Born and raised in Vermont, Dan Snow grew up in a landscape filled with dry-stone walls, stone walls assembled without the use of mortar. He has embraced this craft and raised it to the level of a fine art, using dry-stone techniques to create all sorts of works that range from the practical (such as stock walls) to the fantastic: pavilions, cairns, grottoes, and free-form sculptures, all held together by nothing more than gravity, friction, and Dan’s extraordinary skill in matching stone to stone. Commonly using stones collected on site, Dan says that he “strives to transfigure the essence of place into new forms and experiences through the manipulation of natural materials.” The author of three books about his work with stone, Dan is a thoughtful and articulate spokesperson for his unique blend of craft and art.

One of the major dilemmas of ecological landscaping is that returning a garden to a more natural state most often begins with a resort to synthetic herbicides. To give native vegetation a chance to establish itself on a site, any existing invasive plants, and even too aggressive natives, must be removed, and that usually has meant spraying them with weed killers. Gardeners who are seeking greater harmony with nature find this a jarring beginning to the process of renewal.

Kathleen Groll Connolly, principal of Speaking of Landscapes LLC, offers a number of alternative, more environmentally friendly, practices. Kathy is a noted landscape designer, writer, and speaker who emphasizes earth-friendly designs, native plants, and low-impact land care techniques. To satisfy clients who don’t want chemicals used on their properties, Kathy has mastered a number of all-natural methods for eradicating weeds and invasive plants. In our conversation, she details how she accomplishes this feat, and why patience is the ecological gardener’s greatest friend.

Why is the northeastern United States such a special target for invasive plants and animals? And why is this crisis predicted to increase in the coming years? Why is this relevant to what will be experienced in the rest of North America?

Today Growing Greener speaks with Carrie Brown-Lima, Director of the New York Invasive Species Research Institute in Ithaca, New York. Carrie and her institute work to bridge the gap between scientists who are studying the issues associated with invasive species, and land managers and others who need up-to-date information to help them deal effectively with invasive species in the field. One of Carrie’s concerns is the effects that a warming climate will have on opening the door ecologically to new invasive plants and animals, awakening “sleeper species” already present in our woods, fields, and gardens, and she discusses how gardeners may play a role in combatting these new threats effectively.

Carrie Brown-Lima earned a Master’s of Science degree from Cornell University and spent more than eight years as a conservation planning specialist and program manager in Latin America.

Sustainability is not enough, says Trevor Smith; his goal is “regenerative landscape design,” to restore the landscape to a healthy ecological function.

A landscape designer and installer in the Boston metropolitan area, Trevor served for four years as president of the Ecological Landscape Alliance, and he is a passionate advocate of cooperation within the landscape industry. From the first days of his practice, Trevor’s goal has been to make his landscapes a source of renewal to the local ecosystem. A LEED-certified professional, Trevor’s specialty is creating green infrastructure, to restore the hydrological cycle by infiltrating and treating stormwater within the landscape on which it falls.

A rising star in the New York horticultural world, Wambui Ippolito has gardened for clients such as Martha Stewart and David Letterman, and is much sought after as a speaker. An immigrant from East Africa herself, she is passionate about the contributions that immigrants make to American gardening. Successive waves of immigrants have traditionally been the backbone of the landscape industry in the United States, but too often, says Wambui, they leave behind their special perspectives in the effort to become American. In this conversation Wambui discusses how she connected with the land as a child in Kenya, and makes the case for how the American landscape can be enriched if all of us re-discovered our immigrant roots.

Robert Kourik of Santa Rosa, California is a nationally recognized gardening expert who has spent decades meticulously researching his craft. A pioneer of sustainable gardening, he is the author of 19 books, including a number of classics such as “Designing and Maintaining Your Edible Landscape Naturally” and “Drip Irrigation for Every Landscape and All Climates.”

Robert’s writing and gardening is remarkable, in that unlike most gardeners he doesn’t rely solely on traditional lore or anecdotal experience. Instead Robert bases his gardening on extensive research.

In this episode of Growing Greener Robert turns his attention to that gardening stand-by, mulch. He explains the potential benefits of this garden treatment, and examines how to use it most effectively – Robert himself maintained his own garden for 30 years through northern California’s seasonal drought using only mulch to maintain soil moisture and fertility. He also discusses the dangers involved in misusing mulch. Robert explains where he gets his information and the advantages of “peer-reviewed” scientific studies.

Robert caps the program with an examination of a very popular material used by increasing numbers of gardeners, aerated compost tea. He addresses the science, or lack of science associated with this, and shares his recommendation for a more economical substitute.

Do you wonder about the effect that climate change is having on the appearance of your garden? One insight comes from the work of Dr. Matthew Koski of Clemson University. Dr. Koski has been studying the responses of common flowers to the on-going warming of the climate and the changes that is causing in the ozone layer.

To trace these changes over a period of 75 years, he has used herbariums, collections made by botanists of pressed plants, like a time machine. By looking at specimens collected decades ago and comparing them to more recent ones, he has been able to detect changes that have occurred in flower color over time.

Specifically, he has been looking at changes in how the flowers appear under ultraviolet (UV) light. That isn’t apparent to the human eye, which cannot see the ultraviolet part of the spectrum, although it can be detected by a special camera that Dr. Koski has developed.

How flowers reflect or absorb ultraviolet light is important to insect pollinators, however. They do see ultraviolet light and in fact use the patterns of UV absorptive and reflective pigments as targets to help them find the sexual organs in the flowers. As these patterns degrade in response to global warming and resulting changes in the ozone layer, this may threaten plant-pollinator relationships that evolved over many millennia.

Even before she graduated from Auburn University with degree in Ornamental Horticulture, Abra Lee had developed a passion for uncovering the history of contributions that African-Americans have made to American horticulture and the role they have played in shaping the American landscape. Currently, she is working on a book on that subject, and in our conversation she shares sketches of some of the remarkable individuals she has come across

Abra herself has had a distinguished 19-year horticultural career; she has served as a County Extension Agent with the University of Georgia, and as horticulturist for the Atlanta and Houston Airports, as well as a free lance writer and educator. Abra was a member of the 2019-2020 Cohort of Longwood Fellows in advanced horticultural and public horticultural management, a prestigious program sponsored by Longwood Gardens to enhance the management and leadership skills of a select cadre of internationally selected horticulturists.

In our conversation Abra also shares some of her memories of growing up in a vibrant African American home gardening tradition and reflects on what she received from her elders. She discusses African gardening traditions that survived the Middle Passage to take root in America and throughout the lands of the African diaspora.

Follow Abra Lee at her website, https://conquerthesoil.com.

When Ellen Zachos wants to take a break from growing plants, writing, and teaching – Ellen was an instructor for many years at the New York Botanical Garden – she goes wild … with her foraging. Ellen knows that nutritious, and tasty plants are there for the harvesting everywhere from city parks to vacant suburban lots and country lanes. Currently a resident of New Mexico, Ellen was formerly based in the Northeast, so she knows plants, edible and otherwise, all across the United States

A Harvard graduate, Ellen has written a total of seven books about gardening, including two books about harvesting wild plants: Backyard Foraging: 65 Familiar Plants You Didn’t Know You Could Eat, and my favorite, The Wildcrafted Cocktail. In The Wildcrafted Cocktail, Ellen combines twin passions – for wild-gathered flavors and mixology – to develop a book of recipes that take readers from gathering and processing wild ingredients to the creation of cordials, syrups, and extracts, and finally to relaxing over the delicious cocktails.

Ellen polished her knowledge of mixology as a representative of RemyUSA; as such, she teaches foraging mixology workshops across the US, and lectures at botanic gardens, flower shows, and for garden clubs around the world.

For Ellen, wild foods must be not only edible, they must be delicious. Otherwise, she says “I wouldn’t be interested in them.” She describes them on her website (https://www.backyardforager.com/) as “un-buyable flavors,”

Part of the attraction for Ellen is the fun of the hunt, the time spent out of doors in nature, and the excitement of finding and identifying the edible plants. What you get, she points out, is greens, roots, and fruits that you harvest at the peak of ripeness, when their flavors are freshest and most intense. Then comes the fun in the kitchen, using her recipes to bring out the best in the plants and fill your pantry and your table with the delicious, seasonal flavors local to your region. It’s slow food at its best.

Join me and Ellen today for an introduction to wild mixology, as she shares her recipes for stinging nettle cordial, acorn orgeat, wild sangria and lavender-infused gin. Cocktail hour will never be the same

Dr. Chantel White of the University of Pennsylvania uses archaeological techniques to identify plants that grew in the garden of pioneering plant collectors John and William Bartram. Thanks to her work, a long-gone garden is re-emerging into the light.

Panayoti Kelaidis, Senior Curator and Director of Outreach at the Denver Botanic Gardens, discusses his love affair with the rock garden plants of Colorado and how he has traveled the world seeking adapted plants from climatically similar "steppe" regions

Nicholas Geron of Clark University describes his research into the effects of tree cover on urban landscapes, and how economically disadvantaged communities are, due to lack of trees, already experiencing the heat predicted elsewhere for the next generation of global warming.

Dr. Desirée Narango of the University of Massachusetts Amherst describes her research that reveals the essential connection of songbird breeding success with the percentage of native plants in the surrounding landscape.

Dr. Enrique Salmon, a native American of the Raramuri people and professor of ethnic studies at California State University East Bay, discusses his new book, Iwigara about the ethnobotanical traditions and science of American Indians

Laura Hansplant, Director of Design at RoofMeadow describes her firm's pioneering work with "elevated landscapes" and the habitat for wildlife and people it creates on roof tops

Merlin Tuttle, founder of Bat Conservation International and Merlin Tuttle's Bat Conservation, details the important roles of bats in the garden and the environment, and addresses the charge that they are the source of the Covid-19 virus.

Rick Carr, Master Composter and Farm Director of the Rodale Institute, share tips for easy, more effective composting

Willie Crosby of Fungi Ally discusses the wonders of fungi and the cultivation of mushrooms for the home gardener

Award-winning garden blogger, Helen Battersby of Toronto, Canada details the success of the cosmetic pesticide ban in her province – with potential lessons for U.S. gardeners

Plant Explorer Daniel Hinkley discusses his new book, Windcliff: A Story of People, Plants, and Gardens, and the ecology that underpins his collection of exotic plants