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Spring gardening tips from perpetual gardens to pollinator lawns

·49 min·4 clips
How do you create a sustainable garden and a waystation for traveling pollinators in your backyard?
The episode begins with host Catherine Shen introducing the spring gardening theme and guests Charlie Nardozzi and Tom Christopher. Charlie discusses his new book 'The Continuous Vegetable Garden' and perennial vegetables like onions and kales. Tom talks about starting seedlings indoors and creating pollinator lawns with native grasses. They address winter weather effects, with Charlie noting snow protects plants but can hide vole damage, and Tom mentioning cold helped control woolly adelgid pests. Caller questions cover last frost dates, deer repellents, and easy starter plants like raised beds with mulch. Charlie explains continuous gardening techniques like self-sowing vegetables and succession planting. Donna Merrill joins to describe Pollinator Pathway, a Connecticut-born initiative to build pollinator habitats using native shrubs like serviceberry and dogwood. Tom suggests integrating wildflowers into lawns, and Charlie discusses 'No Mow May' and bee lawns from University of Minnesota research. Further Q&A includes balcony gardening, parking lot planting with salt-tolerant species, and defining 'leggy' plants. Charlie and Tom answer specific queries on basil pinching, onion growth from sets vs. seeds, and vertical gardening innovations. The episode concludes with resources for getting involved in Pollinator Pathway and gardening tips for the season.

As heard by us

A grounded spring gardening hour connecting weeds, plant sales, native plants, and pollinator habitats.

Where We Live makes spring gardening feel practical and close at hand, shaping plant sales, fresh flowers, and weeds into a broader conversation about productive, sustainable, beautiful landscapes.

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Why you'd press play

You can rethink the lawn, welcome pollinators, and bring your spring gardening questions to a live public-radio table.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →
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