N is for Nasturtiums, Nigella, and Nettles
Season 7, Episode 28, June 18, 2025
We are still plowing through the alphabet! This week’s focus is on the letter N, so we talk about nasturtiums, nigella, nosegays, nettles, and more. To listen now, use this link. To watch this episode, click on this YouTube link.
To find out more about this episode, keep reading!
(Gosh, we are bossy… listen, watch, read!)
One of our questions this week was about purple roses. Dee suggested two roses: Plum Perfect Rose - Floribunda and Leonardo Da Vinci Rose - Shrub. Both are available from Heirloom Roses
I visited Dollie’s Lavender Farm near Franklin, Indiana with my garden club. That was great fun, and I discovered a new-to-me flower that starts with “O.” We’ll talk about it next week.
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Back to our episode info…
We also talked about amsonia, and Dee suggested everyone get a threadleaf amsonia. Dee hasn’t had it self-sow in her garden the way mine does in my garden. The Missouri Botanical Garden has some good info about it. (Coincidentally, someone commented on my personal weekly newsletter that she has a variety called ‘Butterscotch.’ I looked it up. Pretty!)
Finally, we get to some letter N plants. Dee is loving the All-America Selections of nasturtiums that she grew from seeds this year. My nasturtiums are way behind hers. To find out why… you’ll have to listen to the podcast!
We also talked about nigelia and nosegays.
For our vegetable topic, we talked about New Zealand spinach and stinging nettles. Neither of us grows them, but there is an article about stinging nettles from The Spruce, if you are interested. We say go for it!
On the bookshelf, I talked about Radical Prunings: A Novel of Officious Advice from the Contessa Compost by Bonnie Thomas Abbott (Amazon)
It came out in 2005, so at this point, “good used copies are available.” Listen to hear our thoughts about it. Dee said it reminded her of some of my old Hortense Hoelove advice column blog posts. Yes, back in the day, I made up a columnist who answered gardening questions.
Our dirt was about Historic Apple Trees.
Down in our rabbit holes, Dee watched videos about the Cushing Sisters on YouTube, which reminded us of their friend, C. Z. Guest, a Lost Lady of Garden Writing. I said I’d find the Substack by an author who writes about the Mitford sisters. (Yes, they came up in conversation, too.) It’s the Laura Thompson Substack. Fun reading.
I talked about Cassandra Danz, another Lost Lady of Garden Writing. I have both of her books. They are funny and helpful. Well worth reading, in my opinion.
And that, dear friends and listeners, is another episode. If you have in mind something you want us to discuss in the coming weeks, leave a comment! If you want to guess what the new-to-me flower is that starts with “O,” put your guess in the comments.
Thank you for listening!
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