In this podcast I'll cover the 2011 All-America Selection winners. I'll also tell you about some other great additions to the garden including the Perennial Plant of the Year and the Hosta of the Year. For more information visit All-America Selections, Perennial Plant Association, and Morton Arboretum.

In this podcast I'll share a few ideas with you on affordable ways to improve your landscape. Then I'll answer gardening questions on rust in the lawn, blueberry bushes and Japanese beetles. I'll discuss how to deal with whiteflies. I'll finish by talking about Messenger, a plant health regulator.

In this podcast I would like to focus on the planting beds. I'll answer gardeners' questions on how to get a great lawn, perennials for shade, planting primrose and telling the difference between male and female bittersweet vine. In my pest tip I'll discuss septoria leaf spot on tomatoes. Finally I'll discuss using a down spout shut-off/diverter with your rain barrel.

I'll tackle gardeners' questions regarding planting pussy willows, late blight and other tomato problems, managing weeds and improving the soil organically, and dealing with deer damage to sugar maple. I'll talk great resources for information on late blight -  Penn State, Food Safety & Late Blight; Cornell University, Late Blight Overview; Iowa State University, Tomato Diseases and Disorders; University of Wisconsin, Managing Late Blight in Organic Gardens

Thank you for sending in your gardening questions.  I'll focus this podcast on getting some of them answered. Should I plant basil in the sun or shade? When to cut my mums? Can I plant a snowberry bush in the same place that I cut down a tree? Suggestions for weed control? Grass seed for shade areas? Italian parsley has mutated. Geranium has foliage but no flower buds. I'll finish with a mention of a great reference book, Garden Insects of North America by Whitney Cranshaw; Princeton University Press. ISBN: 0=691-09560-4

This episode features tips attracting birds and butterflies to your garden. Then I answer a gardener's question on lichen on a rose tree. Kristin Gies joins me for tips on controlling disappearing bulbs. I finish off with a new plant, My Monet Weigela - Weigela florida ‘Verweig’. For more information about this plant, visit Spring Meadow Nursery.

I share tips on midsummer care of perennials. I'll answer gardeners’ questions on poor drainage of lawns, moisture loving plants, and rabbit and deer damage on roses and yews. Then Kristin Gies joins me for tips on managing Japanese beetles. I finish off with a favorite product, Mantis Tiller, a great tool for cultivating soil and edging beds.

This episode I discuss caring for plants and flowers in the garden. Then I answer gardeners’ questions on controlling field bindweed (Convolvulus arvensis), problems with clematis buds and earwigs, and moving bleeding heart plants. I finish off with a favorite product, Fiskars Kangaroo Container, a collapsible container for carrying garden debris and soil amendments.

In this podcast I'll share great lawn tips, solutions to common problems and discuss how to be more eco-friendly. I answer a gardener's question about rust on dwarf Alberta spruce. I'll talk about Martha Washington geranium (Pelargonium x domesticum) a great plant to know and grow. Then I outline the differences between crabgrass and quackgrass. I'll finish with some recommended lawn care guides: The Lawn Guide - Midwest Series by Melinda Myers,  The Lawn Guide - Southern Series by Steve Dobbs and The Florida Lawn Guide by Tom McCubbin.

Learn how leaves turn fall color and capture the magical moments of autumn - the cool crisp air, vibrant colored leaves, and a bountiful harvest. I answer gardeners' questions on mushrooms in the lawn and potentilla buds. I'll discuss seasonal needle drop of conifers. I'll finish with a fascinating plant, lion's ear or Leonotis leonurus. It looks like “beebalm on steroids”.

Fall is a great time for planting and in this podcast I'll discuss getting your trees, shrubs, perennials and spring bulbs planted before winter. I'll discuss fall lawn care from fertilizing to leaving leaf and grass clippings on the ground. I then focus on plant protection and using repellents and fencing to keep the animals at bay. I'll tackle gardeners' questions on creeping Charlie, Joseph's coat and quackgrass vs. crabgrass.

Autumn. I'm going to discuss some tasks for fall maintenance, of course it will depend on where your location is, however the task will be the same but the timing will vary. I'll then answer gardening questions on analyzing lilac, finding a blackberry that will survive Minnesota winters and a greenish-grey moss growing on the trunk of a tree. Finally I'll share a favorite garden, The Portland Classical Chinese Garden.

Let's keep working our way through the fall yard care list. Then I'll answer gardeners' questions on the Ixora plant, crabgrass and splitting tomatoes. New Product/Plant: Mac & Cheese and Tomato Soup echinacea.

Fall is an excellent time to care for your lawn. In this podcast I give some helpful guidelines to keep your lawn healthy. I answer gardening questions on purchasing a green roof bird-feeder, allium bulbs and tomatoes that are rotting on the bottom. I'll discuss my updated Lawn Guides - Midwest Series. *Note: to order plans for the Green Roof Birdfeeder: Send a self addressed business size envelope to Melinda Myers - Birdfeeder Plans, P.O. Box 370331, Milwaukee, WI 53237-0331

Fall is a great time to take care of annual flower and vegetable gardens, also a great time to start a new bed. I'll answer gardening questions on how to protect lavender plants over the winter, overwintering bougainvilla, the best way to remove lily of the valley and a gardenia with insect damage. Finally I'll talk about Purple Cow Activated Compost.

Great landscape design is just one find at this years flower and garden shows.  I'd like to share my experiences with you that I've gained through appearing and touring flower and garden shows across the country. Then I'll answer gardeners' questions on pruning weigela and fertilizing apple trees. My pest tip covers thatch in the lawn. I'll discuss a great quick read, The Man Who Planted Trees by Jean Giono. Finally I'd like to encourage you to visit and share your photos in my photo galleries.

I once again offer you a guided tour of Boerner Botanical Gardens. This podcasts focuses on my June 23rd walk highlighting ground covers and vines. This season's warm temperatures have also allowed many perennials to put on their display a little early than the norm. We have a number covered here that are sure to give you ideas on how to fill your landscape with color.

Virtual Garden Tour

In this podcast I discuss growing a nutritional garden. Then I answer gardeners’ questions on getting rid of ferns and what to plant under evergreens. Next Kristin Gies joins me for tips on herbicide damage. I finish by recommending a few favorite websites for ordering unique and fun fruits and vegetables: Johnny's Selected Seeds, The Cook's Garden, and Renee's Garden.

My topic this week is trees, with proper care you can keep them healthy for a lifetime. I answer gardeners' questions on raspberries and overwintering containers. I'll discuss problems and solutions for carpenter ants that nest in and decay wood.

Let's talk lawns! Gardening tips for your lawn that will give you a carpet of green for next year. I answer gardeners' questions on sweet peas and saving seeds. I'll discuss how to prevent crabgrass in your lawn with corn gluten, an environmentally friendly pre-emergent weed suppressant.

I have some great gardening tips on how to plant hardy bulbs when winter gets the ground a bit crunchy. I then answer gardeners' questions on strawberries and dividing Annabelle hydrangea. I'll discuss how to stop animals from damaging your bulbs. I finish with a great garden tool for protecting your bulbs, the bulb cage from Gardener's Supply Company.

Planting trees in your landscape is this podcast’s focus. Then I answer gardeners’ questions on moving poinsettias indoors from the garden. Next Kristin Gies joins me for tips on identifying and managing fall webworm. I finish off with a favorite plant, Washington hawthorn, (Crataegus phaenopyrum.)

This podcast will focus on getting your plants ready for growing outdoors. I'll discuss getting non-hardy bulbs started indoors for earlier bloom outside. Next I'll cover spring care for those overwintered geraniums. Then I'll answer a gardener's question on Canadian goldenrod. My pest tip deals with late blight on tomatoes. Click here for the University of Wisconsin Extension publication on Late Blight. I finish with a beautiful watering devise I discovered at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show that has a little history behind it, the Thumb Pot. Besides being pictured here you can get more information on this and other wonderful artistic garden items at artgardenlaura.blogspot.com.

In this podcast I focus on reviving summer stressed lawns. I answer a gardener's question on ridding the lawn of wild violets. Then Kristin Gies joins me for tips on managing scab. I finish off with a favorite product, Grass Fast, a fabric mulch used to establish newly seeded lawns.

I give tips on giving your landscape that needed spring clean up. Then I answer gardeners’ questions on growing grass under trees. Next Kristin Gies joins me for tips on golden canker. I finish by recommending a wonderful organization, the National Wildlife Federation, helping you turn your backyard into a certified backyard garden. For more information visit their website at nwf.org/backyard.

Summer's heat can take its toll on both you and your garden. Take a walk through Boerner to find out what annuals, perennials and summer blooming shrubs sparkle in the summer heat. I offer a guided tour that you can take along with you while viewing the virtual tour online!

Virtual Garden Tour

In this podcast I'll cover tips on how to preserve and protect your plants over winter; shovel first, salt later. Then I'll answer gardeners' questions on searching for a professional when trees need pruning, gardenia that has failed to bloom and droopy cutflowers? In this week's tip I'll discuss the weather calendar.

This podcast features tips on proper lawn care. Then I answer a gardener's question on lawn thatch. Kristin Gies joins me for tips on identifying and managing spittlebugs. I finish off with a favorite product, Milorganite, a slow release, organic fertilizer for your lawn and garden.

Tips on watering your lawn and garden is the focus of this podcast. Then I answer gardeners’ questions on protecting rhododendrons during the winter and understanding emerald ash borer. Then Kristin Gies joins me for tips on managing anthracnose. I finish off with a favorite product from Gardener’s Supply Company, Aqua Cones, to assist gardeners with the task of watering.

The focus is winter protection for your garden plants. Then I answer gardeners’ questions on protecting container plantings through the winter and over wintering Esparanza or trumpetbush (Tecoma). Next Kristin Gies joins me for tips on managing deer in your landscape. I finish off with tips on anti-dessicants or anti-transpirants.

In this podcast I cover winter rose protection. Then I answer gardeners’ questions on growing spring flowering bulbs in pots, pruning hibiscus, angel’s trumpet and mosquitos overwintering indoors. Next Kristin Gies joins me for tips on managing rabbits in your landscape. I finish off with a favorite plant, Baby Star Amaryllis, (Hippeastrum ‘Baby Star’) from Brent and Becky’s Bulbs.

Follow along with me as I narrate the Winter Wonderland Virtual Tour! Get ideas for incorporating winter interest into your yard. Take a look at winter beauty provided by the bark, form and fruit of trees and shrubs as well as seed heads of perennials and ornamental grasses. You’ll come away with creative ideas and design solutions to add interest to your winter landscape.