Let's Garden HR1 8-1-26

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
I am Scott Berline. You're listening to Let's Garden with
Scott Berline. I am Manager of Botanical Garden Outreach at
the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden, a garden writer, garden talker, speaker,
whatever the word is. I gotta tell you, folks. I'm
here with Jim Hansel. Good friends. Been on the show before. Scot,
Good morning. You are an administrator at Grade Oaks Vocational

(00:26):
Schools in Greater Cincinnati and a long time horticultural profess professional.
You are currently teaching as an adjunct professor at the
University of Since. Yeah, start my twenty first year. So
you're you're a real smart guy. Sometimes. Yeah, we can
take some calls while Jim is here today and have

(00:49):
them answered. I'm also here with Sarah Geiger Beam.

Speaker 2 (00:53):
I'm here here.

Speaker 1 (00:54):
You are there, you are You don't look so well.

Speaker 2 (01:00):
Well, it's been a busy week, Scott.

Speaker 1 (01:02):
If you been up to.

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Well, you would know because you were there.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
I was there.

Speaker 2 (01:07):
But Perennial Plant Association National Conference in Michigan was incredible.
It was just wall to wall incredible horticulture. Incredible tours,
great talks, some of the country's greatest horticulturists that you
just run into in the hallway casually.

Speaker 1 (01:27):
Just yea conversation, Yeah, exchange emails and phone numbers.

Speaker 2 (01:30):
Yeah, it was wonderful. It was I'll never forget it.
And I am exhausted, but you know it's like you
have all that energy you're studying for an exam, Like
you get up, you do it, and I'm just going
to be dead after this.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Yeah, are you going to pass the exam? Though?

Speaker 2 (01:51):
You know, I don't know.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
We'll find out. We'll get an I will tell in
three hours. And then we went together yep. And from
there we went to Ball Horticulture, which is in West Chicago.

Speaker 2 (02:05):
Yes, and I had never been there.

Speaker 1 (02:06):
Incredible, so amazing. Gym's been there. Yeah, it's amazing place. Yeah,
it's a well ball floor. Ball Horticulture is the largest
horticultural company in the world mostly well they sell everything annuals, perennials,
not so much trees and shrubs and things, but multiple,

(02:31):
multiple brands under a big umbrella. A lot of brands.
Are you know, I stopped trying to figure it out
and learning all of it. It's just like it's.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Ball, Yeah, of course Ball seed, but.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Ball s Darwin Perennials and all of that. And the
the cool thing is they have this campus and I
meant to ask, and I'm not sure, but it's pretty
much open during business hours in the summer, and I
think that's for green industry, it's also for gardener and
they have all probably all of their material out there

(03:05):
on display and these beautiful gardens, and they have their
competitors stuff on display in these beautiful gardens and it's
just so inspirational and education will walk through there, you know,
take photos, so you have the names somewhere and it's beautiful.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
I mean, it's like walking around a plant library.

Speaker 1 (03:28):
You know.

Speaker 2 (03:28):
You get to see all of the hugres that they
sell side by side. But it's not just in a
garden bed. Some of the sun beds are pretty much rose,
but they're still artfully laid out. But you also get
to see them in design settings and it's really well designed,
really well laid out, and just the use of color,
the use of texture, and the use of space. I

(03:51):
was so impressed with for you know, a company that
really focuses on the genetics on the plant materials themselves.
The gardens were.

Speaker 1 (04:00):
Gorgeous, stunning, absolutely stunning. And I know they bring in
top designers to do certain gardens, like right outside the
headquarters there and I can't remember the name of the designer,
but it's well known. Did that particular display which is
really really cool. We took a tour. We only had

(04:21):
time for one, but we took the laboratory tour. I
guess it would be. I was so blown away by
their investment and tissue culture and plant pathology, yeah, and
breeding and crisper and I mean.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
Yeah, they are absolutely at the top of the game.
They're they're really driving the research on the horticultural varieties.
They made the point that you know a lot of
the research and the pathology and the breeding for agricultural products,
you know, they have connections with langrant organizations, there's you know,
public and higher education involved in that, but there's really

(04:59):
not an of that for horticulture. So if the industry
is not doing it for itself, we can't move forward
in that way.

Speaker 1 (05:05):
And this all boils down to better plants for gardeners.
In the garden center. You know, these plants are being
checked out and bread for disease resistance, for garden compatibility,
for colors. Yes, pollinators now a big part of the equation.
So a lot of improvement is coming much faster than

(05:28):
that used to do it, much faster to keep up,
it's really hard to come up. But maybe that's a
new problem. You know. They talked to somebody this week
talked about the risk of overwhelming customers and garden centers
with too many choices. And I think it comes down
to the garden centers making most of the choices, so

(05:48):
to have this product line or that one.

Speaker 3 (05:51):
But and so much of that stuff is regional too,
So what works really well in East Lanching, Michigan, may
not work real well in Cincinnati. And I think that's
why we need so much diversity. But then we need
to back that up with right. You know, people like you, Sarah,
who work in the field every day and you're trying
this stuff and you've got records of how well it's performing.
I think that's the strength of that that collaboration between

(06:13):
ball and business.

Speaker 1 (06:14):
And public gardens. You know, we're trialing this stuff and
we're making it available for people to see. So that's
our part of the equation. The landscapers that are putting
it out and have their necks on the line because
they have to put things out.

Speaker 2 (06:32):
There that we don't want plants to fall apart. You know,
customers don't want plants to fall apart. And you know,
it was really struck when they were talking about the
plant pathology. Lad they were talking about the development of
the beacon and patience and you know, the disease resistance
that they were breeding into that. And you know, we
I as a designer, have inferior product if I am

(06:54):
selling plants that are going to fall apart.

Speaker 1 (06:57):
And let me backtrack for the listeners, that garden impatients
were a staple, an absolute staple. It was the way
to get colorful flowers and shady gardens. And then what
was it a powdery mildew or it came blew over
from Africa bleu over from Africa, probably on a hurricane

(07:18):
and started just wiping them out and continue. Now would
all astract a resistant variety?

Speaker 2 (07:27):
Yeah, they they had the science and the scientists to
do it. They were able to trial it all of
that and they did it. They what a gift to
the industry and also just to the beauty of public spaces.
But you know, I, as a designer to rely on
plants that you know, may or may not fall apart,
and there's nothing you can do about it, you know.

(07:48):
I my whole value as a designer is less if
the plants are not as good. So we really do
need all of each other. And that's what I loved
about Ppa. You saw people from you know, different angles,
and we were all just learning from each other, and
we were all learning from the tours, and we were
watching each other learn from the tours, and you know, like, oh,

(08:10):
this is what I like about this plant or this
corner nook, you know, and it just it was such
a wonderful collaborative environment.

Speaker 1 (08:19):
It's from top to bottom. There are horticultural gods and
goddesses there and you can see them learning too, you know,
and interacting with brand new people right out of school.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
Yeah, you know.

Speaker 1 (08:31):
It's just a great, great conference. And also, let's admit
it a lot of fun.

Speaker 2 (08:36):
A lot of fun for sure.

Speaker 1 (08:38):
All Right, we have to take a break. We'll do that.
When we come back, we'll get we'll go to our
national days of and we're doing that because everybody wants that.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
We get so many letters.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
Cards, letters, Please don't stop that. Yah. Oh, And later
on we're going to have Joe Boggs in about an
hour a little over maybe two hours, going to come
on everybody's personal favorite animologists, So stay tuned. We'll be
back in just a couple of minutes. Is to my left,
Sarah is to my right, and we are talking about

(09:14):
what we love to talk about, gardening and plants, and
we're going to take a reprieve from that. We're going
to take a little pause and do the National Days
of And why are we doing that because everybody cares. Yeah,
everybody cares so much about these If you didn't have
the National Days of, how would you schedule your week

(09:35):
or your month or question? Yeah, for your day, no idea, no, yeah,
So it's important to celebrate these things in the spirit
that they're offered and and just sort of like map
your life out this way. Yeah, whatever other priority you
might have had, push it aside.

Speaker 2 (09:55):
So tell us what's coming up this week.

Speaker 1 (09:57):
Well, we've got a new month starting tomorrow. Right, Where
is it today? It is today? Today, August first, So
it's August. August is the national month of Back to
school month. When I was a kid, it was September
and it was late August, and now it's like August. First,
it's great.

Speaker 2 (10:15):
I was talking to somebody about that. I don't know
if it was actually September for me, but it was
always really.

Speaker 1 (10:20):
Late, oh Amber Labor Day for me. What happened to
having letting kids have summer exactly? Yeah, you're you're an
educator at high school, you know, Yeah, what was the
reasoning behind? I have no idea.

Speaker 3 (10:32):
When I started working at Grade Oaks twenty years ago,
we were already back to school mid August, but when
I was a kid, it was after Labor Day.

Speaker 1 (10:39):
Yeah, that was the doom day, right, Yeah, and you dreaded.
Oh I draded it. I did too. Yeah, it's like
all the fun was coming to a crashing quick end. Yeah, yep,
but well, we live in the age. We live in. Wait,
there's not a whole lot we can do about it, yep,
except complain. Right. It's August is also International Peace Month

(11:01):
and Happiness Happens Month. Coincidence, he happened together usually, I
think has a pure coincidence. No one thought this out,
no planning in this. It's Wellness month also would apparently
be in sync with your previous two, but you know,
probably just sort of happened that way. Sandwich Month August.

(11:23):
Is there an sich month?

Speaker 2 (11:25):
Yeah, I hear you.

Speaker 1 (11:26):
Yeah, but at least this time is official. This that
you can put a slice of fresh tomato on your sandwich. Okay,
it's a game changer, makes everything better, makes sandwiches so
much better. Homegrown are good in August.

Speaker 2 (11:41):
Travel with them, go to the beach or something. I
don't know. It's romantic to the beach with my sandwich.

Speaker 1 (11:50):
And feeling that the sand in your teeth right, always
a good feeling. It's romance, you know. Speaking of romantic,
it's romance awareness monthe Sarah, which is immediately quashed by
Family Fun Month. Yeah boy, yeah, those two don't go together.
I don't think Crayon collection month. There's a bunch of

(12:12):
them here. Dog month, Dog month. I had a dog
actually eat a box of crayons one time. The next
few days we're psychedelic. That's gonna say, very colorful. I
exam days. So if you're looking at dog poop with
color to it, you may never need to have an
eye exam. True, it may actually be happening. Hi, or

(12:36):
excuse me, Hair loss Awareness month. Awareness month too late
for me? Uh yeah, I haven't had that That's the
one problem I don't think I've.

Speaker 2 (12:44):
Had, is that like awareness of your own.

Speaker 1 (12:46):
Hair loss or let's it would be better if it
was awareness of other people, Yes, make fun of them?
Is that kind of like just to think to yourself
about it?

Speaker 2 (12:56):
Yeah, you know, just to check in I'm doing up
there doing any more?

Speaker 1 (13:00):
Am I better off than him? Right? Right? That's a
positive spin on water quality month. Now, the national week
up for August first is oh no, no, no International
clown Week. That's just creepy, no crapy. I think the
day of the clown has come and gone.

Speaker 3 (13:19):
I think it ruined that. Stephen King's R.

Speaker 2 (13:22):
Certainly put a herd on it.

Speaker 1 (13:24):
Yeah, it's a simplify your life week, man, That something
we can I need.

Speaker 2 (13:30):
More than a week for that, Yeah, going to take
longer than that.

Speaker 1 (13:35):
To plan the simplification process. I need one of those
things where all your friends gathered to get friends and
family gathered in intervention, followed by you know, being put
in some institution for a while, someone taking your phone
and your computer away from you. Just put me in
a room out, Yeah, decompressed. Yeah, stop on red month.

(13:56):
Not in Cincinnati. I don't know about where else.

Speaker 2 (13:59):
But I saw someone run a red light on the
way here, did you I did?

Speaker 1 (14:04):
Yikes? Yeah, of course it was two in the morning. Yah,
felt like one another car on the road.

Speaker 2 (14:11):
I'm just going to run this light like I almost
can't blame you, but I just it just didn't bring
myself to do it.

Speaker 1 (14:16):
Just it's just wrong. Not what you're supposed to do
that well behaved not well behaved, Cleanse your skin Week.

Speaker 2 (14:24):
Isn't that a thing that should happen everywhere every day?

Speaker 1 (14:30):
I think it's usually considered just a nice thing to
do practice clean yourself. So it's also Minority donor Awareness Week,
which you know, uh, certain blood types are predominant in
certain minority groups, and that's very important, very important. So
today August for Saturday Play Outside Day, first Saturday of

(14:52):
every month. So that explains why that one shows up.
I'm like another one of those.

Speaker 2 (14:57):
It's a repeating I celebrate play outside a lot more
than monthly.

Speaker 1 (15:04):
Yeah, yeah, me too, daily daily. You have a big garden,
You're you're playing in Congressional startup day? What what? What?

Speaker 2 (15:14):
What is?

Speaker 1 (15:16):
Well? I guess it's can we get a new one
when they decide to work again? Come back from another recess.

Speaker 3 (15:23):
Is that has that day been voted on yet? I mean,
is that official or is that just a hope.

Speaker 1 (15:28):
Voted them or no? I don't know who does these?

Speaker 3 (15:33):
It had been Awe're sure they're not going to vote,
work for themselves, respect for parents' day, Girlfriend's day, girls
to have fun with girlfriends, yeah, all right, guys like.

Speaker 1 (15:47):
Him fun with girlfriends too, sure? Or boyfriends. Yeah, it's
just I don't know, just just be friends day, yeah, inclusive, inclusive.
But if girlfriend's day, you know, if that's you know,
there's nothing wrong with it. Have fun with your girlfriends. Yep,
Raspberry cream pie day. That sounds like a win.

Speaker 2 (16:07):
That does sound good?

Speaker 1 (16:09):
Okay, here just to repeat Minority Donor Day and Minority
Doner Donor month or a week sand Castle Day? Nice?
You live near a beach, do it? And I meant
to look this up and I didn't. But Majong Day
a game, a matching game or something. Yeah, it's like.

Speaker 2 (16:29):
A board game with little circles or something. All I
know is my niece just beat the pants off of
me every time we play.

Speaker 1 (16:37):
Well, so you've actually played it.

Speaker 2 (16:38):
I don't know if I would describe it. As playing it,
but I was involved in it. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (16:45):
Well, well we've got to go to a break. We'll
be back in a couple of minutes with the rest
of the National Days Of and then we'll get into
plants and that. It's always good. You're listening to Let's
Garden with Scott Perline. Podcasts are available wherever podcasts are available,
and also there's a live stream on the iheartmat check
it out. Eight eighty two fifty five. Will be right

(17:07):
back here with Jim Hansel, Adjunct professor at the University
of Cincinnati. And just you've been around the block. You've
worked for landscape companies, you've worked for nurseries, you've done design,
you have a beautiful home garden. Maybe we'll talk about
your home garden a little bit later, that would be
nice to do. And also we're here with Sarah Geiger Beam.

(17:31):
He has a little more color, a little more color
now a landscape designer with Wimberg Landscaping here in Cincinnati.
And we're into our National Days of because we care
so much and it's so important, and so we left
off tomorrow Sunday, August second Sisters Day, so another day

(17:55):
for women to have fun with other women, their sisters,
what about dudes and dudes and their brothers. But you know,
we got over that. We were like, everybody, just are
you sure it's not next month? No, well it might be,
it might be, should be, it should be. Yeah, well
who knows. You know, these things we say they're important,
and they are, but they're not that important. Ice Cream

(18:19):
sandwich day. So we had sandwich day or month I
think it was, and now qualifying it just a bit
more ice cream sandwich month, Coloring book month. We had
crayons earlier, right, well yeah, so why not color with
your crayons? Here's one. Okay, So Monday, May or August third,
this is a very poorly warded worded national day of

(18:42):
It's a national day of grab some nuts.

Speaker 2 (18:47):
Did they not like focus group.

Speaker 1 (18:49):
That like mixed nuts days or peanuts days or yeah,
So they were they were trying to get more attention
to the day, I guess, and so people could have
fun with it. And you know, here we are, Yeah,
we're doing it.

Speaker 2 (19:07):
We fell for the draft, right sinker, He.

Speaker 1 (19:12):
Did just what they wanted us to do. Georgia Day,
Watermelon Day. Good for Georgia. They grow a lot of Georgia. Yeah,
and hair gloss Day, which is not to be confused
with hair loss month. Hair gloss Day. I don't even
know what hair gloss is. Uh, Tuesday chocolate chip cookie Day.

(19:34):
And again, well remember Tuesday or every day every day
you want yea. And again I am no longer no
longer against the baked treat uh cabal. I have been
actually been sponsored, you know, and they're they're paying me
money to drop the investigation and proceed with just talking

(19:58):
about how great the baked treat industry is. Yeah, they
bring us that. All it took just threaten some investigations
and you get. Yeah, you get money. You get money,
big money. I can't say how much. It's part of
the agreement, I understand. I think part the agreement was
that I shouldn't even reveal that I got money from
him in the first place. Well, we better move on
real quick. Yeah, we better that Coast Guard Day on

(20:21):
August fourth. They are amazing what they can do. August fifth, Wednesday,
work like a dog day. Wait a minute, that's pretty
much every day in it for us.

Speaker 2 (20:32):
Yeah, more than once a year.

Speaker 1 (20:34):
Yeah, right, anyone in the green industry. That is every day?
Why this I don't know. Underwear Day also should be
every day. Yeah, it should be a good Call, good call,
and Oyster Day getting into Thursday, August sixth, root Beer
float Day Yep, yep, yep, all day long, Wiggle your Toesday,

(20:56):
I'll try to remember toes. Yeah, have this day. I
don't know, I don't know. And Fresh Breath Day.

Speaker 2 (21:06):
They should all be every day except wiggle your Toursday.
That should be up to up to the individual.

Speaker 1 (21:14):
Right now, I kind of fear I've got serious coffee
breath going on. You could taste it. Yep. Don't come
near me.

Speaker 2 (21:21):
Yeah, I've got my cup right here.

Speaker 1 (21:23):
Yeah. August seventh, Friday, we're finally the last day of
the week. Purple Heart Day. Yeah, so celebrate thank people
for their their service in there. That's an important day,
the injuries for their purple hearts. Lighthouse National Lighthouse Day,
National water Balloon Day. Is there anything more fun than

(21:45):
a water balloon? How about throwing water balloons off lighthouses?
There you go down onto the tourists underneath like that.
I do too.

Speaker 2 (21:53):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (21:54):
Can you hurt somebody really bad by dropping a water balloon? Yeah?

Speaker 2 (21:59):
Maybe I don't know.

Speaker 1 (21:59):
That would when if you use.

Speaker 3 (22:01):
A hot water bottle as a water balloon, that would
hurt about it, that's not.

Speaker 1 (22:05):
But I'm just thinking about like a four pound water balloon.
Kareem down. Take that one small. Just toss someone at
the kids across the yard. There you go. Yeah, Raspberries
and Cream Day on Friday. And Sea Serpent Day Okay, yeah, I.

Speaker 2 (22:26):
Don't see a lot of sea serpents here in Cincinnati.
How do I celebrate this day?

Speaker 1 (22:30):
I don't know the whole thing about it, but boy,
oh boy, you know when people were on sailing ships,
they were everywhere. They were looking at the old maps
back in the day, and every one of them had
been swallowed up, and so.

Speaker 2 (22:43):
Many kinds of serpents in the sea back then.

Speaker 1 (22:46):
Yeah, they're all just scary as hell. Yep, very scary,
very very scary.

Speaker 3 (22:53):
Well, I was swimming one time and had a water moccasin.
Scary whim my way, that was a little scary one is.

Speaker 1 (23:00):
Yeah, and that funny. The sea snakes are the most
maybe the most venomous snake out there. They are, but
they their mouth is such that they can't I don't
think they can even bite us, or if they can,
it's like rare and and so they that's good news.
It is good news. Yeah, but if you see one coming,
don't take a chance. Way back away by way. So

(23:24):
that wraps us up for the National Days of and
we'll take an early break so we can have more
time with favorite plants, our favorite plants right now, which
is my favorite part of the show, talking about plants.
How can you do worse or better? How can you
do better than that? I don't know, I don't know,

(23:46):
I don't know, getting lost in my words here, but
we do want your calls today eight hundred eighty two,
three eighty two fifty five. And a reminder, we have
Joe Boggs coming a little over an hour from now,
and he he's always entertained. He's the one guy on earth,
I think, the one guy on earth. They can make anomology. Oh,

(24:08):
I'm going to get in trouble here, but you know,
bug past problems entertaining.

Speaker 2 (24:13):
Agreed, that's kind of his art.

Speaker 1 (24:17):
And not only just entertaining, but exceptionally entertaining. Yes, yes,
just a funny guy, kind.

Speaker 2 (24:23):
Of a solid information all.

Speaker 1 (24:26):
The time, so well researched, and just a good guy,
just a good all around guy. He works so hard.
He's out there talk given talks everywhere everywhere, and his
talks are unbelievable. Not only is it you got the
great research, but then you have all the animations he
does on the slides, which I don't know how long.

Speaker 2 (24:45):
Yeah, I wonder how much time do you spend on
the content and how much time do you spend on
the animations and the random image that you with.

Speaker 1 (24:54):
Dad jokes and everything they are in there.

Speaker 2 (24:56):
It is just dad joke after dad.

Speaker 3 (24:59):
You know one thing that that he's exceptional for as
well as photography, Yeah, because his photography skills have just
exponentially grown since I met Joe thirty years ago.

Speaker 1 (25:09):
And he's got a picture of every disease. He's got
a picture of every insect. He's got all their in stars.
He should market that. He probably all belonged to the
Probably All right, well, let's get to that break so
we can get the plants. You're listening to Let's Garden
with Scott Berlin. Will be right back backs Let's Garden

(25:30):
with Scott Berlin. I'm Scott, Jim is to my left,
Sarah's to my right. We're we're about to talk plants.
But I do want to say hello to all the
people on the in the Garden facebook page that Ron
Roethis runs. Hello folks, thanks for listening. And there was
something else I wanted to mention. It went away just

(25:50):
that fast. I mentioned it during the break. Well what
was I saying I should do? I got to be
responsible for you. I can't remember.

Speaker 2 (25:57):
We weren't listening to you, Scott.

Speaker 1 (25:58):
I'm sorry, Sarah. Yeah, that's it's Oh.

Speaker 2 (26:03):
It's only because well I'll speak for myself. It's only
because of lack of attention span. Again, early morning, early
morning fog.

Speaker 1 (26:11):
That's happening to all of us. I think you mentioned
just talking about our favorite plants right now. Yeah, you're right. Good,
good call, getting us back to where we belong.

Speaker 2 (26:21):
Actually, that's why I wasn't listening to you. I was
writing down my favorite plants.

Speaker 1 (26:24):
So always prepared, Sarah, always prepared, So our favorite plants
right now, Jim, why didn't you get us started? Sure?

Speaker 3 (26:35):
A couple come to mind immediately that I really like.
I've got a little plant in my garden called Calamintha nepaa.
It's a calament, And I've got a variety called montrose white.
And my oldest son and I like to sit out
on the patio or on the front porch just kind
of enjoy the garden in the evenings. And the number
of honey bees on that plant two nights ago was staggering.

(26:57):
At like seven o'clock at night, I'm like, wow, there's
a lot. It looked like the plant was moving. There
were so many and its just it's been blooming for
weeks and little towers.

Speaker 1 (27:05):
Are super small, Yeah, but showy added up, they look good.
It really really looks good.

Speaker 3 (27:12):
So I can't I think next year I'll be able
to divide that and start sharing that in other places
in my garden, just to I like having lots of
pollinator plants.

Speaker 1 (27:19):
That's itself so a little bit too are spread. I
don't know what I'm ready for. Yeah, me too. It's
great for the front of the border where it kind
of spreads and it just tracks all those pollinators and
it's a good plant for that plant and real quick.

Speaker 3 (27:33):
Another plant that goes well with that is a switch grass.
I have a variety in my garden called Cheyenne sky.
I really like the genus panic them. They're native to
North America. They're just phenomenal grasses. But it's it's really upright,
and it's only three feet tall, you know, switch grasses

(27:54):
or can be huge Dallas blues it's eight feet.

Speaker 1 (27:58):
Tall at least. Yeah. Huge.

Speaker 3 (28:01):
The one thing I have observed with switch grasses after
working at a High River Grass for three years and
then growing a lot in my garden is it's one
of those plants that you probably want to stick with
one variety in your garden because they will cross pollinate.

Speaker 1 (28:13):
And you're the offspring will be kind of all over
the place, all over the place. Yeah, it's a cedar,
you know. Yeah, so, and I think that seed less
if there are a few or other varieties around, so
it helps, Yeah, because of the cross pollination and so forth.

Speaker 3 (28:27):
But the shiant sky that I have the foliage is
bluish and it's starting to kind of turn that red
fall cot with that calamenttha. Those two plants together contrast.

Speaker 1 (28:37):
Yeah. I had panicum down to at the Perennial Plant
Association at Ball this week. There a whole new line
that came out that I didn't even know existed, and
there's like what seven or eight more.

Speaker 2 (28:52):
Yeah, I had it down too, just because the grasses
were so phenomenal, and we kept which one did you
put down? I'm curious.

Speaker 1 (29:00):
I just put down the whole series.

Speaker 2 (29:03):
Oh, the whole series.

Speaker 1 (29:04):
Yeah, and I'm trying to remember what the series was called.

Speaker 2 (29:06):
Ah.

Speaker 1 (29:07):
I had it written down for a minute and then
side I'll have to Yeah, we'll look it up.

Speaker 2 (29:14):
It's not Prairie Winds, is it.

Speaker 1 (29:16):
No? I don't think it was.

Speaker 2 (29:19):
Okay, Well I had Lightning Bolt, DreamCatcher, Lightning Bolt. Uh, yeah, okay,
Dreamcature is the series then, okay, yeah, and the Lightning Bolt.
They had containers of it at the Perennial Plant Association
so you could actually see the plants, and then as
we went around to tourist spaces we saw it in
several gardens. Uh. And it's gorgeous. It's highly upright. It's

(29:43):
taller than north Wind, which is another upright narrow one,
very rigid, doesn't flop. It's not quite as yellow, limey
toned as the North Wind. It's a little bit more
bluish and just really dramatic narrow plant. They're going to
sell a ton of those. It's going to be so
useful for designers.

Speaker 1 (30:02):
Yeah, that's what I think. Lightning Bolt they had other
ones too, like tumbleweed was one which is smaller, yes,
much smaller, like less than three feet and roundish, yeah,
which is really an unusual look for switchgrasses, So you
might want to look that up. What again, was it.

Speaker 2 (30:23):
The DreamCatcher lightning bolt? The series is DreamCatcher and the
variety of lightning bolts.

Speaker 1 (30:32):
One plan I saw at ball that really struck me.
It's an old one, it's been around forever, but it
looks so good. Maybe they can grow it a little
bit better than we can. But the cornice alba elk antissima,
which is a silver and green variegated dogwood shrub dogwood

(30:52):
up the red twig series or style types, just it
had great form. That there's something about dogwood variegation that
just comes out clean and beautiful. It's just you know,
that genus for and whatever they change the genus too,
but that there just seems to be something special about

(31:15):
those plants for the ability to to do variegation.

Speaker 3 (31:18):
Yes, in that plant, Scott, I think it can be
a really good plant for us if it's got a lot.

Speaker 1 (31:24):
Of organic matter in the soil. It likes some moisture
in the summer when it gets hot, and dry.

Speaker 3 (31:30):
And the other thing I think that plant benefits from
is about every three years cut out about a third
of the older canes.

Speaker 1 (31:36):
Is they tend to develop canker over time, that's right.

Speaker 3 (31:39):
And if you cut that stuff out and it's always fresh.

Speaker 1 (31:42):
I know in England, one of the.

Speaker 3 (31:44):
Popular dogwood varieties it's kind of shrubby dogwood is midwinter
Fire and if you read like English garden, it's gorgeous.
I've got that one in my garden if you if
you have that plant in your garden. What the English
do is they cut it back pretty much to the
ground about every three years, just to keep those fresh
canes with that bright color.

Speaker 2 (32:03):
Yeah, some plants really want that, Yeah they do.

Speaker 1 (32:06):
And it keeps it a little smaller too. And it's
what's interesting here is is you grow most of the
red twig type dogwoods and what is Alba senguine servant,
and yeah, you grow those almost entirely, all of them.
All the cultivars are out there pretty much for the twig,
the stem color, yeah, the bark and what a winter

(32:29):
show it puts on. But it's just particular one you
grow for the variegation. And I don't think it really
has a great bark color.

Speaker 3 (32:37):
I can't remember, not really, not like some of the
other ones. Yeah, yeah, it's it's definitely a foliage plant.

Speaker 1 (32:42):
What's your next plant?

Speaker 3 (32:46):
I have been growing gomfrina this summer and it is
a doer.

Speaker 2 (32:52):
It is.

Speaker 3 (32:53):
It just goes and I mean it just it's still
putting out new flowers. I've got one called Firecracker.

Speaker 1 (32:58):
It's pretty tall.

Speaker 3 (32:59):
It's almost too have, three feet tall. It's a thirty
five dollon hour plant. When you plant it mass, I
mean you.

Speaker 1 (33:04):
Just get that huge splash of purple. It's just pretty
good for pilin eaters. Yeah, it's full of bees as well. Sun. Yeah.
Not a whole lot of attention up beyond this droughty,
drought tolerant once it's established. I did notice this. I
planted mine a little late, and it took it a
minute to get to get rooted in.

Speaker 3 (33:25):
So if you're going to do gonfrina, i'd plant that
closer to the beginning of the growing season when we
can do annuals in Cincinnati, and then let it get
rooted in. Because now mine's rooted in, I had to
water it at all. Well, well, we get rain all
the time. Now, this has been a great summer for rain.
By the way, it really like about once a week
we seemed to give out an inch of rain. It's like,
oh my gosh, I.

Speaker 2 (33:43):
Had over an inch inch of my rain gauge when
I checked last night. My sprinkler doesn't hit it, so.

Speaker 1 (33:49):
That, oh, that's right, what Sarah, your next plant?

Speaker 2 (33:55):
My next plant is Echinesia fatal attraction. There's so many
echinacias and I mean it almost kind of became a
joke because it's like every single presenter is like, we're
all talking about achinaesias, and there's just hundreds of varieties
at this point, and you know, even were kind of
saturated and that as horticulturists. But one of the tours

(34:17):
we did was the out Off Garden on Bellisle in Detroit,
and one of the Echinacius he uses there is fatal attraction.
I think it's one that he bred himself, Pee out Off,
the designer of that garden, and the stems are very dark.
The center of the flower is dark as well, but

(34:38):
it has that little orange tips on it to set
it off, and the petals are fluted, they kind of
stick out. They don't droop and hang as much like
the other echinaceas, and so there's just a really a
resting look to this plant, especially if it's backlit with
something lighter where you can really appreciate the dark. And

(35:00):
there's some pigmentation on the foliage as well, but just
really stunning.

Speaker 1 (35:04):
I love that plant.

Speaker 3 (35:05):
I've got ruby Star in my garden which is an
old germilar standard.

Speaker 1 (35:10):
Yeah, taller the goldfinches. I'm having it.

Speaker 3 (35:13):
I've got dozens of goldfinches every evening that's come and
pick the seeds off that.

Speaker 1 (35:16):
So such a common plant, so good spectabular guards. Yeah,
and you know the original is really great. This the species. Ye,
but there's so many cultivars now they've done so much
breeding with different colors, heights, more flowers, and we've studied
these and so did Mouth Cuba Center to see are

(35:39):
these cultivars better worse for pollinators than the species. And
it's a mixed bag. So are you know, really really
good for polinaers not so much and a couple you know,
the pom pom types maybe not at all at all. Right,
So yeah, you are listening to uh, let's Gary with
Scott Berlin. We do watch your calls eight hundred eight fifty.

(36:00):
Tell us about your favorite plants. We'll listen, we'll comment,
and we'll also be back in just a few minutes.