Nancy Ondra's guest appearances

Nancy Ondra

GREEN Organic Garden Podcast

Ellen Polishuk

Mike Lewis

Elizabeth Leonard

Jennifer Smith

Patti Armbrister

David Salman

Infrastructure Banks

Shandy Carroll

Dushan Batrovic

Alethea Vasilas

Jill Blog

Pheobe Lyttle

Susan Harris

Nick Schneider

Lem Tingly

OwlTail

Meet Nancy J. Ondra, Plantswoman!  Nancy J. Ondra is a renowned garden writer and editor with more than 30 years of experience growing and experimenting with perennials and plant combinations. She is the author or coauthor of more than a dozen respected gardening books. In The Perennial Matchmaker: Create Amazing Combinations with Your Favorite Perennials, she has distilled her in-depth knowledge of color, texture, and seasonal effects into a simple approach for surefire planting success.  Tell us a little about yourself. I live in SE Pennsylvania, zone 6B/7 I’ve been gardening my entire life, got my first job as a teacher!  Gardening  About 10 miles from  Tell me about your first gardening experience? Ive always lived here, we have a family farm I can’t remember not gardening there isn’t a specific one I remember  over any book  I treasured that catalog one cent jumbo packet  it was just a penny beans, flowers I just remember being so entranced by the variety of seeds I can’t imagine any company  How did you learn how to garden organically? I actually grew up in the suburbs but we always had the farm,  we didn’t think of it organically four years of being inundated with pesticides fungicides i don’t think I want to do  took an internship at Rodale Press I need a job this will be great Sort of learned by being innundated encyclopedia of Organic gardening doing a lot of big books back then visiting the Rodale Institute and taking classes up there growing  That’s my last one It’s my favoritist one! The Perennial Matchmaker: Create Amazing Combinations with Your Favorite Perennials,   People really respond to ideas for combinations it’s so easy impulse buy perennials plant them here or there based on what they need somethings missing take it to the next level as people say when you’re doing perennial combinations don’t go out and buy new plants what is doing well what can you move to put next to each other purple coneflowers purpleish pink phlox inspire people to move them It’s actually theoretically an annual is a plant that grows from seed to seed biennial make leaves make flower the next year then die perennial could live from year to year for a certain number of years tender perennials annuals in some places rather  You can theoretically move them any time of year ideally if somethings gonna bloom in the spring roots all settled in where it wants to be it’s where it wants to go spring early summer bloomers  move them in the fall later summer move them in the spring about 6 months ahead Fall is a good time for moving a lot of things. Aster ornamental grass that’s gonna bloom in the fall Summer time is a good time to think about the combinations looking at this pink phlox break off flowers and carry them around physical note move those two together why is phlox easier just the way it works out for me I don’t know  maybe it has something to do  phlox is easier to move sometimes I’ll move both of them if something is in the wrong spot you can really as long as you keep them watered and  thing I usually harvest the wild brambles Blackberries Wineberries that way I don’t have to give them garden space 4 acres 40  Tell us about something that grew well this year. It’s almost an acre of flowers and vegetables managed meadow of cedar plants not all 4 acres  Pretty much everything has grown  Blessed with rain every 3-4 days pastures are green still mid july weeds plants are just so lush nothings rotting everything’s estactic Is there something you would do different next year or want to try/new? I always like to try new plants something I’ve gotten into harvesting for drying  everlasting  status winged everlasting next year  annual flowers I last year, it makes a difference if I’m working on a book last year I was doing more pressed flowers meant to get back into that this year when I was cutting back throwing this stuff in the compost pile when I could be drying it wonderfully  fragrant things Tell me about something that didn’t work so well this season. Sort of balanced the wonderfulness of the rain deer have found their way into the garden thoguht we had an understanding coming into the garden net the entire vegetable garden they said ok well go into the flower area lillies and daylillies have suffered get past Japanese beetles horrible this year that’s also  so much for the roses Let’s take a minute to thank our affiliates!  Now you can get an Organic Gardener Podcast discount at organifi.com use promo code OGP16 (that stands for organifi.com use promo code OGP16 (that stands for Organic Gardener Podcast 2016) at checkout for a 15%discount! Recommended books on the Organic Gardener Podcast  The Organic Gardener Podcast is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com  audible.com   Learn about biologically intensive farming in Jean Martin Fortier’s The Market Gardener  either on amazon or audible and learn how to be a profitable market gardener. If you’ve never tried audible you can get a free audio book from the Organic Gardener Podcast and audible today! Let’s Get to the Root of Things Which activity is your least favorite activity to do in the garden? watering I hate watering! Right it takes a long time. And it’s never as good as the rain! I hate wasting water, it’s never good enough. Mike’s always like did you water today? And I’m like I watered yesterday. Nothing like the rain. What is your favorite activity to do in the garden? Anything to do with seeds  planting seeds collecting seeds saving seeds?  Got any tips for listeners? just try Idk what’s a seed what to collect if you’ve grown things from seed you know what you’re looking for.  if you’ve grown a zinnia from seed you’ll recognize the seeds. Just give it a try. It’s really not that hard.  saving money preserving a favorite you’ll have seeds to share too! Right, there’s always so many seeds in each flower etc. The Perennial Matchmaker: Create Amazing Combinations with Your Favorite Perennials,   What is the best gardening advice you have ever received? We had a wonderful gardener out this way named Joanna Reed I saw her house on a tour The best advice phrase back into your work if you have a big area that you are that youa re digging or mulching or you’re weeding, orient yourself so that you are always looking at what I did and not what I have to do.  That’s gotten me through a lot of big products. looks at how much A favorite tool that you like to use? If you had to move and could only take one tool with you what would it be? My brother is also a professional gardener and he got me hooked on these things called  Jakoti hand shears  meant for shearing she3p But they look basically like a garden scissors, they work like scissors but they are sort of a cross between scissors and pruning shears! I always wanted longer then blades then pruning share  cutting them back harvesting weeding  I will use them to pry weeds out of the soil because they have pointy tips work as a professional gardener, these are almost attached to my hips. Jakoti hand shears in the interest of full disclosure useful llama items places that sell animal tools. self-sharpening. I’ve used them for years and not had to sharpen them.  jakotihandshears.com A favorite recipe you like to cook from the garden? I don’t really cook so 

Meet Nancy J. Ondra, Plantswoman! <a href="https://hayefield.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a> Nancy J. Ondra is a renowned garden writer and editor with more than 30 years of experience growing and experimenting with perennials and plant combinations. She is the author or coauthor of more than a dozen respected gardening books. In <a href="http://amzn.to/2ydeOp1" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Perennial Matchmaker: Create Amazing Combinations with Your Favorite Perennials</a>, she has distilled her in-depth knowledge of color, texture, and seasonal effects into a simple approach for surefire planting success. <a href="http://amzn.to/2ydeOp1" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a> Tell us a little about yourself. I live in SE Pennsylvania, zone 6B/7 I’ve been gardening my entire life, got my first job as a teacher! Gardening About 10 miles from Tell me about your first gardening experience? Ive always lived here, we have a family farm I can’t remember not gardening there isn’t a specific one I remember over any book I treasured that catalog one cent jumbo packet it was just a penny beans, flowers I just remember being so entranced by the variety of seeds I can’t imagine any company How did you learn how to garden organically? I actually grew up in the suburbs but we always had the farm, we didn’t think of it organically four years of being inundated with pesticides fungicides i don’t think I want to do took an internship at Rodale Press I need a job this will be great Sort of learned by being innundated encyclopedia of Organic gardening doing a lot of big books back then visiting the Rodale Institute and taking classes up there growing  That’s my last one It’s my favoritist one! <a href="http://amzn.to/2ydeOp1" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Perennial Matchmaker: Create Amazing Combinations with Your Favorite Perennials</a>,  <a href="http://amzn.to/2ydeOp1" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a> People really respond to ideas for combinations it’s so easy impulse buy perennials plant them here or there based on what they need somethings missing take it to the next level as people say when you’re doing perennial combinations don’t go out and buy new plants what is doing well what can you move to put next to each other purple coneflowers purpleish pink phlox inspire people to move them It’s actually theoretically an annual is a plant that grows from seed to seed biennial make leaves make flower the next year then die perennial could live from year to year for a certain number of years tender perennials annuals in some places rather You can theoretically move them any time of year ideally if somethings gonna bloom in the spring roots all settled in where it wants to be it’s where it wants to go spring early summer bloomers move them in the fall later summer move them in the spring about 6 months ahead Fall is a good time for moving a lot of things. Aster ornamental grass that’s gonna bloom in the fall Summer time is a good time to think about the combinations looking at this pink phlox break off flowers and carry them around physical note move those two together why is phlox easier just the way it works out for me I don’t know maybe it has something to do phlox is easier to move sometimes I’ll move both of them if something is in the wrong spot you can really as long as you keep them watered and thing I usually harvest the wild brambles Blackberries Wineberries that way I don’t have to give them garden space 4 acres 40 Tell us about something that grew well this year. It’s almost an acre of flowers and vegetables managed meadow of cedar plants not all 4 acres Pretty much everything has grown Blessed with rain every 3-4 days pastures are green still mid july weeds plants are just so lush nothings rotting everything’s estactic Is there something you would do different next year or want to try/new? I always like to try new plants something I’ve gotten into harvesting for drying everlasting status winged everlasting next year annual flowers I last year, it makes a difference if I’m working on a book last year I was doing more pressed flowers meant to get back into that this year when I was cutting back throwing this stuff in the compost pile when I could be drying it wonderfully fragrant things Tell me about something that didn’t work so well this season. Sort of balanced the wonderfulness of the rain deer have found their way into the garden thoguht we had an understanding coming into the garden net the entire vegetable garden they said ok well go into the flower area lillies and daylillies have suffered get past Japanese beetles horrible this year that’s also so much for the roses <h1>Let’s take a minute to thank our affiliates!</h1> <a href="http://organifishop.com/?rfsn=407874.a7597" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a> Now you can get an Organic Gardener Podcast discount at <a href="http://organifishop.com/?rfsn=407874.a7597" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">organifi.com</a> use promo code <a href="http://organifishop.com/?rfsn=407874.a7597" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">OGP16</a> (that stands for <a href="http://organifi.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">organifi.com</a> use promo <a href="http://organifishop.com/?rfsn=407874.a7597" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">code OGP16</a> (that stands for <a href="http://organifishop.com/?rfsn=407874.a7597" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Organic Gardener Podcast 2016</a>) at checkout for a 15%discount! <a href="https://organicgardenerpodcast.com/?p=1908" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Recommended books on the Organic Gardener Podcast</a> <a href="https://organicgardenerpodcast.com/?p=1908" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a> The Organic Gardener Podcast is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to <a href="http://amazon.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">amazon.com</a> <a href="http://audibletrial.com/organicgardenerpodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a> <a href="http://audibletrial.com/organicgardenerpodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">audible.com</a> <a href="http://audibletrial.com/organicgardenerpodcast" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a> <a href="http://audibletrial.com/organicgardenerpodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a> Learn about biologically intensive farming in Jean Martin Fortier’s <a href="http://audibletrial.com/organicgardenerpodcast" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Market Gardener  either on amazon or audible </a>and learn how to be a profitable market gardener. <h2>If you’ve never tried <a href="http://audibletrial.com/organicgardenerpodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">audible</a> you can get a free audio book from the <a href="http://audibletrial.com/organicgardenerpodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Organic Gardener Podcast </a>and <a href="http://audibletrial.com/organicgardenerpodcast" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">audible</a> today!</h2> <h1>Let’s Get to the Root of Things</h1> Which activity is your least favorite activity to do in the garden? watering I hate watering! Right it takes a long time. And it’s never as good as the rain! I hate wasting water, it’s never good enough. Mike’s always like did you water today? And I’m like I watered yesterday. Nothing like the rain. <h3>What is your favorite activity to do in the garden?</h3> Anything to do with seeds <ul> <li>planting seeds</li> <li>collecting seeds</li> <li>saving seeds?</li> </ul> Got any tips for listeners? just try Idk what’s a seed what to collect if you’ve grown things from seed you know what you’re looking for.  if you’ve grown a zinnia from seed you’ll recognize the seeds. Just give it a try. It’s really not that hard.  saving money preserving a favorite you’ll have seeds to share too! Right, there’s always so many seeds in each flower etc. <a href="http://amzn.to/2ydeOp1" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">The Perennial Matchmaker: Create Amazing Combinations with Your Favorite Perennials</a>,  <a href="http://amzn.to/2ydeOp1" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a> <h3>What is the best gardening advice you have ever received?</h3> We had a wonderful gardener out this way named Joanna Reed I saw her house on a tour The best advice phrase back into your work if you have a big area that you are that youa re digging or mulching or you’re weeding, orient yourself so that you are always looking at what I did and not what I have to do.  That’s gotten me through a lot of big products. looks at how much <h3>A favorite tool that you like to use? If you had to move and could only take one tool with you what would it be?</h3> My brother is also a professional gardener and he got me hooked on these things called  <a href="http://amzn.to/2idnpgG" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Jakoti hand shears</a> <a href="http://amzn.to/2idnpgG" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a> meant for shearing she3p But they look basically like a garden scissors, they work like scissors but they are sort of a cross between scissors and pruning shears! I always wanted longer then blades then pruning share <ul> <li>cutting them back</li> <li>harvesting</li> <li>weeding</li> </ul> I will use them to pry weeds out of the soil because they have pointy tips work as a professional gardener, these are almost attached to my hips. <a href="http://amzn.to/2idnpgG" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">Jakoti hand shears</a> in the interest of full disclosure useful llama items places that sell animal tools. self-sharpening. I’ve used them for years and not had to sharpen them. <a href="https://jakotihandshears.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank"></a> <a href="https://jakotihandshears.com/" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">jakotihandshears.com</a> <h3>A favorite recipe you like to cook from the garden?</h3> I don’t really cook so

197. The Perennial Matchmaker | Nancy Ondra Garden Blogger | Southeast PA