Recent Volunteer Gardener Clips
Strawberry Farming
May 15, 2025
Strawberries are the primary crop at Lester Farms in Lebanon TN. They are considered an 11 month crop that requires work to be done by hand: planting, weeding, harvesting. Each year brings its challenges because that large time frame encompasses a wide range of weather conditions. The main variety grown is 'Ruby June' as it produces consistently sweet, large, tasty berries. An optimal growing year in middle Tennessee will have strawberries ripening well into June.
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Where Brie Grows
May 15, 2025
Troy Marden strolls the home garden spaces of horticulturist and popular You Tube personality Brie The Plant Lady. Her passion for growing is infectious. We'll learn what challenges she has had with the quality of soil in her yard, and what methods she is using to add bring life into it.
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Geophyte Border
May 08, 2025
Ever hear the term 'geophyte'? It's a perennial plant with an underground food storage organ. Geophytes include bulbs, tubers, corms and/or rhizomes. Come along as we tour the Geophyte Border at J.C. Raulston Arboretum in springtime when the tulips and iris are in their full splendor.
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Creating safe passage for pollinators
May 08, 2025
A well-planned garden can be attractive, and also provide for beneficial insects. Sheri Gramer tours one such residential garden in Brentwood that is part of the Green Bridges program of the American Herb Society. We'll learn about this initiative that encourages home gardeners to create safe and supportive passage for pollinators.
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Growing Flowers for Market
May 01, 2025
They grow a lot of things at Bloomsbury Farm. On this visit, Jeff Poppen explores the flower fields where they grow many different types of annual flowers to be used in pre-made bouquets or a U-pick opportunity. Amaranth, gomphrena, sunflowers, marigolds, celosia, borage, and straw flowers are just a sampling of the flowers being grown on this farm.
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Home Garden Spaces of a Designer
May 01, 2025
Rita Venable introduces us to an avid gardener who, in retirement, studied landscape design. Then she started a landscaping business, designing more than a hundred landscapes. Now she's devoting full-time to her own garden. Rita Venable walks with her through 3 distinct areas, each brimming with good-performing trees, shrubs, vines, ground covers, and perennials.
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Garden Treasures
April 24, 2025
Troy Marden is awed by the beautiful plant selections found at Garden Treasures, a retail and mail-order nursery that specializes in rare and obscure plants. We go behind the scenes to learn about their propagation work, and see varieties of Japanese maples, aucuba and camellias.
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Daffodil Collection-Mid to Late Season Bloomers
April 17, 2025
Come along on a visit to the home gardens of a horticulture power couple who have planted and now enjoy an extensive daffodil collection. They share their insights into growing and dividing these long-time garden favorites. Host April Moore highlights 10 varieties that are true standouts.
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Lath House
April 17, 2025
A Lath House is a protected open air structure made chiefly of slats used for nurturing plants. Annette Shrader tours the Lath House at JC Raulston Arboretum with the director of horticulture to highlight the diverse and unique perennials, shrubs and trees being grown here.
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Enriching the Compost Pile with Herbs and Weeds
April 10, 2025
Jeff Poppen, an experienced biodynamic farmer, shares his techniques for enhancing the compost pile comprised of hay, manures and plant residue. He chooses a variety of weeds and herbs that he adds to the pile, and these are in three different forms: live, dried and fermented. Jeff explains the attributes each herb or weed adds to the power of the finished product.