Latest Perennials Podcast Episodes
Episode 101: Berried Treasure
Let's Argue About Plants - December 17, 2021 16:04 - 39 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsPerhaps it’s the winter season we’re in right now, or perhaps we’re just hungry, but regardless, we have berries on the mind. This episode highlights some plants that provide us with unexpected (but very appreciated) fruit. It could be a perennial that is grown for its foliage but puts on a late...
Episode 100: Wish List Plants
Let's Argue About Plants - December 03, 2021 15:59 - 47 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsWell loyal listeners, it’s hard to believe, but this is our 100th episode! We cannot thank everyone out there who has stuck with us from the early days of trying to figure out what a podcast about plants should sound like, and still downloads episodes to this day (when we’ve only figured out a b...
Episode 99: Only Three Trees
Let's Argue About Plants - November 19, 2021 14:04 - 53 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsThe thought of restricting most gardeners to only three of any plant might sound cruel. After all, what makes us happier than heading to the nursery to fill a shopping cart? But limiting your plant palette has many advantages. Less variety means less chaos, in many cases. And, when it comes to t...
Episode 98: Upgraded Classics
Let's Argue About Plants - November 05, 2021 14:18 - 42 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsEveryone likes an upgrade. Whether it’s a faster car or a more efficient cell phone, it’s hard to turn down a better version of something you already like. Plants are much the same. If you already love that gorgeous catmint that flowers all season long, what not try one that not only has all the...
Episode 97: Native Alternatives to Common Plants
Let's Argue About Plants - October 22, 2021 12:00 - 41 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsHere at Let’s Argue About Plants we’re big fans of native plants. Our gardens are filled with them and for good reason: native plants are essential to the preservation and health of the local ecology. Aside from their benefits to the environment, many native plants are built to thrive in the con...
Episode 96: Favorite Ornamental Grasses
Let's Argue About Plants - October 08, 2021 14:07 - 48 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsNothing says fall in the garden more than the sight of ornamental grasses pluming. It goes right along with all other things that signal the season change—the kids going back to school, pumpkin spice everything, and turning the heat on for the first time. Gardeners seem to have a love/hate relat...
Episode 95: Unexpected Fall Color
Let's Argue About Plants - September 17, 2021 14:03 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsSince the Let’s Argue About Plants podcast is based in New England, we know all about fall color. This time of year is a favorite for most of our staffers with the native sugar maples turning bright red and the birch trees shifting to brilliant yellow. But this episode is all about the unsung he...
Episode 94: Bulbs On Our Shopping List
Let's Argue About Plants - September 03, 2021 12:55 - 35 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsFall is a wonderful time of year for gardeners for so many reasons. It finally cools down so you can actually weed and prune without breaking a sweat. Many of us get to experience the color change of many perennials and woodies as the temps start to drop. And, of course, this is the time of year...
Episode 93: Tropicals We Wish We Grew
Let's Argue About Plants - August 20, 2021 14:02 - 51 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsYou know you’re a hardcore gardener when you dream about moving to the tropics--not for the beaches and tiki drinks--but because that would enable you to grow so many more cool plants. In this episode we discuss tropical plants we wish we could grow in our cooler climates, or even ones that we a...
Episode 92 : Favorite Plant Pairings
Let's Argue About Plants - August 06, 2021 00:31 - 49 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsPeas and carrots. Peanut butter and jelly. Batman and Robin. If this was Jeopardy the correct answer would be, “What are perfect pairings.” On this episode we’re talking about two plants that just seem to belong together. It could be that they have complimentary textures, or they bloom in uniso...
Episode 91: Drought-Tolerant Plants
Let's Argue About Plants - July 15, 2021 15:18 - 59 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsIt pretty much seems like drought is the norm these days. No matter where you live—East Coast, West Coast, or anywhere in between—periods of no rain are commonplace. Some gardeners out there have been dealing with droughty conditions for decades while others are just starting to learn what a “r...
Episode 90: Favorite Workhorses
Let's Argue About Plants - July 09, 2021 16:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsRight about now you might be asking yourself, “What exactly is a workhorse plant?” In our minds it is a plant that asks little from us but delivers a whole lot to the garden. These are tough plants, capable of fitting into an array of spots and producing multiple seasons of interest. They aren’t...
Episode 89: Just Four Perennials
Let's Argue About Plants - June 18, 2021 12:00 - 56 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsDo you ever find yourself recommending the same handful of plants to friends and neighbors? We do. These might not being the splashiest of plants, or even the ones that you’d base an entire design around. But, these are fantastic herbaceous perennials—the meat and potatoes of the garden. To make...
Episode 88: Memory Plants
Let's Argue About Plants - June 04, 2021 12:00 - 48 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsThe podcast for people who love plants—but not always the same ones. Brought to you by the editors of Fine Gardening, this fun, informative podcast tackles all things topical in gardening. You’ll listen to the insights (and arguments) of Editor-in-Chief Steve Aitken and Senior Editor Danielle Sh...
Episode 87: Plants to Build a Bed Around
Let's Argue About Plants - May 21, 2021 13:26 - 52 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsFor those who are a little confused by this episode’s theme let us try to explain. Yes, all garden beds are built with plants. But, there are certain plants that are such solid performers that they are the perfect jumping off point for building a bed. These are not the dramatic focal points that...
Episode 86: Favorite Container Plants
Let's Argue About Plants - May 07, 2021 14:23 - 59 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsSpring has long ago sprung and now that all the pruning, dividing, and mulching is done we’re ready to plant up our containers. Like many of you, we are tempted to try something new every year and sometimes end up with a plant that is worthwhile. But we always make sure to incorporate a few trie...
Episode 85: Fragrant Plants
Let's Argue About Plants - April 16, 2021 14:24 - 53 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsAlternate titles for this episode: Plants That Stink or Smell This Episode. Kidding aside, lovely smelling plants are a bonus that every garden deserves. We all spend so much time on making sure our gardens look good, we seldom think about how they smell. And we’re not just talking roses here pe...
Episode 84: Underappreciated Plants for Spring
Let's Argue About Plants - April 02, 2021 12:00 - 1 hour ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsIt’s easy to get excited about the first tulip or even the first dandelion in the yard (OK—that might be a stretch). But what about those plants that don’t get all the love and attention, yet still brighten up those first few months of the gardening season? Today we’re honoring those unsung hero...
Episode 83: Shrubs for Shade
Let's Argue About Plants - March 19, 2021 12:00 - 46 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsFinding interesting plants for shade can be a struggle but when you add in the desire for that plant to be a woody shrub, the list narrows even more. But these structural wonders are essential in giving our shady beds and borders depth and real presence. In this episode we feature shrubs that wi...
Episode 82: Spring Trees
Let's Argue About Plants - March 05, 2021 14:00 - 52 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsDespite there still being snow on the ground here in the Northeast, we’re thinking spring. Yes there are daffodils and tulips to look forward to, but perhaps even more impressive is the show of spring flowering trees. It’s an incredible sight to see a woody plant that was nothing but bare brown ...
Episode 81: Disco in-FERN-oh
Let's Argue About Plants - February 19, 2021 13:00 - 59 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsIf that title doesn’t grab you, nothing will! We’re talking all things ferns including East Coast natives, West Coast natives, selections that are from prehistoric times, and even a climbing fern. Yep—that’s right, a climbing fern! And in case all of that excitement isn’t enough for you, the ent...
Episode 80: New Plants
Let's Argue About Plants - February 05, 2021 20:17 - 44 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsWith so many events canceled in the last year, we sure are happy that the plant breeders still decided to unveil a healthy crop of new plants for us to drool over. Of course there were a handful of new huecheras and more phlox than we ever knew could exist, but there were also some interesting o...
Episode 79: Listener Q & A
Let's Argue About Plants - January 22, 2021 13:00 - 51 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsAsking listeners to submit questions for our annual Q & A episode is a bit like sending out party invitations (in pre-COVID) and hoping that someone shows up. Thankfully, you guys not only showed up but you brought snacks and drinks too! We got an overwhelming numbers of questions submitted for ...
Episode 78: Best Clematis
Let's Argue About Plants - January 08, 2021 13:00 - 46 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsTruth be told, Steve and Danielle don’t grow many clematis. But, over their many, many years at Fine Gardening, they’ve researched and written a lot about this genus. In doing so, they’ve formed strong opinions about the species and cultivars that are truly top-notch. Their picks may not include...
Episode 77: Year in Review
Let's Argue About Plants - December 18, 2020 13:00 - 43 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsWhat can we say about 2020 that hasn’t already been said? With all the bad that occurred, one positive for the staffers at FG was more time spent in our gardens. This enabled us to truly monitor what plants did well and which ones did not—sometimes by no fault of their own. We are ending the yea...
Episode 76: Wish List Plants for 2021
Let's Argue About Plants - December 10, 2020 18:04 - 56 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsIt’s that time of year when we dream of all the plants we’d buy if a blank check showed up in our stockings. Some are weird, some are workhorses we never got around to purchasing, and some are brand new offerings that will only become available in 2021. Danielle brought out her infamous jingle b...
Episode 75: Variegated for Shade
Let's Argue About Plants - November 20, 2020 13:00 - 56 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsShade, generally speaking, can be dark, dreary and difficult to garden in. It’s hard enough finding a plant that requires not all that much sunlight, let alone one that has light coloring to its foliage. But these rare birds are essential to making a good shade garden truly great. Plants with wh...
Episode 74: Short Plants are Better
Let's Argue About Plants - November 06, 2020 13:00 - 50 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsDanielle was convinced that this was HER episode, considering she’s shorter than Steve. But turns out Steve had a lot of great short plants to talk about on this episode, too. The pair discusses why short plants are important to good design and exactly what dimensions qualify a plant as “short.”...
Episode 73: Unusual Bulbs
Let's Argue About Plants - October 23, 2020 12:00 - 52 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsThe leaves are falling, the temperatures are cooling and that can only mean one thing: It’s time to talk bulbs. We’re sick of talking about the same old yellow daffodils and pink hybrid tulips though, so Steve and Danielle decided to wade into the world of rarer—or at least lesser-known—fall pla...
Episode 72: Blooms for Fall
Let's Argue About Plants - October 02, 2020 12:00 - 59 minutes ★★★★★ - 374 ratingsWhen it comes to autumnal color in the garden, most of us probably think of leaves changing from green, to perhaps yellow, orange, or even red. This foliage show is a staple of the season in many parts of the country. Plants that actually bloom in fall get less attention, perhaps it’s because th...