Ben O'Brien on Wild by Design (#35)
In this month's episode of The Plantastic Podcast, I talk with Ben O’Brien to explore his journey into naturalistic planting design. Ben shares how his rural upbringing and a transformative visit to the High Line sparked his passion for blending wild and cultural landscapes. We dive into his innovative grit planting trials, where he tested growing plants in recycled materials with minimal inputs, and the lessons he's learned over a decade of practice. Ben emphasizes the importance of soil, plant layers, and long-term management in creating resilient, biodiverse landscapes. We also talk balancing parenthood and horticulture, how using drones helps him as a designer, and more. Whether you're a professional designer or a curious gardener, Ben's insights on embracing creativity and science in planting design are inspiring and actionable. Enjoy the show!
The Plantastic Podcast · Jared Barnes, Ben O'Brien
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Show Notes
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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 properties and urban public spaces. Ben's trial garden research explores innovative ways to create beautiful, biodiverse and resilient designed plant communities.
Ben has presented a webinar specifically focused on his trials for Garden Masterclass (UK), and appeared on their popular "Thursday Garden Chat" interview series. He has been a speaker for horticultural societies and professional landscape audiences across Ontario, and has written articles for the Ecological Landscape Alliance, the American Society of Landscape Architects' Professional Practice blog and Ground Magazine, published by the Ontario Association of Landscape Architects. You can learn more about Ben by visiting his instagram Wild by Design and his website Wild by Design, where he has multiple resources about grit gardening and the plant list.
THE PLANTASTIC PODCAST
The Plantastic Podcast is a monthly podcast created by Dr. Jared Barnes. He's been gardening since he was five years old and now is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. To say hi and find the show notes, visit theplantasticpodcast.com.
You can learn more about how Dr. Jared cultivates plants, minds, and life at meristemhorticulture.com. He also shares thoughts and cutting-edge plant research each week in his newsletter plant•ed, and you can sign up at meristemhorticulture.com/subscribe. Until next time, #keepgrowing!