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.

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.

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.

The focus of this podcast is the 2010 Northwest Flower & Garden Show in Seattle, Washington. There I found many wonderful garden accents that not only serve a function, but provide beauty to the landscape. You can find photos of my trip in the February Gallery of What's Blooming. I'll then answer gardener's questions on Osage orange.  With that I'll give a little historical significance on this tree. A great website to follow up on the history of American trees is historictrees.org. I'll talk Cedar Apple Rust in my pest tip. Then, I'll finish with a great tool for digging, planting, weeding and soil prep -  the Hoedag.

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.

This podcast is dedicated to children and how to inspire and engage them in the garden. Then I answer gardeners’ questions on columbine with sawfly and rust on junipers. Next Kristin Gies joins me for tips on getting rid of dame’s rocket. I finish by recommending great gardens to visit with children: W.J. Beal Botanical Garden at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan; The Morton Arboretum just outside Chicago, Illinois and Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Gardening can be fun with children, create a theme, accessorize and enjoy the harvest. I'll answer gardeners' questions on Japanese knotweed, and what type of fertilizer to use on raspberries & rhubarb. Pest tips: soldier beetles. New Product/Plant: Book: Nature Printing with Herbs, Fruits and Flowers by Laura Donnelly Bethmann. ISBN-0-88266-929-X.

Gift giving ideas for the holidays from the American Forest Association is the focus of this podcast. Then I answer a gardener's question on hollyhock seeds. Next Kristin Gies joins me for tips on great kids nature gifts from NatureStore.com and Discovery Channel Store. I finish off with a favorite product, the Hori-Hori garden knife.

Fall is here and that means its time to harvest and select the perfect pumpkin for your garden or holiday display. In this podcast I offer tips on selecting the best possible pumpkin. I'll explain how to use the seeds for a healthy treat or a creative art project. Besides carving I'll detail other creative ways to work pumpkins and other garden plants into your Halloween or other holiday displays. My pest tip covers one of the good guys - the garden spider. I finish with a mention of a great book for your gardening library, "The Nonstop Garden" by Stephanie Cohen and Jennifer Benner.

In this podcast I'll offer ways to help celebrate National Get Outdoors Day on June 12, 2010. It's a great excuse to get the whole family outside and involved in a number of fun activities. Garden with the kids, go on a bug hunt, volunteer at a local park or community garden or measure the biggest tree in your neighborhood. Visit the American Forest website for tips on measuring trees. I'll answer listeners' questions on yellow leaves on roses, a hydrangea with brown leaf margins and when to apply corn gluten. My pest tip covers strategies for dealing with ants. I finish with a mention of a new product for roses and other ornamentals, JAZ sprays.

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.

I'll give advise on caring for bulbs in spring and throughout the year. Then I answer gardeners' questions on redbud and plants to attract birds and butterflies. I'll offer ways to protect your bulbs from animals. I'll finish with some tips on fertilizing with Milorganite.

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.