Expert Landscaping Advice from Ashley Childers | Garden Like a Pro

Summary

Dear Alice Podcast: Expert Landscaping Advice from Ashley Childers | "Garden Like a Pro"

Episode Release Date: May 15, 2025

In this engaging episode of Dear Alice, hosts Jessica Bennett and Suzanne Hall welcome Ashley Childers, a renowned interior and product designer, to share her extensive expertise on landscaping and gardening. With a rich background in creating beautiful living spaces, Ashley provides invaluable advice for both novice gardeners and seasoned enthusiasts looking to elevate their outdoor areas.

Introduction to Ashley Childers

The episode begins with a warm introduction of Ashley Childers, highlighting her impressive credentials in the home furnishings industry. Sue shares a heartfelt story about meeting Ashley years ago, emphasizing the lasting impact of her design insights.

Sue (03:24): "I remember when Ashley had the most beautiful booth at High Point. Her hand-painted papers in lavenders and golds inspired me to incorporate similar designs in my home."

Ashley’s Journey into Gardening

Ashley delves into her personal connection with gardening, attributing her passion to her grandmother and father who nurtured her love for plants from a young age. She recounts planting rose bushes in her first home, a tradition that has blossomed into a lifelong love affair with gardening.

Ashley (07:26): "My grandmother lived on a farm in Arkansas, and gardening was a way of life for her and my grandpa. That’s where my green thumb truly began."

Getting Started with Gardening Post-Freeze

As winter thaws and gardens come back to life, Ashley offers practical advice for beginners eager to start planting. She emphasizes the importance of choosing the right plants and preparing the soil adequately.

Ashley (09:36): "Start with easy-to-grow annuals like zinnias and cosmos. They’re forgiving and provide vibrant color throughout the summer."

Essential Gardening Techniques and Plant Recommendations

Ashley shares her top plant selections for beginners, stressing the benefits of direct sowing seeds versus starting seedlings indoors. She also discusses the care required for more delicate plants like roses and dahlias.

Ashley (11:12): "If you’re new to gardening, avoid starting with roses as they require more maintenance. Instead, opt for zinnias or cosmos to build your confidence."

Soil Preparation and Irrigation Tips

The conversation shifts to soil preparation, where Ashley advises on enriching garden beds with compost and conducting soil tests to ensure nutrient balance. She also highlights the importance of proper irrigation, recommending drip systems for efficient watering.

Ashley (16:57): "Amend your soil with compost every year to provide essential nutrients. For irrigation, a drip system ensures your plants receive consistent moisture without wastage."

Container Gardening Strategies

Ashley provides detailed guidance on container gardening, including selecting appropriate pot sizes, choosing plants that complement each other, and ensuring proper drainage. She emphasizes the aesthetic value of mixing textures and colors to create visually appealing arrangements.

Ashley (22:16): "In containers, use a mix of thrillers, fillers, and spillers. For example, pair tall salvia with cascading Creeping Jenny to add depth and movement to your pots."

Pest Management and Organic Practices

Addressing common garden challenges, Ashley discusses organic pest management strategies. She underscores the significance of maintaining healthy soil and using eco-friendly fertilizers to support plant growth while protecting beneficial insects like bees.

Ashley (34:52): "We use organic fertilizers and fungicides to keep our garden thriving without harming the bees. It’s crucial to balance plant health with environmental responsibility."

Designing with Ground Covers and Bed Borders

The hosts explore techniques for integrating ground covers and defining garden beds. Ashley recommends using materials like stacked stone for natural aesthetics and suggests versatile plants such as Creeping Jenny and classic ivy for effective ground coverage.

Ashley (39:24): "Creeping Jenny and Asiatic jasmine are excellent ground covers that add lushness to your garden while minimizing weed growth."

Creating a Cohesive Outdoor Space

Ashley emphasizes the importance of creating a cohesive outdoor environment that reflects personal style. She shares insights on maintaining structural elements like arbors and integrating climbing plants to enhance the romantic appeal of doorways and pathways.

Ashley (43:24): "Use eye hooks on arbors to support climbing roses or wisteria. This not only adds romance but also ensures your plants grow gracefully over structures."

Defining Luxury in Gardening

In the closing segment, Ashley defines luxury as creating a personalized environment that fosters relaxation and joy. She believes luxury lies in cultivating spaces that resonate with one’s personality and provide a sanctuary for cherished activities.

Ashley (46:08): "Luxury is having a space that feels like an extension of yourself, where you can relax, entertain, and enjoy the beauty you’ve created."

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with heartfelt thanks to Ashley for her insightful contributions. Hosts Jessica and Suzanne encourage listeners to explore their gardening potential by applying Ashley’s expert tips, promising a summer filled with blooming success.

Key Takeaways:

• Start Simple: Begin with easy-to-grow plants like zinnias and cosmos to build gardening confidence.
• Soil Matters: Enrich your soil with compost and perform soil tests to ensure optimal plant health.
• Efficient Watering: Implement drip irrigation systems for consistent and efficient watering.
• Container Creativity: Use a mix of thrillers, fillers, and spillers to create dynamic and aesthetically pleasing container arrangements.
• Organic Practices: Adopt organic fertilizers and pest management to maintain a healthy and eco-friendly garden.
• Personal Style: Design your outdoor space to reflect your personal style, incorporating structural elements and cohesive plant selections.
• Luxury Defined: Embrace the concept of luxury as creating a personalized and relaxing environment that enhances your quality of life.

Ashley Childers' expert advice offers listeners a comprehensive guide to transforming their gardens into beautiful, functional, and luxurious spaces. Whether you're a gardening novice or looking to refine your outdoor oasis, this episode provides the inspiration and knowledge needed to garden like a pro.

Transcript

[Alice]

Welcome to Dear Alice. A lifestyle approach to interior design.

[Sue]

Hello everyone. Welcome to Dear Alice. Today we have a guest with us. We've got Ashley Childers joining in just a moment. And this was a really fun interview. I've been curious about what to do in my yard and my porch. I'm just really in a mood to get things switched up and I really feel like such a novice in this department. So we are calling on Ashley Childers to help school us now that it's finally safe to to plant our pots.

[Jess]

She gave us so much good information. I took notes on everything, saved a bunch of tabs on my phone. So I'm going to go back and.

[Sue]

You'Re gonna have to forward those to me.

[Alice]

Yeah, a bunch of scribbles in front of me. Of all the tips. Yeah. We're all out of hibernation and I think we're just like ready to be outside and in our garden.

[Jess]

See some green.

[Alice]

Hallelujah.

[Jess]

Yeah.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah.

[Alice]

I've never hated my house more than some. We're gonna make it glow up this season.

[Sue]

Well, Ashley is a good, a good friend of ours in the industry. But for those of you that don't know her, sue, will you give us a little to Ashley.

[Alice]

So happy to. Ashley Childers is a founder and director of an award winning creative studio and lifestyle brand. Ashley Childers has spent the last two decades designing artful home collections and compelling interiors. She has designed and manufactured thousands of products across every category in the home furnishings industry and shares her design expertise and advice via her amazing YouTube channel, blog and social media platforms. Ashley's work has been featured not only in ARC Digest, but but every shelter magazine you've ever heard of. Whether she's leading her creative team, developing a new home furnishings collection or sharing design insights with her online community, Ashley's goal remains the same. To inspire others to create beautiful spaces they love living in.

[Sue]

Welcome, Ashley. We're so happy to have Ashley Childers with us on today.

[Ashley Childers]

I'm happy to be here.

[Sue]

Thank you for coming. Good, good. We are too. Well, we were trying to think through this time of year because Mother's Day just happened four days ago. And here in the west where we live in Utah, we're finally all systems go on being able to plant once we know freeze is no longer going to happen. And so they always tell us you have to wait until Mother's Day to plant your porch pots. We're like, who could we get on here that will really tell us the way? And I've been following Ashley Forever on Instagram. And I wanted to tell a quick story about how I met Ashley. I don't know if you'll remember this or not, but Alice Lane was a brand new little baby. And Adam and I would go to market. We first went to Vegas market. And I don't know if we met you there or if we met you in High Point, but Ashley had this fantastic booth that just stood out like it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. And it was when it was Emporium Home and you had this booth and it was completely wallpapered in Dick Blick hand painted papers, like lavenders and golds and everything. I was like, what is this? And you told me the trick on how to get the look. And I, I filed that away in the back of my brain. And then when I built my house 10 years ago, I did the Dick Blick paper on the back wall behind my brass bookshelves in my office. So it just looked like an old book, you know, jacket was opened. And it would feel smart behind all my design books. And I just always, like, have a little wink, a little Ashley Childers wink when I go in the office. And I think paying that great trick forward. Anyway. I don't know what year was that? Was that like, because we. Alice Lane is 17 years old now.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, I think.

[Sue]

I don't know if that was like 16 years ago or. 17. Yeah, 16 or 15.

[Ashley Childers]

I mean, that was at the very beginning of us launching Emporium Home. And I think it was High Point. Okay. And yeah, I'd found those hand marbled papers. We actually did. We did them on the ceiling of our dining room at our house. And I was like, oh, we're gonna do this at market. Yeah, you. It was tedious, but it turned out so pretty. And I loved a little deckled. I mean, it was just, it was. It's a beautiful application. Lots of work.

[Sue]

Pretty.

[Alice]

I don't think I'd ever heard that.

[Sue]

Yeah, that was the national trick. And Ashley's line, Emporium Home, I don't. Do you still have it? Are you. So I know you. You sell through Global Views now. Yeah. But it was one of these lines that was just like it landed from Mars. Like you've never seen anything so fashionable and interesting. And it was something that I know Designer ey just absolutely were crazy for. And I'm so glad that it lives on in a. In a really big way with a huge distributor through Global Views. So those of you that are designers that are tuning in, Ashley Childers is the face of Ashley Childers, that's sold through Global Views and has a really beautiful, long history. And interior designer. Product designer. Right. You've got lines through Global Views and then a new outdoor collection that just launched.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Launching with Syria.

[Sue]

And then what other licensee deals do you have out there?

[Ashley Childers]

We are working on a few other ones right now, but we're not. Those won't happen until next year. So for right now, just hit market. It's Global Views in Syria.

[Sue]

Okay, well, we'll be watching for what's next. But funny that we have Ashley coming on to talk about landscaping things because she is so known for her interiors and her beautiful product. But then she also has an extraordinary yard. And one of the things that's fun to watch if you follow her on Instagram, which your Instagram handle is, is just Ashley Childers.

[Ashley Childers]

Ashley. Yeah, yeah, Ashley.

[Sue]

Sorry. Yeah, Ashley Childers. She. I saw last year, you're probably doing it right now. You were growing all these seedlings inside your house on racks, and then it's so fun to see what your yard becomes. I'm like, this girl is Martha freaking Stewart. There's nothing inside the house or outside the house that you can't do.

[Ashley Childers]

We love doing the seedlings. This year. We did. We did not do them inside the house. We got a little ahead of ourselves. So they were all in the garage this year, which was a better location for them. It didn't. It was really killing my aesthetic last year to have paper in the great room anyways. But. But yeah, we love that. We love starting. I love starting the seeds. Like, I just. It's really fun process to watch that with. With annuals.

[Alice]

It's still magic. My kids will bring home little things and, like, projects from school. We'll put them in the cell and I'm like, oh, my. Like, when it starts to spread, I'm.

[Sue]

Like, you guys, it's so fun.

[Alice]

Split sprouting.

[Ashley Childers]

It is. It's like a logical, like, Mother Nature magic. It is. And it's. I just love the process of it to see, like, you know, to start from, like, the. Some of the seeds we get are, like, just so tiny. And then by the end of, you know, July or August, they're full huge plants with all these flowers. It's really. It's a very rewarding process, for sure.

[Alice]

I love it.

[Sue]

So good. Well, Ashley, how did you get into landscaping and gardening?

[Ashley Childers]

My grandmother. I would. I know she's. She's passed away now, but her name was Grandma. And her and my grandpa lived on a farm in, in like the farmland of Arkansas. So they could, they could grow anything, but they, they could also grow anything. Like they were very much green thumbs and they had a vegetable g. And she always had rose bushes and just all the flowering plants and then like pecan trees and grapevines and I mean everything. So she like, you know, canned okra and strawberry, all the things. And so that's really where I think I probably got it. My dad loves to garden. We would always garden together. And I remember back at my very first house, I mean that I was probably 20, 21, 22, something like that. Like bought my very first house. I was so excited and like the first thing I wanted to do was put rose bushes in. So it's been, it's been a love affair for a lifetime. Honestly, I just love it. It's something. And my, and Garrett really, my husband Garrett really enjoys it as well. That was one thing that we, when we started dating, we realized we both left a garden and we were like, you know, 20. We're probably 20 year olds, old souls. That's how it started. And then it's really grown from there and now we're empty nesters and so we have more time on the weekends. Our weekends aren't full of like dance competitions and football games and soccer and all that stuff. And so we get to enjoy it more because I think it used to be like we've always done it but we didn't get to really go, go deep into, into it and, and all of. Especially like a cut flower garden. And now we, we get to spend time and it's, it's a special time on the weekends that we get to, to garden together.

[Sue]

Well help our listeners out if they want to get started. Let's just say, right. This is intimidating for those that aren't good at it. They don't know where to start. Finally able to start because the freeze is over with.

[Ashley Childers]

Right.

[Sue]

Where would you suggest beginning? What do you, and what do you repeat every year?

[Ashley Childers]

Okay, so for us, you know, we always, we always do a couple of things at the very beginning of the season. You know, we cut back our roses, we cut back all of the hydrangeas. Those are things that I love that, that you can have every year. I say if you're gonna, you know, yes, you could start out with seeds, you could start out with some annuals. I mean, zinnias, cosmos. Those are some of the easiest flowers to grow and they give you a, a lot of bang for Your buck and a lot of bang for your effort. So those are the seedlings that we always start every year. You can direct sow those, though. You could put those directly into your garden, like put them out in your garden beds.

[Sue]

And they would say direct. So just put the seeds in there. You don't have to grow seedlings first.

[Ashley Childers]

No, you don't have to. Yes. Direct so means, like, just to literally put the seeds. Like, put the seeds out in the garden, you know, scrape away from the dirt, put seeds in the. And then back up. So you can do that with a lot of seeds. I mean, there's a lot of things you can direct. So we do seedlings so we can start them earlier. And, you know, you don't have to have. So we can. So we can put out larger plants and have flowering plants longer in the summer, but you could totally direct seed some. Some zinnias and cosmos, and those are just really beautiful and easy flowers to grow for us, especially where our climate is. And then I also just love. I love, like, I love roses. So that's something I always. If you. If you want something that's just beautiful and smells amazing, and then you can. And you can cut them and bring them inside.

[Sue]

Yeah.

[Ashley Childers]

There's not really anything better than roses, in my opinion.

[Sue]

Do you have a favorite breed of roses?

[Alice]

So many roses.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, there's so many roses. Yeah. I actually put this over here because I was like, what all the roses do we have? I get all of my roses from David Austin roses. They're the absolute best. And I love them because you can buy them bare root, which means they're like, you know, they don't. They're not potted. You can get them potted as well, but we always buy them bare roots so we can plant them earlier. I would say probably my favorite. We have Emily Bronte. We have probably Princess Alexandra of Kent is my favorite. It's beautiful. They. And they all smell absolutely intoxicating. Like, it's different than you go and buy roses at a florist shop. The roses that you grow in your garden have just a scent that's unmatched, honestly. And we have. We have Claire Austin climbers and lots of different roses, and they pair beautifully with other things as well. I just love them. They're a lot of work, though. I mean, I would say not. They're not one of the easiest things.

[Sue]

So if you're just beginning, maybe don't start with roses because you probably want to feel a little bit of success. Your first rodeo right so, so, yeah, I would stick with your zinnias and.

[Ashley Childers]

Your cosmos and I mean, there's, there's a lot of other things you could do, but those are just great producers. They're going to produce, or for us at least, they produce all summer long. I mean, we can, we can cut flowers from those all the way through until the first frost. I also, which, wow, this is. I mean, I have a love affair with dahlias. I do dahlias every year. They're a little bit different because they. You plant tubers so they almost look like a small sweet potato. That's how, like, it's a, it's a, it's a little sweet potato looking thing, but it's, but it's smaller and you put, you know, you put those out for us. We put them out and then we all, we dig them up at the end of, at the end of the season, like after the first frost. But they, they're so pretty. They're so. They're so beautiful. They just take my breath away. They're so pretty. I'm obsessed with them. They're not the easiest thing to where we live, but. Do you have them?

[Alice]

That was my wedding flower was dahlias. I love dahlias. So anyway, yeah, just back to the emotionality with your grandpa and stuff. I feel like everybody probably has flowers that are just emotional and like, bring back a memory, right?

[Ashley Childers]

Oh, 1,000%. Yeah. For sure.

[Alice]

Which probably affects what you choose to grow in your garden and what can grow.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, yeah, I think it does. I mean, we always. I love the pinks and lavenders. I mean that. And creams and whites. Like, that's my color palette. I don't do a lot of yellows and reds in the garden just because the color of our house. And we have a lot of greenery, magnolias and, you know, tons of azaleas. We, we have a really beautiful pink azaleas. So that's the color palette I keep. But I love to have the different varieties of sizes and dahlias you get. There's just so many options. Like they have little button ones and huge dinner plate varieties are. They're awesome. And they're not that hard. They're not that hard to grow. Actually.

[Sue]

The part where you have to dig them up and bring them in makes me feel like that seems advanced.

[Ashley Childers]

It's really not. And you don't. You live in a climate that. We probably could keep ours out because of our, because of where we are. We're 8A. So if your winters are mild, a lot of people Just leave out in the garden. But the thing about dahlias is they. The tubers multiply underground. So when you plant. When you plant a tuber in the ground in the spring after the last frost, it's just a single little tuber. And then at the end of the season when you, when you dig them up, there'll be like sometimes seven or eight. They've multiplied underground. It's awesome. So then. Yeah, so then you can cut them apart. And then the next season when you plant them out, that one tuber is actually ends up being eight plants. So it's a really fun gift that keeps giving.

[Sue]

Yeah.

[Alice]

When you say tubers that because. I was going to ask, because you do seedlings, and then when you say tubers that when you do go out and you buy dahlia seeds, are you grabbing a diet tube or like a plant from a store and then planting that?

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah. So, yeah, that's a tuber. So you're getting. It's almost like you would think about a bulb, like a tulip bulb. It's similar to that. It's just, it's a different shape. And so, yeah, you can get them. I mean, you can get them locally. We. I order mine from a grower in the Northeast. Can I say that? It's Five Fork Farm. They're amazing. Their tubers are fantastic.

[Sue]

Again, what is it? Five.

[Ashley Childers]

Five Fork Farm.

[Sue]

Five Fork Farm.

[Ashley Childers]

I think Five Fork or Five Forks, I think. I don't know if there's an S on there or not, but yeah.

[Sue]

You love their dahlias. Do you get any? I love their tubers.

[Ashley Childers]

They have really high quality tubers. And they sell a fertilizer mix that is organic, that is really, really good. And you can put the, you, you put it in the ground with the tubers when you're planting them, and it feeds them all season long.

[Sue]

Okay, can we talk. Let's talk really quick about dirt, like at the very beginning. What it's. It's been winter. We haven't done anything. We haven't prepared anything. Now we're free game to start. What do you do to prepare the ground before we're going to put these? Either direct sow the seeds in or put the tubers in.

[Ashley Childers]

So it kind of depends what you're. What you're planting. And this is. We've. We've learned this the hard way. Some plants, flowering plants, and just plants in general need like really rich soil. They want a lot of compost, a lot of organic matter, like worm castings and all this stuff. And then Some plants, like zinnias, like, literally want you to just neglect them. Basically. They will grow in a crack on the side of the road.

[Sue]

Wow.

[Ashley Childers]

So it can you really do, you know, just read your. Read your label, like, that's the easiest thing. And there's so much information out there. But generally, we do amend our soil with some type of a compost mix in our raised garden beds, especially before we plant anything out into them, because most of things we plan out do need, like, a little bit of something. So we buy bulk from our. From our garden center. We do like a bulk compost every year and just mix it into the. To the soil when we're planting, and that's usually what you need to do. We did a soil test a few years ago when we. When we installed all the raised beds. That's something you can easily do. It's just like a little test you can send off and they tell you if there's any deficiencies in your soil. But what I found is, you know, we also feed our. Feed our plants throughout the year, and I think that's just as important. And just making sure that your. Your plants are getting the correct amount of light, that's an important thing. And really watching that as the. Like, we. When we installed our landscaping, I mean, some of our things are so much bigger than they were when we obviously planted them. Like, we have a couple of magnolias that are. I'm like, oh, those are huge. You know, and they're casting shadows that they weren't casting two years ago. So we had to move some things around because of it. So. Yeah.

[Sue]

Sue, how do you unwind at home?

[Alice]

The second I get home, I light a candle and I change into my, like, buttery, soft loungewear from Cozy Earth. I love it so much. It is changing from. So from the time I get home, circa like 5, 36 o' clock, I get that stuff on and I have it on till the next morning. And it has changed my whole routine. It's amazing. I love that it, like, never peels. I've had some of these sets for. I have multiple sets, but I've had them for, you know, a year plus, and they still don't peel. Their color fast is amazing. And they really have made me so much more relaxed, you know, especially with the stresses of home. I have three little boys. There's a lot going on.

[Sue]

I also have to say, like, you look incredibly chic in them because they drape. It's true, right?

[Alice]

It kind of frumpy.

[Sue]

It feels like a dressy sweat, the way it sort of drapes off your body. It looks more expensive than just like the average sweats.

[Alice]

No, I feel so much cuter in that than just like a normal cotton sweatset.

[Sue]

Yeah. Let's just call it luxury loungewear. Luxury loungewear, right.

[Alice]

Luxury loungewear made from viscose from bamboo.

[Sue]

Yeah, yeah. The drape, the hand, it's so, so soft. Yeah, I'm a huge fan too. Also love that luxury sweatsuit. And I feel cuter in that than anything else. Luxury shouldn't be out of reach. Visit cozyearth.com and use my exclusive code Dear Alice for up to 40% off Cozy Earth's best selling sheets, towels, pajamas, that great lounge set we've been talking about. Trust me, you won't regret it. That's cozyearth.com code Dear Alice. And if you get a post purchase survey, tell them you heard about Cozy Earth from Dear Alice. Sanctuary awaits at Cozy Earth. Interesting point. Okay, I have a question. I want to know if we're talking about porch pots. I feel like this is one thing that all the beginners can do.

[Ashley Childers]

Yes, for sure.

[Sue]

Where do we start? Obviously, maybe we've got the right pots that we like. And then how do we decide what to put in them? I know some people do like a whole cornucopia of beautiful plants and flowers that look good together. And there's certain rules about what you do there. There's like a shower, a spiller. I don't know what that. I don't know if you subscribe to that. I don't know what you put in your pot. I don't know how you fill the whole thing up. Can you just talk for sure. Like it's our very first time planning a pot?

[Ashley Childers]

Yes.

[Alice]

So also soil, like, what kind of soil do you put in the planter every year?

[Ashley Childers]

Yes. Yeah, you generally do. You generally replace the soil in your pots every year just because they get the, the nutrients that's in your potting mix gets, gets taken up by the plants throughout the summer. So usually we always, you know, change out the soil, use a really good organic potting mix. And then I always do. I like, I like the simplicity of just like a beautiful big fern in a planter. It makes it such a, such a great statement and it works really well in our climate. So I do lots of ferns. And then I also love.

[Sue]

Ashley, tell the people where you live.

[Ashley Childers]

I live in Little Rock, Arkansas. And so, you know, like, we have ferns growing. We have a creek that runs behind our house on Our property. And the. It is filled with ferns, natural ferns, every year.

[Alice]

I mean, dreamy.

[Ashley Childers]

It's so cool. It's like little fairyland out there. So ferns do really well in our climate, and I just love them. We can bring them inside of the garage and. And they last. So it's just like, you make that investment because some of the big ferns are a pretty big investment, but they're beautiful. We have some. Some that are. We have some Kimberly Queens that are probably. I mean, they're probably 50 inches in diameter. They're massive. They're nuts. So I love that. That's an easy statement you can make. They're easy to take care of. And then in a mixed container, it's. I always say it's a thriller, a filler and a filler. And it really does. That really actually works. So something tall, I like. I like my tall things to usually be kind of wispy and then something in the middle where it's got like. It's like the body of the. Of the container and then something that spills over the edge. I just think that's, like, the most romantic mix that you could.

[Sue]

So tell people what's your favorite thriller or thrillers? What are your. Like a variety or two that they can.

[Ashley Childers]

Yes. Okay.

[Sue]

Yeah.

[Ashley Childers]

So last year we did gara. It is called Whirling Butterflies, and it's actually a. It's a perennial. So we put some in our garden beds as well, and they came back and they're doing fabulous. But I loved them in my containers because they have these little white flowers that are on these long stems, and they just sway in the breeze. And it is. They're be. They're beautiful. They're so beautiful.

[Sue]

Wait, did you call it gara or. How do you spell that?

[Ashley Childers]

G, U, A, R, A.

[Sue]

Okay. That sounds amazing. So that's your. That's your top. I love right in the middle of the pot.

[Ashley Childers]

So the gara or I do also love salvia. That's a. That's one that's also kind of a wispy, and it. It grows really tall, and it. The flowers on it last literally weeks. I mean, and it's just continual. It continually blooms. Both of those do. Throughout the whole summer.

[Sue]

Okay.

[Ashley Childers]

So you've got, like. You've got this interest. I use a lot of petunias because they do well here, and they just, like, are a workhorse and they look good, and we don't have. You know, they give a lot of color. Impatience, obviously, if I'm doing something in the shade. I love this one called Euphor. It's a. It's called Breathless. It's euphorbia. And it's like. It almost looks like the daintiest little baby's breath. It. It just. And it. It's like, feathery, and it kind of spills over. And then I use a lot of ivy as a spiller. I love creeping Jenny as a spiller.

[Sue]

Because it's got that Jenny, too.

[Ashley Childers]

I do, too. It's a great. And it just y back every year, and I love that. I use verbena. I use lantana, and then sage. I mean, just kind of a different. Different things that. Our garden center has such a great variety, and every year I try something new and see what I like.

[Sue]

And so do you use, like, three varieties in your pot and. And about what circumference are your pots on your porch?

[Ashley Childers]

I have all different sizes, so we have this. It's a little embarrassing. We probably have, like, 45 containers. Maybe 45 or 50 containers.

[Sue]

Just casual. Yeah, I love it. Are you repeating some of the same varieties for.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, there's some things that I know work, and I use this every year that I love, and then I'll try different things out. I've even done, like. I mean, there's a couple of. There's a variety of jasmine that I love that I can't plant out into an I garden. It's so. It's beautiful. It's this white jasmine. It smells so good. I have to have that in containers. So that's something I try to. I bring out every year on our front porch. The way that our house faces, we don't get a ton, ton, ton of sun out there. So I do ferns, and I do. I do a variety of plantings out there, but a lot of our pots are in the back because that's where we get the majority of our sun. And so I probably do, like. How many do I have? I probably have like, eight out on the front, but, you know, throughout the summer, pots, and then a bunch of them in the back, and they vary in sizes. Probably our biggest. Or like, 30 inches, maybe something like that, all the way down. I don't really do anything a lot smaller than probably 14.

[Alice]

I mean, that's fair.

[Ashley Childers]

I've got some little ones, like, on the patio, but out in the garden, they're.

[Sue]

Okay, wait. Switching gears, I have a question. Because we just put a lot of huge pots out in front of our store, and they're big. Like, when you're saying 30 inches in diameter. We have some that are really big. Do you fill the entire thing, the entire pot, with dirt? Or do you put sticks in the bottom? Or do you put your containers upside down in it to take up volume? Or do you fill up the entirety of the pot with that same potting soil, organic potting soil mix weeks?

[Ashley Childers]

It depends on what you're planting in it. So if you're planting something in it, that roots are going to get down in there. Like, if you're going to put like. We've got some pots out in the back that have limelight hydrangea trees in them.

[Sue]

Yeah. So pretty.

[Ashley Childers]

Those are. They're in massive pots. They're really tall pots. They're probably 48 inches high. And because I know as they're, I would imagine we probably need to repot them. They've been in the same pots for, like, three years, but those roots are way down deep in those pots. So that whole pot is filled with dirt. If you're doing something that's more surface level and you're changing it out every season, you could do some like. Like CB2 Gravel, something in the bottom so you get good drainage, and then do your potting mix, like, you know, for two thirds up or whatever. Yeah.

[Sue]

Yeah. Okay, great. I was curious about that. Okay, so that's fun for Mother's Day. And then you just mostly water whatever they say, depending on. On the plants.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah. So we, we. Because it gets so hot here, like. Yeah, hot, hot, hot. And so when we installed. When we put in our cut flower garden in the back, we did that three and a half years ago or so we installed drip irrigation. So everything that we have as far as, like, all of our flower beds, obviously we have to have irrigation here. So we have sprinkler systems, and then all of the cut flower beds have. Have drip irrigation in them. And that's. We wouldn't be able to keep anything alive if we didn't have.

[Sue]

What about your porch pots? Are those all on drips, too?

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, no, I wish they were. Garrett wishes. He's a real. He. I, I'm. I plant everything and he keeps it all alive.

[Alice]

Yeah, I like that arrangement.

[Sue]

Yeah.

[Ashley Childers]

It'S, like, therapeutic for him. He goes out and we always do a good deep soak when we water our pots. So that's really been something that's made a huge difference in how well our pots have done. We soak them deep, like, for a long time.

[Sue]

So can you define what a deep soak is? Often for those of us that don't know.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, like not just, you know, where, where the water is coming out of the bottom of the pot. That's a deep. And if you think about a big pot, it takes a while to get to get all of that soil and everything wet to where water's coming out of the bottom of it. So that's a lot better for the plants. You just get a stronger root system when you do that. And then you don't have to water as often like as you don't have to water every day if you do the deep soak, like every, I don't know, probably every two or three days here because it gets. It's like 100 degrees in the summer here. So. Yeah.

[Jess]

Jess, we've been getting a ton of questions on who makes your glasses.

[Sue]

Oh, really?

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah.

[Sue]

Oh, my gosh.

[Jess]

Everyone wants to know, you guys.

[Sue]

I. So I'm at this age now where my near vision is leaving me. You're not quite as old as I am. Yeah, but sue, you're experiencing this 40.

[Alice]

Hit and like, yeah, I needed my glasses before, but I really, really need them now.

[Sue]

Yeah, between 40 and 45, that cell phone type gets really t. So I was in search for the perfect pair of readers and I tried Look Optic and I have to say I've loved them so much that I've actually began working with them a little bit as an advisor. And my dad's an eye doctor, my brother in law is. I really, really love eyewear and it's been really fun to be back in the game. And I love the readers, I love the fashion frames. It's not a pair of frames that looks like I'm wearing something made for men. You know, those readers, when you go to Walgreens or when you go to the grocery store or somewhere, and they're just like a three pack and they all look like they were made for men. Look Optic actually has really cute frames that are made for women.

[Alice]

Especially for, again, those ones that look like men's. They look like a giant man on my little head.

[Sue]

Yes. Suzanne small. Suzanne has a child sized head and they actually have minis at look Optic. The Diane Keaton collection. I gave you all my dying Diane Keaton.

[Alice]

I love the Diane Keaton collection. They fit my, like, head great. They're comfortable. They have the cutest colors. Like, some of them are matte. They have the bone ones. I love them so much.

[Sue]

Yeah, they're cute. And one of, one of my little, like, fast passes I want to tell everybody is that if you do the progressive lens it's clear up top. You just get magnification in the bottom where you need it because that's how you're looking in a cell phone or you're reading paper down here or on your laptop. You don't need magnification out the top because that's going to make your eyeballs look huge.

[Jess]

Yeah.

[Sue]

And then you really look like you're wearing a reader. So we're trying to, like, keep this low profile. And so I always go with the progressive. My favorite styles, I really love the Laurel. And they have this cool one that's like the Muse. It kind of looks like a 70s update. It's cool. They have one with the pink lens, too. In fact, my daughter stole that one from me. It's great. Anyway, you guys can discover your own styles. But I will say Look Optic has been such a gateway for me as I've needed to jump into that reader category.

[Alice]

Right now you can receive some free glasses from Look Optic. All you have to do is text Alice to 21252. That is text Alice A L, I C E to the number 21252. The first 20 new customers will get a free pair of readers. And if you're an existing customer, we also have an amazing discount for you. If you go to lookoptic.com you can use the code ALICE15 for 15 off. How often do you feed your. I guess does that just depend on the plants? And then in your pots, do you. Are you putting the same type of, like, you're looking at the tags and you're finding the same type of plant. So you. They all need equal watering or just the same kind of care. How do you manage that? Yeah, we do manage that, right?

[Ashley Childers]

We do. I do try to group, obviously in the same pot. I want the plants to, like, need the same things. And most of the time, flowering plants do. I mean, okay, he's got. He's got a fertilizer. He probably fertilizes. Fertilizes like every four weeks, I would imagine, in the growing season and everything does kind of have a different fertilizer. There's one that he uses for most of the. Most of the flowering plants that. I'm trying to remember the name of it. I think it's BR61, I think is the name of it. But it's just like a good all. I mean, basically any flowering plant it's good for. And then, yeah, VR61, we do a rose food. I mean, that's as very specific. Like the roses need something specific. The Zaleas need something specific. And then inside of. As far as containers, there's just some, like, container specific fertilizer you can use. And really, four weeks is about what. What we do for the fertilizer. We have a lot of pests and everything here, so we always do, you know, some type of a fungicide and some type of a. Well, we also have bees, so I have to be really careful with that, with what we put onto the. Onto the plants and into the garden. We got beehives. Let's see. It's probably been about a year and a half ago, so we really had to make sure that we were already going organic. But we. We have to change up some things that we do when we feed our plants and all of the insecticide and stuff like that. We really have to be careful.

[Alice]

You are Mother Earth. You said that she's a. You're a beekeeper too.

[Ashley Childers]

Well, I am. Once again, here it is. The bee.

[Alice]

Garrett's a beekeeper too.

[Ashley Childers]

He's literally. This is not a joke. That man is a bee whisperer. They love him. He does not wear any gear, nothing. He goes out there with his shorts and. No, no nothing. No gloves, no hat. And they love him. They just land on. He's never gotten stung. Last time he opened up the hive, the. The queen came out and landed on his leg.

[Alice]

No way.

[Ashley Childers]

No, that is.

[Alice]

Yes.

[Ashley Childers]

Yes way.

[Alice]

It's like we have a YouTube about that.

[Ashley Childers]

I wish I would have videoed that, please. We have. We have a. We have a bee coach. Yes, I know, but we have a. Because having a hive is a big deal. And so the bee coach was actually here when the. When the queen came out and landed on Garrett's leg and said it was a really big deal. And she's never seen it happen before. Wow.

[Sue]

It's good karma. Yeah. That's amazing. Okay, can you tell us what makes gardening more lovely? Is there. Do you have a favorite. A favorite apron or tools or gloves? Or is there something that you're like, ladies, you're gonna do this this year. It's not hard. You're gonna get these things.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, right.

[Sue]

Like, can you tell us?

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, I do. I have. I love a good sun hat. I have a really wide brim one from lack of color. That's it. That's the name of the brand.

[Sue]

It's like a big wide SPF too, right? Doesn't uspf. Yeah, I think.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, that one is SPF I use, obviously. I have like a. You know, as we're all doing our Retinol. And we need our. We need our sunscreen. So I've got my super goop I really like. I wear the hunter clogs. Like, I like that instead of a boot because it's just so hot here in the summer, and I can slip them on and off. So I love those. Those are a must have for me. My. I have a tendency to, like, lose all of my garden tools throughout the garden, and sometimes so I. I always pick up a new pair of pruners and. And all of my little. My little tools. I usually get new ones every year, and I just do that at our local garden shop. I must, must, must have. If you're gonna. If you're gonna do any roses is a long pair of leather gloves. Like, I have some that go all the way up past my elbows, which is non negotiable. You have to have those. I have. The watering cans we have are haws. They're beautiful. Like, I. I just feel like I'm in the English countryside every time I do water, which is not very often because Garrett does it mostly. But when I do water, those are.

[Sue]

H a a s. Right?

[Ashley Childers]

H a w s. H a w s. Yeah.

[Sue]

So get yourself a beautiful watering can.

[Ashley Childers]

Yes, get yourself a beautiful watering can. And we have, like, the little Mr. That's copper, which is great for the ferns. I love that. And then humming. We have a lot of hummingbird fears. That's just like, something that we. We love them. And we probably have. Oh, my gosh. We probably have like, 35 or 40 little hummingbirds that come. They come back to us every year. I didn't. I don't know if y' all know that, but they. They come back to their place, migrate.

[Sue]

Do you have garden parties or dinners out there? I mean, that would be so idyllic.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, we do. We. We try to host out there. We have a. A big covered patio with a fireplace and all that stuff. And we host a lot. We host a lot.

[Sue]

You should. That sounds amazing.

[Alice]

I've never seen so much wildlife as when I went to Arkansas. I tell you what.

[Ashley Childers]

There's a lot.

[Alice]

Yeah, just like. It's just like, spot an animal, kids. Like, there's so much crossing the road.

[Ashley Childers]

There is a lot of wildlife. And I would say that they are. They're. They're super sweet from afar, but they are. They wreak havoc on my garden. Yeah. That's actually why we built our raised garden. Our raised garden. Cut flower beds. We actually fenced them in because of the deer. We have, like, this is not an exaggeration. We have about 40 deer that come through the. In our backyard twice a day, and so they eat everything. So we had to have.

[Alice]

Think about your. I'm like, I would do the same. But yeah, good call. Infinity.

[Sue]

Totally.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Sue]

So, favorite ground cover?

[Ashley Childers]

I mean, I love Creeping Jenny. I love. I just love the classic ivy. I love. I love Asiatic jasmine. It's really beautiful. I love blocks in the spring. Those are probably my favorites. I mean, those are just like the. I love Boston ivy, but that's kind of. We go up with that usually do. I don't use that as a ground cover.

[Sue]

I have a question. How do you divide your. Your grass safe from your beds? I know my landscape architect really had strong feelings about how you're dividing that sort of space between grass and mulch. He does not like those curbing, the concrete curbing. He feels like your eyes just go to those lines.

[Ashley Childers]

Okay.

[Sue]

So he liked a really, like, just a dark green metal steel that sort of separates them. Do you do that? Or how do you separate your beds from your lawn or. Or whatever? Yeah.

[Ashley Childers]

In our landscape, beds that surround the house, like, the perimeter of the house, we have. It's all stone, because we have. Yeah, it's real. I mean, you know, it's stacked. It's like stacked stone.

[Sue]

That's what she does. That's what Ashley Childress does. Yeah. Well, we have.

[Ashley Childers]

We have a stone path up to the house. The back. All of the back patio area is. Is stone, so it just made sense. And it looks really good, and it's natural, so it just blends in, you know, I mean, it's. It's pretty, but it's. It's organic, and it just. That's the way I like it. Inside of our. Inside of our cut flower garden, that's all raised beds. Those are all cedar.

[Sue]

Oh, beautiful.

[Ashley Childers]

That's. Yeah. And we actually. We did. You can leave them. I mean, cedar's gorgeous. It obviously ages beautifully, and. But we actually used a stain on them that matches all the cedar shutters on the house. So everything is. Is cohesive. It looks really. Yeah, I love it. It looks really good.

[Sue]

Oh, that's great. That's great. Any last questions for Ashley? I have.

[Alice]

I have one question that's been, like, in my mind this whole time. So on arbors, you've talked about jasmine, you talked about, you know, just a lot of these, like, tall, wispy ones. What are your favorite plants to do for arbors or just, like, doorways? Because it is so Romantic. You're romantic. I feel like when you're talking about your garden, I'm like, she's gonna know the answer to this question. And then how do you train them? Like, do you have. If it is against a wall, do you have, like, a wire that you're, like, anchoring at the top and then growing it over an arch or.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah. So we've done a ton of different things. I love a cli. I love a climbing rose. I just think it's. There's nothing more romantic than that to me. So they're a little precarious. To train you kind of. You really do have to, like, wire them and wrap them around the arbor. Some things, like, cue the long gloves area. I mean, we have a ton of wisteria, and it just, like, it's. It's gonna happen. You have to train it a little bit to begin with, and then it kind of grows on itself. Same thing with jasmine. It's just going to grow on itself and twirl. Some things that I love to grow up walls, like ivy or, you know, that that's just going to do its thing, and it's got the little suckers. But. But when it comes to an arbor, I would say a lot of times what we've done, and we've done this on brick walls as well, is we'll put in little eye hooks, and then that gives you a spot to be able to put in a zip tie or a little wire or a piece of twine. And it's easier. It's easier. And it looks a little better than having to, like, wrap twine around the post of an arbor.

[Sue]

Sue has this great breezeway going up to her front door with. With walls on both sides. But then it's open up above, right?

[Alice]

But there is just, like, this one kind of theme. And so, anyway, we have honeysuckle that, you know, we're. We're novices to it. Anyway, we planted those, but I'm like, they're starting to get unruly, and I'm like, quick. I need to, like, hook these onto something anyway. I'm such a. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Ashley Childers]

Well, it's, you know, you. It's kind of part of it. You plan and you think, and when you plant something, it's like this big. And then three years later, you're like, this is taken over this entire wall, you know? But that's. That's kind of the fun of it. I like it. Look, I like it too.

[Alice]

Gregarious.

[Ashley Childers]

And, yeah, I love, like, just kind of rambling and. And I don't know, it just feels very cotswoldy to me. That's like my. It's like where I. Where I wish, you know, if I could live anywhere, that's where it would be. And all those gardens just have that haphazardness to them that I think is so endearing.

[Alice]

Beautiful chaos. It's so good. I love it.

[Sue]

Yeah. So good. Okay, so, Ashley, if we're putting together our pots now that we're safe to plant, would you say just go to your garden center, get that cart, start walking and put anything in, sort of arrange it and see if it looks good together, Then it will probably look good in your pot.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, for sure. That's what I.

[Sue]

Would you say choose from an area? Because don't they arrange garden centers by certain. Certain areas, like things. It should all go together if it's. If it likes full sun or if it likes shade. So you're pretty safe to wander through. Just choose hopefully something tall. Right. And then something that might spill over, like Creeping Jenny and then some of those great suggestions you have for the rest of the pot.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, yeah, for sure. The garden center, first of all, they're gonna. I mean, they're going to put out what's going to do well in your area. So like you can next to them. And then they always do group like ours does. You know, all of the sun lovers are in one area. The. The perennials. Then there's an annuals area, there's a shade lovers area. And then I like to meander through even, you know, looking at some of the shrubs and stuff to bring in some. I mean, we. I always like to have something architectural in the garden. Even in our cut flower garden. I've got some hollies out there that are clipped. So it has. There's a little bit of structure in all of that rambling chaos. Yeah, that's something you could also do with your. With your containers. If you wanted some type of a structure. You could do, you know, a holly in the center or a boxwood in the center lift, and then have these ramblers on the outside. I love that look. I think it's really, it's. It's a classic look to me.

[Sue]

Yeah, yeah. That's so good, you guys. I hope this is helpful to sort of picture these things as she talks about them and write down, take notes. You're gonna have your prettiest, your prettiest pots and hopefully beds yet. This is great. Last question that we ask every guest that comes on the podcast is how do you define luxury?

[Ashley Childers]

Oh, that's a good question.

[Sue]

You know, I, I first heard Martin Lawrence Bullard was talking and they asked him this question, and he said that it was not saving anything for best. That you use your china every day, that you. That you really like use that nice butter dish, that you're using your best silver to butter your toast in the morning. And that's how he defined luxury. And it's been fun to listen to guests over the years that obviously love design. We all just define it differently. So I was curious.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah, I think it's truly in your environment, like, it feeling like it is a. Represent a physical representation of who you are. I think that if you have a space, whether it's outside or inside your home, that feels like an extension of you, like there's nothing more luxurious to me, and just being able to be in that and know that you're in your. You're like in your element that you created for yourself. You're taking care of yourself by creating a place that resonates with you and then being able to pursue things that you love in your home. That's luxurious to me. I love to garden. You know, I love to spend time with our family. I love to be able to entertain. That is luxury to me, is creating those moments for yourself and having the space to do it and, and setting aside time for that. I think that's luxurious.

[Sue]

That's a great answer. I love that. Yeah.

[Alice]

Yeah.

[Sue]

Guys, I hope this has been so fun for you. We love listening to Ashley. I think we all probably have even more questions now that we know we've got. We've got her. Yeah. So good. Thank you so much for joining us today on Dear Alice.

[Ashley Childers]

So happy to. I was honored. Thank you, girls.

[Sue]

Oh, of course, of course. Guys, thanks so much for joining us today. Summer is coming. We've got some really fun new introductions coming. Porch pots is one of them. So keep an eye out for those in June. They are going to be game changers. I can't wait for them to arrive for my own house.

[Ashley Childers]

Yeah.

[Jess]

Yeah. I was just going to say that I need some for my porch. So.

[Sue]

Yeah. And if you guys want to check out our. Our shop online, it's alicelanehome.com we have a special discount code for you, our listeners, and it's Dear Alice, 2020. And you're going to get 20 off.

[Jess]

Your purchase, entire purchase too.

[Sue]

So get wild, go there, find something fun, and give us a follow on Instagram. Our Alice Lane Interiors is where we're working on interior design. Lots of beautiful projects that are actually getting installed this summer.

[Alice]

Yeah, this is going to be a really fun summer to follow because we have so many installs. So join us please.

[Sue]

Yes, over there. And then the shop is Alice Lane Home. So give us a follow over there. And Ashley Childer's handle is Ashley Childer's home. And you got to go check out the beautiful work she's doing in her yard and in her home. It's such a fun follow. Thank you so much for listening. If you have any episode ideas, please send those to dear Alice alicelanehome.com and we'll catch you next time. Hey, thanks for listening. If you like our show, please leave a five star rating.