Val Bourne on Cherries, Scillas and Geums (Talking Dirty, Ep 118 pt 1)

This week one of our Talking Dirty favourites is back! Val Bourne is an award-winning garden writer and grows all manner of treasures in her 1/3 acre Cotswolds plot. This week - in part one of her latest appearance - she shares some of her favourites Prunus and the Scilla you must grow, plus those to avoid! And as usual her coversation with Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis meanders via a host of plants from Geums to Ferns.
Next week Roses, Trilliums and Violets...plus FLOMO*
*FLOMO = FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out
PLANT LIST
Geum 'Totally Tangerine'
Geum 'Prinses Juliana'
Amsonia
Helenium 'Sahin's Early Flowerer'
Geum 'Bell Bank'
Geum 'Mai Tai'
Echinacea purpurea 'Magnus'
Echinacea purpurea 'White Swan'
Galanthus plicatus 'E.A. Bowles'
Succisella inflexa 'Frosted Pearls'
Galanthus 'Marjorie Brown'
Hamamelis
Prunus mume 'Beni-chidori'
Prunus 'Kursar'
Prunus 'Okame'
Prunus incisa 'Kojo-no-mai'
Prunus 'Tai-haku'
Prunus 'Chocolate Ice'
Scilla siberica
Scilla bifolia
Scilla bithynica
Allium triquetrum
Tulipa saxatilis (Bakeri Group) 'Lilac Wonder'
Adiantum
Anemonoides nemorosa
Polypodium

[@LizZorab]

Loved this episode! Val is so much fun and so knowledgable.

[@kapa0224]

I love your show!! I live in the USA, CT. Your podcasts are so interesting. My absolute favorite plant podcast is yours. Thank you! Heather

[@Jane-3229]

Hurrah 😃

[@christopherhills1609]

Really enjoyed this

[@agnesb3177]

We're in Ontario, Canada and our echinacea are just fine in a sunny spot, on clay soil, with temps down to -30°C in winter and wicked winds in an exposed site. They produce vast amounts of seeds with I happily spread and let them naturalize wherever they're happy.

[@agnesb3177]

Love your podcast. Listening to your discussion on scilla, could you do an episode or 2 on plants you wished you'd never planted?

[@pamelapearce8702]

I never let my hellebores self seed- not only are the colors usually muddy but the spent flowers tend to attract aphids- I prune 2x a year the foliage in December and Flower heads in March/April

[@pamelapearce8702]

Echinacea is almost as a big of a genus is the U.S. is a geographical region- you can’t say in the US. such and such is hardy or isn’t hardy…California has nothing to do NY or Florida- even California has vastly different hardiness zones from south to north- echinacea is not grown as a “bedding plant” in Oregon where I live - it is a perennial…the “Sunset” series when it first came out wasn’t very good for anybody but they have made many improvements- I only like species like palida or nativars like “parisole” My guess is your UK summers aren’t hot enough for them