This week I'm taking you on a tour of the amazing gardens of the Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium. I'm also planting Encore Azaleas sent to me by dear friend Buddy Lee. Rob Kruljac from The Davey Tree Expert Company schools us on lace bugs, which are bad this season. Check out a diminutive canna with a spectacular flower in my "You Should Grow This" segment. I've also got a trick if your favorite shovel breaks!

I’ll be joining Dr. Mark Miller on Thursday July 17, 2025 for one of our occasional Botanic Walk and Talks. Our guided tour through the gardens and woods of the Pittsburgh Botanic Garden will focus on plants that show interest and thrive in the “dog days of summer.”
We have so much fun when we’re together. Dr. Miller is an amazing horticulturist and I’m the jokester.

I met Buddy Lee at the Mid Atlantic Nursery Trade show in Baltimore and we became friends quickly. I sat down with Buddy to learn how he was able to create the first re-blooming azalea called Encore.
Since those first days, there have been many Encore azaleas introduced.
I planted ‘Autumn Amethyst,’ ‘Autumn Fire' and ‘Autumn Starburst,’ which are all hardy to zone 6a.

In this week's show we explore Old Economy Village and the wonderful, historic garden there.

I'm planting a special garden with the team from Buy Fresh Buy Local/Farm to Table Western PA, which provides fresh produce and the first garden question in years that stumped me, I wonder if you would know the answer.

Transplanting "Compost Surprise" tomatoes in containers for the last tomato planting of the season.

Two hydrangeas that actually flower every year and answering the question, "Why doesn't my hydrangea bloom?"

Rob Kruljac from The Davey Tree Expert Company explains what apple scab is, how to prevent and treat the disease.

This week I'm visiting two of the many gardens run by the South Hills Interfaith Movement. The gardens help long time residents with food insecurity and create a community for those moving here from other countries. I'm also in the garden planting a container with a plant gifted from last week's guest Frank Pizzi. Don't forget to love your lilies too, I've got tips on saving money when planting them. Rob Kruljac from Davey Tree shows how to identify trees.

My guest on Sunday June 15th was Butterfly Ambassador Gabrielle Marsden who is trying to bring back the zebra swallowtail butterfly. The insect uses our native paw paw trees as it’s only host plant.