Podcasts about post wild world

Is the idea of pristine, untouched nature a misguided fantasy? Are any animals truly wild on a planet so dominated by human impact? And while we're on the topic - what do we mean by wildness in the first place? Join us for a thought-provoking conversation that redefines our relationship with nature and encourages us to rethink our place within it.This week, our guest is celebrated science writer Emma Marris, author of Wild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World. Emma's work has appeared in publications like National Geographic, The New York Times, and the Atlantic. She is also the author of Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World. Show NotesEmma Marris WebsiteWild Souls: Freedom and Flourishing in the Non-Human World by Emma MarrisRambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World by Emma MarrisBeloved Beasts: Fighting for Life in the Age of Extinction by Michelle Nijhuis Opinion: New York is Wilder Than You Think by Emma Marris (New York TImes)Nature Doesn't Care Where a Species is From by Emma Marris (The Atlantic)Key Words: Animals, Animal Rights, Animal Welfare, Nature, Biophilia, Biophilic Design, Climate, Climate Change, Wildness, Wilderness, Ecosystem, Emma Marris, Author, Science, Nature Journalism, Environment, Environmental Philosophy Biophilic Solutions is available wherever you get podcasts. Please listen, follow, and give us a five-star review. Follow us on Instagram and LinkedIn and learn more on our website. #NatureHasTheAnswers

In episode 13, Camille T. Dungy (0:03:00), a renowned poet, essayist, and memoirist, joins Ann Wallace in conversation about her book Soil: The Story of a Black Mother's Garden, published by Simon and Schuster in 2023 and now out in paperback. Soil is a book that invites us into Camille's native plant prairie project at her home in Colorado, but it is also about much more than that, taking us back to the year 2020 and making record not only of the story of a garden but of the context—familial, national, historical, ecological, social—from which it sprang.    In Ask Randi, Dr. Randi Eckel (0:35:00) makes a special announcement about the 2024 NPSNJ mini-grant program. She then answers a question from Tom in Connecticut, who is on a tight budget and needs help choosing colorful native plants that will bloom throughout the seasons.   Ann then speaks with Susan Darwin (0:46:48), New Jersey artist and member of the Native Plant Society, who discovered us through the annual conference while working on her New Jersey 2023 series of paintings. Susan is nearly halfway through her 10-year location series, in which she artistically explores a different place each year. Her New Jersey 2023 exhibit, featuring 20 paintings from across the state, is currently on display at Reeves-Reed Arboretum in Summit and all are invited to attend the artist reception on the afternoon of Saturday, June 29.   To close out the episode, Kim and Ann talk with Claudia West (1:03:31), a seasoned professional in her field. Claudia is a landscape designer, grower, installer, and land manager. She is also co-owner of Phyto Studio and co-author of the highly acclaimed book Planting in a Post-Wild World, which has been a valuable resource for many gardeners.

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.

Maybe seven or eight years ago, in a conversation with landscape designer Claudia West, she said a sentence that has really stuck with me, as she explained her approach to selecting and combining plants. “Plants are the mulch,” Claudia said then, about making immersive landscapes that engage humans as much as they do pollinators and other beneficial wildlife. Though it's tempting to choose the plants we buy for our gardens based on looks alone, Claudia and her colleague Thomas Rainer of Phyto Studio, co-authors of the groundbreaking 2015 book “Planting in a Post-Wild World,” have tougher criteria for which plants earn a spot in their designs. Claudia is here today to talk about how the Phyto Studio team figures out what makes the cut, and more.

Hosts Fran Chismar and Tom Knezick share two of their favorite episodes of The Native Plants Healthy Planet Podcast to help bring you into the Summer Season. First is Claudia West (Principal at Phyto Studio) Co-Author of Planting in a Post Wild World.  They discuss the principals of Ornamental design and Ecological design and how the two can work together, listening to what plants have to say, what's next for the author and Claudia gives design tips for the budding native gardener. Up second is Benjamin Vogt (Author - A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future) of Monarch Gardens LLC.  They discuss the heart of gardening ethics and native plants, exploring your local eco-types, reception to a not-so-radical idea and...a new book?. Intro music by Egocentric Plastic Men, outro music by Dave Bennett.  Follow Phyto Studio - Website / Facebook / Twitter / LinkedIn  Follow Benjamin Vogt - Website / Twitter / Instagram / Buy The Book Have a question or a comment?  Call (215) 346-6189. Follow Native Plants Healthy Planet - Website / Instagram / Facebook / YouTube  Follow Fran Chismar Here Buy a T-shirt, spread the message, and do some good.  Visit Here.

Emma Marris is an environmental writer and Institute Fellow at the UCLA Institute of the Environment and Sustainability. She has also written for National Geographic, the Atlantic, the New York Times, Wired, and other publications. In this episode, we dive into the concepts introduced in her book Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World, such as wilderness and nature purity. We discuss the relationship between nature and humans, from assisted migration to climate change, and how we can re-envision it.  Links: Emma Marris' profile Marris' weekly articles on The Atlantic  Check out her books, Wild Souls and Rambunctious Garden As recommended by Emma, The Lost Rainforests of Britain by Guy Shrubsole Support the showSubscribe for email updates

My guest this week is Shawn Maestretti of Studio Petrichor, a design studio working out of California. Shawn's personal mission is to reconnect with the natural world, tread lightly on the land, nurture biodiversity, protect water, and bring people together. We speak about how Studio Petrichor designs with these values in mind and the systems and techniques that are used to achieve these goals. Dr Ian Bedford's Bug of the Week: Orange Tip Butterflies About Studio Petrichor & Shawn Maestretti Studio Petrichor is a group of compassionate individuals on a journey to manifest meaningful change in the world through transformational and environmentally-aligned landscaping practices. Our goal is to help individuals and communities cultivate stronger, richer relationships with their environment. Along the way, we educate and empower one another to support and protect Mother Nature's living systems. When we see and believe our actions and lives matter, it places us in a role of responsibility. It is this belief that will bring about a more beautiful, abundant, connected world. Shawn Maestretti is an Oracle and Alchemist, (aka plant daddy, licensed landscape architect, certified arborist, certified permaculture designer, biospheric caretaker, speaker, and educator). Shawn is a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corp, a Kiss the Ground Soil Advocate, and has co-founded the non-profit Poly/Ana to empower communities to honor and protect natural, living systems. He is also a Landscape Design Teacher at the Theodore Payne Foundation. Shawn has been presenting on Nature's intelligence and humanity's impact on climate change in his presentation series Regenerative Landscapes and the Climate Crisis, Reimagining Landscape and Lifestyle, and Landscape Architecture and The Death of the Ego. His personal mission is to reconnect with the natural world, tread lightly on the land, nurture biodiversity, protect water, and bring people together. Shawn always considers impacts on flora, fauna, fungi, soil, water, the environment, the interconnectedness of our actions, and of course, a changing climate. Links www.studio-petrichor.com Other episodes if you liked this one: A Post-Wild World with Thomas Rainer Water-wise Gardening with Janet Manning https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall

Reading Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World by Emma Marris

Subscribe Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher | iHeart   Support The Daily Gardener Buy Me A Coffee    Connect for FREE! The Friday Newsletter |  Daily Gardener Community   Historical Events   1747 Birth of Antoine Nicolas Duchesne ("do-Shane"), French botanist, gardener, and professor at Versailles. A specialist in strawberries and gourds, Duchesne was a student of Bernard de Jussieu at the Royal Garden in Paris. A plant pioneer, Duchesne recognized that mutation was a natural occurrence and that plants could be altered through mutation at any time. And when he was a young botanist, Duchesne began experimenting with strawberries. Ever since the 1300s, wild strawberries have been incorporated into gardens. But, on July 6, 1764, Duchesne created the modern strawberry - the strawberry we know and love today. Strawberries are members of the rose family, and their seeds are on the outside of the fruit. Just how many seeds are on a single strawberry? Well, the average strawberry has around 200 seeds. Now, if you're wondering whether to cut your strawberry plants back for winter, you should cut your plants back about three inches after your final harvest.  As you tidy up your strawberry plants for winter, you can remove all dead leaves and trimmings. Right about now, strawberry growers are winterizing their plants, which is pretty straightforward. Simply cover your plants with 6-8 inches of mulch. Then when spring returns, remove the winterizing mulch as your strawberry plants wake up and start growing.    1817 On this day, James Madison, America's fourth President, was elected to serve as the President of his local Agricultural Society. James had just retired from his presidential duties and quickly resumed his passion for cultivating the land. James spent many hours every day working in his four-acre Montpelier garden. The horse-shoe-shaped bed was assumed to be an homage to the floor of the house of representatives.  The following May, James spoke to his fellow farmers and gardeners in the Agricultural Society about some of the latest discoveries in agriculture, such as the benefits of incorporating manure to leverage nitrogen and optimizing the water for plant uptake.  James Madison was one of America's earliest conservationists. He was primarily concerned with preserving the land and wise stewardship of natural resources.   1817 Birth of Joseph Stayman, Kansas horticulturist. His obituary announcement said, Dr. Stayman is dead at Leavenworth. He came to Kansas in 1859 and brought a half million fruit grafts with him, from which he started the fruit industry of the state. The doctor was well-named, and lived true to the name as his fruit trees were.   Joseph helped establish the Kansas State Horticultural Society in 1866. He dropped his medical practice to pursue horticulture and bred new varieties of apples, strawberries, and grapes at his orchards, which hosted over 3,000 trees. Joseph specifically worked to cultivate varieties best suited to the Kansas soil and climate.  Joseph was a renaissance man and developed skills across a spectrum of skills and science. He bred the famous Clyde strawberry and established himself as an outstanding botanical artist (many of his drawings are at the Smithsonian). And Joseph was one of the country's best checker players. Some games lasted months to a year since Joseph played many matches by correspondence.   1849 Birth of James Whitcomb Riley, American writer and poet. In his poem, The Ripest Peach, he wrote, The ripest peach is highest on the tree -- And so her love, beyond the reach of me, Is dearest in my sight. Sweet breezes, bow Her heart down to me where I worship now! She looms aloft where every eye may see The ripest peach is highest on the tree.   In the US, over thirty states grow peaches. The peach season varies by state, but it usually ends by early October.  Peaches are a member of the rose family and are rich in vitamins A and C.  Freestone peaches are the type of peaches that we buy whole and eat raw. The Clingstone peach is canned commercially. Clingstone peaches get their name because Cling peaches have stones that cling to the peach flesh. By extracting the stone, the fruit is damaged yet still tasty, so processing and canning are ways to redeem the damaged fruit. And although Georgia is known for its peaches, California produces more peaches every year.   Grow That Garden Library™ Book Recommendation Growing Joy by Maria Failla ("Fy-ELL-ah") This book came out in 2022, and the subtitle is The Plant Lover's Guide to Cultivating Happiness (and Plants). And Maria says her book is full of planty practices to grow your way to a happier and more peaceful life. Well, this is another garden book that was conceived during the early days of the pandemic. And if you remember that time, so many of us were feeling disconnected and stressed and anxious - and we were looking for ways to feel more anchored, healthy, stronger, and positive. And this was definitely the case with Maria. In fact, she introduces her book this way: We've only just met, but I'm going to confess something to you. I wrote this book about joy in what seemed to be the least joyful period in my life. Funny how that happens. When I first envisioned this book, I had my list of ideas and practices all lined up and tied in a pretty bow for you. But then there was a little plot twist. And when the time came around for me to actually write this book, My life kind of imploded in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. lost my job. My wedding was postponed due to social distancing. And through a series of unexpected events, my partner and had to move three times in a year - with a six-month stint living with my parents. The ultimate romantic dream for any engaged couple.   So you can tell that Maria is doing a fantastic job setting the stage. And a lot of this sounds SO relatable for so many of us. But then Maria had an epiphany. And she writes, I looked around at my plant collection and I noticed that my plants also looked miserable. Limp leaves, thirsty, yearning for light, and seeing them so unhappy made me pause and realize how much I related to them. And in the midst of moving pivoting and mourning, I had let the beautiful practices and routines that I had developed lapse.   And then she writes, This realization hit me like a two-ton bag of potting mix.    (I love that Maria has plenty of little snippets of humor in her book that will surely bring a chuckle.) Maria continues. A deeper realization set in. let my plant care routine lapse, and I'd also let my therapy and workout appointments slip through the cracks. I stopped checking in with my friends and my screen time was at an all-time high; my plants and I both needed some serious nurturing.   Maria concludes: I don't claim to have all the answers, but I do know that if you're open to it, this stuff works. No matter what season of life you're in, whether you're simply looking for fun ways to enliven your days, suggestions for how to take the next step forward in plant parenthood, or maybe you're looking for something deeper. But wherever you are, I see you and I'm here for you. And let's grow some joy together, one leaf at a time.   As you can tell, Maria's book is perfectly titled, Growing Joy. This book is 272 pages of connecting with plants and ourselves and, in the process, gaining new insights and a more positive and healthier lifestyle. This book is a delightful mix of self-care through plant care, helping you to feel more joyous, grounded, and optimistic. I think it's the perfect book as we all come back into our homes and snuggle in, cozy in, and get ready for winter. You can get a copy of Growing Joy by Maria Failla and support the show using the Amazon link in today's show notes for around $8.   Botanic Spark 2015 It was on this day that Thomas Rainer and Claudia West's Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes debuted. Eight years ago, it was through this book that Thomas introduced the notion of gardens as communities, which makes gardeners much more sensitive to concepts like density and diversity in our plantings. I love what they write at the beginning of their book because I think it sets the tone for what they are trying to accomplish: The way plants grow in the wild and the way they grow in our gardens is starkly different. In nature, plants thrive even in inhospitable environments; in our gardens, plants often lack the vigor of their wild counterparts, even when we lavish them with rich soils and frequent water. In nature, plants richly cover the ground; in too many of our gardens, plants are placed far apart and mulched heavily to keep out weeds. In nature, plants have an order, an individual harmony resulting from their adaptation to a site; our gardens are often arbitrary assortments from various habitats, related only by our personal preferences.... In fact, the very activities that define gardening weeding, watering, fertilizing, and mulching - all imply a dependency of plants on the gardener for survival. Gardeners are often frustrated when some plants spread beyond their predetermined location and are surprised while others struggle to get established... A further complication is the availability of plants from every corner of the globe... So how do we shift the paradigm, making desirable plantings that look and function sympathetically with how they evolve in nature? By observing and embracing the wisdom of natural plant communities.   A master of garden design and designing with native plants, Thomas wrote his vision of the Post-Wild World: The front lines of the battle for nature are not in the Amazon rainforest or the Alaskan wilderness; the front lines are our backyards, medians, parking lots, and elementary schools.   and The uncertainty of the future will provide an incredible gift: it will liberate planting from all those forces that try to tame it...   Thanks for listening to The Daily Gardener And remember: For a happy, healthy life, garden every day.

In this episode, we chat about a presentation given by Claudia West, author of Planting in a Post-Wild World, about the importance of layering plant communities and designing garden layers."Plant more plants" was music to my ears – you'll see why!  Link to Related Stories:Designing Garden LayersNative Plants for Native PollinatorsButterfly Garden of GrowthNative Plants, especially Oaks, are Essential – featuring Doug Talamy's book The Nature of Oaks.Other helpful links:American Horticultural Society's – list of  Native Plant Societies North Creek Nurseries links to suggested resources  ***Kind listeners, I'd love to hear about your garden and nature stories. And your thoughts about topics for future podcast episodes. Please email me at AskMaryStone@gmail.com. You can Follow Garden Dilemmas on Facebook and Instagram #MaryElaineStoneEpisode web page —Garden Dilemmas Podcast PageThank you for sharing the garden of life,Mary Stone, Columnist & Garden DesignerGarden Dilemmas? AskMaryStone.com  

On this episode, we dive into ecologist Douglas Tallamy's books Nature's Best Hope (2019) and The Living Landscape (2014, with Rick Darke). Tallamy's work takes native plant gardening and wildlife gardening to another level by focusing not just on species diversity, but on diversity of species interaction to promote ecological conservation. According to Tallamy, "native" plants are those which have "evolved in a given place over a period of time sufficient to develop complex and essential relationships with a diversity of animals." Native plants, then, are organisms that have interacted with insects, birds, and mammals for thousands, if not millions, of years. We discuss Tallamy's perspective and the how we might tackle the challenge of implementing a conservation design -- and convincing homeowners to think of themselves as land stewards. Up first: It's hot here in Austin, so we are talking about what early triple-digit temps mean for gardeners. Leah is looking for her niche, taking inspiration from specialist insects.  Support us by joining our Patreon! $5 a month gets you early access to episodes, bonus content, and our deep gratitude. Mentioned in this episode: National Wildlife Federation's Native Plant Finder web tool; The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden (2014) by Roy Diblik; Planting in a Post-Wild World (2015) by Claudia West and Thomas Rainer. Also - after recording, we found this article from the NWF about yucca moths. (Their caterpillars eat the yucca seeds and flowers, not the leaves! Then the moths pollinate the yuccas in return!)

On this episode, we dive into ecologist Douglas Tallamy's books Nature's Best Hope (2019) and The Living Landscape (2014, with Rick Darke). Tallamy's work takes native plant gardening and wildlife gardening to another level by focusing not just on species diversity, but on diversity of species interaction to promote ecological conservation. According to Tallamy, "native" plants are those which have "evolved in a given place over a period of time sufficient to develop complex and essential relationships with a diversity of animals." Native plants, then, are organisms that have interacted with insects, birds, and mammals for thousands, if not millions, of years. We discuss Tallamy's perspective and the how we might tackle the challenge of implementing a conservation design -- and convincing homeowners to think of themselves as land stewards. Up first: It's hot here in Austin, so we are talking about what early triple-digit temps mean for gardeners. Leah is looking for her niche, taking inspiration from specialist insects.  Support us by joining our Patreon! $5 a month gets you early access to episodes, bonus content, and our deep gratitude. Mentioned in this episode: National Wildlife Federation's Native Plant Finder web tool; The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden (2014) by Roy Diblik; Planting in a Post-Wild World (2015) by Claudia West and Thomas Rainer. Also - after recording, we found this article from the NWF about yucca moths. (Their caterpillars eat the yucca seeds and flowers, not the leaves! Then the moths pollinate the yuccas in return!)

THOMAS RAINER BIOThomas Rainer is a registered landscape architect, teacher, and author that lives in Arlington, Virginia. He is a leading voice in ecological landscape design and has designed landscapes for the U.S. Capitol grounds, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and The New York Botanical Garden, as well as over 100 gardens from Maine to Florida. He is a celebrated public speaker who has garnered acclaim for his passionate presentations to audiences across the U.S. and in Europe. Thomas serves as a Principal for the landscape architectural and consulting firm Phyto Studio in Washington, D.C.Thomas received his Masters Degree from the University of Georgia. Thomas has worked for the firms Oehme, van Sweden and Associates, and was most recently a Principal at the landscape architectural and planning firm, Rhodeside & Harwell. He has a broad range of experience in project types ranging from intimate residential gardens to expansive estates, rooftop gardens, botanical gardens, large-scale green infrastructure design & implementation, and national memorials. His work has been featured in numerous publications, including The New York Times, Landscape Architecture Magazine, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, and Architectural Digest.While passionate about design and focusing on details, Thomas is a specialist in applying innovative planting concepts to create ecologically-functional designed landscapes. His recent work focuses on the artful interpretation of wild plant communities into designed plantings that thrive in the context of towns and cities.  He also continues to love working on residential gardens, enjoying the intimate collaboration with clients and creating spaces. Thomas teaches planting design for the George Washington University Landscape Design program. His recently published book co-authored with Claudia West, Planting in a Post-Wild World, was released in fall 2015 from Timber Press and was selected by the American Horticultural Society as one of the 2016 books of the year.You can learn more about Thomas on his website thomasrainer.com, his firm Phyto at phytostudio.com, and on Instagram where his handle is @thomasrainerdc.THE PLANTASTIC PODCASTThe Plantastic Podcast is a monthly podcast created by Dr. Jared Barnes.  He's been gardening since he was five years old and now is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX.  To say hi and find the show notes, visit theplantasticpodcast.com.  You can learn more about how Dr. Jared cultivates plants, minds, and life at meristemhorticulture.com.  He also shares thoughts and cutting-edge plant research each week in his newsletter PlantEd, and you can sign up at meristemhorticulture.com/subscribe.  Until next time, #keepgrowing! 

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.

Episode #65 of the Ground Shots Podcast is a conversation with Dave Meesters and Janet Kent of the Terra Sylva School of Botanical Medicine out of Madison County, North Carolina. https://www.ofsedgeandsalt.com/podcastblog/terrasylvaschool After trying to get together for a conversation all summer, we finally met up in the early fall at Dave and Janet's herbalism school classroom at the Marshall High Studios, in Marshall, North Carolina. It was a frigid fall day and when I arrived, they had tea going and snacks out on a table in their beautifully lit and decorated studio space. It was obviously curated and inhabited by herbalists. Dave and Janet run the Terra Sylva School of Botanical Medicine with Jen Stovall, and have a clinical herbalism practice in the rural area where they live and the nearby city of Asheville, NC. Dave Meesters grew up in Miami, Florida and attended college at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He moved to Asheville, North Carolina in the winter of 1998. In 2003, his formal herbal training began with an apprenticeship with CoreyPine Shane at the Blue Ridge School of Herbal Medicine, and since then his experience has included organizing and staffing a free clinic in New Orleans in the months after hurricane Katrina, and starting and practicing at a free clinic in Asheville's homeless day shelter. Dave has plans to be involved with another herbal free or low-cost clinic in the future, but until then he sees clients privately and provides care to the mountain folks in his rural Appalachian neighborhood, most of whom would rather see an herbalist than a doctor. From 2013 to 2016, Dave was, with Janet, the director and primary instructor at the Terra Sylva School's summer apprenticeship program, which was held on the communal mountain land where he resides before the school moved to Marshall. He and Janet are the founders of Medicine County Herbs, an herb apothecary, medicinal plant nursery, and blog. Dave sees herbalism as a way to provide a more appropriate, accessible, pleasurable, and effective form of health care than the dominant model, and as a means to bond and integrate ourselves with plants, the garden, and the wilds. His herbalism is wedded to a life-long resistance to the forces of domination and alienation, especially domination of and alienation from Nature. His practice and his teaching reflect a deep evolving holism attained by listening to, honoring, embracing, and collaborating with the whole of Nature, and by his study of the threads connecting holistic physiology, energetics, ecology, gardening, systems theory, magic, alchemy and permaculture.   Janet Kent is a clinical and community herbalist, educator, gardener and writer. The child of two naturalists, Janet grew up in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains, learning the amazing diversity of regional wild flowers at an early age. She began studying the medicinal uses of plants when she moved to a rich Appalachian cove high in the mountains of Madison county, North Carolina fifteen years ago. She did not set out to become an herbalist, but as she learned over the years in her forest home, if we are open, we do not change the land we inhabit as much as it changes us. The transformative healing power of the plants around her turned an interest into a calling. The vast power to heal through reconnection is the medicine she most seeks to share. Whenever possible, she encourages her students and clients to grow their own herbs, to make their own medicine, and most of all, to experience the more-than-human world first hand. Here is where deep, foundational healing is most profound. Janet views herbal medicine as a means of reconnecting to the long tradition of plant medicine in rural Appalachia. This tradition has become more relevant with the ailing state of the dominant health care system and the rising cost of herbal medicine. Janet considers herbalism the best option for addressing injustice in health care. Herbalists, being outside the biomedical system, can avoid its inequalities. Affordable care, medicine and education are central to this paradigm. In addition to being co-founder and a core faculty member at the Terra Sylva School of Botanical Medicine, Janet also runs a medicinal and native plant nursery, apothecary and blog, Medicine County Herbs with Dave. Terra Sylva combines the experience of herbalists who've done their work in very different regions: rural Appalachia and the city of New Orleans. Dave Meesters and Janet Kent founded and run Medicine County Herbs in the mountains of North Carolina and publish the Radical Vitalism blog, while Jen Stovall is one of the herbalists behind the Crescent City's Maypop Community Herb Shop. Despite the geographical separation, this team have been partners in herbalism for over a decade, going back to the first herb classes Jen & Dave taught together in New Orleans in 2004. The Terra Sylva School fulfills a dream we've nurtured for a long time, to meld our diverse strengths and perspectives to create a comprehensive, dynamic program well-suited to equip and inspire the next generation of herbalists to practice in the 21st century. Our teaching reflects both Janet & Dave's land-based herbalism practiced in a rural setting and Jen's experience caring for folks in the big city.   In this conversation with Dave and Janet, we talk about:   some of the culture of the holler Dave and Janet live in deep in southern Appalachia pros and cons of living remotely in Appalachia how herbalism tied them to the land they live on and kept them there when other folks involved in the land project didn't stay teaching herbalism online vs. in person the magic of tuning into one small piece of land year after year Dave and Janet's wild-tending and land-tending work over 20 years in Madison county the problem with human misanthropy in punk culture or the ‘humans suck' mentality the importance of human tending on land and Appalachia specifically the effects of capitalism on wild harvest of medicinal plants and the complex nuances of this, and effects Michael Moore's books and teachings had on wild plant populations like Yerba Mansa we geek out on Pedicularis as an example of a plant that is tricky to wildcraft because of its inability to be cultivated some of Dave and Janet's views on ‘invasive plants' and land-tending and the responsibility of human engagement why it is important to ask where the garden begins and ends? how land-tending and restoration can't be about going back to a past that is impossible to recreate due to loss of topsoil and keystone species (think Chestnuts in the east) but about working with a compass of creating diversity and resilience in a rapidly changing world, tending to baselines of the past and ever-shifting baselines of present What can disempowering the engines of disruption with other disruption look like? some thoughts on changes in ‘western' herbalism from a focus on the individual to a focus on the collective and cultural mending using ‘biomedicine' vs. ‘allopathic' to describe mainstream western medicine and some history around the use of these words Dave and Janet's podcast ‘The Book on Fire,' what it focuses on and why they facilitate it we do a mini overview of the book ‘The Caliban and the Witch,' a book they review and deconstruct on their podcast (book linked in Link list below)   Links: Terra Sylva School of Botanical Medicine Radical Vitalism essay by Janet and Dave on their underlying philosophy To Fulfill the Promise of Herbalism Dave's piece on the power and potential for grassroots herbalism Uncontrollable Night: Herbs for Grief Janet's piece on working with herbs to ease the phases of grief The Book on Fire podcast “The Caliban and the Witch: Women, the Body and Primitive Accumulation” book by Silvia Federici mentioned on the podcast, reviewed in detail by Dave and Janet on their podcast ‘The Book on Fire' “Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World” by Emma Marris, briefly mentioned in the podcast, also mentioned in GSP Episode #53 :  Wild Tending Series / Gabe and Kelly on ecological history, anthropogenic landscapes and the negative side of conservation Mountain Gardens, a regional Appalachian botanical sanctuary run by Joe Hollis mentioned on the podcast Mountain Gardens Youtube Channel, mentioned on the podcast Donna Haraway “Staying with the Trouble”, mentioned in the podcast, a book Dave and Janet review on their podcast ‘The Book on Fire'       Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute monthly to our grassroots self-funding of this project  For one time donations to support this podcast: Paypal : paypal.me/petitfawn VENMO: @kelly-moody-6 Cashapp: cash.app/$groundshotsproject   Our website with an archive of podcast episodes, educational resources, past travelogues and more: http://www.ofsedgeandsalt.com  Our Instagram pages: @goldenberries / @groundshotspodcast Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow Guest music: Little Wind and Sea by Village of Spaces This episode hosted by: Kelly Moody Produced by: Kelly Moody

A year ago, we recorded a long and rambly episode on garden design. Now we're making it an October tradition! Revisiting the subject, we realize our approaches to design have changed, but we're still hell-bent on questioning basic tenets. How important is color? Are foundation shrubs necessary? Should we flip the script on "seasonal interest?" Does "timesharing with plants" really work? Join us at the picnic table as we parse out some jargon (form, texture, verticality), swap tips, and get hangry for cookies.  Mentioned in this episode: Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf (2017) and Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West (2015). 

A year ago, we recorded a long and rambly episode on garden design. Now we're making it an October tradition! Revisiting the subject, we realize our approaches to design have changed, but we're still hell-bent on questioning basic tenets. How important is color? Are foundation shrubs necessary? Should we flip the script on "seasonal interest?" Does "timesharing with plants" really work? Join us at the picnic table as we parse out some jargon (form, texture, verticality), swap tips, and get hangry for cookies.  Mentioned in this episode: Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf (2017) and Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West (2015). 

This episode of the Ground Shots Podcast is a conversation between Kelly Moody and Gabe Crawford.   We haven't done an episode together since we were on the Colorado Trail this past summer. So, we wanted to talk about the research we have been doing since we got off of the trail, and while hermiting a bit in our bell tent camp along a riparian corridor, outside of Durango, Colorado. We've been thinking a lot about what land tending means, and definitions of ‘wildness,' and ‘wilderness' since hiking the trail, and wanted to spend some time looking into the literature out there on conservation, ecology and agriculture. We've only touched the surface with our research, but wanted to talk about it on air with ya'll here, and connect some distant tendrils of what we're finding through conversation. Above all, our goal has been to try to understand why anthropogenic (human tended and co-created) landscapes are ignored in scientific literature, hence why ‘wild-tending' seems far-fetched to some folks. And, we want to understand the deeper origins of the invasion biology field of conversation and how it may be connected to ethnocentrism, racism, unexamined colonialist assumptions in the fields of history and science, and more. Since this episode was recorded and edited, we have migrated to where my family is in southern Virginia for the rest of the winter and are trying to adjust to a different culture, climate and navigating the pandemic without public land.   In this episode of the podcast, we talk about:   the oppressive colonizing force of the Christian church institution in Europe and how this influenced the suppression of land based spirituality some etymology of ‘heretic,' ‘heathen,' ‘villan,' and ‘pagan' how the disregard for historic anthropogenic landscapes is connected to the obsession with ‘pristine' ecology and ‘wilderness' notions how Eurocentric ideas about agriculture influenced what colonists saw as ‘uncivilized' or ‘cultivated' on turtle island and how these ethnocentric biases ignored anthropogenic landscapes the white supremacy inherent in the western scientific interpretation of human cultivation, land management and indigenous influence on ecology biases in the historical accounts of indigenous cultures and the landscapes of Turtle Island, South America, etc. by European explorers yet many of these accounts are used to determine ecological baselines in conservation goals some of the origins of emotive, moral and value based language in invasive biology and conservation fields the roots of why conservationism is wary to include indigenous peoples in its preservation of ‘pristine wilderness' and how the creation of baselines that doesn't include indigenous land management practices, even though the ecological baselines that might be their goals were anthropogenic landscapes the history of national parks extirpating natives off of their land in order to ‘preserve' an idea of ‘wilderness' and how they continue to ignore how the humans there were a part of creating and managing the landscapes the affluence associated with conservation culture and the western ideas of the museumification of ‘pristine land' the misinformation in the academic literature of invasion biology created through confirmation biases and disproven theories continuing to be referenced as facts   Links: A slew of resources related to what we chatted about on the podcast can be found below. Subscribe to our email newsletter, found at the bottom of this link section, for updates on when we will be offering some classes related to these topics. “Rambunctious Garden : Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World” by Emma Marris “Beyond the War on Invasive Species” by Tao Orion “Keeping it Living: : Traditions of Plant Use and Cultivation on the Northwest Coast of North America” by Nancy Turner “The Burning Times” by Jeanne Kalogridis Southwest Colorado Wildflowers entry on Triteleia grandiflora (Wild Hyacinth, Large-flowered Onion), where the botanists mention the likelihood that the Utes brought it through trade from the Pacific Northwest and planted it to eat, given it is a very disjunct species from where it is normally found “The Ecology of Invasions by Animals and Plants” by Charles Elton “Charles S. Elton and the Dissociation of Invasion Ecology from the Rest of Ecology” by Mark Davis “Don't Judge Species on Their Origins” by Mark Davis and Matthew K. Chew “1491": New Revelations of the Americas before Columbus” by Charles Mann ECOLOGISTS, ENVIRONMENTALISTS, EXPERTS, AND THE INVASION OF THE ‘SECOND GREATEST THREAT' by Matthew K. Chew “The rise and fall of biotic nativeness: a historical perspective” by Matthew K. Chew “Invasions: the trail behind, the path ahead, and a test of a disturbing idea” by Angela Moles "Is rapid evolution common in introduced plant species?” by Angela Moles Torreya Guardians website: “Assisted Migration (Assisted Colonization, Managed Relocation, Translocation) and Rewilding of Plants and Animals in an Era of Rapid Climate Change” “Quantifying Threats to Imperiled Species in the United States: Assessing the relative importance of habitat destruction, alien species, pollution, overexploitation, and disease” by David Wilcove (this article is routinely cited as the reference for invasive species being the second greatest threat to biodiversity when it doesn't even say that, alongside Edward O. Wilson's 1992 book, “The Diversity of Life”) “Invasion Biology : Critique of a Pseudoscience” by David Theodoropoulos “Environmental determinism”: This is a wikipedia article on the history of environmental determinism in the contest of western colonialism and how this philosophy was used to justify abuses to human rights. “How conservation became colonialism” BY ALEXANDER ZAITCHIK “Forgotten Fires : Native Americans and the Transient Wilderness” by Omer C. Stewart   Call the podcast and leave us a message (you give us permission to potentially air it on the podcast): 1-434-233-0097   Support the podcast on Patreon to contribute monthly to our grassroots self-funding of this project  For one time donations to support this work: Paypal : paypal.me/petitfawn VENMO: @kelly-moody-6 Cashapp: cash.app/$groundshotsproject     Our website with an archive of podcast episodes, educational resources, past travelogues and more: http://www.ofsedgeandsalt.com  Our Instagram pages: @goldenberries / @groundshotspodcast Join the Ground Shots Podcast Facebook Group to discuss the episodes Subscribe to our newsletter for updates on the Ground Shots Project Theme music: 'Sweat and Splinters' by Mother Marrow Interstitial Music: “Big Ivy” by the Resonant Rouges Hosted by: Kelly Moody Produced by: Kelly Moody and Gabe Crawford

Hosts Fran Chismar and Tom Knezick talk with Claudia West (Principal at Phyto Studio) Co-Author of Planting in a Post Wild World.  They discuss the principals of Ornamental design and Ecological design and how the two can work together, listening to what plants have to say, what's next for the author and Claudia gives design tips for the budding native gardener. Music by Stephen Mahar.Have a question or a comment?  Call (215) 346-6189.Want links from this podcast?  Visit www.nativeplantshealthyplanet.com

It might be hard to measure, but we know interacting with nature has an impact on our emotions – and that’s never been more apparent in cities during lockdown. But does the kind of planting we encounter in urban environments matter? Are planned and cultivated spaces what we need, or could we be craving ‘wilder’, less predictable landscapes that fully immerse us in nature? When it was published in 2015, the book Planting in a Post-Wild World challenged conventional ideas about designing green spaces that would flourish in our cities and suburbs – and capture people’s hearts and minds. It made a groundbreaking argument for a hybrid approach of both the wild and the cultivated that continues to gather momentum today. Case in point: The High Line in New York – the poster child for naturalistic planting in a city. No other public space project has had such a powerful influence on design thinking in recent times. In this episode of Hassell Talks, landscape architect Jon Hazelwood talks to Claudia West – director of Phyto studio and co-author of Planting in a Post-Wild World – and Robert Hammond, co-founder and CEO of The High Line, about planting the seeds for a deeper, more fulfilling relationship with nature, whatever the space, scale or budget

Today we remember the beloved botanist who served on Captain Cook's third South Seas trip. We'll also learn about the Austrian botanist and monk who pioneered the study of heredity. We celebrate the usefulness of daylilies. We also honor the life of a young man who was killed paying his florist bill and the life of the garden writer who wrote for The New Yorker. We'll hear some poems that highlight the Garden as a sanctuary, a holy place to heal and be refreshed. We Grow That Garden Library™ with a book about Gardening in Your Front Yard - it's packed with ideas and projects for big and small spaces. It's an idea that is gaining popularity and acceptance thanks to stay-at-home orders and physical distancing - one of the positive effects of dealing with the pandemic. And then we'll wrap things up with remembering Katharine Stuart and the people who loved her the most. But first, let's catch up on some Greetings from Gardeners around the world and today's curated news.   Subscribe Apple|Google|Spotify|Stitcher|iHeart   Gardener Greetings To participate in the Gardener Greetings segment, send your garden pics, stories, birthday wishes and so forth to Jennifer@theDailyGardener.org And, to listen to the show while you're at home, just ask Alexa or Google to play The Daily Gardener Podcast. It's that easy.   Curated News Unconventional Wisdom: 8 Revolutionary Ideas for Your Garden from Thomas Rainer - Gardenista "When you meet landscape architect Thomas Rainer he comes across as a pleasant, mild-mannered fellow… not at all the type to be traveling around the world, as he does, spouting revolutionary ideas calculated to upend years and years of conventional gardening wisdom. As he writes in his preface to Planting in a Post-Wild World, the 2015 book he wrote with Claudia West, his ideas come from his time as a boy in suburban Birmingham, Alabama, where he spent countless happy hours roaming a stretch of indigenous Piedmont forest near his home." This article reveals a list of Thomas's dos and don'ts for growing an earth-friendly garden that he says produces better results with less work. Here's a high-level overview - be sure to read the article for the full scoop. 1. Amending the Soil: Don't 2. Double Digging: Don't 3. Soil Testing: Do 4. Mulching: Don't 5. Planting Cover Crops: Do 6. Curbside Planting: Do 7. Buying A Lot of Plants: Do 8. Experimenting and Having Fun: Do   Alright, that's it for today's gardening news. Now, if you'd like to check out my curated news articles and blog posts for yourself, you're in luck, because I share all of it with the Listener Community in the Free Facebook Group - The Daily Gardener Community. There's no need to take notes or search for links - the next time you're on Facebook, search for Daily Gardener Community and request to join. I'd love to meet you in the group.   Important Events 1789  Today is the anniversary of the death of the British botanist David Nelson. David served as the botanist on Captain Cook's third South Seas trip; William Bligh was the Sailing Master. After gathering many new specimens, David spent the bulk of his time caring for over 500 breadfruit plants that Bligh was transporting to the West Indies. Breadfruit is a reference to the texture of the cooked fruit, which is similar to freshly baked bread. And, breadfruit tastes like potato. A likable fellow, David had traveled on another expedition with Captain Charles Clerke of the ship Discovery, who said David was "one of the quietest fellows in nature." As you might recall, the Captain Cook expedition suffered a mutiny on April 28, 1789. For his protection, David was kept below deck and under guard. David decided to go with William Bligh and his followers to Timor. The 3,500-mile voyage was grueling, and David died on this day, just 54 days after the mutiny. David's death was a blow to Bligh and his crew. To honor this mild man of botany, Bligh conferred full naval honors for his funeral service. Three years later, Captain Bligh visited Tasmania. He named "Nelson's Hill," the highest point on the island, in David's honor. Today Mount Nelson is the Hobart location of Tasmania University.   1822  Today is the birthday of the Austrian botanist and monk Gregor Mendel. Gregor discovered the basic principles of heredity through his experiments with peas in his garden at the Augustinian monastery that he lived in at Brno ("BURR-no") in the Czech Republic. Or, as I like to tell the kids, Gregor learned about heredity when he gave peas a chance. (Sorry, couldn't resist!) During a seven-year period in the mid-1800s, Gregor grew nearly 30,000 pea plants, and he took note of everything: their height and shape and color. And, his work resulted in what we now know as the Laws of Heredity, and to this day, most kids study this in school. And it was Gregor who came up with all of the genetic terms and terminology that we still use today, like dominant and recessive genes.   1960  On this day, the Chicago Tribune ran an article about the daylily, saying that they were "tops" in usefulness. Here are some highlights: "Because they combine exquisite charm with extreme hardiness, daylilies are without doubt nature's most useful flower... Their usefulness derives from their ability to thrive lustily under virtually any circumstances, which makes them particularly adaptable to so-called problem areas where the gardener may have experienced difficulty growing other flowers. For the weekend-gardener with a large tract to work, daylilies are the answer for far corners which ...never [get attended] to. The abundant foliage [of the daylily] will tend to keep the areas free from weeds, too."   1974  On this day, the IRA murdered Brian Shaw. Brian was just 21 years old when he was killed. A former soldier, Brian, had become a truck driver and had just married a girl from Belfast. Two weeks after their wedding, Brian disappeared when he went to pay the florist bill for flowers they had used at his wedding. And poignantly, the bill was still in his pocket when his body was found.   1977  Today is the anniversary of the death of the garden writer Katharine White. Now, Katharine was married to Andy - but most of us probably know him as E.B. White, the author of three beloved children's books, Stuart Little (1945), Charlotte's Web (1952), and The Trumpet of the Swan (1970). In the early 1930s, Katharine and Andy bought a farmhouse in North Brooklin, Maine. By the end of the decade, they left their place in New York for good and moved to the farmhouse permanently. It was Katharine White who once wrote: "From December to March, there are for many of us three gardens - the garden outdoors, the garden of pots and bowls in the house, and the garden of the mind's eye." Katharine began writing garden pieces for The New Yorker in 1958. In 1979, Katharine's book Onward and Upward in the Garden was edited and published posthumously by her husband, Andy. Gardeners especially enjoy Andy's tenderly written preface to his gardener wife. Anatole Broyard gushed about Katharine's book in his review saying, "It is itself a bouquet; the final blooming of an extraordinary sensibility." Now, Katharine carried on a marvelous correspondence with another garden writer: Elizabeth Lawrence. And, their letters convey a warmth and curiosity that I thought you would find delightful: July 2, 1958 [Katharine to Elizabeth] Dear Miss Lawrence, I am in New York for the moment, so it was on my desk here at The New Yorker that I found today your book, "The Little Bulbs"... Already I have dipped into it with delight. I shall carry it back with me to Maine next week and study it and consult it ... for years...  The varieties [of bulbs] I have established ...are the obvious ones I'm afraid: the two colors of scylla, snowdrops, snowflakes, crocuses, white and blue grape hyacinths, and among the small tulips only Clusiana and Kaufmanniana. Your book will help me to expand, I hope…   June 15, 1959 Dear Elizabeth, Here I am back again with a question, in spite of my promises. ...Do you know the address of Jan de Graaff, and does de Graaff bring out a catalog? I have been studying the lily offerings for the autumn of this year and every one of them, both in specialists' catalogs and in those of the big nurseries, of course, brags of lilies from the great de Graaff.  P.S. It is 48 degrees here today and has been this for 48 hours. Discouraging. (Note the date!)   October 8, 1959 Dear Elizabeth, Speaking of gourds, for the first time, my small decorative gourds did not mature in time for me to wax and polish them while watching the World Series. I am a baseball fan; I hate to confess — and I have loved baseball since I was a child.   November 1959 Friday morning Dear Katharine, I don't know anything about modern flowers that have lost their fragrance. I think some hybrid roses are as sweet as old ones. At the fall flower show, I was intoxicated by the scent of one flower of Sutter's Gold... How in the world do you accomplish all you do? I have been interrupted five times since I came to my desk an hour ago, the last by a friend who wouldn't take the plants I offered on a day I was in the garden and would like to have them right now. I told her to come on. If she doesn't, she will choose a still worse time.   Aren't those letters magnificent? You can read all of Katharine and Elizabeth's letters in detail in a wonderful book called Two Gardeners: Katharine S. White and Elizabeth Lawrence--A Friendship in Letters by Emily Herring Wilson. After Katharine died, her husband Andy sent a little verse he had written to their close friends and family. It said simply: To all who loved my lovely wife. To all who spoke their sorrow,  I send this printed card of thanks  so l can face tomorrow. I'd hoped to write a full reply  To each, to say "I love you." But I'll reveal the sticky truth:  There's just too many of you.   Unearthed Words Here are some inspiring verses that highlight the Garden as a sanctuary, a holy place to heal, and be refreshed.   God made a beauteous garden With lovely flowers strown, But one straight, narrow pathway That was not overgrown. And to this beauteous garden He brought mankind to live, And said "To you, my children, These lovely flowers I give. Prune ye my vines and fig trees, With care my flowers tend, But keep the pathway open Your home is at the end. ― Robert Frost, American poet, God's Garden   If words are seeds,  let flowers grow  from your mouth, not weeds.  If hearts are gardens,  plant those flowers in the chest of the ones who exist around you.  — R.H. Swaney, American poet   For flowers that bloom about our feet;  For tender grass, so fresh, so sweet;  For song of bird, and hum and bee;  For all things fair we hear or see;  Father in heaven, we thank Thee! — Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist and poet   Grow That Garden Library Shrubs by Andy McIndoe ("MAC-IN-doe") This book came out in February of 2019, and the subtitle is Discover the Perfect Plant for Every Place in Your Garden. Gardens Illustrated said this about Andy's book, "McIndoe is a devoted and knowledgeable ambassador for shrubs…His advice is clear, practical, and honest: the sort of counsel every gardener needs. The book will be an invaluable addition not only to the bookcases of gardeners but also those of garden designers seeking to broaden their plant palette." This is one of my favorite books on shrubs, and it's 337 pages of fabulous photos and detailed shrub profiles - all shared with today's gardener in mind. You can get a copy of Shrubs by Andy McIndoe and support the show, using the Amazon Link in today's Show Notes for around $14.   Today's Botanic Spark After researching Katharine White, I discovered some touching correspondence that occurred between her husband, Andy, (the author of Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web), and her friend and fellow garden writer Elizabeth Lawrence. In July 1979, Elizabeth wrote to Andy about Katharine's book (after Katharine died): Dear Andy, Thank you for having the publisher send me Onward and Upward (it really is). I have been re-reading and re-reading ever since, with great pleasure and great sorrow. I can't bear not [being] able to tell Katharine what a wonderful book [she wrote]… [I am writing] to ask for permission to quote a paragraph from a letter you wrote to me [a while ago. You wrote:] "Katharine just spent three days in bed, in pain, caused by aback injury brought on by leaning far out over a flower bed to pick one spring bloom— the daffodil Supreme. It seems a heavy price to pay for one small flower. But when she is in her garden, she is always out of control. I do not look for any change, despite her promises." I am not sure about your [species], whether it is the daffodil supreme, or the daffodil Supreme, Rijnveld, 1947, 3a. But I don't think it likely that any Observer will know the difference. I thought the paragraph fits in with your loving introduction [to Onward and Upward in the Garden]. [...] I am having a miserable time trying to say something worthy of the book in the space allotted to me. Aff, Elizabeth   On March 24, 1980, Andy concluded a letter back to Elizabeth with these words: Tired snow still lies about, here and there, in the brownfields, and my house will never look the same again since the death of the big elm that overhung it. Nevertheless, I manfully planted (as a replacement) a young elm. It is all of five-and-a-half feet high.  By Katharine's grave, I planted an oak. This is its second winter in the cemetery, her third. Yrs,  Andy   Five years later, Andy died at home in Maine. He is buried next to Katharine in the Brooklin Cemetery.  

As new construction—along with flood, drought, and fire—erode habitat daily, how can we create ecologically-sensitive gardens? Thomas Rainer is committed to “exploring the intersection of ecology, culture and design.” Rainer meets with host John Hart Asher, Senior Environmental Designer at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, to explore how to create nature and resilient, emotionally-resonant landscapes in planned environments. Watch the entire program on Central Texas Gardener’s website.

Landscape architect Claudia West, co-author of "Planting in a Post-Wild World" describes her techniques for returning nature to our neighborhoods and cities, and for creating living landscapes that are robust, diverse, and visually harmonious

How do you define a beautiful garden or landscape? Is it a perfectly manicured space, free of weeds with coordinated blocks of color? Perhaps it’s more relaxed and informal. In this episode, we focus our discussion around native plant design in a post-wild world with Thomas Rainer, author, teacher, and landscape architect. Thomas describes his vision for a garden that is a hybrid of both cultivated design and the wildness of nature. We talk about how we can create a natural garden design that meets our aesthetic requirements yet functions more like landscapes in the wild.

Part One: The Design Experts Series - Sponsored by The London College of Garden Design  This episode features Thomas Rainer, Principal Designer at Phyto Studio in Virginia and co-author of the book Planting In A Post-Wild World. Thomas’s approach to design pays particular attention to establishing new plant communities, especially within urban and suburban environments, where the native flora and fauna has effectively been pushed out. Concentrating on plant selections that work alongside each other and also with the site, Thomas introduces green spaces that please the eye, work from a maintenance perspective and can evolve successfully over time. About Thomas Rainer: Thomas is a leading voice internationally in ecological landscape design. He co-authored the book ‘Planting In A Post-Wild World’ in 2015 and has designed landscapes for the U.S. Capitol grounds, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and The New York Botanical Garden. Thomas is Principal Designer at Phyto Studio and works alongside Melissa Rainer and Claudia West. Phyto Studio was created “to bring clients both customized, technical expertise in plant community ecology as well as an artistic vision of the possibilities of gardens with emotional depth.” He lectures internationally and teaches planting design on the George Washington University Landscape Design program. What we talk about: Wild landscapes - accepting that we can’t turn back the clock to a bygone era and what this means for designers and gardeners going forward Planting in urban and suburban landscapes versus rural areas? Thomas’s 3 archetypes for the purposes of categorising planting and landscapes If there's a danger, especially in public spaces, that people come to accept edited versions of nature as the correct way ‘natural’ spaces should look and therefore become less tolerant of wilder, transitional, unkempt spaces? The issue of ongoing, skilled maintenance The future of built landscape design  Links: Tickets to the Thomas Rainer Masterclass at Regent’s College, London on 18th January 2020   Email: gillian@gilliangoodson.com Phyto Studio www.phytostudio.com  Planting in a Post-Wild World - Thomas Rainer & Claudia West, Timber Press 2015 With thanks to the episode sponsor, the London College of Garden Design www.lcgd.org.uk  Tel +44 (0) 1483 762955 Email info@lcgd.org.uk Get in touch; Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk  Website www.rootsandall.co.uk  Twitter @rootsandall Instagram rootsandallpod Patreon Link; Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall     

I was reading in Facebook yesterday, a friend had planted all of these autumn crocus, colchicums, in her garden. Like any bulb, it takes lots of dedication to get them planted and then you have all of the anticipation - waiting to see if they come up and if they meet your expectations. Anyway, she'd invited some friends over to come and check them out. Instead of being amazed by the beautiful autumn crocus, her friends were completely taken her gorgeous hydrangea. Isn't that the way it goes? We toil in our gardens and then we invite people over to come and see it. Yet, the plants we expect others to be amazed by, the plants that have stolen our hearts, are not always the plants that are the most popular with our visitors.  So, my piece of advice, if you have an affinity for autumn crocus, is don't plant hydrangea. If you do have hydrangea, only invite other gardeners over.  Only gardeners will appreciate the dedication that it takes to plant colchicum. Only gardeners are sensitive to the fact that if they've been invited over to "see the colchicum", they will ooh and aah only for the autumn crocus, and offer merely a passing nod to the show-stealing hydrangea.      Brevities #OTD  Today is the birthday of the botanist Sarah Hynes who was born on this day in 1859,  Hynes was born in Danzig, Prussia and she immigrated to Australia in the mid 1800's. After graduating from the University of Sydney, she and Georgina King brought in fresh flowers for a botanical display at the Sydney Technological Museum. This is how Haynes came to know the director of the Museum, Joseph Henry Maiden. Maiden hired Haynes as a botanical assistant and when he was promoted to be the director of the Sydney Botanic Garden, he hired Hynes to be in charge of the herbarium. Once Hynes arrived at the botanic garden, she ran into difficulties with her male bosses. She was pointing out disparities between herself and her male counterparts; she had requested better pay. In 1905, Hynes was suspended and cited for 39 counts of insubordination including the use of "unladylike" phrase "lowdown, dirty larrikin trick." Hynes stood her ground and denied the charges, which were ultimately dismissed. But, five years later, it happened again. After this suspension, Haynes had had enough; she transferred to the Department of Public Instruction. After this position, Haynes spent the rest of her professional life teaching science to high schoolers.   William Fitzgerald named the (Acacia hynesiana) for her, in recognition of her work with Joseph Henry Maiden on his book Forest Flora.         #OTD   Today is the birthday of the botanical artist Faith Fyles who was born on this day in 1875. Fyles was trained as a botanist, but her natural artistic talent became apparent early in her career. She was the first female hired by the Canadian Department of Agriculture. In 1920, she transferred to the horticulture division where she began producing colored illustrations of plant specimens; especially   fruits and ornamentals.   Fyles is remembered for her work on the 1920 bulletin, Principal Poison Plants of Canada. The bulletin was prepared for farmers so that they could discern the problematic plants on their properties and avoid pasturing animals  with poisonous plants. The book was offered free through the Ottawa Department of Agriculture. Over her career, Fyles had the opportunity to study art with Stanhope Forbes in England and with Rene Menard and Lucien Simon in Paris.     #OTD   Today is the birthday of the Mexican botanist Helia Bravo Hollis who was born on this day in 1901. Bravo Hollis was the first woman to graduate with the title of Biologist in Mexico. By the age of 29, she was named curator of the University's herbarium where she was assigned the job of studying the cactus. In 1937, Bravo   Hollispublished "Las cactáceas de México", making her a leader of global cactus research.  Bravo Hollis focused on cactus in and in 1951, she cofounded the Mexican Cactus Society. Six cacti species are named in her honor. In 2001, the Cactus  Society had planned to celebrate her 100th birthday, but she died four days shy of the century mark. Bravo Hollis also helped found the Botanical Gardens at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She served as the director of the Gardens throughout the 1960s. When a strike occurred, Bravo-Hollis offset the pay owed her workers with money out of her own pocket. Last year, Google commemorated the 117th birthday of Bravo Hollis with a Doodle. If you search for her online, you'll see a memorable image of Bravo Hollis, in a skirt and blazer with a knife in her hand, standing next to an Echinocactus platyacanthus, also known as the giant barrel cactus, that appears to be over 5 ft tall and just as wide; a very impressive specimen. This species is the largest barrel cacti. In Mexico, where the cactus is a native, the hairs are harvested for weaving and a traditional candy is made from boiling the pith. Today, the Helia Bravo HollisBotanical Garden, with more than 80 species of cactaceae, is found at the Biosphere Reserve of Tehuacán.         Unearthed Words  Today is the birthday of the American poet WS Merwin, who always went by William, and who was born on this day in 1927. In 2010, Merwin and his wife, Paula, co-founded the Merwin Conservancy at his home in Haiku, Maui. Merwin used the 19 protected acres surrounding his home to cultivate 400 different species of tropical trees; and many of the world's rarest palm trees. Merwin bought the property in 1977, and every day, he planted one tree. Merwin's story is outlined in an excellent opinion piece about Merwin that was featured in the New York Times earlier this year.   “come back believer in shade believer in silence and elegance believer in ferns believer in patience believer in the rain” “Obviously a garden is not the wilderness but an assembly of shapes, most of them living, that owes some share of its composition, it’s appearance, to human design and effort, human conventions and convenience, and the human pursuit of that elusive, indefinable harmony that we call beauty. It has a life of its own, an intricate, willful, secret life, as any gardener knows. It is only the humans in it who think of it as a garden. But a garden is a relationship, which is one of the countless reasons why it is never finished.”      “On the last day of the world I would want to plant a tree.”      Today's book recommendation: Planting in a Post-Wild World by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West  This book came out in 2015 and the subtitle is Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes. Right from the start, one can tell that this book has a different philosophical underpinning than other books on landscape design. And, I love that they incorporate the use of the word community; Rainer and West are trying to get us to think about our gardens as communities.  If we could begin to see our gardens and the plants in them in the way that Rainer and West do, we would be much more sensitive to concepts like density and diversity in our plantings. But, don't let those terms throw you; Rainer and West are all about extracting design principals that help gardeners focus on wise selections and year-round interest; all through the lens of community. If we could all do a better job of understanding the way plants behave in the wild, our gardens would benefit greatly.  I love what they write in the beginning of their book because I think it sets the tone for what they are trying to accomplish: "The way plants grow in the wild and the way they grow in our gardens is starkly different. In nature, plants thrive even in inhospitable environments; in our gardens, plants often lack the vigor of their wild counterparts, even when we lavish them with rich soils and frequent water. In nature, plants richly cover the ground; in too many of our gardens, plants are placed far apart and mulched heavily to keep out weeds. In nature, plants have an order individual harmony resulting from their adaptation to a site; our gardens are often arbitrary assortments from various habitats, related only by our personal preferences....   In fact, the very activities that define gardening – weeding, watering, fertilizing, and mulching – all imply a dependency of plants on the gardener for survival. Gardeners are often frustrated when some plants spread beyond their predetermined location and surprised     while others struggle to get established....   Further complication is the availability of plants from every corner of the globe...   So how do we  shift the paradigm, making desirable plantings that look and function sympathetically with how they evolve in nature? By observing and embracing the wisdom of natural plant communities."         Today's Garden Chore Add some color to your garden with chrysanthemums.  On this day in 2000, Stuart Robinson offered this advice about mums in his weekly column in the Montreal Gazette: "Before shutting things down for the winter, there are a few ways to make the fall garden look a bit nicer. Brighten up your fall flower beds with some colorful chrysanthemums. If you didn't plant any in the spring, so what. Markets and garden supply stores usually have lots of them on special at this time of the year. Buy a few of the larger pots, dig holes in the flower bed (removing a few poor-performing annuals if you have to) and just drop them in and water them well. If you do it when nobody's looking, your neighbors will never know."       Something Sweet  Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart As I was researching the poet William Merwin, I came across an interview with him done by Joel Whitney back in 2010. During the interview, Merwin revealed that his mother used to read him poetry and one of his early favorites was Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses.  When asked about Stevenson, Merwin recalled that Stevenson had spent a great deal of time in Hawaii: "and played cards with King Kalakaua... Kalakaua cheated at cards... They obviously got along very well together, Stevenson and Kalakaua. They were playing cards one day, and Stevenson said, 'I’ll beat him this time: four aces.' And Kalakaua said, 'Five kings beats it all.'"     Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Are you a fan of basil? A few years ago, I produced an entire long-format show about basil for the Still Growing podcast. It was Episode 573, and I called it Basilmania. At one point or another, we’ve all needed an introduction to basil and to pesto.  So, if you’ve never grown basil, or smelled basil, or tasted it, or cooked with basil - I want to introduce you to it. I’d love it if someday you look back and say - yeah that Basilmania episode on Still Growing - that’s what made me want to give basil a try.  If you're an experienced basil gardener, you also it because I take you through some of the amazing varieties of basil - just know that there are over a hundred - (and I give you some ideas for what you can do with them).   From a growing standpoint, I share how to grow it from seed, how to propagate it (it’s so easy - its insane), offer some basic cultivation tips, and provide answers to some common questions about problems folks can have growing basil. I also tell you about harvesting and storing all of your green gold - your basil leaves. And then I wrap up with my favorite part of growing basil - eating it. I’ll share my pesto tips and give you some pretty amazing recipes that may or may not incorporate pesto. Whew! So, check it out on my blog or on your favorite podcast player just search for the word Basilmania (SG573) and the Still Growing podcast episode should pop right up.  Brevities     #OTD It's the birthday of Benning Wentworth who was born on this day in 1696.   Wentworth was the colonial governor of New Hampshire from 1741 to 1766.   Wentworth is important to North American gardeners, because Wentworth had brought the lilac along with other trees and shrubs when he immigrated to America from England.   In 1750, the first lilac was planted at the Wentworth home. In 1919, it was adopted as the New Hampshire State Flower because lawmakers felt it was,  "symbolic  of the hardy character of the men and women of New Hampshire; the granite state."     #OTD  It's the birthday of one of the man who created the Missouri Botanical Gardens also known as "Shaw's Garden," or "Hank's Garden" - I'm talking about none other than the great Henry Shaw who was born on this day in 1800. Shaw is easily in the top ten of any list of great American botanical philanthropists.   Shaw is commemorated on the St. Louis Walk of Fame with this epitaph: Henry Shaw, only 18 when he came to St. Louis, was one of the city’s largest landowners by age 40. Working with leading botanists, he planned, funded and built the Missouri Botanical Garden, which opened in 1859. Shaw donated the land for Tower Grove Park and helped with its construction. He wrote botanical tracts, endowed Washington University’s School of Botany, helped found the Missouri Historical Society, and gave the city a school and land for a hospital. Of Shaw’s gifts, the Botanical Garden is best-known. Said as early as 1868 to have “no equal in the United States, and, indeed, few anywhere in the world." In addition to the Botanical Garden, Shaw built the Linnean House in 1882. It is the oldest continuously operated public greenhouse west of the Mississippi River and was originally designed to be an orangery; a place to overwinter citrus trees, palms and tree ferns. And, there's a little story I love that reveals Shaw's regard for the plants in his garden.  It was posted in the St. Louis Star and Times on April 5, 1933 "Mr. Shaw was escorting a lady through his gardens, pointing out objects of interest. The visitor said: " I cannot understand, Sir, how you are able to remember all of these difficult names." He replied, with a courtly bow, "Madame, did you ever know a mother to forget the names of her children? These plants and flowers are my little ones." #OTD Today in 1938, The Miami News posted an article about pigeon peas. The article begins this way,  "If English peas don't suit your palate, plant pigeon peas. The suggestion is that of a Miami pioneer, Charles F. Sulzner, who through the years has pointed out to newcomers the advantages of growing tropical fruits and vegetables, often of a type requiring no painstaking cultivation... Pigeon peas, as Sulzner demonstrated in his spacious grounds at 236 S. W. Second St grow on trees, and may be had by the simple process of picking. Pigeon peas make a lovely and distinct addition to the edible garden. The cultivation of the pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan), can be traced back more than 3,500 years. Other common names include: Congo pea, Angola pea and red gram. In Barbados, pigeon pea was used to feed pigeons. Gardeners who love growing peas in the spring, may thoroughly enjoy growing pigeon pea in the summer. It's a hardy perennial that can produce multiple harvests during the season.   The sweet, fresh green peas are technically beans. They can be eaten fresh when green or dried. The dried beans need to be soaked before boiling. Pigeon peas have a nutty taste and crisp texture. The entire pod may be eaten.   As a bonus, the yellow-red flowers attract flocks of hummingbirds and the plants are also nitrogen-fixers and enrich the soil.     Unearthed Words Here's a poem from John Clare called July:   "Loud is the summer's busy song The smallest breeze can find a tongue, While insects of each tiny size Grow teasing with their melodies, Till noon burns with its blistering breath Around, and day lies still as death."   Today's book recommendation: Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes Hardcover by Thomas Rainer and Claudia West  Rainer and West offer strong voices in ecological landscape design. The book is about how plants fit together in the wild and how we can use that understanding in garden design and plantings. The benefits of this kind of planting method are much more management and less maintenance in addition to more diversity and density in our plantings.  Rainer and West have grown increasingly frustrated by the fact that traditional horticultural plantings really didn’t provide the set of tools to give clients ecosystems that also offer year-round beauty. By keying in on the way plants behave in the wild; grasping concepts like density and diversity, the authors believe they have extracted some design principles and real-world solutions for gardeners     Today's Garden Chore Try designing a Clock Garden.  The floral clock garden originated with Linnaeus, an 18th century Swedish botanist. He hypothesized that flowers could predict time based on when they opened and closed.  You could make your clock garden much more simple by creating wedges based on color or by season: spring, summer, and fall bloomers.     Something Sweet  Reviving the little botanic spark in your heart On this day in 1975, the Green Bay Press-Gazette a little ad for their "Dial-A-Garden-Tip." Readers could simply dial a number at any time and hear a taped garden message. Here were the topics posted in the paper: July 17 Russian olive diseases. July 18, 19, 20 Dutch elm disease. July 21 How to blanch vegetables. July 22 Growing cauliflower. Julu 23 Birch borer. July 24 Training young trees.     Thanks for listening to the daily gardener, and remember: "For a happy, healthy life, garden every day."

Thomas Rainer is a “horticultural futurist fascinated by the intersection of wild plants and human culture." A landscape architect by profession and a gardener by obsession, Rainer is co-author of “Planting in a Post-Wild World,” (Timber Press 2015). He joins Cultivating Place this week to explore what gardening in a post wild world looks like and why, despite collective wounds and losses, there’s hope and beauty to be found in the cultivation of resilient plant communities in any place large or small we might find to plant them. Hope you’ll listen!

This week on We Dig Plants , solo host Alice Marcus Krieg is on the line with Thomas Rainer.  Thomas is a landscape architect, teacher, and writer who lives in Arlington, Virginia. He has designed landscapes for the United States Capitol grounds, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and the New York Botanical Garden, and recently teamed up with Claudia West to write the book, “Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes.” These two leading voices in ecological landscape design, reveal how plants fit together in nature and how to use this knowledge to create landscapes that are resilient, beautiful, and diverse. As practical as it is inspiring, Planting in a Post-Wild World is an optimistic manifesto pointing the way to the future of planting design.

This week I interview Kelly about the ideas behind the remake of our front yard. We talk about why we took out a bunch of stone fruit trees and Kelly discusses how the principles in Thomas Rainer and Claudia West’s book Planting in a Post-Wild World  inspired the new design of our yard. If you […]

Guest Emma Marris speaks with Diane Horn about her book "Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World".

Emma Marris is a freelance science writer and author of Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World.  In this episode, Emma talks about her book, describing how the perspective in which humans have had about the importance of wilderness to be pure and pristine is an outdated notion.  It disregards the impact in which […]