In this episode Jeff Epping goes into depth discussion how he has designed gravel gardens at Olbrich Botanical Gardens, Epic Systems, and more, and in this episode he walks you through the entire process, start to finish. He covers site selection, how to build the edge and lip that hold the gravel in place, the exact depth to install, how to plant into it, and the watering schedule to get plants established before you wean them off. He also shares the spring cleanup routine that's the one piece of yearly maintenance the whole system depends on. We also discuss Jeff's new book, The Gravel Garden, that profiles over 20 stunning gravel gardens across the country. Beyond the gritty details of grit, Jeff gets into design: why he always starts with woody structure before adding perennials, how formal elements like clipped evergreens can ground a wilder planting style, and the core principles he returns to on every project, from his own front yard to sprawling corporate campuses. Enjoy the show!

In this month's episode of The Plantastic Podcast, I sat down with Heather Holm, author, photographer, and pollinator researcher based in Minnesota, to dig into the world of native bees, wasps, and the plants that support them. Heather shares some genuinely surprising information including why bee diversity is actually highest in arid, stressed landscapes rather than lush ones, and why many insects we casually call pollinators, including the monarch butterfly, may not be completing the pollination process at all. We discuss the fascinating mechanics of how female bees strategically provision their nests and why the stems you cut back this winter can become a 12-month bee nursery. On the practical side, we talk about what hemiparasitic plants like Pedicularis canadensis (wood betony) are doing in healthy ecosystems that our gardens are missing, why the mosquito spraying service knocking on your door is likely selling something toxic to every pollinator in your garden, and how soft landings under your oak tree can transform turf into habitat. This conversation will change the way you look at your garden. I know it did for me! Enjoy the show!

This month, Shelby Radcliffe of Emergent Gardens joined me on The Plantastic Podcast to share about designing with natives in Florida. She talked about the formative lessons she took from internships at Wave Hill and the US National Arboretum, including why the first year in any new garden should be spent mostly observing. Shelby showed how roadside wildflowers and overlooked field plants can become the most exciting things in a designed garden. She also digs into her favorite underused grasses and sedges for the Southeast. And if you've ever wrestled with how to balance a client's aesthetic preferences with ecological function, Shelby's approach of leading with education, positivity, and great examples is worth hearing. Enjoy the show!

For this month's episode of The Plantastic Podcast, I welcomed my dear friend Tim Boland on to talk about lessons from Polly Hill Arboretum. Tim shares the remarkable story of Polly Hill, who started her arboretum at age 50. We dig into the importance of record keeping, provenance, and plant propagation. Tim also talks about always having a paper bag in your back pocket for seed collecting, trying multiple approaches when a seed won't germinate, taking ecological notes whenever you encounter plants in the wild, and underutilized natives. And, as a Querciphile, Tim makes a compelling case for why there truly is an oak (and a native plant!) for everyone.

Shaun McCoshum is a certified Senior Ecologist and Wildlife Biologist with over 20 years of experience restoring habitats, conducting research, and gardening. His work includes published scientific papers, books, and restoration plans from coast to coast, on lands with bison, endangered plants, threatened pollinators, black bears, and mountain lions. His new book Natural Habitats and Wildlife Gardening explores the pre-European ecology of North America, how habitats existed before widespread development, and how we can better mimic those processes in our own yards to support wildlife. We spend a lot of time digging into the core ideas behind his book, including why "just let nature take its course" is one of the most misunderstood pieces of advice in gardening, how decay is the most suppressed process in suburban landscapes, and what gardeners can do to replicate the missing roles of bears, bison, and other large animals that once kept these systems healthy. We also cover practical ways to create habitat at any scale, from a balcony with four pots to a quarter acre, including how to build underground pupation habitat, use dead wood beautifully, and apply the 30% rule when using native and non-native plants. Shaun reminds us that native plants and habitat gardens do not have to be messy, and that the best way to bring your neighbors along is simply to grow something beautiful.

In this 50th episode of The Plantastic Podcast, I interview a legend in the world of horticulture—Dr. Allan Armitage. We talk about how he was once a grave digger and a touching moment he had one day in a cemetery, we cover his early life and how he found his way to being a horticulture professor at the University of Georgia in Athens. I asked him about changes and shifts that he has seen in the industry from breeding to the emergence of perennials and natives. We talk about strategies for teaching plants and sharing gardening with others in the classroom and online. We also cover his new book, the Common-Sense Gardener, how he has written 17 books and hundreds of articles, and how we can avoid making horticulture too complicated for people. And, last he reminds us that gardening is fun and we should enjoy it and not take ourselves or our gardens too seriously.

In this month's episode of The Plantastic Podcast, I interview Rachel Lindsay of Regenerative Design Group to discuss how to create productive, resilient landscapes. We dive deep into the Massachusetts Healthy Soils Guide, a wonderful resource that Rachel helped develop and how it's changing the way practitioners approach soil health from the ground up. Rachel shares how ecological design goes beyond plants to integrate soil, water, wildlife, and human needs into one holistic system. We discuss the power of observation as the foundation of good design, why worker-owned cooperatives are a useful approach in the design industry, and how permaculture principles can scale from residential gardens to large conservation projects. Rachel also shares about the magic of identifying dragonflies with her three-year-old and why getting people outside to notice jewelweed for the first time is how we propagate more plant people.

(00:00) Introduction (01:00) Early influences and growing up with a permaculturist grandfather and in post-industrial landscapes (03:00) From retail to professional horticulture without formal training (04:00) The shift from native plants to wildlife and habitat creation (05:00) Green roof experimentation and breaking free from conventional substrate wisdom (08:00) Topography as an underplayed design tool (10:00) Effects of putting substrate on top of soil (13:00) The art of seeing landscapes (17:00) The importance of ruderal vegetation and hand weeding for biodiversity (19:00) Care Not Capital and investing in gardeners instead of infrastructure (22:00) Lessons from social housing and listening to residents over imposing ideas (25:00) Free training for gardeners in community engagement, ecology, and green infrastructure (28:00) Creating structural habitat with dry stone walls, cob buildings, and dead wood (33:00) Redesigning horticulture education (37:00) Valuing bare ground and the importance of entomologists in design (40:00) Balancing ecology with aesthetics while making it beautiful for humans and wildlife (44:00) Working in poorest communities and why green space investment matters most there (49:00) Practical advice for home gardeners on working with subsoil and alternative substrates (54:00) Managing lawns, dead trees, and organic debris for habitat (58:00) Bee hotels and using gabions as multifunctional habitat structures (64:00) Thoughts on bringing materials onto a site (68:00) Recommended reading of Rebirding and Cornerstones Benedict Macdonald and understanding natural European habitats (69:00) Thinking about climate change and succession in design (71:00) How to propagate more gardeners by making them celebrities and funding good jobs (73:00) You can connect with John on Instagram at @grassroofco and @carenotcapital.

In this month's episode of The Plantastic Podcast, Molly Hendry returns to share lessons and inspiration from attending the Bergamo Landscape Festival in Italy, a gathering that unites some of the world’s most creative ecological designers. She reflects on how experts like Henrik Sjöman are redefining tree selection, succession, and long-term landscape care. Molly discusses Sarah Price’s artful Piazza Vecchia garden, Tom Stuart-Smith and Katie Barrington’s designer–gardener collaboration, James Hitchmough’s call to integrate management into design thinking, and more! We further discuss plant trials, adaptive maintenance, and how design is a process and not a product. Molly distills ideas from the conference that reshape how we approach gardens here at home, and she shares recent projects like her designs with the Charleston Park Conservancy and her new podcast Garden Gab. Enjoy the show!

In this episode, Pam Penick shares how her childhood and background in writing led her to become one of Texas’s most recognized garden voices. She talks about starting her blog Digging nearly 20 years ago and how authentic, local storytelling continues to resonate even as platforms shift. Pam discusses the inspiration behind her books, including Lawn Gone!, The Water-Saving Garden, and her newest release, Gardens of Texas, highlighting how gardeners across the state are adapting to drought, floods, and extreme freezes. She emphasizes the importance of diversity in planting for resilience, the creativity that constraints can inspire, and the ways gardens can reflect both place and personal meaning. The conversation offers practical lessons on water conservation, design, and documenting gardens, while also underscoring the joy and healing that come from connecting with nature.