pick of the podcasts: 2015 highlights
MY BIG SECRET (and a bit of a tease): The A Way to Garden public-radio show and podcast is a selfish act. I create the show for me, not listeners.
Yes, I am kidding—sort of. But what I mean is this: Producing the segments each week keeps me ferreting out answers to questions I have, in journalistic style—reaching out to possible expert source for some answers. I learn so much, all of which I then get to share. Win-win. (Some of the year’s top topics are listed below.)
The show, which begins its seventh year in March 2016, has been named a top-5 gardening podcast by “The Guardian” newspaper in the UK (alongside a list of BBC programs), and based on listener feedback is recommended for use while driving, while weeding, while cooking supper, or just about anytime, anywhere.
do you subscribe yet? (hint, hint: it’s free. do it!)
- Use iTunes
- Use the Stitcher app
- Use the RSS feed from Robin Hood Radio of Sharon, Connecticut, where the show is taped and aired Monday morning about 8:30 Eastern, and replayed Saturdays at the same time
- Browse the entire archive, with photos and transcripts
i learned a ton from…
I DON’T THINK there was one show in the 52 weeks where I didn’t learn something, but here are a few that were particularly “aha-packed” for me:
- Dr. Rick Ostfeld of Cary Institute, in a doubleheader: on the tick-borne disease cycle, and on the incredible role acorns play in our ecosystems
- Siskiyou Seeds’ Don Tipping on growing onions from seed (it worked!)
- Dr. Roland Kays on the mammals in your backyard
- Landscape designer Thomas Rainer, on ecological garden design, based on layered plant communities
- Lichens (neither plant, nor animal!) with New York Botanical Garden’s James Lendemer
- Just how gifted crows and ravens are, with ornithologist Dr. John Marzluff
must-listens: your favorites from 2015
THESE SHOWS TOPPED listeners’ hit parade, and no surprise: Each of them helped solve a common garden problem:
- Shopping for plants with an expert’s eye, with Holly Scoggins
- Do home remedies for weeds and pests work? With Jeff Gillman
- Poison ivy, with the United States Botanic Garden’s Dr. Susan Pell
- How to grow squash, cucumbers and other Cucurbits, with Tom Stearns
- Creating living willow structures, with Michael Dodge
Like so many others, I really enjoy your podcast and look forward to the latest episode every week, Margaret. They’re always informative and interesting – and your laid-back but spirited style is very appealing. :-) It’s also apparent that you put substantial planning and preparation into creating your weekly show – and yet it all comes off as being so effortless. Thanks for all you do!
Thank you for the kind words, Norm. Much appreciated.
Look forward to each one every month,so well done. Thank you. Best for the new year
Thank you, Bill. Always happy for encouragement! :)
We used to live next door to a farmer’s field. At harvest time, the crows would descend, covering the field and turning it a moving, jittering black. They then would rise up all together and wing themselves away.
Love the podcast and your voice.
Crows are really fascinating and I think they are quite magical
In the company of Crows and Ravens by John Marzluff and Tony Angell is a wonderful book about them
Christine
Love the podcast. Been with you from the beginning, almost!
Thank you, JimH, for the kind words!