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PODCAST

Focus on Flowers

Indiana Public Media

Focus on Flowers is a weekly podcast and public radio program about flower gardening hosted by master gardener Moya Andews.

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All Episodes

02:00

Deadheading: It Keeps the Color Coming

Focus on Flowers ·

2026/02/19

At this time of the year we usually read about gardens instead of gardening.I have been reading about deadheading—the way we ensure plants keep blooming by chopping off the spent flowers. This prevents them from forming seeds, which is a signal that no more flowers are needed by the plant.Annuals have to produce a lot of flowers because they only live for one year and so have only one flowering period to procreate. Perennials, on the other hand, have a second way of continuing in life: they

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01:59

Roses in Words

Focus on Flowers ·

2026/02/12

In February, it is appropriate to think about roses.Here is what Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) wrote:"There is scarcely any rose that we can wish to have in our gardens that is not also delightful in the cut state. A china bowl filled with well-grown hybrid perpetuals, grand of color and sweetly scented, is a room decoration that can hardly be beaten both for beauty and for the pleasure it gives, whether in a sitting room, or on the breakfast table. The only weak point about cut roses is that

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02:00

Tiny but Tough

Focus on Flowers ·

2026/02/05

The earliest iris to bloom is the petite Iris reticulata.The reticulated irises have a fibrous network on the bulbs that is similar in pattern to the markings on a giraffe, which is also described as reticulated, “like a net.” These earliest blooming iris have 3- to 6-inch stems and they bloom with the crocus. To display the blooms indoors, I use a tiny bottle for each one.There are also intricate patterns on the small petals, and their beautiful colors—maroon, purple, lavender, white, and

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02:00

Easy Does It

Focus on Flowers ·

2026/02/03

Quite a number of flowering annuals can be started by sowing their seeds directly into the garden. Wait until after the last frost in the spring when the soil has really warmed enough for seeds to germinate. I tend to pick up packets of seeds wherever I go so usually have a big stash of them, and it is fun to scatter them in my bare perennial beds. Since seeds are inexpensive, I throw them around with abandon expecting that they all won’t germinate, but hoping that some will and give me

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02:00

David Hosack

Focus on Flowers ·

2026/01/29

David Hosack was born in New York in 1769 and in a book about him by Kerri Miller, she states that he is responsible for the establishment of New York’s first botanical garden. There was an interview by Victoria Johnson on NPR that drew my attention to this. Hosack was a brilliant medical scientist who focused on medicinal plants. The Bartrams, earlier on, grew medicinal plants in their gardens in Philadelphia, but Hosak was the first to grow these plants in North America for scientific

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02:00

Spring Ephemerals

Focus on Flowers ·

2026/01/15

Before long now, some of the earliest flowers to bloom will be stirring in our gardens. Many of them are ephemeral, a descriptor that means “short lived” or transitory. In garden-speak, this means that these cold-hardy little plants bloom early and then die down leaving no trace until they return the following year. Most grow in woodland settings, where the soil is moist from late snows under deciduous trees and there is weak sunlight, as the trees have not yet leafed out. Some bloom even

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02:00

Interesting Quotes

Focus on Flowers ·

2026/01/08

In 1785 William Cowper wrote:Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too. Unconscious of a less propitious clime There blooms exotic beauty, warm and snug While winds whistle and the snows descend.In 1974 Maya Angelou said, "Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says ‘I’m going to snow. If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes, that’s tough. I’m going to snow anyway’."And there is a Chinese proverb that makes many of us smile:If you would be happy for a day, get drunk. If you would be happy

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02:00

Twelfth Night

Focus on Flowers ·

2026/01/06

During the middle ages, the Christmas season lasted for 12 days and reached a climax on Jan 6, which is called Twelfth Night. We often wait, nowadays, until Twelfth Night to take down the Christmas tree and holiday decorations. Once everything is put away the house seems suddenly quite bereft, and we long for something natural and fresh. January, of course, is a difficult month for garden flowers. Sometimes, however, one can unearth some long stems of ivy in the winter garden. In the

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02:00

Norah Lindsay

Focus on Flowers ·

2026/01/01

Norah Lindsay (1866-1948) lived in the Manor House at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire, England. She was admired for the way that she combined herbaceous perennials in borders, which were so popular during the Edwardian time in England. In her obituary in 1948 in the London Times it was described how she would trace out a plan for a whole garden in the dirt with the tip of her umbrella. She was known as one of the first amateur, but not quite professional, garden designers who were active in

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02:00

Year's End

Focus on Flowers ·

2025/12/31

Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote a poem about the garden at the end of the year. This seems to be an appropriate time to share it with you. A spirit haunts the year’s last hours Dwelling amid these yellowing bowers: To himself he talks: But at eventide, listening earnestly, At his work you may hear him sob and sigh In the walks; Earthward he boweth the heavy stalks Of mouldering flowers: Heavily hangs the broad sunflower Over its grave in the earth so chilly; Heavily hangs the holly

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02:00

Winter Musings

Focus on Flowers ·

2025/12/28

Oscar Wilde in The Selfish Giant wrote the following words: “He did not hate the winter now, for he knew that it was merely the spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.” And Anne Bradstreet, who died in 1672, wrote: “If we had no winter the spring would not be so pleasant.” Kathleen Norris sounded a little more impatient about winter when she wrote: “There seems to be so much more winter this year than we need.” Nancy Hutchens in her book A Garden’s Grace described plants

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02:00

Mistletoe

Focus on Flowers ·

2025/12/25

The English colonists in Virginia used mistletoe to decorate their homes and their churches during the Christmas season. Mistletoes are evergreen parasitic plants with small leaves, yellowish flowers and waxy white berries.When sprigs are hung as a Christmas decoration, men are, by custom, privileged to kiss women who stand under it, according to the description of it in Websters Dictionary.When I consulted Hortus (Third Edition) I found that the type of Mistletoe the colonists probably

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02:00

The Winter Solstice

Focus on Flowers ·

2025/12/21

The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere is marked by the winter solstice, which for example, in the year 2023 occurs on December 21. For the northern part of the Earth, the winter solstice always occurs annually on either December 21 or 22. This solstice marks the day with the fewest hours of sunshine in the year, which means that it is described as the shortest day. After the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer until in the following June, we reach the summer

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02:00

Winter Words of Wisdom

Focus on Flowers ·

2025/12/20

This winter I have been reading some garden writer’s words of wisdom, which now I will share with you. In 1899, Gertrude Jekyll wrote: “For I hold it that the best purpose of a garden is to give delight and to give refreshment of mind, to soothe, to refine and to lift up the heart.”And Sara Stein in 1988 wrote:“January is the best time for gardeners. From the window of the attic where I write, the gardens are bare to their bones, neat and clean, nicely edged, weed free. They are an empty

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02:00

Jewel Orchids as House Plants

Focus on Flowers ·

2025/12/18

Many tropical plants, and also some temperate zone plants that resemble tropicals, make excellent house plants in cold climates. One fairly easy to grow but underused example is the South East Asian native with the common name of jewel orchid. Its botanical name is Ludisia discolor. This is a terrestrial plant that grows in soil in a pot, and it has narrow leaves. The color of the leaves varies from dark red to maroon and there is striking veining. The leaves grow on succulent stems that

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02:00

Hoya

Focus on Flowers ·

2025/12/11

Epiphytes are plants that get nourishment from the air. They are non-parasitic, but they frequently, for example orchids, grow on another plant such as a tree. When they are grown in a pot, epiphytes prefer a growing medium made up of two parts soil-less mixture and one-part fine bark mix. A favorite house plant of many people is the hoya, an epiphyte vine that is commonly called wax plant. There are many varieties of this plant, and the shape, color and texture of the leaves depends on the

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02:00

Annuals for Pots

Focus on Flowers ·

2025/12/04

Torenia is a pretty annual that hails from tropical African and Asian woodlands. This branching annual is not frost hardy but grows rapidly to a height of about 12 inches with a spread of 8 inches. It flowers in summer and fall, producing racemes of trumpet-shaped, two-lipped flowers that look a bit like snapdragon blooms. There are two lobes on the upper lips and three lobes on the lower lips. Torenias make attractive plants for containers in sheltered positions. Pinch out the growing

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01:59

Neglectable Houseplants

Focus on Flowers ·

2025/11/27

In her book Making Things Grow---a Practical Guide for the Indoor Gardener, Thalassa Cruso calls succulents “neglectable plants.” That is because all fleshy-leaved succulents are slow to lose the water stored in their leaves. They also can go into dormancy to conserve water during drought. Cruso says that is why succulents make such good houseplants, thriving in the hot dry conditions in our homes and allowing us to, on occasion, neglect them. Of course, the degree of succulence in the

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02:00

Hyacinth Bulbs for Fall Planting

Focus on Flowers ·

2025/11/20

Hyacinths were first found growing in Asia, but because of the efforts of Dutch growers, there are now many varieties in the genus Hyacinthus. Most bloom in the spring from bulbs planted in the fall. The showiest are the bedding size ones with masses of florets completely surrounding 10” stems. They are dramatic planted in the sun in groups. Probably because of their strong fragrance, deer avoid them. Deer also avoid the smaller, very hardy and versatile grape hyacinth, Muscari armeniacum,

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02:00

Sage

Focus on Flowers ·

2025/11/13

Even after a heavy frost, the stalwart perennial sage plant stands erect in the garden. It shows its elegant silvery grey color even in winter reminding us that next spring it will give us fragrant lavender flowers. Common garden sage, Salvia officinalis, is a staple in the herb garden and a plant for all seasons. The genus Salvia contains both aromatic and non-aromatic varieties, and the name is from the Latin word meaning safe or healthy. There are over 700 species, both annuals and

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