In this episode we meet Don Graham, a retired emergency medicine doctor, a long-time member of the Portland Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society, and a Rhododendron gardener extra-ordinaire. We find out how he successfully transitioned his love of Rhododendron from a large-scale outdoor rock garden to a small-but-mighty indoor garden prominently featuring tropical epiphytic Rhododendron species known as Vireyas. Don shares techniques he’s used to transform his second-floor condominium and balcony into a botanical wonderland so spectacular that passersby are known to shout their praise up from below, and we learn that the best thing about growing a Vireya garden in your house is that you can expect blooms anytime.

Recalling the words of biographer and historian Jenny Uglow, “We may think we are nurturing our garden, but of course it’s our garden that is really nurturing us.”