The Plantastic Podcast

In this episode of The Plantastic Podcast, I chat with Rochelle Greayer about her incredible journey from working in rocket science to discovering her passion for garden design after a life-changing visit to the Chelsea Flower Show. We discuss how that pivot led to her founding Pith + Vigor, teaching design online, and most recently, leading the redesign of The American Gardener magazine with her editorial mantra of “surprise, delight, and joy on every page.” Rochelle shares practical ways to find garden inspiration and helps listeners break free from conventional design thinking. We explore creative exercises to uncover personal style, like rapid-fire image selection, and how storytelling can shape meaningful landscapes. She also offers perspective on how to nurture your creative side especially if you're juggling multiple roles. It’s a vibrant, idea-packed episode for anyone who wants to grow both a garden and a creative practice.

This month on The Plantastic Podcast, I dive into the seasonal rhythms of the garden with phenologist Theresa Crimmins. Theresa shares how a college class sparked her lifelong fascination with plants and how that journey led to her role as director of the USA National Phenology Network. We explore how gardeners can use phenology to build their own bloom calendars, observe seasonal cues, and connect more deeply with their landscapes. She offers practical insights into tracking life cycle events like bud break and flowering, the importance of growing degree days, and how citizen science efforts are helping document climate change impacts. We also discuss the emotional power of observation, the joy of discovering small changes in nature, and how tracking phenology can reconnect us to wonder. Enjoy the show!

This month on The Plantastic Podcast, I interviewed Sarah Sikich and Ryan Watson of The Giving Grove to learn about how to grow better orchards at home and in a public space. We discuss strategies they have used to establish over 650 orchards nationwide, fruit tree selection and efforts to save heirloom varieties, pest management techniques using holistic sprays and kaolin clay, beneficial understory plantings under fruit trees, how to create a thriving soil in orchards, how they help reduce vandalism on trees in public spaces, some of our favorite ways to use fruit, and so much more.

In this episode of the Plantastic Podcast, I chat with Shannon Currey of Izel Native Plants about her path from social psychology to horticulture and how it shaped her passion for plants and landscapes. Shannon discusses the evolution of perennials in horticulture, from purely decorative elements to essential components of resilient, dynamic plantings. We explore the importance of understanding plant behavior, the role of native grasses and sedges in sustainable landscapes, and why living ground covers are a game-changer for gardeners. Shannon also shares practical insights on using tools like wetland indicator status and the heliophily index to make smarter plant choices and embrace the dynamic nature of gardens. Enjoy the show!

This month, I interviewed Lucy Bellamy on her new book A Year in Bloom. Lucy shared her journey of becoming a passionate gardener and editor of five years of Gardens Illustrated. With A Year in Bloom, we discussed how bulbs are perfect for sustainable planting, the creative blend of practicality and artistry in gardening, and the 50 experts she surveyed for the best bulbs for every growing season. She shared practical tips on planting and caring for different types of bulbs, such as adding grit for drainage and to mark areas where small bulbs are in the garden. Lucy provided insights into some specific favorite bulbs like Narcissus pseudonarcissus (lent lily), Tulipa sylvestris (woodland tulip), and Leucojum aestivum (summer snowflake). Enjoy the show!

This month's episode of The Plantastic Podcast with Patrick Cullina is a master class in naturalistic planting. Here's 12 things I learned from our conversation: Patrick’s approach to categorizing plants to simplify design (8 minute mark), his preference for gravity over novelty in plant choice (20 minute mark), crafting narratives in landscapes (24 minute mark), his design process with three groups — grasses, long-lived perennial anchors, and blooming elements (33 minute mark), how changing the context alters plant perception (43 minute mark), the pros and cons to the block versus matrix/blended style of planting (50 minute mark), how to make landscapes that consume less (59 minute mark), thinking of flowers for their shapes instead of just their color (1:01 minute mark), how to tell stories for visitors to the High Line (1:07 minute mark), how to train someone on editing a planting (1:14 minute mark), the importance of regional ecologies (1:29 minute mark), and how we can propagate the love for plants by telling stories and rewarding interest (1:38 minute mark).

In this episode of The Plantastic Podcast, Gary Lewis, the owner of Phoenix Perennials and author of The Complete Book of Ground Covers. Gary takes us on a journey through his lifelong passion for plants, highlighted by his hands-on experience at a wholesale nursery, his self-taught mastery within the horticultural field, and buying a nursery when he was working on his master's degree at 28. Gary's love for ground covers comes alive as he illuminates their aesthetic, functional, and environmental benefits while offering advice on their effective use in garden designs. Additionally, Gary shares about the challenges and strategies behind running a diverse nursery, the importance of fostering curiosity and diversity in horticulture, the complex choices involved in writing a book featuring 4,000 ground covers, and his travels around the world. This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to deepen their gardening insights and creativity. Enjoy the show!