Recent Volunteer Gardener Clips
Soil Your Undies: How healthy is your soil?
June 23, 2022
A campaign was launched in December 2018 by Oregon farmers working with Soil and Water Conservation Districts. The Soil Your Undies Challenge was now a thing. It's a simple way to measure the microbial activity in the soil. Julie Berbiglia visits the campus of Vanderbilt University in Nashville to see the results from their participation in the challenge.
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Food forest – permaculture methods
May 26, 2022
Annette Shrader visits with an experienced gardener who adheres to the methods of permaculture. All of the plants in his vast backyard are part of a food forest, and each plant contributes in some way to the good of the whole. Food guilds, trap plants, green manure, and chop+drop plants are discussed, along with how they make edible plants thrive.
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School garden
May 19, 2022
Jeff Poppen is on the campus of Montgomery Bell Academy in Nashville to learn both the challenges and rewards of having a school garden. Here, organic is the way this garden grows. The composting process is well supported here. This school not only uses the garden in the curriculum for students, there's also a garden club.
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Growing banana plants in zone 7
May 19, 2022
Banana plants can be a dramatic addition to a home landscape, and create a tropical focal point. Troy Marden visits with a home gardener who has many specimens in his backyard garden, and they discuss the varieties that perform well in USDA Climate Zone 7.
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Hellebore Collector
May 19, 2022
Did you know there's a perennial that hits peak bloom starting mid-December and varieties that continue through March? Hellebores are frost-resistant, evergreen plants that boast bloom colors in a range of pale green to deep maroon-black. Phillipe Chadwick checks out a home gardener's expansive collection.
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Barn Garden – an homage to the past
May 12, 2022
Annette Shrader tours a unique home garden in rural Tennessee. The tobacco barn once stood at the front of the property. That footprint of the barn is now home to a garden filled with shrubs, perennials, trees and annuals. The selections were made that would allow wildlife to hide, birds to nest, and pollinators to find support. Relics of the past are also incorporated, which illustrate the bygone era.
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Native Plants in the Home Landscape
May 12, 2022
Native plants have evolved in a region with adaptations to the geology, climate, soil, wildlife, and the other plants. Therefore, a key to successful ornamental gardening would be to include a high percentage of native trees, shrubs and perennials. Tammy Algood discusses the attributes of natives with Margie Hunter, author of 'Gardening with Native Plants of Tennessee: The Spirit of Place'.
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Home landscapes: benefits and risks beyond the property line
May 05, 2022
There are parks full of Chinese privet and bush honeysuckle. But not so long ago, gardeners bought these plants at garden centers assuming they would be good for the home landscape. Now they are deemed invasive, and harmful to the ecology. As gardeners, we want to be good stewards of the land, but what does that entail? How much should it limit plant choices? Must we only plant natives?
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Color in Containers
April 28, 2022
The formula for an eye-catching container is a strong thriller, some complimentary fillers, and a spiller. Sheri Gramer visits with a gardener who has a talent for designing containers with all of those elements. Plus, she puts those in a perfect pot to complement the fabulous colors too.