Growing Greener

Traditional gardeners shun plants that spread aggressively, disparaging them as “thugs.” Ben Vogt, renowned natural garden designer and author of “A New Garden Ethic” discusses the positive roles they often play in ecologically based landscapes. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/a-fresh-look-at-garden-thugs

Dairy Farmer Amanda Freund tells how her ingenious family is helping gardeners break their addiction to unsustainable peat products with ComPots, containers made of composted cow manure that help you grow more robust and sustainable plants. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/cowpots-better-for-the-environment-better-for-the-plants

I just heard from a listener of my Growing Green podcast about an inspiring effort in the Hudson River Valley, the Wild Woods Restoration Project (https://wildwoodsrestorationproject.org/). One of the threats to forests cited on the organization's website is, not surprisingly, over-browsing by deer. My immediate thought about that was that we really need to restore some apex predator such as wolves to eastern woodlands. Then I thought about the visitation of egg-laying turtles to my front yard last weekend which left pits and mounds all over the front yard, and has turned my wife Suzanne and me into turtle egg stewards for the summer. And my on-going disagreement with a large black bear and the electric fence I need to install around my vegetable garden to keep it from tearing down the expensive fence I had to install after we cooperated with the state of Massachusetts in creating habitat for endangered New England Cottontail Rabbits -- not surprisingly, that effort was followed by rabbit attacks on our vegetables. The only viable solution to the bear's intrusions seems to be another, parallel electrified fence. There are the beavers who cut down and carried off a little orchard's worth of cider apple trees (necessitating another fence). As Suzanne noted, the wolves would probably move in with us as their ancestors did 30,000 years ago. Would our dog tolerate the new housemates? This business of co-existing with wildlife is necessary and fascinating, and I love the sightings, but there are times I feel beleaguered and wish the critters wouldn't take "coexistence" quite so literally.

Biopesticides, according to Dr. Amara Dunn-Silver of Cornell University, can be a tool for restoring balance to the ecosystem. Learn about the benefits of the microbes – bacteria, fungi, and viruses – that are changing our strategies for confronting plant pests. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/biopesticides-a-different-approach-to-plant-pest-control

Under the category of "challenges they never taught you about in horticulture school." Right now, two large snapping turtles are digging pits so that they can bury eggs in the little rectangle of turf I had imagined as a decorative contrast to the cobbled pavement in front of my house in southwestern Massachusetts. They do this every year, which is one reason the turf looks so disheveled. Now I get to spend the summer preventing my dog Finn from digging up and eating the turtle eggs. I love our view of a beaver pond, and I really like snapping turtles, but I do wish this pair would find another spot for their nests. I doubt they are going to do so, however. Before we had Finn I used to p*e on the nests to keep raccoons from stealing the eggs, which was quite effective

Foraging for wild foods and herbs, learning to read habitats and plant habits, is an ideal education for the ecological gardener; listen to Megan Edge of Victoria, British Columbia describe how it informed her gardening and led her to her practice as a natural healer https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/foraging-as-an-education-for-ecological-gardeners

Native plants organizations have long called for the nursery industry to switch to growing natives from wild collected seed to promote genetic diversity and the preservation of local adaptations. Pinelands Nursery has proven this can be done on a mass scale; nursery president Tom Knezick tells us how. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/pinelands-nursery-leads-in-adapted-diverse-native-plant-production

Does your vegetable garden struggle with current weather extremes and climate change? Dr. Matthew Kleinhenz of Ohio State University describes current progress in identifying naturally occurring microbes that can enhance your vegetables growth and resistance to stress. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/organic-applications-to-enhance-stress-resistance-and-vigor-in-the-vegetable-garden

“Tiny forests,” fast maturing recreations of old growth woodland, are becoming a worldwide phenomenon in large part due to the efforts of Shubhendu Sharma who volunteered with tiny forest pioneer Akira Mirawaki and has since planted examples from Singapore to South America. Listen to his story at https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/shubhendu-sharma-plants-tiny-forests-around-the-world

Getting the right native plants for your landscape – species truly indigenous to your region, adapted to your soil and microclimate, and that provide maximum benefit to wildlife – is effortless now. Shubber Ali, CEO of the National Wildlife Federation’s new venture, Garden for Wildlife, describes how they deliver what you need right to your doorstep. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/garden-for-wildlife-makes-selecting-the-right-plants-easy

Lady Bird Johnson put native plants on the map with her program to plant wildflowers alongside our nation’s highways in the 1960’s. Learn about her enduring legacy, the superb free online resources offered by her Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/an-extraordinary-online-resource-for-native-plants-enthusiasts-in-every-state

Eco-Grief getting you down? Brandon Hough, Executive Director of Homegrown National Park describes the free online tools that organization provides to help individuals create the richest native habitat in their personal landscapes and strike a blow for environmental renewal. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/boosting-the-ecosystem-while-boosting-your-spirits

I certainly get the "Okay Boomer" impatience of the rising generation. Older Americans seem so determined to hang onto their dominance of politics and the economy, even in a time when young people face so many challenges and need to be heard and allowed to make fundamental changes. But let's also give credit to older people who are still fighting to make a difference and trying to leave behind a better world. Kudos to the women in this article from Reuters:

Swiss women win landmark climate victory at human rights court The European court's decision on the case, brought by more than 2,000 women, could have a ripple effect across Europe and beyond, setting a precedent for how some courts deal with the rising tide of climate litigation argued on the basis of human rights infringements.

Coordinator of the New York Botanical Garden’s Gardening Education Program, Daryl Beyers has developed a fresh approach to teaching the gardening fundamentals, one that provides a strong foundation for novices to continue building skills, and which has helped experienced practitioners move beyond the environmentally harmful practices they may have absorbed at the beginning of their careers. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/daryl-beyers-shares-a-fresh-approach-to-gardening-fundamentals

Traditional gardeners use annual flowers, mostly introduced from abroad, solely for quick color. Plantsman Ethan Dropkin of Larry Weaner Landscape Associates recommends favorite annuals native to eastern North America, describing the many other services they provide, from w**d exclusion to healing plantings after damage and disturbances. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/native-annuals-of-the-eastern-united-states

In 2015 landscape architect Thomas Rainer and his professional partner Claudia West stirred the gardening world with their best-selling book, “Planting in a Post-Wild World.” Now Rainer shares his arguments for “thoughtful optimism” regarding gardening and its potential impact on our ecological challenges. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/thomas-rainer-a-case-for-thoughtful-optimism

In the 1990’s Lauren Springer created a revolutionary “undaunted garden” style for Colorado that celebrated the Rocky Mountain landscape and the plants that were at home there. In this conversation, Springer recalls those times, details how her design has continued to evolve, and what comes next. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/celebrating-regional-beauty

Once the monarch of our eastern forests, the American chestnut was virtually exterminated by an imported blight a century ago. Jared Westbrook, Science Director of The American Chestnut Foundation describes what has been learned from efforts to genetically engineer a blight-resistant American chestnut, and how this may benefit other threatened native tree species. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/can-genetic-engineering-help-save-north-american-trees-from-imported-threats

For 124 years the Native Plant Trust has worked to preserve the indigenous flora of New England, pioneering new practices and approaches that have been models to the rest of the country. In today’s program, the Trust’s new CEO Tim Johnson discusses what has worked for the organization and new opportunities for progress in a time of change. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/a-new-ceo-for-the-native-plant-trust

I’ve long dismissed snow as a seasonal nuisance, but Kim Eierman, ecological garden designer, educator, and author recently set me right. Listen as Kim describes all the benefits a blanket of snow brings to your landscape from free fertilization to insulation from cold and helping native seeds break dormancy. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/poor-mans-fertilizer

Mass-marketed hybrid vegetable and fruit varieties, Joseph Lofthouse found, may be highly productive in perfect conditions, but they didn’t cope well with the challenges of his northern Utah garden. So he created “landrace” varieties that evolved to suit his challenges and style of growing. Learn how at https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/create-your-own-locally-adapted-garden-seeds

Why are invasive plants so effective at overwhelming native species? Research by Dr. Susan Kalisz of the University of Tennessee Knoxville details how invaders commonly release chemicals into the soil that disrupt the functioning of native plants and the soil fungi and bacteria that help them grow. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/invasive-plants-waging-chemical-warfare

I spent Tuesday, Jan. 30th at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden at the annual Plant-O-Rama jobs fair and symposium sponsored by Metro Hort Group, an association for New York City area horticulturists. The talks and panel discussions were great and it was energizing to meet with younger people coming up in the field. These younger professionals come from a much broader variety of backgrounds than was common when I was a horticultural student back in the 1970's, and this increased diversity is reflected in the many very different and often brilliant takes on how we can relate in a healthy and rewarding way to the landscape. This meeting filled me with optimism, and a sense of gratitude for the quality of my younger colleagues. Hurray!

Starting native plants from seed has many benefits but can be an intimidating process even for experienced gardeners. Join Jim Sirch of Yale’s Peabody Museum as he shares his easy hacks for success and tips for finding locally collected seeds. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/easy-hacks-for-starting-native-plants-from-seed

Frederick Law Olmsted’s Prospect Park is one of the great masterpieces of American landscape design, but more than a century of visitor traffic had taken a toll, especially on the trees. Joe Doccola discusses the pioneering restoration of the park’s canopy with native tree species, and how he boostd the new plantings’ survival rate from 90% failure to 97% success. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/restoring-the-canopy-of-an-olmsted-masterpiece

Today, The New York Times ran a very belated obituary for the creator of Peter Rabbit, Beatrix Potter. Potter died on December 22nd, 1943, and the Times somehow overlooked this event at the time. I have a complicated relationship with Potter's books. Even as a child, I felt it was unfair that Peter Rabbit was able to ravage Mr. McGregor's garden and get off essentially Scot-free. This attitude only hardened as I became a gardener myself. Indeed, in one of my books about gardening, I titled the chapter on pest control "Peter Rabbit Had ity Coming," and I once queried the New Yorker about writing an article on that subject, which I suggested might include rabbit recipes for gardeners. I wish I still had the rejection letter, which was definitively negative but very polite, perhaps because the editor feared I might show up at their office with my air rifle. As I've learned more about Potter herself, though, I've grown to admire her as a person and a quiet pioneer for women's rights. She was also an exeptional conservationist who shared my love of the countryside. I can almost forgive her for being so soft on garden nemeses.

There are thousands, millions of w**d seeds lying dormant in your garden soil – the “w**d seed bank” – waiting for a chance to emerge and invade your plantings. Listen as Dr. Bryan Brown of Cornell University shares strategies for drawing down the account before those seeds become a problem. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/bankrupting-your-gardens-w**d-seed-bank

What we were taught about plant roots is largely wrong, horticultural expert and researcher Robert Kourik reveals. Listen as he lays out how roots actually grow and how you can boost these foundations of plant health. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/roots-revealed

A leader in ecological landscaping, Rebecca McMackin directed the transformation of 85 acres of abandoned piers and pavement into a series of vibrant and beautiful ecosystems at Brooklyn Bridge Park. Listen to her plans for what comes next. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/rebecca-mcmackin-and-the-innovative-beauty-of-the-ecological-landscape

Biocontrol – the introduction of natural pests – provides a uniquely effective response to invasive plants. Today, Dr. Lisa Tewksbury, Director of the University of Rhode Island’s Biocontrol Laboratory explains how scientists identify and test appropriate insects and other organisms. https://www.thomaschristophergardens.com/podcasts/biocontrol-beating-back-invasive-plants