A Way To Garden

where conservation meets horticulture, with lea johnson

Margaret — Fri, 03 Jul 2026 21:11:29 +0000

LEA JOHNSON is a plant ecologist whose work, she says, is driven by this question: “All of the wild diversity of life on earth is here, with us, right now. How can we take it with us into the future?” It’s a compelling question, and one that can motivate not just scientists like Lea, Director of Conservation at Native Plant Trust in New England, but also native-plant gardeners like us. She talked to me about where conservation and gardening intersect, and some of the challenges and the possibilities we face together. Lea joined Native Plant Trust, the nation’s oldest native plant conservation organization, in 2025, as its Director of Conservation. At the Massachusetts-based nonprofit, she manages various conservation and restoration initiatives, including the monitoring of rare and endangered species; a rare plant seed bank with over 10 million seeds, and the Trust’s seven native plant sanctuaries in New England. She also oversees the leading botanical resource GoBotany—one of my favorite reference websites. Read along as you listen to the July 6, 2026 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify (and browse my archive […]

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vegetable successions and edible cover crops, with doug muller

Margaret — Fri, 26 Jun 2026 20:11:32 +0000

I KNOW, it feels like we just planted the vegetable garden moments ago. But a close look around as summer really takes hold quickly reminds us that our work is never done… Some crop or other is reaching the end of its run, making room for a succession sowing of more of that same thing or something else altogether, or maybe of a weed-suppressing, soil-building cover crop—some of which are actually edible, too, (like the winter-hardy field peas, above) in what’s perhaps the cleverest season-extending scheme of all. Mastering the art of stretching the harvest season is my topic today with Doug Muller of Hudson Valley Seed Company. Doug is co-founder and managing director of the mail-order seed business and retail store, based on its organic farm in Accord, N.Y., and I was pleased to speak to him and get some inspiration on succession sowing and creative cover cropping—because yes, there’s still time for lots more possibilities out there. Read along as you listen to the June 29, 2026 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts here). […]

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color, views, seating & more: design lessons from madoo

Margaret — Fri, 19 Jun 2026 17:23:58 +0000

THE RECENTLY PUBLISHED book “Madoo: The Making of an American Garden,” reminded me of the power of certain key design strategies that can make all the difference—ones that proved to be formative elements in the highly distinctive garden that is Madoo, in Sagaponack, Long Island, which visitors often use words like “magical” to describe. Madoo was created starting in the 1960s by the late painter and poet Bob Dash, and the book’s authors join me today to talk about some of those garden-making tactics he used and that the garden team there keeps using—like how important it is to consider inside-out views from key windows, and how flourishes of colorful paint (including on the welcoming element of carefully placed garden seating) can unite a landscape’s many elements. My guests today are Alejandro Saralegui, executive director of the Madoo Conservancy since 2009, and Kendell Cronstrom, a longtime magazine editor (left to right, in the photo below), who have co-authored the book, “Madoo: The Making of an American Garden” (affiliate link). Plus: Comment in the box near the bottom of the page for a chance to win their new book, “Madoo.” Read along as you listen to the June 22, 2026 edition […]

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