Our Favorite Gap Flowers & Foliage

Have you ever looked around after that first beautiful flush of peonies and roses and longed to see more blooming?  That gap between the spring showstoppers and summer annuals can be a long one, so this week the Gals are sharing their favorite gap flowers and foliage to help keep your yard interesting and your heart happy while you wait for that summer color to arrive.  

They're also sharing a little bit about how to make your blooming perennials a little more sturdy throughout the season by either giving them a good prune, a nice little trim, or the infamous Chelsea chop.  (We were a little confused about the last one at first, but we've got it now).

We hope you add a few more new favorites to your "must grow" list after this week's episode!

https://www.instagram.com/thegalswhogrow/

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:00

Hi, I'm Monica with Lulu the A Field. And I'm Cassie with Coppertop Gardens. And I'm Bailey with How Home and Garden. We have been cultivating our gardens and farms for years now, but something really special was sewed when we met and began working together.

SPEAKER_02 0:14

Our shared passion for growing the best local flowers and food has made us realize the impact it's had in not only our own homes, but also in our local community.

SPEAKER_01 0:22

We are the gals who grow, and we can't wait to inspire you to grow too.

SPEAKER_02 0:31

Welcome back video.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

Welcome back at this time. If you have not seen it, go over to our Instagram. You're gonna see a video from way back when.

unknown 0:43

Okay.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Let's just say we've come a far away.

SPEAKER_02 0:51

Oh yeah, this has to go. People need to see the humble people.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Bailey's so serious. At one point in time, we we legitimately thought that we were gonna be recording this way. And then uh I don't know what we were thinking.

SPEAKER_02 1:09

You know, when none of us are like super tech savvy and we decide we want to start a pod-up.

SPEAKER_01 1:16

We're like having issues with sound, and so we were like, you know what? We really just need to break up the sound from between me and the two of them. That's what it was. We were trying to like we were putting me into a cone of foam.

SPEAKER_02 1:30

But just my face. You look like one of those uh flowers with teeth on Mario. But I was dead serious. Like, we were gonna put me in that.

SPEAKER_01 1:44

Let's just say we don't record like that, just so you all know.

SPEAKER_02 1:48

Everyone looks relatively very normal.

SPEAKER_04 1:50

Today we're on the back porch. Yes, we are watching the bunnies frolic in Bailey's backyard.

SPEAKER_01 1:57

Yeah, there's plenty of them to watch.

SPEAKER_04 1:59

And listening to the birds.

SPEAKER_02 2:01

Yeah, and listening to the birds. This is actually really great. The ambiance is great. It's way better than the guest bedroom in my both from where we first started.

SPEAKER_01 2:11

No. Where we I mean we like doing it in your in your back uh in this shed bar. Yeah. Oh yeah. That's we just like being in nature, being able to watch nature while we're recording.

SPEAKER_02 2:24

And all great things go through growing pains. Yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 2:27

We've come a far away from the first video that you can see on our Instagram. So just know that we have we've graduated from that.

SPEAKER_04 2:35

Thanks for sticking with us. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 2:37

I hope you didn't hear the episodes we recorded like that.

SPEAKER_04 2:40

I should go back and listen. I actually haven't.

SPEAKER_01 2:43

The the audio has to be not as good. Not as good.

SPEAKER_02 2:48

It is not, actually. I think I've listened. So yes, thank you for staying.

SPEAKER_04 2:52

Yeah, and thank you for all the people who came this past weekend to tell us they've listened.

SPEAKER_01 2:59

Oh my gosh, yeah. So at the P ⁇ E festival, I had several people come up to me, and that was so nice to hear because sometimes we're just sort of recording in a vacuum and and we don't know, oh wait, we hope we hope people are out there listening. Getting some value out of it. And we would love to hear more from you if there is stuff that you would like to hear about. So please feel free to DM on our Instagram um or any of our private accounts as well. Yeah. Um, we'd love to hear from you.

SPEAKER_02 3:33

That'd be so fun because if you didn't notice, we all like talking about this stuff.

SPEAKER_04 3:39

And there's like endless amounts of stuff we can talk about, but we want to talk about what you want to hear.

SPEAKER_02 3:44

You want to hear. Exactly. And it's honestly, at least where we are, the beginning of the growing season still.

SPEAKER_01 3:51

Yeah, for sure. Um I'd say it like took off pretty fast here. But uh yeah, we are still we're at like the end of the beginning.

SPEAKER_02 4:00

Like, okay, for for us specifically, I was thinking about this earlier today. Do you guys feel like this the end of the year? How do I want to even say this? Like do you feel like our years end and begin in the month of May as the growers that we are? Yes, yeah. Because I feel like that's that's how I feel. I'm just like, oh, what a brand new year. Yeah. Like, like after mid-May, you're like, oh my god, I finally survived. Yeah. And then you're like, oh no, there's new things to do.

SPEAKER_04 4:38

Um survived. That is very real. There is definitely like a new year in May within the growing season. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 4:49

Maybe, maybe we call it the the growers' year or something. I don't know.

unknown 4:53

I don't know what we call it.

SPEAKER_01 4:54

I feel like that the new year starts when I hold my first like um daffodil. Yeah. That's when the new year starts. It's like that's my New Year's Day. If you don't have daffodils, go get daffodils because it makes a huge difference.

SPEAKER_04 5:09

When you start seeing the blooms. Yeah, I would say that's like really when it's a slow, it's a steady start, though. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 5:16

It is. But that is it has become a tradition in our yard. Like three or so years ago, Liam and I planted a ton of daffodil bulbs, and now they're finally to that point where they've like naturalized really well and they're starting to give off a ton of things. And the kids just go out and they just pick them all. And we end up with these like giant bouquets, and they look forward to it every year, and it's so cute. Yeah. So that is very cute. I I feel the same. That's when it starts.

SPEAKER_01 5:47

It is when it starts. But May sort of feels like like a marathon.

SPEAKER_04 5:55

Well, you're it's another like mile marker, right? Where you're like, okay, it's officially okay to plant everything out. Everything out, things can sit out. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:05

There's no more like checking the weather every two seconds. Yep.

SPEAKER_04 6:08

It's officially go time. Yeah. Yeah. I I had a lot of questions this weekend because we were selling Dalia tubers in our tent and plants. Um we had a lot of people ask, like, is it am I too late to plant this? Oh yeah. Like, am I too late to plant start something? And I thought that was interesting. Um, from my perspective as a farmer, I have been starting seeds since February. Yes. But you are definitely not behind the eight ball. No, you're not. You can plant stuff all the way up until mid-July.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

Yeah, I was gonna say you can plant everything you want. Uh well, no, okay. Things that are like only the cold, wait until the fall if you're gonna do that. Yeah. But anything warm season, plant it. You're still good to go.

SPEAKER_02 6:55

I think people just have that whole like well, the plant day planting day is Mother's Day, and if you wait past that, you're too late.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

And the other thing is the seed packets are very deceiving because they don't have a way to put information on there that is good for everyone. It's like a general population, and like they just make it you can plant it when the soil's workable. Starting this date, or you know, like and it's like, oh, if I didn't plant it when it was workable, am I still okay?

SPEAKER_02 7:24

Yeah, absolutely. So that's actually awesome. That's a good point.

SPEAKER_01 7:28

Like, yeah, just go to town. Yeah. We're still in the beginning. We're still in the beginning.

SPEAKER_02 7:33

I haven't planted my tomatoes or my peppers yet. Oops.

SPEAKER_01 7:38

I planted both of those.

SPEAKER_02 7:39

I have lots. Do you need any? No, I have them started. Oh, you have them already. But like I just haven't physically planted them outside.

SPEAKER_01 7:45

But that's I haven't planted my squash. Is that are we doing that right now? Are we are we are we sharing what we have in our stuff I still need to start?

SPEAKER_02 7:56

I'm not growing, I'm not growing squash. Because I hate those dang bugs. Oh, the squash.

SPEAKER_01 8:03

If you plant them in your in your new beds, you will not have any bugs. You don't think? Nope. I uh I move them every year and it and they don't come. Interesting.

SPEAKER_02 8:12

Okay. Yeah. We'll see if I have room. If I do, I may throw a seed in there.

SPEAKER_01 8:16

Another way to do it is to grow it into a tomato cage so that it grows up so that the stem is not on the ground, and that is uh a way to prevent them as well.

SPEAKER_04 8:28

Like a zucchini tree. Is that the same for watermelon? Because we're growing watermelon this year.

SPEAKER_01 8:33

I have no idea. Do you have an issue with watermelons?

SPEAKER_04 8:35

No, I've never grown it before. Poppy picked up the packet, and I'm like, alright, can't be that hard.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

They need it really, really, really hot. They need it really, really hot. You might put like a dome over it if you could.

SPEAKER_04 8:46

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 8:47

Put like a like a plastic tub. Oh. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 8:51

I can do that.

SPEAKER_01 8:52

Maybe not a plastic tub. Maybe a glass tub. Glass tub.

SPEAKER_04 8:58

I'm thinking of plastic in the heat. I don't know. A cloch. A closh. A closh. A closh. A closh. Um, well, I will be on the hunt for that. For one of those glass cloches. Well, I you know, I did have a friend drop off um a greenhouse today. What? I know, right? Tell us more about that.

unknown 9:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 9:17

Well, it's like a medium. She sent me a picture of it. I don't know the exact dimensions, but I imagine it'd be like maybe I think she did tell me it was like six by eight.

unknown 9:28

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 9:29

Six foot by eight foot. Like glass? No. So it's metal, like the metal frame she dropped off. Okay, no. So she bought it secondhand, didn't realize it didn't have plastic, set it up, took it down, was like, I don't have the plastic for it yet. And then I think she like sat on it. Trying to buy some plastic and it didn't come through. And so, yeah, she's like, I'm not gonna do this. I'm like, I think I could figure out a way to bring it up where I have plastic over it and then move it to where I want like areas where I want to grow faster. You know, like get a little head start on it.

SPEAKER_02 10:10

Heat it up, little mobile greenhouse in your backyard. Greenhouse is exactly what I'm doing.

SPEAKER_01 10:15

So watermelons really like it hot. So maybe I put that over. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 10:19

But like Saloja, like slogan takes forever. Yeah. Because it wants it really, really hot. And I'm like, if I put that over it, maybe.

SPEAKER_01 10:28

Or my Renunculus. Monica's doing some experiment, and that's what cool.

SPEAKER_04 10:32

What's what I do best? Yeah, like, I don't know, maybe. Let's try it. Don't ask me about my documentation though.

SPEAKER_01 10:39

I do want to say, in terms of experimenting, Renunculus is a hit, and I'm in. I told you it is villain.

SPEAKER_02 10:46

It's not as hard as people make it out to be.

unknown 10:49

Okay. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 10:54

Monica's face card.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

Cassie not covering your flesh with our rununculus, but uh it is the flex we think it is.

SPEAKER_04 11:05

I will say it was not easy. It was not easy. Let me paint this picture for you. Do you want to be going outside and uncovering and covering stuff when it's 20 degrees outside?

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Do remember that because you will be doing that. It is a little different. You will be doing that. That is for sure. Kathy's like, oh yeah. Not a glamorous process, no. Nope. No, it is not.

SPEAKER_04 11:29

How bad do you want it? Yeah, they are awesome. They are awesome. We're in the collective that grows gorgeous Rinocula, and she grows them in crates.

SPEAKER_02 11:39

I think I've seen pictures of them, and they're very good.

SPEAKER_01 11:43

So like in and out in crates? Like she takes them in and out.

SPEAKER_04 11:49

Mm-mm. No, I think she covers them in place. She covers them. Yeah. I was like, they're like up against her house in crates. And she does cover and uncover them. But I do I do want to say, not that I'm like proud of you. I am proud of you, Bailey, for succeeding in the rununculi. Um I do just want to say I think it was a good year for them.

unknown 12:13

Hey.

SPEAKER_04 12:14

Nope. I think it was me. I think it was me. I have something. It was a good year for them. Yeah. It was true. Because your stem length was nice too, right? Oh yeah. Yeah. Oh, very long.

SPEAKER_02 12:26

I mean, look, they look so tall that they're like they're very tall. They're like 24 inches. I can't see them.

unknown 12:32

Where are they at?

SPEAKER_01 12:33

They're behind the bush. That front. Yeah. We'll go on a tour after this for sure. We can post. We can post. I'll post it. I'll post a little. Yeah, Bailey.

SPEAKER_02 12:42

If I I mean, I know you're gonna laugh so much saying this, but like if this was my backyard, I would stare at it all the time. Yeah, I know.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

Thanks, guys.

SPEAKER_04 12:50

I would get nothing done. We do be here.

SPEAKER_01 12:53

We literally love our backyard. That's like that's why I only want to be in the back. That's why I want to grow in the back because I I it is our little spice of paradise.

SPEAKER_04 13:01

Is that a smoke bush? The like burgundy.

SPEAKER_01 13:04

So we should probably talk about what we were gonna talk about, right? Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 13:06

So yeah, let's get to that. Sorry, happen.

SPEAKER_01 13:09

We missed you guys and each other. Today we were gonna talk about um the perennials that uh have already bloomed and what to do with them. Yes, and then the ones that are gonna get us to the next round, or like things that we have in our garden that keep us interested until the summer blooming annuals begin, which there is a large gap there is between the two. So the things that we have that we use to stay interested in our garden. I have roses that I absolutely know. Yeah. The the endless blooms of roses are like one thing that I would never get rid of. Maybe one or two of the really, really thorny ones.

SPEAKER_04 13:54

I spent over a half hour with Poppy today squashing the sawflies. Yeah. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_01 14:02

They're real bad. Um you can use the mint. Uh try doing the mint compost. How do you do that? It does help. You have to buy it or you make it.

SPEAKER_02 14:13

So is it just a bunch of mint? It's just a compost. I think so. I think so. Because I saw that and I was like, what on earth? I've never done the mint company.

SPEAKER_01 14:21

Or is it essential oil? No. Mint. Oh, I don't know. I don't know.

SPEAKER_02 14:27

So you know what? I think I'm gonna find a bed sometime and I'm gonna just grow mint in it. Yep, yep. So I can do all sorts of stuff with it.

SPEAKER_04 14:33

Or there's what is growing mint around the rose bush do?

SPEAKER_01 14:37

That could be it too. That could totally do it. And it would probably help from other things too, like keeping other creatures off of your roses. Um but yeah, so roses, roses are worth it, even though they're pain. They are pain and they're sort of thorny. But there are some that are thornier than others, some that have way less. So something to and like on some of the websites you can do the filters to try and like get the ones that are the least thorny. Um but some of the thorny ones are real, real beautiful. Um, other things I was telling Cassie and Monica earlier that the things that I really love in my garden in this time of year, even when they're not blooming, are like nine bark and smokebush and spirea, even though spirea is sort of blooming right now. But the and so nine bark just got done blooming. But yeah, the leaf color of those are what keep interest in the garden even when they're not in bloom. And that's I think what I enjoy the most looking out, so that everything's not just a sea of the same color. It's like there's a different color in every section of the garden. I really enjoy that.

SPEAKER_02 15:51

Salvias and catmints that are like just coming into their prime. So they're pretty. Yep. Um I still have some late season peonies that are just opening up. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Bunnies running through the garden. They're ever. Searching for my strobs. I know. They're all over this place.

SPEAKER_04 16:16

Um is it is pestamin, is there purple pestamen? Oh, pestamin? Pencamens.

SPEAKER_01 16:21

Yeah. Or beard's tongue is the that's what I have out front.

SPEAKER_04 16:25

I have seen a lot of that around town and I'm like, so pretty. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 16:30

I can definitely give you a start of that. I've got a lot of it.

SPEAKER_04 16:32

Yeah, I really like. I don't like the smell of salvia. I do like the way it looks, though.

SPEAKER_02 16:38

It definitely has a smell. It is strong. But it that also makes it kind of a beneficial neighbor to things. Yeah, for sure. Totally makes sense. So that's why I like it.

SPEAKER_04 16:51

I have um Veronica right now that's about to bloom. It'll bloom in the next like week or so. Mine did not do well this year, I think from the drought last year. But I dug all of mine up and moved them into pots into something else. Because I'm like redoing a bed. Yeah. Mine didn't have a lot of things.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

I know. I had several things do that. Like one of my baptizias back there was only like 12 inches, and it's usually yeah, baptizia.

SPEAKER_04 17:20

This was not the year for them. No, it wasn't. For height. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:23

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 17:23

But they did bloom. Mine still, they still are providing color in the garden. And my geome is blooming now.

SPEAKER_01 17:29

I want geom. I want geom. That's on my list.

SPEAKER_02 17:32

It is so funny. And it does keep getting bigger and bigger. Really? It's so like twinkly to me. I don't know. I really love it.

SPEAKER_01 17:39

It reminds me of the Cosmos biponatus. The like really simple orange.

SPEAKER_02 17:44

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:45

You know?

SPEAKER_02 17:46

Yeah. It's just like a, I don't know, it's a cute little daisy shape flower. But the petals are just cute and it's bright, but then the stem is like very whimsical. Mm-hmm. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 17:57

It looks like But they don't they didn't draw my eye in the garden center originally because they were so short when I saw them. Yeah, they are.

SPEAKER_04 18:04

But they grow tall. They grow taller. My stems are probably at least 12 to 16 now. Yeah. Um what else?

SPEAKER_02 18:13

The uh corabells, they're a good foliage plant.

SPEAKER_04 18:17

I love corabells. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 18:18

Yeah, and they do shoot up little little flowers. The real secret is to put them in a pot and never look at them. Neglect. Put them in a really shady corner. And they'll do great. Yeah. Um, I also love flocks. My flocks is all blooming. Oh yes. That's a perennial or annual? Perennial. My perennial is all the like little white clouds out there. Um, and then I I think my lilies are like starting to lilies are gonna bloom soon, I think.

SPEAKER_04 18:52

Which is early. Early. But yeah, they they look like they're um I feel like they're it's like middle of June normally. Yeah. So maybe we're two weeks out.

SPEAKER_01 19:01

And they're like a good uh one to break up. They're really good focal. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:08

I like growing in crates because I moved them out of raised beds and I didn't know if they were gonna do well. And I'm like, okay, well, you're always gonna be grown in crates. Are they doing really well? They're doing awesome. Dang. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 19:19

Do you keep yours in the ground of their perennial? Yeah. So there you go. Because I have some planted out front that I'm like, I'm wondering, because I do get the what's the lily um like the fuzz on them that doesn't do well.

SPEAKER_04 19:39

I've never seen the fuzz.

SPEAKER_01 19:41

Oh, I have had the ones back here, literally right there, next my roses, um, has like had multiple years now that it hasn't bloomed. Oh no. Really? Mm-hmm. It looks like it's gonna bloom this year. Yeah, I think it might actually. I was like, wow, it looks like it actually. That's interesting.

SPEAKER_04 19:56

I thought they were like indestructible.

SPEAKER_01 20:00

That one was not. I think it's spider mites. They're spider mites.

SPEAKER_02 20:06

Mint mulch. No, I don't know. Maybe. Don't take that as back, guys. Don't take that as well.

SPEAKER_01 20:14

Um, no, but those, yeah, lilies are one that would be a good in-between. What are other like fox gloves?

SPEAKER_04 20:20

Yeah, the foxgloves are blooming right now going on. I have Dianthus um verbascom. Ooh, I saw that. Yeah, the verbasculum. That is so pretty.

SPEAKER_02 20:31

Did you get those as plugs? Yep.

SPEAKER_01 20:32

Oh man, that's so cool. They're perennial though.

SPEAKER_04 20:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:36

Well, you think they're not gonna make it in our zone.

SPEAKER_04 20:38

Are they? Are they perennial? They are perennial, but maybe not in our zone.

SPEAKER_02 20:44

My yarrow's getting ready to pop up.

SPEAKER_04 20:45

Yeah, Yarrow is.

SPEAKER_02 20:47

Oh yeah, mine has started out mine has started out front.

SPEAKER_01 20:50

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_02 20:51

Nice. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 20:52

Yeah. Some of my um friends in the collective, they are on the south side and they're already producing. Shoot. Yeah. It's crazy.

SPEAKER_02 21:02

Yeah, the ones of mine, I guess, yeah. The ones that I have are about to go. They're shaded for half the day. So nice. Yeah, mine's a little bit shaded. My chamomile is about to my fever view just started blooming. Yeah. Yes. And I'm so excited. It all reseeded in this like pot that I have. Oh my gosh. And I'm gonna have a lot of it. Ooh! And I'm just like, go girl, see this blaze.

SPEAKER_01 21:27

Okay, it's verbascum, just so to clarify, it's a short-lived perennial or biennial.

SPEAKER_04 21:34

I was gonna say this is biennial.

SPEAKER_02 21:36

So to clarify, short-lived perennial usually means it recedes itself. Typically, do we think? Do we agree with that?

SPEAKER_01 21:44

No, I think short-lived perennial means it actually lives for like two years without the receding. Okay. I think biennial is the receding.

SPEAKER_02 21:51

But a lot of them do recede. Yes.

SPEAKER_04 21:54

Mine because it's just a biannual.

SPEAKER_02 21:56

Because I feel like typically southern trip.

SPEAKER_04 22:00

Charm. Oh. I just looked up. I looked up just for Baskum.

SPEAKER_02 22:05

Okay, so real quick, the stuff in our yards that's already bloomed over that is a perennial. Like lilacs. Yes. Yeah. Or peonies mostly. Um what are we doing with those? Um, leaving the greens.

SPEAKER_01 22:26

Yeah. Like lilacs. It depends. So lilacs specifically. They lilac. You don't have to cut them. If you want to just leave them, you can leave them. If you want to cut them, you can take out the oldest stuff and then shape the bush. You definitely don't want to wait long because I'm pretty sure that they set their buds soon. It's like, I think you only have like a couple months before they're they start.

SPEAKER_04 22:48

Is that quick after blooming?

SPEAKER_02 22:50

Yeah, you have to be pretty on top of it with the biggest.

SPEAKER_04 22:51

But again, yeah, you don't have to trim them. I've never trimmed mine because I it's so new. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 22:56

Yeah. I deadhead my peonies to try and help the disease situation. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 23:01

And to like not take energy out of them into turning into whatever.

SPEAKER_02 23:05

They just don't look good. Their seed pods are kind of I don't like them. Yeah. Beautiful flowers, not beautiful seed pods. Yeah, for sure. And then again, we hear the term Chelsea chop.

SPEAKER_01 23:18

Because right now is the Chelsea Flower Show. Yes. If you have Brit Box, you should watch the Chelsea Chelsea Flower Show.

SPEAKER_04 23:26

It's on Brit Box, excuse me. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:29

They have like literally every year.

SPEAKER_04 23:31

It's a talk and it sounded like I was growing.

SPEAKER_01 23:33

Every year they make a I did not know it was on Brit Box. They make like a six uh episode series or like a four or five or six episode series on the Chelsea. Brandon, we're bringing back the Brit box to the monthly. It's so worth the $4.99.

SPEAKER_04 23:49

I saw some stuff on Instagram today and was like, I have to go. I have to go.

SPEAKER_02 23:56

There's literally we should do, we should make that a goal. Yeah. What year? 2028? I mean, whatever. We wanna.

SPEAKER_04 24:03

Why why are we waiting? But we're not going this year, Bailey.

SPEAKER_03 24:10

Let's go get on a plane, friends.

SPEAKER_04 24:13

I mean, wouldn't it be so cool if we just did like wild shit like that? Yes. Like, hey, Chelsea Flower Show looks pretty good this year. We should go. We're going on a weekend trip. Oh my gosh, over to the, you know, Liam.

SPEAKER_02 24:26

Liam took off the bee magnet that you brought us back from your England trip. And I was like, oh my God. Thank you. One day we will be there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:36

The Chelsea Flower Show is like the largest flower show in the world, I'm fairly certain. It's like the longest world. Yeah, longest running flower show. It's the one that all like there's a ton of garden and flower shows in the UK. They it's pretty much like every major city there, or even others have a garden show. But the Chelsea one is like the garden show. And I yeah, we uh I I I love watching the episodes of it.

SPEAKER_04 25:09

So that's why it's called the Chelsea Chop.

SPEAKER_02 25:12

Because you do it during around the time of the Chelsea flower show, right? Yes. So what is a Chelsea choppy? Yes. So right, when your perennials start to get like kind of floppy or bloomed out, you trim them back by a third and it helps them become more put together looking. Yeah, voluptuous is a great word. It helps them rebloom better later on.

SPEAKER_01 25:38

If they do.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

If they do, but if they don't, it just helps reshape things. Yes. So like give me some examples of what you would do that too. People do it with flocks. Yes, they do. Perennial flocks. Um, I would consider doing that with like your cat mints after they bloom. Yeah, I didn't think about that one. Um they will bloom again. Because they will bloom again. Um I mean, I I'll do it with my yarrow because it just gets kind of gross looking after a while and tall and spindly. I guess I don't even think about that. Because I can't because it's cut. I mean you're doing it without thinking about it. But it's chopping. Yes. But in your in your garden, if you're not cutting the blooms to sell, you know, they probably are gonna get a little floppy, which we're for sure. What else do we do that with? Let's see here. But don't do that to the peonies. Don't do that to the peanuts.

SPEAKER_01 26:26

Don't do that to the peonies, for sure. Don't do that.

SPEAKER_02 26:29

They need all of their leaves to gather energy for the next year.

SPEAKER_04 26:34

And they they I would say you want to leave your daffodils until they die yellow. Yes, yes. Don't braid them, mom. I'm just kidding. I'm real close to braiding the mine.

SPEAKER_01 26:49

I actually saw someone who braided them in my parents' neighborhood, and I was like.

SPEAKER_04 27:00

And like I came home and they were all braided.

SPEAKER_01 27:03

We're all fine. They're all fine.

SPEAKER_04 27:05

They did fine the next year.

SPEAKER_01 27:08

It is true. They I mean, I think it's just a matter of, yeah, if you if you can handle not braiding them, then they're also gonna be fine. Yeah. And I can handle not doing some braiding. For the ones I've got, man, uh so much work. No way. No, no way. But yeah, there's all sorts of if there's anything in your in your garden that would bloom again, if you've ever seen it bloom twice in the season, for sure it's something that you can Chelsea chop because it'll grow back and bloom again.

SPEAKER_04 27:40

I have a list. Excellent. Just make sure you're like constantly deadheading too, right? Like your roses. Yeah, and if you do that for sure.

SPEAKER_02 27:48

Yeah, that's another less um direct way of doing it, I guess. Yeah. But this says it's mostly going to be like your herbaceous perennials, so not your woodies. Yeah. Um only by a third. That's that would that'd be safe because anything more than a third, you're running the risk of hurting your plants. So don't do that. Um, but it does encourage bushier growth. It prevents the plants from flopping over, and it can even extend the blooming season or create a secondary flush at some point. Um here is a list of things that benefit from it. Asters, uh, your solidago or your goldenrod, um cone flowers, your black-eyed Susans and Shasta daisies, garden flocks, sedum, your bee balms, and your cat mints, like we mentioned.

SPEAKER_01 28:43

I was gonna say, I think they actually do it before they ac bloom the first time. Oh I think that's actually the Chelsea chop. It's in order to make them bloom at a shorter height.

SPEAKER_02 28:53

Right, yes. I do remember that somewhere. Yep. I was gonna say, my echinacea are about to bloom. Mine got really big all of a sudden. Which I'm very gonna bloom any day.

SPEAKER_04 29:04

Not really? I would say within the next week and a half. Oh my.

SPEAKER_02 29:09

Oh, I saw your post about the yeah, yours are close. I haven't looked that close at mine lately. I'll have to do that.

SPEAKER_04 29:15

Those are right up against my house.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

So that's why they got the nice warm microclimate.

SPEAKER_04 29:20

They got a little microclimate going on. What's that yellow flower that you have in your front yard? Coriopsis. I didn't know the name. That's crazy. There's so much stuff blooming out there.

SPEAKER_01 29:33

I know I do.

SPEAKER_02 29:34

I remember when we hammered our shirts with all those flowers, and that one turned out really well. I know.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

The choriopsis was a real strong one. Coriopsis is a native, so it's definitely worth planting and planting from seed because that's how I planted all of those.

SPEAKER_02 29:48

And it probably benefits from some type of chopping as well. Actually, I know for a fact that it does.

SPEAKER_01 29:52

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_02 29:53

Yes. Because I've had it in my guard before. My guard? My garden. My garden. My guard. I've had it in my guard before. Always shortening the words I am. Goodness gracious.

SPEAKER_01 30:02

Well, yeah, it's a very nice, pretty, bright yellow. So definitely something if you're looking for something to draw your eye in your garden. And then yeah, be deadheading your your roses, other shrubs if you want to.

SPEAKER_04 30:17

Did I tell you guys about the baptizia? No. That's growing in my yard. Yeah, the white. Because I saw it. Remember, I was the one who pointed out.

SPEAKER_01 30:24

You have to be like, I was like, Monica, that's white.

SPEAKER_04 30:26

Like the flowers are white? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 30:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 30:28

I foraged for baptizia seeds. Oh, that's right. Hopefully I don't get arrested for admitting this. Um, I'll give her address.

SPEAKER_01 30:38

Just send me a note.

unknown 30:40

Forage.

SPEAKER_04 30:41

I foraged for these seeds. Like, I don't know. This had I think it was before I quit my corporate job. So like 2021. Oh, dang. Maybe with my sister, or like right after I quit it.

SPEAKER_01 30:54

You gave me some of those seeds too. I couldn't get any to grow.

SPEAKER_04 30:57

Yeah. And then I finally am just now seeing it bloom. Holy first time.

SPEAKER_01 31:02

Wow. And I was like, Monica, that's white. And you were like, what? No. I haven't seen it yet. You're like, oh my gosh. I can't believe it's white.

SPEAKER_04 31:14

It's white.

SPEAKER_02 31:15

So I have like a whole bag full of baptizia seeds. Like I wonder if they're they're probably not all white. You should No.

SPEAKER_04 31:27

The ones that the bag of Baptesia seeds that I have is from my friend that um lives right down the street from where the booth is at the peony festival. Yeah, yeah. She's yours. They're pink. Yeah. So I need to st those have just been hanging out in my fridge. I need to start them.

SPEAKER_02 31:47

I tried to germinate those once and I failed.

SPEAKER_04 31:50

So the trick is that you have to plant them in moist soil and then either if it's winter time, put them outside. Like put the tray outside and let it be vernal. I didn't put them in the freezer. I put mine in the fridge. But I well, I put those ones outside in the middle of winter, so they would have froze at some point in time. But like what I've been doing with all the other stuff that requires a um a cold winter is just putting them in my refrigerator. But the soil is consistently wet. Versus like what I thought that meant was put the seeds in the fridge. But it's not. It needs the moisture too.

SPEAKER_02 32:38

So you put it like in a tray? Yeah, I plant soil in the fridge.

SPEAKER_04 32:45

Yeah. Okay. But you could also just put them in a bag of soil, wet soil. And see what happens. And just put them in there. They are not gonna bloom in, or they're not gonna sprout in the fridge. They don't sprout until they come out and get warm. And get warm.

SPEAKER_02 33:01

Oh, okay. Good to know. I keep all my seeds in the fridge. I have a specific um shelf in our fridge that's literally seed packets. Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_01 33:10

I do not.

SPEAKER_02 33:11

All the rest of my family. Oh, and you know, I had a bowl of green bean seeds that I had saved myself, and I was storing it in a specific spot in our kitchen cabinet, and Eric didn't realize that there were bean seeds in there. Oh no. So he wanted some cereal. And he uh pulls the bowl down and it just goes everywhere. Oh and you know, all the profanity is coming from the kitchen.

SPEAKER_01 33:38

Oh shoot.

SPEAKER_02 33:39

I thought it was so funny. Did you bean them all? Oh, I did, but it's okay. They're like pole beans, and I didn't really like them. So when do you plant beans? Uh you can do it right now, yeah. I need to plant. They're definitely like warm season guys for sure. But um, I I have bush beans this year, which I'm more excited about. So they're like Roma twos, the like flat podted ones. They're like kind of flatter sh flatter shaped pods. They're delicious. Okay.

SPEAKER_01 34:11

So good. I'm very excited. I'm not sure. I know. I need to get out there, plant some beans, plant some squash, plant some plants, some plants.

SPEAKER_04 34:20

Did we mention that you need to fertilize your stuff that's already bloomed? Oh no, but that's a good point. That's like the biggest thing that I was gonna say today is that now that all of my peonies have bloomed, I'll go over them with the jobs. And I think we figured that out la we talked through that last year. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 34:36

Because now's the time again where they're collecting all that energy in their plant for next year.

SPEAKER_04 34:42

And mine were way bigger than they were. So were mine.

SPEAKER_02 34:46

Like my newest plants were huge. Huge this year. It's like wild, like the fertilizer. Oh my gosh! Like some of the stuff you see isn't bullshit.

SPEAKER_01 34:57

The fertilizer did work, other than my poor coral charms that all got zapped by that fertile.

SPEAKER_04 35:04

Coral charms are not.

SPEAKER_01 35:06

I love the coral charms. I love them.

SPEAKER_02 35:08

In fact, this might be an I bought 50 more. Oh, I mean they're 50? 5-0. 5-0. They're beautiful, but this might be an unpopular opinion, but I think they smell bad.

SPEAKER_01 35:20

They smell bad. They're my favorite color. They are a beautiful color. They're my favorite. For like two seconds. They're my favorite. Sorry.

SPEAKER_04 35:27

You know what is my favorite smell? They were the first ones to go at the Father.

SPEAKER_02 35:30

They always are. They always are. My favorite smell is now the Lady Gardener Rose because holy moly schmole. Did you plant one? Well, I got the that's one of my ones I got from uh McKinsey. Yeah, from McKinsey. And it is so good.

SPEAKER_04 35:47

I need to take pictures and send mine to you. Whatever I have is gorgeous. I have like a like a pinky corally.

SPEAKER_02 35:54

Oh, yeah, I want to see. I literally took them to work just so I could make all my coworkers smell them. And nobody was disappointed.

unknown 36:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_02 36:03

They're so good.

SPEAKER_04 36:04

I took a video, but I didn't send it to you guys. One of my rose bushes that was supposed to be own root is now blooming white. And it was supposed to be yellow. It's been yellow every year, but now it's white.

SPEAKER_02 36:19

So it's reverted. Is that the bigger one?

SPEAKER_04 36:21

So it's not actually own root. I got it from heirloom roses.

SPEAKER_01 36:26

Are you sure that it didn't just mature because the first few years they like are not or did it get bleached by the sun before you noticed it? Send us the video.

SPEAKER_03 36:37

Honestly. Yeah, I'll show it to you. Oh my gosh. Well, um, that is anyways our stuff for the week. Fertilize your stuff. Plant it out.

SPEAKER_02 36:47

Fertilize your perennials with organic fertilizer. Job's. Job's is the best.

SPEAKER_01 36:52

Job's fish, seaweed fish fertilizer on this new stuff. That's good too. Job's granular is what we put on everything.

SPEAKER_02 37:00

Not the blue water. Stay away from that. Love you bye.

SPEAKER_04 37:08

Love you by. Bye. Hey, thanks for listening to our podcast. If you want to follow us on social, find us at the Galls Who Grow Podcast on Instagram, and follow us on Spotify or your favorite podcast app.