Episodes

  • Giving a Neater, more Domesticated Look to the Native Plant Garden
    Oct 16 2024

    Many homeowners who admire the beauty and environmental benefits of native plants don’t care for the wilderness look of the typical naturalized native plant garden. Garden designer Britney O’Donnell shares tricks for designing and maintaining a more domesticated native plant landscape, one that fits better a neater suburban context

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    29 mins
  • Will Nature Heal Itself?
    Oct 9 2024

    Skeptics say that invasive species are not a serious threat to biodiversity, that “Nature will heal itself” despite the looming, man-made mass extinction. Today, paleobotanist Dana Royer describes the five mass extinctions of the past, and why recovery from such episodes typically took millions of years

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    29 mins
  • Blending Native and Non-Native Plants to Benefit Pollinators – and Gardeners
    Oct 2 2024

    Karen Bussolini of historic nursery White Flower Farm makes the case for how a mix of native and non-native flowers can feed pollinators better throughout the growing season

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    29 mins
  • Making Lawns Non-toxic and Environmental Contributors
    Sep 25 2024

    Environmentalists say the traditional lawn must go, but homeowners commonly love their turf. Organic lawn specialist Shay Lunseth outlines how we can “meet in the middle,” and explains why fall is the critical season for organic lawns

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    29 mins
  • Back to the Future
    Sep 18 2024

    Amanda Douridas of the Ohio State University Extension Service describes cover cropping, an ancient practice that can move your vegetable garden toward healthier, richer soil with less dependence on synthetic fertilizers and herbicides.

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    29 mins
  • A Natural Gardening Leader Speaks Out
    Sep 11 2024

    In a conversation recorded in February, 2020, Benjamin Vogt discusses his pioneering book, A New Garden Ethic, and the need for gardeners to become activists in this era of existential challenges to the plants and animals with which we share this planet

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    29 mins
  • Rethinking Lawns
    Sep 4 2024

    Dr. Rebecca Barak describes the collaboration between the Chicago Botanic Garden, Chicago Park District, Northwestern University, and the University of Michigan–Flint to develop native, biodiverse lawn alternatives that can withstand and moderate the effects of climate change

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    29 mins
  • For Peat’s Sake
    Aug 28 2024

    Alex Critchley and Sarah Johnson of The Wildlife Trust for Lancashire, Manchester & North Merseyside describe the growing movement in Britain to ban the sale of peat and peat-based gardening projects, and their organization’s efforts to preserve and restore peatlands, a key piece in the battle against global climate change

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    29 mins