I ❤ Joel Ashton. I like his approach of not just nerding out about plants but it being about having compassion for all of the little creatures... He is also just genuinely a nice person.
Macey, I am so sorry for your loss! I can imagine you do. Whenever I see bedding snapdragons I think of my grandmother. She use to always plant them in her front.
What a lovely way to get to know you - thank you for sharing 💚 I'm glad your dad suggested for you to start a RU-vid channel - you have so much interesting content - I'm very happy to learn from you! I definitely have some imposter syndrome myself 🫣 thanks for sharing some of your favourite gardening RU-vidrs - I'll definitely be following them as well too. I have some wee golden Alexanders and tiny redbud trees that I'm hoping will come back bigger and better this season! I'll have to look into the others you mention! The clustered mountain mint is so pretty! Thanks again for all that you share - keep it coming! 💚
Hi Michele! Love your channel and appreciate that your supportive and intuitive dad encouraged you to start it! I was so excited to find Clustered Mountain Mint locally and plant it in the fall of '23. Can't wait to see all its beauty in the coming growing season. Also I'm growing on a few Golden Alexanders that I winter sowed last year. Just last night I was researching Carolina Allspice and Eastern Redbud to add to my yard, too! Really appreciate the enthusiasm and insight you share and the happy little native bubble you've created here. Your photos of the plants are gorgeous, too. Keep on growing. 🌱💐
Really glad I found your channel! You seem so warm and knowledgeable. I find landscaping overwhelming and native landscaping even more so. Would love to see a video on any possible groundcovers (with video of the plants) that could replace grass on a sidewalk strip so that I no longer have to mow it. I want to start small and be careful with my time and money before doing anything bigger.
Thank you for your kind words! Here is a link to some information you may find useful for the sidewalk strip. Is it full sun? Also, I will likely be doing my next video on ground covers should winter interest but most of those will be shade/woodland plants. www.plantnovanatives.org/streetside-gardens
I loved hearing how you came to be such a wonderful native plant enthusiast and ambassador. You inspired me to plant Golden Alexander, mountain mint and white wood aster and they are all thriving. Looking forward to a video of a garden tour when your garden starts waking up in the spring!
Wonder if the removing of plants permitted those jacks in the pulpit to come out. I removed pachysandra and Canada clear weed and enchanters nightshade popped out.
Good morning! The definitely could be what happened. I can't stand my Japanese pachysandra. I think I actually avert my eyes away from it whenever I pass.😒
Fantastic video, as usual! I really enjoyed learning more about you and your history when it comes to your gardening journey. I loved hearing which plants are your favorite and about your postage stamp sized lot vs your acre lot. Thanks for sharing it all with us!
Golden Alexander is the best. It grows in dry shade for me. But I am in the colder zone than you. It looks amazing almost all year round. For me mountain mint behaves very good. It grows in clumps. I have more "problems" with scarlet bee balm. I need to divide it yearly. Did Golden Alexander self seeded in your garden? I have had it just for 1 year.
Happy New Year! I am so happy I found your channel! I entered the Master Gardener program last year, and man... there is a lot to learn, don't believe I'll ever BE a Master Gardener. My real interest in gardening did start while watching Monty Don, Carol Klien... love the British shows (all of them, baking included). Native plant U tube channels for Virginia are few, perhaps you have cornered this market on the Tube and will be able to retire sooner. ? Never know. LOVED the bird story, that would be me... too funny. There is a Mater Naturalist program, maybe you could add that to your list. I'll keep watching! Thanks so much!
I really enjoyed this. Have just started learning about natives and am going to be increasing their presence in my garden this year. For your favorite natives, do you direct sow or start inside and then transplant?
Thank you for your kind words! Let me give you a run down on how I grow each one. Golden Alexanders - They pop up everywhere and are very enthusiastic in my yard so I don't seed them anymore. However I did sow them before and I would do that mid-Nov thru end of Dec in flats or containers and leave them outside in the snow and rain for at least 60 days of cold moist stratification. One you have one you will never need to buy seed again. White Wood Aster - I let these self seed and move them. I have tired growing them from seed for years and fail each time. Not sure what I am doing wrong. Mountain Mint - Sow in containers and leave them outside in the winter to get all the snow and rain. They do not require cold moist stratification so you could sow them whenever, I just try to keep to a schedule and I have found that even if a plants doesn't need cold moist stratification it still seems to benefit (not a scientific experiment). Shrubby St Johns Wort - Same exactly the as w/ the Mt Mint. I also take cuttings, very easy to propagate this way. Carolina Allspice - I have purchased the ones I have and I am currently experimenting with propagating this bush using layering. Redbud - I have these naturally occurring in my yard and I move them around or gift seedlings. Let me know if you have any questions at all!
