Growing Greener

Born in North America in the 1980's, "Rewilding" has taken off in Europe, where it's inspiring a return of broad tracts of marginal farmlands to functioning wild ecosystems.  In this episode Canadian journalists Kat Tancock and Domini Clark discuss their new online magazine, "Rewilding," which introduces readers to the basics of this fascinating worldwide movement, while helping them to apply its...

Krissy Boys, Natural Areas Horticulturist of the Cornell Botanic Gardens, describes her chance encounter with a naturally compact grass native across North America, and how that led her to create a biodiverse, wildlife friendly, and largely self-sustaining lawn of native grasses and perennials

Veteran investigative journalist Carey Gillam introduces her award-winning book, "Whitewash: The Story of a Weed Killer, Cancer, and the Corruption of Science," sharing its account of the collaboration between chemical manufacturer Monsanto and governmental agencies to cover up the disastrous health hazards of the omnipresent weed killer, Roundup

Dan Mabe, founder of AGZA, the American Green Zone Alliance, has taken on one of the bitterest impasses of contemporary suburbia.  So many residents hate the noise and fumes of gas-powered landscape equipment, and its unsustainable thirst for fossil fuels.  Landscape maintenance contractors reply that they cannot provide the services their customers demand at a price they will pay without it.  AGZ...

#NoMowMay is an international movement that has been gaining widespread popularity in the United States.  Its goal is to persuade gardeners to stop mowing their grass during the month of May so that lawn weeds such as dandelions and white clover may flower and provide early spring pollen and nectar for insect pollinators. A laudable impulse, but Dr. Sheila Colla of York University and her colleagu...

If each of us enriched our personal landscape with native plants, making it hospitable to pollinators, birds, and other wildlife, what an immense cumulative impact we would have!  In Saving Nature One Yard At A Time , veteran naturalists and gardeners David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth show us just how we can accomplish that, while also joining together to boost the ecological health of our com...

Colleen Murphy-Dunning, director of the Urban Resources Initiative, describes how Yale University's School of the Environment partnered with the New Haven community to design and implement a very successful program to enhance the urban ecosystem in a way that directly benefits residents while also educating students. 

Director of Horticulture at the Native Plant Trust in Framingham, Massachusetts, and former Curator of Native Flora at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Uli Lorimer has written a new book, The Northeast Native Plant Primer, 235 Plants for an Earth-Friendly Garden .  An outstanding introduction to gardening with native plants, it is especially relevant for residents of the northeastern United States but...

Dr. Toni DiTommaso of Cornell University explains how familiarity with the ecology of weeds can help a gardener control their impact on the garden without resorting to toxic chemicals, and shares the web address of a free book-length guide to the subject

With roots in traditional Korean agriculture, Bokashi composting has much to offer the contemporary gardener.  Conway School graduate Boris Kerzner describes the process, explaining how you can pursue this process for recycling kitchen wastes – including meat scraps and dairy – to enrich your garden's soil in just weeks. 

Water is a resource plants cannot do without, and maintaining the right level of moisture in your soil – not too little and not too much – is critical to gardening success.  That's why pioneering horticulturist Robert Kourik holds irrigation to be one of the gardener's most powerful tools.  Join him for details about the techniques he has found most precise and efficient, methods of irrigation tha...

For 40 years, Larry Weaner, founder of Larry Weaner Landscape Associates, has been exploring the intersection of ecology with landscape and garden design, creating a style of planning, planting, and management that is founded in the natural dynamics of the site. One of the most powerful of these dynamics is succession, the inherent tendency of landscapes and their flora to evolve and change.  By l...

Share my discovery of a Nebraska treasure: the Prairie Plains Resource Institute.  For more than 40 years this organization has been perfecting low-tech methods of wild grassland restoration while reconnecting people with the richness of their prairie heritage.  Join us for a visit with executive director Amy Jones

To trace the impact of climate change on the plants and animals of Massachusetts, Dr. Richard Primack of Boston University turned to an unconventional source: the journals of 19th century philosopher Henry David Thoreau.  In these documents, Dr. Primack discovered a wealth of relevant, closely observed data.  Learn about this and Dr. Primack's other intriguing discoveries in this week's Growing Gr...

Gardening can be a prime source of aches and pains, from a bad back to tendonitis – now "GardenFit," the new public television series, combines inspiring visits to extraordinary gardens with professional advice on how to keep your gardening healthy.  Join hosts Madeline Hooper and Jeff Hughes in their project to make your gardening more rewarding horticulturally and physically.

Jeanine Scheffert, co-chair of the Community Seed Network details the ways in which her organization can help gardeners to achieve success in seed saving and sharing and join a community of like-minded gardeners

James Golden's new book, "The View from Federal Twist: A New Way of Thinking About Gardens, Nature and Ourselves" delivers in full everything the title promises.  In this conversation, the author discusses the birth and evolution of his remarkable garden, and how it changed him and his relationship to his landscape.

Horticulturist Jessica Walliser is fascinated by the insects in our gardens, the vast majority of whom play positive roles in these domesticated ecosystems.  We discuss the fruits of her studies and the new, updated edition of her award-winning book, "Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden, a Natural Approach to Pest Control."  Learn how your landscaping can bolster the work of these essential...

In 2017 Benjamin Vogt captivated the gardening world with his book, "A New Garden Ethic," in which he explored the need to radically redesign our domestic landscapes to accommodate all the other creatures of North America.  Since then this award-winning author, horticulturist, and educator has been promoting this message in the gardens he designs, his many articles and talks, and his on-line class...

Gardening can be the heart of a community, as the Rochester, Minnesota Seed Library demonstrates.  Librarian Keri Ostby describes how the seed library brings together vegetable seeds for all the groups within the community, providing a source of superior fresh foods and for exploring mutual foodways.  By encouraging seed saving the seed library also fosters the development of locally adapted strai...

Alina Harris of the Xerces Society discusses the ecological importance of invertebrates, and how you can use your mower more strategically to convert a field to a thriving pollinator meadow without herbicides

Bill Melvin of Ecoscape Environmental Design in Boulder, Colorado discusses appropriate management of the human landscape in a region where wildfire is endemic.  What were the lessons for gardeners in the recent Marshall Fire, and how can they adapt their craft to better suit the dynamics of their local environment?

What is a naturalistic garden and how does it differ from a natural landscape?  Duncan Brine is a principal with his wife Julia Brine of Garden Large , a garden design firm based in Pawling, New York.  In our conversation, he discusses his concept of naturalistic gardening, the way it informs his design work, and how it has shaped the remarkable 6-acre garden he and Julia have created around their...

Struggling with a wet spot in your yard?  Join John Courtney of Kind Earth Growers to learn how to turn this difficulty into an asset.  John has more than 20 years of experience in growing native plants adapted to wet soils.  From collecting seed in the wild to mixing special soil blends, he understands wetland natives special cultural needs, and savors their special beauty.  Let John help you tra...

The flowers in your garden are not, as gardeners often think, aesthetic statements, they are invitations for sex. Ranging from plant incest to the brutality of dragonfly sex, Carol Reese, distinguished horticultural educator at the University of Tennessee, shares insights on the curious aspects of sexual relations between plants and the role that wildlife plays in promoting it.