John & his wife Susana have been traveling & visiting Ecuador for over thirty years and today they sit down with their good friends Norby & Susana Lopez of Biotropica Expeditions to review a trip they took together.
We're joined today by Dr. Tjite deVries former head of Biology at La Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador. A long time friend of John & Susana's and one of the first scientists to be stationed in the Galapagos Islands studying birds. Listen in as he tells us of his history in Ecuador and biology.
Today's episode is dedicated to John's Dad (Sam) who despite growing up during World War 2 and living in downtown Toledo, Ohio still managed to raise food for his family through always having a 'victory garden', a practice he carried on his entire life and passed on to his children teaching them the importance of being able to raise your own food. Tonight's guest; Maggie Stuckey has authored many books, but tonight, she and John will be discussing her latest; The Container Victory Garden which shows that even the smallest of gardens can be used wisely to help keep fresh foods within reach. We hope you enjoy.
Uli Lorimer is director of Horticulture at Garden In The Woods, in Framingham, Massachussettes. Previously, he was curator of Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Native Flora Garden until early 2019. The Delaware native grew up with an interest in all things green, and after receiving an honors degree from the University of Delaware in landscape horticulture, he moved to New York City to become the woodland gardener at Wave Hill.
Wild Seed Project builds awareness of the vital importance of native plants and provides all people with the tools to restore biodiversity in their own communities. They equip community members, public officials and municipalities, and land-holding individuals and organizations – from farmers to land trusts – with the skills and resources they need to collectively repopulate landscapes with native plants that expand wildlife habitat, support biodiversity, and build climate resilience.
John sits down with legendary Landscape Designer Piet Oudolf and discusses his new book- 'at Work', landscape design, working with others and a few other topics. There are even a few dog stories.
Gardening Author and Landscape Designer Owen Wormser drops by to spread some wisdom on eliminating lawn and replacing it with habitat, just like he does in his book 'Lawns Into Meadows, Growing a Regenerative Landscape'
OK, so we're not the most organized people in the world- we're sorry. We originally spoke to Don last year, but in an unfortunate sorting incident, we lost the file for a time. We're very glad to have found it though as it is a wonderful piece of entertainment and education. Garden Designer Donald Pell is known for his use of native plants in the landscape and ecological approach to design, but it turns out he also enjoys a good laugh and a craft brew. Welcome to the show Don, we're happy to have you.
John & Susana team up to get us started this year by describing a pretty incredible trip to Ecuador over the winter where they visited Antisana and Chimborazo volcanos and the cloudy forest of Papallacta (pronounced- Papayakta). They also update us on co-hosts and joke around a bit while celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. Thanks for joining us once again, we hope you'll enjoy another great season of the Native Plant Podcast.
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 been the recipient of national awards and is widely known in the gardening world through his garden blog View from Federal Twist (www.federaltwist.com). James’ Federal Twist garden 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.
We’re all about the graminoids this week with our long-time friend and boomerang guest, Shannon Currey. Since taping the show, Shannon has transitioned from her role as marketing director with Hoffman Nursery to pursue a career in horticulture communication, education, and consulting. Her wealth of knowledge when it comes to grasses and sedges for the market (especially natives), has no equal, and we had a great time talking about all our favorites (and some new things to try as well)! We hope you’ll enjoy listening as much as John & Preston had recording the episode. Thanks Shannon, and good luck with your new journey!
Laurie is a distinguished teacher, author, and one of the most renowned landscape architects practicing today. From vision to realization, he has guided many of OLIN’s signature projects, which span the history of the studio from the Washington Monument Grounds in Washington, DC to Bryant Park in New York City. His recent projects include the AIA award-winning Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Simon and Helen Director Park in Portland, Oregon.
Sean received a Bachelor's in Horticulture and a Master's degree in Plant & Environmental Science from Clemson University where he focused on nutrient media in tissue culture propagation. His professional background includes private residential horticulture, greenhouse and nursery production, plant nutrient management in soil-less media, and temperate woody plant propagation and conservation. As the Arnold Arboretum's Plant Propagator, Sean continues a 150 year tradition of growing woody temperate species from seed, cuttings, grafts, layers, and more; as well as being given the honor to travel and wild collect plants for the Arnold Arboretum.
Before serving as Horticulturist of Haskell Public Gardens, Mc Cullin was the Senior Horticulturalist at The Native Plant Trusts Garden in the Woods. Prior to that, McCullin was selected as a Garden Club of America and Royal Society of Horticulture Scholar to intern at a variety of important public gardens in the UK. She also served as an apprentice at Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum in Boston, and as a Landscape Coordinator at the Central Park Conservancy in New York City. McCullin has a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She lives in Acushnet, Massachusetts with her horticulturist husband Nate and their daughter Kalmia.
Jenn Myers drops by to chat with John and Preston about things that landscape companies can do to attract and maintain professional staffs
Chris & John host Andrea Amaya with all of her plant knowledge and work she's helping the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center do, she's a wealth of information.
Kyle Lybarger is a Forester, a conservation influencer, and a life long outdoorsman from Hartselle, Alabama. Kyle holds a Bachelors degree in Forestry ,with a concentration in Forest Science, from Alabama A&M University. His love for the outdoors and wildlife led him to native plants since they are the foundation of wildlife habitat. With his presence on TikTok (@NativePlantTok) and his passion for managing native ecosystems he has started the Native Habitat Project where he’s continuing to save what’s left of forgotten ecosystems and conserving the important plant species that exist there.
Emma Marris is the author of Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World and Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World. She also writes about the human and nonhuman worlds, and the enduringly complex relationships between them for National Geographic, the Atlantic, the New York Times, Wired, and other publications. She lives in Oregon with her husband--with whom she occasionally co-authors environmental philosophy papers--and their two children.
Dr. Darrel Morrison joins us for the beginning of our seventh season and we couldn't be happier with having him.
Saturnia Farm in Clyde North Carolina is a nursery, flower farm, and homestead with growing and land management practices guided by principals of beauty, permaculture, and ecology. Their mission is to provide holistically-grown, affordable, specialty perennials, natives, and edible landscaping plants for the beautification and ecological benefit of Western North Carolina.
Scott Beadenkopf
I would like to hear your thoughts on how to accelerate the conversion of lawn to habitat. Are there native certifications for landscapers? what are the limiters to the conversion and how can we remove them?