Focus on Flowers

Indiana Public Media
  • 5.0 (6)
  • HOBBIES
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

Focus on Flowers is a weekly podcast and public radio program about flower gardening hosted by master gardener Moya Andews.

  1. Norah Lindsay

    3D AGO

    Norah Lindsay

    Norah Lindsay (1866-1948) lived in the Manor House at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire, England. She was admired for the way that she combined herbaceous perennials in borders, which were so popular during the Edwardian time in England.  In her obituary in 1948 in the London Times it was described how she would trace out a plan for a whole garden in the dirt with the tip of her umbrella. She was known as one of the first amateur, but not quite professional, garden designers who were active in the years before and after World War I. Strongly influenced by Italian gardens, she was famous for her parterres. One that she planned is still maintained by the National Trust in England today. It was a formal planting using low plants and repetition of colors around a central fountain. Clipped yews and a Doric Temple in the distance added to its feeling of formality and structure.  Norah Lindsay was born in Ireland but always admired the classical gardens of Florence and Rome. She created large-scale double borders that stretched down hillsides to create breath-taking vistas.  Her husband, Harry Lindsay, was a flying hero during World War I, and she was so well-connected that she even advised the Prince of Wales on his gardens at Fort Belvedere.  Lindsay was the Grande Dame of gardening in a time when ladies did not have professional careers.

    2 min
  2. Year's End

    4D AGO

    Year's End

    Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote a poem about the garden at the end of the year. This seems to be an appropriate time to share it with you.  A spirit haunts the year’s last hours Dwelling amid these yellowing bowers: To himself he talks: But at eventide, listening earnestly, At his work you may hear him sob and sigh In the walks; Earthward he boweth the heavy stalks Of mouldering flowers: Heavily hangs the broad sunflower Over its grave in the earth so chilly; Heavily hangs the holly hock, Heavily hangs the tiger-lily.  The air is damp and hushed and close, As a sick man’s room where he taketh repose An hour before death; My very heart faints and my whole soul grieves At the moist rich smell of the rotting leaves And the breath Of the fading edges of box beneath, And the year’s last rose. Heavily hangs the broad sunflower Over its grave in the earth so chilly; Heavily hangs the hollyhock, Heavily hangs the tiger lily.

    2 min
  3. Winter Musings

    12/28/2025

    Winter Musings

    Oscar Wilde in The Selfish Giant wrote the following words:   “He did not hate the winter now, for he knew that it was merely the spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.”   And Anne Bradstreet, who died in 1672, wrote:   “If we had no winter the spring would not be so pleasant.”   Kathleen Norris sounded a little more impatient about winter when she wrote:   “There seems to be so much more winter this year than we need.”   Nancy Hutchens in her book A Garden’s Grace described plants that look good in winter. She said,   “The wheat-colored blooms of Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ add charm to my backyard—one at its entrance and another next to a red-twigged dogwood.”  She continued:  “…the tall black stalks and round heads of Rudbeckia, Echinacea, and bee balm are attractive and fill the bare ground with texture and interesting shapes… The sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ turned out to be another winter jewel. Its faded bronze was spectacular next to the pearly silver of a large Artemisia. As I began to think about how a particular flower or shrub would look in winter, I discovered many choices that enhanced the poor evergreens, who had been doing all the work alone."

    2 min
  4. Mistletoe

    12/25/2025

    Mistletoe

    The English colonists in Virginia used mistletoe to decorate their homes and their churches during the Christmas season. Mistletoes are evergreen parasitic plants with small leaves, yellowish flowers and waxy white berries. When sprigs are hung as a Christmas decoration, men are, by custom, privileged to kiss women who stand under it, according to the description of it in Websters Dictionary. When I consulted Hortus (Third Edition) I found that the type of Mistletoe the colonists probably used was Phoradendron serotinum, which is found on deciduous trees of Eastern North America. The seeds of this parasite germinate on host trees, and the plants attach themselves so that they can absorb fluids from the host. Since this type of mistletoe grows high up in the tops of hardwood trees, it is hard to gather. To add to this problem, it only becomes visible when the deciduous leaves have fallen from the trees. Luckily this happens at the right time of the years so that it is visible before the holiday season. Young colonial boys apparently enjoyed a popular sport known as shooting down the mistletoe. The mistletoe of literary fame is an old world variety known as Viscum album, and there is also a very showy red tropical variety. The State of Oklahoma adopted mistletoe Phoradendron flavescens, which blooms in the summer, as its floral emblem.

    2 min
  5. The Winter Solstice

    12/21/2025

    The Winter Solstice

    The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere is marked by the winter solstice, which for example, in the year 2023 occurs on December 21. For the northern part of the Earth, the winter solstice always occurs annually on either December 21 or 22. This solstice marks the day with the fewest hours of sunshine in the year, which means that it is described as the shortest day.   After the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer until in the following June, we reach the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year. The summer solstice is the day when many flowers in gardens are in bloom and so many garden-related events in our area are usually scheduled on or near the summer solstice.   When the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing the winter solstice in December, the Southern Hemisphere, of course, is experiencing its summer solstice. In Australia, where I grew up, for example, it is high summer in December, and it is winter in June.   Depending on where you live in the world, the same plants flower but at different times in the year. Near to the Equator, however, the weather remains warm enough for flowers to grow throughout the entire year. Hence the billion-dollar cut flower industry in South America, which supplies the flowers in our stores for us to buy year-round.

    2 min
  6. Winter Words of Wisdom

    12/20/2025

    Winter Words of Wisdom

    This winter I have been reading some garden writer’s words of wisdom, which now I will share with you.  In 1899, Gertrude Jekyll wrote:  “For I hold it that the best purpose of a garden is to give delight and to give refreshment of mind, to soothe, to refine and to lift up the heart.” And Sara Stein in 1988 wrote: “January is the best time for gardeners. From the window of the attic where I write, the gardens are bare to their bones, neat and clean, nicely edged, weed free. They are an empty page on which to draw the garden of my dreams.”  And in 1954 Georgia O’Keefe, who painted so many glorious flowers, wrote the following words that completely surprised me. She said,  “I hate flowers. I paint them because they’re cheaper than models and they don’t move.”  More profound are the words spoken by Lydia Child in 1842. She said,  “Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell. They are hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all for the beauty of their character. Though few can decipher even fragments of their meaning.” However, “anonymous” has the last piece of wisdom for us: “In gardening I have one gift you won’t find in manuals, but I can change perennials into annuals.”

    2 min
  7. Jewel Orchids as House Plants

    12/18/2025

    Jewel Orchids as House Plants

    Many tropical plants, and also some temperate zone plants that resemble tropicals, make excellent house plants in cold climates.  One fairly easy to grow but underused example is the South East Asian native with the common name of jewel orchid. Its botanical name is Ludisia discolor. This is a terrestrial plant that grows in soil in a pot, and it has narrow leaves. The color of the leaves varies from dark red to maroon and there is striking veining. The leaves grow on succulent stems that hang over the sides of the pot. The flowers appear in late winter to mid spring and are white in color and a little like snapdragons in form and are white in color.  This plant likes cool temperatures at night and soil that stays just slightly moist, so do not over water these beauties. Afternoon shade is best, so they do not like a windowsill on the western side of the house.  Jewel orchids are available with several different types of patterned leaves with silver-gold veining. This type of foliage guarantees a handsome house plant even when it is not in bloom. The name is a little deceptive because this plant is not like the orchids that grow on trees.

    2 min
  8. Hoya

    12/11/2025

    Hoya

    Epiphytes are plants that get nourishment from the air. They are non-parasitic, but they frequently, for example orchids, grow on another plant such as a tree. When they are grown in a pot, epiphytes prefer a growing medium made up of two parts soil-less mixture and one-part fine bark mix.  A favorite house plant of many people is the hoya, an epiphyte vine that is commonly called wax plant. There are many varieties of this plant, and the shape, color and texture of the leaves depends on the species. The flowers, however, always come from little umbrellas called peduncles. After the blooms drop, the peduncles should be left in place as they will continue to grow and bloom.  Hoya is a member of the milkweed family so the seeds are in silk in pods. The easiest way to propagate, however, is to root cuttings dipped in rooting hormone and placed in a soil-less mix for about six weeks.  The plants enjoy indirect light and weekly watering, with fertilizer every second week.  Hoya lacunosa has especially fragrant blooms and grows compactly in a hanging basket. However, there are many other delightful ones such as the H. shepherdii with lovely pink flowers, as well as a sweet perfume.  Hoya is easy for me to remember as it is one of the only words in the English language that rhymes with Moya. (Reference: Zachos, Ellen, “All Stars of the Indoors,” Horticulture Magazine, Vol. 105, #1 Dec/Jan 2008, pp40-45.)

    2 min
See All (1.8K)

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Focus on Flowers is a weekly podcast and public radio program about flower gardening hosted by master gardener Moya Andews.

Information

  • Creator
    Indiana Public Media
  • Years Active
    2019 - 2026
  • Episodes
    1.8K
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © The Trustees of Indiana University
  • Show Website
    Focus on Flowers

You Might Also Like