I don’t think I’ve ever felt more relieved when you made the comment about drip irrigation. I thought I was a horrible gardener for not wanting to (or able) to do this. I appreciate your more natural and realistic approach. I love Garden Answer, but it’s not a natural environment. Appreciate your insight so much
They live in the high desert and do not get enough rainfall to grow things so they have to water (they have wells where water collects from the mountains). Drip saves the amount of water you need. Erin lives in Michigan or somewhere north where they receive a lot of rainfall. Completely different situations. We live in Texas and also have to water. We have had no measurable rain in my area for 3 months.
I know the tremendous pain a family goes thru when they lose a furchild. My husband and I lost our tiny boy Bearish this last December and the grief is overwhelming. Sending all of our love for all of you. 💔🐶💔
Erin.... Roflmbo!!! Story of my life in regards to "I was a decade younger when...." A few weeks ago I was pressure washing the north side of the house with just a 6ft ladder. The neighbor guy made the comment of it looking good. I said that's the best it's going to get because I'm not going up the big extention ladder because I don't bounce as good as I used to, I just go splat! He thought that was funny lol. Mmhhmm, wait till you get another 10 tp 20 years on you and you'll understand hahaha 😆
Hi Erin, Greetings from Washington state! Love the Q&A and postcard videos. Stehekin is pronounced stuh*hee*kn The name Stehekin is based on a Salishal word meaning "the way through" or "turning around place" in Lushootseed (Coast Salish). There are no roads into Stehekin. Connected to the outside world only by foot, boat or plane. Most people get to Stehekin via Lake Chelan (shuh*laan) on the Lady of the Lake. "Nestled at the headwaters of Lake Chelan, the third deepest lake in the United States, the Stehekin community lives life a little slower."
My colorful, dry shade, native plant ideas are: •Heuchera •Woodland phlox (phlox divaricata) which is a purple-blue and smells INCREDIBLE in spring •Virginia thimbleflower (Anemone virginiana) prefers dappled shade •Virgin’s bower (Clematis virginiana) a native lookalike for sweet autumn clematis, can take dappled shade and still bloom, quickly fills a trellis •Anise hyssop (Agastache foeniculum) blooms purple in flushes throughout the summer •Golden glow (Rudbeckia laciniata) produces yellow daisy flowers profusely, basically in any conditions, SPREADS QUICKLY •Several asters (Symphyotrichum drummondii, S. ericoides, S. lateriflorum, S. cordata) can grow in shade as can zigzag goldenrod (Solidago flexicaulis) •Purple top grass (Tridens flavus), under-appreciated plant with bright green foliage and vibrantly purple seeds. Prefers dappled or high shade.
Well said!!!! I’m so glad to have found Erin. I’ve been following along for years and it is just the best little community to be a part of! Love this woman and her channel!!
“Growing plants hard.”Same!!! I have several beds I never water and they are thriving. Would not enjoy gardening as much if I was constantly watering. Definitely over watering containers and once they die off I will be fine with it. Enjoyed them for several months
I am in Massachusetts zone 6. For shade plants with color I use pulmonaria and brunnera for variegated foliage and beautiful spring flowers. I also love Chrysogonum virginianum as a semi-evergreen groundcover that has yellow flowers that bloom from spring well into summer. Virginia bluebells, Solomons seal, heucheras, tiarellas, also do well in shade. Sensitive Fern is such a bright green for the shade. I have many geraniums that like shade as well as monardas that tolerate shade. The only saturated color I have in the shade is Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, hardy plumbago has an amazing blue flower and the foliage turns red in the fall. It can get aggressive but I just pull it out. Good luck!
I ❤️ Stehekin, pronounced Stuh-HEE-kin. I always thought it would make a great setting for a novel, much like Forks, WA, because of its remote location at the end of gorgeous Lake Chelan (SHUH -lan). You can’t drive there, no roads, you either take a boat or a float plane. But it’s very small in population. Anyway, I love that someone sent you a postcard from there!
I love your no-nonsense gardening! I suggest to Kay, who will be selling her home in spring, to do no dig gardening with lots of cardboard, compost, and mulch! I've never had such a carefree/weed free garden.
Great video as usual Erin. I didn't want to tell anyone for fear of treading on many toes....🫣. But I do not care for day-lilies and pulled them all out of my gardens last year. I feel better knowing I am in good company. 🤣 My method of gardening: I baby them the first year and after that, if they live I plant more, if they don't... well, you get the picture. 😂
Love your videos and gardens. Your Q &A along with the postcards all great. I can feel for Dorothy dealing with her loss, we have the same issue here, but with a cat crying for her loss. Pets are family members and are always dearly missed. Thanks are sharing love your whole vibe. 👍❤️😊
I grew some Echinacea from seed this year and am blown away at how big they are and how many blooms. I got the seeds from Baker Creek, Super Duper Pariso (or something like that haha)
Great comments on watering. Planting too many plants that are really can’t survive without watering is way too much work and uses too much precious water.
Butchart gardens my big idea inspiration. Family owned and managed - impressive and now in its third generation. Rose garden the best. Victoria is lovely too. Filoli gardens and estate also a special place. Built in true English style. Not far from San Fran if you ever get there. Portland's rose garden a must if you're serious about roses. A great place for a walk.
I had a Jack Frost Brunnera for a couple of years and then it became green and spread green for about 10 years. It’s ground cover and nothing else will grow so that’s fine but then last year the original plant Jack Frost came back from seed far away from the original planting. So happy to have it back. Lol
thanks for these tours. enjoyed the info on each. there is so many that are new to me even though i'm in zone 5 also. wish i could have gone to school for this but you are doing a good job on giving us all our lessons.....
Thanks Erin for your realistic garden tours. Also thanks for posting the name of plants on the screen. It makes it so much easier to make a list of plants and have names correctly spelled. Thanks as always for your time and information.
Erin, the number of dry leaves we can see in your lawn tells us that the drought has impacted your mature trees like ours (Zn 6b - west suburbs of Chicago). I don't ever remember our tiny honey locust leaves beginning to yellow & fall around Labor Day - almost 2 months too early.
Thank you for sharing and showing - I always come away with new info, ideas, and now more gardens to visit. For the person with the nursery purchase problem a thought: If they paid by credit card file a dispute with the card carrier.
Hello Erin, we live a few miles East of these grounds - Cantigny. It's a French word, pronounce 'can TEENY'. A village in N France, S of Amiens: first major battle of U.S. forces in World War I, May 1918. Cantigny is a 500-acre park in Wheaton, Illinois, 30 miles west of Chicago. It is the former estate of Joseph Medill and his grandson Colonel Robert R. McCormick, publishers of the Chicago Tribune newspaper. It was named after a small village in France, where Colonel McCormick commanded an artillery battalion in 1918 as a member of the U.S. Army’s First Division. The Battle of Cantigny was America’s first victory in World War I. Some LOCAL history we're mighty proud of!!!!
Love that hydrangea behind you during postcard segment. Gotta go rewatch your tours to find out what it is. Love your gardens and gardening attitude!🤣😎✌🏻
Natures Hills Nursery’s address is only an office building. I live in Omaha, Nebraska and I know of no nursery grounds here. Love the question and answers, and watching your videos. Thank you so much for your time and sharing with us. I’m in 5B also.
thank you for another fun and informative video! I'm envious of your swim in Lake Michigan. I have been relieved to hear that others have experienced the reverting Brunnera situation -- a single Jack Frost reverted in my small Boston garden and threatened to take over. Six years later, I will occasionally find a persistent clump which is promptly removed. A suggestion for a shady area -- I have had good luck with a perennial begonia that compliments a neighboring Hakonechloa Aureola quite nicely. It pops up late, but provides a chartreuse accent with pink flowers in late summer. I bought it years ago and the details are long lost.
I always learn so much from your Q and A's. You do such a good job of answering everyone's questions. Your are very precise and get to the point very quickly. Some people ramble on. Thank you.
I just appreciate all the hard work you put in for us gardeners. When you say you’ll put a link for further information ..it’s there. You name the plants your talking about, or you put it on the screen. Your wealth of knowledge is like thanking a fun Mater Gardeners Class with friends, so Thank you🥰
I’m with you on the daylillies! I’ve been saying I’m going to get rid of them but never seem to have the time or figured what I want to replace them with. They’re across the front of the house ( here when I moved in). It’s one of those beds on the north which is shade to the back and sun to the front . Sedum to the back, astilbe I the middle then the daylillies in front. They just look nasty this time of year!
5b here. I too want my plants to fend for themselves. In the country on a well, and who wants to spend time with all that drip stuff. It’s great to see gardens that aren’t so formal. I really enjoy your posts.
Thank you Erin. I would love to send you a post card but we don’t go anywhere. I really enjoy seeing the gardens others get to visit. I hope you continue with sharing your post cards. 🌺💚🙃
What a wonderful video. I enjoyed everyone’s questions and learned a few things too. You have an amazing garden. Look forward to more great videos. Pam
Thanks for talking about the drip. I always feel bad that I don’t do drip and we water only as needed. We pay attention to the vegetable garden and some pots.
I so agree plant perennials densely! Less weeding and better display. Love Grow for Me 5b. In my neck of the woods and they, like you, show the good, bad and ugly of gardening. Keeping it real. I felt sorry the insects were bothering you. I attract every insect especially when sweating while working in the garden!
For Mellissa who wanted to know how to get her money back. She bought online so had to have used a credit card. Intact the credit card company and explain the situation. Provide her documentation on trying to get resolution. They’ll pull the money back from the vendor. Vendor will have to give explanation as to why they should receive be paid. 😊
Hi Erin, first of all I also know that pain of loosing a dog child and a granddog. Pain that I still have years later. I am so sorry for yals loss of Oden. I am so glad you brought up your girl because I had been wondering. I miss back when they were outside with you. 2nd I want to tell you that I also am tired of hose end sprayers lasting such a short time. I called the company and found out they have a warranty on Melnor products for lifetime. The customer service lady said I didn't need a receipt, she would send me 2 on Monday. I don't usually write comments cause I watch on my tv, but had to tell you that. 3rd do you only use seaweed fertilizer on your annuals? What brand of deer repellent do you use? 4th You do a great job with your garden and your videos. God bless you (you mentioned the hose end sprayer a long time ago. lol)
I will add another plug for the bridge of flowers in central Massachusetts. It is a great demonstration of what can be accomplished by visionary volunteers.
About the water situation I’m in Georgia (US) and I only water in August when it’s typically in the high 90s with no rain. Otherwise they have to make it on their own because I don’t have time for watering anything other than containers. Oak leaf hydrangeas are my favorite. I’m building a small woodland garden and they feature prominently. I didn’t realize Limelights could get that large. In my climate they’re almost guaranteed to do so because of our long growing season. Will check out the Primes.
LOVE your videos. I do a lot of screen shots of your videos and plants for plant ideas and landscaping ideas. Thx for putting the names of plants on the screen for us to see. Silly me I forgot to ask my question about your banana plant. How cold can it tolerate before you need to bring it in. Right not when it gets in upper 40's I slide into garage for the evening. Poor cars don't have a home right now. 😊
You do realize you were probably the phantom 3rd wheel on Amy & Stacy's Minnesota to Illinois road trip this year!?! You will probably get an actual heads up/invite next year!!!
I live in zone 5 central Illinois. My favorite oak leaf hydrangea is Ruby Slippers. It’s supposed to be a dwarf compared to regular oak leaf hydrangeas but it does get fairly big. I love it though. Lovely in bloom and has great fall color. Love your garden Erin and look forward to your videos.
100% agree on growing plants “hard.” I water really well at first, and then only as needed. Unfortunately summers have been really hit or miss with rain the last few years. This year I had to move some things around and took advantage of the bare spots by adding a small DIY “dry well” using an extra large grow bag and gravel. Some of one downspout is diverted there, and wow has it made a difference. Previously, this area was dry, dry, dry and plants were suffering. We’re also on a well, so I couldn’t be out there watering everything all season. The dry well addition is a big win so far… we’re on a ridge and have a sloped yard and draining infrastructure in place, so I’m hoping for the best. Easy to undo if it ever becomes problematic. I’m so happy to finally be using rainwater to keep my garden happy 🥲
Always a treasure to watch your output❤️. This video had only like two ads; want to say that those of us who watch you know Answer videos are used to a few more videos. We are okay with this BTW:)
Love Laura from How's it Growing! I'm also in NJ so her advice about plants is so great because we're relatively in the same area. Please make a video with her!🥂
Love Tom Stuart Smith also. And designed a space based on his work but the rabbits kept eating the Hakonechloa so I gave up. Used maidenhair ferns instead.
Also a fan of the sink or swim gardening method! I gradually water further and further away from the base to get the roots to grow outward. Everything has responded to this except my 3yo aucuba who are still struggling in dry shade.
Hi Erin. ❤️ Love all ur videos. Ur garden look amazingly beautiful and healthy. I have jumping worms too 😣. I need ur advise regarding how to garden with jumping worms in my garden. I am ready to give up gardening… please help!!! Should I keep amending my soil ….😢 so my plants will survive… I’m in zone 6b NJ. Thanks
I think we’ll talk about this soon but I’m the meantime, take a listen to this week’s A Way to Garden podcast with Brad Herrick from UW Madison (leading researcher on AJW) or read the transcript here: awaytogarden.com/coping-with-invasive-jumping-worms-with-brad-herrick-of-uw-madison/ That should answer lots of your questions.
I'm not a basil expert, but some quick research showed that almost every single source I read said they need to stay consistently moist. So, underwatering may be the problem. Interesting. I love to learn about all this stuff. Even though I'm not currently growing it, doesn't mean I won't be someday. All good info to have!! And the banana plant comment had me rolling! "A life of it's own".....made me think of Little Shop of Horrors. Feed me Seymour! LOL!
That could absolutely be it but Lee in mind these are planted in the ground surrounded by all sorts of other plants that I would expect to show drought stress before basil. It’s not like when they are in a container with no access to water.
Great video, it is always interesting hearing other's questions. Love the Post Cards also, so many cool places to visit. I was also wondering if Painter's Palette (Persicaria Virginia) would be a nice contrast in your part shade/shade garden. I was given this plant this summer, don't know a lot about, but am loving the interesting leaves.
I certainly find Japanese Beetle grubs in the garden as well as in the lawn. Fortunately and unfortunately, the raccoons love to dig for the grubs. I think that when they smell freshly turned earth they know there might be some tasty treats available. I have to check on recently planted plants to make sure the raccoons haven't knocked them out of their holes looking for grubs. I'm happy the raccoons are eating them, but I'd like them to be a bit more careful! I'd also like the deer to eat the Japanese knotweed but they are not cooperating either. Enjoy swimming in the lake -- it's that time of year when the water is finally bearable.
I was given a stinking hellebore this summer. It is tiny right now, but started to grow. I have 14 other varieties, but yes, the leaves on the stinking hellebore are lovely. Regarding plants for your garden, do you have False Salomon Seal plants? They are native here in Southern B.C. and I prefer the flowers that come out the end of the plant in a panicle shape and not hanging down underneath like the regular plant.
Suggestions for color in dry shade..... Perennial Bergenia is a springtime bloomer and you can get deep dark pink, or bright pink. Stunning. And it spreads very politely into a lovely massl A shrub that is totally understimated is variegated Acuba.Why people plant these in the sun I'll never know. I am in Portland Or and I never water either of these and they are competing with Douglas Fir trees. We have had 1/2 inch of rain since May this year. I Bow to this plant. I have to water everything else a lot. With our increasing summer droughts , more Acuba is in my future. Thanks Erin for all your great info
The Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, MA is wonderful! If anyone wants to visit it they should but please note that it will be closed the whole summer of 2024 for a major renovation.
learned a lot!! Dorothy has to grieve and I hope there are familiar scents to comfort her. Always tougher when they've always had a housemate. Bet she'd like to join you on the swim. I think newfies have webbed feet. Thanks for the carex recommend. And so far the dogs aren't interested. Planted a row of nine in front on a large display and they are doing great. Grass wouldn't grow but they are doing fine.
Thanks for another great video. By the way I refer to my garden method as Darwinian. Survival of the fittest. I actually have a non-gardening question. The tee shirt with the critter on it- what is it please
