Growing Greener

Looking at plants is one thing; learning to truly see them is another. Carrie Roy, Acting Curator of Art, introduces us to one of the world's great collections of plant portraits, the Hunt Institute For Botanical Documentation in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and shares how the artist's vision can delight and inform gardeners, changing the very way we see

Rebecca McMackin, a visionary horticulturist, has spent the last decade supervising the transformation of Brooklyn Bridge Park, 85 acres of abandoned shipping piers, into a complex of functioning ecosystems that serve as havens for wildlife and an accessible means for city dwellers to reconnect with nature. Now she's moving on to new adventures. In our conversation she reflects on the accomplishments of Brooklyn Bridge Park's remarkable horticultural staff, the acute need for such landscapes in a rapidly urbanizing world, and how gardening can influence not only our relationship with the natural world but also with each other.

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 dynamics to their own back yards

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. AGZA has developed analytical tools that can help owners reduce the carbon footprint of their landscape by a half or even more. It also works with landscape industry professionals to help them explore alternate tool systems, cleaner burning or battery powered, that can enable them to accomplish maintenance goals at less environmental cost and typically far more quietly. Listen to Dan describe how AGZA resolves the conflicting dynamics.

#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 colleagues biologist Heather Holm and native plants stalwart Lorraine Johnson have published an article in Rewilding Magazine detailing why this isn't the best means of fostering native pollinators in North America

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 communities as well. Framed as a series of stories profiling individual animals and plants, this book is as entertaining as it is informative, and is thoughtfully designed to apply no matter where in the continental United States you happen to garden

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 has much to offer to gardeners in other regions of the country as well. In our conversation, we explore such matters as what is a native plant and why species-type native plants are better for the "earth-friendly" garden

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 that can reduce your water use by a half or more while also boosting your harvest of fruits and flowers.

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 learning how to work with succession, how to channel and direct it down desirable paths, Larry has succeeded in creating landscapes that are not only biologically richer but also far easier to manage than conventional gardens designed around a static, change-resistant plan. Join the conversation and listen to Larry Weaner discuss how to incorporate succession into a habitat that addresses the needs and desires of both people and nature.

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 Greener.

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 garden allies.

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 classes. Today we discuss these classes, and how they present an engaging and easy-to-master introduction to his special, eco-friendly, style of gardening.

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 strains of vegetables

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 home.

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 transform that wet spot into an ecological opportunity and beauty spot.

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.

Sam Hoadley, Mount Cuba Center's Director of Horticultural Research deliberately neglects his plants. His responsibility is to conduct the trials by which this renowned botanical garden in Hockessin, Delaware tests native plants to see which are garden stars – and attractive to pollinators – and which are garden and pollination duds. After selecting a popular genus, Sam and his crew collect all the types they find available in nurseries, establish them side-by-side in the test plots, and leaves them to fend for themselves. The results he collects into detailed, comprehensive reports, an invaluable resource that Mount Cuba makes available to gardeners for free.

Dr. Philip Kauth, Director of Preservation, describes the history and activities of the Seed Savers Exchange, and how this remarkable organization is preserving tens of thousands of vegetable and fruit varieties that otherwise would have been lost.

Native plants enthusiasts Kristen Nicholson, Britt Drews, and Jasmin Callahan were frustrated by the lack of nearby sources on biodiverse, locally adapted plants. So they started their own nursery, growing the plants from locally collected seeds. Today Blue Stem Natives is a horticultural phenomenon and a haven for ecological gardeners in southeastern Massachusetts.

Dr. Jared Westbrook of the American Chestnut Foundation explores a controversial subject: the use of genetic engineering by his foundation to create blight-resistant American chestnut trees and return this once iconic species to the eastern woodlands

How to introduce Sefra Alexandra, "the Seed Huntress"? She's an agroecological educator with a masters degree from Cornell University and she's worked as an ethnobotanist all around the world, including in her home town of Southport, Connecticut. Sefra's a "BOATanist" who plants seed-grown natives along riparian corridors by canoe, and she's a member of The Explorers Club. Currently Sefra is also the coordinator of the Northeast Organic Farming Association's program to restore pollinator habitat, the EcoType Project. For this project she's supervising and assisting in the sustainable collection of wild type, locally adapted seed, and facilitating their cultivation so that these plants' seeds can be harvested, processed, and delivered to local nurseries to be grown on and returned to the wild or gardens. A Seed Huntress, it appears, is a person of many skills.

Eric Fleisher of F2 Environmental Design has been breaking new ground – literally ­– ever since he first began converting New York public landscapes to organic management 30 years ago. By building up and managing the soil, and treating the landscape as a holistic system, he eliminates the needs for chemical inputs and turns garden wastes into an environmental resource. In this way he has transformed landscapes all over the country, from the Harvard University campus to the Museum of Modern Art Sculpture Garden.

Being in the moment is a challenge in our busy, too-connected age, yet it is essential for appreciating and understanding the garden. Poet Susan Brearley shares her practice for mindfulness: the on-the-spot composition of garden haiku. Brearley, who has been teaching haiku workshops at the great Innisfree garden in Millbrook, New York, shares the basics of this classic Japanese poetic form, along with a look at the sensibility that traditionally informs it.

Do you hate the noise and stink of gasoline-powered blowers and mowers rampaging through your neighborhood? Matthew Benzie of Indigenous Ingenuities in Doylestown, Pennsylvania is doing something about that. He's switched his maintenance crew to zero-emission, quiet, battery-powered equipment transported on a bicycle-powered cart. He's designing his landscapes for greener, sustainable maintenance too. Learn about this revolutionary rethinking of the landscape business on this week's episode.

Brooklyn's famous cemetery builds on its heritage, becoming a community green space, an arboretum, and a center for environmental research

Matthew Shepherd of the Xerces Society details ways to get the garden ready for winter without harming over-wintering insects and other foundational wildlife

"Food Forests" are a central concept of Permaculture – in our discussion of his must-have new book, Sustainable Food Gardens, Robert Kourik details where Permaculture goes wrong, and explains how his book corrects the food forest for the North American landscape.

Looking to reconnect with nature? Try Brooklyn Bridge Park, six concrete shipping piers on New York's East River transformed into a series of vibrant ecosystems rich with native wildlife. Director of Horticulture Rebecca McMackin describes how salvaged materials make this 85-acre, organically maintained landscape sustainable as well as beautiful.

Dr. Josef Gorres of the University of Vermont discusses the environmental threat posed by invasive Asian Jumping Worms and the methods he is exploring for their control in our forests and gardens

Forest steward Adrian Ayres Fisher describes the profound impact that uncontrolled deer populations have on native woodlands and their ecology

Carol Bouska describes the process she and her three sisters have followed in transforming the family farm in northeastern Iowa into a model of regenerative agriculture. They are sequestering carbon in the soil, reducing water pollution, and nurturing wildlife while also building community and reinforcing family ties.

Dr. Eric Watkins of the University of Minnesota discusses the university's program to create more sustainable lawns that support native bees and other pollinators

Gardener and writer Ginny Stibolt discusses "Climate-Wise Landscaping," the book she co-authored with landscape architect Sue Reed, and how it can make your personal landscape more resilient and a force for positive environmental change

Innovative farmer Jesse Frost describes his focus on stewardship of the earth in his outstanding and useful new book, "The Living Soil Handbook"

Los Angeles landscape Architect Greg Kochanowski discusses his study of landscape management in fire-adapted landscapes

Internationally renowned rosarian Stephen Scanniello teaches gardeners how to grow roses without all the chemical pesticides

Ecological landscape designer and consultant Marie Chieppo discusses the report on plastic nursery pots she compiled for the Association of Professional Landscape Designers, and the greener alternatives that she is promoting

Artist Robert Adzema talks about his unique sun sculptures and how sundials can fix us in time while serving as a bridge to connect the garden with the heavens

Ecologist Tom Wessels details how he reads the history of forested landscapes from visual clues – "Forest Forensics" – and describes his new book, New England's Roadside Ecology