On today’s episode of We Dig Plants we welcome Russell Shorto, an American author, historian, and journalist best known for his book on the Dutch origins of New York City, The Island at the Center of the World . The book is currently being developed into a dramatic series for PBS with Ridley Scott and David Zucker as executive producers. Shorto and hosts Carmen Devito and Alice Marcus Krieg discuss how so much of our American identity and horticultural heritage comes from the Dutch. “Just in gen...
Feb 22, 2016•46 min•Ep. 181
On this President’s Day edition of We Dig Plants , hosts Carmen Devito and Alice Marcus Krieg examine the roots of America’s horticultural heritage through the vision of its first families. From Washington to Lincoln, right up to the present day, American presidents and first ladies have had an undeniable influence on our nation’s horticulture. Guest Robin Selfridge joins in to discuss how this horticultural heritage has been documented in our coins and stamps. Finally, we learn a bit more about...
Feb 15, 2016•49 min•Ep. 180
In this episode of We Dig Plants, Executive Director Susan Lacerte of the Queens Botanical Garden and former Executive Director Roland “Chuck” Wade talks about how Flushing is the birthplace of the American horticultural industry. Prince Nursery was the first ever commercial catalog of plants. They came out around when the Boston Massacre was in 1737. This catalog was released when most people were still subsistence farming. Tune in to hear about how Americans saved the French wine industry and ...
Feb 08, 2016•49 min•Ep. 179
Today on We Dig Plants, hosts Carmen DeVito and Alice Marcus Krieg are talking trees… really big trees… and what it takes to move them! Tune in as they are joined by David Cox of Environmental Design, Inc./TreeMovers.com, the premier tree transplanting company in the world. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Feb 01, 2016•44 min•Ep. 178
This week on We Dig Plants , solo host Alice Marcus Krieg is on the line with Thomas Rainer. Thomas is a landscape architect, teacher, and writer who lives in Arlington, Virginia. He has designed landscapes for the United States Capitol grounds, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and the New York Botanical Garden, and recently teamed up with Claudia West to write the book, “Planting in a Post-Wild World: Designing Plant Communities for Resilient Landscapes.” These two leading voices in ecolog...
Jan 25, 2016•47 min•Ep. 177
Tune in as Alice and Carmen wrap up their series, “China: Mother of Gardens,” discussing the beautiful peony. Dan Furman of Cricket Hill Peonies is on the line discussing the history and evolution of this flower, sharing that his focus is the Chinese tree peony (Paeonia sufferuticosa) and that they are among the most elegant, vibrantly colored flowers you will ever come across, so much so that the Chinese call them their National Flower. For over 1300 years, tree peonies have been growing in Chi...
Jan 18, 2016•51 min•Ep. 176
How have native Chinese plants changed Western gardens? Continuing their focus on Eastern Asian plants, this week We Dig Plants takes on the Camellia. Between the interesting factoids that link the Camellia to both the economic and ornamental realms, Carmen and Alice share the history behind the Camellia sinensis (tea plant) before getting Brienne Gluvna Arthur on the line in the second half of the show to further discuss the differences between Camellias commonly found throughout the United Sta...
Jan 11, 2016•45 min•Ep. 175
How have native Chinese plants changed Western gardens? Find out on a brand new episode of We Dig Plants. Carmen & Alice are joined by Dan Hinkley. Dan is an American plantsman, garden writer, horticulturist and nurseryman. He is best known for establishing Heronswood Nursery, in Kingston, Washington; and Windcliff, on the Kitsap Peninsula near Indianola, WA; and for collecting, propagating, and naming varieties of plants new to the North American nursery trade. “You can promote a plant for ...
Jan 04, 2016•43 min•Ep. 174
Kelly Norris is a 20-something, award-winning author and plantsman from Iowa and the first director of horticulture at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, a newly revitalized 14-acre public garden in Des Moines, Iowa, and this week he joins Alice and Carmen for this season’s last show of _ We Dig Plants _. Popularly known for his book “A Guide to Bearded Irises: Cultivating the Rainbow for Beginners and Enthusiasts” and his second book, “Plants with Style,” he is also a speaker that has gar...
Dec 14, 2015•53 min•Ep. 173
On two hundred acres in the Hudson Valley, Amy Goldman grows heirloom fruits and vegetables–an orchard full of apples, pears, and peaches; plots of squash, melons, cabbages, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, and beets. Today, she joins Alice and Carmen for a brand new episode of We Dig Plants . Talking her new book, “Heirloom Harvest: Modern Daguerreotypes of Historic Garden Treasures,” she shares her passion for preserving agricultural heritage, beautiful and unique heirlooms that truly are organic...
Dec 07, 2015•43 min•Ep. 172
_ We Dig Plants _ is getting artsy this week as Alice and Carmen welcome Abbie Zabar to the studio for a thorough talk on her work. Abbie is an acclaimed artist, graphic and garden designer, and the author of five books. Her first book, The Potted Herb (1988), is now considered a gardening classic. Her landscape collages have been represented by Allan Stone and BlumHelman, and the Flowers in the Great Hall of the Metropolitan Museum of Art series has been represented by Ursus Books & Prints ...
Nov 30, 2015•50 min•Ep. 171
This week on _ We Dig Plants _, Alice and Carmen are tipping their hats to the homesteaders that settled the country located west of the Mississippi River. Signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln on May 20, 1862, the Homestead Act encouraged western migration by providing settlers 160 acres of public land. In exchange, homesteaders paid a small filing fee and were required to complete five years of continuous residence before receiving ownership of the land. On the line with Dan Housholder,...
Nov 23, 2015•45 min•Ep. 170
Fruits and vegetables have changed a lot since the onset of agriculture 10,000 years ago, as generation after generation of farmers artificially bred crops to select for more desirable traits like size and taste. Today on _ We Dig Plants _, Alice and Carmen are visualizing and delving into the vast world of plant genetics and breeding with James Kennedy, on the line from Australia. A VCE Chemistry teacher at Haileybury, one of Australia’s largest and leading independent schools, he has 5 years t...
Nov 16, 2015•42 min•Ep. 169
A small patch of land within the 58-acre Shore Road Park, Narrows Botanical Gardens was formerly an overlooked area of parkland. Today the gardens thrive, enriching the lives of nearby residents and on the line with hosts Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito is Jimmy Johnson, urban landscape designer heavily involved with the Narrows Botanical Gardens. Continuing the series on horticultural disrupters, We Dig Plants is delving into the recent trend in park management: community involvement. Jimm...
Nov 09, 2015•5 min•Ep. 168
This week on _ We Dig Plants _, hosts Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito are talking green business with Brienne Gluvna Arthur. By day, a grower and propagator at the Camellia Forest Nursery in North Carolina, Brienne is also dedicated to connecting with horticulturalists around the country with the groups Emergent and Green Women Unite, not to mention her blogging and posting on her own growing of ancient grains. Tune in to hear how Brienne is changing the space around her through being outdo...
Nov 02, 2015•45 min•Ep. 167
Wrapping up the series on botanical beauty, this week on _ We Dig Plants _ Alice and Carmen welcome the team behind Brooklyn Bar and Bath, Joann Montalto and Itala Pelizzoli. Launching their natural skincare business to give a fresh, natural alternative to products that pack a long list of unpronounceable ingredients, the ladies discuss becoming more conscious about knowing exactly what we put on our bodies on a daily basis. After the break, the hosts are on the line with Jenn Segale of Garden A...
Oct 26, 2015•50 min•Ep. 166
Continuing with the beauty and botanical series, Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito welcome beauty expert Trae Bodge to detail her favorite plant based productions on this week’s _ We Dig Plants _. Sharing a great detail of fascinating facts about ingredients like blueberries, chocolate, and even coffee for skin care, Trae even comments on the use of cannabis in beauty products. Which are the best ingredients to look for on beauty labels? If you only use makeup sparingly, which are the integra...
Oct 19, 2015•49 min•Ep. 165
Continuing the series on the intersection between plants and beauty regimes, solo host Carmen Devito welcomes Mandi Vance from the Dr. Hauschka team to this week’s We Dig Plants. Dr. Hauschka Skin Care preparations and treatment methods are based on the founder’s mission “to support the healing of humanity and the earth,” a mission reflected in everything from the sustainable agriculture behind our ingredients to their holistic approach to business. Talking the fascinating background of the late...
Oct 12, 2015•45 min•Ep. 164
This week hosts Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito are in studio talking about botanical beauty, a first installment of a four part series, previewing plants’ deep roots in beauty regimes. From the Egyptians and Cleopatra to Ancient Rome to Indian cosmetic practices, plants (and other interesting ingredients!) have been used around the world throughout the ages to dye hair, cover scars, enhance eyebrows, tint skin, and more. Tune in for a fascinating show and hear what the next few episodes ha...
Oct 05, 2015•43 min•Ep. 163
Why do some gardens make us feel so wonderful, relaxed and refreshed? Using ideas based on ancient and modern practices, today’s guest on We Dig Plants , landscape designer Jan Johnsen , explains how you can uplift yourself and others in a serene setting designed for “unplugging” and relaxing. Whether you are intending to create a lovely garden or just thinking about a future outdoor haven, her new book “Heaven is a Garden” helps you see your backyard in a whole new light and reawaken an awarene...
Sep 28, 2015•46 min•Ep. 162
Hosts Alice and Carmen welcome Dr. Michael Graham to this week’s episode of We Dig Plants. Talking aquatic plants, like seaweed and algae, Dr. Graham is an experimental ecologist whose research program currently focuses on seaweed-based systems (primarily kelps). He is currently investigating the various physiological, ecological, and genetical processes that regulate kelp population biology, as well as the consequences of such habitat dynamics on the various physical and biological processes th...
Sep 21, 2015•46 min•Ep. 161
We Dig Plants is back! Kicking off the new fall season with Claudia Mora of the New York Botanical Garden, the ladies are talking in-depth about the “Frida Kahlo: Art, Garden, Life” exhibit that is currently ongoing. Frida Kahlo loved her garden, and Claudia shares how the garden inspired Frida’s art. The artist’s studio in Mexico City overlooked a great deal of plant life, much of which became a part of her paintings. With passionate colors and interesting use of animals, flowers, and other nat...
Sep 14, 2015•40 min•Ep. 160
On this special episode of We Dig Plants , hosts Carmen Devito & Alice Marcus Krieg of Groundworks Inc interview the well known improvisation Italian-style chef, Erica DeMane. Erica is a longstanding member of the Italian-based Slow Food movement, the American Academy of Rome Kitchen Cabinet, and the International Association of Culinary Professionals. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info ....
Jul 24, 2015•54 min•Ep. 159
On this special episode of We Dig Plants , hosts Carmen Devito & Alice Marcus Krieg of Groundworks Inc. talk to Ashley Gamell and Meera Jagroup of Brooklyn Botanic Garden . Brooklyn Botanic Garden is an urban botanic garden that connects people to the world of plants, fostering delight and curiosity while inspiring an appreciation and sense of stewardship of the environment. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell...
Jul 24, 2015•43 min•Ep. 158
This week on We Dig Plants Alice does a solo interview with Abbie Zabar and Lenore Rice. Alice first asks how Lenore moved from her original profession, law, to horticulture and producing terracotta pots. She tells us about experiences in Italy and the history of terracotta production. Alice transitions to talking about Abbie’s workmanship and design. Abbie discusses her design process as well as why she loves to work on plant containers. This program was sponsored by Whole Foods Market “The con...
Mar 09, 2015•44 min•Ep. 157
This week on We Dig Plants , hosts Carmen Devito and Alice Marcus Krieg are talking cold climate gardening, which is appropriate considering the latest snowstorm in NYC! Kathy Purdy, owner and publisher of Cold Climate Gardening , a specialized blog, joins the hosts talking about how she became interested in gardening and developed a successful green thumb in Upstate NY where temperatures can plummet to 30 degrees below zero! After the break, Kathy shares one of her fondest gardening mistakes an...
Mar 02, 2015•47 min•Ep. 156
This week on We Dig Plants , Carmen DeVito and Alice Marcus Krieg are joined by Andrew Keys and Kerry Michaels, the team behind a brand new book called ” Growing the Northeast Garden”. You lust after lush year-round landscapes, but when it comes to garden design beyond summer, you’re at the mercy of our climate. Or are you? Andrew Keys and Kerry Michaels divulge how to grow all-year ornamental gardens specifically suited for the Northeast. Learn the region’s myriad climates, geography, soils, an...
Feb 23, 2015•46 min•Ep. 155
This week on We Dig Plants Carmen DeVito and Alice Marcus Krieg interview Nicholas Staddon, the director of the Monrovia Nursery and a Monrovia craftsman for two decades. Carmen, Alice, and Nicholas speak about the very personal aspect of horticulture, some of their most memorable plants, and going into the process of growing plants for the color of the year. The conversation then shifts to how art is used in the garden. “It’s [Northwest Flower & Garden Show] like the disneyland of gardening...
Feb 16, 2015•49 min•Ep. 154
Things get steamy on this week’s episode of We Dig Plants as the Groundworks Inc ladies are joined by author/publisher Sandra Knauf for a conversation about stamens, anthers & pistils — yes… plant sex! Sandra’s latest book, 50 Shades of Green , is a collection of twelve delicious and erotic short stories with gardening themes. What you’ll find in these pages is hotter than the hottest pepper on the Scoville index of heat! And smart, not smutty. Well . . . maybe a little smutty. This program ...
Feb 09, 2015•38 min•Ep. 153
On this cold winter day, tune in to a brand new episode of We Dig Plants! . Carmen DeVito is joined by Maria Zampini, founder of UpShoot. In 2012 Maria was named Director of Plant Development for the Agricola Management Group, the exclusive licensee of the HGTV HOME Plant collection. Her work includes sourcing genetics for the various plant collections, working with grower and retail partners as well as networking with garden writers. Maria writes a monthly column in Garden Center Magazine and a...
Feb 02, 2015•41 min•Ep. 152
