The Garden Question

In this episode we talk with Jordan Daneker about the little things that bring your outdoor spaces to life. He walks us through the process on how he discovers and builds the perfect outdoor space for you and your family. We explore the artful details used to put together plants, pools, pavilions, hardscapes, lighting and more to yield a unique and quality environment.Jordan’s obsession and passion started as a part time job in 2008 and now he is on a mission “To Get North Carolina Outside”. He is a partner in a landscape company Evolve Design + Build located in Currituck, North Carolina. You can find him on both Facebook and Instagram.He is a licensed North Carolina landscape and general contractor. He holds designations from Interlocking Concrete Pavement Institute (ICPI) for concrete pavers and The National Concrete Masonry Association (NCMA) for segmented retaining walls.

In this episode we will talk with Landscape Architect Bruce Holliday about his landscape design philosophy and how you can enhance your property’s value. Bruce has seen just about everything in his many years as a Landscape Architect where he has designed and installed landscape plant material, hardscapes, lighting, and irrigation for residential and commercial projects. At Pike Family Nurseries he supervised 12 landscape designers that produced more than 2,500 landscape plans annually as Director of the Pike Design Group.You will probably remember Bruce’s distinct voice from his appearances on “The Lawn and Garden Show with Walter Reeves” Saturday mornings on Atlanta’s WSB radio.Bruce earned his landscape architecture degree from the University of Georgia. I’m excited for you to hear his can’t miss strategies that add value every time they’re applied.

We are at the beginning of Christmas season and it is time to display the Christmas Tree.Dr. Mel Koelling knows Christmas Trees.He and his wife Laurie have grown thousands of trees every year at Tannenbaum Farms in central Michigan.A nationally recognized expert in the Christmas Tree industry, Dr. Koelling taught and served in the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University for over 35 years.Tannenbaum Farms was purchased in 1977 as an extension of Dr. Koelling's professional interests and as a way to establish a college fund for his children. The first planting in 1978 covered three acres. Today, plantings cover approximately 100 acres of the 180-acre farm.I was introduced to Dr. Koelling through the fine folks at The National Christmas Tree Promotion Board. Their campaign It’s Christmas Keep It Real touch me.Christmas trees what a wonderful idea for an episode.It can take over 8 years to grow your tree so there is not really an off season on a Christmas Tree farm. We will hear right from the grower himself how to select and care for your live tree.We will also discover the story behind the first Christmas Tree and how the tradition grew.

It’s the details that matter when design, building, or maintaining your hardscape outdoor living spaces. Our guest for this episode, Aaron Phifer entered the hardscape industry in 2012. He is now the director of US Sales for Techniseal an industry leader and innovator for hardscape accessories. He talks about why properly built hardscapes should last multiple generations. We also discuss innovations that will stimulate your creative juices and make your next hardscape project easier to install. Arron reveals the focal point of his family’s future hardscape outdoor living space project. The story begins with a newly acquired championship size Japanese Maple.

Doug Scott’s path to his own landscape design firm is anything but typical.After earning a BA degree from Vanderbilt University and an MBA from Emory University he worked with several consulting firms.In his spare time Doug feed his true passions for family, the outdoors, and all things regarding landscape design. He began creating outdoor living spaces for friends that reflected how they wish to live.The positive family impacts encouraged him in his leap of faith in starting an exterior design studio Redeem Your Ground.Doug completed Emory University’s Landscape Design Program to complement his personal experience along with his natural abilities in design and client engagement.The “Why” behind Doug’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. Redeem Your Ground and his family's story have been featured in both Southern Living magazine & on a TV episode of Growing a Greener World. The Scott's family home & garden blog was also voted Best New Blog at the 2015 Garden Bloggers Conference.

You will often find David Brown studying plants in the gardens at Hills and Dales Estate.He seeks to acquire the perfect cutting for his amazing indoor arrangements. In our conversation he tells us how you may accomplish the same with your garden plants.Before coming to Hills & Dales Estate, David taught high school horticulture for 30 years and then was an adjunct instructor at Southern Crescent Technical College for 8 years. On top of all that he and his wife also owned and operated their own floral shop. David has a BS degree in Horticulture and Agriculture Education from Purdue University. Now he is the Greenhouse Manager and Floral Designer for Hills & Dales Estate where he is always applying his wealth of knowledge and creative expertise.

So much of Charles Daniel’s garden world revolves around camellias. In this episode he talks about how to be successful with Camellias and their surprising history.He shares why Camellias are a key plant for year-round blooms. We also talk about how to overcome garden challenges.This lawyer, banker, and successful business owner “retired” to his new passion for gardening. He reveals his journey that led him to the ongoing development and caring for some of the most unique gardens in Savannah, Georgia area.Charles is a University of Georgia Certified Plant Professional and a Georgia Certified Landscape Professional.This is episode 029 - Why Camellias Work in Your Garden with Charles Daniel on The Garden Question Podcast.

Dewayne Gallatin earned his nickname “King of Containers” while overseeing The Sibley Horticultural Center at Callaway Gardens.His primary horticultural focus today is managing and developing future projects for private gardens and estates. A close friend once suggested he enter a container gardening contest that ended up attracting over 1,000 entries. Little did he know a whole TV episode of PBS’s “The Southern Gardener” would be produced around his winning entry.He earned Horticulture Associates Degrees in Landscape Design, Ornamental Production, and Commercial Turf Management from ABAC Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College.He followed up those studies with internships at Chicago Botanic Garden and Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. 

For decades Eric King has been designing award-winning landscapes. By working with nature his designs encourage people to be outside.He is a landscape architect and co-owner of the residential design + build firm King Landscaping, which serves the Atlanta area.Eric often appears on local and national garden shows. He is a noted contributor for a variety of online and print media.King earned a master’s degree in landscape architecture from The University of Georgia and a MBA from Georgia State University.He is the founder of The Landscape Design Program at Emory Continuing Education Center.

Jutt Howard loves what he does. Every day is a new adventure when growing hundreds of acres of grass for your home and athletic venues.In this episode he talks about how you can be successful also. How years of constant research pursues the perfect sod. Also an amazing bald eagle story that happened right on his family’s farm. Jutt grew up in the landscape business and is now the VP of business operations for NG Turf. Since 2010 he has grown with the company and learned the values of producing high quality turf grasses.He serves as Chairmen of the Advisory Board for AGL. Advancing Georgia Leaders in Agriculture and Forestry which is a 2-year leadership program.He also serves as a board member of the (GCIA) Georgia Crop Improvement Association . They are responsible for Certification Programs involving crop seeds and turf grasses along with  Organic Certification Program.Jutt is a University of Georgia Certified Turf Grass Professional  and a 2010 University of West Georgia Marketing Degree Graduate.

Dr. Bethany Harris is the Director of Education at Callaway Gardens, where she oversees the Cecil B. Day Butterfly Center and the Callaway Gardens Discovery Center. She leads the horticultural educational programs and workshops for guests and visiting school children. She is also the Director of the Callaway Gardens Volunteer Program. Dr. Harris is passionate about teaching horticulture and pollinator roles in our environment along with the use of floral resources for insects. She has earned BS, MS, and PHD degrees in Horticulture and Entomology from the University of Georgia which makes her a “triple UGA dawg”.

Today we are having a conversation with Dr. Richard La Fleur about the importance of healing gardens. We will discover how they promote physical, mental, and spiritual healing as well as encourage self-care.Dr. La Fleur is an author, international speaker, researcher and educator in the discipline of Psychology at the University of West Georgia. He currently teaches various courses in Psychology and Integrative Healthcare.

This is episode 023 Lisa’s Garden Revealed on The Garden Question Podcast. A follow up to episode 22 Communicating Your Garden Ideas on Paper with Lisa Nunamaker. Lisa reveals her strategy in designing her new garden under the shade of massive white oak trees. She is an Award-winning designer, artist and educator. In this episode we will explore her garden and design effluences.Lisa is a master at teaching others how to communicate garden design and landscape graphic ideas on paper.Her website Paper Garden Workshop.com is a fun and spirited place to begin learning new amazing drawing and design technique. Lisa teaches her beautiful illustration skills and landscape design on her website and in the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University. Lisa also holds degrees in landscape architecture, is registered in the state of Iowa and formally served on the Association of Professional Landscape Designers National Board of Directors.

 Award-winning designer, artist and educator, Lisa Nunamaker is a master at teaching others how to communicate garden design and landscape graphic ideas on paper.Her website Paper Garden Workshop.com is a fun and spirited place to begin learning new amazing drawing and design technique. Lisa teaches her beautiful illustration skills on her website and in the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University. To top it off, Lisa also holds degrees in landscape architecture, is registered in the state of Iowa and formally served on the Association of Professional Landscape Designers National Board of Directors. 

Connie Cottingham and Mike Sikes’ garden is every plant collector’s fantasy. Each of their lifetime garden adventures are intertwined in their eclectic Athens Georgia garden. Connie is a landscape architect and a garden travel writer. She has gardened in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Georgia. Her weekly garden plants and advice email ‘Love Notes From the Garden’ are short, humorous, and informative. Mike is a horticulturist who is Georgia through and through. His garden world has included owning and operating retail garden centers, hosting a garden radio talk show, assisting with new plant introductions, and serving as President of the Georgia Master Gardeners. Together Connie and Mike offer talks and landscape consultations between discovering a new public garden. Facebook: Love Notes From The Garden

Mary Kay Woodworth talks about how to hire your next professional for your garden or landscape needs. In this episode she reveals some of the best questions to ask when qualifying your potential garden and landscape professional. Mary Kay serves as the Executive director of the Georgia Urban Ag Council. The UAC organization is composed of Landscape, Garden and Turf professionals that advocate, educate, and promote the green industry in the state of Georgia. UAC represents one of the largest and most successful industries in Georgia. With more than $9 billion in sales, 8,000 companies, and more than 100,000 employees She is almost a native Georgian, living here since she was 8 years old. An avid gardener, she has Georgia soil, temperature and plant varieties (mostly) figured out, but learning to landscape and garden with husband Mark at their second home in New Hampshire planting zone 4b is a new challenge! This is Episode 22 Hiring a Professional for Your Next Garden Project of The Garden Question Podcast.

0019 - The Great Georgia Pollinator Census - Becky Griffin Becky Griffin knows pollinators count. Now she wants you to count the pollinators in the The Great Georgia Pollinator Census Being a self-confessed “Geeky Kid” with a great love for insects she wore out the bee book in her local library. Now Becky is the coordinator of The Great Georgia Pollinator Census taking place this year on August 20th and 21st, 2021. Putting good food on your table is no accident. In this episode we will find out how good insects and their supporting habitat make a difference. Becky tells us the simple method for collecting important data to be used by the University of Georgia researchers. This valuable data reveals pollinator trends and is needed to conduct economic valuation studies of pollination. Becky is a Georgia Certified Beekeeper and works with community and school gardeners to increase beneficial insect habitat. She is also part of UGA's Native Plants and Beneficial Insect Working Group and hosts “The Great Georgia Pollinator Podcast” This is a back-to-back episode featuring our guest Becky Griffin the Community and School Garden Coordinator for The University of Georgia Extension. You will want to hear episode 18 “Gardening with Children” when you finish this episode 19 of The Garden Question Podcast. Connect with Becky: Becky Griffin is the Community and School Garden Coordinator for University of Georgia Extension. Website: The Great Georgia Pollinator Census Facebook Group: The Great Georgia Pollinator Census Certify your pollinator habitat: Connect To Protect Program