26. Julie Witmer on Designing Gardens and Inspiring Minds

JULIE WITMER BIO

Julie Witmer works to create beautiful and ecologically sensitive gardens across the continental United States. She began in perennial production and garden nursery retail before earning a Certificate of Horticulture—Britain’s professional gardener qualification—from the Royal Horticultural Society in Wisley, UK. She is a popular local speaker, teaching classes for all ages, and is a published garden photographer in books by Timber Press, Kew Gardens, and Rodale. Her own garden, Havenwood, is nearly one acre and divided into fifteen diverse garden spaces which grow a wide variety and succession of plants throughout the year. 

With a keen eye for design and place, Julie has worked with private clients for nearly twenty years, helping them realize their own garden dreams, and providing one-on-one coaching in order to grow the skills of the gardener alongside their garden. She shares online classes and garden inspiration on her Substack Julie Witmer Gardens and Instagram at @juliewitmergardens. 

You can learn more about Julie by visiting her website juliewitmer.com.

SHOW NOTES

  • How her passion for plants started while working at a local retail nursery after college and her transformational experience with plants, propagation, and gardening books

  • Julie credits Christopher Lloyd and Beth Chatto for shaping her early gardening philosophy

  • A favorite quote from Gertrude Jekyll in the Wooden Garden about the endless learning in gardening:

“I have learned so much. And I’m always learning from other people’s gardens. And the lesson I have learned most early is to never say, I know there is so infinitely much. To learn and the conditions of different gardens vary so greatly, even when soil and situation appear to be alike, and they are in the same district. Nature is such a subtle chemist that one never knows what she’s about and what surprises she may have in store for us.”

Insights from Charlotte Mason on nature study and fostering a love for plants in children

“Let them once get in touch with nature and a habit is formed, which will be a source of delight through life. We were all meant to be naturalists, each in his degree. And it is inexcusable to live in a world so full of the marvels of plants and animal life and to care for none of these things.”

  • Working at the nursery, Julie discovered her ability to solve complex problems with plants

  • Julie reflects on her college journey, transitioning from biochemistry to teaching

  • Teaching botany to her children and homeschooling

  • The creativity of table studies

  • Julie explains her locally based design business and her passion for helping families create better spaces with plants.

  • Her experience pursuing the RHS professional gardening certificate long-distance.

  • The importance of viewing the entire outdoor space as a garden, not just specific areas.

  • The emotional aspect of gardening and her role in helping clients navigate design decisions.

  • Julie recounts a project in Ohio where she helped a family overcome strife with neighbors through thoughtful garden design.

  • Julie emphasizes the uniqueness of each garden, highlighting that no two gardens are identical

  • Being honest about one's garden, expectations, strengths, and constraints is crucial.

  • The importance of aligning the garden with the gardener's desires and the environment.

  • Layering in garden design to create diversity, interest, and complexity by incorporating various elements such as trees, shrubs, perennials, annuals, bulbs, groundcovers, and self-seeding plants

  • Discovering wildflower treasures once mowing stopped

  • The Erythronium post Julie references

  • Sharing her knowledge through writing, teaching classes, and engaging with gardening communities

  • Her daily routine of walking around the garden, observing plants, pests, and seasonal changes to help her with planning, problem-solving, and documenting the garden's progress

  • Julie’s approach to Japanese beetles

  • Her commitment to continuous learning from her garden and other horticulturists like Fergus Garrett

  • The North American Friends of Great Dixter

  • Her three main methods of note-taking: using photos, journaling, and using post-it notes

  • Julie reflects on how her garden plan, made a decade ago, has evolved over time.

  • favorite books that inspire her: Christopher Lloyd’s Succession Planting for Adventurous Gardeners, Beth Chatto’s Woodland Garden, The Well-Gardened Mind by Sue Stewart-Smith, which explores the therapeutic effects of gardening, and The Grove by Ben Dark, which combines humor and historical plant knowledge.

  • The challenges of gardening in a cold climate (zone 5) .

  • Julie discusses the myth that perennial mixed borders require more work than maintaining a lawn.

  • The lack of knowledge about complex habitats in gardens for biodiversity

  • How to propagate horticulturists by making gardening accessible, instilling a love for plants early on through exposure and hands-on experiences, and empowering families to design and live in their gardens

  • You can learn more about Julie by connecting with her on Instagram (@JulieWitmerGardens), through her Substack newsletter (juliewitmergardens.substack.com), and her design website (juliewitmer.com).

25. Scott Beuerlein on Zoos and Botanic Gardens

Scott Beuerlein Biography

Scott Beuerlein is the Manager of Botanical Garden Outreach at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden. He runs the Zoo’s Botanical Garden educational programs, including three symposiums. He is involved in most of the department’s other outreach and with the plant trialing.  

Scott is a 1982 graduate of Xavier University, earning a B.A. in Communication Arts. He is an ONLA Certified Landscape Technician and an ISA Certified Arborist.  Scott is also a garden writer and horticultural speaker. He has published hundreds of articles and columns in several gardening and green industry publications. He currently pens two columns in each issue of Horticulture Magazine—the (usually, hopefully!) humorous Deep Roots column and the Garden Views series of interviews. Scott is a partner in the long running and highly respected GardenRant blog and posts about twice a month, including a spirited and sometimes passive-aggressive sparring of wits with garden writer Marianne Wilburn in a series of letters.   

Scott has received the following recognition for his horticultural efforts:

  • 2022 Silver Medal for blogs from the International Association of Garden Communicators 

  • 2020 Silver Medal for Magazine Article from the International Association of Garden Communicators 

  • 2020, Garden Clubs of America’s Club Horticulture Commendation

  • 2019, two Gold Medals for articles from the International Association of Garden Communicators 

  • 2019, the Civic Garden Center of Cincinnati’s Building Community Award

  • 2018, the Citation Award from the Garden Clubs of Ohio 

  • 2018, the Johnny Appleseed Award from Taking Root

  • 2015, named “One to Watch” by Cincinnati Magazine

  • In 2012, his garden received the Garden Recognition Award from the Cincinnati Horticulture Society

Scott is the currently serving as:

  • Board Member of Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum

  • Chair of the Boone County Arboretum Collections Committee

  • Member of the Cincinnati Urban Forestry Board

  • Member of the Green Industry Conference committee 

  • Member of the Perennial Plant Association’s Education Committee

  • Judge on the 2021 GardenComm Awards Committee 

Previously, Scott has served as:

  • Chairman of Taking Root, a tree planting initiative

  • Chairman of the Cincinnati Flower Growers Association

  • President of the Northern Kentucky Urban and Community Forestry Council

Learn more about Scott by visiting his website, by reading his articles on GardenRant and Horticulture Magazine, and learning from the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden's website where there are additional resources, including event details, trialing program brochures, and the plant for pollinators initiative.

SHOW NOTES

  • The early passion for plants from a family of gardeners, and that passion rekindled when he had his first house

  • Starting a landscape company and eventually delving deeper into ornamental horticulture

  • Leaving Delta Airlines in 2008 to pursue his passion full-time and led him to his current role at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden

  • The prevalence of second-career individuals in horticulture and their diverse experiences

  • Pretending to teach people about plants as a kid

  • His role at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden involves communication, teaching, and sharing the importance of horticulture with the world

  • A shoutout to Steve Foltz

  • The success of symposiums at the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden and the importance of information exchange within the horticultural community.

  • Plant trials to assess the success of various plants in their urban environment

  • Soil improvement techniques include removing heavy subsoil clay, backfilling with commercial topsoil blended with sand and compost, and creating raised beds

  • The importance of not walking on the soil to maintain its loose structure and achieve rapid plant establishment.

  • The commercial blend for topsoil typically includes clay, sand, and pine fines, with a focus on planting heavily and using liquid fertilizers for initial establishment.

  • How limited space led to a unique display/trial approach

  • The addition of a two-acre botanical garden on a nearby school campus at Rockdale Academy in Avondale and how it provided room for more scientific, side-by-side plant trialing

  • The zoo's involvement in community projects with projects funded by local organizations

  • Core principles of horticulture and zoos including diversity of projects, doing projects the same way each time, and use of shade trees

  • How horticulture is involved in planning for new projects at the zoo

  • Creating a sense of place for zoo exhibits

  • How the zoo uses plants to keep animals happy

  • The story of Fiona the hippo

  • How more zoos should integrate horticulture more

  • The significance of ArbNet accreditation levels based on collections, policies, education programs, and research, highlighting their achievement of level four on the first try.

  • Botanical Gardens Conservation International (BGCI)

  • Scott’s approach to writing and his contributions to GardenRant and Horticulture Magazine

  • Scott's interview column in Horticulture Magazine, where he engages with influential figures in horticulture and offers a sneak peek into the industry's professionals

  • Enjoying the gardening experience

  • The daily practice of walking through his garden to center himself, providing a quiet moment of reflection and appreciation for the work he has done.

  • The connection between people and plants

  • The impact of plants on hospital patients

  • How small actions like planting a pollinator garden or conservation at home can make a better environment

  • Favorite horticulture book is Hugh Johnson's Principles of Gardening, a comprehensive and readable book that covers the history, science, and various aspects of horticulture

  • The challenge of gardening with a bad back

  • Challenging the common belief that planting small trees results in faster and better growth compared to larger trees

  • The importance of sharing knowledge about soil and how success in gardening is strongly tied to the initial soil preparation and plant choice

  • How to propagate more horticulturists by exposing children to good horticulture through programs and community spaces

  • Learn more about Scott by visiting his website, by reading his articles on GardenRant and Horticulture Magazine, and learning from the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanic Garden's website where there are additional resources, including event details, trialing program brochures, and the plant for pollinators initiative.

24. Janet Draper on Creativity at Smithsonian Gardens

Janet Draper Bio

Janet Draper has been the sole gardener for Smithsonian’s Mary Livingston Ripley Garden for 26 years.   This tiny 1/3 of an acre garden is located on the National Mall and is open 24 hours a day to visitors from around the globe.  Janet’s roles in the garden include everything from design and maintenance to cleaning the fountain and answering questions from visitors.  Janet’s approach is to try to do something different every year to challenge herself and to keep educating visitors about the amazing diversity of plants! 

Janet was raised in a rural farming community in Indiana and always knew she wanted to do something with plants. She pursued a bachelor’s in horticulture from Purdue University in 1987. Afterwards, she sought addition training with a series of internships that took her further than she could ever have imagined. She worked at Mt. Cuba Center for the Study of Native Piedmont Plants in Greenville, Delaware before it was open to the public; Kurt Bluemel’s nursery in neighboring Maryland where she learned the European approach to running a nursery, the famed perennial nursery of Countess von Stein-Zeppelin in Germany’s Black Forest, and Beth Chatto at her amazing Nursery and Garden in Elmstead Market, England. 

Once back in the States, she continued to gain experience at numerous nurseries from Long Island to Illinois.  After nearly a decade of working in perennial nurseries, she then started putting plants in the ground instead of little black plastic pots as an estate gardener and contractor for Oehme van Sweden where she helped install and maintain their designs.  She also helped co-found the Annapolis Horticulture Society. You can learn more by visiting Smithsonian Gardens, by contacting Janet at her email address drapeja@si.edu, and by following Smithsonian Gardens on Instagram.

Show Notes

  • Janet shares childhood experiences with gardening and her family's influence and early fascination with growing plants like cotton, Job's Tears, and peanuts

  • Janet talks about studying horticulture at Purdue and the influence of early mentors

  • Recommendations to gain hands-on experience and pursue internships

  • Her first internship at Mt. Cuba Center

  • Valuable lessons learned at Kurt Blumel Nursery

  • Lessons on learning plants and the importance of saying "I don't know"

  • Differences in horticulture education between the US and Europe and changes she would make

  • American Landscape Institute (ALI)

  • Her time in Germany working at Helen von Stein-Zeppelin’s nursery

  • The importance of hands-on learning and being open to new experiences

  • Working at Beth Chatto’s Plants and Gardens

  • Meeting Christopher Lloyd and seeing exciting colors at Great Dixter

  • Contrasting Beth Chatto and Christopher Lloyd’s approaches to combining plants

  • Discussing the influence of both Beth's naturalistic approach and Christopher's bold use of color

  • Janet discusses bouncing between different horticultural roles and eventually moving to Annapolis

  • Founding the Annapolis Horticulture Society and its continued success

  • The transition from private estate work to the public setting of the National Mall

  • The story of the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden at Smithsonian Gardens and how it used to be a road

  • How the garden was designed as raised planters for handicapped accessibility

  • Janet’s approach to garden planning, emphasizing color coordination, texture, and form by flying by the seat of her pants

  • Combining plants with a triangulation method by starting with a core plant, then adding three plants for texture, repeating the process to build outwards

  • Experimenting with new and unique plant varieties

  • Challenges and benefits of planning and adjusting on the go

  • Janet's Access database for tracking plants and their characteristics

  • Challenges during President Obama's first inauguration and how support from community, volunteers, industry friends, and the public led to restoration

  • Increased activity on social media to reach a broader audience by sharing knowledge, beauty, and the joy of gardening with the public

  • Janet's day-to-day adventures and how the garden dictates what needs to be done

  • The dynamic nature of public horticulture and the joy of working in the garden

  • The challenge of keeping the garden fresh and interesting after many years and adapting to the changing climate and finding plants that thrive in the heat and humidity of Washington, D.C.

  • The myth of closing down the garden in winter

  • How gardening is an evolving science

  • Planting what is not in your neighbor’s yard and oaks and embracing diversity

  • Janet shares her passion for the Perennial Plant Association, emphasizing its role in fostering collaboration, information sharing, and learning within the horticulture industry

  • How to propagate more horticulturists by finding passionate people and youth interested in plants and investing in them

  • Learn more by visiting Smithsonian Gardens , contact Janet at her email address drapeja@si.edu, and follow Smithsonian Gardens on Instagram.

23. David Hoffman on Grasses and Green Infrastructure

David Hoffman Bio

David Hoffman is Chief Operating Officer at Hoffman Nursery, Inc. in Rougemont, N.C. Hoffman Nursery is a wholesale nursery specializing in ornamental and native grass liners for the horticultural trade. David grew up on the nursery, which was started in 1986 by his parents, John and Jill. In 2012, David earned his horticulture degree from NC State University. After a two-year internship at Stauden Peters Nursery in Germany, David returned to Hoffman Nursery, where he applied his experience with European automation and quality control techniques. In 2022, David assumed the role of Chief Operating Officer of Hoffman Nursery. He oversees long range strategic planning and the management of operations, sales and marketing, IT, and HR. This position involves decisions and communications across all sectors of the nursery and nursery-managed properties. He is passionate about the role grasses, sedges, and other plants play in nature-based solutions for sustainable environmental management and resilience.

David is a member of the various organizations including Perennial Plant Association (PPA), International Plant Propagator’s Society (IPPS), AmericanHort, American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), and North Carolina Nursery and Landscape Association (NCNLA). In addition to serving on the board of the JC Raulston Arboretum, David has been honored with the Perennial Plant Association’s Young Professional Award, NC State University’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award, NCNLA’s Bill Wilder Outstanding Young Nursery Professional Award, and a 40 Under 40 Award from Greenhouse Product News.  You can learn more about him by visiting his website hoffmannursery.com or their LinkedIn page Hoffman Nursery.

Show Notes

  • A discussion with David was the origin of the idea for The Plantastic Podcast

  • David's passion for plants is rooted in the family business with a childhood spent exploring gardens and nurseries eventually leading to David's current role at Hoffman Nursery

  • Insights from his time at NC State, including the importance of learning from failures, the power of travel, and networking during his horticulture club experiences

  • Superseed at NC State

  • Learning from failures and adapting to unexpected challenges like weather events

  • David discusses his internship in Germany at Stauden Peters and talks about the differences in plant production and automation.

  • Recognition of horticulturists like Cassian Schmidt, Karl Foerster, and Piet Oudolf in increasing awareness of grasses

  • Observations on European growers' practices, including closer plant spacing and streamlined sizes

  • Returning to Hoffman Nursery, a family-owned business specializing in grasses and sedges

  • The nursery's focus on consistency, innovation, and adaptability

  • The importance of consistent improvement, asking the right questions, and embracing curiosity in the nursery business

  • The concept of asking five why questions to get to the root cause of issues

  • Teaching a class on nursery production and core principles to take away

  • Consistency, curiosity, and adaptability as core principles for running a successful nursery business

  • The importance of recognizing and addressing problems promptly to ensure plant health

  • A discussion on grasses as the understory of plant populations and how adaptable they are to various ecosystems worldwide

  • The resilience, adaptability, and ecological importance of grasses, including their role in fire-prone ecosystems

  • Emphasis on the importance of considering ecosystem benefits and native habitats and balancing the introduction of non-native species with preserving local ecosystems.

  • The distinctions between warm-season and cool-season grasses

  • Practical considerations for planting and dividing warm-season grasses.

  • The significance of green infrastructure in managing water and preserving ecology.

  • Research from Dr. Helen Krauss and Rebecca (Pledger) Turk’s work on evaluating rain gardens for remediation

  • Challenges and common pitfalls in implementing green infrastructure projects.

  • Small-scale initiatives for homeowners to contribute to green infrastructure. Ideas include rain gardens, bioswales, and meadows for managing stormwater.

  • Exploring the broader impact of green infrastructure on wildlife habitats like wildlife highways and pollinator pathways

  • David shares various methods to stay up to date, including attending nursery events, trade shows, and industry-specific gatherings.

  • Green Roofs for Healthy Cities and Cities Alive, emphasizing community involvement in green infrastructure

  • Visiting Brooklyn Grange

  • Discussion on regional events like Beyond Our Backyard hosted by Keep Durham Beautiful, promoting collaboration among municipalities and landscape contractors.

  • Mention of the importance of local events in fostering community engagement and environmental stewardship.

  • Insights into David's diverse media consumption, including trade magazines like Grower Talks and Greenhouse Management, and e-newsletters.

  • Encouragement to explore information beyond horticulture, including podcasts like Farnam Street's Knowledge Project.

  • David discusses the challenges of maintaining a daily routine for staying updated.

  • Insights into the use of calendars, task lists, note-taking, and whiteboards to manage time effectively and brainstorm.

  • A candid discussion on David's reading habits, including attempts at journaling and exploring different book formats.

  • David’s favorite books like Clear Thinking by Shane Parrish, Predictably Irrational by Dan Ariely, and The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson

  • Memorable encounters with grass installations, including the High Line in New York, Duke University’s Blomquist Piedmont Prairie, Lurie Garden in Chicago, and tied up grasses in the Netherlands

  • Visiting Appeltern Adventure Gardens in the Netherlands for inspiration

  • Propagating more horticulturists with an emphasis on education as a key tool for spreading plant knowledge and fostering curiosity, acknowledging of initiatives like Seed Your Future's Green Career Week, and the potential impact of job shadowing opportunities.

  • How to connect with David Hoffman and Hoffman Nursery via their website or LinkedIn

22. Susan Poizner on Growing Fruit Trees

SUSAN POIZNER BIO

Susan Poizner is an urban orchardist in Toronto, Canada and the author of Grow Fruit Trees Fast and Growing Urban Orchards. Susan trains new growers worldwide through her award-winning fruit tree care training program at Orchardpeople.com. Susan is also the host of The Urban Forestry Radio Show and Podcast and an ISA Certified Arborist.

SHOW NOTES

  • Susan shares her journey into the world of plants and how her passion developed

  • The pursuit of a certificate in horticulture

  • Her interest evolved into a focus on fruit trees and how planting fruit trees in a public park helped fuel her interest

  • The practice of mulching fruit trees with compost or manure in the early spring

  • The cylces in fruit tree growth

  • The importance of proper pruning for fruit trees.

  • How pruning helps create a strong tree structure and improves fruit production and the timing to encourage growth or slow it down.

  • Getting over the fear of pruning

  • Seeing that fruit trees require an ongoing partnership and how fruit trees need humans to thrive

  • Maintaining nutrition in urban soils is essential for fruit tree health

  • The need to protect fruit trees from pests and diseases and researching and choosing the right fruit tree varieties

  • Holistic sprays as alternatives to chemical pesticides made using simple household items

  • Using holistic sprays for fruit trees

  • Fruit trees sharing resources with soil organisms, creating a mutually beneficial cycle

  • Who is researching holistic sprays like The North American Fruit Explorers and her podcast guests

  • Lessons learned writing her two books Grow Fruit Trees Fast and Growing Urban Orchards

  • Intercropping in orchards and the importance of creating biodiverse environments around fruit trees

  • Pollinator gardens and insectary gardens to support beneficial insects

  • How cover crops can enhance soil health and provide long-term benefits

  • Remedial wood chips, or fungal-oriented mulch, mimic natural processes in forest ecosystems

  • Experimentation and further research are encouraged to optimize orchard management practices

  • Susan hosting The Urban Forestry Radio Show and Podcast discusses various topics related to fruit trees

  • Some favorite episodes featuring holistic sprays with Nigel Palmer and John Kempf.

  • The importance of storytelling in education

  • Susan believes in the power of community, accountability, and planning with orchard management

  • Nigel Palmer’s book The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments

  • Cultivating more gardeners through community involvement

  • Susan's website, orchardpeople.com, offers access to her podcast, articles, and courses and she has a YouTube channel, too

21. Bryce Lane on the Craft of Teaching Horticulture

BRYCE LANE BIOGRAPHY

Bryce Lane discovered his passion for plants and telling others about them working at a small Massachusetts garden center through high school and college. After earning his BS in Plant Science at the University of Massachusetts and MS in Ornamental Horticulture at The Ohio State University, he came to the Department of Horticultural Science at NC State University as a lecturer in 1981. Bryce also served as the department’s Undergraduate Coordinator from 1987 to 2014. He spent 34 years teaching and advising over 20,000 students. He was the recipient of numerous local, regional, and national teaching awards. Bryce retired in 2014, but still teaches part-time in the department.

From 2003 to 2014 Bryce hosted and produced a three-time, Emmy winning, UNC TV public television show called In the Garden With Bryce Lane. The show focused on all things home gardening and served all levels of gardeners.

He now spends his time giving horticulture talks, doing leadership, and communication training, teaching part-time at NC State, and at the JC Raulston Arboretum. He has worked closely for years with North Carolina Extension and the NC Nursery and Landscape Association. An avid gardener, Bryce has gardened on the same one quarter acre plot for 40 years. He and his wife of 46 years also spend plenty of time with their 6 grandchildren. You can find out more about Bryce by visiting his website.

SHOW NOTES

  • Early exposure to plants by spending time outside

  • His passion for plants and developing soft skills by working at a local nursery in Massachusetts called Hadley Garden Center

  • Encouragement to go to graduate school and what mentors saw

  • Experiences in teaching at The Ohio State University and working with Dr. Steven Still

  • The decision to not pursue a PhD and advice for students

  • Rising from lecturer to undergraduate program coordinator at NC State

  • Honing the craft of teaching students with tools, techniques, and artistry

  • Early criticism from other professors over his teaching style

  • Core skills for improving teaching others about plants

  • Motivation and creating an environment where if students choose to engage they will learn

  • The power of story and the importance of authenticity

  • His friendship with the late JC Raulston, JC’s role as a teacher and observational scientist, and naming Styrax japonicus ‘Emerald Pagoda’

  • Fostering curiosity and bringing a chainsaw into the classroom

  • Having a roadmap as an educator, and the minutiae of teaching techniques like outlines, analogies, and Powerpoint

  • Teaching in retirement and hosting gardening classes with the JC Raulston Arboretum

  • Lessons learned from transitioning online during COVID

  • Hosting and producing In the Garden with Bryce Lane for 10 years and winning three Midsouth Regional Emmy Awards

  • How Bryce approaches goals and objectives

  • Using Google and apps to learn about plants

  • Soil Science for Gardeners: Working with Nature to Build Soil Health by Robert Pavlis

  • The myth of how much plant growth/dry weight comes from photosynthesis versus the soil

  • Propagating more horticulturists by not holding back and sharing plants with children

  • You can find out more about Bryce by visiting his website.

20. Molly Hendry on Telling Stories with Gardens

MOLLY HENDRY BIO

Molly toggles the worlds of design and plants as both a trained horticulturist and landscape architect. Up through July 2023, she was the Associate Director of Gardens Support for the Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens for 5 and a half years. There she was actively involved in the horticultural and design development of the 26 unique gardens that make up Birmingham Botanical Gardens. She was also a key support player in the renewal of the Gardens's master plan, in addition to managing ongoing garden projects. Since recording the podcast, 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. With this studio, Molly is most interested in the intersection between people and places. She loves designing gardens for "hands in the dirt" gardeners, focusing on how design is not just a masterplan on a piece of paper, but an ongoing dialogue between a person and a place... often with a spade in hand! One of her top honors is that she spent 10 months living in the UK, sinking her hands into the soil at some of the top gardens across the country as the Garden Club of America's 2016–2017 Royal Horticultural Society's Interchange Fellow. You can learn more about Molly by visiting her website Roots and Ramblings and by following her on Instagram @mollshendry.

SHOW NOTES

  • Molly on her childhood spent outdoors

  • Encouragement from her parents to pursue landscape architecture 

  • Molly’s focus on horticulture and landscape architecture at Auburn University

  • The impact of study abroad trips on Molly and the stories she learned about gardens

  • How Rousham deeply touched Molly

  • Molly’s internship at Winterthur and a valuable lesson learned

  • Experiences while being the Garden Club of America's 2016-2017 Royal Horticultural Society's Interchange Fellow

  • Shadowing Nigel Dunnett and James Hitchmough to learn about naturalistic planting and how to think differently about plants and gardening

  • Time at Great Dixter and lessons learned from Fergus Garrett

  • Fergus’s sketches and mind maps

  • Molly’s roll as Associate Director of Gardens Support for the Friends of Birmingham Botanical Gardens

  • Thoughts on how to illicit emotions in gardens

  • The analogy of garden design with Salt Fat Acid Heat by Samin Nosrat

  • Molly’s approach to designing gardens and questions she asks clients

  • How writing helps Molly be a better gardener and how she reviews her thoughts on New Year’s Day

  • Using the app Notability in the field and Google drive

  • Favorite books including Anne of Green Gables and Russell Page’s Education of a Gardener

  • The myth that we can’t garden the same as the English do

  • Molly’s favorite ice cream flavors

  • Propagating horticulturists by bringing in the human element and engaging with children

  • Learn more about Molly by visiting her website Roots and Ramblings and by following her on Instagram @mollshendry

19. Matt Biggs on a Home for Every Plant

MATT BIGGS BIO

Matt Biggs, a graduate of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, is a well-known British gardener, broadcaster, and author of fifteen gardening and plant related books.

He has presented numerous television programs, notably Channel 4’s Garden Club, stepped behind the camera to direct Meridian Television’s popular gardening series Grass Roots and worked as Horticultural Consultant for a garden design series on Channel 5.

Matt contributes to several magazines, including the Royal Horticultural Society Journal The Garden, BBC Gardeners’ World, Countryfile, and Gardens Illustrated and leads gardening tours worldwide.

He lectures at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Oxford University Botanic Gardens, the Cookery School of Michelin starred chief Jean-Christophe Novelli, and is course Director of the Plants and Plantsmanship course at the English Gardening School.

Matt is also a regular panelist on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Gardener’s Question Time’.  You can learn more about Matt by visiting his website. 

SHOW NOTES

18. Leslie Halleck, Professional Plant Everythingist

LESLIE HALLECK BIO 

Leslie Halleck is a Certified Professional Horticulturist (ASHS) who has spent her 30-year career hybridizing horticulture science with home gardening consumer needs. Halleck earned a BS in Biology/Botany from the University of North Texas and an MS in Horticulture from Michigan State University. Halleck’s professional experience is well rounded, with time spent in botanical field research, public gardens, landscape design and maintenance, garden writing, garden center retail, and horticulture and green industry consulting. For the last decade Halleck has devoted herself full-time to running her company, Halleck Horticultural, LLC, a horticulture industry consulting and marketing agency. Halleck also coaches horticulture industry business owners, from larger established businesses to brand new Plantrepreneurs. Halleck has developed and teaches courses on indoor plants and botany for UCLA Extension since 2020.

Halleck currently sits on the certification board for ASHS and the Leadership Advisory Committee for Resource Innovation Institute (supporting the CEA and cannabis sectors).  She also holds certificates in “The Science and Technology of Medical Cannabis Cultivation” from Utah State and two certificates in “Women in Leadership” from Cornell University.

Halleck’s previous positions include Director of Horticulture Research at the Dallas Arboretum and General Manager for North Haven Gardens, an independent garden center in Dallas, Texas. Halleck is a regular feature on the professional speaking and industry publication circuit and was a columnist at Garden Center Magazine, Greenhouse Management Magazine, and Produce Grower Magazine for almost a decade; but she also continues to offer up common-sense gardening advice and hands-on learning to home gardeners via her Plantgeek Chic blog, public workshops, and consumer publications. During her career, Halleck has written hundreds of articles for local, regional, and national publications, as well as taught countless gardening programs for the home houseplant keeper, indoor grower, flower gardener, edible enthusiast, and backyard farmer.

Halleck is the author of Gardening Under Lights: The Complete Guide for Indoor Growers (2018), Plant Parenting: Easy Ways to Make More Houseplants, Vegetables, and Flowers (2019), and Tiny Plants: Discover the Joys of Growing and Collecting Itty Bitty Houseplants (2021).

Halleck is an avid lifelong plant and gardening “everythingist” who prefers low-input “fluffy” landscapes and gardens as well as dense high-output vegetable gardening (both indoors and out!). She’s obsessed with tiny plants and tiny chihuahuas. Halleck is also an artist who creates botanical and nature-focused work in watercolor, colored pencil, printmaking, as well as digital illustration. You can find her artwork and more at her website Halleck Horticultural.

SHOW NOTES

  • Leslie’s office Hoya cumingiana growth (which she encouraged me to share a photo of below)

17. Ann Amato, Seedstress of the Pacific Northwest

ANN AMATO BIO

Ann Amato lives in Portland, Oregon and is a horticulturist and seed propagator at Cistus Nursery and a propagator at Secret Garden Growers in Canby, Oregon. At 18, she published the book Ancient Forests and Western Man: A Pictorial History of the West Coast. Later, she earned a bachelors of arts from Portland State University with a double major in English literature and art history. She has been a garden blogger (amateurbotannist.com) for over a decade and is the recipient of an Oregon Nurseries Foundation Scholarship. Currently, she is the President of the Mount Hood Gesneriad Society, an affiliated chapter of The Gesneriad Society. She been featured in horticulture media like Garden Time TV, The Planthunter in Australia, and the podcast Horticulture Rising. When not working, she tends to her indoor houseplant collection at home where she has over 500 different plants in her indoor collection, many of which are either gesneriads or begonias. She also tends to her small urban garden named Campiello Maurizio: the Garden of One-of-each-ee. You can learn more about Ann by visiting her website Amateur Bot-ann-ist, her store Spiffy Seeds, Facebook, and Instagram.

SHOW NOTES

  • Ann’s early experiences with nature in the Pacific Northwest, being mentored by plant enthusiasts, and experiences with her dad

  • Ann’s pursuit of biology at Lewis and Clark College and health issues with hereditary angioedema

  • Publishing Ancient Forests and Western Man: A Pictorial History of the West Coast in college

  • Shifting to studying art history

  • Ann’s interest in critical theory in art history and horticulture

  • Inspiration from the gardens at The Huntington

  • Becoming a propagator at Cistus Nursery and roles at Secret Garden Growers

  • Plants as a solace during her illness

  • Ann’s interest in how people and society engages with plants

  • Landscapes in art history and mimicry

  • “When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer” by Walt Whitman

  • The title of Seedstress and the pleasures of germinating seeds

  • Caring about where plants were propagated

  • Different germination stations for seeds

  • Core lessons about germinating seeds including it is complicated, it takes time, success is variable, understanding percentage germinated, and how too much care can lead to failure

  • Deciding on what media to use for seed germination

  • How environmental conditions can influence germination

  • How to experiment sowing seeds by talking to colleagues and societies, splitting batches up, and using chemicals

  • Smoke treating seed

  • Note taking about seed germination in Excel

  • Deciding what seed to sow

  • The epiphany that horticulture is social and the effects of temperature and light on seed growth

  • Staying current from friends that share knowledge with her

  • Underused plants including Begonia, Petunia, and grandma plants

  • The myth that her job is a dream job

  • Why Ann writes in her blog Amateur Bot-ann-ist

  • Being inspired by Beth Chatto’s book The Dry Garden and field guides

  • Propagating more horticulturists by better communication and encouraging more professionalism about gardening

  • Connecting with Ann on her blog Amateur Bot-ann-ist, her store Spiffy Seeds, Facebook, and Instagram

16. Greg Paige on Being a Public Garden Rockstar

GREG PAIGE BIO

Greg Paige discovered his career goal early—creating and working in beautiful public gardens and sharing and teaching this passion with others. Greg currently serves as the Director of Horticulture at the JC Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, North Carolina. Greg has had a storied life in public horticulture. His 30-year career involved work at some of the finest gardens in the country including Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory as Director of Horticulture and Arboretum Curator, Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in Belmont, North Carolina, the Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina, the Holden Arboretum outside Cleveland, Ohio, and the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden in Cincinnati, Ohio.

You can learn more about Greg by visiting him at the JC Raulston Arboretum, watching videos from his work at the arboretum, and following him on Instagram.

SHOW NOTES

  • How his grandmother inspired him through books and his mother encouraged him to be outside

  • Pursuing a career in plants with a associates degree in forestry and working at an army munitions plant

  • Pursuing horticulture at Virginia Tech

  • Eye opening experiences doing an internship at Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Garden and working with Steve Foltz

  • Advice for non-traditional students returning to school

  • Holden Arboretum curatorial internship and lessons about database curation, plant conservation, and plant explorations

  • Developing skills at a cemetery in Wilmington, Delaware

  • Experiences at The Scott Arboretum of Swarthmore College and lessons about integrated pest management and volunteers

  • Lessons at Biltmore estate and the walled garden with color plantings

  • Admiration for the Appalachian mountains

  • Returning south to Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden and working with Douglas Ruhren and lessons about succession of bloom

  • Becoming Director of Horticulture and Arboretum Curator at Bartlett Tree Research Laboratory

  • Experiments and the research component at the Bartlett lab

  • Lessons learned about tree planting

  • Exploring planting prairies at Bartlett lab to reduce management and increase biodiversity

  • A new opportunity at the JC Raulston Arboretum

  • Systems and processes like setting alarms, bringing intelligent people into projects and having conversations, self care and running

  • The clipboard system learned from Andrew Bunting and using colored manila folders

  • How Greg moves projects forward at botanic gardens

  • Staying current in horticulture by attending conferences and talking to colleagues

  • Underused plants like shrubs (Deutzia and Hydrangea quercifolia) and more diverse urban trees

  • Greg’s knowledge about tree planting, how people shouldn’t prune, and bagging grass clippings and leaves

  • Myth busting pruning and how you can prune trees when the blade is sharp (i.e. anytime) and that you shouldn’t bag leaves

  • Books that Greg Paige returns to including Michael Dirr Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, Harrison Flint’s Landscape Plants for Eastern North America, Kelly Norris’s New Naturalism, and Thomas Rainer and Claudia West’s Planting in a Post-wild World

  • Propagating horticulturists including engaging with students and engaging with audiences

  • You can learn more about Greg by visiting him at the JC Raulston Arboretum, watching videos from his work at the arboretum, and following him on Instagram.

15. Mary Phillips on Gardening for Wildlife

MARY PHILLIPS BIO

For eight years, Mary has led Garden for Wildlife™ and Certified Wildlife Habitat® as an ambassador for native plants with the National Wildlife Federation. Her work ensures all habitat programs and resources are rooted in sustainable practices and the latest science. 

Mary’s love for wildflowers comes naturally. As a child, she discovered trillium, dogtooth violets, spring beauties, bluebells and the wildlife around them near her family’s Ohio home. Years later, she introduced her children to these same native plants along the Sligo Creek trail in Maryland. Recently, she has seen many of these essential early spring ephemerals squeezed out by invasive, non-native plants. This personal experience fuels the passion for her work.

Mary’s strategic leadership aligns the Garden for Wildlife mission across National Wildlife Federation’s (NWF) internal teams, habitat initiatives, partner networks and external messaging. She collaborates with leading entomologists, pollinator conservationists, federal agencies, NWF’s naturalists and trend researchers to provide substantive content, such as, keystone native plant lists for NWF’s Native Plant Finder™, Garden for Wildlife content, and Spanish language resources. This cross functional strategy has fostered public participation among millions of wildlife gardeners, more than doubled certifications, increased science and civic partnerships and created a Garden for Wildlife state network.

Under her leadership, in coordination with the White House Office of Science and Policy, NWF coordinated the National Pollinator Garden Network in 2015 to launch the Million Pollinator Garden Challenge which created over a million pollinator gardens in three years. This partnership involved over fifty national organizations with a third from the commercial garden trade, such as growers and independent garden centers.

In 2021, inspired by the work native plants do to restore habitat, and based on research conducted with the National Gardening Research survey and five hundred native plant growers nationwide, Mary helped create the Garden for Wildlife Native Plants Collection™. The goal of this social enterprise is to increase the native plant supply, reduce carbon impacts, and secure survival of iconic species, such as the monarch butterfly, native bees and songbirds. Mary works to ensure Garden for Wildlife, Inc. maintains its sustainability commitments: to engage everyday people in solutions for critical wildlife loss and climate impact and, connect local native plant growers to consumers through ecommerce. The pilot launch in spring of 2021, resulted in over 4,000 native plant collections sold in five months, for a total of 237,000 sq ft. of new garden habitat.

Prior to joining NWF, Mary was principal at The Abundant Backyard, a sustainable native plant landscaping service and one of the first Certified Green Businesses in Montgomery County, MD.  As a Maryland Master Naturalist, Mary maintains her Certified Wildlife Habitat® with her family and enjoys hiking and exploring the Chesapeake Bay natural history and heritage. 

You can find more about Mary Phillips on LinkedIn.

SHOW NOTES

  • Mary’s early start with plants and gardening with her grandparents and wildflowers

  • Her focus on communications in college at Arizona State University

  • Core aspects she would teach others for understanding the audience and their motivations

  • The importance of sharing plant stories and benefits

  • Mary’s role at The Abundant Backyard and creating community gardens and curriculum

  • Lessons learned as part of the Maryland Master Naturalist program about the Baltimore Checkerspot Butterfly

  • Advice for installing and managing community gardens

  • Developing curriculum for kids to engage with the gardens

  • Mary’s work with the National Wildlife Federation multiplying the effect of small gardens

  • 50 years of Garden for Wildlife

  • Certified Wildlife Habitats

  • The Million Pollinator Garden Challenge

  • Doug Tallamy and Jarrod Fowler and the creation of keystone plant lists

  • Dealing with challenges of growing natives in production

  • Favorite collections with the Garden for Wildlife Native Plants Collection™

  • The impact of wildlife gardens

  • Description of a keystone plant species

  • Helping connect people to plants through animals

  • Misconceptions about native plants

  • Plants that provide food, water, cover, and places to live for animals

  • Incentives and supporting laws that support native plant landscapes

  • Study about a portion of lawn converting to native plants doubling

  • Increasing woody plant options

  • The Mayors’ Monarch Pledge

  • Efforts shifting policy and legislation

  • Small things everyone can do to plant for wildlife

  • Having wilder landscapes in urban areas and HOA’s

  • Finding inspiration from Doug Tallamy’s books and Beatrix Potter’s books

  • Practices that help Mary be more productive including gardening with others in the community and sitting quietly and watching the wildlife

  • Staying current with online groups and industry groups like AmericanHort, Perennial Plant Association, and partner organizations

  • The myth that native gardens are messy, attract rodents, and that finding them is hard

  • Encouraging gardeners to enjoy time in the garden more and reducing chemical use

  • Favorite animals including Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Northern Cardinals, Northern Flicker, and Chipmunks

  • The board game Wingspan

  • Propagting horticulturists by working with communities and helping people understand native plants and career opportunities. Diversifying story and shift way we tell stories

  • Learn more about Mary by visiting nwf.org/garden and by visiting her on LinkedIn

14. James Golden on the View from Federal Twist

JAMES GOLDEN BIO

James Golden’s garden design has been featured in national and international magazines, in The New York Times, and in several books on garden design. He has collected many of his inspiring thoughts in the recently published book The View from Federal Twist.  It is a wonderful, well-written glimpse into the inception, creation, and management of a naturalistic garden.  James has been the recipient of national awards and is widely known in the gardening world through his garden blog View from Federal Twist. Federal Twist regularly appears on tours of the Garden Conservancy, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Hardy Plant Society, and on numerous private tours. Recently retired, he has started a garden design practice.  You can learn more about James on his website and blog, by following him on Instagram @imfederaltwist, and by reading James’s book The View from Federal Twist.

SHOW NOTES

  • A post on Federal Twist discussing the name of Lindera angustifolia (narrow-leaf spice bush)

  • James’s early exposure to plants like Cercis, Baccharis, and Magnolia in Mississippi

  • His educational background in English and fine arts

  • The influence of Piet Oudolf, Noel Kingsbury, and Henk Gerritsen’s books on James

  • James’s profession working for engineering and architectural firms

  • How Federal Twist came to be in 2005 and how it got it’s name

  • Learning from Noel Kingsbury’s books about planting design; competitors, stress tolerators, and ruderals; and sociability

  • The concepts of prospect-refuge and the clearing in the woods and their impact on his initial garden design

  • The use of the borrowed landscape and inspiration from Rousham Gardens

  • What it means to be a landscape garden and his choice of the German word stimmung

  • His thoughts on a garden being utilitarian

  • How James hates the labor of gardening and techniques to reduce the labor

  • His bravery of using competitors in his landscape

  • How Federal Twist changes during the seasons

  • The core concepts James would teach about naturalistic planting design

  • How people can learn to read their sites to design better gardens and inspiration from James Hitchmough

  • Practices that James has to center himself as a horticulturist

  • The importance of his blog and developing relationships with people

  • Ideas that came from the world of architects and writing proposals that James uses in his garden

  • The myths associated with native and non-native plants

  • What James wishes gardeners did more

  • How we can connect horticulture with more people by sharing gardens with youth and having internships

  • Learn more about James Golden and Federal Twist on his website and blog, by following him on Instagram @imfederaltwist, and by reading his book The View from Federal Twist

13. Carol Reese on a Life in Horticulture Extension

Carol Reese Bio

Carol grew up as a farm girl in Mississippi where she learned much about the land from her family.  In her 30’s she pursued her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Mississippi State University in horticulture.  Carol worked as a regional horticulture extension specialist for the University of Tennessee’s West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center in Jackson, Tennessee for 27 years where she inspired countless gardeners within the state with her humor and scientific approach to learning.  She is beloved in the horticulture community for giving sensational presentations across the country where she pushes the envelope of people’s understanding of the natural world.  Additionally, she wrote Q&A articles for Horticulture magazine and contributed a weekly column to the Jackson Sun newspaper in Jackson, Tennessee for many years.  Carol recently retired from her position and has even more time to roam the 117 acres of her mostly wild property with her dogs. 

You can connect with Carol Reese by finding her on Facebook.

SHOW NOTES

  • Carol’s interest in plants starting with her family, delectable edibles, and exploring the natural world

  • Her return to college in pursuit of a horticulture education for healing

  • Lessons from graduate school at Mississippi State University

  • Breaking the fear barrier with audiences in classes and presentations

  • Carol Reese interview in Horticulture magazine

  • Carol’s passion for reading and her freedom of speech

  • Working for UT extension as regional horticulturist at the West Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center in Jackson, Tennessee and developing curricula for teaching

  • The American Gardener

  • Changes in extension over the years

  • Carol’s advice to not top trees

  • Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac

  • Carol’s thoughts on the current education system and changes she would make like encouraging stewardship

  • Anthropomorphizing plants and animals to connect them with her audience

  • How to teach people to be less gullible about plant purchasing

  • Her favorite aspects of extension

  • Core aspects of extension that she would share with a class including knowing plants, their taxonomic relationships, their natural lore, and their history

  • Carol’s fascination with the Lewis and Clark expedition

  • Carol’s teaching practices of how she delivers information including humbling herself, walking around the room, and challenging people

  • Finding the answers to her curiosity through reliable social media groups, looking for multiple reliable sources, and going down “rabbit holes”

  • Essential practices and habits like unlearning, being suspicious about garden products, and avoiding impulse buys

  • Carol’s thoughts on amending the soil and using natural materials on top of the ground and avoiding product marketing

  • Carol’s focus on specific groups like Osmanthus and heirlooms

  • The need for companies to sell unpatented plants that have stood the test of time

  • Carol’s thoughts on native plants, planting species that have the most benefit for a garden, and regreening cities

  • A deeper dive into natives versus non-natives and the relevance of time

  • The Eastern Asia-Eastern North America disjunction

  • Monarchs and their preference for different milkweeds

  • Changes Carol would make if she were made queen for a day

  • Teaching children about the importance of the natural world

  • Carol’s heart and passion for rescuing dogs

  • Her favorite books including Michael Dirr’s Woody Manual of Landscape Plants, Dan Hinkley’s books, Margaret Roach, and Pilgrim at Tinker’s Creek by Annie Dillard

  • Her pursuit of new knowledge including scientific articles (and her suspicions), experts, and close friends

  • How Illicium parviflorum is native and yet insects won’t touch it

  • The myth of the importance of fertilizer that leads to overuse and being sure to evaluate plant needs

  • An epiphany she had about how some species have doomed themselves to extinction

  • Learning experiences including meeting great plant people at conferences

  • How she wishes more gardeners would plant species that offer more in the landscape, resist impulse planting, and overplant and be a fearless editor

  • Impatiens capensis treating poison ivy (note, a scientific article I found showed the plant mashed up is more effective than extracts)

  • The right press and support we need is missing from horticulture

  • Propagating horticulturists by getting them more exposure, getting people active in it, and being open to the power of plants on human health

  • You can connect with Carol Reese by finding her on Facebook.

12. Jared Hughes on Groovy Plants Ranch

JARED HUGHES BIO

Groovy Plants Ranch traces its roots back to humble beginnings where determination, ingenuity, and passion helped grow into something unexpected.

In 2007 at 19 years old, Jared Hughes started to realize the spark of a dream. While taking classes at Columbus State Community College and working at Foertmeyer and Sons Greenhouse, he fell more and more in love with plants. The desire to grow as many plants as possible, paired with a natural entrepreneurial spirit led Jared to begin propagating succulents in his limited free time. Their low care and ease of propagation made them a perfect starter crop.

From there, the business naturally grew and he started building a small facility at his parents farm in Cardington, Ohio. As the business grew, so did Jared’s collection of different unusual plants from around the world.

In 2015 Jared and his now wife Liz were married, and together they worked diligently on growing the business. Unexpectedly, they found themselves with the opportunity to purchase an amazing greenhouse property in Fargo, Ohio, previously known as Fargo Herbs.

Jared and Liz went full force into their new venture, Groovy Plants Ranch, where they now work with their two young girls, and an amazing staff of plant professionals allows them to grow far more unique and interesting plants than they ever dreamed. In addition to the diversity of plants, Jared and Liz enjoy making the ranch a family friendly, whimsical oasis of escape for customers from all over the country.

Groovy Plants Ranch has been featured in a number of magazines like Better Homes and Gardens, and Midwest Living named them the best garden shop of 2022.

You can learn more by visiting groovyplantsranch.com and by following them on Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok.

SHOW NOTES

  • Jared’s germinating interest in plants from his grandfather and mother and a love of nature

  • Experiences in learning at Columbus State Community College and having Debra Knapke as a teacher

  • His changing perception of working at a nursery

  • Learning about the horticulture industry from working at Foertmeyer and Sons Greenhouse

  • Mark Foertmeyer and Sid Raisch teaching Jared to build value around plants

  • Jared’s involvement in AmericanHort and networking opportunities

  • The use of biological organisms for pest control in the greenhouse and the learning curve of their use

  • AmericanHort’s shift initiative

  • Stump house plant store

  • Lessons learned from the SHIFT initiative like breaking the ice with plants and engaging people with plants

  • How Groovy Plants Ranch started with the succulent boom and grew from there

  • Buying property with a schoolhouse and some infrastructure

  • Incredible customer experiences at Groovy Plants Ranch

  • Jared’s innate creative spirit and making a playground out of an airplane

  • How Jared builds worlds at his garden center so that there is something for everyone

  • Jared’s formula for Groovy Plants Ranch — drip with creativity for the joy of the visit and use incredible plants in unique ways

  • Keeping his creative spirit alive because he genuinely loves his work

  • How Jared forces himself to finish projects by keeping the return in mind

  • Why Groovy Plants Ranch is unique in its approach to creativity

  • The importance of idea generation and a supportive network

  • Jared’s other hobbies like cars

  • Gardening books that inspire Jared like Bizarre Botanicals and Cacti and Succulents for Cold Climates

  • The interest in tropicals like Musa basjoo (Japanese hardy banana)

  • Exciting projects including building new greenhouses, propagating cool stock plants, and new approaches to marketing

  • Jared’s recent interest in perennials and peonies

  • How all gardeners could benefit from drip irrigation and using water to control pests on houseplants

  • Jared’s advice for social media including do good content that isn’t false and take good photos

  • The myth of a hot pepper crossing with a sweet pepper makes the sweet pepper hot and the misunderstanding about GMO’s

  • Jared’s quote in Greenhouse Management

  • Propagating more horticulturists by 1. us getting more excited about plants and letting it show and 2. remembering that what we do is an inherently good thing and that plants enrich life

  • Learn more about Groovy Plants Ranch on Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok.

11. Abra Lee on Conquer the Soil

ABRA LEE BIO

Abra Lee is a storyteller, horticulturist, and author of the forthcoming book Conquer The Soil: Black America and the Untold Stories of Our Country’s Gardeners, Farmers, and Growers. She has spent a whole lotta time in the dirt as a municipal arborist and airport landscape manager. Her work has been featured in publications including The New York Times, Fine Gardening, and Veranda Magazine. Lee is a graduate of Auburn University College of Agriculture and an alumna of the Longwood Gardens Society of Fellows, a global network of public horticulture professionals. You can learn more about Abra at her website Conquer the Soil, on Instagram @conquerthesoil, and on Twitter @conquerthesoil.

SHOW NOTES

10. Andrew Bunting on Life in Public Horticulture

Andrew Bunting is Vice President of Horticulture at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS) and leads the utilization of planting and design to promote environmentally sound gardening practices at PHS. Andrew has elevated each of the departments he oversees and has increased the brand and visibility of PHS through their respective work.

Andrew received his B.S. in Plant and Soil Science from Southern Illinois University. Prior to arriving at PHS, Andrew worked at Chicago Botanic Garden, Chanticleer Garden, and the Scott Arboretum for a tenure of 27 years. He has received the American Public Gardens Association’s Professional Citation, Chanticleer Scholarship in Professional Development, and the Certificate of Merit from PHS. He also serves on the Board of Magnolia Society International. Andrew published his first book in 2015 The Plant Lover’s Guide to Magnolias. Andrew enjoys bird watching, travel and, of course, gardening. You can learn more about Andrew by visiting PHS’s website and his Instagram page @abunting64.

ANDREW BUNTING BIO

9. Peggy Anne Montgomery on Stories and Stinzen Gardens

Peggy Anne Montgomery Bio

Peggy Anne Montgomery is a people-oriented horticultural professional with more than 35 years of U.S. and international experience in trade- and consumer-focused garden marketing and communications, public relations and outreach, landscape design, and public horticulture. She studied horticulture and apprenticed in the Netherlands where she raised a family and owned a landscape design firm for 15 years. Her business specialized in sustainable, eco-friendly landscapes continuing her life-long interest in nature and the importance of balanced ecosystems. She has an extensive background in public relations and was part of the creative team that launched the Endless Summer® Hydrangea brand. Peggy Anne went on to study native plants at Mt. Cuba Center in Delaware and Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania. She is currently an account executive for the Garden Media Group, the premier horticulture marketing firm where she represents Royal Anthos, a consortium of Dutch bulbs growers and exporters. She is a long-standing member and Fellow of GardenComm and has written for numerous trade and popular publications. Her home garden has been featured in magazines, books, and television. Today she lives and gardens with her husband and fellow horticulturist Dan Benarcik in northern Delaware.

You can learn more about Peggy Anne on Garden Media Group, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram.

Show Notes

8. Ethan Kauffman on the Magic of Stoneleigh

ETHAN KAUFFMAN BIO

Ethan Kauffman developed his love of the natural world exploring the hills in southeastern Pennsylvania. He cultivated his horticultural perspective over two decades of gardening in the deep south, including working at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden and then as director of Moore Farms Botanical Garden, where he led the transition from a private pleasure garden to a public botanical garden. Drawing on influences from both regions, he currently serves as the first director of Stoneleigh: a natural garden, a 42-acre former estate located in Villanova, PA, which opened to the public in 2018. At Stoneleigh, he enjoys creating a garden experience that inspires others to garden for beauty, biodiversity, and the health of our planet.

SHOW NOTES

  • Ethan’s introduction to plants, gardening, and the natural world at a young age from his parents

  • His collector gene starting at a young age with snakes

  • Early jobs including DEKALB summer work and nursery seed propagation

  • Graduating from Clemson and pursuing a career as a zoo keeper at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden

  • Ethan’s shift to Moore Farms Botanical Garden with Jenks Farmer and being bitten by the plant bug

  • Impacts on low versus high public garden density in the surrounding area

  • Lessons learned at Riverbanks Zoo and Garden and the value of making mistakes

  • Ethan becoming director of Stoneleigh

  • Issues with a local school and opening Stoneleigh to the public

  • Stoneleigh’s focus on native plants with Natural Lands and Ethan’s oversight

  • Elevating the design of a native plant garden through cultivar selection and design

  • The role of collections to better understand the diversity of a genus and the approach to mixing plant collections together for a polyculture

  • Highlights at Stoneleigh including the 200 foot long wildlife hedge, Catalpa court with the state champion southern catalpa, and the pool house and circular bog gardens

  • Working with staff and volunteers at Stoneleigh, the joys of getting to know everyone, and supporting the team the best he can

  • Moving projects forward through making good observations with tape recorders and phone cameras

  • Cultivating his skills by going to conferences and visiting gardens

  • A segue into Jared’s visit to see Nigel Dunnett’s superbloom

  • Superbloom music composer Erland Cooper’s Music for Growing Flowers

  • Ethan’s approach to editing the landscape at Stoneleigh

  • Inspiration from homeowners who aren’t bound by rules and from the wild places where plants grow where the books say they won’t

  • Breaking the colonial link to gardening from rethinking common names to acknowledging the diversity in people in horticulture

  • Ethan’s thoughts on seeing the Monarch butterfly migration in Mexico and the International Union for Conservation of Nature adding the Monarch to the Red List of Threatened Species

  • Early experiences with Monarch larvae on Asclepias syriaca with his dad

  • Busting the myth of the focus on crape murder

  • Propagating horticulturists by engaging kids with plants

  • An invite to visit Stoneleigh

7. Dr. Holly Scoggins on Never Stop Learning

HOLLY SCOGGINS BIO

Holly Scoggins, Ph.D., is an associate professor Emeritus from Virginia Tech. She retired in January 2020 after 20 years in the Department of Horticulture with teaching, research, cooperative extension, and administrative responsibilities.

Holly received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia and her Ph.D. in Horticultural Science from North Carolina State University. In her career at Virginia Tech, Holly taught Greenhouse Management, Herbaceous Landscape Plants, Ornamental Plant Production and Marketing, and Plant Propagation, and advised countless undergrads. Her research and graduate students focused on propagation and production of perennials and annuals, and later field production of hops. Amongst other professional appointments, Holly served as Director of the Hahn Horticulture Garden from 2002–2014 overseeing its expansion from 1.5 to 7 acres of teaching and outreach gardens and the construction of the Peggy Lee Hahn Garden Pavilion.

Her passion for teaching and research has been recognized with honors and awards, including Professional of the Year from Virginia Nursery and Landscape Association, the Academic Award from the National Perennial Plant Association, a teaching award from the Virginia Tech chapter of Gamma Sigma Delta Honor Society of Agriculture, a Certificate of Teaching Excellence from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and the G. Burke Johnston Teaching Award from Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society.

After “retirement,” she joined the educational staff at AmericanHort, the horticulture industry’s trade association.  Her current role is as Program Manager for NewGen Boxwood, the national brand of Saunders Brothers Inc., a large nursery grower of quality ornamentals in central Virginia.

Holly currently serves as President of the Perennial Plant Association and enjoys sharing her love of plants and the green industry at professional conferences and symposia. She’s outdoors at every opportunity gardening, hiking, fishing, and beekeeping. Because she does not have quite enough horticulture in her life, Holly and her husband Joel Shuman run Bee Berry Farm, a you-pick blueberry farm and apiary in southwest Virginia. You can find Holly on LinkedIn and Instagram (@hollyhort) and the farm @beeberryfarm.

SHOW NOTES