Upside Down Tulips - A Garden Podcast

Christy & Edith
  • 5.0 (40)
  • Home & Garden

Hi! We are Christy and Edith, backyard gardeners from Colorado. Lately, we have noticed more and more people picking our brains for tips and trouble-shooting about gardening. We think it’s kinda funny, because we’re not experts. We just learned a lot about gardening from the mistakes we made along the way. You always hear about Victory gardens – but what about all the garden failures? Gardening is about learning, experimenting and rolling with the punches. Every week we share our most epic garden failures and our biggest garden lessons. Most gardens are the result of trial and error. To reduce your chance of failure, join us in our gardens. And learn why you should plant your tulips butt side down. Winner of Best New Podcast at 2020 Colorado Podcast Awards!

  1. May 23

    127. How to Garden During a Drought: Mulch Ado About Watering

    ⚠️ Gentle Warning: This episode contains mild adult humor, gardening innuendo, repeated use of the word “moist,” and an emotionally intense relationship with mulch. Listener discretion advised. Hi Friends! It’s hot. It snowed yesterday. The tomatoes are confused. So are we. It’s Spring 2026 and gardening has officially become a survival skill. This spring on Upside Down Tulips, we dive headfirst into drought gardening during one of the weirdest weather years yet. Denver Water restrictions are here, mulch has become a personality trait, and apparently California uses giant floating shade balls to reduce evaporation? Neither did we. Gardening remains weird. Edith somehow achieved basil immortality. Christy finally turned her compost pile and found inner peace. We discuss emergency tomato-cage frost blankets, boiling water tricks for surprise freezes, and ask the important question: Why can’t we grow spinach and peas anymore?! Then we dig into practical and surprisingly hopeful ways to garden during drought — from smarter watering and drip irrigation to xeriscaping, hydrozoning, compost, mulch and shade cloth. We share how to water less but smarter, why mulch is basically therapy for soil, which veggies can actually handle the heat, and how to keep your containers from turning into tiny terracotta ovens. Plus: why your tomatoes may need shade, and why your soil desperately needs a weighted blanket. PLUS: terrible jokes & bad gardening puns strange weather stories a possible dystopian “Letter from the Future” from the mail bag  a new dramatic mulch podplay because apparently this is who we are now So grab your soaker hose, aggressively spread some mulch and join us for a funny, heartfelt and practical summer episode full of dirt, drought and determination. And remember: When in doubt… mulch it! Oh — and yes… There may be an Easter egg after the credits. Get a UDT Coffee Mug or other cool Merch! Visit our website for pix, good info and Upside Down Dictionary Learn How to Winter Sow! Don't Know Your Zone? Find it HERE Find Your Last and First Frost Date

    58 min

  2. Mar 8

    126. Stranger Garden News: Hope Sprouts Eternal

    The garden world can feel a little upside down these days — so this week we bring you a whole episode of Stranger Garden News! First, we catch up on the strange happenings in our own gardens. What happened to winter? What are we growing inside? And why are some things still happily growing outside like the calendar means nothing? Then we dig into some of the most hopeful — and occasionally bizarre — garden stories from around the world. Turns out there’s a lot of strange and wonderful news sprouting out there. In this episode we share stories about: • The hot new seed-starting trend: snail roll gardening • What in the world RFK Jr., Monsanto, and gardening have to do with each other • The strange things people discover hiding in their gardens • How Brazilian farmers are replacing nitrogen fertilizer with microbes • Garden hacks involving plastic forks, diapers, and cinnamon (yes, really) • The latest hopeful news about the monarch butterfly population • And what new seeds we’re tempted to try this year Of course we also have pod plays! This week we bring back the fan favorite Stranger Garden Things — plus a brand-new installment. And we’ll visit the Mail Bag (Ring! Ring!) and share a little garden inspiration to remind us why we keep planting — even though it is technically still winter. So grab a seed catalog, pull up next to your favorite houseplant, and join us for an episode full of laughs, dirt, and a little good news from the garden. So grab a seed catalog, pull up to your favorite houseplant and join us for a hopeful episode full of laughs, dirt, and a little good news from the garden. Get a UDT Coffee Mug or other cool Merch! Visit our website for pix, good info and Upside Down Dictionary Learn How to Winter Sow! Don't Know Your Zone? Find it HERE Find Your Last and First Frost Date

    55 min

  3. 12/01/2025

    125. The Good, The Bad & The Bugly: A Fall Garden Roundup

    You asked for it and its back!  Two brand new Who Killed Rosemary pod plays.  Find out where Misty Contour is at with the mysterious death of Edith's Rosemary.   In the garden, we are slowly sliding from fall to winter and now is the time for reflection on: The Good The Bad And… The Ugly!  Including a very ugly letter for the mailbag  ENJOY! Get a UDT Coffee Mug or other cool Merch! Visit our website for pix, good info and Upside Down Dictionary Learn How to Winter Sow! Don't Know Your Zone? Find it HERE Find Your Last and First Frost Date

    49 min

  4. 08/04/2025

    124. Garden Plot Twists & the Science of Surprise

    It's summer and the garden surprises & experiments keep coming—and we love (most of) them! Edith finds a black grasshopper and a mysterious scarlet beetle. Christy's cauliflower turns purple and she finds her reading glasses... in the compost pile. We share what’s blooming in our gardens, how our zucchinis are doing, and updates on tomatoes, cabbage (Christy's pride and joy!), basil, arugula, tarragon, and more. Edith’s rosemary lives. Christy’s… not so much. We’re also replanting for fall harvest—peas, beets, and maybe revenge. Plus: • Edith’s leeks are now perennials • Christy has a pumpkin situation • Peas that grow in a bush?! Yes, please. • Results from our romaine showdown • Armenian (or is it Albanian?) cucumber updates • Luffa dreams and pruning tips for tomatoes and cukes • New tomato varieties we're trying out: Early Girl+, Champion 2, and Oxheart Don’t miss a hilarious Mail Bag letter from Mexico about car zucchinis, a new gardener's stand-up set in You Might Be a Gardener, and a beetle with a PR problem in The Benefits of Japanese Beetles. We wrap with an inspiration to make peace with rainy days—and yes, there's a little Easter egg if you listen past the credits!  Get a UDT Coffee Mug or other cool Merch! Visit our website for pix, good info and Upside Down Dictionary Learn How to Winter Sow! Don't Know Your Zone? Find it HERE Find Your Last and First Frost Date

    52 min

  5. 04/17/2025

    123. Breaking New Ground:  Everything Fun & New for Your Spring Garden

    Spring has officially sprung, and the garden is bursting with life! Flowers are blooming, veggies are growing, and—surprise!—some plants are totally taking over. Edith’s garden is overrun with greens, Christy’s garden is a dandelion jungle, and yes… some plants didn’t make it. (insert moment of silence here) Ah well! Onward we go. This week, we dig into: 🌿 What’s New in the Garden? Lessons learned: Don’t plant orach (you’ll see why!) Tomatoes remain a mystery Ground cherries = delightful Reminder: Seeds don’t last forever! New varieties: cosmos, poppies, foxglove, lupines, romaine, and (of course) more tomatoes Hot garden trends: Shaggy lawns Turf wars (aka turf lawns) Moon gardening Plant parenthood Fire-resistant gardening A delightful letter from the mailbag with thoughts on tomatoes, hydrangeas, and raspberries Plus: new tips, new tools, and new ways to listen to your garden 🔥 Burning Questions We Explore: What seed has the longest shelf life? What’s the 2025 garden color of the year? How many times does Edith say “moist”? What moon phase is best for cutting your hair? 🌱 Bonus fun: Our sincere apologies for the pea puns. 🐣 And psst... there's a hidden Easter egg at the end of the episode—don't miss it! Get a UDT Coffee Mug or other cool Merch! Visit our website for pix, good info and Upside Down Dictionary Learn How to Winter Sow! Don't Know Your Zone? Find it HERE Find Your Last and First Frost Date

    58 min

  6. 01/15/2025

    122. Can You Dig It? 8 Reasons Why Gardens Matter

    Edith’s potatoes may have gone to the dark side, but we are forging ahead with the small and enjoyable garden tasks of winter and dreaming of our 2025 garden.  So, let us inspire your next garden with all the many benefits and joys of gardening!    We have gathered our top reasons why we garden:  From health to wealth.  From making friends to murdering carrots. From learning to lunging.  And filled with little tips and tricks and laughs along the way.    It’s seed catalog season so, we have stuffed this episode with THREE funny pod plays about our favorite reason to go to the mailbox.  Speaking of mail:  We got a letter from Lindsey delivered to our mailbag (Ring! Ring!) about her garden trials and dreams – an inspiring letter of resilience and renewal.  Need even more inspiration?  Christy has some!   Bonus:  Leonardo DiCatrio makes an appearance.  Can you find him? So, grab a cup of tea, a glass of wine or clean those garden tools - while you join us!   Get a UDT Coffee Mug or other cool Merch! Visit our website for pix, good info and Upside Down Dictionary Learn How to Winter Sow! Don't Know Your Zone? Find it HERE Find Your Last and First Frost Date

    55 min

  7. 10/23/2024

    121. Autumn Garden 2024 - What Grew, What Died & What Chewed

    Fallelujah!  A pretty darn good year in the garden. No hail, no frost, no covering – yet. Edith grew ground cherries.  Christy grew zinnias.  We both grew a lot of tomatoes.  Edith might have killed her peach tree.  Christy mysteriously killed her cabbage.  We both killed our rosemary.  Aphids chewed, Japanese beetle chewed, mildew took up residence.  So, it all resulted in a lot of learning, we hope you can learn, too!  Why you should keep your compost a little drunk.   Why it’s never too late to plant. Or too early.  What seeds need to be fresh as a carrot What plant can benefit from calcium tablets Should you get a Japanese Beetle Trap? How much work do you really have to do this fall? And some humor with all this education!  We’ve got two NEW pod plays to keep you and all the lilac bushes in good humor.  And some inspiration to last the upcoming Persphone Period.  So, pick up a rake, do a little harvesting or put your weary feet up with a cup of cider and enjoy this season’s fun and informative episode! Oh – and stick around past the end credits for a little easter egg. Get a UDT Coffee Mug or other cool Merch! Visit our website for pix, good info and Upside Down Dictionary Learn How to Winter Sow! Don't Know Your Zone? Find it HERE Find Your Last and First Frost Date

    55 min

  8. 07/17/2024

    120. Summer Garden Potpourri: We're Hot and Killin' It!

    Our gardens are  doing great!  So far.  If you don’t count the heat, the Japanese beetles… and the murders! Life is growing fast and furious in our gardens and we are applying water like we are applying for a job. Edith loves her loveage. Christy is at peace with her peace rose. Edith is plum crazy about her plum tree.  Christy is thinks Edith’s peach tree harvest is going to be… peachy keen.  :) Our summer gardens are a potpourri of marvels, questions and fun tips. To shell or not to shell peas? Is it possible for gardeners to be psychopaths? When should you trim back your tomatoes? Where does the term potpourri come from? How can Windex be a tool in your garden? How to get the most blooms from your geraniums? Why is July 27 an important gardening date? Which mite might help you control bindweed? Why you shouldn’t name plants after people you know. If you want some fun Brand New pod plays, we got ‘em.  If you want some inspiration, we got it.  If you want some moist soil – it’s there.  We sure had fun recording this episode – and hope you can join in the laughter, while learning a thing or two.  So put on your headphones, head out into your garden and enjoy! Get a UDT Coffee Mug or other cool Merch! Visit our website for pix, good info and Upside Down Dictionary Learn How to Winter Sow! Don't Know Your Zone? Find it HERE Find Your Last and First Frost Date

    58 min
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5
out of 5
40 Ratings

About

Hi! We are Christy and Edith, backyard gardeners from Colorado. Lately, we have noticed more and more people picking our brains for tips and trouble-shooting about gardening. We think it’s kinda funny, because we’re not experts. We just learned a lot about gardening from the mistakes we made along the way. You always hear about Victory gardens – but what about all the garden failures? Gardening is about learning, experimenting and rolling with the punches. Every week we share our most epic garden failures and our biggest garden lessons. Most gardens are the result of trial and error. To reduce your chance of failure, join us in our gardens. And learn why you should plant your tulips butt side down. Winner of Best New Podcast at 2020 Colorado Podcast Awards!

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