The holidays are here, your garden may be buried in snow and the family is restless.  Everyone could benefit from a little horticulture relief.  Get easy and affordable ideas for indoor gardening projects for the whole family.  Build a terrarium, start seeds, or create colorful plant markers and more.  And I will give you a recipe for peanut butter suet, talk about the benefits and concerns of using coffee grounds in your garden, and uncover the mysteries of the 3-month-old flocked and the sprouting cut Christmas tree.  Visit www.bottlebiology.org for more fun affordable hands-on and educational projects for the kids.

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

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.

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.

So much to do and so little time to do it.  In this podcast I'll offer tips on how to reduce winter damage and lighten the work load for next spring.  I'll touch on storing pesticides and fertilizers, animal protection, winter rose protection, storing tools, winter mulch and fall landscape chores.  I then answer a gardener's question on overwintering geraniums. I'll then discuss yellow leaves on plants that have been moved indoors for the winter.  I wrap things up with the sweet stevia plant.

I cover winter interest in the garden. Then I answer gardeners’ questions from across the country on preventing slugs on hostas and dealing with powdery mildew on beebalm. Next Kristin Gies joins me for tips on managing multi-colored Asian lady beetles. I finish off with a favorite plant, fothergilla (Fothergilla), planted for its fragrant blooms and great fall color.

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 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.

Helpful guidelines on how to maintain gardens and landscapes after torrential rainfall is the focus of this podcast. I'll answer gardeners' questions on what to do when peonies are flattened by storms and perennials that will attract birds and butterflies in shade. I'll discuss the problem of root rot. I'll finish with the importance of hiring a certified tree care professional. To find a Certified Arborist in your area visit treesoaregood.org.

In this podcast I'll continue to share my experiences visiting garden shows in Syracuse, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska and South Dakota. Then I'll answer gardeners' questions about shade gardens and shrubs and flowers that attract birds and butterflies. My pest tip focuses on golden canker on dogwood. I'll finish with a word on the Master Gardener program.

Tis the Season! I'll discuss the ways in which cutflowers, amaryllis or forced spring bulbs help lift spirits during the holiday season. I answer gardening questions on cutting back spirea and planting mums in the garden. The tiny spider mite is the subject of my pest tip. I'll finish with a great holiday gift that the  whole family can enjoy, AeroGarden.

The second summer or fall garden is the subject of this podcast. Annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs that put on a show in the late summer or fall garden. I answer gardeners' questions on transplanting dogwood and white flowers on a purple rose of Sharon? Emerald ash borer is the focus of this week's pest tip.

Are your perennials overcome with too much growth? Do your annuals need a bit of deadheading? Let's grab the pruners and get to work!  I'll finish with a mention of the Cut and Hold - developed for roses and other prickly shrubs.

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.

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 spring blooming bulbs is the focus of this podcast. Then I answer gardeners’ questions on planting glory of the snow bulbs and what to do with left over bulbs. Then Kristin Gies joins me for tips on managing boxelder bugs. I finish off with a favorite website, bulb.com, with helpful tips on growing bulbs in your area.

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.

Increase your gardening success by choosing the right plant for the growing conditions. I'll talk heat and cold hardiness, soil conditions, light conditions, and other environmental factors. Visit our Plant Guide for help choosing the right plant for your landscape. Next I'll answer gardeners' questions on butterfly bush and hydrangea care. My pest tip covers moss in the yard. I finish with a product from Moss Acres, the Moss Milkshake.

Start planting fruits, vegetables and herbs indoors! No matter where you live, you can get started now. I answer gardeners' questions on Illini Hardy blackberry, plants that attract finches and using baking soda for disease control. I'll talk about fungus gnats in this week's pest tip and using Gnatrol with Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) for control.

Season long color using summer flowering bulbs leads off this podcast. Then I answer gardeners' questions on persimmon trees, maple with spotted and curled leaves and rabbits eating marigolds. I'll finish with information on bacterial blight.

Gardeners start to think about new plants while browsing through new catalogues. Select the right plants for your climate. Click here for an interactive USDA zone map. I'll discuss frost heaving, what it is and why it happens. New product: Ups-A-Daisy.

The key factor for planting is the temperature, not your calendar. Gardeners' questions: My holiday cactus has a white crusty substance on top of the soil - is it salt build up? Description of a Chocolate Vine, Akebia quinata. Pest tip: Geraniums may be subject to oedema or edema. New product: Aqua Dome, a plastic double walled, water insulated dome.

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.

Bring those tropical plants in from the cold! I"ll discuss the special care needed for tropicals. Then I'll answer gardeners' questions about poinsettia in the garden, sweet potato vine, and Milorganite and weeds. White flies are the subject of my pest tip. I recommend the book Palms Won't Grow Here and Other Myths: Warm-Climate Plants for Cooler Areas by David A. Francko.

In this podcast I discuss the popularity of tropical plants for any garden. Then I answer gardeners’ questions on landscape fabric over bulbs and deformed gladiolas. Next Kristin Gies joins me for tips on selecting disease resistant varieties. I finish by recommending a new plant, Tropicanna Black Canna, Canna indica 'Lon01' for more information check out www.monrovia.com

A safe haven for cannas, tuberous begonias, and dahlias is indoors protecting them from winter weather. I'll discuss winter storage. I answer gardening questions about where to buy corn gluten and asters that have some browning. Then I'll discuss gardening tips on how to control thrips. I recommend the beautiful blooms of Pink Quill (Tillandsia cyanea) to brighten the winter months.

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.

In this podcast I focus on xeriscaping, as a continuation of our water conservation series. Then I answer gardeners' questions on the spacing of Blue Rug junipers and planting hostas under trees. Next Kristin joins me to discuss managing and avoiding leaf scorch. I finish by recommending a favorite product, Milorganite.