When Southern Living’s The Grumpy Gardener speaks gardeners listen. For more than 40 years Steve Bender has strived to make gardening fun. His writings about southern gardens and his hands in the dirt experiences are sought after by beginning and expert gardeners.  Steve takes great joy in answering your garden questions every day at Southern Living Blog  and The Grumpy Gardener on Facebook . Steve is quoted often. Usually in distain tones since he coined the term “Crape Murder”. His book Passalong Plants, co-authored with Felder Rushing, was named the best written garden book of 1994 by The Garden Writers of America His new book, “The Grumpy Gardener,” is an amusing and informative guide to plants culling from a compilation of “Grumpy Gardener” blog posts, selected articles from Southern Living, mixed in with a lot of new stuff.During his tenure at Southern Living, Steve edited a number of gardening books for Southerners, including The Southern Living Garden Book. This is an encore and remixed episode. Time Line00:00 Introduction to The Garden Question Podcast00:38 Meet Steve Bender: The Grumpy Gardener02:05 Planning Your Garden: Tips from Steve02:58 The Importance of Planting for Mature Size07:21 Lawn Care Insights: To Mow or Not to Mow11:46 Watering Wisdom: Keeping Your Garden Hydrated13:38 Navigating Regional Gardening Challenges16:11 Understanding Climate Zones and Microclimates25:33 The Truth About GMOs in Gardening29:51 Steve's Earliest Garden Memory31:26 A Childhood Rooted in Gardening32:53 From Hobbyist to Garden Communicator34:37 Joining Southern Living Magazine36:37 Memorable Gardens and Inspirations38:35 Books and Writing Career42:30 Funny Garden Stories47:34 Influences and Mistakes56:29 Favorite Plants and Final Thoughts