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PODCAST

The Horticulturati

The Horticulturati

The Horticulturati is a biweekly-ish gardening talkshow cohosted by Austin-based landscape designers Leah Churner and Colleen Dieter. Join us for gossip, gripes, and fun plant facts!

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All Episodes

01:08:40

Fruit Tree Care with Susan Poizner

The Horticulturati ·

2023/03/14

"Fruit trees need hands-on care." That's the motto of our guest, Susan Poizner of OrchardPeople.com. Susan is an urban orchardist, teacher, journalist, and filmmaker. She is the author of Growing Urban Orchards (2014), cofounder of the Ben Nobelman Park Community Orchard in Toronto and the host of the Urban Forestry Radio podcast. She also teaches fruit tree classes on her website. Colleen was eager to interview Susan after taking her online courses. Susan gives us the basics on why fruit trees

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01:14:30

The Art of Graphics with Lisa Nunamaker and Amy Fedele

The Horticulturati ·

2022/12/23

In this roundtable, we talk about drafting and drawing with Lisa Nunamaker, of Paper Garden Workshop, and Amy Fedele, of Pretty Purple Door, two fabulous garden educators who offer online courses in landscape graphics. Leah took courses from both instructors this year -- Lisa's Garden Graphics Toolkit and Amy's Great at Procreate. We discuss why the fundamentals of hand-drafting remain so valuable to the design process; the role of digital design programs like AutoCAD; and how tablet apps provide a

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56:17

Thorny Common Names

The Horticulturati ·

2022/11/03

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, but some of the common names we use for plants downright stink! In this episode, we're diving into problematic colloquial names. Some common names are geographically misleading (“Jerusalem artichoke”); others are xenophobic, racist, or antisemitic ("wandering Jew"); while still others are an unfortunate combination of both (“Turk’s cap”). While it's probably too much to expect everyone to start using Latin names for plants, we can adapt new common

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02:21

Seed Swap!

The Horticulturati ·

2022/10/24

Attention plant lovers! Central Texas Seed Savers is hosting a Seed Swap at the Austin Central Library (710 W. Cesar Chavez St) on Saturday, October 29 from 11-1pm. This event is free and open to the public. Bring seeds to share! Or just come get some seeds! For more info, visit https://www.centexseedsavers.org and https://library.austintexas.libguides.com/seedsandsustainability

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01:08:46

A Humble History of the Flowerpot

The Horticulturati ·

2022/09/03

In this episode, Colleen unearths as much as she can about the largely unwritten history of plant pots. When did humans start growing plants in containers? How did innovations in materials and technology lead to the domestication of plants, plant collecting, and the growth of the nursery industry? Why are plant pots so overlooked as a facet of industrial design? (We can rattle off several iconic chair designs, but flowerpots? Not so much.) Why don’t the standardized names of nursery pot sizes

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01:07:09

The Full Monty Don

The Horticulturati ·

2022/08/05

We're back with a salute to Monty Don, beloved British gardening expert, author, and fashion icon, whose infectious passion for plants is boosting our spirits through this bummer summer. Though little known in the US, jaunty Monty is a big celebrity across the pond, as the host of the BBC's Gardener's World, Big Dreams, Small Spaces, and Around The World in 80 Gardens. With his soothing temperament and sharp insights, he's a bit like a cross between Anthony Bourdain and Mr Rogers. We discuss

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01:12:33

Design for Ecology & Conservation

The Horticulturati ·

2022/06/12

On this episode, we dive into ecologist Douglas Tallamy's books Nature's Best Hope (2019) and The Living Landscape (2014, with Rick Darke). Tallamy's work takes native plant gardening and wildlife gardening to another level by focusing not just on species diversity, but on diversity of species interaction to promote ecological conservation. According to Tallamy, "native" plants are those which have "evolved in a given place over a period of time sufficient to develop complex and essential

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06:22

The Commercial Compost Conundrum with John Hart Asher...

The Horticulturati ·

2022/05/17

Here's a preview of our bonus segment. To hear the full bonus epsidode, subscribe to our Patreon! Compost is a mysterious product. Gardeners prize it as “black gold,” but few of us know how it is manufactured on an industrial scale. In this bonus, John Hart Asher breaks down the difference between traditional compost (the kind we might make at home) and the kind that you can buy by the bag or the yard. Commercial compost is a waste byproduct defined by the US Composting Council. Manufacturers don’t

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01:26:36

Pocket Prairies with John Hart Asher

The Horticulturati ·

2022/05/14

We sat down at the picnic table with John Hart Asher, host of Central Texas Gardener and Cofounder/Senior Environmental Designer at Blackland Collaborative to talk about pocket prairies. What’s a pocket prairie? It’s a very small prairie. What’s a prairie? It’s a community of native grasses and forbs wildflowers that have evolved along with microbes, plants, and animals over millennia. This "disturbance-driven ecology" historically relied on periodic fire and low-frequency, high-intensity grazing

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01:05:11

Spring Rush & Milkweed Mishegoss

The Horticulturati ·

2022/03/25

Tropical milkweed...Monarchs' friend or foe? We dip a toe into contested territory with a look at Asclepias curassavica, the most controversial milkweed of all. Up first: we chat about the spring rush and a secondhand ringtail cat sighting. Want more? Join our Patreon for bonus content, early access to episodes, and fun classes. Mentioned in this episode: "For the Monarch Butterfly, A Long Road Back," New York Times (2014); "Tropical Milkweed: A No-Grow," Xerces Society (2018); Flight of the

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59:48

Winter Storm Uri: One Year Later

The Horticulturati ·

2022/03/09

We're back at Colleen's picnic table to reflect on what we've learned (horticulturally and emotionally) in the year since Uri, the crippling 2021 snow-and-ice storm that plunged Texas into single-digit temperatures and left 40% of Austin residents without power and/or water for days. Last year we recorded a few episodes about the immediate aftermath of the Snowpocalypse; now we're examining the storm's lingering effects on local gardeners, growers, and plants. Which species fared the best and worst

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01:00

Gardens of Evil! *TEASER*

The Horticulturati ·

2022/03/07

Here's a preview of our Patreon bonus segment, "In The Weeds." To hear the full episode and get other exclusive content, join The Horticulturati for $5 a month at patreon.com/horticulturati.

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58:00

Botanical Horror!

The Horticulturati ·

2022/02/19

This podcast is two years old! To celebrate, Colleen announces the release of her new BOOK and Leah brings you to the dark side of the plant kingdom with sinister tales of the horticultural uncanny. Journey with us to “Flytrap Gulch,” the Alnwick Poison Garden, and a greenhouse full of googly eyes. In the words of Michael Pollan: “A garden should contain all the colors of human emotion, even the very darkest.” Order Colleen's book here. Want to support the show and get 20% off the book? Join our

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04:57

Freeze prep and Insta-yards *TEASER*

The Horticulturati ·

2022/01/31

Here's a preview of our Patreon bonus segment, "In The Weeds." To hear the full episode and get other exclusive content, join The Horticulturati for $5 a month at patreon.com/horticulturati. Once you sign up, mark your calendars and join us for a live ASK US ANYTHING session on Friday, February 18 at 7pm CST! A link to this Google Hangout event will be provided to all our Patreon patrons.

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01:07:02

Plant Communities & Vertical Layers

The Horticulturati ·

2022/01/23

Wintry mix and Stage 5 Restrictions have us turning once again to the bookshelf. In this episode, we’re diving into Thomas Rainer and Claudia West’s instant classic Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes (Timber Press, 2015). Rainer and West write that the “vast wild spaces” that once covered North America have been tamed into abstraction; due to industrialization, species displacement, and climate change, the “native” ideal is unobtainable. Yet we

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39:47

Designing for Maintenance and "The Soul of a Farmer"

The Horticulturati ·

2022/01/07

Happy New Year! We’re back from vacation with a discussion of a book that is very much in the Horticulturati wheelhouse, The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden. Author Roy Diblik, a Wisconsin-based designer and plantsman, argues that anyone can build a “design-magazine-worthy garden at home” by thoughtfully combining perennials to form functional plant communities that need little more than an annual mow – almost no irrigation, mulch, or hand-pruning required. This low-maintenance method could be a

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01:09:13

Growing a Vision with Amy Hovis and Willy Glenn of...

The Horticulturati ·

2021/11/28

If you have a passion for plants, you probably love plant shopping. Our local garden centers are more than just a place to source nursery stock; they’re a designer’s trove of botanical information and inspiration. After untold hours spent perusing the grounds of Barton Springs Nursery, we finally sat down for a chat with two of the new owners, designer Amy Hovis and horticulturist Willy Glenn. Founded in 1986 by Bernardine and Conrad Bering, Barton Springs Nursery is an Austin institution. Into a

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01:12:49

Garden Design (Part 2)

The Horticulturati ·

2021/10/29

A year ago, we recorded a long and rambly episode on garden design. Now we're making it an October tradition! Revisiting the subject, we realize our approaches to design have changed, but we're still hell-bent on questioning basic tenets. How important is color? Are foundation shrubs necessary? Should we flip the script on "seasonal interest?" Does "timesharing with plants" really work? Join us at the picnic table as we parse out some jargon (form, texture, verticality), swap tips, and get hangry

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01:10:17

Multiplying & Dividing Plants

The Horticulturati ·

2021/10/04

When you have too many plants, it's time to make more! That's gardener logic for you. Fall is a great time to divide perennials and save seeds - but how? We dig into these methods of backyard propagation and again give you permission to be ruthless and/or lazy in the garden. Go ham on that root ball! Let the veggies bolt! Plants can handle it. Up first: Leah has a design question and Colleen scours the streaming platforms for Monty Don. Please join the Horticulturati on Patreon! Mentioned in this

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01:10:33

Cleveland & The Cuyahoga River Fires

The Horticulturati ·

2021/09/02

Fresh off a hometown visit to Cleveland, Colleen brings us the story of the Cuyahoga: a river once so polluted with industrial sludge, it burned. At least thirteen times. While the largest and most damaging conflagration occurred in 1952, it was the 1969 river fire that made national headlines, thanks to Mayor Carl Stokes. As one of the first Black mayors of a major American city, the charismatic and media-savvy Stokes connected the dots between economic inequality and environmental degradation, and

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87 results

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