You Bet Your Garden

The linden tree is slow-growing, has great fall color and produces beautiful, scented flowers in the Summer. On the latest You Bet Your Garden¸ Mike McGrath discusses the linden and why it isn’t used more often in the American landscape. Plus, your fabulous phone calls.

The Linden is a beautiful tree. (Berliners in Germany sure love it!) A couple of gorgeous specimens are at the library in Swarthmore, PA...

Summer sun is good for our plants–up to a point. On the next You Bet Your Garden, Mike McGrath gives the lowdown on where and when your tomatoes might like you to throw them some shade. Plus: your fabulous phone calls!

“Greetings! I used to garden when I was much younger and I’m ready to try again now that I understand more of the do’s and don’ts...

This is the time of year you can ensure that your Spring bulbs return…or get nothing but leaves next season. On the latest You Bet Your Garden, Mike McGrath reviews the rules of Spring bulb rebloom. Plus: your fabulous phone calls!

I bought tulip bulbs, refrigerated them for a few months, planted them last fall, and now they are blooming. I read your wonderful explanation of how you have tulips that are now teenagers...

Soil solarization is a powerful tool in the organic arsenal—but can you solarize a bed that has a tree in the middle?! On the latest You Bet Your Garden, Mike McGrath discusses how you can—and can’t—use the rays of the sun to wipe out wicked weeds and defeat dread disease...

Tomato season will soon be here! On the latest You Bet Your Garden, host Mike McGrath discusses ‘pruning suckers’ from your plants, and considers the curious case of the suddenly unproductive bed...

What can you do with the stump that’s left behind after a dead tree is cut down? On this week’s You Bet Your Garden we’ll discuss whether the best answer involves Hügelkultur—or oysters! Plus your fabulous phone calls.

We moved into a new home last April and, as you often suggest, just took the first year to see what was going on naturally in the yard...

What can you grow in a sopping wet spot? Are non-native plants ever OK? In a very special edition of You Bet Your Garden, Mike McGrath answers those questions and many more—recorded live on the floor of the famed Philadelphia Flower Show!

Ornamental grasses make for great privacy screens. On the latest You Bet Your Garden, host Mike McGrath discusses which big grasses work best, and how and when to safely prune them...

Do you burn wood for heat and thus have lots of wood ash that you want to use on your landscape? On the latest You Bet Your Garden, Mike McGrath discusses the best and worst ways to use your ash. Plus, your fabulous phone calls!

I’ve got a lot of wood ashes and wonder if I can use them in the garden; and if so, where?
—Bob in Wardensville, West Virginia

The best spots in your garden to shake your ash »

Recycling your kitchen waste into compost is the responsible thing to do, right? On the latest You Bet Your Garden, Mike McGrath reveals the surprising problems you can encounter when you make garbage to go. Plus, your fabulous phone calls!

I have filled three large black sealed composting bins with fruit and vegetable waste (pineapple skins, squash skins and seeds, mango & avocado skins and seeds, egg shells, coffee grounds, etc...