Growing Together: A Gardening Podcast · Forum Communications Co.

Get the dirt on some flowery gardening terminology

·51 min·24 clips

John Lamb and Don Kinsler start with a warm New Year check-in. They note that the days are getting longer and that the sun sits a little higher on the horizon. John is flipping through seed catalogs and looking ahead to spring, with begonia seeds to start inside and onion seeds to get going in February. Don is glad to be back and shares that same seasonal feeling. The weather is still wintery, though a January thaw and a good layer of snow shape the early part of the talk. John also describes having to adjust rabbit fencing after snow drifted over part of it and let a rabbit get underneath. That small problem turns into a larger point about paying attention to what winter changes in the garden. From there, the episode settles into a discussion of words gardeners use all the time. One of the first is hardy hibiscus. Don explains that tropical hibiscus is not winter-hardy, while hardy hibiscus is a perennial with large, dinner-plate-size flowers. He describes it as a tender perennial that does better in a protected spot. The conversation keeps moving into another useful label. Short-lived perennial comes up next. Don explains that not every perennial lasts forever. Coneflower is one example, along with delphiniums and many dianthus types. He contrasts those with long-lived perennials. Peonies are the classic example, and daylily, iris, and hosta join that group too. The point is simple but useful: perennials are not all the same. The episode treats gardening language as something worth slowing down for, which makes the terms easier to remember and less abstract. The hosts keep an easy back-and-forth rhythm, with one voice laying out the technical side and the other asking the everyday question that keeps the idea grounded. Later, the discussion turns to cutting back, another phrase gardeners hear often. The tone stays practical rather than fussy. The whole exchange is built around helping listeners hear these terms clearly and use them with confidence. It ends with an invitation for people to send questions or share their favorite quirky garden terms. The episode closes on the same note it began with: gardening is seasonal, local, and easiest when the language stays shared.

As heard by us

It makes garden jargon feel neighborly.

This wintertime garden conversation reads as a plainspoken guide to the language gardeners use when they talk about plants and how long they last.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Press play if you want garden jargon translated into plain English.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Growing Together: A Gardening Podcast