 00:00:14,759 for the Gardening Simplified Show with Stacy, Hervella me Rick Weistin, our engineer 3 00:00:14,759 --> 00:00:20,399 and producer Adrianna Robinson. Stacy to start things off today, a favorite subject 4 00:00:20,519 --> 00:00:24,600 perennials. I don't even know where to begin when we talk about perennials. 5 00:00:24,839 --> 00:00:31,039 I know that I've had some mentors throughout my life that have caused me to 6 00:00:31,120 --> 00:00:36,920 appreciate perennials the way that I do because plants are the common denominator of gardeners, 7 00:00:36,960 --> 00:00:41,960 and gardeners are collectors, and that's the appeal of perennials. They're collectible. 8 00:00:42,079 --> 00:00:47,560 There's constantly new varieties, and they're shareable and they're changing. You know, 9 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:51,320 all olive gardening is very dynamic. You know what looks what your garden 10 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:54,039 looks like today, it will look different tomorrow. New things will be in 11 00:00:54,039 --> 00:00:57,640 flower, things will grow, colors will change, and I think perennials are 12 00:00:57,679 --> 00:01:03,359 such an important part of that. You tape of growth and change in the 13 00:01:03,399 --> 00:01:07,079 garden because they typically grow very fast ye and they really bring that kind of 14 00:01:07,159 --> 00:01:11,519 coming and going dimension. Shrubs are great because they're around all year round with 15 00:01:11,560 --> 00:01:15,000 the woody framework. And perennials are great because they go away and they come 16 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,959 back. It's kind of like this great play and opening acting. You know, 17 00:01:19,079 --> 00:01:23,200 different characters come along, and perennials have incredible character. I think about 18 00:01:23,319 --> 00:01:29,560 Russian sage, for example. It's named after the Russian general Va Perovski. 19 00:01:30,359 --> 00:01:36,799 The botanical name is Perovskia atriplusidifolia, something like that, and Stacy would get 20 00:01:36,799 --> 00:01:38,400 it right. And I just took a shot at it. It's pretty good. 21 00:01:38,439 --> 00:01:42,799 Atriplus folia. Wow, it started a little extra syllable in there. 22 00:01:42,799 --> 00:01:46,120 How do you do that? It's just sway my brain works, don't I 23 00:01:46,120 --> 00:01:49,640 don't know. I'm lucky. I guess you're amazing, Stacy. Anyhow, 24 00:01:49,719 --> 00:01:53,159 Perovskia is the botanical name, so it's after this Russian general, and they 25 00:01:53,200 --> 00:02:00,000 say it's because Russian sage is said to smell like the boots of marching Russia 26 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:04,319 soldiers, a real pungent smell to it. I find it much more pleasant 27 00:02:04,319 --> 00:02:07,680 than that sounds. Not that I've smelled the feet of Russian soldiers marching, 28 00:02:07,719 --> 00:02:10,960 but I like the smell of it. It's it's it's like it is kind 29 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:15,000 of sage resinous. In summary, I don't I don't mind the smell of 30 00:02:15,000 --> 00:02:19,439 it at all. There's a great variety denim and lace, a proven winners 31 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:23,039 variety. And of course I another perennial that has great character and I love 32 00:02:23,159 --> 00:02:28,000 is Virginia. People refer to it as pig squeak, where you rub the 33 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:30,919 leaves in summer and you can make that plant squeal like a pig. However, 34 00:02:32,599 --> 00:02:37,000 practice on your own first, before you do it in front of a 35 00:02:37,039 --> 00:02:39,400 bunch of guests that are visiting your home, so you don't make a fool 36 00:02:39,439 --> 00:02:44,919 out of yourself, or in the garden center or in the garden center exactly. 37 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:50,680 And of course today also there are amazing daisies. Banana cream is one 38 00:02:50,719 --> 00:02:54,639 that comes to mind, just incredible, incredible color. My mom told me 39 00:02:54,719 --> 00:03:00,719 there'd be daisies like this. I just can't help but love perennial state. 40 00:03:00,039 --> 00:03:02,800 You know I do too. And do you feel like your garden has like 41 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:07,800 a trademark perennial. It's like that defines your garden. Um. Yeah, 42 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:14,080 well, in some areas of the garden. Yes, it's nippetta like cats 43 00:03:14,120 --> 00:03:16,719 me our cat's pajamas, only because the deer won't eat it. Yeah, 44 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:23,000 that's a great one. You know, my garden is characterized very much by 45 00:03:23,439 --> 00:03:28,400 Selfium perfoliatum, a plant, a native perennial known as cup plant, and 46 00:03:28,919 --> 00:03:32,919 it is self sewing, so it recedes itself. So my original clump that 47 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:37,400 I bought at a garden show, gosh, like seven years ago, it 48 00:03:37,520 --> 00:03:39,680 was like a little one gallon plant. And I was just cutting that thing 49 00:03:39,719 --> 00:03:44,680 back the other day and it is probably a good three feet wide now, 50 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:49,400 the clump. And the really cool thing about Sylfium perfoliatum, well, there's 51 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,919 two really cool things about it. But one is that it goes from nothing. 52 00:03:52,919 --> 00:03:53,960 So you know, I cut it all back, all the stems are 53 00:03:53,960 --> 00:03:59,159 gone, and the growth goes from nothing from the ground to ten feet tall, 54 00:03:59,639 --> 00:04:01,680 and it's single season, and it's just such an amazing thing to watch 55 00:04:01,759 --> 00:04:06,319 this out of nothing, this huge plant appears. And the second really cool 56 00:04:06,319 --> 00:04:12,800 thing about it is that the leaves surround the square stem. So that's why 57 00:04:12,840 --> 00:04:16,639 it's called the cup plant because it actually collects water in those cup like leaf 58 00:04:16,639 --> 00:04:19,639 formations. And you know, in our last show, we talked to the 59 00:04:19,639 --> 00:04:25,120 gator and this is a great plant for frogs because there's always water in those 60 00:04:25,160 --> 00:04:27,720 cups and so not in my yard, which is very dry, but in 61 00:04:27,720 --> 00:04:30,839 some people's yards they're very good for tree frogs. So that's like I have 62 00:04:30,879 --> 00:04:32,959 a lot of that. That kind of characterizes my garden. If you're keeping 63 00:04:33,000 --> 00:04:39,240 Square at home, we'll put the spelling there on the website Gardening Simplified on 64 00:04:39,399 --> 00:04:43,279 aair dot Com, so you can try to pronounce it just like I do, 65 00:04:44,959 --> 00:04:48,480 because with Stacey it rolls right off her tongue. Well done. Yeah, 66 00:04:48,519 --> 00:04:50,879 you know, there are many that I love. But one of the 67 00:04:50,920 --> 00:04:57,480 things I love about the taller perennials, And I'm going to ask for pronunciation 68 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:00,120 on this for our listeners too, because it's such a beautiful, beautiful perennial. 69 00:05:00,519 --> 00:05:08,720 Guara g a u d okay guara that is beautiful plants like butterflies and 70 00:05:08,920 --> 00:05:13,639 sway in the breeze and then you throw into the mixed ornamental grasses or fall 71 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:19,720 in love sweetly Japanese anemone and they waltz along in September. Wow, beautiful. 72 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:24,120 And I know, Stacy, you've got a couple of favorites that you 73 00:05:24,319 --> 00:05:29,519 love. Of course, the summerific hibiscus, and then you also had mentioned 74 00:05:29,519 --> 00:05:33,319 at one time storm cloud or am Sonia. Am I correct in there love 75 00:05:33,360 --> 00:05:38,759 that plant, yep, I love all am sonia. My favorite am Sonia 76 00:05:38,879 --> 00:05:43,240 is Hubrick Dii, which is a native species with a really thin foliage that 77 00:05:43,279 --> 00:05:47,480 it's amazing golden color. There's a new variety from Proveners called string Theory am 78 00:05:47,480 --> 00:05:50,879 Sonia that is coming up. It's that type, but I do have storm 79 00:05:50,920 --> 00:05:59,240 Cloud. Another perennial that I absolutely adore is Baptisia, and it's selling that 80 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:01,000 up next. As a matter of fact, if I had to pick, 81 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:03,600 if I was forced to pick a favorite, to be that one, you 82 00:06:03,639 --> 00:06:06,720 know, and you can't do much better. It's extremely long lived, it's 83 00:06:06,800 --> 00:06:14,000 extremely durable, and so I have a double border surrounding my little patio of 84 00:06:14,439 --> 00:06:18,160 Baptisia decadence Baptisia from proven Winners, and the summarific Hibiscus. So on the 85 00:06:18,160 --> 00:06:21,759 inside it's the Baptisia. On the outside it's a summarific and so it kind 86 00:06:21,759 --> 00:06:25,680 of is like a spring moment and then a summer moment on the other side. 87 00:06:25,759 --> 00:06:29,480 And they're two big, bossy plants that you know, like to have 88 00:06:29,519 --> 00:06:32,560 their space, but somehow they get along at least for now, so incredible 89 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:38,279 again for people keeping score at home, it's the decadence series of proven winners. 90 00:06:38,399 --> 00:06:43,240 Baptisia or some people refer to the plant as false indigo. But of 91 00:06:43,240 --> 00:06:50,120 course today we have so much more than just the blue color with Baptisia. 92 00:06:49,959 --> 00:06:54,000 Yeah. Now, of course, one of the characteristics of perennials is sharing 93 00:06:54,040 --> 00:06:57,720 them with friends and neighbors. And with many of them, we dig them, 94 00:06:57,800 --> 00:07:01,319 and we divide them, and we doubled, triple or quadruple the fun. 95 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:04,079 I always like to say, you got to get over, get out 96 00:07:04,120 --> 00:07:11,439 there, bend over and split your plants. I got another limerick for you, 97 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:15,839 Stacy. This one's real short about perennials. Chop, dig, divide 98 00:07:15,879 --> 00:07:19,720 with shovels and sabers. The yearly blooms the fruits of our labors. Just 99 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:25,560 do the perennial dance, bend over and split your plants. It's going to 100 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:30,800 entertain your neighbors. Well, you know, not all perennials can be successfully 101 00:07:30,839 --> 00:07:33,879 divided, and many of them are patented and shouldn't be divided. But the 102 00:07:33,920 --> 00:07:38,800 sylfium that I mentioned earlier is a very generous plant. So not only does 103 00:07:39,040 --> 00:07:42,680 the clump itself expand, but it does self so in Adriana, our producers 104 00:07:42,680 --> 00:07:45,480 over there nodding because I have given some to her as well, and Rick, 105 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,120 if you want some, I will give you something. And it's a 106 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,160 very very cool plant. But yeah, it is really fun to be able 107 00:07:51,199 --> 00:07:55,399 to share your joy. And I think it's so easy to fall in love 108 00:07:55,439 --> 00:08:00,279 with a perennial and just to look forward to its blooming every year and and 109 00:08:00,399 --> 00:08:03,480 want to share that and pass that along to your friends and family, and 110 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:05,720 people in this segment, of course are going to say, hey, you 111 00:08:05,759 --> 00:08:09,279 didn't share my favorite. You know, crocosema for hummingbirds. You've got ferns 112 00:08:09,319 --> 00:08:16,560 for dense shade. Just look at Echinasia and all the development of colors and 113 00:08:16,800 --> 00:08:22,279 flowers, joe pie weed, helianthus of course lavender, we love lavender, 114 00:08:22,439 --> 00:08:26,519 Hella bores in early spring, day lilies, hucuras, there's so many varieties. 115 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,920 It's oh yeah, you can talk all day about poenneals. Really, 116 00:08:31,120 --> 00:08:33,240 hosta La vista baby, it's just incredible. Well, we don't get to 117 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:37,200 talk too much about hostas and day lilies, you and I because of our 118 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:41,480 deer issues. But the perennials that we do grow like napoda and sylphium and 119 00:08:41,559 --> 00:08:45,399 lavender. And let's see what else do I have. Pencimen doesn't get eaten, 120 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:48,600 milkweed doesn't get eaten. I have a lot of different types of milkweed, 121 00:08:48,639 --> 00:08:52,279 which is a great perennial. So if you do find yourself as a 122 00:08:52,279 --> 00:08:56,240 perennial gardener who has deer, don't despair. There are a lot of wonderful 123 00:08:56,320 --> 00:09:00,679 choices out there for you. Yes, and I've often found the perennials that 124 00:09:00,720 --> 00:09:05,200 have a soft, hairy type of foliage. Many times the deer will leave 125 00:09:05,279 --> 00:09:09,879 them alone, so give them a try. Pulmon Areas another one. Oh 126 00:09:09,960 --> 00:09:11,799 yeah, I love pulmonia. I mean I don't have a shade for one, 127 00:09:11,840 --> 00:09:13,360 but I do. It is such a pretty plant whenever I see it. 128 00:09:13,399 --> 00:09:16,159 And you know, I'm kind of at the point in my horticulture career 129 00:09:16,159 --> 00:09:18,399 and right now where I just say, you know what, I can't grow 130 00:09:18,399 --> 00:09:22,159 that, but I'm going to appreciate it when I do see it. So 131 00:09:22,440 --> 00:09:26,600 there that's what I do with pulmonaria. It's way too dry, it's sunny 132 00:09:26,639 --> 00:09:31,000 for it. Soil preparation, of course for your perennials is important. To 133 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:35,279 create a nice bed of avoid watering over the top wind possible. In other 134 00:09:35,320 --> 00:09:39,840 words, watering at the base if you can. But just good soil preparation 135 00:09:39,919 --> 00:09:45,080 and understanding which ones do well in shade and which ones do well in sun. 136 00:09:45,519 --> 00:09:50,759 And Stacey and I have both put our list of favorite perennials Stacy's favorites 137 00:09:50,120 --> 00:09:56,279 my favorites at our website, Gardening Simplified OnAir dot com, So make sure 138 00:09:56,279 --> 00:09:58,720 to check that out. Yeah, if you need a short list reference, 139 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:01,679 that's a great place to start. Coming up next, plants on Trial. 140 00:10:01,799 --> 00:10:05,440 Stacy's going to introduce us to a beauty. Don't miss it. That's next 141 00:10:05,559 --> 00:10:18,600 here on the Gardening Simplified Ship. The Gardening Simplified Podcast is brought to you 142 00:10:18,639 --> 00:10:22,279 by proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs with over three hundred flowering shrubs and evergreens, 143 00:10:22,360 --> 00:10:26,799 all trialed and tested for your success. There's one for every taste in every 144 00:10:26,840 --> 00:10:33,720 space. See them all at Proven Winners color Choice dot com. Greetings gardening 145 00:10:33,799 --> 00:10:37,120 friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. We're going to put 146 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:39,000 a plant on trial, which is to say, we're going to tell you 147 00:10:39,039 --> 00:10:41,559 all about it and you decide if you're going to put it in your yard 148 00:10:41,639 --> 00:10:45,440 or not. But before we do, I wanted to just add to our 149 00:10:45,440 --> 00:10:50,039 conversation on perennials that one of the other great things about perennials is that they 150 00:10:50,039 --> 00:10:54,440 can, generally, with some exceptions, be easily moved. Yes, and 151 00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:58,960 now is such a perfect time to move perennials. So if you remember from 152 00:10:58,039 --> 00:11:01,919 last year, Hey, these guys were you know, fighting it out for 153 00:11:01,000 --> 00:11:05,639 space, or I didn't really like the way these plants look together, anything 154 00:11:05,679 --> 00:11:09,600 like that, Now is the ideal time, early spring, early to midspring 155 00:11:09,639 --> 00:11:13,200 like this to be digging those up and moving them. So if you've had 156 00:11:13,240 --> 00:11:16,159 something like that on your mind, this is a really good, good time 157 00:11:16,159 --> 00:11:20,039 to do that. Good point, Stacy. I have perennials in my landscape 158 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:24,480 that are eligible for frequent Flyer miles. They've moved so many times too, 159 00:11:24,639 --> 00:11:28,279 I know the feeling. Now. That said, there are some perennials that 160 00:11:28,320 --> 00:11:31,799 are extremely difficult to move, namely the baptisia. You ever try to move 161 00:11:31,799 --> 00:11:35,000 a baptisia, Yes, very difficult. Yes, I would not call all 162 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:37,360 the neighbors ask for help. Same thing with ornamental grass. You really need 163 00:11:37,399 --> 00:11:41,120 to call a friend endloader. Frankly, their roots go so deep, and 164 00:11:41,159 --> 00:11:46,399 you should also not move ponies if you can help it. But let's get 165 00:11:46,399 --> 00:11:52,200 on to today's poland on trial, which is a shrub, but it looks 166 00:11:52,240 --> 00:11:54,840 and behaves very much like a perennial. Yeah, it looks just like it, 167 00:11:56,000 --> 00:11:58,759 and that's why I picked it. It is low and behold pink microchip 168 00:12:00,080 --> 00:12:05,639 butterfly bush. And this is one of the absolute smallest butterfly bushes you will 169 00:12:05,679 --> 00:12:07,600 find. Now. A lot of people if you go to the garden center 170 00:12:09,000 --> 00:12:13,360 or you ask gardeners, they actually think of Budleia or butterfly bush as a 171 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:16,200 perennial and not a shrub. But it is technically a shrub because it does 172 00:12:16,240 --> 00:12:20,600 develop true wood, you know, like concentric rings like a tree has a 173 00:12:20,600 --> 00:12:24,600 lot of times they die back to the ground. However, especially if you 174 00:12:24,639 --> 00:12:26,799 live in a colder climate, they die back to the ground, and so 175 00:12:26,840 --> 00:12:31,960 a lot of people are accustomed to kind of treating them more like a perennial. 176 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:35,960 But at their heart they are shrubs. So there are woody shrub but 177 00:12:37,679 --> 00:12:43,759 perfect to incorporate into a perennial garden because it's not going to overwhelm the other 178 00:12:43,799 --> 00:12:48,120 plants. Well, that's exactly it, and I think it's it's got such 179 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:54,399 a tidy, neat little habit and it's just covered in pink flower spikes, 180 00:12:54,720 --> 00:12:58,600 so it looks it looks a lot like a salvia. Salvia is not a 181 00:12:58,639 --> 00:13:01,720 perennial that we got to in our of perennials in the last segment, but 182 00:13:01,840 --> 00:13:05,639 it almost has that similar kind of look. Now, Lo and Behold Pink 183 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:07,759 Microchip is, like I said, the smallest one that you're going to find, 184 00:13:07,840 --> 00:13:11,879 about eighteen to twenty four inches tall and wide, and that is really 185 00:13:11,919 --> 00:13:18,960 small for budleia and that's what makes it so much like a perennial. And 186 00:13:20,039 --> 00:13:22,600 again, the flowers just kind of come out all over. Another fun fact 187 00:13:22,600 --> 00:13:26,080 about this plant, it is one of our plants with the longest names, 188 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:33,159 Lo and Behold Pink Microchip Butterfly Bush. And so when Shannon, our designer, 189 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:37,799 is working on tags or other things that we need for marketing and selling 190 00:13:37,799 --> 00:13:41,919 our plants, this is her test case. Okay, so when she needs 191 00:13:41,919 --> 00:13:45,159 to make sure that the space that she's designed in our tag will fit our 192 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:48,919 longest possible name, it's either Lo and Behold Pink Microchip butterfly bush, or 193 00:13:50,080 --> 00:13:52,759 it is perfect a mundo double dark pink azaleas. WHOA, all right, 194 00:13:52,879 --> 00:13:58,759 So it's called microchip because they embed this digital memory card in there so the 195 00:13:58,840 --> 00:14:01,919 plant can remember it. No, no, no, it just wins on 196 00:14:03,519 --> 00:14:07,480 letter counts alone. But so I do want to say, you know, 197 00:14:07,519 --> 00:14:09,519 this is an interesting plant because it is small, and it does have great 198 00:14:09,559 --> 00:14:13,360 color, and because like the rest of the Low and Behold series that we 199 00:14:13,399 --> 00:14:18,320 offer it Prooven Winners, Color Choice shrubs. It is non invasive. And 200 00:14:18,799 --> 00:14:20,600 you know, when you say that, a lot of people, particularly here 201 00:14:20,600 --> 00:14:24,080 in the Midwest, think butterfly bush invasive. I can barely get the thing 202 00:14:24,159 --> 00:14:28,320 to grow. What do you mean? It's invasive, and it has become 203 00:14:28,440 --> 00:14:35,679 invasive in some areas. So the need to develop these seedless or noninvasive varieties 204 00:14:35,440 --> 00:14:39,440 has been there for quite some time. And all of the Lo and Behold 205 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:43,840 series is noninvasive and can actually be sold in states where it was previously banned 206 00:14:43,240 --> 00:14:46,679 because it doesn't set seeds. So you don't have that worry. Now if 207 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:50,080 you have the other worry, which is that you haven't had a lot of 208 00:14:50,159 --> 00:14:54,840 luck getting butterfly bush to grow well in the first place, I got one 209 00:14:54,840 --> 00:14:58,559 word for you, and that is drainage. You know, there is no 210 00:14:58,639 --> 00:15:05,840 fast way to kill a butterfly bush then to have wet soil. And interestingly, 211 00:15:05,039 --> 00:15:09,000 you know it's not just wet soil in the summer. In the summer, 212 00:15:09,039 --> 00:15:11,360 you know, the soil the moisture is evaporating very quickly because it's hot. 213 00:15:11,919 --> 00:15:18,519 It's really the cold wet soil and fall in early spring that is the 214 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:22,879 you know, death knell for butterfly bushes. So you have to be really 215 00:15:22,919 --> 00:15:26,799 cautious of that, especially when you're sighting them. I do recommend if you 216 00:15:26,879 --> 00:15:30,919 have clay soil that you plant your budleia so it's a little bit higher than 217 00:15:31,000 --> 00:15:33,559 the ground level. So make sure definitely not that it's lower, but even 218 00:15:33,639 --> 00:15:39,279 almost rather than even with just slightly higher, because that helps moisture kind of 219 00:15:39,399 --> 00:15:43,639 run away from the plant rather than drain toward it. I just wet my 220 00:15:43,759 --> 00:15:48,559 plants. Strainage is very important. And yes, with Budleia, now this 221 00:15:48,639 --> 00:15:52,679 is a little guy that packs a punch. In other words, Stacy like 222 00:15:52,879 --> 00:15:58,559 other budleia, is the flower fragrant. It is fragrant. Yep, all 223 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,039 budleia have fragrant flower or some of them are much more fragrant than others, 224 00:16:02,559 --> 00:16:06,399 particularly of the newer hybrids, but they do all attract butterflies. And I 225 00:16:06,639 --> 00:16:08,159 can't believe I've been sitting here, you know, yammer in a way about 226 00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:14,000 butterfly bushes, and I didn't even I didn't even mention that they do, 227 00:16:14,159 --> 00:16:18,600 indeed attract a lot of butterflies as to a lot of perennials. And I 228 00:16:18,600 --> 00:16:21,799 think that's one of the number one reasons to plant a butterfly bush. And 229 00:16:22,440 --> 00:16:25,080 you know, when we talked about Miss Molly a few weeks ago, Miss 230 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:27,120 Molly butterfly Bush, we talked about how, you know, there's some controversy 231 00:16:27,159 --> 00:16:30,320 and people say, hey, hey, you know planting a butterfly bush. 232 00:16:30,440 --> 00:16:33,879 Yes, it sustains adults, but it doesn't sustain larva. And so, 233 00:16:34,159 --> 00:16:37,960 just like no single plant is going to be the solution to everything in your 234 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:44,639 garden, butterfly bush are just one element to attracting butterflies to your garden and 235 00:16:44,799 --> 00:16:48,159 making it more hospitable. And one of the things I love about this is 236 00:16:48,200 --> 00:16:52,320 that it really gives you a wide range of color options, so you don't 237 00:16:52,360 --> 00:16:55,600 just have to be stuck with one because you've only got one boring color. 238 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:57,600 You got blue, you got white, you got pink microchipped, so a 239 00:16:57,600 --> 00:17:03,519 lot of different options out there. I just was I just looked up the 240 00:17:03,519 --> 00:17:07,799 word yammering, and it is a word. You didn't make that upammering up 241 00:17:07,880 --> 00:17:14,400 to talk foolishly or incessantly, as Popeye would say, I am what I 242 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,759 am yammering. Wow, I'm going to add that one to my well, 243 00:17:17,759 --> 00:17:22,119 hopefully I was more on the incessant side than well, it's just what it 244 00:17:22,160 --> 00:17:26,480 says. But it's a word, yammering. It is the word. Yeah, 245 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:30,319 I did make that one up. So going back to being successful with 246 00:17:30,359 --> 00:17:33,880 butterfly bush, another thing that you need to know is if you have butterfly 247 00:17:33,920 --> 00:17:37,079 bush in your garden and you live in a colder climate like here in Michigan 248 00:17:37,160 --> 00:17:41,920 or anywhere in the Midwest, don't cut it back as you're doing your spring 249 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:45,400 garden clean up. I know it's really tempting to just go out there, 250 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:48,319 and because it is so much like a perennial, a lot of people might 251 00:17:48,319 --> 00:17:49,839 just assume, hey, you got to cut this guy back too. But 252 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:56,119 probably another aside from poor drainage, another way that people often and unintentionally kill 253 00:17:56,160 --> 00:18:00,000 buddleiah is by cutting it back too hard and too soon, and particularly in 254 00:18:00,079 --> 00:18:06,440 colder climates. You want to let the plant show you where it is still 255 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:11,119 alive, and that means waiting until that new growth does appear on the stems 256 00:18:11,119 --> 00:18:14,559 and it will have faith. Sometimes that can happen quite late, and then 257 00:18:14,599 --> 00:18:17,759 once you see those little green leaves coming out, then you can cut just 258 00:18:17,839 --> 00:18:19,720 above those and then you know where the plant is alive. You know, 259 00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:22,240 sometimes the plant comes back at the top, sometimes it comes back at the 260 00:18:22,240 --> 00:18:26,119 bottom. Any number of factors can influence that. So this is a plant 261 00:18:26,160 --> 00:18:30,200 that you'll be much happier if you let it tell you what it needs rather 262 00:18:30,279 --> 00:18:34,599 than you imposing your will on it. Yea. As we mentioned in our 263 00:18:34,920 --> 00:18:41,359 beginning, gardeners show a few weeks ago patients patients, yeah, And it 264 00:18:41,799 --> 00:18:44,839 can be hard to have patients in spring when the rest of your garden is 265 00:18:44,880 --> 00:18:48,359 looking amazing and your butterfly bush is just still sitting there, going, yeah, 266 00:18:48,359 --> 00:18:51,640 I'm gonna press a snooze button, not ready to wake up just yet, 267 00:18:51,640 --> 00:18:52,799 And you're like, come on, everybody else is awake. We're waiting 268 00:18:52,880 --> 00:18:56,720 on you. Butterfly bush. Yeah, it's true, but it's just what 269 00:18:56,799 --> 00:19:02,200 it needs, and so do be patient and again let it tell you what 270 00:19:02,279 --> 00:19:04,119 it needs. Now. You know, we've talked about the flowers attracting butterflies, 271 00:19:04,279 --> 00:19:08,720 great color, great fragrance. Unfortunately not a great cut flower. Have 272 00:19:08,799 --> 00:19:12,799 you ever tried to use it as a cut flower? It wilts very quickly. 273 00:19:14,319 --> 00:19:17,359 So this is one that you're definitely going to enjoy out in your garden. 274 00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:21,000 But speaking of enjoy it, you know who won't enjoy it, dear 275 00:19:21,160 --> 00:19:25,519 the deer. This is budleya are by far, Butterfly bush are by far 276 00:19:25,680 --> 00:19:29,960 one of the most deer resistant plants that I have personally grown in my garden 277 00:19:30,400 --> 00:19:33,880 which is teeming with deer. And they have never taken so much as a 278 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,279 nibble. And it's kind of strange. I mean, the leaves are like, 279 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:42,440 maybe slightly they have like a kind of white flocking on them, but 280 00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:47,759 I wouldn't really consider it like a hairy plant. It's not particularly resinous like 281 00:19:47,799 --> 00:19:49,640 a lot of things they don't eat. But when you're gardening with deer, 282 00:19:49,640 --> 00:19:52,720 of course, you have to take what you can get and be glad that 283 00:19:52,799 --> 00:19:56,359 you have it. And butterfly bush is definitely a very nice plant for you 284 00:19:56,400 --> 00:20:03,240 to to add your landscape if you have and deer and good drainage. So 285 00:20:03,319 --> 00:20:07,200 sunshine a key. Also, sunshine is very key, so we're looking at 286 00:20:07,279 --> 00:20:10,920 at least six hours of bright sun every day. A lot of people ask 287 00:20:10,920 --> 00:20:14,279 if they can grow a butterfly bush in a container and the answer is yes. 288 00:20:14,319 --> 00:20:17,079 You just want to make sure that it's not too wet in the winter 289 00:20:18,039 --> 00:20:22,200 because that will not be good for it at all. Just sitting here thinking 290 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:26,079 how many times have I been yammering on this show and you just nicely sit 291 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:32,839 there and take it now so nice? Well, you know, I like 292 00:20:32,880 --> 00:20:34,880 to let you to make your point and then if I have something else to 293 00:20:34,880 --> 00:20:37,440 say, then I say it. I love it. I love it. 294 00:20:37,559 --> 00:20:41,039 In any case, lo and behold pink microchip butterfly bush. You can learn 295 00:20:41,079 --> 00:20:45,640 all about it in the show notes at Gardening Simplified on air dot com. 296 00:20:45,640 --> 00:20:48,839 It's a great plan to add your garden, perennial garden, shrub garden, 297 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:51,799 any garden at all. We're going to take a little bit of a break 298 00:20:51,799 --> 00:20:53,359 and when we come back, we're answering your gardening questions. So please stay 299 00:20:53,400 --> 00:21:06,440 too. Thanks for listening to the Gardening Simplified Podcast sponsored by Proven Winners color 300 00:21:06,519 --> 00:21:11,079 Choice Shrubs. Learn more about our triald tested and proven flowering shrubs and evergreens, 301 00:21:11,079 --> 00:21:18,039 and find a local retailer at Proven Winners color Choice dot Com ratings. 302 00:21:18,039 --> 00:21:22,480 Gardening friends, and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. One of the 303 00:21:22,480 --> 00:21:29,039 ways that we try to simplify gardening for you is by answering your gardening questions. 304 00:21:29,039 --> 00:21:32,920 And tis the season indeed for gardening questions. I know there's lots going 305 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,319 on and out there and people are wondering not just about what they do with 306 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:40,119 the stuff they already have, whether that's the lawn or shrubs or perennials or 307 00:21:40,160 --> 00:21:44,440 anything, but what they are thinking about doing this season, whether that's adding 308 00:21:44,480 --> 00:21:48,240 a new rose or something like that to your landscape, or planning a vegetable 309 00:21:48,279 --> 00:21:52,119 garden or your containers. It is. You know, you never stop learning 310 00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:56,640 with gardening, and so we learn from your questions and that's why we're happy 311 00:21:56,759 --> 00:22:00,319 to help. So if you have a gardening question for us, so we'd 312 00:22:00,319 --> 00:22:03,079 be glad to help, you can in fact email us at help HLP at 313 00:22:03,119 --> 00:22:07,960 Gardening Simplified OnAir dot com, or just visit the site and click the contact 314 00:22:07,039 --> 00:22:11,000 form like these gardeners did, or what's in the mail bag today? Rick 315 00:22:11,440 --> 00:22:17,359 Well Stacy. First of all, Pat writes to us, My ornamental grasses 316 00:22:17,599 --> 00:22:22,359 are supposed to be perennial. They all look dead. What do I do? 317 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,799 That's such a good question. This is great quick because ornamental grasses have 318 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:33,079 absolutely skyrocketed in popularity over the last like what twenty five thirty years, they 319 00:22:33,119 --> 00:22:37,880 were almost unheard of in gardens and then really started to take off thanks to 320 00:22:37,920 --> 00:22:42,000 some new breeding and things like that that happened. And it is a good 321 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:48,440 idea to leave your ornamental grasses uncut through winter because that gives you some winter 322 00:22:48,599 --> 00:22:51,920 interest to look at. But then come spraying right about now you're like, 323 00:22:52,599 --> 00:22:56,640 hmm, is everything okay out there? Because now they just look like you 324 00:22:56,680 --> 00:23:02,359 know, dead brown grass. And the answer is they are almost certainly okay. 325 00:23:03,119 --> 00:23:06,200 And now is the time that you cut them back. And you want 326 00:23:06,240 --> 00:23:11,519 to try to cut your ornamental grasses back earlier in the spring rather than later, 327 00:23:11,599 --> 00:23:15,559 because if you start waiting too long and the new growth starts to emerge 328 00:23:15,119 --> 00:23:21,480 under that you know, wig of dead College stubble stubble yep. If the 329 00:23:21,519 --> 00:23:25,119 new growth starts to emerge under there and you trim it, then you cut 330 00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:29,119 off all the tips of the grass, which doesn't really harm the plant, 331 00:23:29,160 --> 00:23:33,880 but looks it looks awkward in my opinion. I mean maybe you won't even 332 00:23:33,880 --> 00:23:36,920 notice, in which case, okay, no problem. But I always feel 333 00:23:36,960 --> 00:23:38,480 like, oh boy, they cut that one back too late, because you're 334 00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:41,960 getting there with your pruners and you can't separate the old growth from the new 335 00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:45,359 growth it's coming up. And so yeah, you give it that little buzz 336 00:23:45,359 --> 00:23:48,920 cut, and then instead of tapering off to a nice tip, all those 337 00:23:48,920 --> 00:23:52,960 blades of grass, they just are like buzz cut straight across. So pat 338 00:23:52,039 --> 00:23:56,920 can cut them back when they're brown and we're going to start seeing that new 339 00:23:57,160 --> 00:24:00,880 growth. Cut them down to stubble. We'll see the new growth. Now. 340 00:24:02,279 --> 00:24:06,079 One word of warning here, having been in the garden center industry for 341 00:24:06,079 --> 00:24:11,039 forty six years, some people purchase what we know as annual grasses the previous 342 00:24:11,119 --> 00:24:17,960 year. There's a penacetam rubrum and there's a variety called Prince Beautiful grasses. 343 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:22,680 But they're annual and they're not going to come back, So make sure you 344 00:24:22,839 --> 00:24:27,920 know what you have, and if you have one that remains brown and no 345 00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:33,119 new growth, odds are you bought yourself an annual the previous which does happen, 346 00:24:33,240 --> 00:24:36,519 and it depends on which section in the garden center you purchased it from. 347 00:24:36,960 --> 00:24:40,200 Along those same lines, another thing it's really important to know about ornamental 348 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:45,799 grasses is that a majority of the most popular types of ornamental grass are what's 349 00:24:45,799 --> 00:24:49,319 known as a warm season grass, and they are very late to emerge in 350 00:24:49,440 --> 00:24:53,200 spring, and so people you might think, after Rick says, hey, 351 00:24:53,119 --> 00:24:56,000 hey, you know, these could be annual grasses, you might think, 352 00:24:56,039 --> 00:24:57,119 well, hey, it didn't come back. Yes, it's an annual grass, 353 00:24:57,160 --> 00:25:03,680 but that's not necessarily true. I have prairie wins shy and sky ornamental 354 00:25:03,720 --> 00:25:07,400 grass my garden, beautiful plant. I love it too, and I tell 355 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:10,279 you every single year, even though I've had it in my garden for probably 356 00:25:11,200 --> 00:25:14,039 ten years now, maybe not quite that long, but quite some time, 357 00:25:14,640 --> 00:25:17,319 every year, I think, yeah, that thing's not coming back this year. 358 00:25:17,359 --> 00:25:19,240 It's neighbors were too close, it's shaded it out. And then it 359 00:25:19,240 --> 00:25:23,599 comes back and it's beautiful. So ornamental grasses do force you to have a 360 00:25:23,640 --> 00:25:27,160 little bit of faith, particularly if they are perennials, but don't give up 361 00:25:27,160 --> 00:25:30,839 on them. They will show their true color sooner or later. And then 362 00:25:32,119 --> 00:25:34,079 once they do, watch out because they just grow so fast. Chop them 363 00:25:34,079 --> 00:25:37,039 back, pat and if you want to have some fun, go on YouTube, 364 00:25:37,079 --> 00:25:41,039 because there's actually some people who don't chop them back. They burn them 365 00:25:41,079 --> 00:25:47,200 back with a torch and set them ablaze. I'm not recommending you do that. 366 00:25:47,759 --> 00:25:49,359 I'm not recommending that. As a matter of fact, if you have 367 00:25:49,400 --> 00:25:53,599 those grasses anywhere nearer home, not a smart thing to do. No, 368 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:56,559 you gotta be very careful. A para prunters can do. And if your 369 00:25:56,559 --> 00:26:00,519 grass is too big for a pair of hand pruns, a lot of people 370 00:26:00,519 --> 00:26:03,559 will use a hedge trimmer. I used to work with someone in the garden 371 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:08,480 center who would use a can of AquaNet hairspray and a lighter eek. That 372 00:26:08,599 --> 00:26:14,960 sounds dangerous anyway, Let's move on. Pruners, please bruners, please. 373 00:26:15,240 --> 00:26:18,880 Peg is wondering what to do with a garden favorite. The leaves on my 374 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:25,039 hu are gone, but there are rosettes standing above the soil. What should 375 00:26:25,039 --> 00:26:27,519 I do? And stacy with hukura? Or could I say coral bell you 376 00:26:27,559 --> 00:26:33,599 can say coral bells are interchangeable, Yeah, interchangeable. That many times in 377 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:38,519 North States they will retain their foliage older winter. Yep, that's very common 378 00:26:38,720 --> 00:26:47,559 that hugras would have some old foliage and for whatever reason pats did not persist. 379 00:26:48,039 --> 00:26:52,279 I do find that sometimes rabbits will eat any foliage that did persist over 380 00:26:52,279 --> 00:26:56,279 winter. So generally hugra are pretty deer resistant, but I have found that 381 00:26:56,359 --> 00:27:00,920 rabbits will eat them so a lot of times. And of that old growth 382 00:27:00,960 --> 00:27:03,960 that was hanging around liquid in the fall and then gets kind of beaten down 383 00:27:03,039 --> 00:27:07,279 in the winter, they might munch that off. So really, the answer, 384 00:27:07,319 --> 00:27:10,119 Pat is that you're in very good company. This is probably what a 385 00:27:10,119 --> 00:27:14,720 whole lot of people's hukras look like right now, and you don't really need 386 00:27:14,759 --> 00:27:18,599 to do anything. I know, they look super funky right now and like 387 00:27:18,799 --> 00:27:22,440 they shouldn't, like they should be more buried or something like that. But 388 00:27:22,559 --> 00:27:26,160 once that new growth starts to come out, as long as you're seeing those 389 00:27:26,240 --> 00:27:29,799 little tiny baby leaves starting to emerge from the center, which does start to 390 00:27:29,799 --> 00:27:33,079 happen early like at this time of year, as long as you're seeing some 391 00:27:33,119 --> 00:27:37,000 signs of life in the center. It will grow back and then it will 392 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:38,880 be covered in all those beautiful leaves and you won't even remember that it had 393 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:44,519 that weird looking rosette stem thing. Give it time, Give it time, 394 00:27:44,599 --> 00:27:48,519 and give it some TLC two. Because they do like moisture, so if 395 00:27:48,559 --> 00:27:52,119 we're having a dry spring, they need good drainage, but they also need 396 00:27:52,160 --> 00:27:56,160 moisture, and so some ideal conditions early in the season will really help them 397 00:27:56,160 --> 00:28:00,920 recover a lot more quickly. Ukra of course known or it's interesting foliage. 398 00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:04,680 There are many. There's one, I think a variety called I don't know, 399 00:28:04,799 --> 00:28:11,039 stoplight, and a multitude of varieties that have just such interesting foliage, 400 00:28:11,039 --> 00:28:17,000 and of course many also stacy that look like fall foliage in the landscape. 401 00:28:17,039 --> 00:28:22,400 Yeah, Hukra has had a revolution and there is no signs of its stopping. 402 00:28:22,480 --> 00:28:26,480 So practically, whatever your heart desires in a Hukra, you who will 403 00:28:26,480 --> 00:28:30,000 find it somewhere out there. Philip asks us, can I use weed proof 404 00:28:30,079 --> 00:28:37,720 fabric covered with river rock instead of the bark mulch for my new lilac bush? 405 00:28:37,759 --> 00:28:41,839 And Philip, I'm really glad that you asked this question. My answer 406 00:28:42,119 --> 00:28:48,799 is a please don't. I'm not going to say no, absolutely not, 407 00:28:48,920 --> 00:28:55,759 but I will tell you why. So I am not a fan of landscape 408 00:28:55,759 --> 00:28:59,799 fabric or wheat fabric. Okay, say the least. And again this goes 409 00:28:59,839 --> 00:29:03,119 back to having helped literally thousands of gardeners in my time here at proving there's 410 00:29:03,119 --> 00:29:07,519 color choice shrubs with their problems. And I can say, you know, 411 00:29:07,480 --> 00:29:11,400 nine times out of town when someone's had a problem with a plant that they've 412 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:15,359 purchased, it's been due to water, too much water, almost always, 413 00:29:15,799 --> 00:29:19,720 and of about half of those times, it is exacerbated by the presence of 414 00:29:21,279 --> 00:29:25,519 landscape fabric, weed barrier, whatever you call it, because yes, sure 415 00:29:25,599 --> 00:29:30,000 this is intended to prevent weeds from growing up, but in a lot of 416 00:29:30,039 --> 00:29:37,039 cases it also prevents water from evaporating very quickly from the soil surface because obviously 417 00:29:37,039 --> 00:29:42,960 the soil surface is covered and it can in some cases I have seen even 418 00:29:44,319 --> 00:29:49,519 trap carbon dioxide. So the roots are giving off carbon dioxide and that can 419 00:29:49,640 --> 00:29:56,079 build up under the soil and under the under the landscape fabric and effectively poison 420 00:29:56,160 --> 00:29:59,920 the roots. Now all of these conditions, some plants are far more sense 421 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:06,000 sitive to it than others, and lilac is definitely in that category. Lilacs 422 00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:10,200 strictly require good drainage. If they have wet soil at all, your lilac 423 00:30:10,359 --> 00:30:15,039 is probably going to die or be severely severely setback, or get a lot 424 00:30:15,079 --> 00:30:18,519 of diseases. A lot most of the diseases that lilacs are notorious for having 425 00:30:19,000 --> 00:30:23,319 have something to do with water stress. Whether that's powdery mildew or you know, 426 00:30:23,359 --> 00:30:26,200 pseudomonas. There's all of these different things. They almost all go back 427 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:30,880 to too much moisture in the soil around the roots. So in this case, 428 00:30:30,960 --> 00:30:34,720 I would say no phill up. I would not recommend this condition for 429 00:30:34,799 --> 00:30:40,000 lilacs. I wouldn't recommend it for panical hydrangeas as well, any plant that 430 00:30:40,079 --> 00:30:44,160 needs good drainage. Now, if you already have landscape fabric, I would 431 00:30:44,160 --> 00:30:48,160 say you can still plant a lilac there, just make sure that you're giving 432 00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:52,240 it a good two foot radius without any fabric, And then I would actually 433 00:30:52,240 --> 00:30:56,359 cover those roots with mult You can bring the rock up to that mulch, 434 00:30:56,440 --> 00:31:00,680 so you have that cohesive look that most people want in their landscape. But 435 00:31:00,359 --> 00:31:04,279 weed, barrier and rock are not going to make for a very happy lilac. 436 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:08,920 Well, you've honed in on the landscape fabric. I hone in on 437 00:31:08,960 --> 00:31:12,680 the rocks. I'm just really not into the rocks. I call them riot 438 00:31:12,759 --> 00:31:18,039 rocks and reflective, and I'll pick bark mul Jenny day over. Yeah, 439 00:31:18,160 --> 00:31:21,960 it's better for the plants too, because rocks are good in a way that 440 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:25,119 they don't need to be replaced, but they don't do anything for the soil, 441 00:31:25,359 --> 00:31:29,559 whereas a bark mulch will break down and enrich the soil and help to 442 00:31:29,680 --> 00:31:32,960 enrich soil micro organisms, and it's win win for you and the plant. 443 00:31:33,039 --> 00:31:36,440 Well, I think clean up in spring and fall also is more difficult with 444 00:31:36,519 --> 00:31:41,839 rocks than with mulch my personal opinion. Whatever. Yeah, so fun rock 445 00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:44,400 and roll. In any case, keep your river rock and lanscape viabric, 446 00:31:44,440 --> 00:31:48,359 but do be careful of these sensitive plants like lilac and panicle hydrangia especially. 447 00:31:48,720 --> 00:31:51,079 So thank you all for your questions. Again, if you have a question 448 00:31:51,160 --> 00:31:53,039 for us Gardening Simplified on air dot Com, We're going to take a little 449 00:31:53,039 --> 00:32:02,079 bit of a break and when we come back, we've got branching news at 450 00:32:02,079 --> 00:32:07,279 proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs. We love plants that's why we bring you the 451 00:32:07,279 --> 00:32:10,759 Gardening Simplified Podcast, and that's why we trial and test all of our shrubs 452 00:32:10,799 --> 00:32:15,920 to make sure they outperform everything else on the market. Let our expertise help 453 00:32:15,960 --> 00:32:19,920 you create the garden or landscape of your dreams. Get started at proven Winners 454 00:32:19,960 --> 00:32:25,440 color choice dot com. Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. It's time 455 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:30,319 for branching news. Not breaking news. It's branching news. But we don't 456 00:32:30,319 --> 00:32:32,079 make this stuff up, Stacy. I was looking at a poll. The 457 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:38,519 results found people consider allergy symptoms to be the most frustrating part of springtime. 458 00:32:38,599 --> 00:32:43,599 Well, it's certainly one of the least pleasant. Yeah, compared to spring 459 00:32:43,640 --> 00:32:49,759 cleaning, mosquitos, filing taxes. Right. Survey of two thousand US adults 460 00:32:49,759 --> 00:32:54,319 with allergies discovered other favorite things people would be willing to part with for a 461 00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:59,839 year if they could just get rid of their allergy symptoms, including cake, 462 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:05,759 chocolate, video games, coffee, and social media. So no coffee for 463 00:33:05,799 --> 00:33:10,599 a year and no allergies, could you do it? I I've bad allergies 464 00:33:10,599 --> 00:33:14,119 at times in my life. I have very severe allergies as a kid. 465 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:19,559 But you know, I guess I just powered through it. It's not fun, 466 00:33:19,680 --> 00:33:22,640 but it's not fun as a matter of fact, a big deal for 467 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,319 a lot of people. As we enter spring, I think about my grandson. 468 00:33:25,799 --> 00:33:29,279 I'm going to give you a joke here, Stacy. Okay, knock, 469 00:33:29,359 --> 00:33:34,200 knock, who's there? Hatch hatch shoo, kazoon height Oh, thank 470 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:39,160 you, fluciate it. Allergies have been around since the time of Julius sneezer. 471 00:33:40,039 --> 00:33:44,079 Yeah, and we're just throwing this. By the way, we're gonna 472 00:33:44,079 --> 00:33:47,200 put this survey on the website and you can check it out so you and 473 00:33:47,440 --> 00:33:52,880 you are not alone if you you deal with allergies and not making fun of 474 00:33:52,880 --> 00:34:00,880 this, especially for our friends there and mass choose mass a choose its anyhow, 475 00:34:00,119 --> 00:34:04,920 boy, Okay, let's move on. Bird strikes No, not Robbins 476 00:34:05,000 --> 00:34:10,920 picketing for better work conditions. Birds are facing increasing pressures including habitat loss, 477 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:16,159 climate change, hunting by cats. It leads to a staggering loss of population. 478 00:34:17,039 --> 00:34:21,039 Some of the numbers out there are unreal. How they know, how 479 00:34:21,039 --> 00:34:24,239 they count them? I have no idea, but amazing now, making windows 480 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:30,800 more visible to birds is one way to help. However, according to this 481 00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:37,079 study, putting details on the outside of the windows can often require ladders or 482 00:34:37,239 --> 00:34:43,679 scaffolding, but it's more effective than putting them on the inside of windows, 483 00:34:43,719 --> 00:34:46,760 at least this study. There's a couple of links that we have to share 484 00:34:46,800 --> 00:34:52,960 with you. The decails were more effective when on the outside of the window 485 00:34:52,320 --> 00:34:57,199 as opposed to the inside of the window. I thought that was pretty interesting. 486 00:34:57,239 --> 00:34:59,400 Yeah, that seems to make sense when you think about it. You 487 00:34:59,440 --> 00:35:01,880 know that they it looks more real, probably to them. Yeah, I 488 00:35:01,880 --> 00:35:05,000 don't know if they can see in our windows or not. But well, 489 00:35:05,039 --> 00:35:09,519 and when a bird hits the window, um, it kind of wrecks my 490 00:35:09,679 --> 00:35:14,840 day. It's like when you drive to work and you inadvertently hit a squirrel 491 00:35:14,920 --> 00:35:17,840 in the road. It wrecks my day. And then when a bird hits 492 00:35:17,840 --> 00:35:22,039 the window and is lying there on the ground stunned, it's it's a rotten 493 00:35:22,159 --> 00:35:25,800 feeling. It is a rotten feeling. I used to work at Tavern on 494 00:35:25,840 --> 00:35:30,119 the Green, which had a very famous um room which was completely surrounded by 495 00:35:30,119 --> 00:35:37,480 glass, and I witnessed more bird strikes than I care to to reconsider at 496 00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:38,480 this time. But you know, I have to say it also led to 497 00:35:38,480 --> 00:35:43,280 some amazing experiences when the bird was just stunned and I got to hold like 498 00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:45,440 a tiny little chickadee while it got better. That that's kind of amazing, 499 00:35:45,679 --> 00:35:47,800 it is, and it was okay, but some of them did die, 500 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:54,480 so yeah, okay, sorry, that was sad. Let's watch the ending 501 00:35:54,559 --> 00:36:00,800 to Old Yeller here and it basically, let's let's do a funny story. 502 00:36:00,840 --> 00:36:06,119 Then the moose is loose. The moose is loose. A couple of stories 503 00:36:06,119 --> 00:36:09,840 in the news is past week on hungry moose visitations. We know the deer 504 00:36:10,320 --> 00:36:14,800 do a lot of damage in spring after a long winter and are hungry, 505 00:36:14,800 --> 00:36:19,559 but think about the damage a moose can do. In Anchorage, Alaska, 506 00:36:19,639 --> 00:36:22,599 this past week, a moose walked into a medical building. That's kind of 507 00:36:22,599 --> 00:36:27,360 the setup for a bad joke, but it's true. In Anchorage, a 508 00:36:27,360 --> 00:36:32,440 moose walked into the hospital lobby, figured out how to use the automatic doors, 509 00:36:32,840 --> 00:36:37,039 spotted the green house plants in the lobby of a medical building, and 510 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:44,159 dropped in for a dose of greenery. Wow. You know that cow from 511 00:36:44,199 --> 00:36:46,119 a couple of weeks ago that couldn't get off the tennis courts. It couldn't 512 00:36:46,119 --> 00:36:50,840 figure out how to get out of the automatic doors. I'm I'm very proud 513 00:36:50,840 --> 00:36:52,960 of this moose for figuring that out. It's something else. And then just 514 00:36:53,159 --> 00:37:00,079 south of town, a moose entered a home. There's a lady there and 515 00:37:00,440 --> 00:37:06,199 the town is called sold Dotna. There we go sold Dotna, which is 516 00:37:06,280 --> 00:37:09,159 south of Anchorage. She always leaves the door cracked open when she lets her 517 00:37:09,199 --> 00:37:13,800 dog, Jesse out, and when Jesse comes back in, she knows to 518 00:37:13,840 --> 00:37:17,039 close the door. But this time Jesse brought a friend into her atrium, 519 00:37:17,199 --> 00:37:21,960 a big friend, a moose. She was shocked as the moose was happily 520 00:37:22,039 --> 00:37:27,599 munching on her house plants, with Jesse just sitting down besides the big fella. 521 00:37:27,719 --> 00:37:30,079 Cops a lot of noise, a few broken plant pots later, the 522 00:37:30,159 --> 00:37:36,360 moose was safely out of the house. But what a story to tell. 523 00:37:36,639 --> 00:37:38,920 Yeah, and I saw the video of this, and you know, honestly, 524 00:37:39,000 --> 00:37:45,159 like, I find it hard to believe that this moose found itself indoors 525 00:37:45,159 --> 00:37:49,960 and didn't panic and was just like, oh, apothos perfect because there's pictures 526 00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:52,440 of her house plants in there, and it was just like, oh, 527 00:37:52,559 --> 00:37:54,119 yeah, I guess I'll sample this. I mean, I'm sure they're very 528 00:37:54,199 --> 00:37:59,000 hungry for some fresh greenery at this time of year in Alaska. But I 529 00:37:59,039 --> 00:38:01,679 also have to say, leave your door open in Alaska sounds like a risky 530 00:38:01,760 --> 00:38:07,559 move with all the bears, and so I'd say you consider yourself lucky. 531 00:38:07,559 --> 00:38:12,559 It was just a moose. This moose was famous, is what he was. 532 00:38:12,679 --> 00:38:17,320 He did not he was not going to remain anonymous. Okay, sorry, 533 00:38:17,480 --> 00:38:21,880 I'm on a wild moose chase. You know, there is an old, 534 00:38:22,199 --> 00:38:24,880 unknown proverb though, and this is true. I'll joking aside. The 535 00:38:24,880 --> 00:38:30,320 proverb says, always be yourself unless you can be a moose, then be 536 00:38:30,400 --> 00:38:32,599 a moose. Really, that's how the proverb goes. That's how the proverb 537 00:38:32,639 --> 00:38:37,239 goes, the original one, because I've heard a lot of different versions of 538 00:38:37,239 --> 00:38:40,320 that, always be yourself unless you can be a moose, then be a 539 00:38:40,400 --> 00:38:45,119 moose. What's the advantage of being a moose? No idea, I figured 540 00:38:45,119 --> 00:38:51,639 you'd ask me. I was just trying to be a mousing. Bees are 541 00:38:51,800 --> 00:38:57,480 sentient inside the stunning brains of nature's hardest workers. A new book, What 542 00:38:57,599 --> 00:39:02,000 a Bee Knows, exploring the thoughts, memories, and personalities of bees. 543 00:39:02,079 --> 00:39:07,400 This is fascinating. Some of the work that's being done about the optimism, 544 00:39:07,519 --> 00:39:14,800 frustration, playfulness, fear traits that they're finding that even bees have. The 545 00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:19,960 author, Steve Buckman, is part of a small but growing group of scientists 546 00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:28,440 doing what he calls fringe research to understand the full emotional capacity of bees, 547 00:39:28,480 --> 00:39:32,000 and his research has radically changed the way he relates to insects. He now 548 00:39:32,039 --> 00:39:37,039 avoids killing them in the house, and I can relate to that. I 549 00:39:37,039 --> 00:39:40,519 mean, just this morning, I carried both a spider and a ladybug out 550 00:39:40,559 --> 00:39:44,480 of the house. I don't squash him. I have a tendency to just 551 00:39:44,920 --> 00:39:49,440 carry them. Well, you know, so there's indoor spiders and there's outdoor 552 00:39:49,440 --> 00:39:52,320 spiders, and outdoor spiders don't usually come in if you have indoor spiders, 553 00:39:52,360 --> 00:39:59,119 they're just indoor spiders. And whenever anyone tells me that they have spiders indoors, 554 00:39:59,159 --> 00:40:00,679 I tell them they should be a lot more afraid of what the spiders 555 00:40:00,679 --> 00:40:06,079 are eating in their house than of the spider themselves, because a spider would 556 00:40:06,079 --> 00:40:07,920 not be there if it did not have a food source, And that is 557 00:40:07,960 --> 00:40:12,039 most likely what you should be concerned about, more than the spider itself. 558 00:40:12,280 --> 00:40:17,000 That is true. That is true. Emergency preservation work is being carried out 559 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:22,320 on one of the few trees remaining from an ancient Scottish forest. The Capon 560 00:40:22,559 --> 00:40:28,320 tree near Jedburg is believed to be about one thousand years old, so this 561 00:40:28,400 --> 00:40:31,480 is an old oak tree. The collapse of one it's surviving one of its 562 00:40:31,480 --> 00:40:37,679 surviving limbs has led to further props and supports. They're trying to save this 563 00:40:37,760 --> 00:40:44,559 ancient tree. It's part of an annual summer festival. But this ancient English 564 00:40:44,559 --> 00:40:47,519 oak is close to dying, with only one limb now showing any life. 565 00:40:47,519 --> 00:40:54,000 But it's a tree of national importance. So the Capon Tree in Jedburgh. 566 00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:59,760 They say that it is believed that much of the historic jed forest was cut 567 00:40:59,760 --> 00:41:05,760 down for ships during attacks by the Spanish Armada in the late sixteenth century. 568 00:41:05,760 --> 00:41:08,880 But this tree is a survivor, and I looked at the pictures and it 569 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:15,119 is just a spectacular, incredible tree, and not that many trees get to 570 00:41:15,159 --> 00:41:17,199 live for that long. So I hope that they are able to save it. 571 00:41:17,239 --> 00:41:21,119 Although you know, we tend to think of things that live a thousand 572 00:41:21,239 --> 00:41:24,239 years as eternal, and it's it's hard to think that trees actually do have 573 00:41:24,280 --> 00:41:29,719 a lifespan. So it's also possible it's coming to the end of its life, 574 00:41:29,719 --> 00:41:31,559 and hopefully it was a well lived life. It's certainly witnessed a lot 575 00:41:31,760 --> 00:41:37,400 and it's a good reminder for us that yes, trees do have a lifespan, 576 00:41:37,039 --> 00:41:42,159 and this one what a beauty. The tree isn't talking, however, 577 00:41:42,239 --> 00:41:49,239 it doesn't want to die a log. Oh I get it. Sorry, 578 00:41:49,480 --> 00:41:52,440 I thought you're never mind. Okay, Well, end on that note, 579 00:41:52,719 --> 00:41:58,079 Stacy. It's always a privilege and pleasure to do the Gardening Simplified Show with 580 00:41:58,159 --> 00:42:00,360 you. Thank you so much. Likewise, Rich and thanks to Adriana, 581 00:42:00,400 --> 00:42:02,760 and thanks to all of our listeners out there. We hope you have a 582 00:42:02,840 --> 00:42:04,480 wonderful week.