Seeds, Bulbs, and Beautiful Books

Season 4, Episode 50, October 19, 2022

(Note from Carol. Dee asked me to pick between two pictures of tulips in containers. Guess why I picked this one?)

In this week's episode, Carol and I discussed planting bulbs in containers, buying seeds, an interesting insect, and some beautiful books.

Carol worked hard on the GardenComm annual meeting, so she didn’t get much done in the garden. She prepared for a freeze, which didn’t amount to much. I just went to some talks at the meeting, so I had time to bring plants inside the greenhouse. We’re both supposed to have a hard freeze this week. It’s time, I guess.

Carol is worried about her Norway spruce and will be sending off a sample to Purdue University’s Plant Pathology Department to find out what’s wrong… she suspects drought or a horrible fungal disease. Hope it’s drought.

I did a funny Instagram reel last week- listen carefully! I also found seeds for Verbesina encelioides, which we discussed last week. Order quickly! Plants of the Southwest will discontinue its online shop on October 28, 2022. I have no idea why.

This week’s flower topic was how to grow tulips in containers. It’s not as simple as you might think. We picked this topic because so many people were asking me questions on the blog, Instagram, and other places about doing it. Penny Pennington on Instagram also asked me about this topic. I gave my best tips on growing bulbs in pots. Good luck if you decide to do it! In his book, Containers in the Garden, Claus Dalby makes it look easy. (Amazon link).

If our tips scare you off from growing tulips in pots, you could try Carol’s cheat. You’ll have to listen to get her advice.

For vegetables, we want you to know it’s okay to buy seeds now for next spring and summer, and if you order now, you might even get a break on shipping costs. Check out this affiliate link to Botanical Interest Seeds. Thanks, BI! They are shipping free in October.

We had a couple of quotes by the venerable Henry Mitchell on Amazon. Carol likes him, but I think he’s rather bossy. Oh, and the actual Bob Dylan quote I paraphrased on the podcast is, “If your time to you is worth saving. Then you better start swimmin', or you'll sink like a stone.” I should have known it would more poetic than I made it. In other words, don’t spend so much time trying to figure out how to beat seed shipping costs. Time is short.

You’ll laugh at our book on the bookshelf because neither of us read it again, although we love it and the author, Allen Lacy. I think he’s wonderful partly because he named an aster he found in his garden after his wife, ‘Hella Lacy.’ Say that three times fast and laugh. The Garden in Autumn, by Allen Lacy (1990) (Amazon link). I also discovered this book is considered the first of the autumnal gardening books.

My client, Susan, gave us our dirt this week when she asked me what some crazy bugs on her rose of Sharon were. Having never seen them before, I did a little searching and discovered they are hibiscus Scentless Plant Bug | NC State Extension Publications. They don’t cause that much damage, so they’re not anything to worry about.

Our rabbit hole was deep and mesmerizing. Somehow, Carol found a six-book set of classics illustrated by Marjolein Bastin, including Little Women and Emma. Older editions are available on Amazon.  They would make a great Christmas gift for the 12-year-old in your life or any adult who loved these books as a child. If we haven’t already convinced you these are wonderful, go check out our YouTube video.

It’s close to Halloween, so I brought up The Little Ghost Who Lost Her Boo, by Elaine Bickell (Amazon link). It’s an adorable story for young children and not too spooky.

Carol found an older blog post with tips on five things to do in October in the garden. We think it will help, and it’s funny. It’s almost time to plant bulbs in Indiana too. In Oklahoma, I wait until Thanksgiving.

Oklahoma will have its first freeze this week, and I did an Instagram reel about my drip irrigation. I’d love to install the Netafim tubing in the cut flower garden. (Note from Carol… today, October 18, there was light snow on the ground and the rooftops…I guess that’s a freeze.)

OK, that’s it for this week.

And, now, our usual stuff…

Affiliate link to Botanical Interest Seeds. (If you buy something from them after using this link, we earn a small commission at no cost to you. This helps us continue to bring this podcast to you ad-free!)  Book links are also affiliated links.

Email us anytime at TheGardenangelists@gmail.com 

For more info on Carol and her books, visit her website.  Visit her blog May Dreams Gardens.

For more info on Dee and her book, visit her website.  Visit her blog Red Dirt Ramblings.

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