The Plantastic Podcast

HEATHER HOLM BIO Heather Holm is a pollinator conservationist and award-winning author of four books:  Pollinators of Native Plants , Bees , Wasps , and Common Native Bees of the Eastern United States . Both Bees  and Wasps have won multiple book awards including the American Horticultural Society Book Award. She is the founder and chair of Minnesota Native Bees , an online field guide illustratin...

Discount link for listeners for Woodies in Naturalistic Design presentation on May 18 ! SHELBY RADCLIFFE BIO Shelby Radcliffe is a horticulturist and landscape designer whose work at Emergent Gardens blends art, ecology, and human experience. Raised in Central Florida, her early connection to natural ecosystems and photography shaped the way she observes and imagines space. After years in creative...

TIM BOLAND BIO Tim Boland is the Executive Director of the Polly Hill Arboretum, located on the island of Martha's Vineyard in West Tisbury, Massachusetts. He holds an undergraduate degree in Horticulture and a master's in Botany, Plant Ecology, and Systematics from Michigan State University. Tim specializes in oaks from all over the world. He is involved in various plant conservation projects to...

Discount link for March 23, 2026 Botanic Bootcamp on the Power of Plant Selection . SHAUN MCCOSHUM'S BIO Shaun McCoshum is a certified, Senior Ecologist and Wildlife Biologist with over 20 years of experience restoring habitats, conducting research, and gardening. His work includes published scientific papers, books, and copious restoration plans from coast to coast including lands with bison, end...

Subscribe to my curated weekly newsletter plant•ed: meristemhorticulture.com/subscribe . DR. ALLAN ARMITAGE'S BIO Dr. Allan M. Armitage is an Emeritus Professor of Horticulture at the University of Georgia, where he served as a faculty member until his retirement in 2014. Internationally recognized as a writer, speaker, educator, and researcher, he is one of the most influential voices in modern h...

Subscribe to my newsletter plant•ed: meristemhorticulture.com/subscribe . RACHEL LINDSAY BIO As Head of Site Design at Regenerative Design Group, Rachel works principally with organizations and homeowners to create productive, resilient landscapes. She draws from her experiences in organic farming, Latin-American sustainable development, and art to approach design with cultural sensitivity and env...

Learn more about botanicbootcamp.com . JOHN LITTLE BIO John Little has been reimagining what urban nature can be since founding the Grass Roof Company in 1998.  Over the past 25+ years, John has designed and built more than 400 small green-roof structures and various other species-rich planting with walls engineered for nesting, hibernation, and year-round habitat. His nonprofit Care Not Capital p...

Discount link for Botanic Bootcamp. MOLLY HENDRY BIO Molly toggles the worlds of design and plants as both a trained horticulturist and landscape architect. She has stepped out to create her own garden design studio, Roots and Ramblings , where she does design work for folks in the Birmingham, Alabama area and beyond. With this studio, Molly is most interested in the intersection between people an...

Discount link for Botanic Bootcamp. PAM PENICK BIO Pam Penick is a Texas garden writer, speaker, and advocate for climate-resilient design. She’s the author of Gardens of Texas, Lawn Gone!, and The Water-Saving Garden, and the voice behind Digging, her influential website about gardening in a hot climate. A former landscape designer, Pam now tends her own garden under live oaks in northwest Austin...

Discount link for upcoming webinar Layer by Layer on Monday September 29 at 6 pm CDT. LUKE DAHLBERG BIO With over twenty years of experience in propagating midwestern native plants, Luke Dahlberg turned his passionate backyard hobby into a career. Luke earned his degree majoring in Ornamental Horticulture and a minor in Business from the University of Wisconsin - Platteville. After working in the...

Discount link for upcoming webinar Matrix Planting Made Easy on Monday August 4 at 6 pm CDT. KELLY HOLDBROOKS BIO With decades of experience in Western North Carolina’s vast horticulture, Kelly Holdbrooks demonstrates her passion for fostering human connection with nature in everything she does. For more than a decade as executive director of Southern Highlands Reserve , a nonprofit native plant g...

Discount link for upcoming webinar Matrix Planting Made Easy on Monday August 4 at 6 pm CDT. CLAIRE CHAMBERS BIO Claire Chambers is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Meadow Lab , a public benefit company designing high-performance plant systems like native wildflower meadow sod inspired by nature. She is also the principal of Flowerlands, a small landscape design studio. After twenty year...

Discount link for upcoming webinar Designing with Plant Shape and Form on Monday June 30 at 6 pm CDT ROCHELLE GREAYER BIO Rochelle Greayer is the current editor of The American Gardener magazine for the American Horticultural Society and a garden designer, writer, and the creative force behind Pith + Vigor , a literary newspaper and online magazine for garden enthusiasts. She is the author of Cult...

SAM HOADLEY Sam Hoadley is the Manager of Horticultural Research at Mt. Cuba Center where he evaluates native plant species, old and new cultivars, and hybrids in the Trial Garden. Sam earned his degree in Sustainable Landscape Horticulture from the University of Vermont. THE PLANTASTIC PODCAST The Plantastic Podcast  is a monthly podcast created by Dr. Jared Barnes.  He's been gardening since he...

THERESA CRIMMINS BIO Theresa Crimmins is an internationally recognized phenology researcher, director of the USA National Phenology Network , and associate professor in the School of Natural Resources and the Environment at the University of Arizona. In her role with the Network, Theresa supports an amazing team and works enthusiastically to support the growth and use of phenology data and resourc...

JOHN MAGEE BIO John Magee has been designing and building landscapes in the Washington DC Metro area and beyond for the past 30 years.  After receiving his B.S. degree in Agriculture from the Ohio State University and spending a few years training and showing horses, he settled into the landscaping industry as the General Foreman of Pennsylvania’s highest award-winning landscaping firm.  While in...

SARAH SIKICH AND RYAN WATSON BIO Sarah Sikich and Ryan Watson are dedicated urban orchard advocates, spreading The Giving Grove’s mission to grow sustainable community orchards nationwide. Sarah, Director of Marketing and Communications, began her journey with The Giving Grove as a volunteer at the first little orchard, witnessing how urban orchards can transform neighborhoods. Combining her backg...

JACK MCCOY BIO Jack McCoy designs residential and commercial landscapes in Knoxville, the Southeast United States, and beyond through his practice, Jack McCoy Garden Design Company. His work reflects a deep understanding of plants, shaped by global experiences in some of the world's most renowned gardens. Jack's horticultural journey began in landscape construction as a teenager, followed by earni...

Grow your gardening skills with Dr, Jared's Botanic Bootcamp !  SHANNON CURREY BIO Shannon Currey is a horticultural educator with Izel Native Plants . After starting a career in social science research and education, she transitioned to horticulture in 2003, training in horticultural science and landscape design at North Carolina State University. She worked short stints at a local landscape desi...

Grow your gardening skills with Dr, Jared's Botanic Bootcamp !  BEN O'BRIEN BIO Ben O'Brien is the owner of Wild by Design , a naturalistic garden design business in Prince Edward County in Ontario that specializes in artfully crafted, richly planted, lovingly tended gardens. For the past decade Ben's passion for plants has informed a wide range of projects, from small town gardens to large rural...

BOTANIC BOOTCAMP Grow your gardening skills with Dr, Jared's Botanic Bootcamp !  LUCY BELLAMY BIO Lucy Bellamy spent five years as editor of Gardens Illustrated magazine, during which she grew its print and digital readership to over 50,000—its highest level ever. In 2018, she won the British Society of Magazine Editors Editor of the Year award and has written three books.  Her most recent book A...

BOTANIC BOOTCAMP Grow your gardening skills with Dr, Jared's Botanic Bootcamp !  LIS MEYER BIO This month’s episode of The Plantastic Podcast is Lis Meyer, a senior lecturer in the Dept. of Horticultural Science at NC State, where she has taught for the past 14 years. She currently teaches several courses in Plant Propagation, her favorite horticultural topic! As a native of North Carolina, she is...

PATRICK CULLINA BIO Patrick Cullina is an award-winning horticulturist, landscape designer, photographer, lecturer, and organizational consultant with more than twenty-five years of experience in the landscape field. He runs a design and consulting business that is dedicated to the innovative and sensitive integration of plants and materials into a diverse range of compelling designs, drawing insp...

ERIN PRESLEY BIO A lifelong Wisconsin girl, Erin Presley grew up in the rural center of the state and has a bachelor’s degree in Horticulture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She has worked as a boots-on-the-ground gardener for more than two decades, both in the private sector and as a horticulturist at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison since 2014. Her interests include native woodland...

GARY LEWIS BIO Gary Lewis has had a life-long interest in plants and gardening. His retail and mail order nursery, Phoenix Perennials , located in Richmond, BC, offers more than 5000 different plants. Gary authored The Complete Book of Ground Covers: 4000 Plants that Reduce Maintenance, Control Erosion, and Beautify the Landscape and has written for various garden magazines including Fine Gardenin...