Mar 20 2024 64 mins 1
In this episode we explore gardening using tropical plants, with Marianne Willburn. Marianne shares insights on how to successfully incorporate tropical and subtropical plants into your not so tropical garden.
She breaks down the gardening process into relational categories such as 'Summer Romances', 'Long Term Commitments', Best Friends, 'Friends with Benefits' and 'High Maintenance Partners'.
Marianne stresses the importance of being open to experimenting with these plants, seeking new adventures and exploring the risk reward cycle.
Our conversation also covers practical advice on transitioning plants to the outdoors in spring and back in doors in the fall , utilizing tropical plants for garden design, and methods for dealing with common gardening challenges like pests and storage limitations.
The discussion is rich with gardening philosophy, advocating for flexibility, a gardening approach that values both aesthetic beauty and ecological balance.
Tropical Plants and How to Love Them
Time Line:
00:00 Welcome to The Garden Question Podcast
00:40 Exploring Tropical Gardening with Marianne Willburn
02:00 Building Relationships with Tropical Plants
03:10 Summer Romances: Annual Tropical Plants
05:44 Long Term Commitments: Houseplants That Thrive Outdoors
12:33 Friends with Benefits: Edible Tropicals
15:25 High Maintenance Partners: Demanding Tropical Plants
18:41 Best Friends: Easy Storage Tropical Plants
23:58 Designing with Tropicals in Your Garden
33:16 Embracing the Unpredictability of Gardening
33:59 Exploring Mock Tropicals and Hardy Plants
35:24 Discovering 'Blind Date' Tropical Plants
36:55 The Showstopper: Red Abyssinian Banana
39:21 Low Investment Tropical Gardening Tips
41:20 Transitioning Tropical Plants Seasonally
42:55 Introducing 'Tropical Plants and How to Love Them'
47:11 The Joy and Challenges of Gardening
56:41 Creative Approaches and Gardening Wisdom
01:00:57 Final Thoughts and How to Connect
