Still Growing...A Weekly Gardening Podcast

Trevor Johnson is the Resident Farmer at the Henry Ford West Bloomfield Hospital in Michigan. In 2012, the hospital launched an organic greenhouse with the main goal of feeding the sick patients. Little did Trevor know, the hospital’s greenhouse has become a community center where Michigan residents can take cooking classes right inside the hospital.…

Rick Sherman was hired by the Oregon Department of Education in 2012 as the Farm to School/School Garden coordinator after working for 32 years for a food service management company. The last 20 of those years have been spent as a Director of Nutrition Services in Eugene, Albany and Dallas (Oregon). Rick is a Master…

Josh Volk is a farmer turned inventor and author.  In his book, Compact Farms: 15 Proven Plans for Market Farms on 5 Acres or Less, Josh profiles the winning strategies and systems that transform these unique compact spaces into successful growing operations.  During our chat, Josh personally guides us through every single farm - all…

I was having a chat with a woman a few weeks ago who asked me about becoming a better gardener. I asked her how long she had been gardening, and she said five years. Looking embarrassed, she sort of looked down at the ground; as if this was not enough time to qualify her as…

Nell Foster’s garden blog, Joy Us Garden, celebrates all things garden as she shares her passion for plants, pruning, and the great outdoors! Nell recently packed her bags and moved to Tucson, Arizona after living in Santa Barbara, California for over 30 years. I love Nell’s perspective after working almost two decades in design and landscaping. Nell also has a fun YouTube channel which is filled with lovely DIY tutorials.

Megan Cain never touched a vegetable plant until the summer she turned 26. Today, Megan shows people how to successfully grow their own food and get the most from their vegetable gardens. Megan trains gardeners through her business, The Creative Vegetable Gardener, and is the author of several books including the book we dive into today: Super Easy Food Preserving.

Joel pioneered his now popular method of Straw Bale Gardening almost 25 years ago. The author of Straw Bale Gardens, Joel receives letters from grateful gardeners from around the globe. Cambodia’s agricultural challenges are many including yearly flooding and drought with temperatures in the summer well over 100 degrees. In April of last year, Joel was invited by the Korean Trade Partners (KOTRA) to Cambodia to teach Straw Bale Gardening using plentiful Rice Straw. By mitigating challenges and leveraging the ingenuity of the agricultural community, Joel’s method is increasing self reliance and improving food security for Cambodians.

Pam Penick is the author of two books, The Water-Saving Garden and Lawn Gone! She is also one of the founders of the Garden Blogger’s Fling. Pam has been blogging about her garden since 2006, which means she’s definitely blogging royalty by this point. Today, we do a deep dive into her book, The Water-Saving Garden, and how everyday gardeners can create a more efficient and water-savvy garden.

Over the years, I've found surprising, wonderful items for my garden by strategically using Craigslist. So, I wanted to share some of my tips and tricks with you - things you can do right now (in the off season - or in the peak time in your garden) - to score some great finds without breaking the bank. Plus, I'll walk you through the 25 search terms in my account right now that help me filter out the junk and find the perfect pieces for my garden.

Peggy Anne is a passionate plantswoman with more than 30 years of experience. Peggy Anne went from studying and practicing landscape design in the Netherlands to working for reputable garden powerhouses like Bailey Nurseries and the Mount Cuba Center where she cultivated her passion for native plants. Today, Peggy Anne is the Brand Manager at American Beauties Native Plants and she’s leading the charge for bringing nature home in gardens across America by encouraging the use of native plants. A fellow Minnesotan, Peggy Anne gave a fantastic talk about native plants at the evening reception on Day 2 of the Garden Bloggers Fling and I knew within the first five minutes that I had to get her on the show for a repeat performance.

Megan Phelps approaches gardening with curiosity and a guilelessness that makes her experiences and experiments utterly fascinating and even shocking. Defying tradition, Megan (who often uses the image of a single dandelion as her profile picture on social media) grows plants that mainstream gardeners have long ago turned their backs on - burdock, dandelion, and amaranth, to name a few. Megan blogs at Seeds, Mulch and Weeds where she shares her tales and photos of her Northeast Kansas garden.

Katie Dubow is the Creative Director of Garden Media Group. She is here with us today to discuss the 2017 Garden Trends Report! Every year Garden Media Group produces a fantastic report on what gardeners can expect for the following year. In this year’s report, there are seven main trends and Kaite helps shed some light on them.

Shelley Cramm is the author of God’s Word for Gardeners Bible. Shelley beautifully reveals the powerful garden imagery and metaphors of the Bible so that you can grow your faith while growing your garden at the same time. With insightful devotions that draw on the reader’s love for gardening, Shelley lovingly shares her personal discoveries about the plants, landscapes, and common cultivating practices shared throughout the bible. Shelley is a gem of biblical gardening wisdom. In fact, she spent over two years researching and personally growing many of the plants mentioned in the bible. Shelley’s industrious research and humble faith make the Gardeners Bible a special treasure for gardeners everywhere.

Robin Parer is the author of The Plant Lover’s Guide to Hardy Geraniums. Robin is also the lovely owner of the Geraniaceae Nursery, located in Kentfield, California. Robin is a wonderfully knowledgeable plantswoman, She is a generous teacher and a thoughtful spokeswoman for the geranium family - both hardy geraniums and pelargoniums (the later being the plant group most people incorrectly refer to as geraniums). In fact, even after interviewing Robin, I still slip and refer to pelargoniums as geraniums! Robin explains the origins of taxonomy confusion for these plants. Undoubtedly, Robin understands this plant family better than almost anyone on this side of the globe. I like to think of Robin as the modern day mother of the geranium family. In typical mom fashion, when it comes to hardy geraniums and pelargoniums, she loves them both the same.

I’ve prepared my 2016 Gift Guide for Gardeners so that you can shop thrift stores, traditional brick and mortar, online, and even score some last minute finds on Amazon. I’m a gardener and a shopper - so this list was a lot of fun for me to put together. If you’re looking for some different ideas, or if you're not a shopper at heart, then I hope my Gift Guide for Gardeners will be a great resource for you and the special gardener in your life!