The Helpful Gardener goes Primetime

The Helpful Gardener · Mon Sep 13, 2004 9:52 am

Just did a design for Cheryl Oakes, winner of People, Places, and Plant's (the TV show) garden contest. Drove a load of plants up to Maine, layed them out and installed them with Paul Tukey and Roger Swain (the hosts of the show; you all may remember Roger from his twenty year stint as host of Victory Garden), Cheryl and five of her best buddies (to be known hereafter as the Wells P&M Brigade).

We shot a new segment and I got to be a bigger star than I'd thought was going to be the case, so all you New Englanders keep an eye out for a segment on PPP TV featuring yours truly...

The Web, radio, now TV... I must be a rising star or something...

Anyone know what the cure is for a swollen head?

Scott

Anonymous · Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:33 pm

You don't need to worry about a swollen head you are way too down to earth for that.
Well, Scott, your abilities at preparing a garden on the fly are incredible. If anyone had a question about gardens, plants and designs you had quick and informative answers. When I got back together with various memebers of the P and M group, I could have written a book with all the new knowledge that they had acquired from you! Well, maybe you should write a book with all your information, oh, maybe you are writing a book via this web site! At any rate, it was wonderful to meet you and I hope we have a chance to chat about gardens and flowers in the future.
By the way, the gardens look great, healthy and happy.
Cheryl :

KarenD · Tue Sep 14, 2004 5:44 pm

Okay, as a proud member of the P&M group, I'm still waiting for a list of all those lovely plants so I can create my own version....course, I have to get MS P&M herself's hubby to come over with his Bobcat to do the digging...no luxury of a fancy crew at my place! The gardens looked lovely over cocktails that evening, can't wait to see them next summer! Scott, you created a work of art...loved the feng-shui touch! Let us all know when we can pre-order that book on Amazon!

Karen

Cathy · Tue Sep 14, 2004 6:04 pm

Scott so glad you remembered to set the thread. I was at the garden aka master piece yesterday. Cheryl is taking great care of your labors. I took another friend over and she was impressed

Let us know when you can use the P&M Brigade again. Loved working with you and for you. I'll take a signed copy of that book!
Thanks Cathy

The Helpful Gardener · Wed Sep 15, 2004 9:08 am

Hey! The gang's all here! (with the exception of the Queen of the P&M Brigade and that nurse with the foot fetish; tell Crystal and Sally I said hi). Oops almost forgot Charlene; she was the quiet one, but boy she worked harder than most of us...

Well, y'all are definitely not the cure for a swollen head; in fact I'm eye-balling the doorway to the office and wondering if I'll make it out!

Anyway, it was a lot of fun to do and if you'd told me twenty years ago I was going to be doing a show with Roger Swain I'd have fallen over (I was tuning into The Victory Garden weekly and still watch on occasion; one of the new hosts, Paul Epsom, is an old customer and friend so now I know two Pauls with gardening shows!)

A book, huh? Maybe that's a thought. Tales of The Helpful Gardener, maybe? To be followed by More Tales of The Helpful Gardener, and finally The Helpful Gardener Rides Again. I've toyed with the idea before; it's finding the time to put it all on paper with all the other stuff going on (the new house (and gardens, of course) take a lot of my time now, but maybe when I get settled...)

Now look what you all started...

Scott

coakes · Wed Sep 15, 2004 6:15 pm

We have watered each morning and evening especially with the dry weather we have had. The gardens are looking like they belong in Wells and are quite happy.
I could use another garden book about the New England zone! You have so many tidbits you could fill all three of the books you mentioned.
Planting time is still happening!

queenbeeofp&mgroup · Wed Sep 15, 2004 7:26 pm

Scott,
What a fun time I had on Saturday. You were amazing as we all were firin' the questions at you while you were designing the garden at the Oakes. I can't begin to tell you how nice and down to earth the entire group was. You all made it so much fun and I was learning so much about my own little garden. What a transformation with your beautiful plants and trees, some hard work and mounds of knowldege. WOW! I was eager to get started making my garden bigger!
Crystal (queen of the P&M brigade)

Anonymous · Wed Sep 15, 2004 7:53 pm

Well, we have all been talking about how hard we worked but I want to mention all the preparation that went on in the background before all of us were on the scene Saturday.
Tuesday night Bobcat Brown worked late and delivered 7 yards of loam, then Thursday nite (after all the rain)he delivered 3 yards of the most beautiful compost and then Friday he spent the day with the Bobcat preparing the gardens, but mostly with his shovel and the ever present rocks. I can't thank him enough, he made the whole process run really smoothly on Sat. So , all you gardeners, spend as much time on the soil prep and the planting will be smoother.
Still moving rocks in Wells.

The Helpful Gardener · Fri Sep 17, 2004 9:09 am

Couldn't say it better myself. We (humans) have a tendency to want to skip the bed prep (hard work with little visual return) and git right to the planting (pretty flowers and shrubs and VOILA! A garden!). This works better for those first few days; your back doesn't hurt as much and those flowers sure are pretty... Cut to a few years later as the soil has become compacted, the rocks are popping up and all the plants look stunted because all the soil they're growing in is the three inches you scratched around the plant when you crammed it into the rocky ground and it's now competing with the grass you just tilled in instead of turfing out (hey it was easier...) and now you need to go back and redo it right anyway...

We were lucky enough to get someone to do most of the rough stuff (we dug up a few rocks ourselves, right ladies?), but that task will make the garden more worthwhile over the years. Hats off to Bobcat and all the unsung heroes out there who turf and till to make gardens for the rest of us...Crystal, sounds like ol' Bobcat has some more work in front of him if your making your gardens bigger

Scott

Guest · Mon Sep 20, 2004 3:06 pm

Hi Scott,
I've been away for a while and just came across this post. This sounds wonderful!!! I haven't watched Victory Garden in quite some time, actually since Roger Swain left the program, but I will now start watching to see if I can find that program you are on. Sounds like a wonderful experience! Wish I could have been there.

Newt

Anonymous · Mon Sep 20, 2004 8:42 pm

If you check the people places and plants web site you will find a link indicating the stations you can find the show on.

Check it out, I hope Scott has a section since he did a great job planting and explaining things.
https://www.ppplants.com/television/index.html

good luck

The Helpful Gardener · Tue Sep 21, 2004 8:44 am

Hey Newt; good to see you back.

Thanks for the link Cheryl; I'll keep an eye on it to see when I'm making my debut

No channel in Connecticut anymore so I may have to hit up Paul for a copy on tape or DVD. The project certainly was fun and I think the end product is awful pretty; can't wait to see it in a few years...

Scott

Guest · Sun Nov 14, 2004 6:53 pm

Hello,
Well, in Maine we had our first snow of the season. I went outside today to make a garden map so I'll know what is happening next spring. Everything looks pretty healthy still. The Hosta's are translucent, the astible's are completely dried and the rhododendron looked dressed up with a little bit of snow as a blanket. On to the next season.
Oh, the apple trees so far have been spared from any deer nibbles.

The Helpful Gardener · Mon Nov 15, 2004 4:56 pm

That you, Cheryl?

Register already! I don't bite and we don't sell lists!

Scott

Anonymous · Mon Nov 15, 2004 8:56 pm

you know how it is when you have so many logins and passwords,yesterday I just couldn't remember, which one it was, now I am good!
Waiting for more snow in Maine, snow is good mulch, right?

The Helpful Gardener · Mon Nov 29, 2004 7:05 am

Hey Cheryl,

Just came across our picture in People, Places, and Plants magazine; man, I gotta go on a diet! (You looked great!)

Yeah the password thang does get to be a little tough and I tend to reuse 'em (probably not so smart, but I don't have the memory space one of these silly boxes we type away on). Whatya gonna do?

Snow as mulch, huh

I just was out to Palm Springs, CA and I don't think it would do so well down there

But you are right, it does make a fine cover for your new garden; the more the merrier! (Snow never gets colder than 32 degrees, it never needs to be spread or raked and it waters the plants exactly when they need it and not a minute before; just about perfect. The plants that won't get a full cover should get a wrap or a spritz of anti-dessicant (I'm thinking those rhodies in the back especially; evergreen broadleaf type plants get winter whacked more than most).

Good to see you still hanging around here...

Scott

Anonymous · Mon Nov 29, 2004 7:18 am

Thanks for the tip about the Rhodies. I wouldn't have known that. Although when I check the PPPlants web site, they have a handy list of things to check on each month including the winter.
It was a great shot of the crew! I hope we get some snow for coverage right now this 2 inch rainstorm has everything quite muddy.
Have a good quiet season. SEE YA.

The Helpful Gardener · Wed Dec 01, 2004 7:46 am

Yep, see ya when you dig out in spring

Say howdy to the girls...

Scott