Wondering if there are any perennials that are best treated as annuals for cut flowers? Curious why someone might choose to plant a fresh crop each year rather than leave the existing plants in place? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss various reasons why growers may choose to treat certain perennial plants as annuals for cut-flower production. They cover why - as a flower farmer in southeastern Virginia - Lisa chooses to grow Delphinium (various species), Sweet William (Dianthus barbatus), Feverfew ...
Aug 08, 2024•18 min•Ep. 101
Did you know that this is both the 100th episode of "Seed Talk" and the 10-year anniversary of Lisa's Cool Flowers book? To celebrate these two special occasions, Lisa and Layne discuss six important Cool Flower lessons Lisa has learned in the ten years following the book's publication. Listen to the podcast and learn some of the most critical keys to Cool Flower success! The video version of Lisa and Layne's conversation will be posted to The Gardener’s Workshop’s YouTube channel, where all “Se...
Aug 01, 2024•25 min•Ep. 100
Would you like to incorporate more native plants in your garden or on your farm? Wondering which ones are not only beautiful and beneficial but also make great cut flowers? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss three perennials native to various parts of the United States (Joe Pye Weed, Mountain Mint, and Goldenrod) to consider including in your cutting garden. They describe the plants and cover their value both out in the landscape and as cut flowers, growing tips and tricks, the proper harvest stage, ...
Jul 25, 2024•26 min•Ep. 99
Looking for interesting, textural elements to add to your autumn bouquets? Wondering which varieties of seed-grown grasses work well as fall crops? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss six gorgeous grasses that are perfect for fall bouquets. For each cultivar (Frosted Explosion, Green Drops, Lowlander, Hylander, Lime Light, and Purple Majesty), they describe the flower / seed heads, plant height, days to maturity, coloration and form, special features, helpful tips, and more. Listen to the podcast and ...
Jul 18, 2024•15 min•Ep. 98
Wondering which varieties of cosmos to grow in your garden or on your farm? Curious which blooms have the longest vase life, or which ones are must-have flowers for fall? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss some of the most popular varieties of cut-flower cosmos. For each cultivar (Double Click, Sensation Mix, Apricotta, Cupcakes Blush, Rubenza, Fizzy White & Afternoon White), they cover the typical bloom size, plant height, days to maturity, coloration (noting favorites for fall bouquets), flower...
Jul 11, 2024•19 min•Ep. 97
Did you come to The Gardener's Workshop's Open Farm event this past weekend? If so, we are thrilled you were able to join us! Even if you were not able to attend, would you like a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the day's happenings? Today, Layne talks to flower experts and online course instructors Dave Dowling, Ellen Frost, and Lisa regarding their experiences at the Open Farm 2024 event. She chats with these special guests about the day's events, and they share valuable insights about farming, g...
Jul 04, 2024•19 min•Ep. 96
Wondering how to maximize the vase life of your flowers? Unsure which flower conditioning products you should use and when? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss the ins and outs of flower conditioning. They cover the importance of conditioning flowers and the process, from harvesting out in the field or garden to the vase, using four key products (pre-treatment, hydrating treatment, holding solution, and flower food). After walking through each of the products individually, they give overviews of the e...
Jun 27, 2024•26 min•Ep. 95
Looking for different colors, forms, and textures of foliage to fill out your bouquets? Wondering which warm-season plants you can grow from seed to meet your needs? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss three of their favorite foliage plants for the warm-season cutting garden, plus helpful harvesting tips for each one. Listen to the podcast and learn tips and tricks for growing and harvesting basil, eucalyptus, and hibiscus! The video version of Lisa and Layne's conversation will be posted to The Garde...
Jun 20, 2024•13 min•Ep. 94
Looking for big, beautiful flowers to fill up your summer bouquets? Wondering how to grow, harvest, and store hydrangeas to ensure a long vase life and prevent wilting? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss the ins and outs of growing hydrangeas as cut flowers. They cover why they are a valuable addition to cutting gardens and flower farms, the optimal growing conditions and spacing, the proper harvest stage for fresh and dried use, how to strip the stems, conditioning tips, and more. Listen to the podc...
Jun 13, 2024•23 min•Ep. 93
Frustrated by cockscomb plants blooming on short stems? Confused by conflicting information about whether or not you should pinch your plants? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss five of the most common cockscomb (Celosia argentea cristata) questions. They cover pinching, which varieties are the best for drying, cockscomb varieties with the largest heads, the least seedy varieties, and issues with plants budding up or blooming prematurely on short stems. Listen to the podcast and learn the answers to ...
Jun 06, 2024•21 min•Ep. 92
Wondering whether or not you should bother netting your flowers? Curious about when to install support netting, what height to place it at, and the most efficient and effective way to install it? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss the ins and outs of flower support netting. They cover reasons to consider netting (or not netting) your flowers, the pros and cons of plastic support netting and potential alternatives, stake types and spacing, installation tips, and more. Listen to the podcast and learn h...
May 30, 2024•26 min•Ep. 91
Would you like to add some vertical interest to your garden and unique elements to your flower arrangements? Wondering how to support vigorous vining plants as they grow and prevent your underlying structures from collapsing? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss three warm-season vining plants to consider growing this summer. They cover what makes each plant special, spacing, the proper harvest stage, and more. Plus, they provide helpful tips for building a sturdy tunnel structure out of livestock pane...
May 23, 2024•25 min•Ep. 90
Working on your summer succession-planting schedule? Wondering if there are any warm-season flowers you should consider planting on a weekly basis? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss three warm-season flowers to consider succession-planting every week. They cover why the flowers are worth growing and planting weekly, favorite varieties, the price per stem relative to other flowers, and more. Listen to the podcast and learn why you should consider sowing single-stem sunflowers, single-stem cockscomb, ...
May 16, 2024•14 min•Ep. 89
Searching for the perfect focal flower to star in your spring bouquets? Wondering how to grow, harvest, and store peonies to ensure loads of luscious blooms with the longest possible vase life? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss the ins and outs of growing herbaceous peonies as cut flowers. They cover why they are a valuable addition to cutting gardens and farms, favorite varieties, the optimal growing conditions and spacing, the proper harvest stage, how to deal with ants on peonies, how to store th...
May 09, 2024•26 min•Ep. 88
Looking for ways to suppress weeds and improve your soil? Wondering what cover crops are and if you should incorporate them into your farm or garden? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss the ins and outs of cover cropping. They cover what cover crop is and why it is used, potential benefits, crop considerations depending on the time of year and equipment needed to extinguish, planting times and sowing tips, how and when to extinguish various cover crops, and more. Listen to the podcast and discover if ...
May 02, 2024•20 min•Ep. 87
Looking for a cute new addition to your spring cool flowers lineup? Do you love the look of 'Bunny Tails' blooms but struggle with stems that are too short to use? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss the newest plant to be designated as a cool flower (aka cool-season hardy annual) - 'Bunny Tails' grass (Lagurus ovatus). They describe the soft, cottontail-like blooms and compact plants and cover ways to use and sell the flowers, the experiments that led to its designation as a cool flower, differences ...
Apr 25, 2024•18 min•Ep. 86
Looking forward to a flower-filled garden all summer long? Wondering when to plant, and how to adjust your grow room to provide the optimal environment for warm-season seeds and seedlings? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss their checklist of key items to keep in mind when planning your warm-season plantings and sowing your seeds. They cover when to plant, how many seeds to sow relative to the number of plants you hope to end up with, the ideal grow room temperature and heat mat setup for warm-season...
Apr 18, 2024•19 min•Ep. 85
Looking forward to buckets of blooms this growing season? Wondering how to get the most flowers out of your space? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss six tips for maximizing flower production in your field or garden. Plus, the girls share an exciting announcement for cool flower growers everywhere. Listen to the podcast and learn how to make the most of your growing space! The video version of Lisa and Layne's conversation will be posted to The Gardener’s Workshop’s YouTube channel, where all “Seed T...
Apr 11, 2024•20 min•Ep. 84
Frustrated by fungus gnats in your growing space? Wondering how to get rid of your unwanted house guests or prevent them from taking over in the first place? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss fungus gnats and practical methods for prevention and control. They cover the fungus gnat life cycle and lifespan, where they prefer to lay their eggs and how many each female can lay, what they eat as adults and larvae, tips for preventing an outbreak and controlling the population of fungus gnats indoors, and...
Apr 04, 2024•22 min•Ep. 83
Wondering which order your snapdragon varieties will bloom in this spring? Confused about snapdragon groups and if you should consider them when planning your plantings? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss the typical bloom order of snapdragons, how group classifications factor in, and important considerations when planting in spring. They cover how snapdragon groups relate to bloom times in the field, the bloom order of several common varieties in spring, potential consequences of planting a given gr...
Mar 28, 2024•15 min•Ep. 82
Running short on heat mat space? Wondering how to sprout high volumes of seeds in a space-efficient manner? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss the ins and outs of germination chambers for seed starting. They cover what germination chambers are, key benefits and considerations, which seeds can be sprouted inside, an overview of how to make one yourself, and more. Listen to the podcast and learn whether or not a germination chamber is right for you and your seeds! The video version of Lisa and Layne's ...
Mar 21, 2024•17 min•Ep. 81
Do you love the fresh look green flowers bring to a bouquet? Looking for unique shapes, forms, and textures to add interest to your arrangements? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss three gorgeous green cool flower fillers, plus a helpful tip for each one. Listen to the podcast and learn tips and tricks for growing and harvesting Atriplex, Bells of Ireland, and Sweet William! The video version of Lisa and Layne's conversation will be posted to The Gardener’s Workshop’s YouTube channel, where all “Seed...
Mar 14, 2024•14 min•Ep. 80
Would you like to have sunflowers blooming as early as possible in your growing season? Wondering what steps you should take to make that happen and which varieties to choose? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss a checklist of key items to keep in mind when planting "early bird" sunflowers. They cover the potential risks and rewards, variety and color considerations, recommended sowing and planting timelines, hardening off, transplanting and spacing tips, protecting with lightweight row cover, and mor...
Mar 07, 2024•18 min•Ep. 79
Wondering how far above seedlings to place your grow lights? If a seed needs light to germinate, should your trays be under grow lights from the moment you sow the seeds? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss some of the most frequently asked questions about grow lights. They cover grow light placement, when to move seedlings under lights, how long to leave lights on each day, and whether or not seeds that need light to germinate require grow lights to sprout successfully. Listen to the podcast and lear...
Feb 29, 2024•15 min•Ep. 78
Looking for an early-blooming, low-maintenance perennial that thrives in the shade? Wondering if hellebores can be used as cut flowers and, if so, when to harvest to prevent wilting? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss tips and tricks for growing and harvesting hellebores. They cover why you should consider growing hellebores as cut flowers, variety recommendations and considerations, the ideal growing conditions, plant spacing, the proper harvest stage, stem length and quantity, and more. Listen to t...
Feb 22, 2024•26 min•Ep. 77
Wondering how soil blocking mix differs from regular seed starting mix? Confused about how wet your soil mixture should be or why you are having issues ejecting your blocks? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss some of the most frequently asked questions about soil blocking mix. They describe the key differences between blocking mix and other seed starting mixes and cover a myriad of common questions and concerns. Listen to the podcast and learn how to create sturdy soil blocks that will hold up from s...
Feb 15, 2024•23 min•Ep. 76
Curious about planting cool-season hardy annuals beyond very early spring? Wondering which cool flowers you should consider succession planting? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss cool flower succession planting in very early spring and beyond. They cover potential consequences of planting cool-season hardy annuals later in the season, what makes a cool flower a good candidate for succession planting, and succession-planting tips for several flowers that tend to perform well when planted in very earl...
Feb 08, 2024•29 min•Ep. 75
Looking for an efficient seed-starting method that allows you to maximize your indoor growing space? Wondering what soil blocking is and whether or not it is right for you? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss some of the most frequently asked questions about soil blocking. They give an overview of the soil blocking process and cover a myriad of common questions and concerns. Listen to the podcast and learn about this space-savvy seed-starting method! The video version of Lisa and Layne's conversation ...
Feb 01, 2024•28 min•Ep. 74
Are some of your overwintered cool flowers looking questionable? Wondering if the plants will make it through winter and if not, what may have gone wrong? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss seven common causes of cool flower plant loss over the winter months. From drainage to plant size and everything in between, listen to the podcast and learn how to increase your chances of overwintering success! The video version of Lisa and Layne's conversation will be posted to The Gardener’s Workshop’s YouTube ...
Jan 25, 2024•29 min•Ep. 73
Looking for the perfect filler flower for your spring bouquets? Wondering how to start successions of bupleurum indoors during late winter and early spring to ensure a steady supply? Today, Lisa and Layne discuss tips for germinating and succession-planting bupleurum. They cover why bupleurum is such a useful filler, tips for germination success outdoors or indoors during months when outdoor conditions are too cold for direct seeding, succession-planting information, and more. Listen to the podc...
Jan 18, 2024•25 min•Ep. 72
