An intro conversation to the water cycle and how water gets to our homes and gardens. Hanna interviews her sister Dr. Lundon Pinneo, professor of education at the University of Arkansas Little Rock. For more in depth show notes visit Bloom Box: Growing Deeper at: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.…

Jennifer Morris, Forest Health Specialist for the Nebraska Forest Service, joins us this week to help us recognize tree problems. She walks us through deciding if this is a 'wait and see', 'I can fix it', or 'call an arborist' issue. For more in depth show notes visit Bloom Box: Growing Deeper at: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast Send us your ques…

In this episode, we talk about the struggles and fun of gardening with pets. Toby joins us to talk about his experience and Sarah and Hanna share their tips. For more in depth show notes visit Bloom Box: Growing Deeper at: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Follow us @N…

Tired of having a yard full of grass? Whether you are trying to create habitat, save water, be more sustainable, or are just plain tired of mowing we have some ideas for you! From small changes you can make today to be more environmentally friendly to full lawn replacements, and a few wild ideas just for fun. For more in depth show notes visit Bloo…

Let us help you learn how to design your own pollinator garden! Our online subscription provides everything you need to be your own landscape designer; Hanna and Sarah walk through how to use the Build-Your-Own Bloom Box program and offer suggestions on how to design without the materials or if you are outside the Great Plains. Learn more about Bui…

Spring Affair 2024 is right around the corner! Hanna and Sarah highlight a few plants that you should know about. They also share a few tips for shopping and making the most of the event. Spring Affair dates are: Thursday April 25th (Preview Party, visit website for tickets) Friday April 26th, 2-6 PM (open sale) Saturday April 27th, 9-noon (open sa…

This week we are switching things up and talking about our favorite annuals for pots or temporary garden beds! For more in depth show notes visit Bloom Box: Growing Deeper at: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Follow us @NEBloomBox on Facebook and Instagram Follow us @…

Thinking about adding fruit trees or shrubs to your landscape this year? Bob Henrickson and Brad Kindler join us to talk about native fruits and more traditional fruits we can grow in our home landscapes, acreages or farms. We also talk about what to consider when deciding what to plant and how to choose fruits that will fit your gardening style an…

Kyle Martens, friend of the podcast and garden enthusiast, joins us to talk about how he starts vegetable seeds at home. He has some great tips on timing, supplies, and realistic expectations for beginners. He credits Community Crops, a local nonprofit based in Lincoln, NE with much of what he has learned but there is no doubt he has expanded on wh…

Hanna and Sarah are joined by Justin Evertson and Kendall Weyers to hear what advice they would give someone who wanted to start a project in their town. Justin, Kendall, Brad Kindler and Sarah make up what we call the Green Infrastructure team; we manage the project funding programs that the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum offers, consult on projects…

Ron Poe from the Nebraska Department of Transportation joins us to talk about NDOT's goals for creating a "Nebraska" landscape along our state highways. He answers our questions about pollinator habitat, erosion control, tree planting, mowing practices and more. A little light reading for those who are interested: NDOT's Vegetation Manual. Send us …

It feels like a second New Year after 2 winter storms and 4 snow days which makes for a good day to talk about resolutions! Sarah and Hanna review their resolutions, goals and plans for their 2024 gardens and share their predictions of what will be in and what will be out this year. Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave u…

Happy New Year! Sarah, Hanna and Bob review the Great Plants selections for this year. The Great Plants program is a collaboration between the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum and the Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association to promote underutilized plants that are favorites of industry professionals in Nebraska. Each year a tree, conifer, shrub, per…

An update but unfortunately not a definitive answer on the palm tree debate. We'll be taking a little break since our next scheduled episode would land on Christmas Day; our next episode will be coming January 8th with the 2024 Great Plants selections!By Sarah Buckley & Hanna Pinneo

This week we will review the recent USDA Zone Map update and what it means for Nebraska. We also talk about the limitations of the map and the other factors we consider when predicting plant hardiness. USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map A couple of sources we used to get a better understanding of the USDA map: https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/pages/m…

Our top gifts for gardeners! Each year we round up some of our favorite gardening/outdoor products that we think would make good gifts, many we have enjoyed receiving ourselves. This year we created categories: NSA Merch at plantnebraskashop.org Kids little shovel Bird Enthusiasts Chefs/Cooks Uline Jars New Gardener Experienced Gardeners All the bo…

Dave Zahn is back to finish our conversation about harvesting and storing nuts so they can be enjoyed through the winter. Also joining us is Sam Creal who makes syrup from the walnut trees on his property. Check out Creal Baking to learn more about how to purchase. They don't currently ship syrup but can be found at farmers' markets and craft shows…

Dave Zahn, a long time member of the Nebraska Nut Growers Association, joins us this week to talk about nut trees that are native to Nebraska as well as introduced species that grow well here. We talk planting, growing and a little about harvesting nuts both for personal use and as a crop. To be continued with part 2 focused more on harvest and pro…

It may be fall but gardening season isn’t over! This week we are talking all about fall planting bulbs: how, what, when and how to protect them from critters. We had a lot of fun recording this episode and out ‘end of planting season’ caught up with us; check out the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum on Patreon for an uncut version featuring bears and s…

Heather Beyers, founder of Great Plains Nursery, joins us this week to talk about trees to plant in your landscape or community. Great Plains works hard to promote native trees that increase the biodiversity of our landscapes while meeting the needs of humans and thriving in urban settings (not an easy task!). That mission makes Heather a good sour…

An interview with Jenny Hopwood from the Xerces Society all about the life cycle of stem nesting bees and how we can create habitat for them. Often known for their work with pollinator habitat, the Xerces Society works with any invertebrate species. Their mission: The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation is an international nonprofit organi…

Listen in to today’s episode where Sarah and Hanna share and discuss their favorite nature and gardening related apps. From iNaturalist to SkyView to Planter there are a lot of tools to help you learn about and enjoy they great outdoors. There is also a “deleted scene” from this episode available on our Patreon! Show Notes Send us your questions at…

Did you know Nebraska has over 200 species of butterfly? Hanna and Sarah compare which species they see the most in their urban vs rural yards and how to create nesting habitat. They also take a look at the species that migrate including Monarchs. Join our iNaturalist bioblitz and see how many butterflies we can photograph through September 1st! Ma…

Botanical Latin- the language of plants- can be baffling but also incredibly helpful. Not really a language at all, this system of naming (nomenclature) gives each plant and official and universal name. These scientific names come in handy when identifying plants with regional common names or when several plants have the same common name; like sunf…

Erin Ingram and Jenny Keshwani join us from GROWABLE, science literacy team, at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. They recently hosted an event called Climate and Mental Health for high school and college students and shared with us what they learned. View the documentary "Gen Z Mental Health: Climate Stories" Show Notes Send us your questions at…

Join the new Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Patreon for weekly plant profiles, bonus podcast content and behind the scenes looks in our greenhouse and at our projects! https://www.patreon.com/NebraskaStatewideArboretumBy Sarah Buckley & Hanna Pinneo

It’s the middle of the summer and hopefully everyone has something blooming in their garden! But, midsummer brings some issues with it as well; flopping, insects, diseases & Random Death (it happens to us all). These issues aren’t unique to this time of year but they often intensify in the summer heat. June 17th is Member Appreciation week at the N…

How does heat affect plants? How do plants affect temperature? Summer in the City: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7ofnHmxE-I Photosynthesis: Mrs. Frizzle says it best: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cMNVwkxoW6k Stomata: any of the minute pores in the epidermis (skin) of the leaf or stem of a plant, forming a slit of variable width which allows m…

Happy Wildflower Week! The first week of June we always celebrate Nebraska Wildflower Week by traveling to the panhandle to spend time hiking and visiting with our partners and friends. For this episode we're going to take you along with us. Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growi…

It's time for another episode of the Bloom Box Growing Deeper podcast. In this edition, Sarah and Hanna answer listeners' questions about gardening, including how much to water during this very dry spring, how to deal with invasive weeds and more. Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box:…

Denise Wally, former Nebraska Forest Service coworker and current friend, joins us to talk about her love of growing mushrooms. As a member of the Nebraska Mycological Society she enjoys teaching others about the identification, culinary uses and growing of mushrooms. She has experimented with ways to include mushrooms in both her landscape and her…

It’s Spring Affair Week and that applies to EVERYTHING we do at NSA. So, today’s episode is all about Spring Affair. Sarah and Hanna share practical tips and tricks to use while you’re shopping and list more than a few plants you should look for while you’re shopping. Toby and Michelle also join in to talk about vendors and creating spring affair n…

Chrissy Land, Western Nebraska Community Forester for the Nebraska Forest Service, joins us to talk about the importance of trees to bees. As a forester she knows and loves trees, as a beekeeper she knows and loves bees, and with a background in landscape design and maintenance she knows how to combine the two! Doug Tallamy is one of our favorite a…

April Fool's! No tricks here but we are changing things up and talking about all our 'unpurposeful' gardening projects. We always try to help you garden with a purpose but today that purpose is whatever brings you joy whether or not it has a direct tie to habitat or ecological services. Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail…

Victory Gardens made a comeback during Covid. This is an opportunity for us to talk about a significant movement in home horticulture- similar in many ways to the current movement of sustainable/habitat gardening at home. Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://p…

The days are getting warmer (between snowstorms) and we're getting excited for spring! Between the Spring Affair plant list and the Bloom Box design archives this episode is dedicated to pre-spring "window" shopping. Review Bloom Box: Growing Deeper and make Hanna pay! Ratings and review help new listeners find our podcast and help us create better…

How are we planning to improve our soil this spring? Lot's of poop! Late winter-early spring is a great time to make sure their is organic matter ready to decompose in your garden. Our podcast episodes are now on YouTube! We also have how-to videos, webinars and other resources so check it out. Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloomb…

Our interests and hobbies matter to the people who care about us most, sometimes they come along for the ride, diving in with us, and sometimes they cheer us on while appreciating the fruits of our labors (pun definitely intended). With Valentine's Day coming up, we spent some time talking with our husbands about our gardening obsessions. Hanna's h…

Equitable access to public spaces is central to our civic life and democracy. We can’t let the threat of terrorist attacks or mass shooters turn our public spaces into inaccessible fortresses. To protect our people and economy, cities instead need thoughtful, designed security solutions that balance the need for openness with the management of risk…

The Great Plants program is a partnership between the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum and the Nebraska Nursery and Landscape Association with the goal of promoting overlooked and underutilized plants that are native or well adapted to our area. Bob Henrickson has been leading this program for the last couple of decades and joins us to talk about this …

Get cozy with a book this winter while we wait for the ground to thaw and planting to begin! Sarah and Hanna, along with Michelle our communications specialist, talk about their favorite books that keep them thinking of gardens and growing. Check out our Bookshop.org affiliate link to purchase any of these titles and support Bloom Box & NSA at no e…

Help us Plant Nebraska by supporting the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum Annual Campaign: Become a Member Donate to NSA Shop our Merch Shop with our bookshop.org affiliate link At the Nebraska Statewide Arboretum we plant Nebraska for healthy people, vibrant communities and a resilient environment. We do this through tree planting, garden making, educ…

This week we recorded our first Bloom Box Kids episode with John! It's about 10 minutes long about different ways animals survive the winter. If you're celebrating the solstice by putting out food for wildlife, this episode may help start the conversation. Show NotesBy Sarah Buckley & Hanna Pinneo

The winter solstice is drawing near! This week we're talking about winter survival methods, human and animal. For humans, a major cold survival tactic is to celebrate with feasts and holidays; so we're learning about solstice festivals around the northern hemisphere. Our horticulture assistant John has a background in herpetology and an interest in…

Some ideas for the gardeners in your life this holiday season! (or give gardeners ideas for their Christmas lists) For experienced gardeners who have all the 'stuff' they need, consider a donation to an organization or cause they are passionate about. plantnebraska.org/donate Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or lea…

In this episode Sarah and Hanna talk about what they wish they had known when they started gardening. They get into proper tools, soil types, and size and timing among other things. Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/podcast Follow us @NEBl…

Happy Halloween from Bloom Box! We're facing our fears on this spooky holiday and talking about stings. Listen in to hear 5 different people + Hanna and Sarah share their bee sting stories and experiences working closely with bees and wasps. Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growi…

What do bees do in the fall? Courtney Brummel from the UNL Bee Lab talks us through fall in the life of both native bees and honey bees. Plus some tips on how to make your garden a friendly place to nest. Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://plantnebraska.org/…

Fall beauty is more than just brightly colored trees and pumpkins (thank goodness because good tree color years only come around once in a while)! In the fall we appreciate a different, more muted, color palette as well as textures. In the fall the landscape draws us in and invites us to look closer; at the seed heads, at the insects, at the small …

Fall planting just feels a little more relaxed and easy going with less pressure to plant and less pressure to water all summer. Today we're focusing on fall tree planting and dividing/moving plants in the next episode. Show Notes Send us your questions at growingwithbloombox@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail. Bloom Box: Growing Deeper: https://pla…