Episodes

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In this Versus episode, it’s the battle of herbs and spices. Get your fill of these fascinating aromatic plants that have flavoured our food and changed our history since paleolithic times. Learn why they bother smelling so good—and what you can do to make the most of their flavour—then get ready to cast your vote in the Plant Face-Off. Sean is representing the herbs with bay laurel, a plant not to be confused with the many other bays and laurels in the world—especially not the toxic ones. Learn how it grows, how to preserve the leaves, and why there are so many misconceptions about its safety. Erin follows up with mustard seed and how to grow and prepare it…but first she shakes things up with some tasty knowledge about spices around the world.

Who won the Plant Face-Off? Was it Sean with bay leaves or Erin with mustard seed? You decide! Send your vote by email or on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook with the hashtag #PAWFaceOff. 

Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon. 

Instagram: @plantsalwayswinpodcast 

Facebook: plantsalwayswinpodcast 

TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast 

Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com 

Credits

Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin

Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays

License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH

Citations

What is a spice?

Hogeback, J. (n.d.). What’s the difference between an herb and a spice? Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/story/whats-the-difference-between-an-herb-and-a-spice

Essential Oils/Volatile Oils

Biology Online. (2023, September 15). Volatile oil – Definition and Examples – Biology Online Dictionary. Biology Articles, Tutorials & Dictionary Online. https://www.biologyonline.com/dictionary/volatile-oil

iHerb.org’s Herbs of the Year

International Herb Association. (2023, May 30). Herb of the Year™. https://www.iherb.org/herb-of-the-year/ 

Bay laurel’s history and use

Belsinger, S. (2009, March 18). Bay (Laurus nobilis): From Legend and Lore to Fragrance and Flavor. Fine Gardening. https://www.finegardening.com/article/bay-laurus-nobilis-from-legend-and-lore-to-fragrance-and-flavor?srsltid=AfmBOoonN-BDS8stQ2WPnnKPaq6O6XNdSRjOD1nROnT2zNqDeIo7KlEC 

The toxicity of laurel hedges

Hopes Grove Nurseries. (2024, September 23). Are Laurel hedges poisonous?. https://www.hopesgrovenurseries.co.uk/knowledge-base/are-laurel-hedges-poisonous/#:~:text=You%20are%20here%3A%20Home%20%C2%BB%20Are,cause%20serious%20complications%20if%20ingested 

Medicinal uses and side effects of bay laurel

BAY LEAF: Overview, uses, side effects, precautions, interactions, dosing and reviews. (n.d.). WebMD. Retrieved December 27, 2024, from https://www.webmd.com/vitamins/ai/ingredientmono-685/bay-leaf 

The biology of white mustard (also known as yellow mustard)

Canadian Food Inspection Agency. (2022, May 6). The biology of Sinapis alba L. (mustard). inspection.canada.ca. https://inspection.canada.ca/en/plant-varieties/plants-novel-traits/applicants/directive-94-08/biology-documents/sinapis-alba#a24 

Growing saffron in Ontario

Balzer, D. (2024, November 6). Growing saffron – in a cool Canadian climate! Donna Balzer. https://donnabalzer.com/growing-saffron-in-a-cool-canadian-climate/ 

Timestamps

00:12 Intro

00:53 What’s Growing On?

01:07 Erin Gets Native Seed Mail

02:17 This Episode is Dedicated to Siblings

02:58 The Plant Face Off

03:08 Herbs and Spices: Definitions

04:25 How Bias Affects Research

06:00 Sean’s Plant: Bay Laurel

08:05 The Laurecea Plant Family

08:45 A Laurel by Any Other Name Might be Toxic

10:02 Mediterranean Evergreens

11:22 Tree Genders

13:28 Medicinal Uses of Bay Laurel

14:40 Bay Leaves: They’re Sharp

17:49 Preserving Bay Leaves

19:40 Growing Bay Laurel 

20:40 Aromatics to Deter Pests

23:50 Erin’s Spice Journey

24:59 Preserving Spice Potency

26:41 Spice Fun Facts

28:56 Erin’s Plant: Mustard 

29:12 The Fascinating Brassica Family

32:28 Making Your Own Mustard

36:26 Mustard Types

39:13 Q&A: Low-Fuss, Low-Light Houseplants

43:23 Listener Feedback

45:41 Contact Us & Outro

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In this interview episode, Sean chats with Paul Zammit about the life of a garden communicator. Paul has had a long career in horticulture and is presently a professor of Horticulture and Environmental Studies at Niagara College as well as CBC’s Ontario Today gardening expert—although “expert” is a term he would like to contest. After all, we never stop learning, and that’s especially true in the garden. Paul and Sean talk about selfish gardening (taking space from nature for ourselves) compared to building a biodiverse space that wildlife can enjoy alongside us—even if that means broadening our definition of beauty. They lament the spread of incomplete and untrue gardening tips online, although they’re still excited about the information-sharing power of social media. And although they’d happily talk forever, they force themselves to wrap up the conversation by answering some listener questions about insect-afflicted ash trees and re-blooming orchids. 

Find Paul on Instagram at @paulsplantpix  

Paul Zammit is a professor at  Niagara College’s School of Environment and Horticulture. 

He can be found giving garden advice on CBC’s Ontario Today program 

He occasionally co-leads international tours of public and private gardens. 

Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon. 

Instagram: @plantsalwayswinpodcast 

Facebook: plantsalwayswinpodcast 

TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast 

Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com 

Credits

Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin

Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays

License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH



0:45 Preamble

1:15 Interview

2:33 Paul’s Impressive Résumé

4:04 Leading Garden Tours

7:11 “Garden Expert”, and Other Misnomers

13:07 Gardening is different everywhere!

15:25 Biodiversity: If You Plant it, They Will Come

16:24 Invasive Species and Constructive Conversations

21:30 Rethinking Beauty

24:03 Cultivars Aren’t Evil

26:24 Gardening for Ourselves and for Nature

35:20 Social Media and Iffy Plant Hacks

42:07 Intermission

42:50 Q&A

44: 26 Emerald Ash Borers

46:35 Re-Blooming Orchids

53:12 Paul’s Shout-Outs

56:20 Outro 

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In this “versus” episode, Erin and Sean face off with two big holiday plants: Poinsettias and Amaryllis. Erin comes in swinging with the fraught history of settler (Poinsettia) and Indigenous (cuetlaxochitl) names for her plant, but Sean pushes back with the romantic (or is it?) mythology behind amaryllis. Both contenders shatter misconceptions (Poinsettias are not toxic! Some amaryllis are imposters!) and share care tips for keeping these festive flora in good shape during the holidays and year round. A few tangents slip in about specialist insects that thrive on toxic plants and the way plants interpret light and darkness. And of course we get a plant rant about florists and nurseries using spray paint and glitter. The episode wraps up with a listener question about how late she can plant an evergreen tree. 

Who won the Plant Face-Off? Was it Erin with poinsettias or Sean with amaryllis? You decide! Send your vote by email or on Instagram, TikTok, or Facebook with the hashtag #PAWFaceOff. 

Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon. 

Instagram: @plantsalwayswinpodcast 

Facebook: plantsalwayswinpodcast 

TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast 

Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com 

Credits

Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin

Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays

License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH

Citations

Cultural history of poinsettias

Kohfeld, M. (2024, November 30). Cuetlaxochitl: A cultural history of the Poinsettia. Swansons Nursery. https://www.swansonsnursery.com/blog/history-of-poinsettias 

Chart of specialist insects who sequester the toxins (glycocides) in milkweed sap 

Holdrege, C. (n.d.). The Story of an Organism: Common Milkweed — The Nature Institute. The Nature Institute. https://www.natureinstitute.org/article/craig-holdrege/the-story-of-an-organism-common-milkweed

Commercial production of poinsettias

Environmental Horticulture Department – UF/IFAS. (n.d.). Production Guidelines – Poinsettia Cultivation. Commercial Floriculture. https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/floriculture/poinsettia/production_guidelines.shtml 

Dr. Ing-Ming Lee’s research into phytoplasmas

Ing-Ming Lee. (n.d.). The American Phytopathological Society (APS). https://www.apsnet.org/members/give-awards/awards/Fellows/Pages/Ing-MingLee.aspx

Care and reblooming of poinsettias

Schnelle, M. (2017, April 1). Poinsettia Care. Oklahoma State University Extension. https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/poinsettia-care.html

Weisenhorn, J. (2024). Growing and caring for poinsettia. UMN Extension. https://extension.umn.edu/houseplants/poinsettia 

Plants in the amaryllis family

Petruzzello, M. (2016, March 8). List of plants in the family Amaryllidaceae | Amaryllis, Narcissus, Hyacinth. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-plants-in-the-family-Amaryllidaceae-2058006

Facts about Amaryllis

DeJohn, S. (2024, October 17). Amaryllis Legends and Fun Facts. Gardeners Supply Company.

https://www.gardeners.com/how-to/amaryllis-facts/8660.html 

 

Amaryllis and hippeastrum 

Mahr, S. (n.d.). Amaryllis, Hippeastrum. Wisconsin Horticulture. https://hort.extension.wisc.edu/articles/amaryllis-hippeastrum/ 

0:51 What’s Growing On?

0:56 Winter Prep (and lack thereof)

1:57 Sean Got a Puppy!

2:51 The Plant Face-Off

3:30 Poinsettias and Pronunciation

4:22 Cottoneaster Tangent

4:42 Pointsettia Etymology

5:40 Poinsettia Sap: Not Toxic!

8:25 The Euphorbia Plant Family

10:16 Turning Shrubs into House Plants

12:12 Tricking Plants with Light

14:17 Spray-Painted Poinsettias

17:31 Poinsettia Care

21:50 How (not) to Research Plants Online

23:45 What is—and isn’t—an Amaryllis?

25:01 Amaryllis Relatives

26:26 The Amaryllis Identity Crisis

28:48 Naturalized vs. Invasive Plants

29:58 600+ Amaryllis Cultivars

30:50 Romantic(?) Amaryllis Mythology

31:43 How Amaryllis Grows

38:14 Amaryllis Care

44:47 Q&A: Can You Plant a Tree in Late Fall?

47:28 Contact Us & Outro

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In this pilot episode of Plants Always Win, Erin and Sean give the Plant Face-Off a trial run…with a twist. Instead of competing for viewers’ votes with the most interesting information about a plant or gardening concept, they go head to head with competing interviews of each other. Find out what theft has to do with Erin’s early forays into gardening, why she makes content about gardening with chronic illness and disability, and how talking about plants every week complements her literary life. Then learn how Sean’s mom got him into a horticulture career, explore the pros and cons of the profession, and get excited about Sean’s dreams for a botanical garden in Muskoka, Ontario. We wrap up with some impromptu (and impassioned) tangents on invasive plants in garden centres, cities that plant only male trees, cultivars vs. nativars, and permaculture.

Find Sean online at @GardenGuyMuskoka on TikTok and Instagram.

Find Erin online at @EarthUndaunted on TikTok and at https://earthundaunted.com/.

Comments? Feedback? Want your garden question to be featured in a future Q&A segment? Email us, reach out over social media, or get Q&A priority by supporting us on Patreon.

 

Instagram: @plantsalwayswinpodcast

Facebook: plantsalwayswinpodcast

TikTok: @plantsalwayswinpodcast

Website: www.plantsalwayswin.com

Credits

Website Design and Illustration by Sophia Alladin

 

Intro and Outro Music from #Uppbeat (free for Creators!): https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/when-my-ukulele-plays

License code: GWOIMMBAS15FG6PH

00:52 What’s Growing On?

1:00: Erin vs. Quack Grass

2:17 Sean’s Zone 4 Fruit Trees

3:27 Raccoons 1 | Chickens 0

4:50 First Frosts

6:24 Plant Face-Off

7:00 Sean’s topic: Erin

7:52 Stealing Gardens from Parents

8:50 Gardening with Chronic Illness

12:40 Why Erin Agreed to Do This Podcast

13:52 Our Wives Think We’re Big Nerds

15:37 Erin’s Least Favourite Thing About Gardening

19:15 Erin’s Topic: Sean

19:20 Blame it on Sean’s Mom

21:16 The Garden Labour Trap

22:57 The Master Gardeners of Ontario

24:00 Running a Landscaping Business

26:09 The Muskoka Botanical Garden Dream

27:26: Why Sean Started This Podcast

28:53: Sean’s Rant: Stop Selling Invasive Plants

33:51 Erin’s Rant: Male-Only City Trees

33:22 Nativars and Cultivars

38:17 Selfish Gardening vs. Permaculture

41:26 Contact Us & Outro