M is for Marigolds, Melons, Monarda, and Morning Glory

Season 7, Episode 27, June 11, 2025

Carol’s favorite this week is her straw foxglove, Digitalis lutea.

Carol and I continue to garden through the alphabet. This week we meditated on the letter M. Here is your early listen link. To watch us recording, check out this YouTube video.

Carol was a lot busier in the garden than I was last week. It won’t stop raining in Oklahoma. Carol discovered the clematis she really wanted at Menards was ‘H F Young,’ not Niobe, which she remembered as Noble. I’ve grown both of those. She was going to run back and get more clematis after we finished recording. I’ve been pulling weeds and mulching. I cannot get ahead of the weeds. How is it going for you?

I harvested Bauer lettuce, an AAS winner. It was slow to get going, but now it’s wonderful.

I also made an Instagram reel on how to dress to avoid ticks.

My favorite last week was my Tropicanna canna. I can’t get enough of these colors.

My ‘Tropicanna’ cannas were my favorite last week. I love them. They are tropical, but nothing has that color. Carol’s favorite was her straw foxglove, Digitalis lutea. It looks great.

Our question of the week referred to how I grow my pots and why my plants looks so good, according to the follower who asked. I explained that I fertilize every week. You can use a good organic fertilizer like FoxFarm Big Bloom or a conventional one like Scotts Super Bloom.

For our flowers, we first talked about a succulent called Mezoo. I knew the succulent, but didn’t know that was the cultivar name. Great trailing out of pots.

Monarda in bloom

We then discussed monarda, or bee balm. Here is a photo of monarda because it’s pretty. I think I took it at the Lurie Garden years ago. We also discussed marigolds. Carol likes the smaller signet marigolds, while I love the giant African ones. We ended with morning glories. If you grow them, you’ll always have them.

We moved onto our vegetable topic and chatted about mesclun, Mortgage Lifter tomatoes, and melons. I had a funny story about growing melons. Listen to hear more.

Cover of In the Garden with Jane Austen by Kim Wilson

On our bookshelf, we went back to 2008 with In the Garden with Jane Austen, by Kim Wilson (Amazon Link.) It’s a very good book and would make a lovely gift. Carol and I both kept it, which should tell you something.

For our dirt, we highlighted Yiayia Anna on the blue zone island of Ikaria in Greece (Instagram.)

Rabbit Holes: Carol's blog post on eight types of mowing was one of her rabbit holes. My rabbit hole involved cold cases and DNA. I find it fascinating.

Other links: What Brook Grows, on Instagram, Jane Austen’s Niece on Substack, Vera Wong’s Guide to Snooping (on a Dead Man) by Jesse Q. Sutanto (Amazon link).

That’s it! Thanks for listening.

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For more info on Carol visit her website. Visit her blog, May Dreams Gardens and check out her new weekly newsletter, In the Garden With Carol.
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