The Beyond Behnke's Gardening Podcast: Recent Episodes
Stephanie Fleming
The Beyond Behnke's Gardening Podcast is made for gardeners both new and old. Many of our local followers from the Washington D.C. area will remember the Behnke Nurseries, Inc. Beyond Behnke's seeks to preserve all of the web based content from the nursery and we have created a new forum and podcast to keep the learning and memory of the nursery alive.
In this episode of The Beyond Behnke's Gardening Podcast, I chatted with my good friend, Lynn
Moore, and her nephew Sam Moore about their family pick-your-own business in Western
Howard County, Maryland.
Lynn's parents, Larry and Polly Moore, started the pick-your-own farming operation in 1973.
Now the second and third generations are still farming and expanding. At an early age, Lynn and
her brothers decided to join the family business and never looked back. Now they own three
farms, all located near each other.
The Moore's uses best practices on their farm, which is why how they have outstanding fruits
and vegetables to provide to their customers.
Lynn and Sam explain what IPM (Integrated Pest Management) is and how it helps them on the
farm.
We talk about the different events and fundraisers that Larriland promotes, along with how to
find out just what is in season each day at the farm. Besides all the fruits and vegetables that
Larriland grows, they also offer a wide selection of local items for sale. Their honey is from a
beekeeper within walking distance of the farm. They also have fresh dairy products like milk and
cheese and a freezer full of the finest cuts of meat from Wagner's Meats & Mt. Airy Meat Locker
in nearby Carroll County. They offer McCutcheon's Apple Products, which Behnke's sold for
many years Even the excellent photography is done by one of Lynn's nieces and is for sale at the
farm.
While in their big red barn, you can see their observation beehive that has thrilled parents and
kids for many years. Larriland also has Cut-Your-Own Flowers, where you can take home a
beautiful bouquet. Also, they have a great carved Totem pole greeting you as you walk into their
barn.
It is best to call their farm recording at 410-442-2605 or check out their
website www.pickyourown.com Lynn updates both of these during the day. You can also follow
them on Facebook and Instagram, where they would love you to share your photos. Larriland
Farms is located in central Maryland, in western Howard County. The farm is 3 miles south of 1-
70 (Exit 73) on Rt. 94, Woodbine Road. Their farm is half way between Baltimore and
Frederick, just south of the little town of Lisbon, MD. The address is 2415 Woodbine Road,
Woodbine, Md 21797.
Websites and Links
Larriland Farms http://www.pickyourown.com/
Wagner’s Meats & Mt. Airy Meat Locker https://www.wagnersmeats.com/
McCutcheon’s Apple Products https://mccutcheons.com/
In this episode of The Beyond Behnke’s Gardening Podcast, I talked with Alex Dencker about how he got started working at Behnke Nurseries and ended up 35 years later working for the Smithsonian Gardens as one of their horticulturists.
Alex shares a few stories of his relationship with my grandfather, Albert Behnke, and why working at Behnke’s was such a wonderful experience. From the age of 18 till 25 years later, Alex worked pretty much every position at Behnke’s till he left to work at the Smithsonian.
During our chat, Alex recommended that if you are planning a visit to any of the Smithsonian’s many museums, check out their website first. Each museum has beautiful gardens that are open to everyone to wander around. Working at The National Museum of American History, Alex tries to incorporate what he can to tell the story of America’s history, like the Victory Garden located on the property. Also, using as many Native plants is very important to him.
Here are a few sites and links to check out.
The Smithsonian Gardens https://gardens.si.edu/
Victory Garden at the National Museum of American History https://gardens.si.edu/gardens/victory-garden/
Alex’s favorite book that he recommends everyone to read is, Bringing Nature Home: How you can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants Alex told me that this book, Bringing Nature Home really changed the way he look at gardening fundamentally and more generally how he looks at sustainability.
Two other great reference book recommended by Alex are:
Dirr's Encyclopedia of Trees and Shrubs
Manual of Woody Landscape Plants: Their Identification, Ornamental Characteristics, Culture, Propagation and Uses by Michael Dirr
And last Alex likes to go to the Missouri Botanical Garden website when looking up plant information
https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/
Our guest on today's Beyond Behnke's Gardening Podcast is Kate Fisher, the owner of The Bumbling Bee Apiary.
Kate and her family live on a farm in Carroll County, Maryland, where she has taken her love of flowers and vegetables to learn about pollinators which led to beekeeping.
Listen to how Kate decided to become a beekeeper and why. She explains the steps she went through to become a beekeeper. Plus, she shares her passion for pollinators and what we can do to support them. Kate is a member of the Carroll County Beekeepers Association and the Maryland State Beekeepers Association.
Once Kate's beekeeping took off, she started her family-owned company, The Bumbling Bee Apiary. You can find Kate on Facebook and Instagram.
Bumbling Bee Apiary will harvest their honey around July; besides selling honey, they also make products like food wrapes and skincare products. You can purchase her products online, but you can also find her at different community events.
Kate is very active in helping Carroll County get involved with Bee City USA and creating pollinator gardens.
Mission Beelieve in Taneytown, MD, nonprofit Beeekeep education for First Responders and Veterans. Beekeeping is Therapeutic for those with PDST https://www.missionbeelieve.com/.
She is taking a Sustainable Food and Farming course which includes homesteading 101. Kate is working on her degree at the University of Md, and while doing this, she has taken classes on different classes on beekeeping at other online colleges.
Besides beekeeping, Kate and her family have a small orchid, chickens for eggs, dairy goats, and beef cattle Angus Hereford Cross. Their farm is part of her husband's family's farm Fishers Poplar Lick Farm, and they have been raising cattle for decades. The two farms work together.
If you want more information on what type of plants to put in your garden to attract pollinators, you can check Beyond Behnke's Blog
In this episode of Beyond Behnke's Gardening Podcast, I talked with Peggy Riccio about Herbs.
Peggy Riccio is a horticulturist and garden communicator in Northern Virginia. She has been writing articles for magazines and her website, pegplant, for more than 30 years. Especially interested in growing vegetables and herbs and currently is the president of the Potomac Unit of the Herb Society of America. Her website, pegplant, serves as an online resource for gardeners in the DC metro area, and she publishes a free monthly gardening newsletter. In addition, she gives presentations on herbs and initiated a Facebook group called Culinary Herbs and Spices.
We talked about the different uses for herbs, including how to grow cilantro and ginger. Peggy mentioned an excellent article she wrote about growing ginger for gingerbread cookies on her website.
Peggy also has a terrific website with so much information, including a Monthly Events Calendar full of anything and everything to do with gardening in the Maryland/Virginia/DC area. In addition, you can sign up for her FREE Gardening Newsletter on her website.
You can reach Peggy at pegplant@yahoo.com
Peggy invites you to follow her on her gardening adventures as pegplant on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Pinterest. You can also join her Facebook Group at Culinary Herbs and Spices.
In this episode of Beyond Behnke's Gardening Podcast, I talk with horticulturist Larry Hurley about growing perennials in a shade garden. During the podcast, Larry will explain the different levels of shade and sun, what it means in your garden, and your selection of perennials. He mentions that doing some research ahead of time will help when you get to the garden center. A few books recommended are The Well Tended Perennial Garden by Tract DiSabato-Aust, The Essential Guide to Gardening and Landscaping with Native Ferns, Moss, and Grasses by William Cullina, and Perennial Combinations by C. Colston Burrell. Larry mentions one author in his article that is not mentioned on this podcast that he wanted to share with you: Dr. Allan Armitage. He has written many great books. If you go to his site and put BEHNKES in the checkout, you will get FREE shipping. Also, another book that is a good resource is The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden by Rick Darke
Larry just wrote an excellent article, Made For The Shade? that you can find on Beyond Behnke's blog.
Larry worked at Behnke Nurseries from 1984 to 2019 in all areas of perennials as a grower, propagator, and perennial buyer. He was also the head of Behnke's advertising team plus, wrote many of our gardening articles, and gave talks at the nursery and garden clubs and events. Now retired, Larry is an essential part of Beyond Behnke's, giving Stephanie much-needed answers and advice on everything to do with plants. Larry also is the editor of Beyond Behnke's weekly email.
Larry grew up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He attended the University of Wisconsin, earning degrees in Zoology and Horticulture, leaving Wisconsin in 1978, spending five years at a wholesale nursery near Dallas before moving to Maryland in 1984.
In the fall of 2021, Larry and his wife Carolyn sold their Maryland home and shade garden for 37 years and moved back to Wisconsin. He is excited to have a sunny yard finally.
Episode Description
In this episode, I talk with Kathy Jentz, editor and publisher of the Washington Gardener Magazine and the host of the GardenDC Podcast. Kathy believes that growing plants should be stress-free and enjoyable as a lifelong gardener. Her philosophy is inspiration over perspiration.
Kathy and co-author Teri Speight just released The Urban Garden: 101 Ways to Grow Food and Beauty in the City. In The Urban Garden, you'll find dozens of inspiring and creative ways to grow flowers, shrubs, vegetables, herbs, and other plants in small spaces and with a limited budget.
While chatting with Kathy, I found out we had more in common than the love of gardening. Kathy, like myself, was not a big fan of weeding as a child. Also, I learned that Kathy's grandparents were from Nuremberg, near the town of Ellingen, Germany, where my grandmother Rose Behnke was born and raised.
Guest Bio
I am Kathy Jentz and my pronouns are she/her/hers. My “main job” is as editor and publisher of Washington Gardener Magazine (https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/), which is the gardening publication published specifically for Washington DC, and its inner/outer suburbs. I am also the host of the popular GardenDC Podcast.
Among my other hats is as the editor of the Water Garden Journal (for the International Waterlily and Water Gardening Society (IWGS), and The Azalean for the Azalea Society of America (ASA).
A life-long gardener, I believe that growing plants should be stress-free and enjoyable. My philosophy is inspiration over perspiration. I do a great deal of speaking on gardening and have been honored to have presented programs at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, the Philadelphia Flower Show, U.S. Botanic Garden, the Historic Society of Washington, DC, and many other prestigious venues.
I enjoy spending time on social media and you can find me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest as @wdcgardener. I am also the Green Media columnist for the Mid-Atlantic Grower (American Farm Publications) newspaper, where I do a great deal of hand-holding and coaxing to get independent garden centers, plant breeders, and other horticultural businesses to join the social media revolution and maximize their online brands.
Currently, I am the President of the Silver Spring Garden Club and am on the board of several other garden clubs and organizations. One of the most important leadership duties I hold is as the Regional Director for the Mid-Atlantic portion of Gardencomm, the association for garden communicators.
My home garden is one of those mish-mash affairs as with the “cobbler’s children with no shoes”, I have hardly any time to devote to making it look good. Rather, I plop in all the sample plants I am sent where I can and let them decide whether to live or not. I also have a vegetable garden in a nearby community garden plot, which demands and gets a bit more of my attention.
On the “somewhat related to gardening” side of things, I have two long-haired cats who are my “fur babies.” I also have a blog called Cats in Gardens (http://catsingardens.blogspot.com/), where I post a photo and blurb each Saturday, about (you guessed it!) a garden cat. I welcome any of you fellow cat and garden lovers to share your garden cat photos with me for posting to that blog.
Here is a bit about me personally. I was born in Nurnberg, Germany. My dad was stationed in the army nearby and my mom is German. We came to the states when I was a pre
Episode Description In our first episode, we talk with Carol Allen about her love of plants, including orchids. We also talk a bit about native plants in general. Carol chats about how she started on her journey to become The Orchid Lady and so much more. Carol Allen Bio Since childhood, Carol Allen has been involved in many aspects of gardening and horticulture and likes to describe herself as a committable plant-a-holic. She has over thirty years of experience in the horticulture industry with special interests in Integrated Pest Management, landscape design, native plants, tropicals of many kinds, especially orchids. Carol enjoys helping people understand how to care for their plants and holds orchid diagnostic and repotting clinics in the Washington Metro area. After serving a term as a supervisory horticulturist at the United States Botanic Garden Conservatory, Carol returned to college and earned a degree in horticulture. Fascinated by the interaction of pests and prey, she went on to complete her master's degree in plant science at the University of Maryland, working with virus transmission in orchids. Carol has taught a wide range of horticultural topics and biological sciences at local colleges and universities and enjoys speaking to various plant groups and societies about plants. Readers are informed and entertained by her column in the Washington Gardener magazine on pest issues. Carol confesses to growing a wide range of plants in and around her home that she shares with cats, tropical fish, and pet snakes. You can follow Carol on her Facebook page at Orchid Lady Carol or check out her website at www.orchidlady.net.