Welcome to the Party

Posted by Tony Bielaczyc

I get asked about native plants a lot by people who are thinking of changing the plant palette or design of the their gardens. Just last night, I was talking with neighbors in my new building about the beds that surround the building: ditching this, moving that, when one person said 'I want to use just naive plants'. He then added how he liked the butterfly bush (Buddleia) that we have in the front of the building since they're a 'nectar source for insects'. I didn't really have the heart to tell him that the buddleia we have is a native of China and is now considered a noxious weed in Oregon and Washington state. Native plants are good, right? They're 'pollinator plants', right? They behave nicely and are trouble free, right? Non-natives are bad, right? They dominate, and overrun a place, right? We shouldn't be using them, right?

Well...yes and no. Native plants are mostly trouble free, and in many cases are a food source for insects and other animals, yes. But they do self sow and spread. So, trouble free and well behaved? Not always...when people use the phrase 'native plants,' it's like saying 'organic' or 'going green'. The intent is good, but what do they really mean? In terms of gardening, I think  they mean plant diversity. Plant diversity is just that, lots of different kinds of plants all together. Plants like butterfly bush: Easy as can be to grow, thriving in hot, sunny spots, deer resistant and fragrant, pretty flowers that attract and help feed pretty butterflies. No wonder it's wildly popular. But can it still be a good choice, even when it's on its way to becoming not just noxious, but downright obnoxious.

It has been said before: Gardening is a lot like hosting a big dinner party with loads of widely different personalities. And like a good party, it isn't a 'set-it-forget-it' event, but requires lots of work to make sure everyone has what they need to enjoy themselves and shine in the way that made them attractive and a good candidate to invite to the party to meet all the other great guests in the first place. With work and luck, everyone gets along and has a fabulous time, both locals and visiting dignitaries. To keep everyone comfortable, we need to tidy up after some of our guests and rein them in when they start to take up too much space in the room. But those non-native revelers are great to invite and liven things up. And they're often a great choice in unexpected places.

Like this beauty, Australian bush mint, Prostanthera rotundifolia. A listener called yesterday for advice on how to grow it. Well, with a name like Australian bush mint, you can bet it's not a Washington state native. In fact, it is a native to Australia where it's considered a very responsible garden choice for its drought tolerance, long flowering period, as a food source for pollinators, a medicinal used by indigenous people, and even for it's fragrant foliage that helps to deter grazing animals. But in Seattle, an Aussie in Seattle? Well, if you think about the notoriously hot, dry, Aussie-like summers of Seattle, yes. To make sure it does its best, our gentle listener should look for the sunniest, hottest spot in her garden, like a place between a paved walk way and a wall or a raised bed that has lean, fast draining soil with some shelter from winds. Or in a container that's out all summer and wintered over in a cool, sunny enclosed porch or room. I know, I know, sunny in Seattle during the winter, right...I'm just saying ideally.

And I'm just saying that when we make plant choices, we need to be proactive. Mix things up, but ask questions and read labels. If your choice is a rampant grower that sheds tons of seed all over the place, maybe it's not the best choice, be it native or exotic. Or, maybe you need to be willing to take the upper hand and deadhead big time, thin self sown seedlings, and dig and compost the far too many established plants already there. It's not a question of black or white, good or bad, native or non-native, but of deciding which of the fun, interesting potential 'guests' out there you'll invite.

What's in a Name Game

Posted by Tony Bielaczyc

Andrew, Stacey and I love hearing from listeners. It makes us feel like we're really there with you all and we get a big kick out of hearing about everything that's going on, in and around your gardens. However, I sometimes feel like AB and Stacey have a stronger level of recall and better memories than I do. (Must be all those Ginkgo biloba brownies they're always munching on!) They're far less apt to feel any twinges when someone calls with a plant id question. Like when Darla Steinborn from Louisiana called into Morning Living a couple of weeks back to ask about an overgrown ornamental blocking the way to the front door of her place. Stacey, the indefatigable plant id person at MSL was ready with the right name. Or, so she thought...

Darla described to Stacey the plant in question as having sets of leaves like an outstretched hand, pointed with shiny surfaces and big. Beyond wanting to know the name, Darla hoped to cut back the beast and make the way to her door open and available once again. Could she do this without killing the thing, she wondered. Stacey paused for a moment and answered, chaste tree plant, Vitex agnus-castus.

Vitex is a favorite of ours here in Garden. Easy, drought tolerant once established, adaptable to sun or shade, hardy for Z6-10, it's got leaves that are big and dark green on top with a silver cast underneath. They have a sage-like scent that makes them very unappealing to all but the most starved of deer. And if it gets too big, you can cut it nearly to the ground in very early spring for a full flush of new growth each year. Oh, AND, it's got long tapered spires of flower, flowers, flowers that are a favorite of bees and butterflies with varieties in a range of deep to lavender blue and onto silvery-white. There you go, Darla, cut away and enjoy! She thought the case was closed until Andrew and I went back to the radio studio that afternoon for the Thursday edition of Homegrown.

We're there blathering on about something horticultural, when a call comes in from a listener named Darla in the great state of Louisiana. How can we help? Darla says she called that morning to ask Stacey for some help with a plant id and what she thought was the answer isn't. Andrew and I look at each other with furrowed brows of incredulity. Stacey got the id wrong? Our Stacey, the plant detective? we thought. 'Tell us more' we asked. Shiny leaves, again. 'Are the leaves joined at the base or separate smaller leaves?'. Joined...I see a bulb go off over Andrew's head. RICE PAPER PLANT beams down from above.

He says 'Rice paper plant' and looks at me with his hand moving around and around searching for the botanic name. TA-DAH, Tetrapanax papyriferus, of course, I chime in. (Must a had a ginkgo brownie!)

And why not Tetrapanax? Darla is in Louisiana, clearly a Zone 8-9 region, so it's a cinch that Darla can use a number of plants that we, up here in Z5, think of as houseplants outdoors in her outdoor landscape, including Tetrapanax. And it's got some big leaves (sometimes 15" across), joined at the base, shiny for sure and this baby can get 15' in size.

Done deal, Darla. And she thanks us for the help. Andrew and I have a bit of that 'We're fabulous' glow on and head back to the office only to look in our Homegrown email mailbox and find that Darla has sent us a message saying it's not rice paper plant after all. Now, all three of us are pissed. This is it. We're figuring this out, do or die. Smart girl that she is, Darla included several shots of the beastie and she wasn't kiddin'; that thing is BIG! Stacey digs in and finds out what it is. Fatsia japonica, Japanese aralia.

Andrew promptly sets fingers to keyboard and let's Darla in on the true name of the plant she has and that she can cut that thing right down to her preferred size without any harm to the Fatsia at all, just one of the blessings of growing this beauty.

A collective sign of total, final accomplishment goes out from all three of us. All in a days work at Martha Stewart Living, from your garden editor friends in print and on the air. So, keep those questions comin', folks. We're all of us ready!

The Gardener's Nightmare

Posted by Stacey Hirvela

The candy bowl was empty, the candles burned down,
So I grabbed a volume of garden verse
And went to bed in my long flannel gown

I read a few poems, a couple of horticultural tips
But soon began to doze and nod
With the words, “plant the rest of those crocus” still on my lips.

I awoke quite suddenly to a din, a true cacophony
That seemed to be coming from my garden
Somewhere around my beloved Daphnes

I went to the window, pulled back the shade
I ran down to the yard to witness
An eleven mile long garden pest parade


Slugs and snails led the way, leaving trails of slime
And not a single raven flew in the sky
To prey upon these vile things, one at a time.

A million Japanese beetles followed, shells shining in the light
They skeletonized every leaf they came across
and there was no bT nor bucket of soapy water in sight

After them came mice and voles in terrifying array
They gnawed at the roots and the trees
Where was that red tailed hawk I saw yesterday?
Shouldn’t he be taking care of all of these?


Next the gophers and woodchucks lumbered as they may
They laughed wickedly as they walked
and mocked me standing there with hot pepper spray

But they were nothing compared to two thousand rabbits
That mowed down every plant at the base
Causing even more damage than is their normal habit

Deer, of course, were the main attraction, so regal they appear
And they browsed and rubbed every tree and shrub
I could only sit and watch, paralyzed with fear

Bringing up the end were acres of poison ivy and weeds
There was dandelion and dock and grass galore
And each planted itself in the space that had just been freed
then cloned itself and planted one more.

Wake up, its just a dream, yelled a voice in my head
But I woke to muddy footprints on my sheets
And a trail of fallen leaves, ending at my bed.

Happy Halloween from all of us at Homegrown!

It's peony planting time

Posted by Stacey Hirvela

To enjoy the beauty of peonies this May, you'll have to plant them now. They look delicate and fragile, but they are actually extremely tough plants, living for several decades, so they are a solid investment for your garden. There are two main types of peonies: tree peonies and herbaceous peonies.

Twitter Contest: Get free tixs to see David Chang & Martha

Posted by Alexis Tirado

Here at Martha Stewart Living Radio, we are SUPER STOKED for Tuesday, November 3. Why? Martha is going to sit down with chef David Chang for an hour on Martha Stewart Living Radio! They're going to talk shop about food, his Momofuku restaurants and his new cookbook. Tune in on November 3 at 4 pm EST on Sirius 112 and XM 157.

BONUS: If you live in the tri-state area and want to attend the show at Sirius XM studios enter our Twitter contest right now!

UPDATE: Congrats to @PlumIslandCooki for winning this contest!

Great Pumpkin(s)

Posted by Tony Bielaczyc

I've lived in New york for 20 years and, I'm afraid, I sometimes share a leaden sense of the world with some of my other fellow citizens, like I've seen it all. Yet, right when I think I'm at my peak of bleary, world weary, 'been-there-seen-that' best/worst, something like this comes along and simply makes me smile inside and out.

This is what I saw on Lealanau Street in Frankfort, MI, when I turned the corner toward my sister's weekend place. Frankfort is a lovely little town on the shore of Lake Michigan that plays host FallFest every October where it's all things pumpkin. This is the same time that Frankfort resident Ed Moody shines himself with some super sculpting on these outsized curcibits that s-p-r-e-a-d out across his front yard.

Here's another shot with my grand nephew, Brendan Goerge, sitting atop one of the beauties, saying 'cheese' like 'Long Island Cheese'.  (Rock on, little man.) Besides gaping in awe, viewers are encouraged to guess the weight of the pumpkins on display. (Ed had 13 when we were there.) He also does a demo of his carving expertise during the weekend FallFest-ivities.

This is Ed whittling away on a 1489 pounder.

Ed let's his creative streak run wild with figurative flights of fancy over a few weeks right up to Halloween when all his work is complete and illuminated for the big night.

And while I'm on the subject of 'Great Pumpkins', congratulations to the current record holder for growing the largest, heaviest great pumpkin thus far recorded, Christy Harp.  Christy kicked some gardening tail by bringing in a pumpkin that tipped the scales at nearly 1800 lbs.  That's right!  1725 lbs!

...got any other pumpkin stories to share out there?  We'd love to hear/see 'em! 

Autumn leaves must fall...

Posted by Stacey Hirvela

Raking leaves is a great time to put on a cozy, handknit sweater and get some exercise in the crisp autumn air...at least, it is the first time you do it. By the third or fourth day of raking, it has definitely become every bit a chore. But it is too important to be lazy about: a heavy blanket of leaves on the lawn over winter can do a lot of damage to the grass. Here are a few ways to make the job a little easier - and some good incentive for keeping them for your own use rather than putting them on the curb.

Protecting your plants

Posted by Stacey Hirvela

Autumn weather is a little like riding a roller coaster - delirious highs of warm, sunny days turning, quite suddenly, to shockingly chilly, breezy nights. With the days providing perfect growing temperatures and the nights potentially killing or seriously setting back plants, what's a gardener without a greenhouse to do? Protect your plants from the cold night, of course! Here are our recommended materials and methods for getting your plants through brief cold snaps and stretching your growing season.

Tea, fresh from the garden

Posted by Stacey Hirvela

I was up on our rooftop doing some work for an upcoming Good Things idea when I noticed how bushy and healthy our herb boxes looked. With the cool breeze blowing, it occurred to me that I ought to harvest a bit and whip up some herbal tea when I got back down to my desk. I cut a long stem of lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla), and a few stems of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and spearmint (Mentha spicata):

I washed them really well with cool water and then put 8 or 10 lemon verbena leaves in a mug with a sprig each of the lemon balm and mint. I covered the whole thing with hot water from the dispenser and let it sit for 5 minutes. Infusions like this one, made with fresh plants instead of true tea leaves, are known as tisanes. This tisane couldn't have been easier or tastier - and you can do much better than this using your own garden and kitchen! It is the perfect thing for chilly autumn mornings and evenings and a great way to use up herbs before hard frosts arrive. Experiment with different combinations and proportions of herbs - here is a list of more tea (oops - tisane) garden plants to get you started. Let us know what you brew up!

Deer-Resistant Landscaping

Posted by Stacey Hirvela

It was so great hearing everyone's animal encounters on Homegrown yesterday! Thanks so much for your calls. We gave away a great book, and I wanted to give you the details of it here: Deer-Resistant Landscaping: proven advice and strategies for outwitting deer and 20 other pesky mammals by Neil Soderstrom (Rodale, 2008). With advice about armadillos, bears, beavers, chipmunks, gophers, moles, muskrats, opossums, peccaries, porcupines, rabbits, raccoons, rats and mice, skunks, squirrels, voles, and woodchucks, this book is an excellent reference for anyone. This is probably the best book we've seen about dealing with mammalian pests! Soderstrom goes into detail about the animals' habits, behavior, and lifestyle, so you can decide how best to deal with them in your specific situation. The book includes an encyclopedia of more than 1,000 deer resistant plants, each one's resistance attributed directly to gardening authorities around the country. A good read with sound information and great photos - we particularly like the one on page 193 showing traces in the snow of a tussle between a vole and a kestrel (needless to say, the kestrel won!).