Through-out my many years of gardening, I have always had a deep desire to learn everything I could about this passion. It started as a young child when my interest in nature was artfully nurtured by my parents. I remember vividly spending hours being fascinated watching my mother tend to her award-winning irises. She would patiently answer every single question I fired at her about how to grow and then display them for the flower shows.
Memories of time spent with my father in the yard tending to our large apple trees and various other small gardens are forever etched in my mind. Each summer all six kiddos were assigned the task of picking up every apple, even the rotten ones. Daily chores became an opportunity to learn and I soaked up the information like a sponge. Only after every single of the expired apples was up off the ground, would we all go inside and churn the apples into yummy applesauce. I was proud to be the number one churner and if I close my eyes, I can still taste the sweetness of that red hot apple sauce we made.
My love of nature continued to be nurtured by my parents in many different ways all throughout their lives. This gentle guidance turned me into a life long learner and seeker of nature knowledge. This was a wonderful gift to bestow upon a child and one that I have worked hard to pass forward to my own kids and grandbabies.
My parents were avid gardeners so alongside encyclopedias and Nancy Drew novels were flower and landscaping books As a young gardener, I devoured every garden book that I could find. I loved looking at Mother’s collection of books, most of which still occupy valuable spots on my bookshelves.
In my early garden- years there were many garden shows on public television and HGTV that gave me inspiration. Shows such as “Gardening by The Yard “ starring Paul James have unfortunately become a thing of the past and so there is currently no G in HGTV. Luckily KET/BBC still airs and produces some great shows such as “Growing a Greener World” hosted by Joe Lamp’l.
I personally feel very strongly that visiting gardens all over the country has helped me grow so much. There is not one garden that I have strolled through that has not inspired me in some way. I always see a new plant combination, unique garden art or some other exciting change I can make to my spaces.
But flash forward to this decade and my continuing source of knowledge comes from
social media. I am in awe of phone apps that allow you to take a picture of a plant and then voila, growing information magically appears. And keep in mind the expanding diversity of garden blogs Instagram feeds and Garden Facebook groups. Lastly even Siri can provide you with instant knowledge. But a word of advice, always verify the information and the source.
However, the fastest growing communication /media field is now the Podcast. I must confess that I personally have gotten hooked. Perhaps it is because I spend a lot of time in the car driving back and forth to our lake house, or perhaps it is my insatiable desire to learn all I can about my passion. Whatever the case, I love podcasts and know they have expanded my knowledge exponentially.
The diversity of garden content, and the variety of “how to” topics is vast, and the individual personalities of each podcaster spur me on to listen to as many different garden podcasts as I can.
Just as each garden that I walk through becomes an inspiration, each podcast opens a new door. Many are interviews with experts and authors of new books. I am sure that is the reason my book collections have increased at least 3 fold in the last few years.
Here are some of my favorites and my humble critique of why I enjoy them. The list is long and each one is very different but well worth my time.
I must say my number one go-to is “A Way to Garden by Margaret Roach” She is a gifted writer, lover of nature and wonderful interviewer. Every weekly episode is inspiring and fun. Her books are so insightful as well. I really enjoy the fact that her Podcast is put on by the smallest NPR Radio Station in the USA.
“PlantRama: Science, Art, And Dinner: It’s all in your backyard” by Ellen Zachos and CL Fornari is another podcast that I never miss. The conversation is always lively and educational. Both ladies offer different perspectives resulting in complete coverage of any topic discussed
“Joe the Gardener” hosted by Joe Lamp’l is podcast packed full of garden knowledge. He explores every aspect of gardening. In addition, he offers some great on-line courses, Youtube videos, and much more.
A few others I really enjoy are “ Gardenangelists” The hosts are Dee Nash and Carol Michel. It is a meeting at the garden gate between two top gardeners from different regions. The Podcasts is fun to listen too and always leave me wanting to buy more plants and books. I was so excited to meet Carol at a “GardenCom” event in Indianapolis over the holidays. I look forward to being involved with this group and meeting so many talented Garden Communicators,
A few other podcast worth spending time listening to are “Epic Gardening: Daily Tips and Advice “ hosted by Kevin Espiritu “, “Let’s Argue About Plants”, hosted by two editors of “Fine Gardening Magazine”; “Cultivating Place” hosted by Jennifer Jewel, “The Daily Gardener” by Jennifer Ebeling and “The Plants We Eat “ hosted by UNC Botanical Gardens…Jeff Gilman and Cindy Procter.
All these Podcasts have supporting websites, Youtube videos, and offer so many ways to keep your gardening knowledge growing. So join in on the latest craze and send me the Podcast you enjoy and I will add them to my list.
No comments:
Post a Comment