

Stop Guessing. Start Growing. Welcome to the Ultimate Garden Blueprint.
Body Copy: Most big-box store advice will get your plants killed. The intense sun, the heavy wind, and the local wildlife require a completely different set of rules.
I'm Ken Lain, "Top 10 Gardener," and every week, I share the exact "un-killable" strategies we use to cheat the heat and build vibrant, blooming sanctuaries in USDA Zones 5–8.
Don't waste another season on generic advice. Hit that '+ Follow' button right now to get your weekly dose of mountain gardening success. Let's put some roots in the ground together.
Whether you are trying to force your mountain roses into non-stop blooms, figure out why your evergreens are dropping needles, or reclaim your patio from summer pests, we give you the hyper-local science to make it happen.
When you tune in, you'll discover:
- The Overlooked Truths: Fast diagnostics and 10-second pruning tricks that flatlander gardeners know nothing about.
- Seasonal Urgency: Exactly what to plant right now to guarantee roots get established in our Prescott soil.
- Insider Access: First dibs on our custom plant arrivals and premium garden kits before they sell out on our online store.
Don't waste another season on generic advice. Hit that '+ Follow' button right now to get your weekly dose of mountain gardening success. Let's put some roots in the ground together.
Stop Guessing. Start Growing. Welcome to the Ultimate Garden Blueprint.
Body Copy: Most big-box store advice will get your plants killed. The intense sun, the heavy wind, and the local wildlife require a completely different set of rules.
I'm Ken Lain, "Top 10 Gardener," and every week, I share the exact "un-killable" strategies we use to cheat the heat and build vibrant, blooming sanctuaries in USDA Zones 5–8.
Don't waste another season on generic advice. Hit that '+ Follow' button right now to get your weekly dose of mountain gardening success. Let's put some roots in the ground together.
Whether you are trying to force your mountain roses into non-stop blooms, figure out why your evergreens are dropping needles, or reclaim your patio from summer pests, we give you the hyper-local science to make it happen.
When you tune in, you'll discover:
- The Overlooked Truths: Fast diagnostics and 10-second pruning tricks that flatlander gardeners know nothing about.
- Seasonal Urgency: Exactly what to plant right now to guarantee roots get established in our Prescott soil.
- Insider Access: First dibs on our custom plant arrivals and premium garden kits before they sell out on our online store.
Don't waste another season on generic advice. Hit that '+ Follow' button right now to get your weekly dose of mountain gardening success. Let's put some roots in the ground together.
Episodes
Aug 4, 2025
🐜 Your Guide to a Pest Free Garden
Aug 4, 2025
Aug 4, 2025
10 min
You work too hard to have a thriving garden to surrender your plants to destructive pests like aphids, grubs, hornworms and other critters that love to munch on your garden! Master Gardener Ken Lain shares how to spot and keep those summer garden pests at bay with organic pesticides that won’t harm the soil, you or your pets.
https://themountaingardener.podbean.com/
🥕Ken Lain, The Mountain Gardener
#WattersGardenCenter, #GardeningTips, #TheMountainGardener, #KenLain, #Grubs, #Aphids, #GardenPests, #OrganicPestControl

Aug 3, 2025
Aug 3, 2025
52 min
Hey garden enthusiasts, Ken & Lisa Watters Lain, The Mountain Gardeners here!
Get ready to catch Ken and Lisa's gardening bug! They're bursting with knowledge and passion for growing beautiful things, and they're ready to share it all with you.
Don't miss out on this chance to level up your gardening game!
Included in This Week’s Show:
🌺 What Does it Mean to Pinch My Flowers?
🍓 Q and A: How to Grow Better Berries in the Landscape
🌺 What are Black Bumblebees Doing on my Hibiscus?
🌼 Impossible to Kill Perennials New for the Gardens
🌿 Plants Impossible to Kill Even if You Try
☹️ You May have Bought the Wrong Plant!
Subscribe to The Top 10 Gardener Podcast today and get your hands dirty with expert tips and tricks. You'll find it on all your favorite podcast platforms. To Watch the Entire Podcast Show, Tap or Click on the Link Below Subscribe for Top 10 Gardener updates!
https://themountaingardener.podbean.com/
🎙️Ken & Lisa Lain, The Mountain Gardeners
#WattersGardenCenter, #WattersGardencenterAZ, #TheMountainGardener, #GardeningTips, #KenLain, #OrganicFertilizer&DiseaseControl, #GardenPestControl, #DwarfPerennialFlowers, #WattersHotNewPlants, #HardtoKillTreesShrubs&Plants, #Bumblebees, #Pollinators
Aug 2, 2025
☹️ You May have Bought the Wrong Plant!
Aug 2, 2025
Aug 2, 2025
5 min
You just bought that new plant from a box store, and planted it with care. Now it has odd bugs or diseases, and you’re watching it slowly die. That’s why you need your local independent garden center! Master Gardener Ken Lain shares how to purchase plants that thrive in our local area, and the best organic products to feed and deter bugs and diseases. Your local garden center has the knowledge, products and advice to help you plant and care for your best garden ever!
Not already a Garden Club Member? Click Below to Join and be notified of Plant Preorders and other Special Offers
https://wattersgardencenter.com/pages/garden-care-advantages
#WattersGardenCenter, #GardeningTips, #TheMountainGardener, #KenLain, #WattersGardenWisdom, #BestPlantsforLocalGardens, #OrganicFertilizer, #OrganicPlantDiseasePrevention #RevivingDamagedPlants, #BestPlantingAdvice
Aug 1, 2025
🌿 Plants Impossible to Kill Even if You Try
Aug 1, 2025
Aug 1, 2025
10 min
If you feel you have a black thumb, take heart! Mountain Gardener Ken Lain shares the fastest growing, most drought tolerant, beautiful trees, shrubs and vines that will thrive in your landscape with little to no care. What’s not to love?
🌺 Ken Lain, The Mountain Gardener
Subscribe for The Mountain Gardener updates!
https://themountaingardener.podbean.com/
#WattersGardenCenter, #GardeningTips, #TheMountainGardener, #KenLain, #EasyCarePlants, #DroughtTolerantTrees, #StrongTreesandShrubs, #HardtoKillPlantsTreesShrubs
Jul 31, 2025
Jul 31, 2025
10 min
Summer is in full bloom, and so are perennial flowers at Watters Garden Center! Mountain Gardeners Ken and Lisa Lain tell us the most spectacular perennials for the summer garden. Learn what perennials are new, the best perennials to add to your garden this year, and new dwarf varieties to enhance your landscape. They’re in full bloom right now and the best part is that they’ll winter over and delight you again next season!
🌺Ken & Lisa Lain, the Mountain Gardeners
Not already a Garden Club Member? Click Below to Join and be notified of Plant Preorders and other Special Offers!
https://wattersgardencenter.com/pages/garden-care-advantages
#WattersGardenCenter, #GardeningTips, #TheMountainGardener, #KenLain, #DwarfPerennials, #FragrantLavender, #SummerFlowers, #Rudbeckia, #Gallardia, #ColorfulPerennials, #PerennialFlowers
Jul 30, 2025
Jul 30, 2025
6 min
What are those big, black bees buzzing on your flowers? They’re the size of bumblebees but without the stripes! Meet the Carpenter Bee! This docile bee is one of the best pollinators in your garden. Master Gardener Ken Lain gives us all the information on Carpenter Bees, their benefits and their calling card in your garden!
Subscribe for The Mountain Gardener updates!
https://themountaingardener.podbean.com/
Ken Lain, The Mountain Gardener
#WattersGardenCenter, #GardeningTips, #TheMountainGardener, #KenLain, #CarpenterBee, #Bumblebees, #Pollinators, #BeneficialBees
Jul 29, 2025
Jul 29, 2025
10 min
Berries can be a beautiful part of your landscape while providing the bonus of a tasty treat. Who doesn’t love sweet strawberries, blueberries, raspberries or others right off the plant? Master Gardener Ken Lain shares how to plant, feed and keep your berry bushes thriving in your landscape.
Not already a Garden Club Member? Click Below to Join and be notified of Plant Preorders and other Special Offers!
https://wattersgardencenter.com/pages/garden-care-advantages
🌹Ken & Lisa Lain, The Mountain Gardeners
#WattersGardenCenter, #GardeningTips, #TheMountainGardener, #KenLain, #Strawberriees, #Blueberries, #Raspberries, #GrowingBerries, #Blackberries
Jul 28, 2025
🌺 What Does it Mean to Pinch My Flowers?
Jul 28, 2025
Jul 28, 2025
11 min
Your perennials are in full bloom and the colors are spectacular! So how do you keep your flowers thriving and blooming? Master Gardener Ken Lain explains the practice of deadheading, or “pinching.” You’ll learn how to keep your perennials from going to seed and help them continue to bloom into fall.
https://themountaingardener.podbean.com/
🥕Ken Lain, The Mountain Gardener
#WattersGardenCenter, #GardeningTips, #TheMountainGardener, #KenLain, #Perennials, #FlowerBlooms, #DeadheadingFlowers
Jul 27, 2025
Jul 27, 2025
53 min
Jul 26, 2025
🥵 Healing Drought Stressed Gardens
Jul 26, 2025
Jul 26, 2025
5 min
It has been a hot and sometimes very dry summer, and the combination can stress your garden and landscape. Mountain Gardener Ken Lain shares practical tips on how to perk up your landscape and give a boost to those plants that have been stressed by heat and drought.
Not already a Garden Club Member? Click Below to Join and be notified of Plant Preorders and other Special Offers
https://wattersgardencenter.com/pages/garden-care-advantages
#WattersGardenCenter, #GardeningTips, #TheMountainGardener, #KenLain, #WattersGardenWisdom, #DroughtStressedPlants, #HeatStressedPlants, #RevivingDroughtDamagedPlants.
Jul 25, 2025
Jul 25, 2025
11 min
Sometimes improving your landscape means a screen between your home and the neighbors, or an unsightly part of your yard. Mountain Gardener Ken Lain shares the fastest growing, thickest plants and how to care for them to add privacy and beauty to your landscape.
🌺 Ken Lain, The Mountain Gardener
Subscribe for The Mountain Gardener updates!
https://themountaingardener.podbean.com/
#WattersGardenCenter, #GardeningTips, #TheMountainGardener, #KenLain, #LivePrivacyScreens, #FastGrowingHedges, #TreesandShrubsforPrivacy, #CaringforHedges, #PlantsforHedges
Jul 24, 2025
🌼 Best Summer Flowers for the Perennial Gardens
Jul 24, 2025
Jul 24, 2025
10 min
Summer is in full bloom, and so are perennial flowers at Watters Garden Center! Mountain Gardeners Ken and Lisa Lain tell us the most spectacular perennials for the summer garden. They’re in full bloom right now and the best part is that they’ll winter over and delight you again next season!
🌺Ken & Lisa Lain, the Mountain Gardeners
Not already a Garden Club Member? Click Below to Join and be notified of Plant Preorders and other Special Offers!
https://wattersgardencenter.com/pages/garden-care-advantages
#WattersGardenCenter, #GardeningTips, #TheMountainGardener, #KenLain, #CrepeMyrtle, #FragrantLavender, #ShrubRoses, #SummerFlowers, #Rudbeckia, #Gallardia, #ColorfulPerennials, #PerennialFlowers
Jul 23, 2025
Jul 23, 2025
7 min
Ants build hills in your landscape and trails in your kitchen, and they can inflict some painful stings. Mountain Gardener Ken Lain shares how to keep those tiny, annoying black ants out of your home and garden!
Subscribe for The Mountain Gardener updates!
https://themountaingardener.podbean.com/
Ken Lain, The Mountain Gardener
#WattersGardenCenter, #GardeningTips, #TheMountainGardener, #KenLain, #GardenAnts, #BlackAnts, #ControllingAnts, #AntPestsinGardenandHome
Jul 22, 2025
🌳 Q and A: Top Shade Trees for the Verde Valley
Jul 22, 2025
Jul 22, 2025
10 min
While gardening in the Verde Valley is in many ways similar to the Prescott area, but there are some differences that challenge gardeners. The Verde Valley climate is warmer, and growing healthy shade trees can help beat the heat. Mountain Gardeners Ken and Lisa Lain talk about the best shade trees for the Verde Valley and how to help them thrive
Not already a Garden Club Member? Click Below to Join and be notified of Plant Preorders and other Special Offers!
https://wattersgardencenter.com/pages/garden-care-advantages
🌹Ken & Lisa Lain, The Mountain Gardeners
#WattersGardenCenter, #GardeningTips, #TheMountainGardener, #KenLain, #VerdeValleyTrees, #HotClimateTrees, #HighDesertShadeTrees.
Jul 21, 2025
Jul 21, 2025
10 min
After all the care you put into your garden, you’ll want to make sure snails, slugs and ants don’t come to munch on your flowers and veggies! Snails and slugs can do some real damage, and ants can sting and create trails through your garden. Mountain Gardener Ken Lain shares the effective steps to quickly evict snails, slugs and ants!
https://themountaingardener.podbean.com/
🥕Ken Lain, The Mountain Gardener
#WattersGardenCenter, #GardeningTips, #TheMountainGardener, #KenLain, #GardenSnails, #GardenSlugs, #GardenPests, #BestSnailandSlugControl, #ControlAnts