Show Notes
For some of us, happiness is a hydrangea in full, glorious bloom.
And if you’re not yet well acquainted with these flowering shrubs, who better to learn from than The Garden Lady herself? C.L. Fornari is the author of the upcoming 2026 book Hydrangea Happiness: Planting, Pruning and Blooming, among many others. She’s also a well-known gardening radio host and podcaster, appearing over the years as a contributor on NPR’s The Cultivated Gardener, as host of GardenLine on WXTK, as co-host of the podcast Plantrama, and today as the eponymous host of The Garden Lady on several NPR stations. We get the scoop on her broadcasting career, on her founding of the Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival, and on how she planned a modern-day guide to hydrangeas that’s “more Instagram and less coffee table book.”
Dive into this interview to learn about choosing the right hydrangea for a northern garden, about the truth of acidifying your soil for those beautiful blue mophead blooms, and about finding joy in your garden and your life.
Find C.L. Online at:
GardenLady.com
Facebook: @CLTheGardenLady
Instagram: @CLTheGardenLady
Mentioned in This Episode
Hydrangea Happiness: Planting, Pruning & Blooming: https://brandeisuniversitypress.com/title/hydrangea-happiness-planting-pruning-and-blooming/
The Cope Cod Hydrangea Festival: https://www.capecodchamber.org/events/cape-cod-hydrangea-fest/
Hydrangeas on the Azores: https://www.treehugger.com/hydrangeas-azores-4869708
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Timestamps:
00:14 Introduction 00:56 C.L. Fornari’s Garden Radio Host Career 05:52 Founding the Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival 08:33 Why (and How!) C.L. Wrote About Hydrangeas 11:21 Postcards from Plants 14:43 How Many Hydrangeas? Breeding and Selection 16:43 A Paniculata Hydrangea for Erin’s Cold, Clay Conditions 18:47 Finding the Right Spot for Your Shrub 21:16 Are Hydrangeas Invasive? 23:00 Hydrangea paniculata, a.k.a. Panicled Hydrangea 23:25 Hydrangea arborescens, aka Smooth Hydrangea 24:15 Hydrangea macrophylla, a.k.a. Bigleaf Hydrangea, a.k.a. Mophead Hydrangea 25:09 Hydrangea serrata, a.k.a. Mountain Hydrangea 27:10 C.L.’s Hydrangea Poetry 28:25 Hydrangea quercifolia, a.k.a. Oakleaf Hydrangea 28:35 Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris., a.k.a. Climbing Hydrangea 28:55 Acidifying Soil for Blue Hydrangeas 31:05 The Stubborn Myth that Pine Needles Acidify Soil 33:20 Moss Lawn Plant Rant 34:27 Macrophylla Hydrangeas with Inconsistent Colours 37:56 Poison Ivy Acres and Embracing All of Gardening 39:40 Find C.L. Fornari Online 40:45 Outro and Contact Us
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