The Garden Question is a podcast for people that love designing, building and growing smarter gardens that work.

Listen in as we talk with successful garden designers, builders, and growers. Discovering their stories along with how they think, work, and grow.

This is your next step in creating a beautiful year-round, environmentally connected, low maintenance, and healthy thriving outdoor spaces!

It doesn’t matter if you’re a beginner or an expert there will always be something inspiring when you listen to “The Garden Question” podcast.

Host Craig McManus.

Current Episode

Savoring Edible Flowers in Cooking and Gardening – Denise Schreiber – 155

By Craig McManus | March 28, 2024

Savoring Edible Flowers in Cooking and Gardening – Denise Schreiber – 155 Exploring the vast culinary experiences of edible flowers offers an explosion of flavors, colors, and textures. I had the pleasure of speaking with Denise Schreiber, an aficionado in the field of edible flowers, to unearth the inspirations, insights, and practices behind her fascination […]

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The Garden Questions Episodes

Water, Food, Healing: The Transformative Power of Gardening – Heidi Heiland -131

By Craig McManus | October 12, 2023

Water, Food, Healing: The Transformative Power of Gardening – Heidi Heiland – 131 Heidi Heiland has been diligently leading and artfully expanding her landscape gardening company, Heidi’s Lifestyle Gardens as the CEO. That’s Chief Experience Officer since 1979. With the help of her expert team, they create award winning ecoscapes and nourishing encounters with nature […]

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Cultivating the Perfect Garden with Effective Goal Planning – Jeff Rugg – 130

By Craig McManus | October 5, 2023

Cultivating the Perfect Garden with Effective Goal Planning – Jeff Rugg – 130 You will be happy that you listen to this episode before you plant your first plant. It begins with setting garden goals. Jeff Rugg is an educator at heart. For over 33 years he has written the weekly nationally syndicated newspaper column […]

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Gardeners Never Retire: Overcoming Challenges in Your Senior Years – Duane Pancoast – 129

By Craig McManus | September 28, 2023

Gardeners Never Retire: Overcoming Challenges in Your Senior Years – Duane Pancoast – 129 In this episode we talk about adapting to various gardening challenges. We explore making tough decisions in gardening through the later seasons of life. Also, having the best attitudes toward tough decisions. Mobility restrictions began taking a toll on 84-year-old Duane […]

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The Monarch Crusader – Carol Pasternak – 128

By Craig McManus | September 21, 2023

The Monarch Crusader – Carol Pasternak – 128 Carol Pasternak lives by the motto “It’s Gotta Be Fun”. That is what she brings to this episode. Have you ever thought about having a caterpillar as a pet? You will want to after listening to her. Egg hunts are not just from the Easter Bunny. Carol […]

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Mr Plant Geek’s Botanical Adventures – Michael Perry -127

By Craig McManus | September 14, 2023

Mr Plant Geek’s Botanical Adventures – Michael Perry -127 In this fresh episode we are talking with Michael Perry also known as Mr. Plant Geek a multihyphenate in the plant world. You know he is adept at many roles in horticulture. Michael is a TV presenter, speaker, hortpreneur and author of Hortus Curious, a visual […]

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Branches and Boundaries: Navigating Tree Legalities – Lea Clark -126

By Craig McManus | September 7, 2023

Branches and Boundaries: Navigating Tree Legalities – Lea Clark -126 Have you ever wondered about your neighbor’s tree branch hanging over your house? Or thought who really owns that tree on my property line. Is ignoring the questionable tree in my backyard a good idea? Well in this episode we talk with an ISA Certified […]

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Cultivating History: Exploring George Washington’s Mount Vernon Garden – Dean Norton – 125

By Craig McManus | August 31, 2023

Cultivating History: Exploring George Washington’s Mount Vernon Garden – Dean Norton -125 Dean Norton feel in love with the Mount Vernon Estate Gardens 53 years ago and never left. After receiving a degree in horticulture from Clemson University he began his horticultural career as the estate’s boxwood gardener. The historical gardens of the first president […]

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Sculpting Nature: The Legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted – Kirk R. Brown – 124

By Craig McManus | August 24, 2023

Sculpting Nature: The Legacy of Frederick Law Olmsted – Kirk R. Brown – 124 It’s been over 200 years since he was born. People still absorb his parks and public gardens in more than 5,000 communities across the North American continent. The goal is to “give the common man in this New World the same opportunity […]

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How to Create a Moss Garden – Annie Martin aka Mossin’ Annie – 123

By Craig McManus | August 17, 2023

How to Create a Moss Garden – Annie Martin aka Mossin’ Annie – 123 Have you got a shady location where nothing else will grow? Are you tired of mowing grass? Do you have problem  with soil erosion? How about a desire to avoid chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides? In this episode Annie Martin, moss landscape designer […]

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Josh Fuder

Preserving Heritage Apple Trees: Rooted Legacy -Josh Fuder – 122

By Craig McManus | August 10, 2023

Preserving Heritage Apple Trees: Rooted Legacy -Josh Fuder – 122 Josh Fuder‘s search to identify the old apple trees growing at his newly purchase home ignited a path to discovering and recovering lost apple varieties of Georgia. In this episode 122 we look into why lost apple varieties are important. How they are being discovered […]

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Secrets of Wildflowers and Native Plants – Carol Hight – 121

By Craig McManus | August 3, 2023

Secrets of Wildflowers and Native Plants – Carol Hight – 121 Carol Hight is a native plant and wild flower advocate. She is a prolific writer for local publications and is a very in demand speaker for wildflowers. Her blog is BloomingBeautiful.com She is a 30-year retired 5th grade science teacher. Carol is currently active […]

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Discover the Pillars of a Great Garden; Your Guide to a Stunning Landscape – Jay Sifford – 120

By Craig McManus | July 27, 2023

Discover the Pillars of a Great Garden; Your Guide to a Stunning Landscape – Jay Sifford – 120 Jay Sifford’s passion for crafting immersive gardens that are full of magic and story guide his garden designs. In this episode we will discover how Mary Poppins inspires and nurtures a space where reality and fantasy collide. […]

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The Cherokee Garden Library: Unearthing Ancient Gardening Wisdom – Staci Catron -119

By Craig McManus | July 20, 2023

The Cherokee Garden Library: Unearthing Ancient Gardening Wisdom – Staci Catron – 119 Staci L. Catron has one of the coolest jobs ever. She gets to live gardening in the past, in the present, and influence gardens of the future. As the Director of the Cherokee Garden Library within the Kenan Research Center at the […]

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Cut Flower Gardening – Melanie Deyton – 118

By Craig McManus | July 13, 2023

Cut Flower Gardening – Melanie Deyton – 118 Melanie Deyton has made a life connecting people to plants through her family’s flower farm Melanie’s Garden. We talk about successful Cut Flower Gardening. Overcoming the trials and the solutions of developing a whole new flower farm site. You will enjoy learning how Melanie’s practical experience will guide […]

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Growing a Successful Lawn with Minimal Inputs – Jutt Howard – 117

By Craig McManus | July 6, 2023

Growing a Successful Lawn with Minimal Inputs – Jutt Howard – 117 Jutt Howard loves what he does. Every day is a new adventure when growing hundreds of acres of grass for your home and athletic venues. In this episode he talks about how you can be successful also. How years of constant research pursues […]

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Exploring Hills and Dales Garden Legacy – Jo Phillips -116

By Craig McManus | June 29, 2023

Exploring Hills and Dales Garden Legacy – Jo Phillips – 116 Jo Phillips is the Retired Horticultural Manager for the best-preserved 19th century garden in the United States. The first planting at Hills and Dales Estate occurred in 1841 with the still growing original boxwoods. The garden estate is a horticultural testament to the three […]

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Stress to Serenity: How Healing Gardens Transform Lives and Promote Well-being – Dr. Richard Lafleur -115

By Craig McManus | June 22, 2023

Stress to Serenity: How Healing Gardens Transform Lives and Promote Well-being – Dr. Richard Lafleur – 115 Today we are having a conversation with Dr. Richard La Fleur about the importance of healing gardens. We will discover how they promote physical, mental, and spiritual healing as well as encourage self-care. Dr. La Fleur is an […]

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The Marvels of Trees: Exploring Their Beauty, Diversity, and Importance – Christie Bryant – 114

By Craig McManus | June 15, 2023

The Marvels of Trees: Exploring Their Beauty, Diversity, and Importance – Christie Bryant – 114 Christie Bryant speaks for trees every day. She loves to be in a person’s yard meeting their dogs and talking about what is best for their trees. Climbing to the highest heights and exploring soil depths is important to her […]

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Dr. Bodie Pennisi is an Extension Horticulture Specialist at the University of Georgia

Mastering the Art of Growing and Harvesting Flavorful Herbs – Dr. Bodie Pennisi -113

By Craig McManus | June 8, 2023

Click Here to Request the 57 Plants List Mastering the Art of Growing and Harvesting Flavorful Herbs – Dr. Bodie Pennisi -113 Dr. Bodie Pennisi is an Extension Horticulture Specialist at the University of Georgia. She has statewide responsibilities for the Georgia landscape industry and conducts applied research with emphasis on sustainable outdoor and indoor […]

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Hydrangea for Your Garden – Lisa Bartlett – 112

By Craig McManus | June 1, 2023

Click Here to Request the 57 Plants List Hydrangea for Your Garden – Lisa Bartlett – 112 Lisa Bartlett is the Garden Manager for Smith-Gilbert Gardens. She is responsible the over 4,000 species collection of plants. This collection ranges from rare herbaceous perennials to rare and unusual trees. The largest collections of Bonsai in the […]

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Creating Outdoor Spaces Children Love – 111 – Eric King

By Craig McManus | May 25, 2023

Click Here to Request the 57 Plants List Creating Outdoor Spaces Children Love – Eric King – 111 For decades Eric King has been designing award-winning landscapes that work with nature and encourage people to be outside. He is a landscape architect and co-owner of the residential design + build firm King Landscaping serving the […]

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Companion Planting for Success – Jessica Walliser – 110

By Craig McManus | May 17, 2023

Click Here to Request the 57 Plants List Companion Planting for Success – Jessica Walliser – 110 Finding the right plant combinations can minimize diseases, reduce pest, improve soil fertility and support pollinators. Using science back methods will reward your garden decisions. For 15 years horticulturist Jessica Walliser co-hosted The Organic Gardeners, an award-winning program […]

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Healthy Turf Grass Agronomics – Dr. Clint Waltz -109

By Craig McManus | May 11, 2023

Click Here to Request the 57 Plants List Healthy Turf Grass Agronomics – Dr. Clint Waltz -109 If you have turf grass it can be frustrating? In this episode we talk with Dr. Clint Waltz about solutions to your frustrations. We also look into research practices and efforts in lowering the inputs needed for successful […]

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A Garden View – Tara Dillard – 108

By Craig McManus | May 4, 2023

Click Here to Request the 57 Plants List A Garden View – Tara Dillard – 108 Tara Dillard is a nationally recognized garden designer, author, and speaker. She has hosted her own CBS television program, The Better Gardening Show. After earning degrees in engineering and horticulture she began designing and installing low-maintenance organic landscape . Her designs […]

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