I'm Jonathan.

I'm Jeanette. I'm Jeanette coming to you from Seal, Oregon, or usa Rooftop. Where plants?

Where plants? You know, I had nightmares last night. You had nightmares about this podcast. Like, I was like, I was, like, talking in my sleep and. And I had a dream that we had, like, a really long segment and it was, like, really cool and, like, successful or like, it just, like, it was really interesting. And I was like, wow. And then I realized that I wasn't recording it, and all I had was, like, your reactions. Oh, no, that's.

That is haunting.

Yes, it's haunting. Hey, sluts.

Hey, sluts.

Happy October.

This month, our garden takes a dark turn.

We're summoning some of the creepiest, most mysterious plants to haunt your earbuds. Grab your broomsticks. I can't speak. Grab your broom. Oh, my God. Why can't I say that word? Broomsticks. Grab your broom. Grab your broomstick. The.

Oh, my God.

Grab your broomsticks and dowsing rods. We're gossiping with witch hazel, the queen of the apothecary.

And when the veil is the thinnest. At the end of the month, we'll be dropping a spin special Halloween episode. Let's start by sharing our garden status updates. John, how's your garden?

You know, I've been, like, harvesting a lot of different things, but, you know, the things that I'm noticing didn't work this year would be the watermelon, which basically has a tiny little watermelon growing on it right now, but it's definitely not going to make it. My tomatoes were like, okay. There are some tomato varieties, like this fuzzy peach tomato that I really love that didn't really do so well. And my broccoli, like, I don't know what I'm. I don't know, like. Like, I tried broccoli this year, and I'm not really sure what's going on with it. It's putting up all these different sprouts and it's. It's a sprouting type of broccoli. But, like, I don't. It's. It's not edible. It's not. Not really sure what's happening there other than that. Everything is just kind of in end of season limbo.

Yeah.

Jeanette, what's your garden update?

So I accidentally killed a grass. Some eggplants just started coming in, and so the leaves were getting eaten. So I thought, oh, I'll just spray a little neem oil on the leaves really, like, carefully to make sure that I Don't get on the flowers or anything. And as I was spraying it, a grasshopper just, like, crawls up from in between, like, gasping for life towards me, like. And I, like, tried to get it out, and it kept slipping down. And then it was like. I was like. I was like, oh, my God. And meanwhile, like, on my way back in the house, I, like, smashed 10 vine boar bugs, you know, like, with my bare hands. I'm like, yeah, I hate you. And I'm, like, burning them. But I'm like, oh, my God. That one grasshopper. No. I also hosed off my neighbor's, the landowner's shed. It's behind my garden box on the side of my house.

Okay.

Because it is covered. It was covered in vine borer eggs. And there are no vine borer eggs on my house, on my siding, just that siding. So I just hosed it off with. With water. I didn't, like, you know, put anything on it. And I'm hoping that might drown them. But now I'm looking it up and realizing I need to maybe put some beneficial nematodes in the area in the spring because I haven't been able to grow any vining plants. Probably last year I had a lot out in that area, and I think they just went crazy. So crop rotation is really good for pests like that, but we still have a ton of vine borers just hanging around, even though there are no vines.

Yeah. I think I once had read that it takes three years. So if you don't grow, I guess it's squash, vine burrows or what. Zucchini. Yeah, Squash and all that.

Pumpkin.

Right.

I think cucumbers.

Yeah. Because they're all. They're all part of the same family. So I. I think if you don't grow them for three years, it's. It should be sufficient, but I think you'd have to have people around you do the same thing. Like, I think like your neighbor, if. If they were to grow things in that family, then forget it.

It's. It's beneficial nematode time, I think.

Yeah. Fuck them. Their time is up. Yeah. On that note, it's time for grapes and grapes, the segment where we serve one salty take and one sweet one. Not therapy, but it's kind of close. Jeanette, do you have a grape?

I. I mean, I have so many grapes. I just had a grape, but my other grape is fungus gnats. We don't usually talk much about house plants, as much as I'd love to open this up, but I know they're Hard for you, John.

Thank you, Jeanette, for outing me. For the longest time, I had what I called a plant graveyard. House plant graveyard, where in the corner of my kitchen, I would assemble all of the dead house plants that died throughout the winter. And it just, like, piled up.

You're. I feel like you're very stark, like, outdoor planting versus indoor. And I know your ex was the indoor plant person.

Yeah. I don't know if it was, like, intentional or not, but most of the plants after he left died, like, intentional on my behalf.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you think you could ever get into houseplants again?

Yeah, I could. I could. I just don't have that much sun in my house. But I. I do bring in cardamom and the grapefruit tree that I bring in in the winter.

That's not a house.

I mean, it's a plant that's in the house. Okay, yes.

You bring in your.

I bring in my very. Not very hardy plants, and those become my house plants. So. Okay, no. Maybe the answer to that then is no. So tell me about fungus gnats. I think those are the ones that kind of grow in the soil. I've heard of them.

Yeah. Yeah. They grow in the soil. They become little, like flies. And so you have flies. It happens from having, like, damp soil. That's where they really get into it. I'm always trying to get rid of flies. Fungus gnats, really. And I don't have a huge outbreak right now or anything. Nathan and I went to a conservatory, I think, in San Francisco, and we asked the person working in the gift shop, maybe it was Seattle. Anyway, what do you guys do about these fungus gnats? And she recommended Ceylon cinnamon.

Oh, Ceylon cinnamon.

And so that was my first thing I tried. I still would have fungus gnats. I mostly noticed them if I was moving the plant or near the plants, especially in the bathroom where it's more moist. And so then it was time for bigger measures. So I'd get the little sticky traps, the little yellow ones, and those help a lot. My last thing I've done is getting mosquito dunks. Yes, you can bake the soil, too. I got mosquito. Mosquito dunks to put in the watering can.

I've seen that.

Yeah, that releases a. I think it's a nematode that eats the fungus gnat eggs. And I think that's been helping because I'm. I'm a chronic underwater just because of the gnats. But also, you know, I forget to water the plants or whatever, and they're they're fine. They're happy. They don't care. I've been able to water the plants a lot more now with the. With the mosquito dunk in the water. But then I still went and picked up a plant that was on a shelf near a window, and a ton of gnats came out. So I put it outside. I was like, you are in timeout until you get your shit together and bring you back in. So that's my grave. You can't have 26 houseplants without fungus gnats, and that's not fair.

Well, I think you've convinced me not to continue with house plants now.

Yeah, it's a whole thing.

Okay. My grape would have to be Virginia creepers.

Oh, my God.

In Italy, they're called Canadian vines. Interestingly interesting. You know, they're a popular vine here because they're very. They're super hardy and they crawl up houses. So a lot of, like, the houses, you know, Like, I think in Boston you have like, the Boston Ivy here. I mean, Boston ivy can survive here, but just Virginia creepers are so much more hearty to this zone.

Yeah, I have Boston ivy, and it's not doing very well. But my neighbor's Virginia creeper that I keep shoving back over the fence seems to be growing at an amazing rate.

This is my grape, Jeanette. I'm just kidding. I'm sorry.

I always have a grape.

Yeah, well, so I actually planted the Virginia creeper, so I'm. I'm to blame. I also planted. And maybe this is a, like, interesting. So I also planted Boston, like a type of Boston vine, I guess it's kind of just gone a bit out of control, so. In the front. So I only have planted the Virginia creeper in the front of the house, and it has now kind of latched onto my cherry tree. It's running through my raised bed part of the front of the house. And it's kind of. It's creeping up, you know, the neighbors plants, and I just, like, I don't have the spoons to deal with it at the moment.

Is it an invasive plant? Washington just banned English ivy because it's gotten loose in the forest since killing trees. Is this a similar thing?

I think so, yeah. Yeah. It's not being banned. I do see it running through wooded areas, but I do also have the Boston ivy in the back. And there is also Virginia creeper on the back, but from my neighbor's house. And there's a big condo building right on the lot line in my backyard. And I planted Boston Ivy that creeped up that same building. And then, you know, to the left, there's the Virginia creeper that climbed up all the way to, like, the third floor of the condo building. Last year or the year before. Yeah, the year before, there was a huge windstorm and it ripped off the. In all of the. All of the Virginia creeper. And three floors of the Virginia creeper fell into my backyard, crushing all my plants. And the interesting thing is that the Boston ivy stayed and it didn't get. It didn't get ripped off. So that kind of convinces me that Boston Ivy is like a better plant for. For that. And I think it has to do with the way that that Virginia creeper kind of has these vines that grow off of it and hang down. Whereas the Boston Ivy is kind of like really snug on the. On the surface.

Yeah, yeah. I mean, not for nothing, but Boston. I'm just kidding. Sorry.

No. Do you have any grapes?

I sure do. Oh, my grape is pizza.

Okay.

My son, Marzano tomatoes. Yeah, I got a lot of them and I blend, blanched them and froze them. Because I am not a canning. I will freeze my produce. Thank you. And I have a lot of purple basil. So Nathan has been making pizza and he uses a sourdough. Yeah. He's been using the tomatoes and the basil, and we've been eating pizza and it's amazing.

Awesome.

And a little, you know, mozzarella cheese, which I didn't grow, but. What's your grape?

My grape is my neighbor who left a note in my mailbox saying that they really liked my roof, my rooftop, and they were thinking about doing the same thing, and they wanted to know, like, how I was able to get it done, because they want to go through their own process of getting it done. So I'm actually meeting them tomorrow for coffee.

Question.

Yeah.

Is it next door neighbor?

No, it's. No, luckily not. It's the neighbor who, like, if I were to walk to the end of my rooftop and kind of turn my head to the right, it would be like the neighbor kitty corner from me. So not. Not at all. Like, I could theoretically kind of lean over and if they were also at the edge and leaning over, we could like wave to each other, but they're not going to be a nuisance if they have it as well. That's what you were thinking, right?

Yeah.

Yeah, that would be terrible. Oh, my God.

In your kimono, getting the slugs, the chopsticks, or just like peeing in your. In your watering can?

Yeah. In my watering can, which I have done now. Yeah. Because right now it's super private. I. I was up there earlier, just in my underwear, sunbathing.

Nice. Oh. So you can share your garden grapes by emailing plantslutspod Gmail.com or slide into our DMS on Instagram at plant.sluts pod, please. We love graping. So send us your grapes. And maybe we have advice, maybe we don't. Now it's time to grab a mug, pick some herbs, and spill the tea. Jonathan, you said you may have some garden tea this episode.

It's. It's kind of a combination of a grape and garden tea. It's about my neighbor who I guess the neighborhood is super dense. I'm talking so much about my neighbors, but they're all different people. Um, so this is a neighbor who lives on the third floor next door to me. And over winter, she was shoveling her snow and ice off of her balcony and into my backyard. And. And, like, when I. I would see it because, you know, I have a. Basically, I see from my bedroom window when this is happening. And, you know, in Montreal, we have lots of freezing and thawing periods in the fall, let's say, and in the spring. So there were chunks of ice that were falling, and I could see them falling onto my raspberry patch, which is really just right underneath her balcony, you know, and from the third floor, like, that's. That's. You know, that's heavy falling, high velocity. Yeah. Onto the raspberry bushes. And. And it would just, like, whenever. Whenever I would see it happening, I would just. Like, my whole body would just get so warm, and I would just be like. And, you know, having to tell myself, like, it's okay, it's okay. It's okay. Just raspberries, they'll come back. Like, it's totally fine for her to do that. Right. Like, that's normal. It's. It's. You know, it's just. And the more I thought about it, the more I was like, this is not right. I. I have to say something.

Did she have an option to put the ice and snow somewhere that didn't fall on your.

Yeah, I mean, she could. She could shovel it into the backyard of her building.

Oh.

Which would. Which would fall into her neighbor. Like, the guy on the first floor is yard. But.

But she's going specifically, like, to your yard.

Yes.

And doing it.

Yes.

Yeah.

And finally this year, well, finally, like, I got. I got all the strength and will to write her an email. So the reason why I have her email is because I am often in communications with the people next door because we share, we actually share a wall. So when I was did my roof, they had a gigantic hole that I discovered in their wall. So I, I, we were coordinating, you know, them to, to, to repair it at the same time. And so I just enter an email. I use chat GPT because I was like, please craft me an email. This is the situation. I, like, gave it the situation. I was like, can you make something really nice but also like, firm in that? Please don't do that. She was actually really nice. She wrote back saying, like, no problem. I'm so sorry. I didn't even realize it.

A lot of people don't realize that, like, plants are not weeds or like, can't realize that, like, if it's not a manicured lawn or like a bunch of mums or a tree, that these are plants that people are cultivating and trying to grow. Yeah, it's like, oh, it was just leaves.

Well, and also, I haven't, I hadn't really communicated with her much before. And honestly, it's kind of a weird situation because when I walk up my stairs to get to the roof, I have a direct view onto her balcony. And she's usually, she's often sitting there facing, like me my. The stairs. Which is strange because she's actually facing the long way of her balcony. So. And she just sits there. Like, she's not on her phone and she's not reading. She's just sitting there staring.

How old is she?

She's like our age, 40s.

Oh, weird.

I hope she doesn't listen to this, but if she does. Yeah, turn like, I know I. She does. Like, just wave and smile or talk to me, you know, like.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, I got into the habit of, like, waving to her, but it's, it's very, it's very awkward. You know, I mean, that's been my.

Tactic going back to school. Just wave and smile at people. Before you can decide whether or not they would wave and smile at you or if you even know each other. I'm just screaming good morning to everyone I walk past because it's less awkward. And then they have to say it back. That's growing up learning that. If you have any garden tea, send us an email at [email protected].

Okay, Jeanette, so now it's my favorite segment. Marry Kill. I'm gonna give you three different creepy, spooky plants because it's October. Spooky October. And you Will tell me which one you will. Which one you'll marry and which one you will kill. So the first one is Deadly Nightshade. So this is the one that grows like a weed, right? Yeah, with like little purple berries.

It's interesting. I just found out that black nightshade, which I have growing a lot in my yard, isn't deadly and it's edible. And my husband doesn't believe me and he thinks I'm trying to kill him.

I mean, the second one is Mandrake. So this is that weird shaped root that looks like a person. It's like really creepy.

Yeah.

And the third one is Ghost Pipe, Monotropa uniflora, which is a pale, haunting, and it's like, it's kind of a bit translucent and it, it actually doesn't photosynthesize.

Oh.

So it's, it's like pale white. It's like you're. It's like an Irish baby.

And I've heard you can't, I've heard you can't grow it. Like you have to just find it. Is that true, as far as you know?

As far as I know, it really relies on a type of fungus to feed it.

Oh, yeah.

Energy, like carbon and, and, and sugars and so, yeah, I, I don't think that they've been able to propagate it because of that. Because it's like people don't really understand fungal networks yet.

Interesting. Okay, so Deadly Nightshade, I feel like is very cool, very sexy, but also wants to kill me. Right. Mandrake is also like that screaming root baby. But I do remember it from the Sims 3. If you do the magic expansion pack, you can guard a mandrake. I'm, I've played Sims probably even recently. It's on my computer right now. And Jeanette, it's always Sims 3 though. I'm not going to play Sims 4 and I spend the entire time playing Sims gardening. So really, at some point. Yeah, yeah, they're always gardening. It's like no job, you just garden all the time. So then I just started actually gardening and that helped me play less Sims. And then there's Ghost Pipe, which has a lot of medicinal qualities, I think. Or maybe it gets you high. I don't remember. And it's really hard to find. So I think I would take my chances and fuck Deadly Nightshade because it seems cool, really. I would marry Ghost Pipe because they're so hard to find. Keep it around. Always have it there with me.

You gotta lock that stuff up.

Lock it down.

Yeah, yeah, lock it down.

But then kill Mandrake because it's a screaming baby.

Yes.

That's unnecessary.

Yes.

For my lifestyle. With Ghost Pipe, we don't need that. John, what's this week's spooky Plant Spotlight?

So this week we will be learning about witch hazel. What do you know about witch hazel? Do you know anything about it?

I know that you can buy it at CVS and put it on your face as a toner.

Okay.

Or maybe as a first aid thing. I'm not sure.

So witch hazel is a plant. It's kind of a woody. It's a. It's a mix between a shrub and a tree. And actually there's. There's. Interestingly, there's actually no real def. Defining line between what makes a shrub and what makes a tree, botanically speaking. So it. They grow something like 7. 7ft, let's say, to, I believe, about 25ft, or 3 to 7. 7 meters or so. And there's two common kind of groupings of witch hazels. There's two varieties that are native to Asia and three from North America. And ornamentally, what we see is actually kind of a hybrid between them. So as an ornamental tree, it's more of a mix. It is a tree that flowers really interestingly. So it flowers in the winter. In North America, it's actually in the late fall, so kind of around Halloween. And the Asian varieties, so the more ornamental ones tend to flower in the late winter.

That's interesting because I feel like we're always all looking for plants that flower at different times, especially having something that might flower in the winter that would be really exciting to have.

Yeah. So it's definitely something that you should consider to have like a sort of winter interest in your garden, because otherwise everything just looks dead. And one reason why it's called, it has the word hazel in it because it actually looks quite similar to a hazelnut. The leaves are quite similar. And the leaves are actually also a very beautiful autumn. In the autumn, they're a very beautiful color. So it. It has interest also in that respect. So not just the flowers, but it's autumn color. And the flowers. How can I describe them? They're usually yellow. Sometimes you'll find varieties that are a bit more bronze or golden. And they look like papery spider legs. They kind of like branch out like spider and almost like little pieces of crepe paper. And I think it's, you know, it's a bit slutty, to be honest, because in the late fall, early Winter, when everything is kind of dead. This plant is very much alive and kicking and has absolutely nothing on except for its flower.

Oh, my goodness.

So she's a bit of an exhibitionist, to be honest. Disappointingly, though, the word witch has nothing to do with witchcraft. So it's actually an old English word that means bendy, like bendable, because they're very bendable and flexible branches.

Yeah.

But it actually has been used in North America for use as divening rods, so dowsing. So in the UK and in. In Europe, they usually use hazel for dowsing. But in North America, early Puritans were using the witch hazel sticks to look for water or for minerals or other resources.

Well, that is kind of witchy because in the book I've read called Pendulum Power, from, I think the 70s or 80s, they say that was kind of the beginning of using pendulums dowsing to find water. Someone started using a pendulum over a human body to find where their, like, maladies were. So even though witch means to bend, it's interesting that it actually was used in a very witchy way with dowsing roads, which at the time they didn't consider it witchy.

When I was doing a bit of research, it seems like that's. That kind of is why that name witch hazel kind of hung around is because it was used for witchy means it kind of like solidified that even though it was really like a. Not like a misunderstanding of the word or the origin of the word witch. In this case, you're right that witch hazel is often used in apothecary and in pharmaceutical. In pharmaceuticals, because it is a tightening. So it's astringent and it tightens your skin. It can also reduce swelling and it can soothe hemorrhoids. So, you know, depending on what you do with your butt, you might need a little bit of help. And witch hazel is there to. To cool it down and to calm the irritation.

Oh, interesting. I didn't know that.

Yeah. And it was used by indigenous populations in North America for medicinal teas and poultices along those lines of helping with inflammation and coughing and that type of thing. And then of course, colonists doing what they're really good at, they kind of stole it and made it their own. And interestingly, are you familiar with Ponds, a cold cream? Yeah, yeah. So originally they were the ones that had a really big role in marketing witch hazel as a pharmaceutical. So Pond's Cold Cream was actually based on or largely on witch hazel. And that's what I guess you call. You called it cold Cream? Yeah, because, you know, I, to me it was a surprise that, that I've never heard of Pond's cold cream. But you know Ponds that like. I know Ponds in terms of, you know, the moisturizing cream and that kind of thing.

Oh, so cold cream is like. It's this thing like women in like the 50s, it seems like, used to just like slather their face in it before bed. I don't know why I remember Ponds being the, the main brand of it. Does it still have witch hazel in it?

You know, I don't even know if Pond still has cold cream. Is that still. I think they've completely. My understanding is they've completely moved away from medicinal.

So cold cream is still sold today. And it's not really a medicinal thing. It's more of a moisturizer. And I just looked it up. It's oil and water and it leaves a protective wax layer on your skin after the water evaporates. So it like cool cools and hydrates. And it used to be made of beeswax oil and floral water, but now it's. Now it's made with mineral oil and it's used as like a cleanser and a makeup remover. And that's why I think if you think of, I don't know, like old movies or TV shows where the ladies put it sitting in front of a mirror and putting cold cream all over her face. The white moisturizer, it was to take off their makeup.

Oh, interesting. And the witch hazel actually has a very nice smell to it. The flowers are very fragrant. I don't think I've ever knowingly seen a witch hazel treat. Like it's, it's really something I'm not familiar with. I, I really know it just from watching, you know, like gardening videos like Gardener's World and that kind of thing. They, they talk about it quite a bit, but I, now I'm going to be on the lookout for it for the like, spidery, crinkly, curly flowers, I guess more towards the fall.

It seems like an interesting plant to have. Do you know if it's easy to grow or what regions it grows well in?

In North America, I believe, like, it can grow in many different zones and it's. Apparently it's very flexible. Like you can grow it in all different kinds of soils. It doesn't do that well in hot, too hot and dry of a summer. If you want to grow it in like a really hot and dry place, you're. You would probably need to plant it as like an understory plant. So under, like, a bigger tree. But if it's, like, in a colder climate, like maybe in Montreal, where I am, I. I would be able to grow it in full sun. Also, the seeds. So first, it's unique in that it is one among a couple situations where the flower and the seed or the fruit are visible at the same time. So the flower, while the flower is open, you can. You can very well see that its seed is there. And then I guess when it gets pollinated, nothing. It doesn't really change shape. It doesn't, like, develop a large, like, engulfed fruit. It just kind of stays the same.

It really is an exhibitionist showing its seat the whole time. Wow.

I mean, you know what you get, you know. Yeah, you get what you see. And another interesting fact, and one that has come up, like, quite a bit on this podcast, is that the seeds are really explosive. So if you're a maple tree in the forest and witch hazel gets off, you're very likely gonna be hit with its seed.

Oh, man.

Wait, it actually, like, it explodes with, like, you know, force. With force. Exactly.

What was the last plant that had that?

Primrose, I think was explosive, but I think there was another one. Oh, mulberry.

Yeah, yeah.

The mulberry tree is also very explosive. It's a. I guess it's a really common. I mean, it's a really common dispersal mechanism.

Yeah, just. But yet we don't see exploding seeds all the time.

Yeah, well, I mean, I think. I think you just need to open your eyes to that.

Yeah, I need to know.

I think it's just because they're so small and minuscule, like, you probably don't notice. Yeah. I mean, who knows? Like, you think you have dust in your eye, but it could be like, you know, braid sheet that just spewed in your eye.

It's fertilized seed. Nasty.

So that's basically my profile on witch hazel.

Well, would you like to know my zodiac profile on witch hazel?

Tell me.

According to Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs, witch hazel is masculine.

Okay. Yeah. Okay.

Element is fire and the planet is the sun. I know the sun is not a planet. Please don't come at me for astrology. And if you put those three together, that makes witch hazel a Leo, dude, right?

Yeah.

I'm a Leo rising. That's probably why I am on a podcast. Leos are known kind of to be, like, dramatic and outgoing and, like, center of attention type people. So if we're thinking of witch hazel as a Leo, man, he Would tend to radiate energy, confidence and a magnetic presence that draws people in. At his best, he's generous and warm hearted and a natural leader who makes people around him feel seen and celebrated. And he thrives on admiration. Loves to be in the spotlight. And whether that's through charisma or through the flair for storytelling or the ability.

To command a room or their flower just hanging there out.

Yeah.

In the bear. In the bear Winter forest.

Yeah. So Leo, of course, a Leo's like, oh, you guys have flowers in the spring. Watch this.

Oh, you're a spring flower. Yeah.

So the Leo man's often playful, flirtatious, loyal, once committed. But his pride can make him stubborn, resistant to criticism. Style is dramatic in the best way. Bold gestures, big feelings, sense of grandeur, and everything from romance to daily life. So a real drama king. Witch hazel.

Yeah. And they tend to take up a lot of space too. And I kind of like, I don't. You didn't really like, say that, but when I hear you describing it, it's like someone who takes up a lot of space.

Man spreading.

Yeah. Man spreading. Like I, I right away thought of man spreading.

How many. Yeah. How many of us have known a Leo man who. Man spreads. Leave it in the comments.

Actually, like all the Leos I know are women for some reason.

Huh. You like a dramatic woman.

I like a dramatic woman, yeah.

It's actually the last day of Leo season today as we're recording.

Oh. Oh, yeah. In terms of being showy though, the witch hazel tends to grow not so much tall, but can get quite wide and it has these kind of like sinewy branches. So it's actually quite beautiful. It looks a bit like. It reminds me of a, a really grand, kind of like red oak, but a little bit more squat.

Interesting.

Yeah, it's, it's a beautiful tree. I, I wish I had thought about witch hazel when I designed my garden.

I'm sure you'll have many more gardens to design.

I actually use witch hazel in two different ways, so I made, I made my own mouthwash. Oh. And for that I used a mix of like water, witch hazel, some baking soda if I remember correctly, and essential mint. Essential oil. I think I did mint and orange. I'm not, I'm not sure exactly what I had put in it. And I also use it for my deodorant. So I made like a little deodorant spray that's a mix of witch hazel.

And.

Mint as well. Rosemary. So rosemary, because of its anti microbial properties and tea Tree oil.

And what does the witch hazel property do in those things?

So it's an astringent. So astringents are usually used to, to reduce the oil and it cleanses the skin and apparently it shrinks your pores as well. So it's good for like oily skin and, and I mean acne prone skin. But you know, in this case I'm not really using it for that. And I think for the mouthwash, an astringent kind of like for me, clen, it feels like it kind of cleanses the mouth. So like in the same way that you would use like an astringent fruit to cleanse, you know, in between meals.

Wait, what?

Like kiwi? I think kiwi to me like feels like an astringent fruit. And so it just cleanses. So I think. Yeah. Like, have you never heard of that? Of having like a kiwi sorbet between meals?

Courses. No.

Between courses. Yes, between courses. Oh, my God.

Okay. Yeah.

The astringent properties of the mouthwash kind of cleanse your mouth. So it's, it's good to, to freshen your breath and just to feel like, clean.

It sounds like it might be, and I haven't looked into it, but less harmful than the alcohol based ones.

Yeah.

Have lead to possibly mouth cancer, have other harmful effects and kind of wash out all the good bacteria.

Yeah, exactly. So that's why, that's why I made my own. Because I didn't want something that was antibacterial because I wanted to keep my mouth bacteria and my, my mouth microbiome. Nice.

Well, that's witch hazel. What seasonal reminders do you have for us?

So this is airing in October. Yep, mid October. The only thing that I would say is start planning next year. Start thinking about next year. No, totally. I think it's, I think it's important to take stock of what you've done, what's worked, and, and also, I mean, you're going to be collecting seeds, right? So just make sure that you're collecting the seeds of the things that you like. Make sure that you know, like which things you're going to like, get overripe so that you can have good seed stock. Yeah, that would be my only reminder.

Yeah. Thanks for getting slutty with us. If you liked this episode, share it with your plant friends and email us with plants you think are slutty enough to be covered on the show. Please rate, review and share so our slutty garden can keep growing. Bye, sluts.

Bye, sluts.