Gardening Podcast – Garden Smart

By: Cheryl Spencer, Certified Gardener

Last Updated: November 22, 2024

INSIDE: The Garden Smart podcast is packed with quick, time-saving tips for busy gardeners. It shares science-backed advice to help you grow your dream garden!

Welcome to the Garden Smart podcast!

Ready to make gardening simpler and more satisfying? I’m your host, Cheryl Spencer, and on the Garden Smart podcast, I share quick, science-backed tips to help your garden thrive—no matter how busy life gets.

I believe you can grow your dream garden and still have time to enjoy it. That’s why each quick, 10-minute episode tackles everyday gardening challenges—like weeds that outpace your plants or tools that seem to disappear just when you need them.

I’m Cheryl Spencer, a certified gardener with over 25 years of experience and a passion for practical, purposeful gardening. My goal is to help you grow a garden you love—without breaking a sweat (or your back).

Whether you’re new to gardening or have been growing for years, this podcast is for anyone who wants a gorgeous garden that doesn’t take over their life.

You’ll learn how to:

Set goals that keep you growing and inspired all season.
Plant confidently with the right seeds and plants for your space.
Build simple systems to keep your garden thriving year-round.

From planning your garden to prolonging your harvests and blooms, we’ll walk through the gardening year step-by-step. Along the way, you’ll discover how to grow a garden that’s rewarding—not relentless—because gardening should bring joy, not frustration.

New episodes drop every week. So, grab your garden gloves, trusty trowel, or earbuds, and let’s dig into simple strategies that make gardening simple and satisfying —just the way it should be!

Garden Smart: Season one

A year in your garden

Garden Smart: Season 1

We’ll spend a year in your garden together with me as your guide. Each week, I’ll bring you short, focused tips to help your garden adapt and thrive—whether it’s spring garden prep, protecting your plants in summer, or planning for the future.

My goal is to make gardening simpler so you can enjoy a beautiful, healthy garden without the overwhelm!

Season one episodes

Garden Smart Podcast, Season 1 Episode 1

Introducing the Garden Smart Podcast (Episode 1)

Yes! I want to grow my dream garden!

row of weed-free flowers and mulch - how to weed a garden

Want a Weed-Free Garden? Here’s How to Weed a Garden but Not Spend Hours Weeding

Sometimes gardening can feel like one long war against the weeds. And even though it can sap your morale, you can’t stop fighting. If you let the weeds outflank you, they’ll steal nutrients from your soil, crowd out your plants and even grow tall enough for the neighbor’s dog to get lost…

How Long Do Seeds Last? Complete Viability Guide [Free Chart]

As you thumb through half-empty seed packets left over from last year, or even several years ago, you wonder if they’re still good. You shrug, plant the seeds, and cross your fingers. If they don’t germinate, you’ll buy some new ones. But here’s my prediction. By the time you notice the seeds…

Weeding Bucket DIY: Simple Solution Makes it Easy to Weed

The best way to keep your weeds under control is to make weeding easier and more convenient. Here’s all you have to do…Make it a breeze to grab your weeding tools. Yep, it’s that simple! And the best way to do that is to stash a DIY weeding bucket (or…

lupines growing in a weed-free garden surrounded by mulch

The Best Mulch to Prevent Weeds

After years of gardening, I thought I had it all figured out. But then came what I call “The Summer of the Weeds.” If growing weeds was an Olympic sport, my garden would’ve taken home the gold! It was a humbling reality check. And it led me straight to my new best friend… The best…

How to Grow Kale in Your Square Foot Garden [Step-by-Step]

I never understood the appeal of kale until a fellow gardener (who I can only describe as a kale whisperer) showed me his kale. He had two varieties growing side by side: one was a crinkly leafed, Siberian kale, the other, a Tuscan kale with elongated, bumpy leaves. He pointed…

gardener holding red pruners, pruning plants

The 5 Best Pruning Books: Learn to Prune Like a Pro!

Pruning is one of the most essential and yet subtle skills for a gardener to master. Because there’s more to it than cutting off branches that look diseased or dead. Even small mistakes can have big consequences, and you don’t want your garden to look like Charlie Brown’s tree after…