The Plantastic Podcast

HOLLY SCOGGINS BIOHolly Scoggins, Ph.D., is an associate professor Emeritus from Virginia Tech. She retired in January 2020 after 20 years in the Department of Horticulture with teaching, research, cooperative extension, and administrative responsibilities.Holly received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Georgia and her Ph.D. in Horticultural Science from North Carolina State University. In her career at Virginia Tech, Holly taught Greenhouse Management, Herbaceous Landscape

THOMAS RAINER BIOThomas Rainer is a registered landscape architect, teacher, and author that lives in Arlington, Virginia. He is a leading voice in ecological landscape design and has designed landscapes for the U.S. Capitol grounds, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and The New York Botanical Garden, as well as over 100 gardens from Maine to Florida. He is a celebrated public speaker who has garnered acclaim for his passionate presentations to audiences across the U.S. and in Europe. Thomas

ANGELA PALMERAngela Palmer co-owns Plants Nouveau, a trendy new plant marketing company where she manages the annuals, perennials, and grasses as well as the website, marketing, photography, and social media aspect of the business. Angela has a Bachelors of Science in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design from the University of Delaware. She was a storied career in horticulture.  She worked for many years as the Director of New Products for one of the largest wholesale nurseries on the East

RIZ REYESAn early curiosity about fruits and flowers turned a young boy from the Philippines into an award-winning garden designer, floral designer, avid plantsman, and book author in the Pacific Northwest. Riz Reyes immigrated to the United States with his family in 1989 and settled in Shoreline, Washington. He grew up watching television to help learn English and discovered public television in his early years; on top of Sesame Street and Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, he discovered the art of Bob

KIM SHEARER BIOKim Shearer is a tree and shrub breeder at the Morton Arboretum where she manages their New Plant Development Program and serves as the Chicagoland Grows® woody plant liaison. Kim advances the arboretum’s mission to make the world a greener, healthier, and more beautiful place by introducing plant selections with broad adaptability, disease resistance, and pest resistance. Kim acquired her bachelor’s of science from NC State University working under the mentorship of Dr. Tom Ranney,

CALEB MELCHIOR BIOCaleb Melchior is a landscape architect and planting designer with Coastal Vista Design, and he teaches Professional Practice, Theory of Landscape Architecture, and Ecological Planting Design at Florida International University.  His practice centers on planting design and materiality, with a focus on wild plant communities of the Gulf Coast and Caribbean. He has experience designing fine gardens, estates, and public spaces throughout the southeast United States including P. Allen

THE PLANTASTIC PODCASTThe Plantastic Podcast is a monthly podcast created by Dr. Jared Barnes.  He's been gardening since he was five years old and now is an award-winning professor of horticulture at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, TX.  To say hi and find the show notes, visit theplantasticpodcast.com.  You can learn more about how Dr. Jared cultivates plants, minds, and life at meristemhorticulture.com.  He also shares thoughts and cutting-edge plant research each week in his