Door County Gardening

This week Brett discusses beekeeping with Max Martin, co-president of the Door County Beekeepers Club. Max explains many of the pros and cons (mostly pros), how people can get started, and the club itself.

Join Brett as he explores the amazing potential of Bee Balm, especially from seed.

In all the fields and woods and yards and gardens of Door County, throughout winter and spring and summer and fall, flashes of crimson flit through the trees, capturing the gaze and imagination of all creatures lucky enough to witness it. The Cardinal, with its vibrant plumage and enchanting song, is not just a bird but a symbol woven into the fabric of our gardens' stories, natural spaces, and personal lives.

Chris Daubner and Karen Newbern have been working with native plants for decades, and all that experience has led to some amazing realizations and practical wisdom. Listen to this month's Door County experts whether you want to add a few natives, create a small or large native prairie, or just hear some wonderful people talk about what they truly love.

This week Brett explores how climate change is changing gardening in Door County, from the new 2023 USDA  Hardiness Zones Map, to the effect of pests and diseases migrating north, to water level fluctuations, and finally soil quality and erosion issues.

Long before I became a gardener, my wife gave me an extraordinary book about an extraordinary scientist who also happened to be touched with the gift. No, not spirits or divination, but the ability to write so well that Victor Hugo called him “the insects' Homer.” Add to the mix, an extraordinary artist illustrating some of the most beautiful creatures in the world... and you've got a book worth experiencing.

I don't really remember what lured me toward bees, what sirens called from hidden rocks, but I'll always be grateful now. Now that the first hard years are past. Beekeeping has become a central part of my life, yet… it's difficult to fully explain why… But that's my calling, right? That's one of the three main goals of Door County Gardening: to celebrate the beauty of why. Why Nature? Why gardens? And why beekeeping in the cold, dark north?

Welcome to the first episode of Door County Gardening, a place for all things flora and fauna here on the peninsula. We will share expert interviews, provide resources for all levels of gardening, report local news and events, chronicle one garden's success and failure from down in the dirt, and share different types of stories celebrating gardens, local gardeners, and some of the reasons we work so hard to see that seed become so much more.