The Garden Path Podcast

We're back in Florida today with my guest Kenny Coogan. Kenny is the author of the soon to be released book FLORIDA’S CARNIVOROUS PLANTS: UNDERSTANDING, IDENTIFYING, AND CULTIVATING THE STATE’S NATIVE SPECIES, Education Director of the International Carnivorous Plant Society and also sells carnivorous plants at some of Florida's various markets as well as occasionally online. Now, I have a fairly basic understanding of carnivorous plants and how they work but Kenny and his book take it to another level, bringing the knowledge straight to the beginning grower but also making it interesting enough for those who may already be growing or familiar with some of North America's or Florida's carnivorous plant species. While we talk about the book itself we branch out into other species that can be found worldwide as well as talk about the International Carnivorous Plant Society, the upcoming World Carnivorous Plant Day and it's associated photo contest. There's a lot packed into the episode and you'll have to be sure to check out the show notes for the episode for a discount code on your pre-order of Kenny's book as well as where to submit your own photos for the World Carnivorous plant day photo contest.

To get a sense of Florida and to begin that topic, today’s episode with Valerie Anderson, Director of Communications and Programming with the Florida Native Plant Society. You may have heard Valerie on a previous episode I’ve released on the podcast called Saving Split Oak Forest.

Sara Dykman embarked on her Butterbike Tour, leaving Mexico and following the monarch migration to Canada and back to Mexico in 2017.

Alright, we are finally back with some interviews for the next several episodes and I'm kicking off with a previous guest who is returning to the podcast, Christy Wilhelmi! You may know her from her Gardennerd podcast, or her Gardenerd website but if you don't, Christy is a gardener, garden coach, and author based in southern California. Over the last year she's had two new books debut, the first Grown Your Own Mini-Fruit Garden published by Cool Springs Press, and her latest, debuting this last week, Garden Variety, a fiction book published by William Morrow & Company. While I enjoyed her fruit garden books, a wonderful how-to for small space and home gardeners, I really enjoyed her fiction book and it was a kick to see her branch out and into the world of fiction. I'm an avid reader and just lapped the book up over the winter holidays! If you are at all interested in fruit gardening or gardening fiction, keep listening and hear what Christy has to say.

Green Cliff Brake fern, Cheilanthes viridis, is becoming a problem in the Houston area, or likely became a problem several years ago and folks are just now noticing. And the Jorō spider is a novel species to Georgia and several areas in the SE.

Join me as I sow tomato seeds for 2022 and talk about our first freeze and planting some native trees around our yard.

The 2021 Garden is winding down, despite a first freeze for my region of Texas looking to appear in January and not December this year!

Today's guest is Jen McGuinness, gardening, blogger and garden writer, who's recent book Micro Food Gardening debuted earlier this year. If you've been around the garden blogging world over the last decade you are probably already familiar with Jen who's blog known as Frau Zinnie shares wonderful garden photos and articles in and around her in Connecticut. Jen joins the podcast today to talk about her Micro Food Gardening, what exactly it entails, how she managed to get this book written during the beginning stages of the pandemic last year, and what she hopes gardeners of all types will take away from the book.

A short autumn update on the podcast...catching up on autumn gardening, the concrete beds, and the edible gardening!

Ben and Louann Williams are Floridians with a deep connection to the land and water in North Florida. After decades in the fisheries industry on the St. Johns River, they began purchasing and conserving land in North Florida with the goal to protect the waterways they loved so much. One mile of the Florida Trail traverses their property in Putnam county, adjacent to Rice Creek Conservation Area.

In this episode I talk about how you can source native plants for your home garden! Once you start getting interest in native plants it can send you down a rabbit hole in growing all-things-native! The downside is a diversity of native plants can be hard to find! I hope this episode gives you some ideas on where to start looking and branching out for native plants in your garden!

Valerie Anderson created Friends of Split Oak Forest to work to protect the mitigation bank and FWC property in Central Florida from development. The property boasts amazing central Florida habitats and rare plants.

Season 7 begins now! I wrap up the summer garden and talk about everything from native plants to monarch butterflies.

Hello! It's been a few months and here's a midsummer update for you about what's growing (or not!) in my garden!

My guest for today is Kim Eierman, author of the new book The Pollinator Victory Garden. And if you've been listening to podcasts for a few years you've probably seen her Ecobeneficial Podcast. Kim is an environmental horticulturist and ecological landscape designer specializing in native plants. Based in New York. Our conversation spans a wide-range of topics regarding pollinators but I hope the takeaway is that you don't need acres of landscape to become more pollinator friendly.