Focus on Flowers is a weekly podcast and public radio program about flower gardening hosted by master gardener Moya Andews.
2023
Focus on Flowers is a weekly podcast and public radio program about flower gardening hosted by master gardener Moya Andews.
2023
540hr 55min
All of May, cranesbill geranium 'Bevan' is covered in pink flowers, and the rest of the year, he has lovely fresh-looking green leaves.
A quote by Vita Sackville West about ground covers.
Dandelions light up our lawns each spring with bright yellow flowers.
Before the invention of photography, illustrations of uncommon plants were crucial. Women were thought to be especially well suited for drawing specimens accurately. They were seen as patient, careful, and willing to work for little pay.
During the Middle Ages in Britain, the monasteries were the places with the space and the knowledge to garden.
Most gardeners I know find it convenient to buy this easy-care annual for their pots and shade beds each spring, and delight in growing such undemanding annuals.
The Cherry tree that Houseman wrote about in his poem is commonly known as bird cherry, which alas do not grow well for us in zone 6. A white tree that is a lovely substitute, however, is the white dogwood.
At this time of the year many flower lovers buy pots of Easter lilies at the grocery store to have in their homes during the Easter season
Clay soil is heavy and hard to dig compared to sandy soil, but it is also more moisture and nutrient retentive.
No plant, it seems to those of us plagued with deer, can be called really deer proof.
Regular pruning benefits all woody plants, such as shrubs, trees, and vines. Pruning keeps them vigorous and healthy, as well as improving their shape.
Cutting back plants, even small ones, helps to stimulate growth. But don't cut off all of the leaves!
There are so many lovely varieties of clematis available today. Even a single bloom floating is a bowl looks perfect.
In late winter, after months without garden flowers, we are eager to see flowers in our homes. However, there is a wonderful feeling we get when we force branches of early spring-blooming trees and shrubs.
All of the poems I will read today are about roses and all are from times long past.
The flowers associated with St. Valentine were, in Roman times, the yellow crocus and the tricolor viola that both bloom in the early spring in our gardens today. But there are also other saints associated with February...
In 1993, Christopher Lloyd hired Fergus Garrett as his head gardener and together they turned the traditional 80-year-old rose garden into an exotic tropical area. Christo was amused by the consequent criticism from traditionalists.
Great Dixter's Christopher Lloyd created his famous term "succession planting" to describe continuous bloom month after month, beginning in March and ending in October.
One of Britain's most celebrated gardens, Great Dixter is a magnificent place where one can learn and be inspired. A trip there should be on every gardener's bucket list.
In AD 830, St. Benedict said that gardening was appropriate manual labor for monks and that all monasteries should have a psychic garden, kitchen garden, cellar garden, an orchard, and a private garden for monks of high office.
The Romans were the first to create pleasure gardens in Britain.
The winter solstice marks the day with the fewest hours of sunshine in the year, which means that it is described as the shortest day.
Bees, butterflies, moths, and other insects used to be the only creatures who transferred pollen from flower to flower. Nowadays, it is often a person with a fine brush.
The idea of private pleasure gardens during the Middle Ages in England was espoused by Eleanor of Aquitaine.
Most of us occasionally get little black flies that look a bit like fruit flies around our houseplants. They're fungus gnats and essentially harmless, mostly...
One of the most influential horticulturalists of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was William Robinson, the first to promote the idea of a wild garden.
Fall is a great time to collect the seed pods from shrubs like baptisia and hardy hibiscus and store them in paper envelopes indoors until next spring.
Houseplants that bloom help us to get through winter while awaiting next year's flowers in the garden. But often houseplants suffer from problems that we must address promptly to save a plant's life.
Betty Smith is the author of the book A Tree Grows in Brooklyn about a young girl who is inspired by a tree. Unfortunately, the tree happens to be an invasive species.
You do not want this junk tree anywhere near your garden, as it self-seeds aggressively and many people are highly allergic to its pollen.
Continually cut back plants that have done their stuff to allow more room for those whose bloom period is yet to come.
If you need something in bloom all through the growing seasons in your garden, check that you have these plants.
There are many common names for the pink lilies, Amaryllis belladonna, that pop up in our gardens during the hot days of August/September: naked ladies, magic lily, autumn lily, surprise lily, and resurrection lily.
Native to the Far East, crepe myrtles can be trees or but in my zone 6 garden, they usually die back to the ground each winter.
The winter-blooming clivia plant is one of the very few house plants that will produce flowers indoors in the dead of winter.
If you are looking for deer resistant shrubs to plant in your unfenced yard, the safest evergreens are spruce, juniper, and boxwood.
Early on, I longed for all the more pretentious perennials, but now I prefer the tried and true.
Angelonia produces stalks of little flowers, similar to stock flowers, that last a long time on the plant, flowering steadily all through till late summer.
The plant has the unfortunate common name of "tickseed," derived from the Greek word "Koris," meaning bed bug.
This black-eyed Susan is a plant that we can all grow and that will be with us for as long as we garden.
Our Midwest Hibiscus moscheutos, (a.k.a. swamp mallow), is an herbaceous plant that has flowers that look so exotic that it seems tropical, but it is hardy zones 5-9.
Gayfeather (Liatris spicata) is a lovely native plant that attracts butterflies, bumble bees, and other insects.
Xeroscaping is the term for gardening while conserving water.
The original perennial coneflowers were pink, but many new cultivars have been developed.
A mix of annuals, biennials, perennials, and shrubs ensures that your cutting garden always has something in bloom.
Peter Rabbit is cute, but he can be a problem for gardeners, especially when seedlings and small plants are available, and he wants them for his dinner!
Native perennials are an essential part of our ecosystem and support wildlife. Some are more likely to thrive in our region than others.
Monarch butterflies like to eat various species of milkweed, which have a bitter juice, that makes their caterpillars unappealing to predators.
If you want to get more plants from your existing flowering plants, a good way is to take cuttings.
The degree of shade is an important factor in gardening, and usually for flowering plants, partial shade is the best.
In warm climates, the showy, brightly colored bougainvillea vines romp over walls, fences, and even buildings, brightening landscapes with their vivid colors.
Both perennial and annual candytufts make excellent rock garden and edging plants.
The Star of Bethlehem name probably dates from the Crusades. The bulbs were brought home as souvenirs when ancient people made pilgrimages to the Holy Land. So, this sweet little flower has an impressive history.
Always deadhead spring bulbs after they finish blooming or they will put their energy into setting seed, which limits their rejuvenation.
There are about 125 species in the genus Oenothera, and they are commonly called sundrops, evening primroses, or golden eggs, and they are native to North and South America.
In olden times, if one wore a sprig of alyssum, no one would be angry with you.
Allelopathic plants release chemicals through their leaves and roots that prevent the germination and/or growth of nearby plants.
It's important to remove invasive, non-native plants to make more space available for plants that nourish our own native wildlife.
If you are planting a garden this spring around a condominium or in some other small garden space, you may want to consider some of the shrubs that have been developed to grow into a compact shape and size at maturity.
There is magic associated with flowers. How can it be, I wonder, that there are so many different shapes, colors, and sizes to delight the senses?
By the 18th century, it was fashionable in the colonies of North America where a garden was essential to feed a family.
In ancient times, roses were not grown for ornamental reasons but for their medicinal and mystical properties.
After the spring bloomers' flowers faded, I used to have day lily plants that grew up in my beds to disguise the decaying and unsightly bulb foliage. All that changed once the deer in my neighborhood came by in droves and ate all of the day lily foliage.
During the 20th century, growers learned to grow flowers with taller, straighter stems, less blemishes, and, also, to force blooms out of season.
Beginning in the early 18th century in England, many quaint new cottages were built surrounded by plantings of fruit trees, honey suckle, ivy, and all kinds of flowers to create intentionally romantic gardens.
Empress Josephine Bonaparte had the first European ever-blooming roses from China, and her eclectic collection allowed French hybridizers to create many new varieties.
Way back when there were no cell phones, lovers used flowers as coded messages to keep their communications unknown to chaperones.
In North America, frangipani is often associated with Hawaii because of the lovely leis that are made from their blossoms.
Starting in February we can pick garden flowers for indoors.
These plants enjoy rich, moist soil that drains well, and if they're happy in their spot, they will form colonies under deciduous trees but will disappear once the trees leaf out.
King Louis XIV's pleasure gardens were places to entertain and impress, and to glorify himself and his achievements.
In AD 79, Mount Vesuvius erupted, and huge amounts of volcanic ash covered the city of Pompeii. The ash preserved the homes and gardens that otherwise would have decayed or been destroyed over time.
Pounding can create emotional release and satisfaction for some, and the resulting images can be quite beautiful.
“Hope is like a harebell, trembling from its birth / Love is like a rose, the joy of all the earth... / Harebells and sweet lilies show a thornless growth / But the rose with all its thorns excels them both.”
If you are looking for a sweet gift for a loved one or friend, check out antique stores and thrift shops for miniature vases or cute tiny bottles.
Frances Hodgson Burnett wrote, "As long as one has a garden, one has a future and as long as one has a future, one lives."
"Love your garden and work in it, and let it give you what it surely will and let no one feel that the benefit is all on the side of the garden, for truly you will receive more than you give."
Flowering plants are forgiving, and they usually give much more than they receive.
During the 1860s, watercolor paintings by English artists depicted rural scenes with thatched cottages surrounded by profuse cottage gardens. It was an idealized version of English country life.
Lancelot "Capability" Brown, landscaper to the rich and famous in 18th-century England, died in 1783. He advocated vistas that were "simple, uncluttered and restrained."
What gardens existed around the world in In the 6th-13th centuries?
A mixed border is usually a defined space with a mix of perennials, annuals, shrubs, bulbs, and/or grasses with a walk, or path, in front and a wall or a fence behind as a backdrop. A mix of plants of different varieties ensures an extended period of interest.
Shrubs are long-lived garden residents and help create the architecture of a garden.
Streptocarpus are pretty plants to grow once one gets used to their habits.
Caryopteris (Bluebeard) has a winning combination of foliage color and pretty flowers that provide focal points in the fall garden.
As the growing season winds down, there are some plants, known in the trade as season extenders, that bridge the gap between fall and winter in gardens.
Many different flowers have been used as food garnishes. However, there are also many toxic plants in our gardens.
We love flowers, but we should always look at them in the garden, not eat them, as many have also been exposed to chemicals before we purchase them.
It's time to move the houseplants indoors…
Perennial garden plants should bloom sequentially. Plants have bloom times that overlap, hopefully, so there can be a series of different plants in bloom across an entire season.
In the late 18th century, William Morris, a prominent advocate of the Arts and Crafts movement, wanted all of England to become a garden where nothing was wasted.
Late in the summer, Prunus persica produces hard little peaches that I have never have the chance to taste, as they are always knocked off the branches by wild animals.
All azaleas are rhododendrons but not all rhododendrons are azaleas.
Some may not consider the flower pretty, so perhaps "striking” is a better adjective.
There are over 200 species of hibiscus, and they are beloved because of their big showy flowers and green, clean-looking foliage. They fall into three different major categories: tropical, perennial and hardy.
Cottage gardens are the product of the homeowner's own work and vision, and William Robinson advised, "Let the flowers tell their story to the heart."
Later in the summer when garden flowers are less abundant, I look for foliage and other things to use as filler in my vases of cut flowers.
English Lord Holland wrote a poem about his wife who got dahlia seeds from Madrid (via the New World): “The dahlias you brought to our isle, your praises forever shall speak; mid gardens as sweet as your smile, and color as bright as your cheek."
Some types of birds prefer ground level water sources also, so even a plant pot saucer can serve during hot days. You don't need feeders during the summer, but water is crucial in times of drought.
Each of these three types of geraniums is associated with long-billed wading birds.
Canna comes from the Greek word spelled kanna, which means reed, though the canna plant does not have narrow reed-like leaves.
These flowers grow wild, creating deep velvet-red carpets in Nebraskan pastures.
Oenothera fruticosa's common name is sundrops, and its nectar attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.
A suitable habitat for birds includes predictable water sources, an open area of lawn, some dense shrubs for cover, some tall trees, plants with berries, and nesting places for ground birds.
Ageratum pairs well with plants of any color.
This fungus appears white on leaves. Some plants are more susceptible than others and some varieties have more resistance to this disease than others.
Blue false indigo's flowering period is short, but the foliage always looks cool even on the hottest day of summer.
There are about 250 species of these showy herbaceous plants and nearly all are perennial and native to temperate parts of the northern hemisphere.
Native to Mexico, dahlias probably grew in Aztec gardens as they were already in cultivation when the Spaniards arrived.
So many varieties of these gorgeous flowers have travelled here from far-away lands to sweeten the air in our gardens.
Red Hot Pokers belong to the genus Kniphofia (Kniphofia uvaria) and are also known as tritoma or torch lilies.
A poem about rain in the garden by J. Redwood Anderson.
The common name "pinks” does not refer to the color but to the fringed edging of the petals that makes them look as if they had been cut with pinking shears.
When working outdoors we should tuck our pant legs into our socks, wear long sleeves, and use tick repellent often and liberally.
Many of us had grandmothers who used lavender as their signature fragrance.
Research shows that despite the commonly held idea that hummingbirds love red, that is not the case.
Spring is a time to plant perennial chrysanthemums. They'll mature during the summer and produce breathtaking fall color in your garden.
I would not be without my annual larkspur, which I have enjoyed year after year and some often self-seed and return, but in order to be sure, I always buy some seeds. I don't want to risk a year without it!
While roses take care, trial and error over time will help a gardener learn which varieties thrive best in their climate.
There is a large number of more modern hybrid cultivars now available, and some produce flowers in other shades such as white, rose, magenta, burgundy, and purple.
If you want to minimize work in the garden, you can try to plant perennials that do not like to be disturbed and so never need to be divided.
I read of a grower in lower New York who has iris in bloom continuously from February until the end of July.
A walk in the woods in early April, when the air is cool and crisp, allows us the delight of discovering sweet little flowers such as the sharp-lobed Hepatica.
“I have grown wise, after many years of gardening, and no longer order recklessly from wildly alluring descriptions, which make every annual sound easy to grow and as brilliant as a film star.” -Vita Sackville-West
Twinleaf's botanical name celebrates a U.S. president who loved gardens, Thomas Jefferson.
As winter winds down, witch hazel is the shrub to watch.
Many of our best lilacs resulted from the work of Isabella Preston, who spent her career hybridizing plants.
I have been reading a book on flower arranging by Sheila Macqueen published in 1972 in England.
I have been reading a book about women gardeners in times past and find that they have wonderful wisdom to share.
Crocus sativus' stamens are the source of saffron. Henry I of England was so fond of saffron as a spice in food that he forebade ladies in his court from using it as a hair lightener.
Many people want a low-maintenance garden, yet no garden is truly low maintenance, but one possibility is an informal garden of easy-care flowering annuals.
Celia Thaxter gardened on an island off the New England coast.
Groundhogs, whistle pigs, woodchucks--whatever you call them, they hibernate all winter and wake up in the spring feeling ravenous, ready to eat your flowers.
When Beatrix died, she left over 4000 acres to The National Trust to be preserved forever in its natural state. Many visitors come from all over the world to England’s Lake District, looking for Peter Rabbit and his creator.
“She is pleased with her Pinks."
Plants add vitality to our indoor living spaces.
Select the largest herbaceous specimens that you can afford to plant. Otherwise, you may have a large house with tiny little blobs of green lined up in front of the structure for a long time.
Cold-season bloomers are rare in the flower world.
Squirrels are such fun to watch!
James I of Scotland wrote a poem in 1413 describing his view of a densely screened pleasure garden set in a corner of the castle wall.
Dr. Nathanial Ward, a naturalist and physician living in London, discovered a way to transport and protect plants from the sea air and adverse temperatures during long sea voyages.
In the fall deer start on the woody plants and most often go after evergreens in the winter.
Quotes from Violet Stevenson and Gertrude Jekyll.
When cutting flowers from your home garden, it is important to remember that you are subjecting the plant to surgery.
It is hard to find shrubs for deep shade, as few will persist at all...but here a few ideas.
Shade gardens are usually at their best in the spring, but filtered shade gardens can provide summer color, too.
"Double, double toil and trouble; Fire burn, and cauldron bubble." This hour on Harmonia, we’ll catch a fright listening to scary sounds for Halloween.
Conifer shrubs and trees need warmer soil to get their roots growing, so plant them as early as possible in the fall.
This hour on Harmonia, we’re listening to the sounds of frogs, snakes, and serpents, both real and mythological.
There are only a few perennials that thrive for many years without being divided and replanted.
Fall is the time to bring indoors all of those houseplants that have been spending the summer outside. I usually also dig up a few annual geraniums that I have had in my beds all summer.
By the end of the 1800s, most types of chrysanthemums had arrived in America.
The name chrysanthemum is from the Greek word for gold “chrysos” and “anthos,” which means flower.
Plants that can tolerate boggy, wet soil exist!
It is easy to get a renewed sense of enthusiasm for gardening when the hottest weather has passed.
Our native perennial coreopsis is a stalwart in many American gardens.
Amaryllis bulbs can be rebuilt so that they can bloom well the following winter indoors.
My current garden is a shadow of its former self...thanks to the urban deer population. However, a few stalwart plants persist.
Globe amaranth dries beautifully for winter bouquets.
Yarrow, “soldier’s woundwart,” “milfoil”—Achillea has many names and many uses.
During our hot Midwestern summers, it is good for pots to get some afternoon shade. Also, pots dry out more quickly, so it is best to plant annuals in the ground.
In very hot weather, remember to water your potted plants twice a day as the soil in pots dries out quickly.
Choose just a few plants that will need minimum attention, and plant something vigorous around the base of the post to soften it.
If I were to start over, and knowing what I now know, I would start with a plan and a clearer idea of the type of garden I wanted.
It was not until the 1920s that it was recognized that cattle that grazed on white snakeroot caused humans to die if they drank the cow’s milk.
The garden is full of plants that are poisonous. Most are not lethal, but a few are, so it is wise to err on the side of caution.
Purple Loosestrife clogs wetlands and waterways, choking out other plants and eliminating food sources for native wildlife. The plant is classified as a federal noxious weed.
Native plants are important to preserve native wildlife and the ecology of our landscape, but some natives will suit our particular climate and garden space better than others.
Some of the best plants in my garden were given to me by other gardeners or came from plant swaps held by garden clubs.
Dainty and durable and deer resistant—just my kind of plant!
There are bound to be some times of the year when there are no flowers in our gardens, and that is when we just have to buy some! A good reliable flower to buy is the South American native alstroemeria.
Brunfelsia is a long-blooming shrub from subtropical Australia, and it triggers lots of memories for me.
The spectacular blooms known as Angel’s Trumpets grow on plants that are vase-shaped shrubs or small trees.
Flowering Tobacco--for minimum effort, a gardener gets maximum results!
It's is a good idea to think about color before you buy a bunch of news plants in springtime.
Springtime = Transplant, delete, cut back.
All Pieris shrubs are evergreen and are related to rhododendrons and mountain laurels.
Calycanthus is a fine sweet shrub that also goes by the name of Carolina allspice.
Our native red and black chokeberry shrubs provide four seasons of interest and are drought tolerant once they are established in gardens
Lindera is a host plant for the promethean moth and the spicebush swallowtail butterfly.
Shrubs are easy-care and long-lived stalwarts in our landscapes in all seasons of the year.
How do we avoid a messy medley of too many plants creating chaos in the garden? I can tell you from personal experience that it isn’t easy!
Now, only about 20% of our cut flowers are grown in California, Washington State, and Oregon, where most used to be grown for domestic sale.
Where do our cut flowers come from? Often, South America. Workers in greenhouses cut each stem individually and immediately place each flower in a bucket of water...
Refrigerated trucks and unheated holds of planes are cold, helping cut flowers from abroad to stay fresh during their journey to the U.S.
Over one-hundred million roses are purchased in the United States for Valentine’s Day each year, and nearly all are red and long stemmed.
What we see from our windows all through the cold days of winter is our garden’s architectural structure formed by the trees and shrubs that are the long-term residents of our gardens year round.
For twenty years Henry Mitchell’s column “Earthman” was a weekly feature in The Washington Post.
African violets are quite happy growing in pots in many of our homes and are easily propagated.
Visitors are not charged to see the 55 acres of gorgeous organic plantings in the heart of this major research university.
Emily Dickinson was a renowned poet, but during her lifetime she was known more for her gardening skills.
Here are few poems written, most of them, very long ago.
There has been so much hybridizing, that the differences between a Thanksgiving and a Christmas cactus have become blurred, so it seems reasonable to refer to them all as Holiday Cactuses nowadays.
This may be the perfect year to simplify our holiday decorations. Rather than buying new items, dig around in your closets and see what you can reinvent.
If you have gardeners on your holiday gift list, you can easily accommodate them from the comfort of your own home. Gift certificates to nurseries in the hometown of your recipients, or from catalogues, are always well received.
Most clivia plants produce orange flowers, but you can impress a gardener by ordering a clivia for them as a holiday gift that produces yellow blooms, as yellow is quite rare and treasured by knowledgeable gardeners.
As we look back on the gardening season, we can assess what worked and what didn’t – our successes and challenges in the garden.
In the fall, I leave a few cone flowers and sunflowers for the birds, otherwise I cut spent flowers right to the ground and clean up the debris. I want the beds clear before the spring daffodils and other bulbs bloom.
My garden is very crowded, and so in the fall, I am always wondering where I can plant more spring bulbs without cutting into the existing ones.
It is easy and fun to save seeds from this year’s annuals.
I used to believe that some plants—like peonies, for example—were immune to deer. Not anymore. I have seen deer eat just about every plant...
Not a pretty name for such an attractive plant.
A plant that attracts butterflies to our garden is the pincushion flower. The botanical name is Scabiosa, and these plants usually have blue, white, or pink flowers. As their common name suggests, the shape of the flower resembles a pincushion as the central florets form a rounded shape.
One often sees Veronia, a.k.a. ironweed, on roadsides and in fields and ditches. The wind disperses the seeds, which explains why it is a surprise when it appears in our gardens like an uninvited guest.
We should cut back most perennials in the fall. They don’t look good once it gets cold, so it is best to cut them to the ground and they will come back well next spring.
Joe-Pye weed looks great next to a splash of sunshine yellow from goldenrod or helianthus.
As summer transitions into fall, we usually rely on mums and asters to give us color as the growing season wanes. But here are some other reliable bloomers.
Surprise lilies bloom from late summer into early September, and their cool pink flowers do indeed surprise us when their pale lily-type blooms suddenly appear on their long bare stalks.
CORRECTION (May 2022): Goldenrod is native to North America but has naturalized and become invasive in parts of Eurasia.
“Heli” means sun and “anthus” means flower.
No Deadheading
William Shakespeare included so many botanical references in his plays that there are about 175 mentions of flowers, fruits, grains, grasses, seeds, weeds, trees, spices, herbs, and vegetables in his works.
Hot & Dry
Janae Cummings speaks with Paul Shoulberg, the writer and director of The Good Catholic and Ms. White Light.
IU Assistant Professor of Photography Elizabeth Claffey speaks with artist Ana Teresa Fernández about the ideas of immigration and gender she explores in her work, and what inspires her to create.
Host Aaron Cain speaks with author and comic Laurie Kilmartin about the anatomy of a good joke, and about how the truth isn’t always funny.
Shayne Laughter speaks with musician, dancer, teacher, and cultural ambassador Kevin Locke.
Payton Knobeloch speaks with New York Times best-selling graphic novelist Nate Powell about how graphic novels and comic books have earned a place in literary culture, and in the classroom.
David Brent Johnson speaks with writer and documentarian Sam Stephenson, about what’s inspired him to create his unique, prize-winning brand of cultural research.
Join us for music by a Czech violinist and composer who was sought after by Haydn and Beethoven, in the same freemasons’ lodge as Mozart, and very much a star of the Vienna musical scene.
Host Aaron Cain speaks with Barthold Kuijken, groundbreaking baroque musician, teacher, conductor, and artistic director of the Indianapolis Baroque Orchestra.
All types of marigolds last well as cut flowers, and they are excellent plants for children to grow when they begin gardening.
The chalumeau was a single-reed ancestor of the clarinet, whose brief popularity left a lasting impression. We’ll explore music for the chalumeau--plus, torchsongs on historical instruments, on our featured release Songs Without Words on this week’s edition of Harmonia.
Host Aaron Cain speaks with Vassar College President Elizabeth Bradley, about what economics, healthcare management, and art history have taught her about how to be an effective leader.
White blooms combine so well with other flowers and help make their companions pop!
Janae Cummings speaks with documentary filmmaker Gordon Quinn, about finding a way to tell stories that investigate society and inspire change.
Flowers from bulbs are easy to arrange informally in a vase.
More and more gardeners are seeking information about sustainability.
A novice gardener once told me that she was only going to plant perennials, as they did not need any care. If only that was true!
These trumpet lilies are fragrant, and the pure white blooms are lovely in flower arrangements.
Allium ‘Millennium’ can be planted in the spring and reliably bloom in the heat of summer.
Remember the danger of sudden spring frosts and wait to set out your tender annuals.
Do not take risks by setting out your annual plants too soon.
Frost dates are very important.
Many of us with clay soil complain loudly about it, and it’s true that gardens with clay soil can be hard to dig. Nonetheless, it has its virtues.
Explore the Jewish spring holiday of Purim, a commemoration of the Book of Esther. Purim celebrations are best known today for their gift-giving, wild costume parties, and delicious hamentashen. The story of Esther was also the inspiration for a number of musical works, as we will see.
The whole garden looks better if plants are deadheaded, so it is a good thing.
Musical tales from the gods of Mount Olympus
In February, it is appropriate to think about roses.
The earliest iris to bloom is the petite Iris reticulata.
Hosack realized the need for a public garden as a research facility for medical scientists and their students.
Quite a number of flowering annuals can be started by sowing their seeds directly into the garden.
Before long, some of the earliest flowers to bloom will be stirring in our gardens.
This week, the third in a series of four programs that explore canons and fugues from the earliest written music to J.S. Bach. Join us for “round three,” with catches, canzonas, and a certain infamous canon.
Here are some interesting things said by some interesting people. Plus, my personal advice to you in January.
Lindsay was the Grande Dame of gardening in a time when ladies did not have professional careers.
Thomas Church (1902-78) was a garden designer whose style was a response to California's specific type of lifestyle and climate.
Our guest this hour is harpist Cheryl Ann Fulton, one of the foremost practitioners of historical harp, who joins me for a program featuring the soundtrack to her short documentary film The Harps in the Trees, which tells the story of a musical pilgrimage to Scotland by her ensemble Angelorum.
This winter I have been reading some garden writers’ words of wisdom, which now I will share with you.
Just one rose floating in a small bowl, presented with a heartfelt message, written or verbal, will be treasured.
Tired of jingle bells yet? This week on Harmonia, join us for something a little different.
Most of us are familiar with the old-fashioned, white mop-head blossoms of the popular hydrangea variety ‘Annabelle.’
Sometimes soil can be just slightly acid or neutral with a PH of 6 or 7 and you will get a mix of both pink and blue flowers on the same plant.
Hydrangeas are some of the most beautiful as well as durable shrubs in our gardens.
Gratitude is a theme often explored in early music, and we’ll hear expressions of thanks from a variety of sources on this edition of Harmonia.
In 2019, The New York Botanical Garden mounted an exhibit honoring Brazil’s greatest landscape designer 25 years after his death: “Brazilian Modern: The Living Art of Roberto Burle Marx.”
Male hummers are extremely aggressive. They even stab each other!
David Austin was fond of saying that a rose without a fragrance is only half a rose.
I grow more iris than I used to because deer leave them alone, and I’ve discovered that there are many things I did not know about these flowers.
I have been planting more white flowers recently because I already have so many other colored flowers that bloom in my yard across the growing seasons.
If you are looking for more natives to plant in your shady spots this fall, consider our native North American foamflower.
It is important for gardeners to know their hardiness zone.
Perennials are plants that, hopefully, return in our gardens each spring after being dormant during the winter.
Nasturtiums can make pretty cut flowers.
Even just one flower stuck in a bottle makes me feel happy!
Sully reads “We Always Ate the Kraut Pierogi First” and “I Don’t Know How to Use Sundials, but I Appreciate That Shadows Have Things to Tell Us.”
Plants benefit from growing in good soil, and the addition of compost is an effective way to condition it.
Robert Parsons, Gentleman of the Chapel Royal
Common names of plants vary greatly, but officially, each plant has two Latin names.
Blue is such a calming shade and happily combines with any other color.
Thanks to many years of dedicated plant hybridizing, it is now possible to have four seasons of color in our gardens.
Water features are commonplace in formal gardens.
Sully reads “April Is National Celery Month” and “Five Ways of Looking at My Own Body.”
What we call groundcovers today, Vita Sackville West called “carpeters."
The Musical World of Johannes Ciconia
When I began gardening, my aim was to have as many flowers as possible, but the longer I garden the more I appreciate the impact of colorful foliage.
The Songs of Salamone Rossi
Experienced gardeners know that benign neglect results in an unkempt garden.
WLS reads "Funeral for Now," "On the last day there was snow," "Prayer to the Saint of Loss," and "Poem in the Form of Anger."
Some people love specific plants just because of their scent.
WLS reads "The Knackers at Work," "The Knackers in Their Apartment," and "The Knackers Visit the Reservoir."
I love plant names that rhyme!
Foliage colors are especially good for creating interesting beds and borders.
Dan Sullivan reads “House Built in the Form of Prayer” and “And I Can Find a Home There Too.”
I love coleus for their showy colorful leaves...
Dr. Sylvia Martinez of IU Bloomington's Latino Studies Program discusses cultural citizenship with Dr. Sujey Vega, author of "Latino Heartland: Of Borders and Belonging in the Midwest."
Laurence of Florence
Host Aaron Cain discusses several "pressing" matters with IU Media Studies Professor Rachel Plotnick, author of "Power Button: A History of Pleasure, Panic, and the Politics of Pushing."
Anni Liu reads "Northeast Kingdom," "Night Swim at Shadow Lake," and "And I Look Away."
Honeysuckle's common name is woodbine because its woody stems twine clockwise around anything in its path.
London 31390
It is interesting to watch sunflowers turn their heads to follow the sun.
WLS reads "Elegy for Hiding with a Line by Roethke" and "An End To All Things."
The Wacky World of Weelkes
On this episode of Profiles we feature two encore interviews with Richard Luger, former United States Senator from Indiana. He died this week at the age of 87.
Filipendula rubra produces airy rose-pink flower clusters that can be between 4-10 inches wide and rise above the plant’s deeply divided leaves presenting a regal appearance befitting its common name, Queen of the Prairie.
Digging up the root ball of an established plant completely and cutting it into sections actually benefits the plant.
IU Cinema director Jon Vickers speaks with filmmaker Avi Nesher about his approach to moviemaking, and how an upbringing in both Israel and America has influenced his work.
Starting plants from existing ones is fun as well as economical.
A perennial is a flowering plant that lives for three or more years.
Perennial beds need to be well dug initially to loosen the soil and then amended with compost or other organic material.
IU Geography Professor Elizabeth Cullen Dunn speaks with constitutional lawyer, politician, and activist Gennadiy Druzenko about his years of civil service, and what the future holds for the people of Ukraine.
There is a legend about a knight in armor who is walking along the bank of a river...
Host Aaron Cain speaks with sports journalists and filmmakers Robert Abbott and John Dahl, the director and producer of the ESPN Thirty for Thirty documentary: The Last Days of Knight.
“True taste has an eye for both weeds and garden flowers.”
Perry Metz interviews former Senator Birch Bayh in his Washington, D.C. office, where he discusses his political career, the influence of his late wife Marvella, and the allies he sought on both sides of the aisle.
Sometimes plants have minds of their own.
These are the topping tooters of the town, and have gowns, silver chains, and salaries, for playing “Lilliburlero” to my Lord Mayor’s horse through the city.
Vita Sackville-West's granddaughter Juliet Nicolson says that her grandmother's "presence still fills the garden."
Host Aaron Cain speaks with conductor Gary Thor Wedow about his own musical education, his career in opera, and his passion for helping students learn their craft.
What do the Mardi Gras parades of New Orleans, the famous Carnival of Venice, and the Jewish holiday Purim all have in common? Why, costumes, of course!
Vita Sackville-West's planting philosophy : "Cram, cram, cram, every chink and cranny.”
Begonias are beloved because of their textured, colorful foliage, as well as their pretty flowers.
WFIU's Mark Chilla speaks with Tyron Cooper, musician, composer, scholar, and director of Indiana University’s Archives of African American Music.
During the winter when I can’t actually garden outdoors, I plan many garden improvements and most of them include buying new plants.
WFIU's David Brent Johnson speaks with saxophonist, educator, and "Jazz Mayor of Indianapolis" Rob Dixon.
O’Keeffe is an art world star and her paintings of larger-than-life flowers are unique.
Azalea mollis is sometimes successful as a houseplant.
Indianapolis writer and D.J. Kyle Long speaks with WFIU's David Brent Johnson about building musical bridges across cultural divides, and about what happens when your passion becomes your day job.
Hyacinth are some of the most popular bulbs to force in bulb glasses.
Clivias have attractive thick, strap-like dark green leaves.
IU Cinema Director Jon Vickers speaks with Swiss American filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe about his documentaries, that examine the importance of popular culture and explore the influential works of master filmmakers.
Cape primrose is a wonderful houseplant because it blooms for a long period of time.
Host Aaron Cain speaks with Frank Diaz about intersections between mindfulness meditation practices, music-making, and education.
The Sprightly Companion
Gloxinia plants look lush and there are many varieties.
Buy cyclamens that have a number of unopened buds to prolong their flowering.
Jane Cummings speaks with filmmaker and musician Boots Riley, about his film, “Sorry to Bother You,” and about blurring the lines between activism and the arts.
Plants add freshness to the air in our homes during winter and help cleanse the air and remove pollutants.
Host Aaron Cain speaks with author and professor of geography Dawn Biehler about economics, social justice, racism, and other things we can learn from our household pests.
A Renaissance Christmas from Venice, Naples, Milan and Beyond
Orchids make great holiday gifts, as they keep on giving-possibly blooming for up to three months.
It is possible to keep a tropical hibiscus plant alive in a pot all through the winter...The plant will probably not look great, but it will survive.
African violets flower exuberantly but need some attention to achieve their best efforts.
Though we miss the flowers of spring, summer, and fall there are still wonders to behold in the landscape.
Conversations with Maria Whiteman and Rebecca Allan, two visual artists trying to find news ways to depict the natural world in the hopes of saving it.
I make my potpourri using the rose petals and flower heads that I cut off while deadheading all summer.
Steve Sanders speaks with teacher, writer, and historian Andrea Neal, about her new biography of U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence.
Calla lilies can put a "twist" on your existing landscape.
Janae Cummings speaks with sociologist Crystal Fleming, the author of "How to Be Less Stupid About Race: On Racism, White Supremacy, and the Racial Divide."
As we tend our indoor plants, it often seems to soothe and calm our spirits. Some health experts have even suggested that our plants may help lower blood pressure.
David Brent Johnson speaks with veteran sports writer Stan Sutton, about his career covering several of Indiana’s sports legends, and how sports have evolved over the years.
Music has played an important role for centuries in the celebration of the Feast of All Saints.
Intermingling is similar to creating a prairie planting where the plants grow together without any defined edges or structure.
Martin Luther was a great fan of music, and on Harmonia this week, in honor of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, we’re exploring Lutheran composers.
Plants with common names that are not so pretty should not deter us from using them in our gardens.
Gena Asher speaks with Erin Predmore, the new president and CEO of the Greater Bloomington Chamber of Commerce.
Sedums with dark-colored leaves look striking in the fall garden and contrast with the colorful autumn leaves.
Will Murphy speaks with philosopher and bioethicist Peter Singer, and with paleoanthropologist Pat Shipman, about ethical living, ecological responsibility, and the relationship between human and non-human animals.
Gerárdo Gonzalez and Charlie Nelms, who share their stories about family, mentors, their decades-long academic careers, and how education transformed their lives.
These are few of my favorite deer-resistant plants.
Elaine Monaghan speaks with author, educator, and photojournalist Steve Raymer about his life in pictures.
The Tudor period was marked by the flourishing of sacred music in the chapels and cathedrals of England.
Wind bands have been tickling our ears for centuries, in war, on the athletic field, and in the concert hall.
Host Aaron Cain speaks with musician and IU Professor of Informatics Christopher Raphael, about teaching computers to recognize, understand, and perform music.
Host Aaron Cain speaks with biogeochemist Jeffrey White about his search for climate change clues at the edge of the Greenland Ice Sheet.
“When in Rome, do as the Romans do.” This proverb, attributed to Saint Ambrose, encourages us to keep with the traditions of the places we visit and inhabit.
Janae Cummings speaks with WIRED editor Peter Rubin about how virtual reality is changing human connection, intimacy, and the limits of ordinary life.
There’s one plant that self-seeds all over my yard that I pull up whenever I see it, even when it is in flower.
Elaine Monaghan speaks with journalist and filmmaker Ruth O’Reilly, about the possibilities in Ireland’s future, and the personal sacrifices of its past.
Yaël Ksander speaks with photographer Richard Ross, about his Juvenile-In-Justice project, and about creating images that are catalysts for change.
Filmmaker Mira Nair and artist Bharti Kher talk about the social and cross-cultural inspirations behind their work.
David Watters reads "Make America Great Again," "My Country 'Tis of Thee," "Dear Mumia," and "My Country 'Tis of Thee (2)."
Host Aaron Cain speaks with sociologist Michael Burawoy about working in communist steel mills and saving public universities in crisis.
Patrick Kindig reads "At the Farmers' Market," "Some Say the World," "Accident," and "Poem in Which the World Does Not End, But..."
Janae Cummings speaks with lecturer and author Yascha Mounk about the battle to save liberal democracies in the U.S., and around the world.
Tony Brewer reads "¿Dónde está el baño?" "Cross," "messy blessing," and "The Things that Stick."
Everybody Hates a Prodigy
Host Aaron Cain speaks with David Weaver and Cleve Wilhoit about their decades of award-winning research into journalism in the United States.
Moya Andrews, host of WFIU’s Focus on Flowers, who brings us two conversations with some important stewards of the land in South Central Indiana: J. Terry Clapacs and Anthony Joslin
There’s something about Mary – the Virgin Mary, that is! She’s been the subject of countless sacred works throughout the history of western art music.
Fortepianist Els Biesemans and violinist Meret Lüthi play music by the neglected but commendable Classical composer, Johann Franz Xaver Sterkel.
Willy Palomo reads "A hincarse means to kneel before your Maker," "Canción de Cuna," "Forgotten Commandments," and "Speaking with My Mouth Full."
There are some seeds that I direct sow onto my garden once the soil has warmed up.
Host Aaron Cain speaks with Dr. Mary-Claire King about her pioneering work in the field of genetics.
David Watters reads "Rowing Across the Lake" and "Aubade for my Son."
The Raimondi Manuscript is an important source for 16th and 17th century lute music.
Mass can be created by a few large plants placed together, or a grouping of many similar medium-sized plants.
Mark Edwards speaks with Dr. Deborah Curtis, the newly-appointed president of Indiana State University.
Yalie Kamara reads "Resurrection" and "Mother's Rules."
I have been thinking about color-themed beds.
Host Aaron Cain speaks with Sophia McClennen and Srđa Popović about the power of humor and satire in the media, in political discourse, and in social change.
Patrick Kindig reads "Birthday Poem," "Boys are Always Trying," and "Derek Tells Me."
Despite his short life, Pergolesi left an impressive body of work behind.
Cut flowers are lovely, but there are alternative gifts for mothers who garden.
Patrick O'Meara speaks with Roberto Salinas-León, president of the Mexico Business Forum.
Emily Corwin reads "hex," "tincture," "apparition," and "tenderling."
My garden is so full of plants already that I'm wondering where I'll put all of the new plants that I'll buy this year...
Tony Brewer reads "calling the quartet" and "Hey Baby."
Pulmonaria, a.k.a., Bethlehem sage, is a perennial with especially interesting foliage.
David Watters reads "After, for Netty Mae," "Postscript," and "Self Portrait as Self Healing for the Artist as a Child."
Coral bells' foliage and texture present many benefits beyond blooms.
Host Aaron Cain speaks with experts in the fields of games and game design about the role that different kinds of games are playing in our lives.
Eric Rensberger reads "Autobiography Vol. 6," "Flowers on the Graves of the Overdosed," and "Late January."
A garden looks neat if it has well-defined edges.
Patsy Rahn reads "Red Fox," "Take Your Power," "I Saw You on Television," and "A Child at Easter."
What popular flowers do you have planted in your garden?
Willy Palomo reads "Izote" and "Mark 6:41-42."
Retailers in the Midwest attend trials in Michigan, where the new plant introductions are grown outdoors en masse.
Patrick Kindig reads "Carolina Reaper," "Saint Joan," and "Ode, after Ross Gay."
And fourth place goes to... Alstroemeria!
Publisher Dave Torneo speaks with poet Yalie Kamara, who also reads samples of her work.
Eric Rensberger reads a series of short poems.
The Madonna lily, Lilium candidum, is potted up and sold all over the United States every spring.
Aaron Cain asks Noah Bendix-Balgley about his musical upbringing, his klezmer concerto, and what it's like to be concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic.
Yalie Kamara reads "Eating Malombo Fruit in Freetown, 1989," "Trim," "A Haiku Love Poem for Gabby Douglas," and two more haikus.
While the weather remains cold outdoors, we can look online for a flower fix. One site that I enjoy is the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
WFIU's Will Murphy speaks with author Frank Bill and bookstore owner Brian Hawkins.
Yalie Kamara reads her poem "Oakland As Home, Home As Myth."
The catalogs have arrived in the mail, so we are all thinking about what to order...
Steve Sanders speaks with Jamie Kalven about issues of press freedom, police accountability, and civil and human rights.
Eric reads his poems "Note to Self," "The Blizzard," "Of the Flakes," and "Snow in Three Parts."
About 120 million roses are purchased in the U.S. for Valentine’s Day each year.
A collection of short conversations about love from members of the community who were recorded by StoryCorps, during their visit to Bloomington last summer.
For Valentine’s Day, most of us will buy flowers, and those flowers are already enroute to us from abroad.
Aaron Cain speaks with conductor Patrick Summers, Artistic and Music Director of Houston Grand Opera.
Native plants are well adapted to our growing conditions, and so most of them are easy to grow and need only minimal care once established.
Meet The Art Collector Next Door, visit architectural marvel Columbus, Indiana, and more.
The cornetto is a woodwind instrument with a brass-style cup mouth piece which flourished in the mid 1600’s, in the early to middle-baroque period.
This year, I’m going to buy more plants that provide food and shelter for pollinators.
Dana Marsh speaks with Bruce Dickey, one of a few musicians who have dedicated themselves to reviving the cornetto, which fell into disuse in the 19th century.
Liatris attracts lots of those lovely Monarch butterflies into our gardens.
Steve Sanders speaks with Brooklyn Law School Professor William Araiza about giving new life to the Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection.
Since the 1830s, about 99 percent of American tall grass prairies have been destroyed.
Janae Cummings speaks with composer, conductor, violinist, and violist Renee Baker.
Machaut's 'Messe de Nostre Dame' is inordinately famous, and is often cited as the first complete polyphonic setting of a Mass ordinary by a single composer.
Poetry by Algernon Charles Swinburne and Oscar Wilde.
speaks with Kate Galvin is the new artistic director of Cardinal Stage
Company in Bloomington.
Excerpts from" A Flower in a Letter" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning.
WFIU's Aaron Cain speaks with contemporary classical composer Jake Heggie.
The young Johann Melchior Molter likely learned the basics of music before attending Gymnasium in Eisenach where J.S. Bach had been a pupil a few years earlier.
Plants, like people, often seem better because of the virtues of others.
Gena Asher speaks with NOVA senior executive producer Paula Apsell, and NOVA writer-producer Doug Hamilton.
Namesake plant gifts are easy to send and are usually well received.
Aaron Cain speaks with Geoff Wilson of the Ploughshares Fund, which works to eliminate nuclear weapons around the world.
With the thunderous applause at the end of this CD, you can almost imagine yourself on tour with the Académie in Australia at the Melbourne Recital Centre.
The Allium genus is a large one...
Steve Sanders speaks with West Lafayette, Indiana native Cleve Jones
As I look for late season bargains, I look for daffodils that bloom late and are scented as well as double.
Ars Antiqua transports listeners back in time to the gilded 18th century Rococo music rooms of Paris.
Will Murphy interviews Irish poet, editor, critic, and translator Paul Muldoon.
November is a good time to evaluate our successes and failures during the past growing season.
One of the world's great cellists and a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, and composer who has given new life to old instruments.
If you are invited for Thanksgiving dinner and wish to present the host with a horticulturally orented gift, here are a few suggestions.
This week on Profiles, a conversation with author George Saunders, who offers his insights into writing, teaching, and how to keep stories under control.
Low is always better than high when you are arranging flowers for a dinner party.
All plants that winter indoors at my house are hosed off to rid them of pests and given a dose of fertilizer.
Yaël Ksander interviews photographer Emmet Gowin, who calls his style of photography "lyrical realism."
If you have time, perhaps you will share some of your tricks in the comments below.
On this special Fall Fund Drive edition, we present a roundup of choice excerpts of Profiles programs that aired since our Spring Fund Drive.
Shrubs are useful for many functions and an important one is screening.
Meet movie and theater people who talk about their craft.
Plant lots of nasturtiums, coneflowers, and sunflowers to provide seeds for these year-round garden residents.
On this program we meet two musicians who recreate themusic and instruments from past eras.
Prominent in Medieval and Renaissance churches, swallow’s nest organs perched high above their congregations suspended from platforms built in the church wall.
Ask a variety of friends, neighbors, and experts about what you already have on your new property before digging it all up.
WFIU's Will Murphy speaks with Jane Henegar of the Indiana American Civil Liberties Union, and Christie Gillespie of Planned Parenthood in Indiana and Kentucky.
“I was never less alone than when by myself,” wrote English historian Edward Gibbon.
It seems that our longer falls are giving us more time to enjoy our plantings and bask in all the colors in our gardens.
___________ interviews Carmel, Indiana native Steve Inskeep, co-host of NPR’s Morning Edition and NPR’s morning news podcast Up First.
These low-maintenance groundcovers keep butterflies happy but seems not to interest deer or rabbits.
Hear excerpts by one of today's most extraordinary young women: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.
Many know Tinctoris only by way of his famous theoretical treatises, but he also composed a great deal of fine vocal and instrumental works.
Astilbes with varying bloom times can be used to create a lovely, low-maintenance shaded bed.
On this Labor Day weekend, join us for this compilation of Bloomington StoryCorps conversations about work and its meaning in our lives.
All of the Agastache species are related to mint.
Nancy Chen Long reads "Meditation: Home as an Extension of Body," "Place You Would Have Called Home," and "The Importance of Shells."
This week on Harmonia, we’ll hit the road, exploring medieval and renaissance songs of travel, mostly from Spain and Portugal.
Peter Andersen interviews acclaimed Indiana University diving coach Hobie Billingsley.
I read recently about a new gardening craze that is called “Intermingling Plants.”
Su Cho reads "I Describe My Cells."
Mark Roseman interviews Australian historian and academic Lyndal Roper.
I plant cranesbill almost everywhere in my garden and have many different varieties...
Born into a Korean-Chinese family, Joe Wong came to the United States to study biochemistry. After getting his PhD, he found standup comedy. Will Murphy hosts.
Susan Amis reads "Bent Between Earth and Sky," "Trapper's Daughter Waltzes with Ice and Galls in Love with the World," and "Dispatch No. 3."
Purple and chartreuse always look good together in a garden.
Yaël Ksander speaks with author Scott Russell Sanders and photographer Jeff Wolin on the occasion of a new edition of their book Stone Country: Then and Now.
Joshua Johnston reads "Poem" and "Million Dollar Idea."
This week on Harmonia we explore one of the most fascinating and complex instruments that was ever misunderstood: the hurdy-gurdy.
I am lucky to have a large garden space and so I have the luxury of being able to dedicate some of my beds to a single perennial species.
Will Murphy interviews Sean Starowitz, the Assistant Director of Economic Development for the Arts for the City of Bloomington.
Su Cho reads "The Giant Learns to Float," "After the Ocean," "Dear Giant," and "The Giant Trains for Lightning."
Most flower gardeners enjoy sequences of bloom in their beds.
John K. Yasuda interviews New Yorker staff writer Jiayang Fan.
Nancy Chen Long reads "On Seeing the Embroiderer, or Mette Gauguin," "Orion," and "Free."
The English poet Robert Graves once said, “There’s no money in poetry, but there’s no poetry in money.”
White gardens are tranquil and calming and reward their owners with their soothing ambience.
WFIU’s Shayne Laughter talks with writers who visited Bloomington to teach at the 2017 Indiana University Writers Conference.
Cate Whetzel reads "Green is a Fugative Color" and "The Gemini Trainer."
Foliage color can light up the landscape in all seasons of the year, not only in the fall...
Susan Amis reads "Boy Finds Foot," "Before We Had the Word Race," "Another," and "Dispatch No. 2."
This hour, we consider people's stories, and how we're constantly updating them.
Go back in time for a musical soirée in an 18th century Viennese drawing room.
Gardeners with small plots can enjoy growing modern trees that have been especially bred to be small and narrow.
Join us for interviews with local historians, government leaders, and general citizens about the state of America in 2017.
Joshua Johnston reads "Four Noteable Presidential Events in Photographic History" and "History."
"Whilst snug in their Club-Room, they jovially twine / The Myrtle of Venus with Bacchus’s Vine.” Those are some of the original words to our national anthem.
Before we purchase new plants for our gardens, we should always read the plant tags carefully.
Perry Hammock and Lee Hamilton discuss the Indiana Bicentennial Commission’s final report. Aubrey Seader hosts.
Su Cho reads "She Rose," "Tangerine Trees and Little Bags of Sugar," "After the Burial The Dead Take Everything That Burns," and "Gratitude for His Hands."
Knights, peasants, crusades, chants, and saints—this week on Harmonia, we’ll explore aspects of medieval European history.
Shrubs are long-lived inhabitants that help create the architecture of our gardens.
Yaël Ksander interviews novelist and short story writer Bonnie Jo Campbell.
Nancy Chen Long reads "Lessons," "Saving My Mother," and "Hold On Lightly."
This week on Harmonia we celebrate Telemann’s legacy.
Scherzi Musicali is helping to bring the Fiocco name and his music back to modern ears.
Caryopteris can be grown singly, in multiples, or as a long hedge for maximum impact.
Hannah Boomershine interviews chef, author, and activist Alice Waters .
Joshua Johnston reads "The Festival of Destruction" and "Universal Themes."
I would not be without Verbena bonariensis in my garden. It’s an annual, but it attracts birds, butterflies, and hummingbirds...and bees.
Susan Amis reads "Aubade with Charles Darwin," "Pastoral with Sir Isaac Newton," "Epithalamium with Albert Einstein," "Dispatch No. 1," and more.
Gena Asher interviews Pravina Shukla, professor of folklore at Indiana University in Bloomington.
“How shall a man die that has sage in his garden?”
Professor Andrei Molotiu interviews cartoonist, writer, and teacher Gene Yang.
Lisa Low reads "Ruby's Diary," "Ruby Envies White Girls," "At 13, Ruby Worries...," "Dear Ruby," and "Dear Lisa."
The 500 year old instrument is one of the earliest harpsichords that has survived the trials of travel and time.
Generally, all the shorter iris types bloom earliest, starting the parade of iris flowers that continues throughout the summer.
Mulch helps plants remain healthier and hardier by insulating and reducing weeds.
Will Murphy interviews David Grossman, author of numerous works of fiction, nonfiction, and children’s literature.
When buying plants for hanging baskets remind yourself of the old saying: one should include “a thriller, a filler, and a spiller.”
We remember longtime WFIU jazz host-producer Dick Bishop one year after his death. Steve Steve Sanders conducted this interview with Dick in April of 2006.
Lisa Low reads "Girl I want to be in Chinatown," "Still," "How To Live Inside a Storm," and "One Day."
Although we sometimes ignore hardiness maps, they really do provide information that is crucial to the success of our plants.
Will Murphy interviews Wayne Pacelle, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States.
So many options for displaying annuals, and I usually just stick them in a pot!
Yael Massen reads "View From the Clock Tower, Piazza del Campo," "Impossible Map Out Of The Basement," "Immobility Response," and "Acrostics (5): Speculum."
Janae Cummings hosts an interview with performance artist Kelly Tsai.
Keyboard music by Johann Wilhelm Hässler, played on harpsichord, clavichord, and fortepiano.
Bees have brains that demonstrate social learning...
Mark Chilla speaks with longtime Village Voice classical music critic Greg Sandow.
Yael Massen reads "Abecedarian on Basketball Court After Day Spent at Courthouse as Legal Advocate," "Acrostics (4): Outrage," and "Bedbugs."
Today we're focusing on blossoms with blue and lavender colors.
Marco Dall’Aquila bridged the gap between two very different periods in the life of the lute, its music, and its playing techniques.
Yael Massen reads "ER 11," "Acrostics (3): Emergency," "Acrostics (2): Survivor," "The Palio Returns" and "Sabra."
Early spring warmth causes some plants to break dormancy too soon with the result that they are damaged if it turns cold again.
Cate Whetzel reads "Help Me In My Unnatural State" and "To Chauvet Cave."
Bob Willard hosts this 1998 Profiles interview with Strout, who died in February of 2017.
We need native plants in our gardens, since natives are a vital part of a healthy eco-system.
Mendelssohn's three sonatas for violin and fortepiano played on 19th century period instruments.
WFIU’s Will Murphy anchors this hour-long special . . .
Lisa Low reads "Outside Voices," "After Chemotherapy," "Under the Powerlines," "Girl I Want to Be at the Grocery Store," and "Gold."
Although famous in his day, the music of French baroque composer Jean-Joseph de Mondonville has, nowadays, mostly been forgotten.
Hooker had an enduring passion for plants and discovered many of the ones that grow in our gardens today.
Janae Cummings speaks with Hari Kondabolu, is a standup comic, actor, and podcast host known for comedy on subjects such as race, identity, and inequity.
These mini-greenhouses transformed the work of plant collectors world-wide!
John Bailey interviews IU alumnus Kenny Aronoff who has spent more than three decades as one of the most visible drummers in rock and pop music.
Cate Whetzel reads "Everything Sings" and "The First Woman."
At this time of the year, as we peruse our spring catalogs, we will run across plants described as new hybrids.
Verdelot’s madrigals (“à la Ganassi”) from the ensemble, Doulce Mémoire.
Andy Findley speaks with virtual archaeologist and IU professor of Informatics Bernard Frischer.
Just like the names of people, plant names are quite diverse.
Trish Kerlé speaks with Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker John J. Valadez.
I’ve never seen a Buck rose that I didn’t like!
Patrick O'Meara interviews Broadcast.com co-founder Todd Wagner; Jon Vickers speaks with Jim Fielding, head of consumer products for DreamWorks Animation.
What will you do with that Valentines bouquet after the 14th? Here's some ideas for rosewater, dried bouquets and potpourri.
Steve Sanders interviews Linda Greenhouse, who has reported on the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years.
In February the garden’s energy is in its roots...
Shayne Laughter interviews poet and professor P. J. Wesley, survivor of the Liberian wars of the 1990s and author of four books of poetry.
The genus name honors Pierre Magnol, French botanist (1638-1715).
Josh Brewer speaks with Joshua N. Winn, professor of astrophysical sciences at Princeton University.
January 26 is Australia Day, and the floral emblem of Australia is the golden wattle.
Will Murphy interviews Professor Michael Adams, author of In Praise of Profanity.
Flowering quince and forsythia branches will soon be available to force.
Patrick O’Meara speaks with Indian economist, bureaucrat, and writer Narendra Jadhav.
They may be small or large, but their most striking characteristic is that they are always available...
Yaël Ksander speaks with advertising agency executive and documentary filmmaker Deborah Riley Draper.
Do you wait until Twelfth Night to take down the Christmas tree and holiday decorations?
Andy Findley speaks with Brazilian artist and photographer Vik Muniz, and Will Murphy speaks with Rosamond Purcell, who finds beauty in decaying objects.
Here's a poem about the garden at the end of the year.
Yaël Ksander speaks with Indiana author James Alexander Thom.
Holiday celebrations are always enhanced by fresh flowers, but with limited space on the table, one flower can be enough.
David Carter speaks with director John Boorman, whose films include Deliverance and Hope and Glory.
African violets are native to eastern Africa and were collected in the wild during the late 19th century by Baron von Saint-Paul.
Join us for a once-in-a-lifetime event as Hoosiers gather at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis to celebrate Indiana’s 200th birthday.
Depending on when they bloom, members of the Schlumbergera genus are called either Thanksgiving or Christmas cactuses.
Steve Sanders speaks with law professor Eric Segall, an expert on constitutional law.
Angela Mariani is exploring the history and music of the all-female viol ensemble Les Filles de Sainte Colombe, with founding member Wendy Gillespie.
There is something very satisfying about seeing second-generation plants from self-sown seeds!
Will Murphy speaks with "Brother" William Morris, Friday-afternoon host of WFIU’s jazz program Just You and Me.
For bouquets, cut the goldenrod before the buds open, when they last well and no pollen is released.
Yaël Ksander interviews Jim Manion, music director for WFHB community radio, and Peter LoPilato, publisher of The Ryder and curator of The Ryder film series.
This week on Harmonia, we’re celebrating the feast day of St. Cecilia, the patron saint of – you guessed it – music.
Vita Sackville-West and her husband Nigel Nicolson bought their home, Sissinghurst, in 1930 and gradually created one of the most famous gardens of all time.
Andy Findley speaks with film archivist Rick Prelinger, founder of The Prelinger Archives.
Most flower gardeners have either beds or borders or both.
Elaine Monaghan speaks with journalist, author, and columnist Roger Cohen.
This hour on Harmonia, we’ll explore the diverse musical influences in medieval and baroque Spain through the lens of some innovative performers.
Recently, I’ve been digging quite a lot of holes for bulbs, and as I plant them I fantasize about how beautifully they will bloom next spring.
Organist Francesco Cera plays an original positive organ built in 1772, now kept at the Franciscan Convent of Lustra Cilento in Italy.
J. D. Gray speaks with Eric Zala, director of Raiders of the Lost Ark: The Adaptation and George Walker interviews organist Dennis James.
George Eliot wrote, “Delicious autumn! …And if I were a bird, I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.”
Betsy Shepherd speaks with Joan Hawkins, associate professor in Cinema and Media Studies at IU’s Media School.
“Even if something is left undone, everyone must take time to sit still and watch the leaves turn.”
Join host-producer Josh Brewer for a selection of the most engrossing Profiles interviews from 2016.
A hard frost will kill off our annuals for good, but there are tricks we can try to get more treats from our annual purchases.
Andy Findley interviews Mac Fleming, a professional photographer for more than 80 years.
Callicarpa americana makes a good hedge on the outskirts of a garden, as well as excellent ornamental focal points in borders.
John Bailey speaks with Mike Bridavsky, caretaker of the celebrity cat Lil Bub; Gena Asher interviews Jessica Myrick, assistant professor at IU's Media School.
Camassia's bloom spikes bear hundreds of starry, blue flowers that appear in succession over several weeks in the early summer garden.
Will Murphy interviews Michael Leppert, Director of Public Affairs for Krieg DeVault in their Governmental Affairs and Public Advocacy Practice Group.
If you yearn for more fragrance in your garden, here are some suggestions for ornamental sweetshrubs that you could plant this fall.
Andy Findley interviews David Brenneman, director of the Sidney and Lois Eskenazi Museum of Art at Indiana University.
Some of their names are almost as lovely as the flowers themselves!
The cool fall weather causes plants that are new to your garden to transition more comfortably...
Janae Cummings speaks with Comedian, actor, and writer Hasan Minhaj is a correspondent for The Daily Show and a featured storyteller for The Moth.
This week on Harmonia, we’re firing up our time machine and setting the dial back four hundred years to 1616 – what will we hear?
September is an excellent time to walk around your garden and take stock.
Yaël Ksander speaks with Osamu James Nakagawa, professor of photography in IU’s Department of Studio Art.
Ben Debus reads "The Wife's Lament" and "The Domina in Her Garden."
This week on Harmonia, we’re headed into the lion’s den, as we go on safari with ensembles ranging from the New York Pro Musica to the Dufay Collective.
A well-appointed garden needs not only flowers but also decorative foliage that is concurrently available to combine with the garden flowers in a vase.
Jill Koran reads "Icarus Bounced," "Apostles Creed," and the Reflections: X, Q, and N.
The early music world lost one of its most important figures when Nikolaus Harnoncourt passed away on March 5th, 2016.
This annual Euphorbia cultivar has so much to offer!
Janae Cummings speaks with documentary filmmaker Robin Hauser Reynolds, and Gena Asher interviews journalist Amanda Hess.
Paul Asta reads "Where You Left Her," "Timeline In Which I Do Not Exist," "A Chorus of Static," and more.
These herbaceous evergreen plants flower best if pot bound.
Will Murphy interviews journalist and author Michael Shelden, professor of English at Indiana State University.
Daniel Minty reads "The Ice Cutters," "We All Have a Very Fast Sled," and "Summer Pastoral Before I Call Home."
The unusual "muscular" bark of this native tree adds visual interest to the winter landscape.
IU theater professor Murray McGibbon hosts interviews the accomplished South African actor Graham Hopkins.
Jessica Franck reads "Superstition in Girl Years," "Reverse Miracle Baby," and "Lake Marion."
For all the Joneses of the world, how many know the 18th century contemporary of Handel, John Jones?
Stems with multiple flower heads or flat flower umbels always need the boiling water treatment .
Mark Chilla interviews pop music writer Eric Weisbard and John Bailey speaks with literary, music, and cultural critic Kevin Dettmar.
Danni Quintos reads "IU Auditorium, Fools Day, for Nick Offerman, the biggest fool of them all," "Somewhere in Tennessee," "Dad," and "Python."
Always keep cut flowers away from hot air vents and drafts.
Betsy Shepherd speaks with filmmaker, actress, and businesswoman Kris Swanberg.
Ben Debus reads "The Clarke School at Enfield, 1805."
“No description, no imagination can do justice to these compositions...the admiration of the musical world."
Remember: split or crush woody stems and sear milky stems.
Patrick O’Meara speaks with Lee Hamilton, a member of the U.S. Homeland Security Advisory Council and director of IU's Center on Congress.
Michelle Gottschlich reads "Self-Study and Anthropomorphism, Kitchen Pot" and "Letter to Steven Ambrosini."
Join us for this special edition of Profiles for the premiere of our new program of literary exploration, Anthology.
Black-eyed Susans multiply quickly, which can be a blessing, or a curse.
We’re sighing, in love, loss, or some combination of the two, as we hear recordings featuring the Consort of Musicke.
Brianna Low reads "Elegy with My Father Walking Towards Me...," "Trying to Contact the Version of Myself...," and "Laura Describes the Long Winter."
Conditioning really does extend the life of cut flowers so it's worth the effort.
Betsy Shepherd speaks with longtime Hollywood director and screenwriter Jeremy Kagan.
Paul Asta reads "Lullaby for the Wandering Child" and "The Great American Road Trip."
Keeping a garden presentable across all seasons of the year requires an eagle eye, and considerable commitment of time and energy.
We’re spinning some of early music’s “hit #1 singles,” alongside some listener requests.
Will Murphy speaks with Professor James Scott, whose research centers on peasants of Southeast Asia and their strategies to resist various forms of domination.
Harlan reads "It Is Possible to Be Many Different Things" and "Sometimes I Wish My Dad Was a Lobster."
Taverner’s Western Wind Mass is considered the first mass of its kind in England to use a secular tune rather than plainchant as its cantus firmus.
There are many mounding plants, but they need to be interspersed in a garden with some vertical accents.
John Bailey speaks with TV personality Marc Summers.
Jill Koran reads "Death on Turnagain Arm" and "Nose."
If you are designing a new garden, think about the following words: form, foliage, flowers, fruit, fragrance and focal points.
In the first half-hour, Annie Corrigan interviews standup comic Mat Alano-Martin. Then, Addison Rogers speaks with comedian, actor, and writer Andy Kindler.
Daniel Minty reads "The Graveyard and Back" and "Wyoming Pastoral with a Litany of Sometimes."
"The repetition of a...harmonic motif evoked a sense of time stretching far beyond the limits of our physical world, thus creating an illusion of eternity!"
Part of my fascination with this iris is that the deer leave them alone.
Josh Brewer speaks with documentary filmmaker Tony Buba, and Yaël Ksander hosts an interview with mixed-media artist Joseph Bernard.
Ben Debus reads "Elegy from a Second Story Window" and "As the Stars."
...Realization dawned that I had, in my haste, picked up the wrong spray bottle!
Brent Johnson hosts speaks Jill Lepore, a staff writer at The New Yorker and professor of American history at Harvard University.
Danni Quintos reads "White Beauty," "Brown Girls," and "Cousins."
In my zone 5 garden, Corydalis has self-sown in a rock wall and down cracks in the side of a set of cement stairs...
Trish Kerlé hosts speaks with the former executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust.
Brianna Low reads "The Running Back is Born Again," "Watching Little House on the Prairie," and "Laura Describes the Glass."
Update (May 2022): CREEPING JENNY IS CONSIDERED INVASIVE IN PARTS OF NORTH AMERICA!
Never plant it where it borders a lawn, as it will escape into the grass and be impossible to get rid of!
For Mother's Day, WFIU presents stories from the Mother Line Story Project.
Jessica Franck reads "Mother, Hunting," "Home Visit," and "It's a Girl."
On this podcast-only edition of The Poets Weave, Harlan Kelly reads "Really Quick Can I Tell You the Story of Everything Ever?" and "Meditations at 20 MPH."
The process of spiraling is more obvious in some flowers than in others...
This special edition of Profiles looks at the role of civility in U.S. politics.
Keith Leonard reads "Odes to Alternatives," "Utter," and "Ode to the Grotesque."
Some species of arums have flowers with an unpleasant odor.
Michael Barone, host and senior executive producer of Pipedreams, speaks with IU School of Music Dean Emeritus Charles Webb.
Paul Asta reads "Luminescence" and "The Unraveling of Dreams."
Mandevilla flowers are interesting to observe from varied perspectives.
We’ll sample storms on sea and land, plus a featured release by the stormily named American baroque orchestra Tempesta di Mare.
We remember David Baker, founder of IU's Jazz Studies program, with this Profiles interview conducted by Bob Willard in 1998.
Daniel Minty reads "The Poet and the Bear Waltz," "Wildness," and "Hyannis, Fifth of July."
The sun shining through the windows lights up the colors beautifully!
Adam Ragusea of Georgia Public Broadcasting interviews Bill Siemering, a key innovator in the development of public radio.
Michelle reads "The House is a Wheel" and "Hammer."
The Tallis Scholars' most recent release of music by John Taverner.
One of the many pleasures of springtime is smelling the perfume of hyacinths...
Perry Metz hosts an interview with Gerould Kern, retired senior vice president and editor of the Chicago Tribune.
Harlan reads "If I Get Hit by a Car on the Way to Work Today...," "Thestrals," and "Even If We Were Able to Sit Down at the Same Table..."
You can plant these little beauties liberally in beds and rock gardens and naturalize them in other undisturbed spaces.
This special edition of Profiles is the first in a four-part celebration on WFIU of the Indiana Bicentennial.
Danni Quintos reads "1991 and We Flew for Days," "All Filipino Women are Beautiful," and "On Being Asked to Represent Your Country."
Let's look at some different kinds of late-blooming tulips.
Janae Cummings speaks with Kinsey Institute Director Sue Carter and to Kinsey sexuality researcher Justin Garcia.
Jessica Franck reads "Annunciation," "Eve as Girl with Snake Duty in 7th Grad Science," "Evoking Eve," and "Eve as Birthday Girl."
These hybridized tulips would look great in your garden!
Sumit Ganguly speaks with Fred de Sam Lazaro, special correspondent for PBS NewsHour.
Jill Koran reads "In the Moment Before the Teacup Hits the Floor, I Think of Lao Tzu" and "Tooth Fairy."
The United Continuo Ensemble performs the "little woodland songs" of Johann Hermann Schein.
In the early 1900s, tulip growers realized the need for a classification system...
Brianna Low reads "Laura Ingalls Describes the Fire," "Laura Tries to Describe the World to Mary," and "We Are Hungry."
Let's review Divisions 1 through 8 of the daffodil classification system.
Annie Corrigan interviews nutrition scientist Loren Cordain, an advocate for a diet based on the eating habits of our Stone Age ancestors.
WFIU's John Bailey speaks with Hollywood film director and IU alumnus David Anspaugh, director of Hoosiers and Rudy.
Keith Leonard reads "Osiris Ode," "Monarch on Milkweed," and "Strawberries for Dinner."
The Dufay Collective: capturing the essence of medieval poetry in song.
This hard-to-find arum really adds an exotic touch to my garden!
Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson is a 30-plus-year career journalist who's earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Peabody Award for her groundbreaking news coverage.
Michelle Gottschlich reads "Harvest Fair" and "Origins."
We'll hears one of this James Whitcomb Riley's most charming poems, as well as his poetic nod to flowers on a sunshiny day.
Tom Roznowski interviews James H. Madison, emeritus professor of history at IU-Bloomington.
Love poems by Keith Leonard.
We're ferreting out lies and liars in early music. From fibs to falsification, cover-ups to conspiracies, plus the music of Oswald von Wolkenstein.
A 2015 release from cellist Kristin von der Goltz showcases the music of two little known 18th century composers-Francis Caporale and Johann Galliard.
Here are two lovely poems for a lover's day...
As we await winter's end, here are some thoughtful quotes to help get us through the cold, dark season.
Janae Cummings hosts an interview with Eric Deggans, NPR’s first full-time TV critic.
Music from the 2015 GRAMMY nominees for Best Opera, Best Classical, Classical Producer of the Year, and more. And it's not about who wins or loses...
An plantsman like his father, this younger Tradescant collected many plants from North America and introduced them into English gardens.
Yaël Ksander speaks with author Dan Wakefield, whose novels Going All the Way and Starting Over were made into feature films.
This English plantsman is regarded as one of the first significant and probably the most influential of early English garden designers.
Gena Asher speaks with Nancy Folbre, professor emerita of economics at the University of Massachusetts.
Pablo Heras-Casado and the Balthasar-Neumann Choir and Ensemble present a new recording of music by Praetorius, Praetorius, and Praetorius!
I have quite a bit of catmint in my garden, but sadly I don’t have a cat...
Sumit Ganguly speaks with Steven Miller, director of the International Security Program at Harvard University.
Coral bells have gorgeous foliage that present endless possibilities.
James Shanahan, dean of IU's Media School, speaks with Paula Kerger, president and chief executive officer of PBS.
During Monet’s lifetime, his two chief priorities were his painting and his flower gardening, but they were actually inseparable.
We’re donning our detective hats as we winkle out musical secrets large and small—from secret codes to secret scandals, plus a featured release by Sabrina Frey.
In this special edition of Profiles, reporters retrace their footsteps across Indiana to bring you the year’s highlights of arts reporting. Yaël Ksander hosts.
A single bloom cut from a poinsettia plant, with a short stem in a low vase, is also a space saving and inexpensive decoration for the holiday dinner table.
Meet a veteran broadcast news executive and a pioneering newspaper journalist.
Love is one theme that never grows old. Soprano Amanda Forsythe and Apollo’s Fire delve into Handel’s take on the subject with arias from several of his operas.
Botanical Latin has a large number of words for the colors yellow and white...
Murray McGibbon interviews Liza Gennaro, asst. professor of musical theater and choreographer at the IU Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance.
I have a number of plants that, when in bloom, are repeated throughout the garden...
In this double edition of Profiles, we speak with two influential pop music critics.
A new recording from the Phemius Consort situates Thomas Kingo and Danish hymnody in the wider context of the baroque sound world.
Color combinations can make plant neighbors “pop” and show us that more of the one thing is not always better.
Scott Witzke interviews the author of The Sword & the Pen: A Life of Lew Wallace.
Sometimes plants are given names that identify them with their geographical origin.
Patrick O’Meara speaks with Loren Landau, the Henry J. Leir Chair in Migration Studies at Tufts University.
Many gardens don’t have room for such big plants! But in those that do, Joe Pye weed is sure to please both humans...and butterflies.
We're marking the 20th anniversary of the passing of Thomas Binkley, a pioneer in the field of medieval music and founder of IU’s Early Music Institute.
In this two-part Profiles, we interview a popular legal correspondent and the man called the “most famous unknown painter in America.”
Their flowers have two lips, a bit like snapdragon blooms, and there are approximately 250 species in the genus.
Ja’Tovia Gary, Stefani Saintonge, and Penelope Spheeris took part in Directed by Women, a two-week festival at the IU Cinema.
The denser the "plant carpet," the better suppression of weeds it will provide.
LeStrange Viols dedicates an entire disc to Cranford’s consort music for 4, 5, and 6 viols.
These so-called thugs are plants that cover the ground so fast that if left to their own devices they eventually crowd out every other plant in a bed.
We’re remembering Scott Reiss, an early music pioneer and phenomenal recorder player who passed away ten years ago this year on December 15th, 2005.
IU Professor of History Mark Roseman hosts an interview with English historian Joanna Bourke.
Blending representational and abstract art, symbolism and formalism, Robert Barnes paints outside the party lines.
It’s possible to have colorful shade gardens that have a continual sequence of bloom.
When asked to name a famous Polish pianist-composer before Chopin but after Haydn, how many would come up with the name Franciszek Lessel?
All meadow rues offer height in a shade garden.
This hour, we bring you kisses in all times and tempos. Plus a
Fall is the time to be thinking about next spring and especially which new spring-blooming bulbs to plant.
Jurisprudence writer Dahlia Lithwick talks about the Supreme Court without pomp and circumstance to reveal how their decisions affect people's everyday lives.
You may think that you have little that is valuable to bequeath to family and friends...
"Divine wanted to be Elizabeth Taylor [and] I wanted to make exploitation movies for art theaters."
Profiles presents two guests who participated in IU’s Themester “Eat, Drink, Think: Food from Art to Science.”
Professor Rob Goldstone interviews psychologist and cognitive scientist Lawrence W. Barsalou.
"I feel prouder of the "Decline" series than any of my other work because they did what I wanted to do in life—to study human behavior."
Some speedwells are low growing but most are upright with flower spires of blues, violets, pinks and whites.
Will Murphy interviews journalist and filmmaker Jose Antonio Vargas.
Alex reads his poems "Capitalism," "For the Trees," "Apples, a Prayer," and "No Wonder."
Il Giardino Armonico's Haydn 2032 project looks forward to the 300th anniversary of the composers' birth.
Now is the perfect time to walk around your yard and find spaces that need more color or interest at this time of the year.
Betsy Shepherd hosts a discussion with minicomics creator John Porcellino.
Alex reads his poems "Leaning Song" and "Bindings."
Late last fall I bought a lot of perennials at the end of October, and not one of them came back this past spring.
Trish Kerlé interviews IU law professor David C. Williams, an expert on constitutional and Native American law.
Alex Chambers reads "Aubade Again" and "Western Industrial Agriculture."
Concerto Caledonia’s recording colors outside the lines of what we’ve come to expect from performances of Purcell's music.
Bright accents will make any blue/grey background plantings pop!
Moya Andrews hosts an interview with Gary Dunham, director of Indiana University Press and Digital Publishing.
Marcel Moyse, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Sir James Galway…three famous names in the flute world. But here’s another name to consider: Jacques Martin Hotteterre.
It's also a good idea to amend heavy clay soil by mixing in sand and vegetative matter.
We're bringing you some of the most radical musical diversions from the norm, courtesy of bold, maverick, or legitimately insane composers.
Opella Musica and the Camerata Lipsiensis release the first installment of an ongoing series devoted to Johann Kuhnau’s complete sacred works.
Silver-leaved plants like Artemisia and sage are heat and drought tolerant as well as being unappetizing to deer and rabbits.
We’re investigating the moniker Monica! We’ll trace a tune dubbed “Monica” that was popular throughout Europe for two centuries, and so much more...
Patrick O’Meara speaks with Sir Hew Strachan, one of the world’s leading authorities on World War I.
This plant looks a bit like a stick figure with arms and a small mop of lavender blooms on top, mimicking hair.
David Brent Johnson speaks with pianist Luke Gillespie, professor of music in jazz studies at the IU Jacobs School of Music.
Good things come in small packages, like a manuscript of viol music held at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris.
These easy-to-grow plants are sometimes used as a flowering screen or hedge for privacy in small yards.
Yaël Ksander interviews Bloomington author and Indiana native Ian Woollen.
Sumit Ganguly interviews Indian author and essayist Amitav Ghosh.
Music from an ensemble who hopes to pass “seamlessly between different eras and musical styles, between now and then."
Strawflowers, sometimes called “everlasting flowers,” can be used in fresh arrangements, as well as dried for winter bouquets.
Occasionally we like to ask people in the field of early music: "What are you listening to?" This hour, we’re focusing on multi-instrumentalist Shira Kammen!
Claire McInerny speaks with Walt Bogdanich, assistant editor at The New York Times Investigations Desk.
Jealousy, murder, crimes of passion, hired assassins, and Marenzio's music for a pacifatory marriage.
A lot of the best plant combinations in my yard have occurred without my conscious intervention.
Plucked instruments—lutes, guitars, harps and harpsichords will pick and pizz us through the hour. Plus, a special tribute to lute player Pat O’Brien.
Kien Lam reads "Prayer," "Maturation Theory," and "God Theory."
In the garden, it seems easier to remember that perfection is not the goal.
Moya Andrews interviews Gareth Evans, an Australian policymaker who represented the Australian Labor Party in the Senate and House of Representatives.
It's the art of musical name-dropping—paying respect to the masters that came before. This week, we bring you music that gives credit where credit is due!
Scott Miles reads "You'll See a Tree."
Udite, Amanti: Lovers, Beware! Music from the seventeenth-century Barberini courts.
Josephine’s name will always be synonymous with roses.
We’re paying tribute to “Margriet” Tindemans, an early music pioneer and “ferociously talented” medieval fiddle player who passed away December 31, 2014.
James Gray interviews Naomi Oreskes, professor of the History of Science and affiliated professor of Earth and Planetary Sciences at Harvard University.
Mulch that has already been paid for is like money in the bank.
We bring you a program of early music with texts inspired by both romantic and symbolic associations with flowers.
The WFIU Arts Desk presents stories that were broadcast over the last year about people in Indiana living with disabilities.
Leslie Aguilar reads "In Crisis," "Torch," and "A Kindness."
This is the time of year to enjoy roses in our gardens. Here are some poems about these lovely flowers.
We've got the lowdown on music written for guys with supremely subterranean vocal ranges...
Gena Asher interviews longtime journalist and IU professor Joe Coleman.
David Watters reads "Little Carpenter," "The Flight of the Field Mouse," "Here in This Place," "Between the Sound," and "To the Quick-Footed Fawn..."
Music of manuscripts from the Convento de la Encarnación in Mexico City, now held at the Newberry Library in Chicago, Illinois.
IU Cinema Director Jon Vickers interviews Oscar-nominated movie director Peter Weir.
Miles reads "Garden Town" and "Car Fire: Storm of the Century."
A new ambitious project from Trio Settecento: the complete Op. 2 Sonate Accademiche by Francesco Maria Veracini.
Kien Lam reads "Ego," "Perpetual Motion," and "Factory Dialect."
Trish Kerlé interviews NPR’s first full-time television critic Eric Deggans.
Mark Chilla speaks with Eric Weisbard, the founder and longtime organizer of the Experience Music Project Pop Conference.
David Watters reads "The Difference," "This Is the Truth," "Not Yet," "The Blush," and "End of the Night Sonnet."
The botanical name Digitalis is from the Latin for finger, and “folk” refers to fairies, hence the common name of folks' gloves or fairies' gloves.
Shayla Lawson reads "Il Redentore" and "Santa Maria della Pietà."
Betsy Shepherd speaks with photographer James Balog, who for more than 30 years has documented human modification of Earth's natural systems.
Ring Around Quartet and Consort sing Frottole: Popular songs of Renaissance Italy.
Although non-native, lilacs are a much-loved and well-behaved import to North America.
Evelyn Reynolds reads "Saucer Magnolias" and "Traveling Home: Sangre de Cristo Mountains."
Agave Baroque and countertenor Reginald Mobley perform music by the Italian nun, Isabella Leonarda.
Common names for these wonderful plants are Christmas rose or Lenten rose, depending on the species and time of bloom.
James Gray and Joshua Brewer present this special WFIU production on the life and career of Orson Welles.
Leslie Aguilar reads her poems "Invocation," "Cascabel," and "Sueño de Retorno."
Mother’s Day is a truly floral holiday.
This two-part Profiles features interviews with novelist Margaret Atwood and New Yorker staff writer Katherine Boo.
As well as wonderful quotations, C. L. Fornari's handy book contains a lot of useful advice.
Bud Roach performs music of Giovanni Felice Sances.
For flower lovers, the ability to step out into the garden and pick a fistful of blooms for a vase, is one of spring’s great pleasures.
Reynolds reads her poems "
e psychology of resource use. Her work identifies factors that promote resource conservation and sustainabili
We should ask questions before we purchase our plants this spring. It's important to know whether pesticides that put our bees at risk have been used.
We're showcasing early religious music in some of its shortest forms.
Lawson reads her poems "Il Medico Della Peste: The Bearer of Bad News," "Santa Margherita" and "Palazzo Grassi."
WFIU Senior News Editor Gretchen Frazee interviews veteran NPR news reporter and analyst Mara Liasson.
Bernard Foccroulle plays his own compositions for historical organs.
Because Earth Day is coming up, let’s pay homage to Alice Waters.
Indiana poet David Watters reads "Little Forget-You-Not," "Stillborn," "American Gospel," "Don't Ask," and "The Great Distances."
Patrick O’Meara speaks with Elaine Monaghan—reporter, writer, and professor of practice at IU’s Media School.
Scientists have found odor receptors in nearly every organ in the human body!
Steve James is a film producer and director of documentaries, including the award-winning Hoop Dreams and Stevie.
We’re exploring music for the Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday services leading up to Easter.
I love the informality of Churchill’s flower paintings, with simple vases containing bunches of garden blooms.
Will Murphy speaks with John Searle, who is known for his contributions to the philosophy of language, philosophy of mind, and social philosophy.
Japanese Tree Lilac is a useful, adaptable ornamental tree.
Carolina Silverbells used to be hard to find and were rarely seen in home gardens, but now I'm determined to find one!
Joe Goetz interviews pianist Jean-Louis Haguenaure, renowned interpreter of the French repertoire who is currently recording Debussy's complete piano music.
The violin in Italy: an exploration through the music of Vivaldi and other lesser known composers from the Italian violin school.
This tree has multi-seasonal interest with attractive branching and lovely pink blooms in the spring.
Yaël Ksander speaks with family studies historian Stephanie Coontz, and Annie Corrigan speaks with food historian Amy Bentley.
Miko?aj Ziele?ski was a minor composer, but nonetheless a good one whose music deserves to be heard more often.
This special edition of Profiles explores the intersections of race and class, specifically as they pertain to life in south-central Indiana.
Ensemble La Ninfea finds a structure for both creative musical expression and a platform for a real world cause.
Sweetbay Magnolia flowers have a citrusy fragrance that makes me want to sniff them whenever I am nearby.
Music from a trio of composers-Handel, Ariosti, and Bononcini-who worked together at the Royal Academy in 18th century London.
This is an adaptable native tree with no serious disease or pest problems and a lovely branching pattern.
Betsy Shepherd interviews Jonathan Banks, who attended Indiana University as an undergraduate and has since made a 40-year career acting in film and television.
Trish Kerle interviews photographer and filmmaker Carolyn Jones, whose projects point attention towards issues of global concern.
Early women garden photographers created a new art form in the 20th century.
NPR senior producer Franklyn Cater and former New York City chief urban designer Alexandros Washburn discuss cities in the 21st century. Will Murphy moderates.
The Netherlands-based viol consort play music of Christopher Tye and John Jenkins.
I am dreaming this winter of tall, thin trees, ...and these need no trimming.
Sumit Ganguly speaks with David M. Malone, diplomat and author on international security and development.
“My ‘rhodos’ are doing a good job of protecting themselves from photoinhibition.”
Phantasm plays John Ward's four part viol fantasies. Plus, Ward's verse anthems with the Choir of Magdalen College, Oxford.
We’re devoting the hour to the life and accomplishments of a true early music luminary.
Rooftop gardens are becoming more and more popular in big cities where space for ground-level gardens is not available.
Two new recordings from father and daughter, Jordi and Arianna Savall.
David Brent Johnson speaks with jazz host Joe Bourne, who retired at the end of 2014 after thirty years with the station.
At this time of the year when we are using our fireplaces frequently, we generate a lot of wood ash.
Yaël Ksander hosts this special edition of Profiles that looks back at an eventful year in the arts.
A friend gave me a gardening magazine that she purchased in Britain. It's a gift that goes on giving!
Jon Vickers, director of the IU Cinema, hosts this conversation with actor and IU alumnus Kevin Kline.
Let's celebrate the life of early-music pioneer Frans Brüggen, who passed away in 2014. We'll also mark the 250th anniversary of Rameau's death.
Here are some tips for quick and easy and green holiday decor.
Petrus Alamire, in addition to his musical endeavors, may have acted as a political spy for Henry the VIII.
Patrick O’Meara speaks with Lee Feinstein, founding dean of the School of Global and International Studies in IU's College of Arts and Sciences.
Lovely pink or white spikes of bloom and handsome foliage (that is unappetizing to deer) more than compensate for the initial anxiety this plant creates.
Euphorbias are becoming more popular with gardeners recently, as they are versatile, easy- to-grow and deer resistant.
A world premiere recording of Tarquinio Merula’s complete op. 11, collected in one recording.
Achillea is the botanical name for yarrow and was named after Homer’s hero of the Trojan wars-Achilles.
Yaël Ksander interviews Judith Barter, Field-McCormick Chair and Curator of American Art at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Cantica Symphonia performs two of Dufay’s arguably most influential polyphonic works: 'Missa Se la face ay pale and Missa L’homme arme.
For flower lovers, a Thanksgiving table is not complete without some blooms.
Perry Metz interviews Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and IU Professor of Practice Thomas French.
Like a little black dress, some plants are classics and never go out of style.
Now that we have had our first frosts in the Midwest, I am thinking about what to plant next year.
Gena Asher interviews Don Fischer, who has been the radio voice of Indiana University football and basketball games for forty years.
This genus of plants are commonly called anise hyssops and are in the mint family.
Lixsania Fernandez and Johannes Schenck, Christophe Coin and Martin Berteau, Shirley Hunt and J.S. Bach.
I just can’t seem to get enough of these dark-colored plants in my garden.
Sephardic Music performed by Yaniv d'Or, Ensemble Naya, and the Apollo Ensemble.
If you have grown the big Joe Pye weeds that are tall and spread a lot, you will love this smaller one.
Daniel Grundmann interviews IU alumnus Dave Coverly, creator of the award-winning comic Speed Bump.
A sample of short-form radio pieces that were produced in this summer's Transom radio workshop.
Toss your flip-flops in the back of the closet and dig out your favorite fuzzy sweater...summer has passed, autumn is here and winter is on the way.
Like good friends, good shrubs have the capacity to keep surprising us with their many virtues!
"Ah, let me die! I shall shed blood from neck, but not tears from my eyes."
Laughter and tears: two of the most human forms of expression. This week on Harmonia, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll sample a recording by John Holloway.
In my Midwestern garden amsonia's yellow foliage is a welcome accent in the late autumn landscape.
O'Neill reads "Anniversary Poem for Ann," "Tectonic of Love," "Photograph: Father and Grandfather Fishing the Pier at Michigan City, and "One Month After."
Kraus’s writing is incredibly lyrical and singable….earworms are guaranteed!
We're listening to music about music on this edition of Harmonia!
Sneezeweed has not only an unfortunate but also an inaccurate common name, as it actually does not cause sneezing.
Father and son together on one recording from the Norwegian Baroque Orchestra: music by Johan Daniel and Johan Heinrich Berlin.
Brian O'Neill reads his poems "Late March," "The Stock Girl," and "Revise, Revise."
Very few plants can tolerate standing water. Here are some that can.
George Walker speaks with
Murray Grodner’s first orchestral position was
Bloomington-based poet Brian O'Neill reads "After a Long Drought (for Polymer)" and "Sodbusters."
What’s better than one harpsichord? Two of course!
Some of us enjoy the serenity of gardens under large shade trees, but trees suck up a lot of moisture...
The Cosmopolitan: Ensemble Leones performs music of minnesinger, Oswald von Wolkenstein.
It's best to purchase wildflower seeds and plants from nurseries that specialize in natives.
This two-part Profiles features a conversation with microbiologist Rachel Dutton and highlights of an archived interview with farmer Marcia Veldman.
Munich Baroque Soloists play familiar and not-so-familiar music: revisit Vivaldi favorites, and get to know Johann Zach.
Deep-rooted native plants can absorb many inches of rain per day, dramatically reducing run-off into streets.
Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?
The word derives from the Greek word xeros, which means dry.
Owen Johnson speaks with South Bend native and IU alumnus Paul C. Tash, chairman and CEO of the Times Publishing Company, which owns The Tampa Bay Times.
In the arts, an appreciation of a creation is fed by a knowledge of its creator. Get to know Oswald von Wolkenstein with a new recording from Ensemble Leones.
Some flowers have intense sounding names to match their hues.
A 2014 Ricercar release from Ensemble Céladon, led by Paulin Bündgen, presents music of the Troubadours.
Use this shrub as a focal point or in a shrub border to create fall interest.
Dave Torneo interviews poet Adrian Matejka, a graduate of Indiana University who teaches in the MFA program at IU-Bloomington.
Las Idas Y Las Vueltas: Spanish Baroque Meets Flamenco!
An interesting native wildflower that grows naturally in wet meadows is chelone lyonii.
Some of the plants we buy for our gardens are pretreated with neonicotinoid pesticides that are harmful to bees.
IU professor of political science Sumit Ganguly interviews Shauna Singh Baldwin, a Canadian-American novelist who writes about the Indian experience.
Ireland concluded its tenure as the WAFA host country after the June 2014 flower show, and Barbados has begun its three year term.
In the 1960s, at Walt Disney’s request, Bill Evans and the Disney horticultural team began to experiment with topiary.
David Brent Johnson interviews Larry Lockridge, author of an award-winning biography of his father Ross Lockridge, Jr., author of Raintree County.
Roughly 80% of the Walt Disney World resort flowers are irrigated using reclaimed water.
We're exploring paeans to solitude, songs of unrequited love—even a sumptuous soundscape sprung from a single note.
Will Murphy speaks with David Morrison, director of the Carl Sagan Center for Study of Life in the Universe at the SETI Institute.
The official Disney Horticulture logo is the Liberty Tree, and there is a story about how that choice was made.
The Epcot International Flower Show and Garden Festival is held each spring for 75 days.
Gena Asher interviews journalist Sonia Nazario, author of Enrique's Journey
Arcangelo Corelli’s complete published chamber music performed by the Avison Ensemble.
The landscaping at Disney Theme Parks is an integral part of the Disney experience.
IU President Michael McRobbie interviews Meryl Streep, one of the greatest actresses of our time.
Narrow shrubs are referred to as columnar in shape, and they are ideal for a small garden.
Love’s gone bad this hour on Harmonia, as we explore music by—and for—the brokenhearted.
Yaël Ksander interviews photographer Jerry Uelsmann, a pioneer of 20th-century photomontage.
We're dropping in on the historic Council of Konstanz with a recording from Capella de la Torre, and music that might have been heard there in the 15th c.
Many people think that English ivy (Hedera helix) is romantic.
We’re headed into the 19th century with Hummel piano concertos, recorded for the first time on period instruments by Solamente Naturali.
Adult butterflies linger in our gardens longer when we have the types of plants on which they can lay their eggs.
Peter Todd interviews German psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer, who studies the use of bounded rationality and heuristics in decision making.
Kudos to Jean Lamon for over three decades with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra!
The best time to plant chrysanthemums is now...in the spring!
We’re heading into battle this hour, for a sampling of music by, for, or about soldiers.
Mark Wunderlich reads poems from his new collection and sits down for a chat with us!
Christophe Rousset plays Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier Book II, and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin plays related works by Mozart and his contemporaries.
Pretty and striped, Monarch caterpillars eat various species of milkweed, so plant lots of it to entice this butterfly to your garden.