James Barela is a graphic designer by day, potter, artist, and gardener by night and all the spaces in between. James lives and works in Austin, Texas, where he runs his business Baetanical. At Baetanical you can find as he puts it, “…the Best in Botanical Curiosity”—pieces of plant inspired art, and unique, hand-thrown ceramic […]
Ep. 5-3: The Botanical Hikers
This is a special episode in which I’m broadcasting a cross over episode from my second podcast, Orange Blaze: A Florida Trail Podcast. My guests for the episode are Heather Housekeeper and Scott Weis, 2019 Florida Trail thru-hikers. Heather is a certified herbalist and Scott is a musician, and together they have hiked several trails […]
Ep. 5-2: The Urban Prairie – Tandy Hills Natural Area
Today’s episode features Don and Debora Young, founders of the Friends of Tandy Hills Natural Area. Don and Debora have been spreading the word about this amazing remnant prairie in east Fort Worth for several decades and when oil and gas exploration activity came to Fort Worth, they wanted to do something to protect this […]
Ep. 5-1: Welcome Back – The Summer Garden, Alaska, and a New Season
View this post on Instagram A new addition to the garden this year, wingstem (Verbesina alternifolia). They were propogated from seeds purchased from @prairiemoonnursery and I have been very impressed. I’m on a quest to find natives that the deer won’t touch—which is actually an ordeal because most plants listed as such aren’t actually. I […]
Summer Encore: Humane Gardening | Nancy Lawson
Writer and gardener Nancy Lawson takes gardening for wildlife to the next level. After first encountering her book via my library system’s digital lending services, I have since fallen for the way Nancy writes about wildlife and their interactions in our garden and in our lives. She frequently touches on points that create those ‘aha’ […]
Summer Encore: The Common Milkweed Nursery | Jennifer Kleinrichert & Steve Ross
One of my favorite episodes has been with the owners of The Common Milkweed Nursery, “a 3.5 acre nature preserve, wildlife haven, native plant farm, and land lab in North Central Ohio.” Jennifer and Steve are a wealth of knowledge when it comes to native plants of their region and getting a glimpse of that […]
Summer Encore: Unconventional Edibles & Whole Harvest Cooking | Linda Ly
View this post on Instagram Last week, I mentioned that our two-year search for a house to call our own in Central Oregon finally — finally! — has a happy ending (though the adventure is really just beginning). We closed on our dream property this month! It completely caught us by surprise, and we scrambled […]
Summer Encore: Backyard Butterflies Field Guide | Erin Gettler
Imagine taking an interest in all things lepidoptera to a whole new level—from curious naturalist to field guide author. That’s what my guest for this episode, Erin Gettler, did in 2017 with her book Bird Watcher’s Digest Butterflies Backyard Guide. In this episode from season 2, Erin and I chat about the work involved in […]
Summer Encore: Bamboo, Plant Obsessions, and Creating Ninth Ward Nursery | Mark Sanders
Kicking off the second episode of the Summer Encore Series is a chat with Mark Sanders of Ninth Ward Nursery. We talk about the organic start to his nursery and how he works to fill niches that are needed in the New Orleans area, including interior-scaping and plant maintenance. Below is an update from Mark […]
Summer Encore: Urban Forestry and Communicating Ecology Through Art | Leigh Martin
I’m kicking off a Summer Encore Series from Seasons 1-3 with episodes you may not have heard or dug through the archives to listen to. First off is an episode about Urban Forestry and Ecology with a knitting twist as I talk to Leigh Martin. It’s one of my first episodes and I was still […]