1 00:00:01,439 --> 00:00:05,679 Success in the garden. Coming to you from Studio A here at Coved Winner's 2 00:00:05,799 --> 00:00:12,119 Colored Roy Shrubs. It's time for the Gardening Simplified radio podcast and YouTube show 3 00:00:12,599 --> 00:00:18,559 with Stacy Hervella, me Rick weisst and our engineer and producer Adrianna Robinson. 4 00:00:18,920 --> 00:00:24,440 Today we talk about supporting roles, plants that play supporting roles. They were 5 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:30,640 an essential element in theater long before movies came along, and then when movies 6 00:00:30,839 --> 00:00:38,039 came along, they invented an award for supporting roles, and we could argue 7 00:00:38,119 --> 00:00:43,479 that they are very important in movies and of course very important also in our 8 00:00:43,719 --> 00:00:48,359 landscapes. A supporting role performs a role in a play or a film below 9 00:00:48,479 --> 00:00:53,640 that of a leading anchor and above that of a bit part. So think 10 00:00:53,719 --> 00:01:00,200 of Batman and Robin. Robin would be the supporting role. Think about out 11 00:01:00,679 --> 00:01:06,359 one of my favorite movies, Apollo thirteen, Ed Harris. He has been 12 00:01:06,519 --> 00:01:10,959 a great supporting role actor through the years. He played the role of Gene 13 00:01:11,079 --> 00:01:15,040 Krantz. Tom Hanks of course had the lead role in that movie, or 14 00:01:15,159 --> 00:01:19,680 Jonah Hill in Moneyball with Brad Pitt taking the lead role. And then you 15 00:01:19,799 --> 00:01:29,079 have actors and actresses like Meryl Streep or Jack Nicholson who can do both play 16 00:01:29,120 --> 00:01:34,680 a great leading role or play a great supporting actor. And I'd have to 17 00:01:34,719 --> 00:01:38,640 say, right off the bat Stacy that I personally believe well, the front 18 00:01:38,719 --> 00:01:45,120 runner for supporting role in a landscape has got to be evergreens. Evergreens the 19 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:49,640 foundation, the structure, the bones of a landscape. I think they're the 20 00:01:49,680 --> 00:01:53,560 perfect example. Do you agree. I don't disagree, but that would not 21 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,519 have been my first choice. There you go. I don't think you're wrong 22 00:01:57,599 --> 00:02:00,480 at all. I'm not like, how dare you? But no, I 23 00:02:00,719 --> 00:02:04,799 actually feel in my opinion that evergreens kind of have more of a starring role 24 00:02:05,799 --> 00:02:10,360 because they have your own interest and they typically have such a distinctive shape, 25 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:16,319 you know. So to me, a supporting role plant is one that just 26 00:02:16,439 --> 00:02:21,439 kind of does its thing that it lets the stars be the stars. It 27 00:02:21,520 --> 00:02:24,520 doesn't interfere with their shape, it doesn't clash with their colors, it doesn't 28 00:02:24,560 --> 00:02:30,599 pull focus, as it were, but it so it lets be themselves and 29 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:34,599 it doesn't fade into the background. But it doesn't compete either. And I 30 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:38,800 would say, typically maybe it's just me my I very often goes straight to 31 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:40,400 the evergreens unless there's something else in flower. Like you know, if you've 32 00:02:40,400 --> 00:02:45,280 got to a landscape with hydrangeas and evergreens and the panicle hydrange's are in full 33 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:47,680 bloom, well then that would definitely be the star at that particular moment. 34 00:02:47,800 --> 00:02:53,520 But I think when I was thinking about this, I think about supporting plants. 35 00:02:53,560 --> 00:02:57,120 And have you ever been to the Luriy Garden in Chicago? Have not? 36 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:00,400 Okay? Oh wow, It's such an amazing public garden, just beautiful, 37 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:05,960 designed by consonant plantsman Pete Udolph. And when you go there, I 38 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:08,039 think you really get a great sense of what is a supporting role plant. 39 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:15,280 And he uses a native Euphorbia Euphorbia coroa lotta as a supporting planet's in bloom 40 00:03:15,360 --> 00:03:19,599 in late summer and fall, and it just has these kind of blue green 41 00:03:19,719 --> 00:03:24,800 leaves and these fluffy clouds of white flowers, and it kind of repeats all 42 00:03:24,840 --> 00:03:27,879 through the garden, And that, to me is the supporting role plant. 43 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:31,639 It doesn't take away from anything else it has presents, it lets everything do 44 00:03:31,800 --> 00:03:36,319 its own thing, but it just kind of knits everything together. See I'm 45 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:38,840 liking this. This is a good debate because I think evergreens, you know, 46 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:46,000 you think of junipers or box would they play a filler supporting role, 47 00:03:46,159 --> 00:03:52,520 And yet some evergreens, like let's talk about Jim fizz juniper or stinging ourbor 48 00:03:52,639 --> 00:03:57,599 viti, they could play a lead role. The eye is drawn towards those 49 00:03:57,680 --> 00:04:02,199 plants. Foliage or filler plants I think often play a supporting role, a 50 00:04:02,520 --> 00:04:08,080 backdrop. And yet even at that in the shade you could take sun king 51 00:04:08,199 --> 00:04:14,479 Aurelia, you can take hard to heart kalladiums, rex Begonias colius. You 52 00:04:14,599 --> 00:04:18,519 could argue that they play a starring role also, So this is a good 53 00:04:18,600 --> 00:04:21,519 debate. Well, it really depends on how you're using it. It really 54 00:04:21,600 --> 00:04:25,759 depends on your landscape. And while you were, you know, mentioning those 55 00:04:25,800 --> 00:04:29,000 and we're kind of you know, people are familiar with the concept of the 56 00:04:29,079 --> 00:04:31,720 thriller filler spiller as a container design thing. So the plants that we're talking 57 00:04:31,759 --> 00:04:34,319 about as a supporting role are the filler, which doesn't mean they just sit 58 00:04:34,399 --> 00:04:38,319 around and take up space, not at all. They still have an important 59 00:04:38,399 --> 00:04:44,079 role too to fulfill here. But you know, I was thinking about lantana, 60 00:04:44,800 --> 00:04:47,560 and lantana is a plant that can be a thriller, filler or spiller, 61 00:04:47,600 --> 00:04:49,680 all depending on how you get it. Sure, you know, you 62 00:04:49,720 --> 00:04:54,040 can get a tree form lantana that is absolutely a thriller. You can get, 63 00:04:54,560 --> 00:04:57,040 you know, a hanging basket when it would be a spiller, but 64 00:04:57,199 --> 00:05:00,639 very often it's used as a filler. So sometimes these are There's a lot 65 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:06,720 of leeway here to say what's what. So the theory here is I'll go 66 00:05:06,879 --> 00:05:14,120 back to it. Meryl Streep or Jack Nicholson, both fabulous and either a 67 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:18,199 leading role or a supporting role. You know. Again, when I think 68 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:25,920 about supporting role plants, I think ornamental grasses make a great supporting role plant. 69 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:30,120 Their dynamic groundcovers play a supporting role. They fill in. I think 70 00:05:30,199 --> 00:05:33,920 of the summer fill ins when you hit June and July and August and it's 71 00:05:34,000 --> 00:05:39,759 hot and you can get those bargain annuals that grow really fast at the garden 72 00:05:39,879 --> 00:05:44,279 center and they fill in. They play a supporting role as a matter of 73 00:05:44,319 --> 00:05:48,160 fact, in summer fun plant to grow cassia or popcorn plant. Have you 74 00:05:48,240 --> 00:05:50,920 grown that in your life? I have not grown it in my own landscape 75 00:05:50,959 --> 00:05:56,680 because it gets a little big for my space. But I do love it. 76 00:05:56,720 --> 00:05:59,279 I've seen it, and whenever I do see it, I always make 77 00:05:59,279 --> 00:06:01,959 people smell it because it does smell just like butter popcorn, hot buttered popcorn 78 00:06:02,160 --> 00:06:05,680 at the theater. They grow it in the children's garden here at the Frederick 79 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:12,560 Meyer Gardens, and so that could be a supporting role plant native plants. 80 00:06:12,600 --> 00:06:15,319 Of course, they don't have to earn top billing, but every garden needs 81 00:06:15,439 --> 00:06:21,040 a supporting cast. I think of our fire red twig dogwood as a great 82 00:06:21,279 --> 00:06:28,839 example in my mind. But even you know, look at flowering annual Superbina 83 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:33,959 verbina. I love that plant like pink cashmerror, and it could stand on 84 00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:40,040 its own as a fabulous flowering annual. And yet you put it in combination 85 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:45,800 baskets, in a container or a hanging basket, that plant plays in incredible. 86 00:06:45,839 --> 00:06:49,240 You know, Biden's is another one, a great supporting role in a 87 00:06:49,360 --> 00:06:55,399 beautiful basket. I think that that for me, that characteristic of having almost 88 00:06:55,439 --> 00:06:58,920 like a hazy type effect is sort of where my brain goes when it comes 89 00:06:58,959 --> 00:07:02,199 to flowering supporting plants. And the supporting plants don't always need to flower, 90 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:05,560 like you were saying about like a groundcovered uniper. Yeah, they don't necessarily 91 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:12,720 have to be center stage. When you look at perennials like you look at 92 00:07:12,800 --> 00:07:16,439 silver lining, artemesia, or a workhorse like day lilies. They can be 93 00:07:16,680 --> 00:07:23,040 very beautiful. The blooms just last a day, as the name notes. 94 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:27,160 However, they are a workhoorse in the landscape, and I think day lilies 95 00:07:27,279 --> 00:07:31,959 really play a supporting role in the landscape. Iris and peonies their time in 96 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:38,560 the spotlight is short, but after that they still play some aspect of a 97 00:07:38,800 --> 00:07:42,040 supporting role. Yeah, definitely the iris now because you know a p and 98 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,279 and foliage eh, you know, it's just kind of there, but iris 99 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:49,800 foliage is very much of a strong structural element that you're grateful to have well 100 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:55,199 beyond the time that the flowers have bloomed. Absolutely so, the supporting role 101 00:07:55,279 --> 00:07:59,160 plants play an important role. Let me give you a limb a rick that 102 00:07:59,360 --> 00:08:03,240 popped into my head to talk about supporting role plants. No drama, no 103 00:08:03,439 --> 00:08:09,480 diva, no worry wart. They know their role to lend support. Oh 104 00:08:09,639 --> 00:08:13,600 high ranges. They get all the press to Pogonia's I acquiesce. I'm just 105 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:20,319 trying to be a good sport. I'm content to support and console according to 106 00:08:20,439 --> 00:08:26,360 a public opinion poll, Roses win the popularity contest and Jasmine, you've always 107 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:31,440 impressed. I guess you're just on a roll. And that's what happens, 108 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:35,480 Stacy, is that plants get on a roll and pretty soon you see everyone 109 00:08:35,639 --> 00:08:43,159 in the neighborhood planting the same thing and not necessarily thinking about the important role 110 00:08:43,600 --> 00:08:48,159 that supporting role plants plan. You know, it's so true, and honestly, 111 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:50,320 that was one of the reasons why I was very interested in getting into 112 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:54,519 gardening, because my mom was living in a newer subdivision. And that's what 113 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:56,080 happened. One person calls a landscaper, they say, hey, they did 114 00:08:56,120 --> 00:09:01,480 a good job. Everyone starts calling that landscaper everyone and gets a cookie cutter 115 00:09:01,600 --> 00:09:05,399 landscape. Because people are a little bit afraid to go out there and choose 116 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:07,679 plants, They're a little bit afraid to stick their neck out. So it 117 00:09:07,759 --> 00:09:13,480 does end up becoming like kind of you know, predictable, because it's it 118 00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:16,960 becomes a little bit of an epidemic. So it's good to think outside the 119 00:09:16,039 --> 00:09:20,720 box and to also understand, like we've already said that these are not hard 120 00:09:20,759 --> 00:09:26,200 and fast rules. How you use something, where you plant something will largely 121 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:30,480 determine whether it is playing a supporting role or not. But I think for 122 00:09:30,600 --> 00:09:35,600 myself again, the importance is some sort of like light ethereal texture in the 123 00:09:35,639 --> 00:09:37,600 garden, so it's not like a big blob that's just taking all your attention. 124 00:09:39,919 --> 00:09:45,000 And ideally some soft color that kind of just blends along with everything. 125 00:09:45,360 --> 00:09:50,120 So I happen to have the answer. Here's the winner of the best I 126 00:09:50,240 --> 00:09:52,600 have the envelope. Please, I'm going to let you open that up, 127 00:09:52,679 --> 00:10:00,279 Stacy, and let me say that the supporting role plant in a landscape ape 128 00:10:00,360 --> 00:10:05,519 does not detract from the leading actor, but rather there you go. There's 129 00:10:05,600 --> 00:10:11,159 our winner. Would treill Us for best supporting Role. Oh I get it 130 00:10:11,279 --> 00:10:16,840 now, Thank you very much. I should have seen it coming. With 131 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:24,360 gardenings Simplified Plants trial that's next here on the gardener Super. I love that 132 00:10:24,679 --> 00:10:30,080 premiere and it could stand on its own as a fan proven Winner's Color Choice 133 00:10:30,080 --> 00:10:33,120 Shrubs cares about your success in the garden. That's why we trial and test 134 00:10:33,240 --> 00:10:37,159 all of our shrubs for eight to ten years, making sure they outperform everything 135 00:10:37,200 --> 00:10:41,600 else on the market. Look for them and the distinctive white container at your 136 00:10:41,639 --> 00:10:45,919 local garden center. I think that that for me that care green garden friends, 137 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:52,200 where we are talking about your saying supporting roles, and that can mean 138 00:10:52,240 --> 00:10:54,639 a lot of different things, as we have already determined. But Rick, 139 00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:58,679 you haven't told me what plants play supporting roles in your garden. Well I 140 00:10:58,720 --> 00:11:03,120 knew would trell us be controversial, but somebody has to win. And I 141 00:11:03,240 --> 00:11:07,200 still think that My favorite supporting role plants, whether it's in a container or 142 00:11:07,320 --> 00:11:13,320 in my landscape, are ornamental grasses. Okay, whether annual or perennial, 143 00:11:13,559 --> 00:11:18,399 that's mine. Any particular one. Oh, I love miscanthus morning Light. 144 00:11:18,879 --> 00:11:22,639 I love the proven Winn's annual grass called Vertigo. I love that plant, 145 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:28,080 a proven Winner's plant Skyrocket. They're all great, but I think they play 146 00:11:28,279 --> 00:11:33,000 just this fabulous. You know. They don't detract from the star, the 147 00:11:33,759 --> 00:11:39,720 leading actors that maybe are high Drangers or some other blooming plant, but boy, 148 00:11:39,200 --> 00:11:43,399 they do a great job of supporting that rotating cast of whoever is the 149 00:11:43,480 --> 00:11:48,159 star at the particular mart. So I was thinking about what is a supporting 150 00:11:48,279 --> 00:11:52,120 plant in my garden, and there's two plants that came to mind for me 151 00:11:52,279 --> 00:11:56,039 that I feel like play a supporting role Number one is meadow rue the electrum, 152 00:11:56,440 --> 00:12:01,600 so I have a very nice slowing population of that. So it's tall, 153 00:12:01,960 --> 00:12:07,399 it's very thin, and it has that again that I just can't get 154 00:12:07,480 --> 00:12:09,879 rid of, this like hazy, like cloudy texture that to me makes it 155 00:12:09,919 --> 00:12:13,159 a supporting role plant. So it's tall, it gets these really dreamy little 156 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:18,000 flowers, very delicate foliage, and what I love about it is that it 157 00:12:18,080 --> 00:12:20,639 just pops up wherever it will go. If I don't want it somewhere, 158 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:24,039 I just pull it out, So it kind of has that effect of tying 159 00:12:24,120 --> 00:12:26,440 everything together. So that's in the very small, shady part of my garden, 160 00:12:28,360 --> 00:12:31,919 in the sunny part I love. And it has not really fully taken 161 00:12:31,960 --> 00:12:35,600 off from me yet, but I'm hoping that it will flex. So I 162 00:12:35,639 --> 00:12:39,480 don't know if you're familiar, if you've ever grown it before, but it 163 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:45,639 has the most beautiful, amazing blue flowers and that blue so it has like 164 00:12:45,720 --> 00:12:48,159 kind of a silvery blue foliage, very fine, very easy to you know, 165 00:12:48,240 --> 00:12:52,000 like easy to blend with everything. And then that blue it's just the 166 00:12:52,120 --> 00:12:56,799 particular shade of blue that it is. It goes with everything. I like 167 00:12:56,919 --> 00:13:01,960 that. So you're choosing color to be that support role like the blue in 168 00:13:01,200 --> 00:13:07,639 flax, whereas with myself ornamental grasses, I choose them because they're good dancers. 169 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:13,120 They dance in the landscape. They provide movement, which I think really 170 00:13:13,840 --> 00:13:16,600 provides that supporting cast. Yeah, I think air and space is absolutely a 171 00:13:16,639 --> 00:13:20,840 non negotiable on here. What that looks like to you is really something to 172 00:13:20,919 --> 00:13:26,279 determine. And I think another important part of having a supporting role plant is 173 00:13:26,440 --> 00:13:28,480 repeating it through the garden. Yes, you know, it's not a supporting 174 00:13:28,519 --> 00:13:31,840 real plan. It's not just like hey, I put one here and now 175 00:13:31,879 --> 00:13:35,000 it's supporting the rest of the garden. The supporting real plan is almost like 176 00:13:35,080 --> 00:13:37,600 a theme. Like you can think about it like if you listen to classical 177 00:13:37,679 --> 00:13:41,240 music in a symphony, there's theme in variation. So it's sort of a 178 00:13:41,440 --> 00:13:46,879 theme that unites everything in your garden throughout. It can be front to back, 179 00:13:46,919 --> 00:13:50,879 it can be within a single bed. It's an element that's repeated, 180 00:13:50,039 --> 00:13:54,080 I agree, throughout. They just don't show up in the credits at the 181 00:13:54,360 --> 00:14:00,600 end, like the key grip. Always feel sorry for that person the credits. 182 00:14:00,639 --> 00:14:03,600 You just have to stay till like the very bitter end to see that 183 00:14:03,759 --> 00:14:05,840 person for what they do. Yes, they definitely should. They work hard. 184 00:14:07,320 --> 00:14:11,279 So as far as plants on trial go, you know, I think 185 00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:15,240 very often and a lot of the plants that we have listed already as supporting 186 00:14:15,320 --> 00:14:20,720 role plants are typically perennials or sometimes annuals, but very often they are herbaceous 187 00:14:20,879 --> 00:14:24,960 plants, the ornamental grasses, the two that I just mentioned, and so 188 00:14:24,159 --> 00:14:30,360 thinking about shrubs as a supporting role plant was a little bit of a challenge 189 00:14:30,399 --> 00:14:33,360 for me, but I did think long and hard about it, and in 190 00:14:33,440 --> 00:14:37,879 the previous segment I mentioned that for me, one of the ultimate supporting role 191 00:14:37,919 --> 00:14:39,080 plants, and I wish I could find it at a garden center so I 192 00:14:39,120 --> 00:14:43,000 could plant it in my garden to actually have it have a supporting role. 193 00:14:43,279 --> 00:14:48,720 This Euphorbia chloralata just a beautiful white native euphorbia with white clouds of flowers in 194 00:14:48,840 --> 00:14:52,039 late season. So that's what I'm going for. You know how, nowadays, 195 00:14:52,039 --> 00:14:54,120 don't know if you've seen this, but like if you buy a pack 196 00:14:54,159 --> 00:15:00,159 of markers for coloring, they nowadays they come with a blending stick like a 197 00:15:00,240 --> 00:15:03,799 thing that you can use to kind of between the colors and it blends them 198 00:15:03,919 --> 00:15:07,559 together. So that's why I'm so hung up on sort of these cool these 199 00:15:07,639 --> 00:15:11,559 like cool blues and whites, And so for me, a supporting roll shrub 200 00:15:11,879 --> 00:15:16,720 would be happy face white potentilla. Boy, you surprised me there, I 201 00:15:16,840 --> 00:15:18,759 did. I thought it was going to be nine berg, that was gonna 202 00:15:18,759 --> 00:15:20,919 be nine bark. Yeah, nine berk oh see. I think of nine 203 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:26,720 barks is a real kind of a you know, look at me showstopper, 204 00:15:26,039 --> 00:15:30,559 because they're they're fairly large, and they're very colorful. Do you have an 205 00:15:30,639 --> 00:15:33,000 envelope for me? I don't. I don't. I wish I would have. 206 00:15:33,879 --> 00:15:37,159 I wish I would have. But I picked happy face white potentilla because 207 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:41,080 it does kind of fill this role. So if you're not familiar with potentilla, 208 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:43,399 it is a plant that I think a lot of people will just kind 209 00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:48,519 of, you know, yawn at right, particularly if you were joining us 210 00:15:48,559 --> 00:15:52,840 from Canada, where it is used very widely, and especially in gas station 211 00:15:52,159 --> 00:15:58,200 and municipal plantings shops. Yeah, and it deserves more credit than that because 212 00:15:58,639 --> 00:16:03,519 it is an extreme durable, extremely hard working plant, and it's native. 213 00:16:03,559 --> 00:16:08,320 It's native to North America. There are actually a number of different native potentillas 214 00:16:08,559 --> 00:16:11,480 to North America, and you may be familiar with some of the ones that 215 00:16:11,519 --> 00:16:15,960 are considered more weedy, but those are herbaceous potentillas, so they dive back 216 00:16:17,000 --> 00:16:21,120 to the ground completely, whereas this is a shrubby potentilla, which was actually 217 00:16:21,240 --> 00:16:27,320 reclassified by taxonomists into a new genus called dazafora. But as is often the 218 00:16:27,399 --> 00:16:30,480 case when taxonomists try to switch things up, which they may have a very 219 00:16:30,519 --> 00:16:36,600 good reason for doing so, but the horticulture industry tends to take umbrage at 220 00:16:36,759 --> 00:16:40,600 these types of changes, and they just say, well, no, we're 221 00:16:40,639 --> 00:16:42,639 not using it, like, we're not changing because people are so familiar with 222 00:16:42,679 --> 00:16:48,559 potentilla. Didn't daz afora have a starring role in the Batman movie? She 223 00:16:48,720 --> 00:16:53,159 may have, oay. But the thing about potentilla that always makes me laugh 224 00:16:53,440 --> 00:16:57,120 is I think most people do know it as potentilla, but very often on 225 00:16:57,440 --> 00:17:02,360 tags you will see a common of shrubby sink foil. Yes, I have 226 00:17:02,519 --> 00:17:06,400 never once heard anyone use that term. No, it's not a good name 227 00:17:06,440 --> 00:17:10,079 and it never stuck. So I really don't think daz afora is suddenly going 228 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:15,480 to come along and supplant potentilla for these woody potentillas like Happy Face White, 229 00:17:15,519 --> 00:17:18,640 so potentilla it is. We're going to stick with it. We're gonna acknowledge 230 00:17:18,680 --> 00:17:22,920 that we know about the name change, but sticking with potentilla for right now. 231 00:17:25,119 --> 00:17:30,079 Now. Happy Face White is of course white flowers, so pure white 232 00:17:30,119 --> 00:17:33,319 flowers. And the thing about the Happy Face series, there's two major features 233 00:17:33,480 --> 00:17:40,920 that make the Happy Face series different than other potentilla's so very very large flowers. 234 00:17:41,759 --> 00:17:45,000 The first plant in the series was a yellow one, so the Happy 235 00:17:45,039 --> 00:17:48,559 Face yellow potentilla. That kind of gave a series its name. It literally 236 00:17:48,599 --> 00:17:51,440 looks like it could be one of those like seventies have a nice day happy 237 00:17:51,519 --> 00:17:55,799 faces. So that's where the name originally came from, yes exactly. And 238 00:17:56,039 --> 00:17:57,759 since then, as we've added more and more colors, we've just kept them. 239 00:17:57,799 --> 00:18:02,839 So we have happy Face yellow, Happy Face orange, Happy Face Pink 240 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:07,160 Paradise, Happy Face Hearts which is pink and white, and Happy Face white. 241 00:18:07,200 --> 00:18:11,559 So I think any of them can play that supporting role depending on the 242 00:18:11,680 --> 00:18:15,960 other colors in your garden, because all of them have that same sort of 243 00:18:15,440 --> 00:18:19,519 delicate, hazy like quality. The other thing that makes the Happy Face series 244 00:18:19,599 --> 00:18:22,640 so different. Oh my gosh, you can't stop these things from blooming. 245 00:18:23,240 --> 00:18:27,279 They are the longest. They bloom like an annual even though they're a shrub. 246 00:18:27,640 --> 00:18:30,359 So for us here in Michigan, they will start blooming at about late 247 00:18:30,480 --> 00:18:33,519 spring and that will not stop until frost. And if we get like just 248 00:18:33,559 --> 00:18:37,759 a single frost that does not keep coming and take it out, it will 249 00:18:37,799 --> 00:18:41,599 keep going after that. They are extremely extremely long blooming. It's such a 250 00:18:41,799 --> 00:18:45,359 tough plant. We mentioned that at the beginning. If you're pulling into a 251 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:51,119 convenient store to get like a slurpy or something, it's hot outside, and 252 00:18:51,160 --> 00:18:55,200 they're usually planted in gravel or I call them, you know, the riot 253 00:18:55,319 --> 00:18:57,720 rocks or whatever, you know, that between the sidewalk and the street, 254 00:18:57,880 --> 00:19:03,279 and they see to be thriving. Yeah, they are. They're so they 255 00:19:03,319 --> 00:19:06,759 are very hearty. They're hardy down to USDA Zone two, which is extremely 256 00:19:06,839 --> 00:19:10,000 cold tolerant. Yeah. Now, as is often the case with plants that 257 00:19:10,079 --> 00:19:12,839 are extremely hardy, it's not extremely heat tolerant. So it's only heat tolerant 258 00:19:12,839 --> 00:19:18,480 through about USDA Zone seven. But in the areas where it can grow, 259 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:22,160 so like if you're in Canada and northern Michigan, Minnesota, all of that. 260 00:19:22,759 --> 00:19:25,079 It can take the heat in those areas, but you're not going to 261 00:19:25,119 --> 00:19:27,599 want to put it in an area where you know it's going to be really, 262 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:30,880 really hot for a very long time in the summer. It's more one 263 00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:37,359 of those things where it's just we get periods of intense heat. But for 264 00:19:37,519 --> 00:19:38,880 us, it blooms all summer without stopping. And that, to me, 265 00:19:38,960 --> 00:19:41,880 I think is another great reason to think of it as a supporting world plant. 266 00:19:41,880 --> 00:19:48,160 Because it's sitting there and it's foliage. It has palmately compound foliage, 267 00:19:48,240 --> 00:19:51,839 and so what that means is a shape like a hand. So it's a 268 00:19:52,559 --> 00:19:56,119 five little leaflets make up an individual leaf, and they kind of have this 269 00:19:56,319 --> 00:20:00,119 palm shape to them, which gives it that nice soft tech. I love 270 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:03,519 how when the foliage comes out, it has a silky, silvery kind of 271 00:20:03,599 --> 00:20:07,279 look, and then you have these flowers that just really do not stop. 272 00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:11,880 So that's what you're looking for in a supporting role plant. Now it gets 273 00:20:11,880 --> 00:20:15,480 to be two to three feet tall and wide, so a low grower, 274 00:20:15,920 --> 00:20:18,519 more of that groundcover type role that we were talking about, but you can 275 00:20:18,599 --> 00:20:22,920 freely mix it in with whatever in your landscape, and I think it's always 276 00:20:22,960 --> 00:20:26,519 going to do a good job of accentuating everything else, letting everything have its 277 00:20:26,599 --> 00:20:30,240 role, letting everything else shine well, just you know, taking up space 278 00:20:30,279 --> 00:20:36,119 and looking great doing it. Good thing would trell us one before you petitioned 279 00:20:36,200 --> 00:20:38,680 for Happy Faced White potent tilla, you've sold me well. They were competing 280 00:20:38,720 --> 00:20:42,880 in different categories. You know what Trellis was in the garden structures category, 281 00:20:44,200 --> 00:20:48,359 and now we're talking about best plant in a breast shrub and a supporting role. 282 00:20:48,599 --> 00:20:55,119 Happy Faced White got potentilla. So really nice plant doesn't get enough credit 283 00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:57,119 and certainly doesn't get enough credit for how much heavy lifting it can do as 284 00:20:57,160 --> 00:21:02,079 a design element in your gardens. So take a peek at it on our 285 00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:06,160 YouTube channel or just visit Gardenings Simplified on air dot com. I have love 286 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:11,960 pictures of it there and you can see it there and supporting in your face. 287 00:21:12,000 --> 00:21:19,480 We're going to take breaker acknowledged garden now. Happy face White is of 288 00:21:19,559 --> 00:21:26,039 course white flowers, so at proven winter's color choice. We've got a shrub 289 00:21:26,200 --> 00:21:30,440 for every taste and every space, whether you're looking for an easy care rose 290 00:21:30,640 --> 00:21:33,799 and unforgettable hydrangea or something new and unique. You can be confident that the 291 00:21:33,839 --> 00:21:37,839 shrubs and the white containers have been trialed and tested for your success. Look 292 00:21:37,880 --> 00:21:41,599 for them at your local garden center. Like seventies, have a nice day, 293 00:21:41,640 --> 00:21:48,000 happy gardening friends, and you welcome back to that gardening. I like 294 00:21:48,359 --> 00:21:49,599 what's going on out there. I know what's going on in my garden. 295 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:53,000 I know what's going on more or less here in West Michigan and our trial 296 00:21:53,039 --> 00:21:56,640 gardens here at Proven Winter's Color Choice Shrubs. But I don't know what's going 297 00:21:56,680 --> 00:21:59,599 on in your garden. So I love hearing about it, don't I do 298 00:21:59,759 --> 00:22:03,000 too. I love it. So if you have something going on in your 299 00:22:03,039 --> 00:22:06,359 garden you just want to celebrate, or you have questions, just visit Gardening 300 00:22:06,400 --> 00:22:08,680 Simplified on air dot Com. It's very simple. You can fill out a 301 00:22:08,759 --> 00:22:14,880 contact form there, and you know, while you're thinking about maybe contacting us, 302 00:22:15,240 --> 00:22:17,680 we want to just give you a heads up that we are going to 303 00:22:17,799 --> 00:22:22,000 be doing a dog scaping show. We're going to be a dog scaping series 304 00:22:23,079 --> 00:22:27,359 all about gardening if you have dogs, making sure you have a dog friendly 305 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:32,440 yard. I'm sure Adriana will be contributing greatly to this as the dog owner 306 00:22:32,519 --> 00:22:36,720 among our little crew here, but we'd also like to hear from you and 307 00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:41,680 we want to hear your dog scaping tips, your dog scaping ideas, and 308 00:22:41,960 --> 00:22:47,359 what we really want is your pictures of dogs in your garden and so if 309 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:51,440 you submit those at Gardeningsimplified on air dot com, we are going to pick 310 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:56,480 a winner at random to receive a plan Geek t shirt just like this one. 311 00:22:56,519 --> 00:22:59,079 Of course, doesn't have to be like this one. We have one. 312 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:00,519 It's more of a and a sex style. If you don't like the 313 00:23:02,039 --> 00:23:04,039 girly style, it's going to be totally up to you. Whoever the winner 314 00:23:04,119 --> 00:23:07,279 is, we will have your size and we will send you that. So 315 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:11,720 please do send us your submissions this week or next so that we can include 316 00:23:11,759 --> 00:23:17,680 those in the dog Scaping show. Yeah, send us your popular pictures. 317 00:23:17,920 --> 00:23:21,599 We want to see a picture of you with your dog and your landscape and 318 00:23:21,799 --> 00:23:25,880 dog scaping is a great topic and we're looking forward to doing these shows. 319 00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:30,759 Many people, of course have dogs as pets, and the dogs have to 320 00:23:30,240 --> 00:23:36,200 coexist with some of your favorite flowers and plants in the landscape and garden. 321 00:23:36,799 --> 00:23:38,720 How do you do that? We'd love to hear from you. How you 322 00:23:38,880 --> 00:23:42,400 do it, and of course we'll share with you also pointers on how to 323 00:23:42,519 --> 00:23:48,319 properly dog scape your yard. Yes, no free puppies, just free shirts, 324 00:23:48,319 --> 00:23:53,039 so please do reach out there at Gardeningsimplified on are dot com. Very 325 00:23:53,079 --> 00:23:56,359 simple. So Rick, what a we got in the mailbag today? All 326 00:23:56,440 --> 00:23:59,839 right? Tom's writing us today says Hello, I love your show and listen 327 00:24:00,079 --> 00:24:04,839 all the time on Apple podcasts. And of course the Gardening Simplify show is 328 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:10,000 a radio show, it is a podcast, and it is a YouTube show. 329 00:24:10,119 --> 00:24:14,559 So Tom, thank you very much for listening on Apple podcasts. You 330 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:18,599 both are so knowledgeable. I'm in the western Chicago suburbs. Can you cover 331 00:24:18,720 --> 00:24:25,559 the topic of growing lavender for people that don't have ideal soil to support it? 332 00:24:26,079 --> 00:24:30,599 How can the soil be changed to accommodate lavender? Raised beds, till 333 00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:36,119 in amendments, remove soil and add a custom mix. Great question, It 334 00:24:36,279 --> 00:24:38,359 is such a good question, and so many people wish they could grow lavender 335 00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:45,119 and they've had no success with it. And really there is no secret exactly 336 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:48,079 to growing lavender. There is just one very crucial key and that is good 337 00:24:48,240 --> 00:24:52,599 drainage. Exactly, good drainage, especially in winter. You know, you 338 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:56,720 don't usually use lose lavender in the summer from a lack of one. You 339 00:24:56,759 --> 00:25:00,200 can use it from overwatering it. If you have clay soil. Typically when 340 00:25:00,319 --> 00:25:04,599 leaven doesn't survive, it's due to winter wetness. So this is similar to 341 00:25:04,680 --> 00:25:08,640 butterfly bush, similar to carryopter. It's also known as blue miss spyreea. 342 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:14,519 We've talked about Russian sage. All of these plants that they need really really 343 00:25:14,559 --> 00:25:18,519 good drainage all year round, but they especially need good drainage during the time 344 00:25:18,559 --> 00:25:22,799 of the year when it is cold out and the soil is not frozen, 345 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:26,680 so there can be like cold wet water just sitting around those roots. That 346 00:25:26,799 --> 00:25:30,079 is the fastest way to kill them. So, you know, for anyone 347 00:25:30,119 --> 00:25:33,079 with clay soil, your challenge is going to be making sure that the plant 348 00:25:33,160 --> 00:25:37,000 is not planted too deeply. You want to make sure that I usually say 349 00:25:37,079 --> 00:25:41,119 plants it high, so that the base of the plant is slightly above rather 350 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:45,079 than even with your soil surface. Now, I would not recommend going crazy 351 00:25:45,079 --> 00:25:48,839 and trying to like change your soil. That to me is just not a 352 00:25:48,920 --> 00:25:55,920 practical thing to do. But definitely plant high, Definitely plant early, and 353 00:25:56,039 --> 00:26:00,559 This is a really crucial thing. Anytime you have these plants that are susceptible 354 00:26:00,599 --> 00:26:03,559 to winter damage, the earlier in the season you are able to plant them, 355 00:26:03,720 --> 00:26:07,440 the longer time they'll have to grow roots into their home and be able 356 00:26:07,519 --> 00:26:12,400 to better withstand the challenges of winter. And I have certainly fall planted lavender 357 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:17,400 plenty here in West Michigan, but my soil is basically like a dune, 358 00:26:17,759 --> 00:26:22,000 so it's very very sandy. I have no trouble with that. But plant 359 00:26:22,119 --> 00:26:26,839 early, plant high, and then be real, real careful with the water, 360 00:26:26,039 --> 00:26:29,480 so you know, be careful as when you're watering it. If you 361 00:26:29,519 --> 00:26:33,799 have clay soil during the season and in the winter especially, be careful that 362 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,680 the plant isn't positioned where it's going to get dripped on. And a lot 363 00:26:37,720 --> 00:26:40,599 of times if you have it like under the eve of a house, or 364 00:26:40,680 --> 00:26:42,599 if you have like downspouts that are going to it anything like that, that 365 00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:47,880 can really cause harm to the lavender. Well, I think the key time 366 00:26:48,079 --> 00:26:51,039 with lavender is to make sure first of all that we have it in a 367 00:26:51,240 --> 00:26:55,759 good sunny spot. We want as much sun as possible. And then I'm 368 00:26:55,799 --> 00:27:00,480 in full agreement with Stacey the key here is good. Now, I would 369 00:27:00,559 --> 00:27:04,559 suggest what you do in an area where you want to plant lavender. Dig 370 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:08,640 some holes, then go get the garden holes, fill those holes with water, 371 00:27:10,039 --> 00:27:14,039 then step back and watch what happens. If it drains readily, we 372 00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:17,920 may have a good spot for lavender. If it doesn't, you're going to 373 00:27:18,039 --> 00:27:22,119 have to add organic material and try and improve the drainage in that area. 374 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:27,440 Assuming that this is clay soil, and if it is clay soil, don't 375 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:33,279 add sand and rocks. Adding sand and rocks to clay soil equals concrete. 376 00:27:33,759 --> 00:27:37,680 And I agree with you Stacey, it's fall and winter in early spring when 377 00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:41,920 the damage is done and will lose those plants if they're just floating in water. 378 00:27:42,160 --> 00:27:45,839 Yeah, that's the toughest time for them. And I did want to 379 00:27:45,920 --> 00:27:49,839 mention that this is a very underrated part. I said drainage is key, 380 00:27:49,880 --> 00:27:53,039 and that is true. But the second key is picking the right lavender, 381 00:27:53,119 --> 00:27:57,960 because not all lavenders are created equal. Some lavenders are much hardier than others, 382 00:27:59,119 --> 00:28:06,319 some are much more tolerant of less than ideal conditions. So had Coat 383 00:28:06,400 --> 00:28:08,200 is kind of like the gold standard of hardy lavender for those of us in 384 00:28:08,240 --> 00:28:12,599 the Midwest. Munstead lavender is known to be a bit hardier, so it's 385 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:17,240 not quite as attractive or as fragrant as had Coat, but Munstead would be 386 00:28:17,240 --> 00:28:21,200 a good choice to start with. And then there's two newer ones that have 387 00:28:21,359 --> 00:28:25,240 come out over the last say ten years or so, phenomenal and sensational, 388 00:28:25,319 --> 00:28:30,240 and I have heard nothing but good things from people who normally have real challenges 389 00:28:30,319 --> 00:28:33,279 growing lavender. They've both done great for me. But I have ideal lavender 390 00:28:33,359 --> 00:28:37,759 conditions, so my experience in this case does not really translate. But I 391 00:28:37,799 --> 00:28:41,599 would say, look at those varieties and maybe plant one of each before you 392 00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:45,200 commit to a big lavender hedge or a big lavender planting, and see how 393 00:28:45,279 --> 00:28:48,039 they do. But you know, I have heard from all sorts of gardeners 394 00:28:48,039 --> 00:28:52,759 who have tried it in cold climates and clay soil that phenomenal really has done 395 00:28:52,839 --> 00:28:56,599 phenomenal for them. I've had success with the proven winner's variety. I think 396 00:28:56,640 --> 00:28:59,559 it's Sweet Romance. Sweet Romance, Yeah, yeah, that's Sweet Romance is 397 00:28:59,599 --> 00:29:03,000 a great to great variety. But drainage, drainage, dream drainage, and 398 00:29:03,119 --> 00:29:07,920 the right plant for the right place. So this would be a great opportunity 399 00:29:07,039 --> 00:29:11,200 to check out a local garden center and speak to some experts there on what 400 00:29:11,400 --> 00:29:17,200 they recommend for your area. Alicia is wondering, my Clematis flowers are looking 401 00:29:17,319 --> 00:29:21,519 really chewed up this summer. Can you tell me what is eating them or 402 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:26,839 what usually eats them? I'm also considering a predatory insect order. Websites say 403 00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:33,319 you should release them before it becomes a problem. Which predatory insects should one 404 00:29:33,480 --> 00:29:37,960 order to keep the usual suspects from getting out of control? Is there a 405 00:29:37,119 --> 00:29:44,319 best bet insect to get love the show, especially the mini science and botany 406 00:29:44,480 --> 00:29:48,160 lessons from Stacy. That's fantastic, that's very nice of you, Thank you, 407 00:29:48,240 --> 00:29:52,039 Alicia, and the pronunciation lessons, because right off the bat, it's 408 00:29:52,119 --> 00:29:59,400 either clematis or clematis, that's the other I'm however, as long as you 409 00:29:59,440 --> 00:30:00,839 get the plant on at the end of the day, it's all right. 410 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:04,440 So, Alicia, I looked up your I looked this up, and you 411 00:30:04,519 --> 00:30:08,200 know, my first thought when I looked at that your clemitist flower was beetles. 412 00:30:08,960 --> 00:30:15,319 Beetles leave a very distinctive damage, and they're pretty generalist food flower predators. 413 00:30:15,039 --> 00:30:18,880 You know, there's a lot of things that eat flowers that are very 414 00:30:18,920 --> 00:30:21,720 specific. Oh, I only will eat this flower, whereas beetles are just 415 00:30:21,799 --> 00:30:25,400 like it. It's flower tissue, I'll eat it. But when I started 416 00:30:25,440 --> 00:30:30,279 looking it up, I found that the biggest predator of clemitist flowers and the 417 00:30:30,400 --> 00:30:33,079 damage of the pictures I saw online lined up exactly with what you're seeing is 418 00:30:33,160 --> 00:30:37,680 earwigs. Oh yeah, you see the faces in the studio right now if 419 00:30:37,720 --> 00:30:42,039 you're not watching us on YouTube, and so you know. The beetle damage 420 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:45,039 tends to be. This is gonna sound a little bit funny, but I'll 421 00:30:45,160 --> 00:30:48,559 put some links in the show notes and you can see what I'm talking about. 422 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:52,519 It tends to be a little more organized beetle damage Japanese beetles, notwithstanding 423 00:30:52,759 --> 00:30:56,440 on clematists like from vine weavels, tends to be very neat. It's just 424 00:30:56,559 --> 00:31:00,799 kind of little notches at the edge of the flowers, whereas the earwig damage 425 00:31:00,880 --> 00:31:04,839 is messy. It very often leaves brown spots, which we're seeing on alicious 426 00:31:04,839 --> 00:31:10,279 clemenis there. So I believe this is earwigs, and earwigs are most active 427 00:31:10,279 --> 00:31:12,839 at night, which would also maybe explain why you haven't really seen the culprit 428 00:31:15,039 --> 00:31:19,680 doing the damage. So I was reading about earwigs and the number one recommendation 429 00:31:19,960 --> 00:31:23,000 is actually trapping them. I do not know of any beneficial insects that you 430 00:31:23,079 --> 00:31:26,759 can use against earwigs. That doesn't mean they don't exist. I just don't 431 00:31:26,759 --> 00:31:30,759 know of any offhand. But they say trapping earwigs much like you would use 432 00:31:32,160 --> 00:31:36,440 a bait for slugs. So you got the little tuna can or catfood can 433 00:31:36,640 --> 00:31:42,279 or whatever. The ideal bait for earwigs is oil that tuna was in. 434 00:31:44,640 --> 00:31:48,279 Yeah, so not something you're nestless. Oh, you don't want to leave 435 00:31:48,799 --> 00:31:53,200 in the hot garden, but you can't tuna fish. So the other thing 436 00:31:53,240 --> 00:31:57,119 that you could try was they said you can put olive oil with some soy 437 00:31:57,200 --> 00:32:00,240 sauce. If you like to cook typhoon, you could try some drops of 438 00:32:00,359 --> 00:32:05,920 fish sauce in there. Apparently they love oil, they love fishy oil. 439 00:32:07,559 --> 00:32:12,599 But I will say Stacey that years ago, when most people had newspapers delivered 440 00:32:12,599 --> 00:32:15,319 to their home, one of the best ways is just to roll up some 441 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:19,880 newsprint at the base of the plant soaking wet, and the next morning take 442 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:22,240 a look in there. You'll quickly know whether or not it's earwigs that are 443 00:32:22,319 --> 00:32:27,920 causing problem, and look for where they're hiding during the day. And since 444 00:32:27,960 --> 00:32:30,640 newspaper's hard to come by right now, maybe get some of those like Penny 445 00:32:30,640 --> 00:32:35,440 Savers at at the Gary Store something like that. So trap for the earwigs, 446 00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:37,640 see what you can find. I think ear rings are the culprit here 447 00:32:37,680 --> 00:32:40,720 and just physically removing them from the plant. You'll have to continue to be 448 00:32:40,839 --> 00:32:44,559 vigilant about that, but that should do the trick. We'll put some more 449 00:32:44,599 --> 00:32:47,839 resources for where you got a website to a big lavender, you've got to 450 00:32:47,839 --> 00:32:53,119 take a little break. They do. Really, I've had success with the 451 00:32:53,200 --> 00:32:57,319 proven winner's variety. I think it's sweet romance, Sweet romance. Yeah, 452 00:32:57,400 --> 00:33:01,200 yeah. The Gardening Simplified She is brought to you by Proven Winners, Color 453 00:33:01,279 --> 00:33:07,200 Choice Shrubs. Our award winning flowering shrubs and evergreens have been trialed and tested 454 00:33:07,319 --> 00:33:12,000 for your success so you enjoy more beauty and less work. Look for Proven 455 00:33:12,039 --> 00:33:15,160 Winners Color Choice Shrubs and the distinctive white container at your local garden center. 456 00:33:17,240 --> 00:33:22,680 Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show today for branching news and interview with Don 457 00:33:22,880 --> 00:33:30,440 Snewink. Thornapple Woodlands dot com. Don Snewink has been on the Gardening Simplified 458 00:33:30,519 --> 00:33:37,279 Show before you're familiar with him. A b expert, pollination expert boy, 459 00:33:37,480 --> 00:33:44,400 just all around good guy guy who loves nature. Just fun. Wow, 460 00:33:44,759 --> 00:33:50,559 thank you. I'm almost blutching over here. I didn't know where else to 461 00:33:50,640 --> 00:33:54,039 go with that, Don, but it's true. It is just always fun 462 00:33:54,240 --> 00:34:00,000 and fascinating to talk to you. And of course we're doing this for June 463 00:34:00,200 --> 00:34:05,720 is pollinator month. And before I get into that, boy, you gave 464 00:34:05,839 --> 00:34:12,400 me a heeducation here on the word pollen and pollinate. You got to make 465 00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:15,519 sure to get it right. So a pollinator is a biotic agent that moves 466 00:34:15,719 --> 00:34:22,119 pollen from one flower to another, whereas a pollinizer is a plant that provides 467 00:34:22,679 --> 00:34:27,000 fertile pollen. I guess I better get that straight right off the bat, 468 00:34:27,159 --> 00:34:30,480 right. Well. Wow, I'm really impressed because I'm still trying to get 469 00:34:30,519 --> 00:34:36,440 that all figured out for myself. You got it right away. And of 470 00:34:36,519 --> 00:34:40,320 course when you talk about pollinator, we use an I, and then when 471 00:34:40,360 --> 00:34:45,000 you talk about pollen we use an E. Well I get a little confused 472 00:34:45,119 --> 00:34:50,039 after a while. What is up with that? I've always wandered, So 473 00:34:50,199 --> 00:34:53,320 I thought, who better to take it to than a word guy like yourself. 474 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:58,920 Well, I'm not necessarily a word guy. Don I mess words up. 475 00:34:59,400 --> 00:35:04,800 Sticky is the word expert. That just seems strange to me, Stacy 476 00:35:04,920 --> 00:35:08,880 that it'd be p O L L E N and then when we pollinate it 477 00:35:09,159 --> 00:35:13,000 they throw an I in there instead of an E. Well, you know, 478 00:35:13,079 --> 00:35:15,960 English does crazy things sometimes it takes other words and it you know, 479 00:35:16,719 --> 00:35:21,079 it's obviously a noun versus a verb situation, and I'm sure if I thought 480 00:35:21,079 --> 00:35:22,840 about it there, I would figure out other words that this has happened to 481 00:35:22,880 --> 00:35:27,760 you where the verb form has an I in it and the noun form has 482 00:35:28,000 --> 00:35:32,039 the e. But you know, fortunately there's autocorrect, so we'll all be 483 00:35:32,159 --> 00:35:39,079 okay. I think there's Isn't there a Latin base involved here too? Somehow? 484 00:35:39,199 --> 00:35:44,159 I? Yeah, I believe so too. Yeah. Yeah. Well, 485 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:45,519 now that we got that out of the way, let me ask you 486 00:35:45,599 --> 00:35:51,280 a question Don, and again we're talking to Don sneink Thorn apple Woodlands and 487 00:35:52,079 --> 00:35:55,000 boy Don shared some YouTube videos with us too that are great. We'll talk 488 00:35:55,039 --> 00:35:59,679 about that in a moment, but just a few thoughts on pollination I'm going 489 00:35:59,719 --> 00:36:05,719 to ask, you're right off the bat don, why is pollination important? 490 00:36:05,920 --> 00:36:07,840 I mean, I have a good idea why. But shouldn't we ask that 491 00:36:08,079 --> 00:36:13,920 question from the start? I would think so. And when we're talking about 492 00:36:14,079 --> 00:36:21,079 food, we like to see good seed production, which allows that plant to 493 00:36:21,280 --> 00:36:24,519 produce a good fruit around those seeds. So the more seeds they produce, 494 00:36:25,280 --> 00:36:30,679 the better the fruiting is. So pollination is important because it aids in the 495 00:36:30,800 --> 00:36:36,519 production of seeds. It's how plants reproduce. It's a good answer for me. 496 00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:44,239 You nailed that one. I'm speechless. Okay, So as far as 497 00:36:44,320 --> 00:36:47,559 honeybees are concerned, while they're doing that, I've heard you use this term 498 00:36:47,679 --> 00:36:54,239 before, flower fidelity. What's that exactly? Yes, honeybees of flower fidelity, 499 00:36:54,320 --> 00:37:00,679 which means that they are faithful. Fidelity refers to faithfulness, so they're 500 00:37:00,800 --> 00:37:06,440 faithful to one type of blossom for each trip out of the hive. So 501 00:37:06,559 --> 00:37:09,920 a honeybee flies from the beehive, the first blossom that goes to, let's 502 00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:15,000 say, is a dandelion. Every blossom that goes to thereafter on that trip 503 00:37:15,079 --> 00:37:19,119 out will be a dandelion. When it comes back to the high it unloads 504 00:37:19,159 --> 00:37:22,679 either it's load of nectar, pollen load, whatever it is. It can 505 00:37:22,760 --> 00:37:27,440 go back out and it might go to a different type of blossom the second 506 00:37:27,519 --> 00:37:30,719 time around, but it's going to stick with that type of blossom. So 507 00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:37,519 this is why the orchardists will mow the fields of dandelions under their orchard so 508 00:37:37,679 --> 00:37:42,079 that the honeybees aren't tempted by dandelions. They go right to the apple blossoms. 509 00:37:42,400 --> 00:37:45,760 Wow, that is fascinating. I didn't know that. So now when 510 00:37:45,039 --> 00:37:49,599 they venture back out, are they going to be like, hey, you 511 00:37:49,679 --> 00:37:52,360 know, I noticed some apples and flour, I'm going to go check those 512 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:54,960 out at this time? Or is it just like whatever they happen to bumble 513 00:37:55,079 --> 00:38:00,239 into first? Right, All right, well I just landed on an apple. 514 00:38:00,400 --> 00:38:05,679 Yes, I'm harvesting apples for the next five minutes. I would guess 515 00:38:05,800 --> 00:38:09,159 that there's a hive mind at work here too, you know. That's why 516 00:38:09,239 --> 00:38:15,000 we call it a super organism, where all the bees work in a kind 517 00:38:15,039 --> 00:38:19,760 of a symbiotic relationship and function together as a whole. So some bees are 518 00:38:19,800 --> 00:38:24,000 coming back with loads of nectar or pollen, and they're doing a special dance 519 00:38:24,079 --> 00:38:28,599 inside of that colony, telling the other bees where they ought to go next 520 00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:34,159 and for their next load of pollen. So I think once the honey bees 521 00:38:34,199 --> 00:38:38,360 get fixated on a source of either nectar or pollen, they'll probably stay with 522 00:38:38,480 --> 00:38:43,559 that source until that source is no longer available. Well, I'm a little 523 00:38:43,559 --> 00:38:46,119 afraid to ask this, but you know we've all seen bees, bumblebees, 524 00:38:46,159 --> 00:38:51,599 honeybees carrying loads of pollen. Now where are they carrying the nectar? Are 525 00:38:51,639 --> 00:38:55,320 they literally ingesting it and then bringing it back into the hive and sort of 526 00:38:55,400 --> 00:39:00,480 regurgitating it, or is there some secret nectar organ that I'm not a yeah, 527 00:39:02,239 --> 00:39:06,639 Yeah, it's the crop we call it, or the Yeah, there's 528 00:39:06,679 --> 00:39:08,679 a honey stomach. So honey bees of two stomachs. They have a honey 529 00:39:08,719 --> 00:39:13,840 stomach and then a I call it a food stomach for lack of a better 530 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:16,719 term. There's a one way valve between the two stomachs. So they're gonna 531 00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:20,840 take a snack and the way home. Open up that valve a little bit, 532 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:23,840 let some of that nectar go into their food stomach. That gives them 533 00:39:24,039 --> 00:39:29,519 energy to get back to the hive. And then yes, Stacey, they 534 00:39:29,559 --> 00:39:34,599 can regurgitate that to another bee. They connect proboscis the part of their mouth. 535 00:39:34,679 --> 00:39:38,119 It's like a straw connect proboscis where the receiver bee and that hive one 536 00:39:38,159 --> 00:39:43,239 of the bees live in its first three weeks in the hive, transfer that 537 00:39:43,440 --> 00:39:46,880 nectar. Chemicals are added by the bees' bodies and that transfer and that turns 538 00:39:46,920 --> 00:39:53,760 that nectar into honey. Wow. So tiny stomachs they are, I'm sure 539 00:39:53,840 --> 00:40:00,159 they are. But while they're collecting nectar, they're also the pollen is and 540 00:40:00,239 --> 00:40:04,280 attracted to their bodies as well. So yeah, it's a double duty. 541 00:40:04,760 --> 00:40:09,719 Where does the fermentation thing come in? Done so that we can make that's 542 00:40:09,880 --> 00:40:17,679 right. Honey bees cannot digest pollen. The grains they cannot digest. So 543 00:40:17,880 --> 00:40:22,199 the honeybee and this is its protein source. Like for the kids listening, 544 00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:25,119 it's eggs, meat, fish, peanut, butter. That's what we eat 545 00:40:25,199 --> 00:40:30,360 for our protein. Honey Bees use pollen for their protein. So they when 546 00:40:30,400 --> 00:40:34,440 they get back, they're carrying that big heavy load of pollen in it in 547 00:40:34,559 --> 00:40:38,280 its pollen basket and indentation on its back legs. Honeybee gets back into the 548 00:40:38,360 --> 00:40:44,000 hive, turns and backs into a cell and unloads its pollen from its back 549 00:40:44,119 --> 00:40:46,760 legs. Turn around, using its head like a ramrod, crams it into 550 00:40:46,800 --> 00:40:52,960 the bottom of that cell. Once we get maybe half filled in that cell, 551 00:40:52,079 --> 00:40:55,800 the bees will cap that over with a little bit of honey. That 552 00:40:57,000 --> 00:41:04,079 honey then ferments the pollen cracks open that pollen green, which allows it then 553 00:41:04,199 --> 00:41:07,480 to be digested by the bees, and we bee keepers call that fermented product 554 00:41:07,599 --> 00:41:15,559 bee bread. Yes, I'm I'm convinced that using honey for fermentation is a 555 00:41:15,599 --> 00:41:21,360 good thing based on what I know about honeybees. It's the oldest, it's 556 00:41:21,440 --> 00:41:28,840 the oldest fermented drink. No the mankind and recommentioned it earlier, mead exactly. 557 00:41:29,960 --> 00:41:34,199 So the star of the show is the queen Bee. And I'm watching 558 00:41:34,639 --> 00:41:40,159 a YouTube video, and Adriana will share that YouTube video. Of course, 559 00:41:40,239 --> 00:41:45,360 this is a YouTube radio show and podcast. Those watching on YouTube can watch 560 00:41:45,440 --> 00:41:52,760 it here. Boy, that queen bee is something else. And then this 561 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:58,000 YouTube video continues, and don you're out there putting a mark on their back 562 00:41:58,119 --> 00:42:00,559 with a marker. I couldn't believe it. What in the world are you 563 00:42:00,719 --> 00:42:07,159 doing out there? That's right, I'm marking a queen because if I get 564 00:42:07,199 --> 00:42:10,719 a queen in that high that's marked with a dot then I can spot her 565 00:42:10,840 --> 00:42:15,159 easier in the hive if I need to find her, or if I go 566 00:42:16,559 --> 00:42:20,760 to a program and do a show. I like to have a marked queen 567 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:25,639 so people can find that queen bee in the traveling observation hives better. Plus 568 00:42:25,679 --> 00:42:30,119 it tells me how old that queen is. So when I mark that queen, 569 00:42:30,199 --> 00:42:34,760 I write it in my notebook that I just freshly marked that queen and 570 00:42:34,880 --> 00:42:38,599 I got a date for that. Because a first year a queen her hive, 571 00:42:38,880 --> 00:42:43,719 their goal is to make enough honey to live through the winter. A 572 00:42:43,960 --> 00:42:47,800 second year of that queen's life, their goal is to swarm, So we 573 00:42:49,079 --> 00:42:52,159 treat a second year colony totally different than a first year colony. Oh, 574 00:42:52,760 --> 00:42:59,119 how swarming party, that's exactly right, Yes, yes, And I did 575 00:42:59,159 --> 00:43:01,199 a lot of things this year. We had a lot of bee hives that 576 00:43:01,440 --> 00:43:07,320 live through the winter this year, a pretty exciting phenomenon which I haven't had 577 00:43:07,480 --> 00:43:15,320 much good overwintering success the last few years. So that made my beekeeper life 578 00:43:15,760 --> 00:43:20,599 very busy for the month of May because I had to do things hive manipulations 579 00:43:21,239 --> 00:43:24,480 to keep my hives from swarming. So marking that queen bee, in other 580 00:43:24,519 --> 00:43:28,360 words, you mark the bee obviously we can see it in the video, 581 00:43:28,559 --> 00:43:32,920 also being easier to spot. But so you're a trained professional, But is 582 00:43:32,960 --> 00:43:38,760 it difficult for people who are not trained in beekeeping to spot or find the 583 00:43:38,840 --> 00:43:44,239 queen? Yes, I would say it is. It's hard to find her 584 00:43:44,360 --> 00:43:47,559 if you've got a hive full of bees. Fifty thousand bees could be the 585 00:43:47,639 --> 00:43:53,559 population around fourth of July. It's hard even for a trained beekeeper like myself 586 00:43:53,719 --> 00:44:00,679 to find the queen. But I'm with practice, With practice, learn what 587 00:44:00,920 --> 00:44:05,199 to look for in your eyes, just kind of hone in on different characteristics 588 00:44:05,239 --> 00:44:08,679 of that hive that seemed to help the queen zoom into focus. You would 589 00:44:08,719 --> 00:44:13,079 think the crown and the scepter would give her away, right. I was 590 00:44:13,119 --> 00:44:16,840 going to say, train on where's Waldo books in the off season? If 591 00:44:16,920 --> 00:44:22,679 you know that's funny, But you know I really trained on is my indoor 592 00:44:22,760 --> 00:44:24,920 observation hive where I have a tube where the bees can fly in and out 593 00:44:24,920 --> 00:44:29,400 of the house through the wall. I'd never I would never cut a hole 594 00:44:29,440 --> 00:44:31,440 in my house for anything, but I did for a tube of bees. 595 00:44:34,239 --> 00:44:37,039 I love it anyway. When when our kids were little, my son and 596 00:44:37,079 --> 00:44:40,400 I used to sit one on each side of the observation. We'd race thee 597 00:44:40,480 --> 00:44:44,679 could you know, we play games with our kids like that. We'd race 598 00:44:44,760 --> 00:44:47,760 the su you could find the queen the first, and then we'd sit there 599 00:44:47,800 --> 00:44:52,039 for a while and we'd say switch and we'd both switch sides and look again. 600 00:44:52,840 --> 00:44:57,400 So that trained my eyes to look for the queen. And you know 601 00:44:57,519 --> 00:45:02,199 what's interesting. Kids can find a queen easier than almost anybody. When I 602 00:45:02,440 --> 00:45:06,039 need to find a queen bee, I'd bring one of my kids out to 603 00:45:06,119 --> 00:45:10,719 the r because they just I don't know if their minds focus better because they're 604 00:45:10,800 --> 00:45:15,760 not so full of adult clutter. I just don't. I don't know what 605 00:45:15,880 --> 00:45:21,000 it is, but it's amazing. That is interesting, don So. June 606 00:45:21,440 --> 00:45:30,920 is a National Pollinator Month and we focus on pollinators in the landscape during the 607 00:45:30,000 --> 00:45:37,039 month of June. Any favorites as far as flowers are concerned, you know, 608 00:45:37,119 --> 00:45:40,760 we talked about the flower fidelity in your opinion and in your work with 609 00:45:40,880 --> 00:45:45,880 honey bees. Any favorites during the month of June that you want to point 610 00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:50,679 out. Definitely it would be in the clover families. And I know that 611 00:45:50,880 --> 00:45:55,320 Clover's not a proven winner, right, I love it too, and the 612 00:45:55,480 --> 00:46:01,000 beehive. It's a proven winner to be because when the clover starts to bloom, 613 00:46:01,079 --> 00:46:06,079 that's when honey production really kicks in. We've got so many types of 614 00:46:06,199 --> 00:46:08,800 clover. The white Dutch, the all psych looks like white Dutch, except 615 00:46:08,840 --> 00:46:13,280 it's got a per pinkish hue to it. Now, right now, the 616 00:46:13,480 --> 00:46:16,280 yellow sweet clover is blooming. You want to look it up. You can 617 00:46:16,400 --> 00:46:22,559 see how that grows on kind of a stem and that that will bloom every 618 00:46:22,760 --> 00:46:28,199 other year. The first year it grows and it doesn't bloom it and it 619 00:46:28,599 --> 00:46:31,320 quote unquote dies, but from that same root system it grows again the next 620 00:46:31,400 --> 00:46:37,559 year and then it blooms, gets pollinated and produces by any Is that what 621 00:46:37,679 --> 00:46:42,280 we call that? Correct? Yes? Correct? Okay, good. Sometimes 622 00:46:42,480 --> 00:46:45,400 I've mispronounced that like bi annual. But it's by any all, isn't it. 623 00:46:46,079 --> 00:46:51,800 So after the yellow sweet clover comes the king of all and that's the 624 00:46:51,960 --> 00:46:57,079 white sweet clover. It's very similar to the yellow but it's it's more prolific. 625 00:46:57,400 --> 00:47:00,320 The white sweet clover is and that is a mat for honey bees. 626 00:47:01,239 --> 00:47:07,679 And it blooms in June late from mid June till mid July, right during 627 00:47:07,920 --> 00:47:15,440 peak honeybee population and the warmest time of the year or the best. It's 628 00:47:15,519 --> 00:47:17,719 not the warmest time of year, but it's a good warm time of year, 629 00:47:17,840 --> 00:47:22,599 so we could a lot of honey bees flying and producing honey like crazy. 630 00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:25,599 I love that with clover. You know, if I was to do 631 00:47:25,840 --> 00:47:30,960 marketing for the honey people, I would say, June, it ain't over 632 00:47:31,239 --> 00:47:37,039 until it's clover. Oh, that's right, right, And they said honey. 633 00:47:37,840 --> 00:47:42,000 Yeah, And the clover like white Dutch blooms from mid May all the 634 00:47:42,039 --> 00:47:45,400 way to the beginning of September. I love that. Bird's foot tree foil 635 00:47:45,519 --> 00:47:47,519 is another one that I really really like. Now I have to ask you, 636 00:47:47,639 --> 00:47:52,559 do you are these planted? Did you deliberately plant these around your property 637 00:47:52,800 --> 00:47:57,079 or are the ubiquitous enough just surrounding your property that you don't need to do 638 00:47:57,199 --> 00:47:59,280 that and the bees can go out and forage for them on their own. 639 00:48:00,239 --> 00:48:07,079 Typically the honey bees travel from their hives about two miles, so it's not 640 00:48:07,239 --> 00:48:09,079 what I plant in my yard that's going to give me honey. It's what, 641 00:48:09,360 --> 00:48:14,599 as you said, is ubiquitous in the area, and there is typically 642 00:48:14,719 --> 00:48:20,280 in the West Michigan in Michigan in general. Usually there's enough stuff blooming in 643 00:48:20,320 --> 00:48:25,880 your area, enough weeds blooming that they're going to do okay. And when 644 00:48:25,960 --> 00:48:30,119 we add to that with our plantings and our gardens and everybody does that, 645 00:48:30,320 --> 00:48:36,440 it's just bonus. Definitely. Don it's June, soon will be July. 646 00:48:36,920 --> 00:48:42,559 Do bees like hot weather? They do. Yes, They're a tropical insect, 647 00:48:42,800 --> 00:48:46,480 so it's natural for them to be active and hot weather. The long 648 00:48:46,679 --> 00:48:53,159 days give them good flight hours per day. So this is prime time. 649 00:48:53,280 --> 00:48:59,960 And I love this time of year in the beehive because the verroa light which 650 00:49:00,159 --> 00:49:05,880 is a pest to the honeybees. The verroamite population hasn't grown enough that it's 651 00:49:06,840 --> 00:49:12,079 negatively impacting the hives too much, or we as beekeepers have taken care of 652 00:49:12,239 --> 00:49:16,920 the roamites enough to keep their population low. But some of the pathogens that 653 00:49:17,039 --> 00:49:22,559 affect honeybees kind of linger in the background at this time of year because the 654 00:49:22,679 --> 00:49:30,159 honeybee population is growing faster than the pathogen can grow to do its damage. 655 00:49:30,639 --> 00:49:34,639 So after fourth of July, after mid late July, that's when we see 656 00:49:34,679 --> 00:49:38,360 the path the bad stuff taking over a little bit more. So this is 657 00:49:38,440 --> 00:49:42,000 a fun time of year to be a beekeeper. You might say it's a 658 00:49:42,039 --> 00:49:46,800 sweet spot. It's the sweet spot perfect. I love it. I love 659 00:49:46,920 --> 00:49:52,559 that perfect way to cap off this segment. He's all the buzz, Don 660 00:49:52,840 --> 00:49:55,840 snewink Thorn apple Woodlands. Don. I always get inspired when I talk to 661 00:49:55,920 --> 00:50:01,599 you, and I love your enthusiasm. Our website, right is Thornapplewoodlands dot 662 00:50:01,679 --> 00:50:06,960 com. Is that correct? That is correct and people are welcome to look 663 00:50:07,000 --> 00:50:09,639 at it. Check out my blog, check out the YouTube channel. It's 664 00:50:09,639 --> 00:50:15,400 been fun adding lots of new material to the YouTube channel lately. And of 665 00:50:15,440 --> 00:50:21,079 course we'll put that link also at our website, Gardeningsimplified on air dot com, 666 00:50:21,239 --> 00:50:23,760 you'll be able to link to Don and yes, go to his website. 667 00:50:23,800 --> 00:50:29,960 I just love looking at pictures of you out there at work, Don, 668 00:50:30,079 --> 00:50:32,960 and appreciate everything you do. And thanks for joining us again on the 669 00:50:34,039 --> 00:50:37,840 Gardening Simplified show. And I thank you so much for the opportunity. It's 670 00:50:37,920 --> 00:50:40,800 always a thrill to be with you folks. Thank you so much, Don, 671 00:50:40,920 --> 00:50:44,840 Thank you. Don. Well, there's nothing like a guest like Don 672 00:50:44,880 --> 00:50:47,519 where you learn something new every time they come on. More than one thing. 673 00:50:47,840 --> 00:50:52,400 Oh my word, I have to behive myself when he's on, cause 674 00:50:52,440 --> 00:50:54,679 you just get excited thinking about flowers, plants and bees. Yes, I 675 00:50:54,800 --> 00:51:00,199 certainly am. So thank you Don, thank you Rick, thanks Adrian as 676 00:51:00,239 --> 00:51:01,519 always, thank you so much to all of you for listening. I hope 677 00:51:01,519 --> 00:51:02,400 we have a great week ahead.