It's been a while since we reviewed gardening podcasts, so it's time for an update and hopefully, your recommendations - I need more for the little iPod Shuffle that keeps me company in the garden.
It may just be that there are really very few American podcasts about gardening. I know Amy and lots of others love Wiggley Wigglers but sorry,
English farm life is just too unfamiliar to me. Who and what ARE they talking about? And why
are they laughing all the time?
Moving on, here are the gardening podcasts I listen to and actually understand.
Real Dirt with Ken Druse
Garden writer Ken Druse has done what garden writers everywhere are finding is easier said than done - found sponsors for his podcast and blog. So right there, kudos! But more importantly, it's real garden talk from and for real gardeners. Plus, I usually know or at least know OF the folks he interviews - like Margaret Roach, Saxon Holt, Stephanie Cohen, and yours truly (I couldn't remember names of plants but laughed a lot and it was fun. I'm sure somebody in Cornwall is asking "What IS that woman laughing about?")
Ken's blog provides news of each episode, like this post about a recent tour of his own garden that included a visit by a BEAR. In New Jersey, mind you.
A Way to Garden with Margaret Roach
I assume you're all aware of the ex-Martha Stewart Living editor Margaret Roach and the wonderful blog A Way to Garden she launched two years ago, after which it quickly rose to become a top traffic-getter. (A sign that readers really do recognize quality.) But did you know she also has a weekly gardening show, listed here on iTunes? I was discouraged to discover that Margaret doesn't just excel at writing but also at casual repartee. (Seems unfair.)
Funny story about her June 7 broadcast, which I was listening to while driving to the Bay to visit Robin Ripley. Near the end (20:16 minutes) Margaret's interviewer asked out of the blue: So what's all this about trouble between you and Susan Harris? This is what happens when bloggers start even good-natured arguments with other bloggers, as I had here when I read - to my shock - that she identified my primary lawn replacement plant as a different creeping sedum than I had for years been identifying it. I believe I called her a "known troublemaker".
I won't make you listen to the podcast to find out how Margaret responds to taxonomic challenges. She revealed on the radio show that when she read my post (sent her via a comment on her sedum page) she went out into the garden at 10 at night to grab some of the stuff. Then back to her office to consult her taxonomic reference books, which allowed her to leave a really geeky comment on my post.
So the next time I make any assumptions about New York garden writers in the flashy world of magazine publishing not being real gardeners passionate about the subject, I'll just shut my mouth.
That's it for gardening podcasts on my iTunes subscription list, so can anyone recommend any others?
Nongardening podcasts - coz a girl's gotta listen
Now to veer off-topic a bit, are there any nongardening podcasts you guys love? Here are my faves, but I could use some more: Bob Edwards Weekend, Fresh Air, On the Media, PRI Arts and Entertainment, To the Best of our Knowledge, Real Time with Bill Maher, Slate Culture Gabfest, This American Life, Studio 360, and the nonpolitical episodes of DC's Kojo Nnambi Show. Make that the nonpolitical episodes of ALL of these shows - coz when I'm in the garden or on the treadmill I want entertainment and enlightenment, not news, especially the political kind.