The Native Plant Podcast (Native Plant Podcast)

John & Preston converse about where things have been and where they are going. Is the native plant movement stronger now, or does it still have a ways to go?

Our old friend Ian Caton of Wood Thrush Natives Nursery drops by and talks about the variation he sees within a species.

Craig Limpach of Genius Loci in Elyria, OH drops by for a deep discussion with John about creating a sense of place.

Craig Tufts was not only the Chief Naturalist at the National Wildlife Federation for many years, he was a big influence in many young naturalists lives. On this very special show, listen in as John sits down with Craig's son Ben and NWF staff members David Mizejewski and Ellen Lambeth to reminisce about their memories of a great man.

John & Preston interview Stefan Bloodworth of the Sarah P. Duke gardens in Durham, NC

Andrew Moore is here to talk about his James Beard nominated book "Paw-Paw, America's forgotten fruit.

John & Jesse sit down with Professor James Hitchmough, Head of Department of the School of Landscape Architecture at the University of Sheffield.

Preston's new friend Felder Rushing sits down with John and he for a conversation about taking the time to enjoy your garden.

We like to highlight some emerging professionals in the Green Industry on our show to give them an opportunity to share new research and insight they are bringing to our community. Tonight Preston sits down with a friend and former student, Mr. Owen Washam to talk about his research focusing on carnivorous plants.

John attended the 'Poster Session' at Cullowhee this year where each recipient is required to do a poster explaining their work.

Derrick Jensen sits down with John and chats about where we are headed with our society and if we should even have a society.

One of our industry's 'up & comers' drops by for a chat with John & Preston. Taylor Williams owns 'Will Garden' and we talk design, maintenance and having the right experience for the job.

John & Preston have been wanting to do a show on water gardens for sometime.  This is the last episode of season 3 and will hopefully get you started on your own little water project.

Noted Horticulturist and Author Christopher Woods talks about his passion for gardening and his new book covering some of the best new gardens of the world.

Long time friend of the show, Dr. Dawn Sherry drops by to chat about this year's conference. The field trips, the speakers and most of all, the companionship.

Gardening Author Thomas Christopher has written and co-authored a number of fine books about gardening.  Join us today as Preston and John sit down with him and learn a little bit more about Tom and what drives his passion.

John sits down with new friend to the Show Alan Branhagen and they have a conversation about some of the best natives for Midwest gardens.

Our good friend John Manion drops by to talk about the upcoming Birmingham Botanical Garden Native Plant Conference being held this month.  Fascinating topics, speakers and field trips await you in Birmingham!  Oh, we drop a little plant knowledge along the way as well.

You know him as David Mizejewski, Naturalist for the National Wildlife Federation and Author of Attracting Birds, Butterflies and other backyard wildlife, but we know him as 'Dave' fellow podcasting nerd, D&D player and Elf Quest aficionado- not to mention Star Wars fan(atic). Join us for a journey through it all including some great information about the NWF's "Gardening for Wildlife" month and lots of things to look for in the updated version of his book.

Author and Director of Horticulture at the Des Moines Botanical Garden Kelly Norris drops by to talk about 'style' in the garden.

John reminisces his childhood growing up in Ohio and visiting the natural areas of the state with Naturalist Jim McCormac. Jim is now retired from the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources, but he will always hold a love for the flora and fauna of the Buckeye State.

Should we consider ecology while designing a landscape? Well we think so and this week we've invited Landscape Designer Jessi Bloom to talk about it with us. In her book "Creating Sanctuary" she delves into what makes a space 'sacred' and how you can do the same in your landscape. Join us as we talk about an important topic in landscape design.

One of our favorite friends of all time; Nadine Phillips to stop in and talk about one of her favorite topics- Forest Bathing.  Is nature important to you?  Should it be?  Spoiler alert: you do!

Can Hip Hop save the world?  Can it bring new people to the field of Forestry and horticulture?  Well, today's guest thinks so and is living proof of it.  Tune in to a different kind of show today.

Dendrologist Dr. Don Leopold drops by to talk about some of our favorite native trees and how they can be used in the landscape.

John sits down with one of Don Leopold's grad students and talks about their research on green roofs with marginal plants.  Plant nerd stuff galore today.  :)

John talks about the upcoming season and what it was to lose Emma.

The long wait is over as John welcomes us into season five and lets everyone know what to expect.  Lots of big things on the way of course, so sit back and enjoy the ride- welcome to season five!

John's wife, Susana Struve is joining the podcast this season as a co-host(ess).  Learn a little bit more about the crazy adventures she and John have had together and have also had apart.

John sits down with GIS specialist Ben Nyberg to talk about how drones are being used to change the way scientists are conserving rare flora and fauna.  Hawaii is known for a high rate of endemism, because of this, rare species can be difficult to locate.  Drones are now changing where scientists can go and what they can do.

Chris Fehlhaber joins the cast of the podcast and brings with him his friend Lucy Dinsmore, the warm hearted horticulturalist to talk about (among other things) women in horticulture.

Past guest John Manion joins the show as a co-host and invites his good friend Dr. Tom Diggs of the University of North Georgia to talk about Glade habitats and what it is to inspire others through teaching.

John & Susana met Evodia many moons ago at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Kempton, PA.  They've remained friends ever since and in this episode, you'll get to meet the Dr. side of Evodia as we talk about the benefits of small, local markets and how this helps with sustainable agriculture and promoting native plants that might be edible.

Join Western North Carolina (WNC)-based consulting botanist/plant ecologist Owen Carson as he delves into bogs of the southeast to explore their bio-geography, floral rarity and morphological specialization, and how they ultimately operate as a refuge for future sources of biodiversity within the greater landscape.

Amy is the Director of Collections at Mt. Cuba Center and oversees both living and non-living collections. Currently she is engaged in expanding the genetic diversity of the gardens, developing standards for organizational learning, and coordinating the center's conservation efforts.

Janet Draper has served as Horticulturist for the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden since 1997.  She earned her BS in Horticulture from Purdue University and has worked at the Ball Seed Company, Mt Cuba Center, Kurt Bluemel, Inc, the Plantage, Homestead Gardens and as a contractor for Oehme, van Sweden Associates.  She has international horticultural experience through the Beth Chatto Gardens in England and the Staudengartnerei Grafin von Stein-Zeppelin in Germany. She was the President of the Perennial Plant Association from 2017-2019 and continues to serve on the Board of Directors for the PPA.

Jennifer Ceska coordinates all conservation activities at the State Botanical Garden, she coordinates the Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance and the Georgia Native Plant Initiative, collaborating with colleagues in the Plant Conservation Program on the recovery of rare plant populations and the restoration of native habitats, she also inspires people to care about and value plants and all of the services they provide.

Has humanity had such an influence upon the Earth that future generations will look back and see our indelible mark?  Plastic?  Splitting the atom?  Moving invasive species from place to place?  Is this the Anthropocene?  Is this the age of man?  Join John & Dr. Michael Osborne as they try and examine things in their own kind of way.

John & Susana sit down with Dr. Daniel Medina to talk about carbon sequestration and green infrastructure.  How can we design our infrastructure to function better in a changing environment?  Tune in to see.

Anna Maria León and her Husband Roy Diblik stop by to talk permaculture, raising your own food and doing good things for others, also known as helping out your community.

Join John & John as they interview Dr. Joyce Klaus and her husband Nathan Klaus about controlled burns.

Susana's long time friend and Ecotourist Guide Norby Lopez drops in to chat with John & Susana about his industry and the changes that are happening due to the Coronavirus.

Another visitor from the Buckeye State as Andrew Lane Gibson joins John Magee & John Manion to discuss a lot of Orchids and other school stuff from across the state and beyond.

Uli Lorimer drops by to talk about the work being done with the Native Plant Trust and how to find good natives in the trade.

We went down to the NPP basement and did some searching for this one.  Originally recorded in 2017, this show was 'lost' after recording and so some things may be out of date.  things like the fact that Bill is no longer at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens and is now at the Morris Arboretum in Philadelphia.

At long last season 6 has arrived and in this first episode, John previews what we'll be diving into.

Smithsonian Botanist John Boggan drops by to talk about why plants are named as they are and why plant names change from time to time.

Beth Ginter, Executive Director of the Chesapeake Conservation Landscaping Council, drops by to tell us about their certification for Professional Landscapers (CBLP) to help clean storm water runoff before it reaches the Bay.

On today's show, John sits down with Michael Myers of the Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy to talk about how local non-profits can help educate the public and conserve areas for wildlife habitat.

Celia Vuocolo manages PEC’s Sustainable Habitat Program. She works with landowners interested in managing their property for wildlife habitat, provides outreach and education on wildlife and land stewardship, works on wildlife conservation policy issues and watershed-scale restoration initiatives, and also manages PEC’s conservation lands. She's here today to talk to us about the work PEC is doing to protect trout habitat and the role native plants play in that process.

Matt Bright has been the Conservation Manager at Earth Sangha, an organization his parents founded in 1998 since 2011. Before that, he worked as a volunteer firefighter and EMT while attending Kenyon College in Ohio. Matt now splits his time between managing the Wild Plant Nursery -- Washington DC region's largest grower of exclusively local ecotype native plants, collecting seeds, sustainably and with permission from wild plant populations, and assisting with local restoration projects. 

For the last 10 years, Matthew has been managing the buildings and grounds of the Danvers Historical Society. There, Matthew's mission has been to restore the historic gardens as well as implement strategies to build resiliency into the landscape. Matthew also has a strong passion for using horticulture as a vehicle to educate the community about history, nature and our place in nature.

During a career spanning more than 30 years, Professor Jeff Ollerton has established himself as one of the world’s leading experts on pollinators and pollination. The author of more than 120 articles and book chapters, his highly-cited, ground-breaking research has been used by national and international agencies to support efforts to conserve pollinators and their pollination services.

Author, Naturalist and all around good guy, Dr. Doug Tallamy joins John Magee and Capital Naturalist Alonso Abugattas to discuss one of the most important trees we can add to our landscapes- the Oak (Quercus spp.).  Known to support some 570 species of life, nothing can be more supportive to wildlife habitat than our most essential tree- the mighty Oak.

Eleanor Allen is the CEO of Water For People, a global nonprofit working in Africa, Latin America, and Asia to help develop sustainable water and sanitation services for millions of people. She's a social entrepreneur recognized by the Schwab Foundation, a TEDx speaker, a Water Environment Federation Fellow, and an influential Woman of Water. She serves on the board of Parametrix and the University of Colorado.  We welcome her here today to talk with us about the Global Water Crisis.

This week, John & Chris sit down with Dr. Sara 'Fern' Fitzsimmons to talk about her love of one of America's most iconic trees- the American Chestnut (Castanea dentata) and to talk about it's chances of a future return to our forests.

Former Cullowhee Scholarship winner and current Landscape Architect Sadie Walters drops by to chat with John & Preston about her new project promoting sustainable charging stations for electric vehicles.

Dr. Amy Johnson is a conservation scientist and Program Director for Virginia Working Landscapes, a community-based research program at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institiute. In this role, Amy leads a team that cultivates a dynamic network of private landowners, citizen scientists, NGO’s, state agencies and research scientists to collectively investigate the impacts of conservation management and land use on biodiversity in the Shenandoah Valley and Piedmont regions of VA. In addition to research, she is committed to developing a strong outreach program that communicates research findings to help inform best management practices for regional conservation partners and the community. During her Ph.D. research with George Mason University, Amy focused on the impacts of conservation and land management on breeding and over-wintering grassland bird communities in Virginia. In her role as Program Director, she continues to explore knowledge gaps pertaining to grassland bird ecology by facilitating collaborative conservation and research efforts with Smithsonian scientists and local partners. Her current research projects focus on full annual cycle modeling of grassland birds and exploring best management practices for optimizing reproductive success in species that nest in working grasslands.

A child of the Midwest, Mark Dwyer is a passionate gardener, plants person, designer, horticulture speaker, educator and author. He has degrees in landscape architecture (University of Illinois) and urban forestry (UW-Stevens Point) and is former Director of Horticulture at the Rotary Botanical Gardens in Janesville WI. Currently Mark is the proprietor of Landscape Prescriptions by MD where he brings good design and an innovative use of plants to create landscapes of beauty and function for clients.

Sam Droege has been spent most of his career at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. He has coordinated the North American Breeding Bird Survey Program, developed the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program, the BioBlitz, Cricket Crawl, and FrogwatchUSA programs and worked on the design and evaluation of monitoring programs. Currently he is developing an inventory and monitoring program for native bees, online identification guides for North American bees at www.discoverlife.org, and with Jessica Zelt reviving the North American Bird Phenology Program. His group maintains high resolution photographs of insects an other macro natural history objects at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/

Jeff Epping has been Director of Horticulture at Olbrich Botanical Gardens in Madison WI, since 1992 where he oversees horticultural operations and the garden designs of more than 15 inspirational garden areas showcasing fantastic plants for Southern Wisconsin. Jeff and his talented staff have practiced and preached sustainable gardening for years with environmentally conscious cultural practices and innovative, award-winning designs.

Jessica Walliser is a former contributing editor for Organic Gardening and a regular contributor to many national gardening publications. Her two weekly gardening columns for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review have been enjoyed by readers for over ten years. Her book, Attracting Beneficial Bugs to the Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control, was awarded the American Horticultural Society’s Book Award. Jessica received her degree in ornamental horticulture from The Pennsylvania State University.

Following in the footsteps of Frank Lloyd Wright, Tony Gomez- Philips helps to update classic design into a more sustainable light at Monona Terrace in Wisconsin.

Two friends of ours have joined forces to give us all some great suggestions for deer resistant plants for the Northeast United States.  Gregg Tepper has been on the podcast before, but this time he brings one of our favorite gardening authors; Ruth Rogers Clausen.  The two have combined their knowledge and poured it all into this wonderful book.

Saturnia Farm in Clyde North Carolina is a nursery, flower farm, and homestead with growing and land management practices guided by principals of beauty, permaculture, and ecology.  Their mission is to provide holistically-grown, affordable, specialty perennials, natives, and edible landscaping plants for the beautification and ecological benefit of Western North Carolina.

Dr. Darrel Morrison joins us for the beginning of our seventh season and we couldn't be happier with having him.

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.

Kyle Lybarger is a Forester, a conservation influencer, and a life long outdoorsman from Hartselle, Alabama. Kyle holds a Bachelors degree in Forestry ,with a concentration in Forest Science, from Alabama A&M University. His love for the outdoors and wildlife led him to native plants since they are the foundation of wildlife habitat. With his presence on TikTok (@NativePlantTok) and his passion for managing native ecosystems he has started the Native Habitat Project where he’s continuing to save what’s left of forgotten ecosystems and conserving the important plant species that exist there.

Chris & John host Andrea Amaya with all of her plant knowledge and work she's helping the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center do, she's a wealth of information.

Miles Hilton Connors is Director of Parterre Ecological, a specialized division within Parterre Garden Services that integrates principles of ecology and horticulture to protect, promote and restore native plant communities.

Jenn Myers drops by to chat with John and Preston about things that landscape companies can do to attract and maintain professional staffs

Before serving as Horticulturist of Haskell Public Gardens, Mc Cullin was the Senior Horticulturalist at The Native Plant Trusts Garden in the Woods. Prior to that, McCullin was selected as a Garden Club of America and Royal Society of Horticulture Scholar to intern at a variety of important public gardens in the UK. She also served as an apprentice at Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum in Boston, and as a Landscape Coordinator at the Central Park Conservancy in New York City. McCullin has a Bachelor of Science in Landscape Architecture from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She lives in Acushnet, Massachusetts with her horticulturist husband Nate and their daughter Kalmia.

Sean received a Bachelor's in Horticulture and a Master's degree in Plant & Environmental Science from Clemson University where he focused on nutrient media in tissue culture propagation. His professional background includes private residential horticulture, greenhouse and nursery production, plant nutrient management in soil-less media, and temperate woody plant propagation and conservation. As the Arnold Arboretum's Plant Propagator, Sean continues a 150 year tradition of growing woody temperate species from seed, cuttings, grafts, layers, and more; as well as being given the honor to travel and wild collect plants for the Arnold Arboretum.

Laurie is a distinguished teacher, author, and one of the most renowned landscape architects practicing today. From vision to realization, he has guided many of OLIN’s signature projects, which span the history of the studio from the Washington Monument Grounds in Washington, DC to Bryant Park in New York City. His recent projects include the AIA award-winning Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Simon and Helen Director Park in Portland, Oregon.

Jared Barnes, Ph.D., started gardening when he was five years old, and since then has enthusiastically pursued how to best cultivate plants and minds. He currently fulfills those passions as an award-winning associate professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX. He educates the public with his weekly newsletter PlantEd and more recently through his Podcast- "The Plantastic Podcast". His passion has been recognized by peers in interviews in Organic Gardening, Greenhouse Grower, AmericanHort Connect, Ken Druse’s Real Dirt, and Nursery Management, and his articles have appeared in The American Gardener, Fine Gardening and Carolina Gardener and now here, on the Native Plant Podcast.

We’re all about the graminoids this week with our long-time friend and boomerang guest, Shannon Currey. Since taping the show, Shannon has transitioned from her role as marketing director with Hoffman Nursery to pursue a career in horticulture communication, education, and consulting. Her wealth of knowledge when it comes to grasses and sedges for the market (especially natives), has no equal, and we had a great time talking about all our favorites (and some new things to try as well)! We hope you’ll enjoy listening as much as John & Preston had recording the episode. Thanks Shannon, and good luck with your new journey!

James Golden’s garden design has been featured in national and international magazines, in The New York Times, and in several books on garden design. He has been the recipient of national awards and is widely known in the gardening world through his garden blog View from Federal Twist (www.federaltwist.com). James’ Federal Twist garden regularly appears on tours of the Garden Conservancy, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Hardy Plant Society, and on numerous private tours. Recently retired, he has started a garden design practice.

Jeff Lorenz is the founder of Refugia Design, an ecological landscape design/build and stewardship firm, based out of Narberth, PA. Since 2015, Refugia has been offering distinctive native landscape design for both residential and commercial green spaces throughout the Greater Philadelphia Area and Jersey Shore. Annual major exhibitor and award-winners at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society’s Philadelphia Flower Show, Refugia is known for an immersive, naturalistic design aesthetic and meadow expertise at projects ranging in size from city yards to suburban estates.

One of the most influential landscape architects in practice today, Laurie Olin has created designs for the Washington Monument grounds and the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden in Washington, D/.D., Bryant Park in New York City, Getty Center in Los Angeles, and many other iconic landscapes. More recent projects include the AIA award-winning Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, Apple Park in Cupertino, and Simon and Helen Director Park in Portland Oregon. All of these works were realized under the auspices of OLIN, the firm he cofounded in 1976. Laurie is a prolific writer and a Practice Professor of Landscape Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania. He began his career studying civil engineering at the University of Alaska and ended up earning a degree from the University of Washington where Richard Haag encouraged him to focus on landscape. (for those of you who don’t know of Richard Haag, google Gasworks Park in Seattle and Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island). He is a fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, a fewllow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and recipient of the 1998 Award in Architecture from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is the recipient of the 2012 National Medal of Arts, the highest lifetime achievement award for artists and designers bestowed by the National Endowment for the Arts and the President of the United States. He also holds the 2011 American Society of Landscape Architects Medal, the society’s highest award for a landscape architect.

John & Susana team up to get us started this year by describing a pretty incredible trip to Ecuador over the winter where they visited Antisana and Chimborazo volcanos and the cloudy forest of Papallacta (pronounced- Papayakta). They also update us on co-hosts and joke around a bit while celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. Thanks for joining us once again, we hope you'll enjoy another great season of the Native Plant Podcast.

OK, so we're not the most organized people in the world- we're sorry. We originally spoke to Don last year, but in an unfortunate sorting incident, we lost the file for a time. We're very glad to have found it though as it is a wonderful piece of entertainment and education. Garden Designer Donald Pell is known for his use of native plants in the landscape and ecological approach to design, but it turns out he also enjoys a good laugh and a craft brew. Welcome to the show Don, we're happy to have you.

Gardening Author and Landscape Designer Owen Wormser drops by to spread some wisdom on eliminating lawn and replacing it with habitat, just like he does in his book 'Lawns Into Meadows, Growing a Regenerative Landscape'

John sits down with legendary Landscape Designer Piet Oudolf and discusses his new book- 'at Work', landscape design, working with others and a few other topics. There are even a few dog stories.

Wild Seed Project builds awareness of the vital importance of native plants and provides all people with the tools to restore biodiversity in their own communities. They equip community members, public officials and municipalities, and land-holding individuals and organizations – from farmers to land trusts – with the skills and resources they need to collectively repopulate landscapes with native plants that expand wildlife habitat, support biodiversity, and build climate resilience.

Uli Lorimer is director of Horticulture at Garden In The Woods, in Framingham, Massachussettes. Previously, he was curator of Brooklyn Botanic Garden's Native Flora Garden until early 2019. The Delaware native grew up with an interest in all things green, and after receiving an honors degree from the University of Delaware in landscape horticulture, he moved to New York City to become the woodland gardener at Wave Hill. 

Today's episode is dedicated to John's Dad (Sam) who despite growing up during World War 2 and living in downtown Toledo, Ohio still managed to raise food for his family through always having a 'victory garden', a practice he carried on his entire life and passed on to his children teaching them the importance of being able to raise your own food. Tonight's guest; Maggie Stuckey has authored many books, but tonight, she and John will be discussing her latest; The Container Victory Garden which shows that even the smallest of gardens can be used wisely to help keep fresh foods within reach. We hope you enjoy.