A Way To Garden

what we can learn from ‘outsider animals,’ with marlene zuk

margaret — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 19:39:06 +0000

I’M PRIVILEGED to observe a fascinating diversity of animals outside where I live, but the term “Outsider Animals” was new to me. It’s the title of a recent book by today’s guest, Marlene Zuk, a leading expert in behavioral evolution and a professor at the University of Minnesota. The book’s subtitle is “How the Creatures at the Margins of Our Lives Have the Most to Teach Us” (affiliate link), and among her subjects are ones that many gardeners may know—or think they know—like raccoons, cabbage white butterflies, cowbirds and snakes (like the garter snake, above, devouring one of “my” frogs in the garden some years ago). All these animals have one thing in common, she writes: “When we see them, we ask, what are you doing here?” Outsider animals were the topic of my conversation with Dr. Zuk, the Regents Professor of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Plus: Comment in the box near the bottom of the page for a chance to win a copy of the book. Read along as you listen to the April 13, 2026 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the […]

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garden for birds, with cornell lab’s becca rodomsky-bish

margaret — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 17:55:09 +0000

I ALWAYS SAY that birds taught me to garden as I watched their behavior and added more of the plants and features they seem to like and use most. And I’ve been blessed to have a diversity of avian visitors over many years. One place I’ve long turned for all kinds of information about birds is Cornell Lab of Ornithology. And lately among their many educational resources, they’ve added the Garden for Birds Project, loaded with reference materials and inspiring webinars and more. The project’s leader, native plant specialist Becca Rodomsky-Bish, filled me in about its offerings and suggested some of the more impactful tactics for making your own landscape into a garden for birds. Becca has been gardening for more than 20 years. She draws upon her background in environmental science and her native plant expertise to manage her home garden and shape the offerings of the Lab’s Garden for Birds Project. Like everyone I know who gardens for birds, Becca reports not just an uptick in sightings of feathered visitors, but also in the positive impacts the practice has had on her life, not inconsequential effects like hope and joy. Read along as you listen to the April […]

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creating habitat: wildlife gardening, with shaun mccoshum

margaret — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 11:37:23 +0000

WE TALK ABOUT pollinator gardens, and seek out the plants that provide that essential nourishment to bees and butterflies and moths, for example. But insects do not live by pollen alone. To make our gardens places of life-sustaining habitat, we have to provide for other needs, too—like water, for instance, and shelter in each season of the year and more. A new book called “Natural Habitats & Wildlife Gardening: Inviting Nature Into Your Backyard” (affiliate link), by Shaun McCoshum, provides inspiration for doing just that. Shaun is a landscape ecologist, conservationist, pollinator researcher and writer who has worked on green energy initiatives, conservation projects, and habitat plans across the United States. He shared lots of ideas for enhancing the power of your place. Plus: Comment in the box near the bottom of the page for a chance to win a copy of “Natural Habitats & Wildlife Gardening: Inviting Nature Into Your Backyard.” Read along as you listen to the March 30, 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). creating habitat, with shaun mccoshum Download file | Play […]

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