The Garden Lady is a weekly, hour-long call-in radio program hosted by plant expert C.L. Fornari. It airs on WCAI 90.1, WNAN 91.1, and WZAI 94.3, Saturdays at 1 p.m. On The Garden Lady, Fornari takes listener questions and discusses a wide range of topics around gardening, horticulture, and nature, with a special focus on helping the Cape and Islands community make the most of every season, regardless of their level of plant experience.
Call our Listener Line with your gardening questions: 866-999-4626
—
More about C.L. Fornari:
C.L. Fornari is the author of nine books, including The Cocktail Hour Garden, Sand and Soil, and her latest work, Hydrangea Happiness, which will be published by Brandeis University Press in 2026. She’s a professional speaker, the former host of GardenLine on WXTK and co-host of the Plantrama podcast. She has worked for Hyannis Country Garden, a family-owned independent garden center, for 30 years. In 2015 C.L. launched the Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival, a ten-day regional celebration of gardens that typically raises over $100,000.00 for local non-profits every year and draws public attention to Hydrangeas, and horticulture. C.L. grows vegetables, flowers, shrubs, trees and numerous other plants at Poison Ivy Acres on Cape Cod.
Regular features on The Garden Lady:
A Postcard from Plants: What if Mother Nature, The Green Man, or a particular plant could send you a postcard with a condensed message that will help you be a better garden maker or plant person?
Plant People: I welcome a variety of guests to discuss plants, gardens and the wonders of the natural world.
Houseplant Highlights: We’ll regularly speak about the plants that are grown indoors, from highlighting wonderful varieties to discussions about common problems.
In The Know: What’s happening with plants right now - weather/growing conditions/timing.
Calls From Listeners: What's on your mind? What's happening in your garden? From lawns to lilacs, holly to hydrangeas, and petunias to peace lilies, give me a call. On The Garden Lady, it’s all plants considered.
-
In this week's episode of The Garden Lady, C.L. discusses harvesting in the fall. -
On this week's episode of The Garden Lady, C.L. discusses the reason why what we put in our landscape's matters. -
On this week's episode of The Garden Lady, C.L. discusses rain, irrigation systems, soaker hoses and hand watering. -
-
-
-
In this program C.L. Fornari talked about why we shouldn’t be too quick to blame the bugs, and how to better diagnose plant puzzles. She spoke about fertilizing plants in mid-summer, and read a postcard from Nature about the various way plants are communicating with us. -
Do you go into your vegetable garden every day? This week on The Garden Lady C.L. explains why you should make this a habit during the summer. -
Are the leaves of your morning glory filled with holes? Did your zinnia foliage get shredded when you put the young plants in the garden? Are you wondering what you can do about it? -
Have you ever had a plant that has developed a wide, flat stem instead of a round one? Maybe it was a lily with dozens of small flower buds up that flattened stalk. Or perhaps your echinacea or marigold has a center that looks like fat, smiling lips instead of the normal round disk.
