Few flowers make a garden stop traffic quite like a dahlia. From tiny pom-poms to dinner plate-sized blooms, dahlias come in an almost unbelievable range of colors, shapes, and sizes. But behind those spectacular flowers is a gardener who knows the secrets of planting, feeding, staking, pinching, digging, and maybe even winning a ribbon or two at the county fair.

Today we're talking to Kelly Reardon, an expert dahlia grower, to find out how this obsession begins and what it takes to grow those incredible show quality blooms, and whether there is actually such a thing as enough dahlias.

Eating foraged plants should only be done by experts, eating foraged plants may result in being poisoned. While the edibility of plants is discussed in this podcast, you should not consume foraged plants or mushrooms without the in-person advice from an expert.

The Petal & Plot Pod features seasonal plant origin stories and seasonal garden tips. Hosted by Aneesa Adams and Eric Ketchum, owners of Petal & Plot Garden Design in Minnesota.

Email garden questions to: petalnplot@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: @petalnplot

Book a consultation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠petalnplot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Theme music by Mia Calhan Burgstede and CB Compton.

Picture an early August afternoon in the Midwest. The sun is blazing, the air feels thick enough to wear. You step outside and within minutes your shirt is damp, your hair is sticking to your face, and the weather app tells you it's ninety two degrees, but it feels like a hundred and eight. Today we're talking about corn sweat.

By August, the garden starts sending alarming group text. The hydrangea has yellow leaves, the peony looks dusted with powdered sugar, and something has punched holes in the iris. Five minutes later, you're standing in the pesticide aisle diagnosing root rot, mites, and emotional abandonment from the one blurry photo you gave. Today we're talking late summer plant forensics. How to tell ordinary seasonal decline from disease, insect damage.

Eating foraged plants should only be done by experts, eating foraged plants may result in being poisoned. While the edibility of plants is discussed in this podcast, you should not consume foraged plants or mushrooms without the in-person advice from an expert.

The Petal & Plot Pod features seasonal plant origin stories and seasonal garden tips. Hosted by Aneesa Adams and Eric Ketchum, owners of Petal & Plot Garden Design in Minnesota.

Email garden questions to: petalnplot@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: @petalnplot

Book a consultation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠petalnplot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Theme music by Mia Calhan Burgstede and CB Compton.

The sun hangs low and red, and the air smells faintly of burning wood. A summer afternoon looks more like an apocalyptic sunset and an air alert pop oops and an alert pops up on your phone. Air quality is unhealthy. Today we're heading north into the vast boreal forest to look into why all these wildfires are happening.

By August, the hostas have lost a bar fight with the slugs. The daylilies are wearing yesterday's makeup, and half the garden has stopped returning emails. Meanwhile, perennial grasses arrive backlit, windswept, feeding birds, sheltering insects, and acting like they were booked for a fall-fashion campaign. Today, we're talking about the beauties, the floppers, and the native grasses doing ecological work while looking fabulous.

Eating foraged plants should only be done by experts, eating foraged plants may result in being poisoned. While the edibility of plants is discussed in this podcast, you should not consume foraged plants or mushrooms without the in-person advice from an expert.

The Petal & Plot Pod features seasonal plant origin stories and seasonal garden tips. Hosted by Aneesa Adams and Eric Ketchum, owners of Petal & Plot Garden Design in Minnesota.

Email garden questions to: petalnplot@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: @petalnplot

Book a consultation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠petalnplot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Theme music by Mia Calhan Burgstede and CB Compton.

Who was Joe Pye? Was he a real person? Why has this towering wildflower become one of the most beloved plants in pollinator gardens? And how did a plant once gathered for medicine become a centerpiece of modern landscape design? Let's discover the remarkable story of Joe Pye Weed.

Today we're talking about shrubs that deserve way more attention than they get. If you've been to a garden center lately, you've probably seen rows and rows of hydrangeas, boxwood, Diablo Ninebark, and maybe some spirea. They're all fine. But there are so many incredible shrubs hiding in plain sight. Today we're introducing the all-stars that deserve a spot in your landscape.

The Petal & Plot Pod features seasonal plant origin stories and seasonal garden tips. Hosted by Aneesa Adams and Eric Ketchum, owners of Petal & Plot Garden Design in Minnesota.

Email garden questions to: petalnplot@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: @petalnplot

Book a consultation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠petalnplot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Theme music by Mia Calhan Burgstede and CB Compton.

Today's story begins on the sweeping grasslands of North America. Brilliant purple blooms with spiky orange cones that almost seem to glow in the summer sunshine. Today, these flowers are sold in pharmacies, planted in gardens around the world, and brewed into teas believed to help fight off colds. This is the story of Echinacea.

You know what's funny? Every garden center in May is screaming buy me, buy me. Meanwhile, the plants that actually steal the show in August are quietly sitting in the corner looking like they just rolled out of bed. Turns out gardening is a lot like high school. The popular kids in May weren't always the ones everyone remembers in August.

The Petal & Plot Pod features seasonal plant origin stories and seasonal garden tips. Hosted by Aneesa Adams and Eric Ketchum, owners of Petal & Plot Garden Design in Minnesota.

Email garden questions to: petalnplot@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: @petalnplot

Book a consultation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠petalnplot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Theme music by Mia Calhan Burgstede and CB Compton.

Eating foraged plants should only be done by experts, eating foraged plants may result in being poisoned. While the edibility of plants is discussed in this podcast, you should not consume foraged plants or mushrooms without the in-person advice from an expert.

The Petal & Plot Pod features seasonal plant origin stories and seasonal garden tips. Hosted by Aneesa Adams and Eric Ketchum, owners of Petal & Plot Garden Design in Minnesota.

Email garden questions to: petalnplot@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: @petalnplot

Book a consultation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠petalnplot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Theme music by Mia Calhan Burgstede and CB Compton.

Eating foraged plants should only be done by experts, eating foraged plants may result in being poisoned. While the edibility of plants is discussed in this podcast, you should not consume foraged plants or mushrooms without the in-person advice from an expert.

The Petal & Plot Pod features seasonal plant origin stories and seasonal garden tips. Hosted by Aneesa Adams and Eric Ketchum, owners of Petal & Plot Garden Design in Minnesota.

Email garden questions to: petalnplot@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: @petalnplot

Book a consultation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠petalnplot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Theme music by Mia Calhan Burgstede and CB Compton.

Today we're talking about one of the world's most recognizable herbs. Many gardeners even spend part of the summer trying to keep it from taking over their garden. But this humble plant has accompanied humanity for thousands of years, crossing continents, inspiring artists, and earning a place in kitchens and medicine cabinets around the world.

Welcome to July Gardening, where your plants are either thriving, struggling, or dramatically pretending they need water every 15 minutes. Your petunias are exhausted, your weeds are winning, and your tomato plants have officially taken over the neighborhood. Today, we're figuring out what to cut, what to feed, and what plants we should just politely ignore.

Eating foraged plants should only be done by experts, eating foraged plants may result in being poisoned. While the edibility of plants is discussed in this podcast, you should not consume foraged plants or mushrooms without the in-person advice from an expert.

The Petal & Plot Pod features seasonal plant origin stories and seasonal garden tips. Hosted by Aneesa Adams and Eric Ketchum, owners of Petal & Plot Garden Design in Minnesota.

Email garden questions to: petalnplot@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: @petalnplot

Book a consultation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠petalnplot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Theme music by Mia Calhan Burgstede and CB Compton.

When strawberries may still be green and blueberries and fruit cheese are just beginning to set their crops, hidden among the leaves of an unassuming shrub, clusters of deep blueberries are already ripening. Join me as we travel from the forests of Siberia and the mountains of Japan to the backyard gardens of Minnesota and beyond. This is the story of honey berries.

Plants have a funny way of communicating. Too much water, they droop. Too little water, they droop. Today we're helping you decode the mystery of watering so your garden can thrive all summer long.

Eating foraged plants should only be done by experts, eating foraged plants may result in being poisoned. While the edibility of plants is discussed in this podcast, you should not consume foraged plants or mushrooms without the in-person advice from an expert.

The Petal & Plot Pod features seasonal plant origin stories and seasonal garden tips. Hosted by Aneesa Adams and Eric Ketchum, owners of Petal & Plot Garden Design in Minnesota.

Email garden questions to: petalnplot@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: @petalnplot

Book a consultation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠petalnplot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Theme music by Mia Calhan Burgstede and CB Compton.

The elderflowers are blooming as we explore the culinary delights and medicinal properties of elderflowers and elderberries, as well as the folklore behind them and ways we can use the elder shrub to dye textiles and make musical instruments. Want a healthier garden with fewer pests and more blooms? Discover companion planting secrets that help plants thrive together.

Eating foraged plants should only be done by experts, eating foraged plants may result in being poisoned. While the edibility of plants is discussed in this podcast, you should not consume foraged plants or mushrooms without the in-person advice from an expert.

The Petal & Plot Pod features seasonal plant origin stories and seasonal garden tips. Hosted by Aneesa Adams and Eric Ketchum, owners of Petal & Plot Garden Design in Minnesota.

Email garden questions to: petalnplot@gmail.com

Follow us on Instagram: @petalnplot

Book a consultation: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠petalnplot.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Theme music by Mia Calhan Burgstede and CB Compton.