HGTV Obsessed Episode 17: Kelly Edwards

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This week, Marianne puts the ‘G’ back in HGTV by talking all about spring gardening and houseplants with Kelly Edwards, Kelly Smith Trimble and the Plant Daddies.

Longtime HGTV fans will recognize lifestyle expert Kelly Edwards from the classic HGTV show Design on a Dime — which you can watch (or rewatch) on discovery+. Kelly joined Marianne to talk about Gardencast’s top 2021 gardening trends. The top five trends all involve health and wellness, but Marianne and Kelly both agree their favorite trend is using plants like pansies and violas that appear to have smiling faces.

They also discuss growing and cooking with more unusual plants and herbs like fennel, lemon balm and lemongrass. “It’s fun to step outside the box especially if you’re a traveler like my husband and I," explains Kelly. “We used to travel so much … and now not being able to go, at least we have all these herbs right here so we can do all those Thai dishes, Vietnamese dishes, African dishes ...” No matter what type of garden you grow, Kelly advises the most basic and important thing gardeners need to do is learn their plant hardiness zone so they'll know when to plant and what will thrive in their region.

Defend the Trend: Water or Soil?

When asked if the indoor hydroponic garden trends are here to stay, Kelly says she loves the concept and they’re great for people who can’t do gardening year-round or don’t have a yard. But she personally prefers going old-school and growing her plants in the soil.

Veggie Garden Advice

Kelly Smith Trimble, HGTV.com editorial director, master gardener and host of HGTV's digital gardening series Dig It, talks about the easiest things for beginners to try to grow — like garlic — and which herbs are the most resilient and reliant. She also shares ways to avoid common pitfalls when growing tomatoes, cilantro and squash.

Spring Houseplant Care With the Plant Daddies

Stephen and Matthew from the Plant Daddy Podcast join Marianne to talk about how their houseplant obsession started (over 400 houseplants!). They then share tips for taking care of houseplants in the spring including adjusting how much to water, repotting, fertilizing and whether you should move them outside for the summer.