(upbeat music) - [Narrator] What began as a few raised beds in a spot that couldn't grow grass is now a large garden space that's turning out loads of tomatoes, cucumbers, all kinds of vegetables, plus pretty flowers.

Sheri Gramer tours this grand garden, where every family member takes part.

When summer blooms begin to fade, there are annuals just perfect for keeping the color going.

Tammy Algood showcases some winners.

And April Moore visits Andrew Jackson's Hermitage to get lessons on winterizing the ornamental beds.

Join us.

(upbeat music) First, what's better than playing in the dirt and eating cherry tomatoes you've popped off the vine?

(upbeat music) - We're in Brentwood, Tennessee, where these homeowners, Brent and Katie Jacobs, decided to design and plant their garden with family time in mind.

Hey, Katie.

- Hey.

- This is gorgeous.

- Thank you for coming out.

- How did this all come to be?

- Literally, a patch of grass that would not grow is how it came to be.

(chuckles) We're behind our garage (birds chirping) at our house that we built about four years ago.

We couldn't get grass to grow back here and we thought, "What if we did a couple raised beds of vegetables?"

- [Sheri] So it started small?

- [Katie] Absolutely, so we started with four raised beds that were about 12 by three feet, and thought it would be great behind the garage because tomatoes are so ugly.

(Sheri laughs) Tomato plants and squash plants and that kind of thing.

And we were just shocked at how much time we spent out here.

So every year it has grown and grown and grown.

- [Sheri] You have three small children.

- Three small children, and they love it just as much as we do.

They're out here eating cucumbers like bananas and picking flowers and it's really our family time together and it's been incredible for them to see hard work, what hard work produces.

And they have seen us grow it from the ground up.

So my husband and I, Brent, we have loaded every load of gravel and every load of dirt and everything we've done ourselves.

And so it's been fun for them to see kind of the fruits of our labor.

- Let's talk a little bit about the bones.

So do you have landscaper cloth underneath your pea gravel?

- [Katie] Yes.

- [Sheri] To keep the weed, so it's a weed barrier for you.

- [Katie] Which mostly keeps the weeds.

You still have to weed.

- [Sheri] Correct, correct.

- [Katie] In the past, I get ask a lot about that.

But yes, there's a weed barrier and then the pea gravel and then we have the cedar beds.

They're untreated.

So they will last for years but they won't last probably forever.

- [Sheri] Forever.

Right.

- [Katie] And then we fill with dirt every year.

We add compost to our dirt and till every year before we plant our plants and then we plant and just love it throughout the summer.

- Do you plot your strategy all winter on what you're gonna plant or?

- Absolutely.

- Okay, okay.

- It is like the game of switching, we like to switch beds every year.

So tomatoes were in the front last year.

They'll be in the back next year.

It just helps the crops, you know, rotating crops and that kind of thing.

Now our front beds, I love Nemesia's up front so I probably will always keep them up front 'cause I think they're pretty.

- [Sheri] And this is really just for you all to use.

Well, you give a lot away.

- [Katie] Yes.

(laughs) - [Sheri] Obviously.

- [Katie] And my kids have, instead of lemonade stand, they have a vegetable stand around the block.

- [Sheri] Okay, well that's, I bet your neighbors love that.

- [Katie] Yes, 'cause like you said, I mean we have thousands of tomatoes coming out of here, so I never go anywhere empty handed.

I will take a basket of vegetables wherever I go in the summer and just kind of spread the love.

- [Sheri] Well, I can't wait to see some of these individual beds.

- [Katie] Yes, I can't wait to show you.

- [Sheri] Let's explore these vegetables.

You have squash?

- Yeah, squash is coming in hot right now.

We're in the beginning of the summer, so that's always the very first vegetable to come.

So squash and zucchini.

And my grandmother used to make the best squash casserole.

So I make her squash casserole every summer and it's our family favorite thing, so.

- [Sheri] Do you use the blossoms as well as the fruit?

- [Katie] Yes.

Yes.

- [Sheri] Okay.

- [Katie] Stuffed squash blossoms are incredible.

- And what is going on up here?

- (laughing) I know.

So we have four different types of cucumbers growing over these arches and this is like a Mexican gherkin.

And don't they look like little tiny watermelon?

I mean I just think the kids are obsessed.

- Well, that's what I thought it was when I first walked up here.

- They're just like the cutest little cucumbers that look like little watermelon so.

- [Sheri] And you mentioned you sew right directly in the ground, most of your things?

- Yes, most of our things, we get some from the Franklin Farmer's Market.

We do start some seeds indoors, but I really like to just plant in the dirt and go and we've had really great luck with that.

So yeah, these cucumbers started.

This is our first year to grow this variety.

- [Sheri] Oh, you'll be growing them again next year.

- [Katie] They're so fun.

- [Sheri] And so we have peppers behind you.

- Yes, and we have the little lunchbox peppers, which the kids love 'cause they're not spicy, they can just bite right into 'em.

But we've got bell peppers, I've got some hot peppers in the back.

I try to hide those in the back so the kids aren't grabbing those.

- [Sheri] Ah ha.

- You kinda have to strategically plan when you have kids picking.

You don't want them to grab a hot pepper.

So we keep all the friendly peppers up front and then I'll keep the hot peppers in the back with the tomatoes.

- That's actually good advice.

I love this combination here 'cause it kinda tears up.

- [Katie] Yes.

- [Sheri] What's going on here?

- So we've got Swiss chard, rhubarb, leeks.

I got a watermelon hidden in there.

And then this is our spicy peppers and then tomatoes.

So it's fun 'cause the kids love, they would never know what Swiss chard is if we weren't growing it.

And I love that the stalks are different colors and it just teaches them incredible things about the earth and how things grow and inspired by vegetables and all things.

- [Sheri] It's an ornamental for plantings in the fall, too.

- [Katie] Yes, it is.

- [Sheri] Yes, yes, yes.

- [Katie] It's really beautiful.

- [Sheri] And you do companion planning I saw.

- [Katie] Yes, I do.

I love to plant things that go together logically.

I mean there are charts about companion planning and what you should plant together, but logically, you know, tomatoes and basil go together and that kind of thing.

And it makes a beautiful presentation as well.

- So let's talk about all these tomatoes.

You said the cherry tomatoes are on the trellis or the arbor there.

- Yes, so the cherry tomatoes will reach all the way over the top of- - [Sheri] Are you staking those or just weaving them in as they're growing?

- [Katie] So I'll weave them in as they go.

- [Sheri] Okay.

- [Katie] And I kind of trim them up the branches below which encourages growth to the top.

Actually, the suckers are what kind of makes the vines, so you don't pop the suckers off the cherry tomatoes.

And this is like the kids mecca.

This is what they run to when they come out here.

They pop the cherry tomatoes in their mouth.

- [Sheri] I see we have some pears and we have, pear cherries.

- [Katie] Yes, we've got pear cherries, we've got the millions.

We've got they, yeah, they love the golden yellow pears.

- [Sheri] And how many varieties of, let's say, full-sized tomatoes?

- [Katie] We've got about 24 varieties.

- [Sheri] Do you do all heirlooms or do you mix and?

- [Katie] No, we mix and match.

- Okay.

- We, I do love the heirlooms and I love like the orange accordion tomatoes and kind of the fancier ones.

But we also love like the big boys and the Cherokee purples for BLTs throughout the summer.

- Yep, yep.

Let's talk about herbs.

Our favorite.

- Our favorite, we agree.

- So we're standing in front of one of your raised herb beds.

- Yes.

- What's in this one?

- [Katie] This one is thyme, rosemary.

We got some camomile, so pineapple sage, sage, parsley, chives.

And some alliums growing in there.

- [Sheri] I know you love to cook.

- [Katie] Yes.

- [Sheri] And I'm assuming that you use all these, right?

- [Katie] Yes, yes.

And that's why I think I love it so much.

Like you were saying, it's all usable like and it is so simple to grow.

It's really beautiful.

It repels bugs.

It's fragrant.

I think anybody starting a vegetable garden should start with herbs.

- [Sheri] Good point.

And close enough so if you're gonna cook you can go out and snip it without having to be a country mile to get to it.

- [Katie] And teach your children what they are so when you're like, "Can you go grab me two sprigs of rosemary," they know exactly what to run out and get.

- [Sheri] Oh that's a good idea also.

Yes.

- [Katie] Yes.

- [Sheri] Not only vegetables but you have flowers as well.

- [Katie] Flowers, yes.

- [Sheri] I wanna talk about these dahlias.

- Yes.

- You said you didn't dig them up in the fall.

- No, okay, so the year before last I dug them up and I tried my hardest to keep watch of them.

They dry rotted, which I think they do a lot.

- [Sheri] Yes.

- [Katie] So this last fall I was like, I'm just gonna leave them in the bed and I will never dig them up again.

- That's probably why they're so far ahead of everyone else's.

- They're so far ahead.

- Yes.

- 'Cause they popped up, they're so happy.

Yeah, I didn't get 'em till the end of summer last year.

And they're all summer long this year.

So I think in zone seven, I think unless we have a tragically cold winter, like sometimes we do, I think you can totally leave them in.

- I also saw some Queens Anne's Lace, some Larkspurs, some Zinnias.

- So my husband is from a long line of vegetable growers.

They're farmers from Menville Cattle Farmers.

They've always had vegetable gardens.

I come from a long line of flower gardeners.

- [Sheri] Yes, you do.

- [Katie] My grandmother had a gorgeous Williamsburg, very traditional garden.

My mom has beautiful gardens out at her property.

So I just love and know flowers.

So I knew when we put in this garden, we would have to have flowers.

And it is an incredible support system for the vegetables.

I see a lot of people on Instagram like hand pollinating their squash and things like that.

And I never have had to even think about doing that 'cause we are just overrun with the pollinators and the bees love our garden and the flowers just attract all that.

- [Sheri] So have you converted Brent to be a flower person as well?

- [Katie] Absolutely.

- [Sheri] Okay, okay, okay.

- [Katie] Yes, absolutely.

Oh my gosh.

He is all about the sunflowers and the wildflowers and that kind of thing.

- [Sheri] Yeah, I saw your sunflowers in this bed weren't quite ready, but you have another field that looks awesome.

- [Katie] Yes, we can't get enough.

If it's a plot of land, it's like, "What can we plant?"

So yes, the more flowers the better.

- [Sheri] I cannot believe what's going on here.

Everything's coming in.

- [Katie] Everything's coming in.

We've got sunflowers and corn.

So the sunflowers are maybe a week or two from popping.

So they'll fill in.

This is kind of Brent's love language.

He's got corn and we've got enough room.

- [Sheri] What kind of corn?

- [Katie] For enough corn.

We've got the sweet corn.

- [Sheri] Okay.

- [Katie] Yeah.

- [Sheri] And behind us is dill.

- [Katie] Yes.

- [Sheri] Do you pickle as well?

- [Katie] Yes, yes.

- [Sheri] Oh my goodness.

- [Katie] So we've got enough cucumbers to sink a ship, so.

- [Sheri] Yeah.

- [Katie] We've got enough dill, too.

And I love letting it go to seed and keeping the seeds.

- [Sheri] I just love the aroma.

- [Katie] I think it's just so beautiful.

- [Sheri] Katie, I wanna tell you, thank you so much.

- [Katie] Oh, thank you.

- [Sheri] For letting us come and visit your beautiful garden, your raised beds.

It's only four years in the making.

- [Katie] Right.

- [Sheri] But it is awesome.

- [Katie] You have to come back next year and see what we expand.

- [Sheri] Okay, okay, I follow you so we'll see it.

- [Katie] Goats or ducks, I think are on the list.

(laughing) - [Sheri] Well, thank you very much, Katie.

- [Katie] Thank you, Sheri.

(upbeat music) - Who doesn't love a late bloomer and especially this time of year?

When other plants are starting to fade, there are options that are going to give you lots of color in your garden.

I'm here in Estill Springs with my good friend, Suzanne Caldwell of RCS Greenhouse.

And Suzanne, you have some beautiful options for us.

- Thank you.

- So blooms don't have to fade when the summer fades.

- Exactly, exactly.

Yeah, all these that we have here are all annuals, but they can be, they make it the season longer.

These two on the end, they're Mexican Bush sage, and the pineapple sage.

These are annuals that I just feel like you really need to have.

They don't bloom until later in the season.

Usually, I'm trying to think.

Usually starting in August.

Sometimes, you'll find 'em in greenhouses where they will have the blooms on 'em.

But you can cut those old blooms off.

And like I say, mine are blooming at home right now.

They're gorgeous.

They're beautiful.

I stood beside mine today just to see how big they were.

My pineapple sage, I'm 5'6", and my pineapple sage was about this tall, which I guess, what is that?

Four and a half feet maybe?

Something like that.

And my Mexican Bush sage was about the same height but my pineapple sage was very wide, about four feet wide.

- So just, buy them in the spring when you buy all of your other plants, but then have patience with them.

- Be patient.

Exactly.

- And know that they're coming.

They're just gonna come a little later than everything else.

- Exactly.

And hummingbirds love them.

All your pollinators, bees, butterflies, hummingbirds.

And it's usually something later in the season when the hummingbirds and the butterflies are migrating.

They've got somewhere to stop and have a snack on their way.

- [Tammy] Absolutely.

- [Suzanne] You know, through their migration, so.

- [Tammy] Okay, now, so this doesn't bloom, but I love the foliage.

So talk to us about this point.

- Well, this is just your regular dracaena spikes.

A lot of people purchase it in the spring to use as centerpieces, but you can also extend it.

It will actually last in cold weather down to about 20 degrees-ish, something like that.

But what I usually do, I'll take out my old annuals and I'll put in maybe my pennies or what are your other maybe perennials that maybe you're going to use.

But I'll plant it kind of close to the spike.

And then if the freeze does get it, just go down in there, trim it out and your other plants should cover your hole.

You might have a small hole, but nothing major.

It'll still be pretty.

- [Tammy] Still be nice.

- [Suzanne] Hmm hmm.

- [Tammy] And speaking of plants that you could plant around it.

- [Suzanne] Yes.

- [Tammy] You've got two really beautiful options here.

- [Suzanne] Yes.

- [Tammy] That would cover that.

- [Suzanne] Yes.

- [Tammy] If you were to cut it back.

- [Suzanne] Well for a little while.

This is a little bit similar to the spikes.

Usually all three of these, when it starts getting regular hard freezes, well that usually is what gets them.

But that could be all the way, depending on the weather, that could be all the way in January.

- [Tammy] Correct.

- [Suzanne] When that happens.

- [Tammy] Right.

- [Suzanne] You know.

But these right here, these are kale.

You can get the cabbage version too, which is the smooth leaf version.

And what happens is when it gets cooler, the veins like on the purple will turn this hot, hot pink color.

And on the green they turn this really bright white color.

They're just, I just think they're worth it.

Even though they may not last the full season.

I just think they're just worth it because of the intense color.

- [Tammy] Well, and just the difference in folding.

- [Suzanne] Yes, exactly.

- [Tammy] Is nice, too.

- [Suzanne] Yes, yes, exactly.

I just think it's just a really nice compliment and I kind of prefer the cabbage over, I mean the kale over the cabbage just because of the rough leaves.

- [Tammy] And do these have the same sun habits?

- [Suzanne] Oh yes, definitely, yes.

They're very compatible with your spikes, yes.

Sun, you could probably do a little partial shade.

These guys do like full sun.

They could probably handle some partial shade but are happier in just full, all out hot blazing sun.

- So even if you have them planted near a tree, when it starts to lose its leaves in the fall, these are still gonna blossom?

- [Suzanne] Until a hard frost will kill them, yes.

They will still blossom.

- [Tammy] Great, I love these annual options.

And now we're looking at perennials that also give some pop.

Talk to us about this because we've got old and new growth on this plant.

- [Suzanne] Yeah, this is Autumn Fire Sedum.

It is an approved version of Autumn Joy.

It has, this is the newer bloom right here.

And as it gets older, it turns more rust color and it blooms late.

It usually starts somewhere in August or September, early September.

And it just, when everything else is gone, you know.

- [Tammy] You've still got some color.

- [Suzanne] You've still got some color, exactly.

- And speaking of color, oh my goodness.

And these two together are beautiful.

I love these two colors together.

- I know, I know.

This is Grape Crush Aster.

I like this number one because purple is one of my favorite colors.

It's just so bright and pretty and it's supposed to be a little tighter, blooms a little bit more than other asters, not supposed to flop as much.

It's just a good Aster, and pretty.

- [Tammy] And you've had this all summer long and tell us how to keep it blooming because Coreopsis is a mainstay in people's gardens.

- [Suzanne] This one is Sunkist.

And you can see here where I have cut back through the summer, the older blooms.

And that just promotes the new ones coming up and will make it last.

It's been blooming since June, continually, continually.

- [Tammy] So don't be afraid to chop on it.

- [Suzanne] Not at all.

Not at all.

- [Tammy] Grasses, how can you go wrong with grasses?

There's the easiest thing in the world to grow.

And look what we've got going on now.

- [Suzanne] Yeah, that is pink muhly grass.

And that is the hallmark of pink muhly grass are the pink little fluffy blooms that it does late in the season.

And it's a shorter grass.

And like you say, grasses are easy.

They usually like it on the dryer side.

Once established, a little bit drought tolerant.

Yeah, super duper easy.

Super duper.

- And all grasses are about to show out.

- Exactly.

Exactly.

This is Graziella, these are maiden grass.

And yes, all grasses this time of year will start doing their plumage, the pompous grass.

all the miscanthus, yeah, they're just, like you said, they're just super easy and and pretty and still pretty, too.

And you can leave if you want in the wintertime, when they do die back, you can leave the brown foliage on them for winter interest if you like that.

If not, then you can cut it back.

And of course it'll come back beautifully.

- [Tammy] Okay, so if you leave it, when do you cut it back?

- [Suzanne] Once a hard frost gets it and turns it brown.

- [Tammy] Okay.

- [Suzanne] If you don't want to leave the brown foliage, just whenever the hard frost gets it and it turns brown and you can't stand the look of it, just cut it back.

- [Tammy] And if you decide to leave it blooming, leave this up, when do you cut it back in the spring?

- [Suzanne] When you start to see green.

- [Tammy] Okay.

- [Suzanne] Come out.

When you start to see green come out.

- [Tammy] Yeah.

- [Suzanne] Yeah.

- [Tammy] I love any plant in the mallow family.

And this one has to be the most beautiful.

- Yeah, this is Midnight Marvel, hardy hibiscus.

And it is blooming for a second time this year.

It normally blooms July, around July and then when it's done you can cut it back.

I cut it back to probably about half, I'd say it was about so tall.

I've cut it back to about half and it came back and did another spectacular bloom.

I mean this, some of these, I've already clipped off again, but yeah, it will come back and have blooms all over it just like the first time.

- [Tammy] And you know, when you think about it, it is a heat-loving plant.

- [Suzanne] Yes, yes.

- [Tammy] Related to okra.

- [Suzanne] Yeah.

- [Tammy] So when you think about it, it makes perfect sense, but sometimes it's really hard to go back in there and cut.

- It is and I know a lot of people are afraid to cut on their perennials, but it really helps 'em, it really does.

Like I say, it makes 'em bloom more, makes 'em bush out more.

Just makes a nicer plant if you're not too afraid to go in there and give 'em a little haircut every now and then.

- And after the haircut, do you fertilize it?

- Not usually.

No.

- [Tammy] Okay.

- [Suzanne] No, no, no, not for- - [Tammy] So just your regular watering?

- [Suzanne] Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, just do your regular watering, at least not for perennials.

Now for annuals I might go back and hit a little fertilizer, but for perennials no.

No, I just let them do their thing.

- Perfect.

I love it.

That's the perfect pop to end with, Suzanne, because that's spectacular.

And thank you for letting us come to our RCS Greenhouse.

It's fantastic.

And you've been a wonderful help for our viewers.

- Thank you for coming.

We really appreciate it.

(upbeat music) - It's fall and we're visiting Andrew Jackson's Hermitage.

We're here today in the Orna Mill Garden, where we're going to be learning about how they prepare for winter in these beautiful historic garden beds.

Oh, look at this.

What is this, Kimberly?

Can you tell me?

- So these are Chrysanthemum Ryan's Yellow.

- Wow.

- They are an heirloom mUm that we have here in the Hermitage Garden.

- Oh, that's beautiful.

And obviously, you guys have been doing some work here.

So tell us a little bit about what's going on in this bed right now as you get ready for winter.

- Okay, so right here you can actually see some of the stems that we have left behind.

These are from peonies.

- [April] Okay.

- [Kimberly] So we went ahead and cut 'em down once they started to yellow out because we knew they were done getting all the energy they needed for the winter and to come back in the spring.

- [April] Yeah.

- [Kimberly] We will soon be coming back to remove like all of our weeds.

- [April] Yeah.

- And once the area has been weeded, we're gonna come back with like soil conditioner, mulch, leaf mulch or bark mulch.

- [April] Okay.

- To kind of help with the winter weeds, make sure we keep those down so it's a little less work for us.

- [April] Yeah.

- And everything will just be ready as we go into the spring.

- Oh, excellent.

Excellent.

I need to do the weeding part.

So Kimberly, obviously you guys have been doing some work here.

Can you kind of tell me what you guys have been doing?

What's going on?

- So we've been tilling up this area of the garden.

It was a little bit crazy, a little bit weedy here and we wanted to revamp it.

- Okay.

- [Kimberly] So earlier today we actually tilled it up so we can prepare the soil for some more plantings.

- [April] So what do you think you'll put back here?

- [Kimberly] So our plan for right now to start is to put some species tulips and pheasant daffodils because they're all like, they fit into our time period, that heirloom.

- [April] So when you guys plan out your bulbs, how do you prepare the soil specifically for bulbs?

And do you have any problems with squirrels 'cause I know a lot of people do, digging them up.

- Well, we usually wanna make sure like, you know, to till the soil.

So to make sure it's nice and softer when we're digging in.

- [April] Yeah.

- We usually use an auger to make sure we can get our bulbs deep enough.

- [April] Hmm hmm.

- And that kind of comes in with the squirrels like, we have tons and tons of squirrels.

- [April] I bet.

- And rabbits, deer, whatnot.

And they will go after your bulbs if you don't plant them deep enough.

- [April] Right.

- So you wanna get your bulb holes about like a good seven inches.

- [April] Yeah.

- And when you get 'em that deep, the squirrels are less likely to dig them up.

- [April] I think they're just lazy.

- Yeah.

(both laughing) - [April] Now Kimberly, I noticed that some folks on ladders over there pruning some of the trees, especially the crepe myrtles.

Can you tell us a little bit about why you're doing that now and what that entails?

- All right so you wanna kind of wait until after your crepe myrtles have bloomed to start trimming them 'cause you wanna make sure you don't take off anything that's gonna potentially flower.

But right now, especially with the temperatures starting to drop, it's a great time to prune just about any tree, not just crepe myrtles.

Our crepe myrtles do have a lot of deadwood from this last winter freeze.

- [April] It was a bad one.

- [Kimberly] Yeah, it was really bad.

So we're going through getting the deadwood, so it helps the tree by, we're gonna be removing, maybe it's got some growth on it, maybe it got a little damage, but it still looks healthy.

But that's actually going to remove the chance of disease setting in.

- [April] Oh, okay.

- Or insects coming in 'cause they actually sense the stress of a tree and damages, a big stressor that we see.

It's also just for next year, it's gonna be kinda like, it's gonna kind of prioritize itself.

It's gonna prioritize like where do I leaf out?

- Oh, okay.

Okay, I didn't know that.

That's cool.

I know you guys have been cutting back a lot of the perennials in the garden to get 'em ready for winter, but why not this one?

- So it would be really tempting to cut these back because like it kind of looks like it's already lost its leaves.

It kind of looks like it's done and that it just looks like something that you would want to cut back all the way down to, you kind of put it to bed for the winter.

- [April] Right.

- [Kimberly] But the truth is we don't wanna do that because it's already set these buds that are gonna be next year's flowers.

- [April] Yeah, and this is a tree peony, right?

- [Kimberly] Yes, it's a tree peony.

- [April] Yeah, there are other shrubs like that, right?

- Yeah, so a lot of like your hydrangeas and such, you don't want to prune those back right now.

Certain ones you do, certain ones you don't.

And usually, it just kind of takes a little bit of research just to know which ones so you don't accidentally prune them out of season.

- [April] Yeah, but I think if you see big buds like this, that might be a clue maybe.

- [Kimberly] Yeah, the buds are a really good indicator on maybe I don't wanna touch that.

- [April] Don't for that.

Makes sense.

- So April fall is a good time to add nutrition to your soil.

- Hmm hmm.

- You can usually do that with like some soil conditioner and compost and that will allow your soil to be a little bit healthier.

- Yeah.

- Going into winter.

And it'll even feed your plants in the spring.

- Yeah, I imagine you guys use quite a bit of compost here.

- We use quite a bit because we try to add a little bit every fall.

- Okay.

- Into each of our beds.

- I think that's good advice for everybody.

- Yeah.

- So I see some stems here and you guys have cut this back and I see some gaps.

Can you kind of tell us what's going on here?

And why you're doing it?

- Yeah, well this is Variegated Solomon's Seal.

This is a great time to start digging it up and dividing it.

You can kind of see down here where they're very compact.

- [April] Right, oh yeah.

Oh, look at those roots.

- [Kimberly] Yeah, so dividing the, this is the perfect time of year to start dividing them and actually giving them room.

Because once they start getting too compact, they don't really wanna grow.

Their flowers are gonna be very poor.

So what we'd like to do is divide them and replant them somewhere else.

- Yeah.

- And we actually have some over here on the other side where we have started to replant them.

- [April] Yeah.

- You can kind of see the stems here.

These are all new that we just did the other day.

- Oh, cool.

Okay, awesome.

And will that help with stuff like drought tolerance and stuff like that if they're divided?

- Yes, if they actually have more room to like put out their roots and they're not competing with each other, they're more likely to withstand our summer droughts.

- Cool.

- Than well compacted.

- Good advice.

I need to do that, too.

(laughing) Well, this is a pineapple sage and it does not survive our winters.

It always like completely dies back.

- Hmm hmm.

- But what we do so we can actually keep it in the garden, is we take cuttings of it and we reproduce them in our greenhouse.

- [April] Okay.

- [Kimberly] And we will keep them in the greenhouse all throughout the winter.

And then about May we will come back and replant them in the garden wherever we want them.

- [April] So after the frost dates basically, you'll put 'em, back out.

- [Kimberly] Yeah, after the frost.

- [April] Well, it's beautiful and it grew this fast in one season?

- [Kimberly] Yes.

- [April] Oh, my Lord.

- From May till now, this is how big it got.

- [April] Wow, the soil must be really good here.

So Kimberly, our visit today has just proven to me that any time of year is a great time to visit Andrew Jackson's Hermitage.

And I just wanna thank you so much for your time and letting us enjoy these beautiful gardens and learn a bit about what you're doing in the winter to prepare them.

- Ooh, we're happy to have y'all.

- Thank you.

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