Gardentopia

We're celebrating our 100th episode with the concept of "gardentopia" - creating a dreamy place to escape the world, right in your own backyard. Featured shrub: Cedar Rapids false cypress.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Coming to you from just outside of studio A here
at Proven Winners Color Choice Shrubs. It's time for the
Gardening Simplified Show, and not just any gardening Simplified Show,
Episode one hundred.

Speaker 2 (00:17):
Congratulations, congratulations Rick, and congratulations Adriana, and thanks to you
for sticking with us for all of these episodes. Now,
as much as I would love to stay out here
and do the show from the garden, we're going to
head inside and get started, all right, So here we are.
It's our one hundredth episode. It is amazing. It's been
less than two years. We've reached one hundred, so one

(00:39):
hundred different episodes. You can see them all on our
website at Gardeningsimplified on air dot com. So if you
missed one you want to go back, you can find
them all there. And as we look forward into the
next one hundred episodes and beyond, we wanted to hear
from you, and we wanted to hear what you think
about the show and what you want to see more

(01:00):
of on the show. Now I can tell you without question,
Rick and I can sit here and talk to you
about plants and gardening all day long. We'll tell you
things you don't even want to hear about plants and gardening,
but that's what you know. The whole point of the
show is is you, and is the show serving you
and helping you become a better gardener and serve your
needs in the garden and with plants. So we would

(01:22):
like to invite you to fill out The survey will
be linked on our website at Gardeningsimplified on air dot com,
as well as in the comments on our YouTube or
in the caption on our YouTube video. You can just
click that now. It is optional, but if you want
to put an email address, we will draw a winner
at random to get a proven winner's color choice swag bag.
You'll get a hat and socks and notebooks and all

(01:44):
sorts of fun stuff that we'll get from our swag
at closet, so that'll be one winner at random. It
can be completely anonymous. Your survey responses are anonymous. We're
not going to say, you know, Rick Vice seven at
whatever emailed and said the show is great, don't change
a thing. We will not be able to connect you
with your answers, but we will definitely value your time

(02:05):
and responses to that, so we'd appreciate that if you
have a moment to fill that out.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
Tied into that survey, Today, Stacey, we talk about garden
Topia and we've got a great interview coming up with
Jan Johnson, an author, a designer who wrote a beautiful
book called garden Topia that's coming up in our fourth
segment and should be phoned. And you know what brings
up the question is garden topia attainable? And tied into

(02:33):
that survey, Stacy, I would say that I've learned that
gardening is about continuing education. I'm amazed at how much
I learn every day. I should say I'm amazed at
how much I don't know. And that's the great thing
about gardening, know how plants interact, how they live in

(02:54):
the earth, who they live with, and how they share
their resources. If you don't educate and learn, you're a laborer,
not a gardener. So a true gardener is constantly seeking
out new answers, you know.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
And that's so true. And I people will often say, oh,
you're a garden expert, and I always bristle at that
because there are no garden experts. I mean, yes, I've
been gardening a long time and I've definitely learned a
lot of things and have an under some understanding. But
I can tell you too. The longer I do this,
the more I realize how much I don't know, the
more I realize that plants are just weird and do

(03:28):
strange things all the time that completely surprise you. And
I think, you know, Thomas Jefferson really said it best
because he said, though an old man, I am but
a young gardener, and he was well into his seventies
at that point. And you know, that is the attitude
that you have to take as as a gardener. I
think a lot of us, speaking from experience, kind of

(03:49):
do our drawn to gardening because we're maybe a little
bit of a control freak. We like to have our
little area that we can control and maybe impose our
will on. But then there's also this element of whatever
nature throws at you is whatever you have to deal with.
And that's how you learn, is the challenges. You don't
learn by everything going well all of the time. You
learn best with the challenges.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
I've always found, Yeah, I agree completely, And when I
go out and speak to groups, I know you do
the same, Stacey. I always say to them, I'm not
the gardening expert. I'm an experienced failure. That's what I am.
And then when we share our stories and what we've learned,
everybody benefits. And that's the basis of the Gardening Simplified show.

(04:31):
You know. Again, we develop a relationship with our gardens,
with our yards, and I always have to chuckle when
somebody comes up to me and says, you know, my
yard got away from me. No, your yard didn't get
away from you. You got away from your ear.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
It's true. And also I think that there is some
something to be said about embracing the wildness. There are
different approaches to gardening and some people you can certainly
see this if you drive around any neighborhood. Some people
are the maintain everything to within an inch of its life.
Everything has to be trimmed, no plants can touch. Everything
is a neat, little tough and that is an absolutely

(05:10):
lovely and valid way to garden, if that's what you
want to do. But I can tell you you know,
my tendency is more toward the wild. I don't have
a lot of weeds because I space my plants closely together,
and I'd rather have my plants I'll grow in together
and prune out some stems than to spend the whole
day falling weeds myself. And of course, within that fast spectrum,

(05:31):
there's a whole lot of other ways to garden. You
can mix those two, and you know, I think people
would be a little bit more interested. I mean, there's
certainly lots of people are interested in gardening, but I
think people would be more interested if they realized that
there was so much more room for creativity and forgiveness
in plants. Then they assume that there is.

Speaker 1 (05:51):
That's well said, and also forgiveness on not being able
to pronounce plant names. Now for episode one hundred, here Stacy.
It's always a privilege to be able to sit next
to you and do this show. Your knowledge is amazing
and your ability to pronounce botanical names blows me away.
So I thought for show number one hundred, I'd write

(06:14):
a limb a rick for you called Liberties with language.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
Ooh, I like it.

Speaker 1 (06:20):
Today we are turning one hundred. Where did the time go?
I wondered, It's been a successful run. Time flies, We're
having fun. Lots of Latin names I've blundered. Thanks for
listening and viewing our commitment. We're renewing botanical names can agast,
So just say them really fast then pretend you know

(06:43):
what you're doing. That's my approach.

Speaker 2 (06:45):
I like, you know, it's a valid approach. There is
nothing wrong with that. And you know I've said it
on the show and I think and I will continue
to say it, and that is that a scientific name
is a great thing to know because it is universal.
So if you were in another country out a botanical garden,
you would be able to know what plant you were
looking at. But at the end of the day, plant

(07:05):
names serve primarily to get you what you want at
the garden center, and as long as you are walking
out with the plant that you wanted and hopefully a
few more additional new friends to get to know, that's
all that matters. Whether or not you pronounce it quote
unquote correctly is really you know, people will think, oh, Stacy,
she's such a you know, she's just so up on

(07:26):
grammar and you have to say things right, and that's
not true at all. For many, many years, I actually
said hydrange up macro phila or macrophyla, and someone said,
why are you saying macrophila. You don't say chlorophyle And
he said, you're right, those are the same root words
like the phyl And that's what I realized. It's just

(07:48):
about consistency. So make up your mind how you're going
to pronounce stuff. Try to interpret that consistently over all
different parts of speech. Easier said than done, probably, but
I you know, I again, I leave plenty of room
for giveness when it comes to plant names out there.

Speaker 1 (08:03):
I'll be consistent and just say I'm really fast. That's
what I'm going to do. So, Stacy, we've had a
lot of great topics through the first one hundred episodes.
Of course, people have enjoyed us walking through the trial
garden plants of the year, pruning specimen plants. I was
amazed at how vines and clematis or clematis was such

(08:24):
a popular topic. But again, to reiterate, I'm interested in
hearing from our listeners, from our viewers who make this
show the topics that you're interested in. Because, yes, one
hundred episodes, but Stacy, I think we've just scratched the surface.

Speaker 2 (08:41):
We have, and there's always so much more to talk
about new topics as well as revisiting old topics with
new context. Because you know, if we do a spring
pruning show, that's going to have a very different kind
of context and lean than if we were to do
a fall pruning show or a winter pruning show. And so,
you know, things never really get old. And here's the
other thing, especially if you are a gardener who is

(09:02):
very much still learning, as we mostly all are, it
doesn't hurt to have things repeated a little bit to
remind you and bring it back to top of mind.

Speaker 1 (09:10):
Absolutely, So today we'll talk about garden Topia. Is it attainable?
A great interview coming up in our fourth segment. I
like plants that celebrate the seasons, that give three or
four seasons of interest, plants that are foundational, plants that
put on a show, Plants that are low maintenance, enjoyed

(09:31):
by wildlife, native of ours like proven winners, color choice shrubs,
berry Poppins, winterberry or brandywine Vi Burnham. And then of course,
one of our best topics during the one hundred shows
was lering plants and positioning plants. That's a hot topic, Stace.

Speaker 2 (09:48):
It's a hot topic. And you know that is one
where I think a lot of people, and I talked
about it on the episode. People think there's a right answer,
People think that there are these formulas, and you can't
veer out of them. I can tell you that even
the most talented garden designers out there who make it
look easy, they have not always gotten it right. They
finally got it right, and we all keep experimenting. And

(10:12):
I think that's really the key, is to keep a
critical eye and give yourself room to not necessarily make mistakes,
but to do things that maybe don't work out, and
then you can almost always, i mean, short of planting
like an oak tree, you can almost always move things
and change your mind.

Speaker 1 (10:30):
One of the favorite topics on The Gardening Simplified Show
is the second segment Plants on Trial, and we can
tap into Stacy's knowledge of plants, and that's coming up
next here on our one hundredth episode. We'll see what
plant Stacy has to share with us. That's coming up
next here on The Gardening Simplified Show.

Speaker 2 (10:57):
Proven Winner's Color Choice Shrubs care about your success in
the garden. That's why we trial and test all of
our shrubs for eight to ten years, making sure they
outperform everything else on the market. Look for them and
the distinctive white container at your local garden center. Greetings,
Gardening friends. For the one hundredth time, it is my
pleasure to talk to you about plants on trial, which

(11:19):
is where we take a plant, one of the three
hundred and twenty plus proven Winner's Color Choice shrubs, and
tell you all about it, and you decide if you're
going to put it in your garden. But before we
get there, the bigger question is garden topia possible?

Speaker 3 (11:31):
Now?

Speaker 2 (11:31):
Of course I believe absolutely it is. It certainly is happening.
For me. My garden honestly just looks so amazing right now.
It is unequivocally a late July garden just by virtue
of the plants that I have in it, you know,
late July, early August, late midsummer garden, and everything is
just so grown in. I can't see my neighbors anymore

(11:54):
because you know, my big silphium cup plants are ten
feet tall, and you know, everything is just lush and
wonderful and full. And for me, that is garden topia,
that feeling of just sort of being surrounded by this
paradise of you know, diversity of plants, diversity of insects, birds,

(12:16):
baby bunnies that are so cute. I have a set
of two living in the garden right now, which are adorable,
and you know, they help you rabbit proof your garden
because you're not going to be able to have a
garden and long if you've got a pair of baby
bunnies and they eat everything. So for me, yeah, I
think the garden topia is absolutely possible, and I think
that I'm experiencing it, especially at this time of year.

(12:36):
But I think the trick for most people when it
comes to this notion of garden topia, this utopian you
know garden that can it exist in your backyard, is
that a lot of people don't know what that would
look like for themselves.

Speaker 1 (12:48):
Yeah, And I think it's embracing the fact that a
garden is a living thing. It's constantly changing. So when
you talk about utopia, I mean a garden is never finished.
That's why we have photography.

Speaker 2 (13:01):
Right yes, absolutely, yeah, And.

Speaker 1 (13:03):
So to reach utopia, I think it's like it's it's fluid,
is what it is.

Speaker 2 (13:08):
And our listeners miss Adriana's little uh hurah there for photography.
Ada is also a videographer and photographer as well as
our producer. So you know, figuring out what you want,
figuring out what that ideal garden topia would look like
for you. You know, that might be the you know,
maintain all of the neatly prune shrubs. It might be

(13:29):
a wild garden. It might be a mix of all
of those things. But one element that I personally found,
especially living you know, in a small city in a
heavily residential area, one element that I think is very
very crucial for a successful garden a utopian garden is
a sense of enclosure, as you want some structure and

(13:52):
something that makes your garden feel private. And it doesn't
have to be, you know, a complete privacy edge, but
this element of privacy I think for me is very
very crucial to a successful garden because it makes you,
as the gardener and person who enjoys your garden, feel

(14:12):
like you have someplace to really escape to. And I mean,
this is gonna sound kind of mean, but I'm going
to go for it anyway. It kind of it kind
of gives everybody else something to be jealous of that
there's a space that they can't go in that you've created,
and it really is like, oh, I wonder what's back
there behind that hedge. You know, there's something very enticing

(14:33):
about a closed gate, about a closed off hedge about
a place that you can't enter, and I think that's
just as important in someone's garden as it is like
in a public garden or anything like that. So this
sense of enclosure and creating that is really important. Now,
open vistas are very important to you, and I'm sure
our guests will talk more about this, and my garden
has a little bit of both. You know. I give

(14:56):
some great borrowed scenery, which is basically when you can
see something off in the distance from your garden, and
one of those is a beautiful, magical giant elm tree
that somehow escaped Dutch elm disease, and that adds a
lot of sort of permanence to the garden. It's not
in my yard, it's off, but I can see it
from my garden. So you kind of have this mix
of enclosure created by tall plants and as well as

(15:20):
this ability to see out. So I think these tall
enclosing plants are a really crucial part of the garden
and not something that I think most people think about
including in their garden because most people are like, I
want something short, I don't want to have to prune it.
You know, they're thinking more about just things framing the
window or again being very neat and tidy, and these

(15:42):
taller plants that provide that enclosure are really really crucial
now for most people if they're talking about a privacy hedge,
an enclosure of some sort, some way to kind of
screen off of you or to protect, you know, to
create your own little protected area. The number one plant
most people think of arborviting, right, I mean absolutely, it's
kind of the go to hedge plant, and for good reasons.

(16:05):
It's fast growing, it is inexpensive for growers to produce.
It's an easy plant for them to grow, which makes
it very inexpensive for you to buy, which is something
that also usually if you're planting a hedge, kind of
that cost comes into play because it's a lot of plants,
it's native, it has a delicious, delicious smell. I love
the smell of arboridy foliage. Pretty easy to grow, pretty durable,

(16:31):
and pretty fast growing as well, but not extremely heat
tolerant and as Rick and I can certainly attest, far
from deer resistant. An arborvity would never last and it
would be, you know, like a snowball in July in
my garden. Because deer don't just eat it. They love it,
that fruity fragrance. They adore it. So you know, for me,

(16:54):
arborvity to create a sense of enclosure is just not like,
not even something I could consider.

Speaker 1 (17:00):
I'd add an element through the years in garden centers,
watching people, the element of touch. Also, arbor vidy is
is fun to touch, comparatively comparatively to let's say, juniper.

Speaker 2 (17:13):
Huh oh, yes, that's for sure too. It's not prickly.
It has a nice kind of smooth, waxy looking leaf.
But again, not all of us have arborvide as an
option for creating that sense of enclosure or screening off
an insightly view. And another important aspect of this is like,
you know, you're creating your garden topia and blamo, there's

(17:35):
your air conditioner, Like not really bringing the romance when
you see your noisy old air conditioner in the middle
of your beautiful, romantic garden. So that might be a
situation where you want to kind of screen that off
from the area, you know, where you're spending time, so
you don't have to see it and think about it.
And so you're looking for these screening or hedging or

(17:56):
privacy type of plants. Arborviti is not an option. Well,
I do have an option for you. It is today's
plant on trial, and it is this is just one
piece of it. It's not the plant cedar rapids. Cama
cipress love it. Yes, So Camma cipress is also known
as false cypress. And you know, we could spend a
whole show, probably one day, talking about the nuances and

(18:20):
confusion between cypress and cedar and all of these different terms.
But Camma cipress is known as false cypress and also
known as hinoki cypress. So Hainoki cypress is a plant
that I think a lot of people are familiar with.
They may have heard the name. Technically speaking, Hainoki cypress
is Cama cipress obtusa, and that is a very specific one.

(18:43):
It tends to be very small and selected for having
really unique foliage. They look like they were in a
coral reef or something like really sculptural, beautiful foliage. They
tend to be specimen plants, though slower growing because of
this short.

Speaker 1 (19:00):
As it relates to arborvidi, great for hedging. As you
pointed out, camicipress just makes a great specimen plant.

Speaker 2 (19:07):
That's true, except there are also Cama cipprus that can
be used as hedges, and cedar rapids is one of them.
So cedar rapids is a Cama Ciprius pacifera. So the
point that I'm making here is that there are a
number of different species of Camma cipprus out there. So
don't you say, hey, I've got this, you know, little
Hinoki cypress. I've had it for twenty five years. The
thing is five feet tall. There's no way I'm making

(19:28):
a hedge out of this. There are other types of
Cama Cippus out there, fall cypress. Camma ciprius pacifera is
what cedar rapids is. Fun fact, since we're talking about
botanical names, the pacifera part of the name pisi fer
comes from the Latin for p bearing like it bears peas.

Speaker 1 (19:48):
But wow, you've given us all a head ucation.

Speaker 2 (19:51):
I have, and it's not remol related related to peas,
just the little tiny green fruits that it bears. Apparently
to someone back in the day Linnaeus or whoever resembled piece.
So Camma Cipus pacifica very different animal than the Hanoki cypress,
also known as the Sowara cypress. So you might be thinking, wow,

(20:12):
these names sound kind of Japanese, and you are correct.
Most there are native Cama cipress to the US, but
most of the ones we grow in our garden are
native japan to Japan, and this is no different. But
this plant is a fast growing Cama cipress, so faster
growing than most Cama ciprus that you might be used
to or have had in your garden, and that makes

(20:32):
it a viable hedge plant. It naturally grows with a
dense pyramidal habit, so it's going to have that same
kind of ice cream cone shape that people love upside
down ice cream cone shape that people love so much
in most arbor idy. It's going to get to be
about thirty feet tall and twelve to fifteen feet wide,
so this is a bigger plant. It might not be

(20:53):
a viable hedging option for your screening option for you
if you live in a smaller area, because that twelve
to few fifteen foot range at the bottom is taking
up quite a bit of real estate. But if you
have more space, I think that sense of enclosure in
creating separate spaces for you to spend time in is
an even more crucial part of creating that garden topia,

(21:14):
because how else are you going to you know, break
up your space and create those more intimate spaces than
with some structure like this.

Speaker 1 (21:21):
Yeah, and I agree with you. It's all about space.
And I love your concept of borrowed space. I'm sitting
here thinking about my space, my enclosure, and then the
borrowed space, Lake Michigan, the dunes and my neighbor's outdoor shower.
I got to do something about that.

Speaker 2 (21:40):
Lake Michigan and the dunes is good. But yeah, the
outward shower. Maybe time for a camma cipress or something
else like that. Now, Cama ciprus and cedar rapids specifically,
the branchlets are very soft and kind of almost feathery.
So I brought this one in and if you're watching
us on need To, you can see they just have
these almost featherlike branchlets that gives it a really elegant
kind of soft to look nice, bright green foliage. And

(22:04):
this is deer resistant. Now, it's not prickly like where
you know, you can see me touching it. I'm not,
you know, wincing in pain. Here, tiny bit of prickliness
on it, But overall, camisippris is a great deer resistant
alternative to arbor id, and it's a bit more heat
tolerant as well. This can easily grow up to USDA
Zone eight, a little less hardy. We're looking at USDA

(22:25):
Zone four on this, whereas most arbor IDs are down
to USDA Zone three. Did you touch It's nice and soft. Yeah,
so a really really nice choice. And I think it's
just good for people to know that. You know, when
it comes to this, you don't just have to throw
up your hands and say I can't grow arborvidy. I
don't know what I'll do. I guess I'll just have
to invest in a really expensive wall or something like that.
You can still create plant based solutions to building garden rooms,

(22:48):
to screening off unsightly views, and to creating that beautiful
sense of privacy and enclosure in your garden with other plants.
So check us out at Gardening Simplified on air dot com.
You will see everything you need to know about cedar
rapids Cama ceprus and you can decide if it is
the right solution for your privacy and screening needs in
your garden. We've got to take a little break. When

(23:10):
we come back, we're going to be opening up the
garden mail bag for the one hundredth time, so stay
tuned at proven winner's color choice. We've got a shrub
for every taste and every space. Whether you're looking for
an easy care rose and unforgettable hydrangea, or something new

(23:30):
and unique, you can be confident that the shrubs and
the white containers have been trialed and tested for your success.
Look for them at your local garden center. Greeting's gardening friends,
and welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show. You know,
when we first started the show, we knew without question
that we wanted to have some mailbag segment where people

(23:50):
could write in with their questions because it's something that
we really care about doing. Ooh, and so please to
answer gardening questions for the one hundredth time and continue.
Even if you take a look at our survey and
we look at making some changes as we move ahead
with the show, it's always going to be important to

(24:11):
us to keep some opportunity to answer garden questions. Helps
everybody know what's going on. And you know, so often
if you have a question, other people have the same question,
So it's a good opportunity so you can reach.

Speaker 1 (24:23):
I have questions like what's in Rick's coffee?

Speaker 2 (24:27):
I think I know now.

Speaker 1 (24:30):
I'm sorry.

Speaker 2 (24:30):
Go ahead, so visit us at Gardening Simplified on air
dot com. There you can reach us through the contact form.
You can even attach a photo, and then you can
also find a link to our survey which you can
take and fill out with your thoughts on the future
of the show as well as what you've liked so
far and if you would like be entered to win

(24:51):
a proven winner's color choice swag package.

Speaker 1 (24:55):
I just love that, Stacy, because we'd love to hear
what you have to say or if you have thought topics, boy,
let us hear about it.

Speaker 2 (25:02):
Yeah, we love hearing about it. And you were sharing
with me an interesting idea from a listener, Marv. Yeah, tomatoes.

Speaker 1 (25:09):
Yeah, Marv sent us some pictures. You're seeing it on
YouTube or you can go to our website, Gardeningsimplified on
air dot Com. Marv doing a great job with his
tomatoes and a great photo of how he pairs basil
with his tomatoes. He grows basil at the base. I
have always said that it is basil instinct to grow

(25:30):
basil in close proximity to tomato plants because the tomatoes
will taste better. I have no scientific evidence for that,
but I believe it.

Speaker 2 (25:40):
Well, it's convenient in any case to have the basil intro.
There's no evidence, but it doesn't hurt and it does
look great together. And then you know when you're harvesting
your peak tomatoes for that, you know Ensalada cuprazy at
the end of summer. The basil's right there. Now, what's
interesting to me is that Marvis is growing a little
leaf basil. I feel like most people grow the bigger

(26:02):
leaf basils, but he's growing a little leaf basil sometimes
called box basil, sometimes called Greek basil, and that's the
main basil that he has. So that's an interesting take
as well. It gives it kind of a more formal look.
But it's very, very pretty.

Speaker 1 (26:13):
It's beautiful. It's beautiful. Michael writes to us. This Bollywood
variegated azalea has been in the ground a few years.
It is a great little azalea with awesome showstopper blooms
in the spring. My concern is that it appears to
have a girdling root, so we're looking at that picture,
and again we'll share that picture on our website. Also,

(26:35):
is this a problem and if it is, can anything
be done to secure the longevity of the shrub?

Speaker 2 (26:42):
Yeah, So, a girdling root basically just means a root
that is growing around and around in circles and can
actually start to wrap around the plant and cut off.
You know, we've all seen a tree sort of grow
into like a fence or something like that. Sometimes a
tree winds, sometimes the fence winds. So what happens is
these roots they grow around and around, and they can

(27:03):
actually cut off the plant from the roots or cut
off part of the cambium so that water and sugars
can't make their way through the plant. And sometimes this
can be an issue of just how the plant was
grown originally. Sometimes it just happens on its own just
because of the way that the roots grow. But my
advice in Michael's case here would be to just go
ahead and snip that root. You can see in the photo.

(27:26):
It is a rather larger root. And azalea's overall are
pretty sensitive to anything going on with the roots. They're
shallow rooted. But you know, I think you do obviously
love this plant it's a nice established specimen. I think
that just snipping that root, like right where it starts
to cross over the other root, because all of this

(27:47):
is happening above ground. So that's why Michael can tell
I would just go ahead and snip that out with
a nice, very very sharp, fresh pair of pruners and
just kind of correct the problem. I think that's better
than having it potentially get worse and then not having
an opportunity to correct it.

Speaker 1 (28:04):
I would agree with clipping the root if push comes
to shovel. I would suggest doing it in fall. Of course, fall,
because the soil is nice and warm and there's no
stress on the plant. Roots can redevelop at that time
of the year. Not that that's critical. I'm just saying
from my experience that's probably when I would.

Speaker 2 (28:25):
Yeah, I think you're right, And the timing is obviously
perfect because here we are at the height of summer.
Fall would be perfect again because the plant's already going dormant.
It's still going to have plenty of all of that
root root growth time in the fall, So I would
go ahead and snip that out. If this were a tree,
it would maybe be a little bit different that wouldn't
be quite a straightforward, but since this is a small shrub,

(28:46):
I would say do that before it gets worse and
the plant, you know, should be okay.

Speaker 1 (28:51):
Stacy, you loved some beautiful pictures that Rebecca sent to us,
photos of an area where she's been hiking for years,
and all of a sudden that area is covered in mysterious.

Speaker 2 (29:01):
Flower, right and now, I so when you sent these
pictures to me, I was maybe I immediately knew what
the plant was, But when I looked through the photos
that Rebecca sent, I can see how it would be
pretty freaky because this plant is absolutely carpeting this area.
And so you can look at the photo on YouTube
or on our website at Gardeningsimplified on air dot com.

(29:23):
But just if you are in the car or whatever listening,
it's a forest here in Michigan and there is all over,
you know, literally thousands of these flowers coming up on
say maybe a twelve inch stem, little ball starburst flower,
you know, maybe about the size of a quarry. They
look like alis, they look like aliums. They also could

(29:44):
look like in aralia, which was one of the first things,
which one is one of the first things I thought,
but then I said, no, no, I know what exactly what
this is absolutely carpeting the ground. I mean literally thousands
of them. I have never seen a site like this
in my life. And what it is is ramps. Yeah, yeah, ramps.
So if you're familiar with ramps, they are a native

(30:07):
Alium family member, so a native onion relative. They come
out in spring with beautiful broad leaves and a purple stem.
They will give you, before worn, the worst onion breath
you've ever had in your life, but it is more
than worth it because they have such a unique and
delicious flavor. And most people only think about ramps in

(30:31):
spring when you would actually harvest them or see them abundantly,
especially in moisture woods, so not so much dry woods,
but in moisture woods you'll see them. Most people never
see them flower because ramps flower what is known in
horticulture as naked, so that means that they flower without
any foliage or other parts of the plant. So even
though ramps come out in spring and that's when you

(30:52):
actually harvest the leaf and little bulb and stem there,
the flowers bloom here in late July without a single
shred of evidence as to what the plant is, so
it's really kind of bewildering, especially to see it at
the scale that this is.

Speaker 1 (31:09):
Yeah, bewildering and beautiful. So we appreciate those those pictures.
Doing a little research on that. To Stacey, what I read,
and I'm not sure if this is true, but I
read seven years for one ramp seed to emerge as
a shoot, Oh wow, and that would explain why she's
hiking in the area, had never seen it before, and

(31:31):
now all of a sudden sees it. Ramps can be
quite expensive, they're a delicacy, and they can also be
over foraged.

Speaker 2 (31:41):
Yes, absolutely, they can definitely be over foraged. It's Rebecca
has not found an or over forged path, right, you
know area of it because they are abundant. But yeah,
you do have to be careful obviously, never harvest ramps
on property that is not your owner, that you don't
have permission to harvest on. But that is why it's
a good point why all of a sudden, after hiking

(32:02):
there for many years, you see this explosion of ramflowers,
and Rebecca, what you saw really is an anomaly. It
was very special and you should consider yourself lucky. And
if you aren't Rebecca. You should definitely check out the
pictures because it is pretty magical.

Speaker 1 (32:14):
It's gorgeous. And then Michelle sends us a photo of
an echinasia with a split personality stage.

Speaker 2 (32:21):
Yes, so this was a fun one and you're definitely
going around look at a picture of this as well
on Gardening Simplified on air dot com. And what you'll
see is a regular echinaesia. So people are familiar with ecinaesia,
usually it's purple, but this particular one is an orange
or yellow one. And what has happened to the plant,

(32:43):
the flower itself is that it almost looks like someone
took painter's tape and made a line directly down the
center of the flower. And half of it is bright
yellow and half of it is distinctively bright orange.

Speaker 1 (32:56):
Stunning.

Speaker 2 (32:57):
It is very stunning, and it is a known as
a chimera, and a chimera it's named for the ancient
Greek creature fire breathing monster that was had a lion's head,
a goat's body, and a serpent's tail. Now some pictures
of a chimera. If you look it up, it's got

(33:18):
the lion you know, head and forearms, it's got the
goat head and back quarters, and then the tail and
the serpent's head, So it's all three animals crushed into
one kind of terrifying creature. How that translates botanically to
what a plant chimera is is. It is multiple genes

(33:38):
manifesting within a single flower. This isn't like totally unusual,
but it's not common. And the chimera mutation is basically
just as the flower was developing that apical mara sem
where the growth point comes from. It just whatever mutation happened,
it caused those two genes to develop at similar rates.

(34:01):
And it literally means that there are two different genomes
existing within this single flower. Now, I will tell you
right now, chimeras are very complicated genetically, and I could
not possibly even pretend to explain to you what's actually
going on. But I did find some great resources that

(34:21):
I will post in our show notes at Gardening Simplified
on air dot com if you are interested in learning more.
There's no need to do anything if your plant does this.
I asked some of our plant breeders what they thought
if this would continue, if you would see this again
next year, and they said very likely you will, so
no need to do anything. It's not a mutation. It's
it's not a weakening mutation. It's a mutation, but it's

(34:43):
just you know, genes from the plant's past sort of
making themselves known today.

Speaker 1 (34:48):
Accept compliments on the mutation. I think it's beautiful chimerism,
something that I've seen often in Zenius.

Speaker 2 (34:57):
Oh yes, yeah, there's some Some plants are more susceptible,
and obviously the daisy family are ast racy, as we
can see with zecond aisha. So if you find a
k chimera, go ahead and send us a picture and
patch yourself on the back. So we're going to take
a little break. When we come back, we've got a
special guest for branching news, so please stay tuned. The

(35:20):
Gardening Simplified Show is brought to you by proven Winners
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Speaker 1 (35:39):
Welcome back to the Gardening Simplified Show, and today for
branching news and interview. Looking forward to this along the
subject of garden Topia, and if you're watching on YouTube,
Stacy's holding up this beautiful book right now written by
Jan Johnson Now. Jan is an award winning landscape designer
and author and a speaker. She studied landscape architecture and

(36:03):
received a graduate degree in planning. She's worked in New York, Honolulu, Japan, California, Washington,
d C. Of course, designs landscapes, and as I mentioned,
is an author the beautiful book garden Topia Designed Basics
for Creating Beautiful outdoor Spaces. Of course, this follows the

(36:24):
other books she's written, The Spirit of Stone and Heaven
is a Garden. I love following Jan on Instagram because
it's inspirational. Jan, Welcome to the Gardening Simplified Show.

Speaker 3 (36:40):
Well, hello everyone, Hi, Rick, thank you so much for
that great intro.

Speaker 1 (36:46):
Let me start here because it's our topic. And of
course people right now are looking at your beautiful book,
garden Topia. Garden Topia, you say, is that rare marriage
of the art of landscaping and the technical knowledge of
how to compose a landscape? I should ask right off
the bat, Jan, is garden Topia attainable?

Speaker 3 (37:08):
Oh? Absolutely? And it doesn't matter how big a piece
of property you have. I mean, it could be very small,
like I have a very small backyard, but it is
definitely my little sanctuary.

Speaker 1 (37:21):
Yeah, and we were talking about space earlier. You mentioned sanctuary.
That's one of the ideals as far as garden Topia
is concerned, is to create your space. And you know,
this is episode one hundred. One of the most popular
shows we did was a show on layering, in other words,

(37:42):
how to place plants and where to place plants. I
noticed on Instagram that you recently landscaped a fire pit
area and I thought it was just so beautiful because
you simply used what was it hacking achlore, Japanese forest grass.

Speaker 3 (38:01):
Exactly, Japanese forest grass that was a variety called all.

Speaker 1 (38:05):
Gold, Okay, and that made for an amazing space.

Speaker 3 (38:10):
Oh listen, Yeah, it was a very simple h terrace,
you know, bluestone terrace that we made, and then how
to kind of define it well the easy and in
deer countries, you know, you always have to worry about
the deer chomping on your plants, and so Japanese forest
grass seemed to me to be a great solution. And

(38:31):
I bordered a good portion of the terrace with this
beautiful yellow gold grass that just all grows in together.
It's just lovely.

Speaker 2 (38:43):
It is one of those plants that I think so
many people have, you know, a big, tall, stiffness canthus
in mind when they think of ornamental grasses, and so
when they see hakonakloa and it just has that like lush, soft,
touchable texture, it really makes people rethink ornamental grasses. And
I'm sure that designer you know of your caliber who
have that experience. You know, you can also use it

(39:03):
to kind of visually simulate water and other different textures
in the garden.

Speaker 3 (39:10):
Yes, and it's also really good for erosion control, you
can because it just like you were saying, it has
that soft, kind of moundy look to it, which is
so great. And so it works really well on a
slope because you know, you're not looking up at a
stem necessarily, just all the soft breed bending over. Yeah,
it's really wonderful.

Speaker 1 (39:31):
We're chatting with designer and author Jan Johnson her beautiful
book garden Topia, and you mentioned Jan. Okay, so garden
Topia is attainable. In looking at your blog, I was
interested in this quote that rare moment of reconnection can
become more prevalent in your life if you take the

(39:52):
time to notice the natural world. Just as a wine
connoisseur relishes that first sip on the tongue, you can
learn to savor a flower, a rock, or even a breeze.

Speaker 3 (40:06):
Isn't that so lovely And it's so true, isn't it.
I mean, people just have to stop and be observant
and just notice, in my opinions, how amazing nature is.
And it's much more easily done if you have a

(40:27):
little outdoor space that you can do that in. You know,
like it's hard when you're just being bombarded by all
the stimuli. But if you're got a space, even if
it's just a terrace and you have pots, you know,
with flowers in them, at least if you have a
little place where you can stop and just take some

(40:47):
deep breaths and just see what's around you. I find
that people once they learn to appreciate a flower or
a texture of a plant or something like that, it
never leaves them. You know.

Speaker 1 (41:02):
I appreciate that, and jan you call them stop time moments.
Of course, I've done years of radio and I was
always taught to create what we call driveway moments where
you sit in the car and you're not going to
leave the car because you're really listening to what's being
said on that show. But stop time moments. How do

(41:25):
we create stop time moments in our landscapes?

Speaker 3 (41:30):
Yeah, so I guess they should explain what that means.
I certainly understand driveway moments. I have done that so
often when you sit in the car because you want
to keep hearing the podcast or whatever you're listening to.
You just sit different finishing more minutes than that. But
I guess what it is is that we'll and I
write this, I think of myself. You know, I'm always

(41:52):
rushing from here to there, get things done. Whatever. You
just stop and one moment can almost feel like ten
minutes because it's just that time where you, like I said,
you stop and you just kind of almost get lost,
you know, you almost get lost in the thought or
even like in a fragrance like I have. Every summer,

(42:16):
I plant the garden you bush in a big planter,
and I put it outside in my door, and I
just go out there and I sniff the gardenias. I mean,
that's my stop time moment, it's like, Okay, I get it.
You know, that's what I mean by that.

Speaker 2 (42:33):
And I think, you know, so many people feel like
you have to know something about plants or about gardening
to get there, and you know, so often I think
if people just let themselves fall in love with something,
even if it is just one plant, and they put
it on a container on their little terrace or near
you know, on their back porch where they spend time.
You know, as you spend time with a plant, and

(42:53):
as you get to know it, and you see the
light change, and you see the plant change through time,
and you know, through the seas, and you watch insects
interact with it. All of this that is really what
starts to I think, take you down that road. It's
not the kind of thing where I think a lot
of people just assume, oh, you know, they've just already
had some sort of enlightenment and I'm never going to
get there, but that we've all found our way to

(43:17):
that level of enjoying an appreciation of plants and gardening
through yes, single moments like that.

Speaker 3 (43:26):
Yes, And also like you were just saying, and I
agree with you totally, even if it's just one plant,
you create a relationship with that one plant. You may
not know anything else, but you know the hellibores because
Aunt Mary gave you this plant that you didn't know
anything about. And now that you see that it's evergreen
and it actually has a flower in early spring. I mean,

(43:48):
and then that's what gets you started on that path,
you know, and you say hello boys, and go oh,
let me tell you about my hellboy.

Speaker 1 (43:57):
You know, that's exactly my point. Jan You develop a
relationship with plants and with your landscape. If you don't
take the time to develop that relationship, then you're more
or less a laborer, not a gardener. And I apia right.

Speaker 3 (44:17):
Oh absolutely, And I'm trying. What I try to do
is design basics. Is because a lot of people love
these plants and they'll go out and they'll get that
beautiful uh let's dance hydrangea or something that they but
then they just kind of go, well, where do I
put it? Where do I put it? It's and I'm
saying no, no, no, let's think about that before you

(44:39):
you know, buy the plant, make you know, get prepared
a little bit beforehand. But I and I try to
make it easy to follow. I say things like a
pop of red and they you know, and like that's
a great design. Kip, by the way, is that you
know all these great artists like Sey Zon or Norman Rockwell,

(45:00):
for a look at their paintings, they always have a
little pop of bread in the painting. I used to
I used to take my son when he was young,
to the Rockwell Museum in Massachusetts, and I used to
tell them to look at the paintings and find the
little dot of red for me, and he could in

(45:21):
every single one. And it's the same thing in the garden.
You can just put a little dot of red, like
a little red coxco or or a red poppy or
something like that, and it and it adds a little
vibrancy to the scene.

Speaker 2 (45:35):
That's such a great piece of advice too, that you know,
people don't people think, oh, I don't know enough about color.
I don't know enough about color theory to design a garden.
And you know, in that case, don't you don't have
to be the expert. You know, let Paul Clay be
the expert. Let Norman Rockweller says on be the expert,
and take your inspiration from the color that someone like
that has already. You know, if you connect with the

(45:57):
painting or another piece of artwork, you know, how can
you interpret those same kind of colors, you know, in
plants in your own yard. There's just so many opportunities
for inspiration. And honestly, Jen, that's what I really love
about your Garden Topia book. I see the subtitle here
on the back is one hundred and thirty five Inspiring
Tips to transform any backyard, garden or lawn. And this

(46:18):
is exactly the kind of book that I love to
have around, like on my coffee table, on my side table,
and then whenever you need a little bit of garden inspiration,
especially in the winter, you know, thinking about how I
want to make this change, and I think this is
just one of those books that is just so full
of inspiration and then you know, actual practical information on
how you can then interpret it in your garden. But

(46:41):
you know, it's just I think it's really like I
love a good informational book. I love a good book
you can get into and read all about taxonomy and
all of this other stuff. But these good design books
where you can just kind of let your imagination run wild,
and you know, ask yourself, what do I like about
this idea, what would this mean in my yard with
the materials you know, like out here in Michigan, we

(47:01):
don't you know, bluestone re costs and arm and a leg,
So you know, how can we use our materials to
you know, interpret a lot of these ideas. And I
just think I really enjoyed looking through this book so much.

Speaker 3 (47:12):
Thank you so much. Yeah, And you know, people say
to me, well, out of all these tips, what's the
most important tip. I've had that question, and you want
to know what it is. Yes, it's called it's all
about the soil. I think that's the one because if
you don't, if you don't create beautiful, beautiful soil, then

(47:36):
you're already going to sail, you know what I'm saying.
Like even like even in pots, right you have to
plant it in potting mix, in a in a planter, right.
Not you can't take the sell out of your yard
and jump it in the planter because it's too heavy.
But the same thing with planting. And I always say
to people, you know, you don't have to buy the

(47:58):
seven gallon plant by the three down plants, but just
put the money into making your soil beautiful.

Speaker 1 (48:05):
Yeah, that's that's great. We're chatting with Jan Johnson her
beautiful book Garden Topia. Jan is a speaker and author,
a designer, and Jan just recently adran Or Robinson got
back from Cape Cod and her photography, of course, is
always so beautiful. Her video. Oh yeah, but it looks
like the high Ranges were gorgeous. You just returned.

Speaker 3 (48:28):
Also, Yes, every year, like clockwork, I spend a week
camping in Wellfleet, which is the northern part of Cape Cod.
I wouldn't miss it for the world because it's just
it is a gardener's paradise. I mean everybody goes, of
course to sit on the beach, but the plants there
grow like crazy, especially hydrange.

Speaker 1 (48:51):
And of course you also recently traveled to Italy. Is
that correct?

Speaker 2 (48:57):
Oh?

Speaker 3 (48:57):
Boy, was I lucky? Yes, I've never been there before
and a family member got married and so of course
we had to go, no matter what, we had to
go to this wedding. Boy was I happy to do that.
You know, Rennaissance gardens or something unusual, right not, you know,
with all their statutory and everything, but they knew how

(49:18):
to use design technique like nobody else. I mean, we're
still learning from them. They use statuary and plants together
to create a marvelous environment. I highly recommend people to
check out the gardens of Italy, and.

Speaker 2 (49:35):
You know the fact that they have persisted. Of course,
they've been changed, and you know, different owners have changed
them according to their whims over time. But you know
the fact that these gardens have persisted for literally hundreds
of years as a real testament to how timeless they
are and how much we need gardens as humans, you know,
to enjoy. And yeah, I think Italy is it is

(49:57):
definitely a bucket list trip for any gardener exactly.

Speaker 3 (50:01):
And you know, it's interesting you say that, because, in
my opinion, we need gardens and parks and common outdoor
spaces more than ever. We have to make places where
people can enjoy the outdoors, you know, especially with our kids.
You know, they're always staring at screens. You know, we

(50:23):
need places that allow them to get in your little
stream and play with it and just enjoy nature. And
if nature's not nearby, then we have to create it
in some form or other. That I feel so strongly about.

Speaker 1 (50:37):
That I love that.

Speaker 3 (50:38):
Well.

Speaker 1 (50:39):
Jan your work has been featured in many publications and
you have more than forty years of experience. You own
New York based Johnson Landscape and Landscapes and Pools. So
I'm going to ask you a very unfair question for
the benefit of our listeners and our viewers, and that

(51:01):
is do you have a favorite plant?

Speaker 3 (51:04):
Wow? Yes, I do you have that? Depth? Oh? Yes,
I do. It's the Oakley hydranger.

Speaker 2 (51:12):
Yes, great answer.

Speaker 3 (51:14):
I love Oakley hydrangea and all varieties. I mean, they're
also its great varieties. And the reason I love that
so much is, first of all, I love the old texture.
I love the flowers and the fact that the flowers
stay on the plant and they just get darker with age,

(51:34):
and then of course in the fall it gets that burnished,
dark red leaves. It's just I just love that plant.

Speaker 1 (51:40):
Yeah, I'd have to agree with you. It's one of
my plants that I put into the category of three
to four seasons of interest and that that plant makes
for an ideal impact in landscapes. Her name is Jan Johnson.
Her book Garden Topia.

Speaker 3 (51:58):
Jan.

Speaker 1 (51:58):
How do people learn learn more about you? Do you
have a website you can share with us?

Speaker 2 (52:04):
Sure?

Speaker 3 (52:05):
Well, first of all, thank you for talking about my
Instagram every day I post on Instagram every day and
so that's the Instagram address is Johnson Design j O
h N s e N. Designed. A lot of people
don't realize that, but my last name is Johnson is Johnson.
And then my I have a substack. Now I don't

(52:27):
know if people know what that is. It's the platform
for posts, and so my substack is Jan Johnson dot
substack dot com. And of course the name of it
is Gardentopia. And lastly my website which is Johnson Landscapes dot.

Speaker 1 (52:43):
Com Johnson Landscapes dot com. So j O h N
s e n. The book is garden Toopia. And yes,
I would agree, Stacey. When I get on Instagram, Jan's
one of the first people I look for.

Speaker 3 (52:59):
Yeah, thank you.

Speaker 2 (53:01):
It is so wonderful to have such a great source
of inspiration. And we really appreciate you sharing your work
and your perspective and making that a feel for anybody.

Speaker 3 (53:10):
And I really love proven winners plans just so you know,
and all the great variety you guys.

Speaker 2 (53:16):
Well, thank you well, it means a lot to us.

Speaker 1 (53:19):
Thanks for joining us today. Jan, We appreciate it so
much and all the best to you.

Speaker 3 (53:24):
Thanks again, bye now bye bye bye.

Speaker 2 (53:27):
Well that was great. Now, if you didn't catch any
of those links, we will have them all linked for
you so you can find Jan's Instagram, website and substack
on our website, Gardening Simplified on air dot com. We
want to thank Jan, I want to thank you Rick,
I want to thank you Adriana, and thank you all
so much for following us for the past one hundred episodes.
Here's to the next one hundred. Hope you can take
a moment to fill out our survey at Gardeningsimplified on

(53:48):
air dot com. Thanks so much and have a wonderful
week ahead.