Margaret and Tim have a chat with Dr. Mark Brand, Professor of Horticulture at the University of Connecticut’s Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, on a wide range of horticulture topics.

The Pennsylvania  Department of Agriculture has added a number of ornamental plants to its noxious weed list over the past several months (Japanese barberry, burning bush, etc.).  But Connecticut started addressing this issue many years ago and has been at the forefront of invasive ornamentals. Listen as Mark Brand discusses these issues and his research effort to search for cultivars of invasives that might work in the industry. Also, hear from Mark on his horticulture interactions with Hollywood and movie making.

Margaret Pickoff, Penn State Extension (host)
Tim Abbey, Penn State Extension (host)
Dr. Mark Brand, Professor of Horticulture, Department of Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, University of Connecticut

Lead Image: The edible berries of black chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) have both health benefits and nutritional value (nutraceuticals). Photo: Tom Butzler, Penn State Extension

Keeping It Green has an email: [email protected]
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Jerry is also the former owner of a commercial property landscape company and caretaker of Tyler Arboretum’s Wister Rhododendron Garden. Margaret and Tom have a chat with Jerry O’Dell about his horticulture career. For many individuals, the love of plants runs deep, and even in retirement, the pull is strong. Jerry talks about his start on a local golf course through managing commercial properties. But his interest in plants kept him very busy in retirement and opened his eyes to the world of rhododendrons. Finally, how does one come to grips with planting ornamental pear decades ago? Jerry had a plan.

Margaret Pickoff, Penn State Extension (host)
Tom Butzler, Penn State Extension (host)
Jerry O’Dell, President of the Valley Forge Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society

Keeping It Green has an email: [email protected]
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Margaret and Tim have a conversation with Sara May, Penn State’s Head Diagnostician, and Plant Disease Clinic Manager. What trigger’s one’s interest in studying plant diseases? Sara describes her beginning in a nursery/landscape operation to running a lab that deals with sick and dying plants. A short discussion details the journey of submitted samples, from processing, testing, and reporting. And speaking of the journey, how can plant samples be packaged, so they are not a bag of mush by the time they arrive at the Plant Disease Clinic?

Penn State Plant Disease Clinic

Margaret Pickoff, Penn State Extension (host)
Tim Abbey, Penn State Extension (host)
Sara May, Penn State’s Head Diagnostician, and Plant Disease Clinic Manager

Lead photo: Amy Duke, Penn State. Creative Commons

Keeping It Green has an email: [email protected]
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode? Want more information on something we talked about? Send us your questions and comments, or just say hello! We would love to hear from you!

Check out Penn State Extension's Green Industry Team website!

Margaret and Sandy discuss the world of plants in zoo settings with Frank Pizzi, former zoo horticulturist at Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium. Join us as Frank talks about how zoos have transitioned over the past several decades. Where zoo exhibits have gone from concrete and ceramic tile buildings to enclosures that try to mimic the animals' natural habitat. Not only to foster their natural behavior but to educate the public of the world’s wild places. While many homeowners and plant professionals wrestle with animal damage from rabbits, groundhogs, and deer in the landscape, Frank had to manage and protect the plants against the likes of rhinos, gorillas, and giraffes. And what does a zoo do with all that manure? Get a glimpse of IPM in a zoo setting. And finally, what is Frank’s favorite zoo animal?

Pittsburgh Zoo & Aquarium

Margaret Pickoff, Penn State Extension (host)
Sandy Feather, Penn State Extension (host)
Frank Pizzi, Former Zoo Horticulturist at Pittsburgh Zoo & PPG Aquarium

Lead photo: Sandy Feather, Penn State Extension

Keeping It Green has an email: [email protected]
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode? Want more information on something we talked about? Send us your questions and comments, or just say hello! We would love to hear from you!

Check out Penn State Extension's Green Industry Team website!

Margaret and Tom discuss horticulture adventures with Shari Edelson of the Arboretum at Penn State. What is it like working at a relatively new arboretum (opened in 2009)? How are gardens initiated, funded, and constructed? Maintained? Shari will share her experience and changing role in almost a decade of time at the Arboretum. Plus, we discuss the latest addition to the landscape, the pollinator garden. And what is up with the dead trees in the new garden? Finally, Shari mentions she is the outgoing director and gives details on her future endeavors (Hint – some of it can be found at https://thetrek.co/author/shari-edelson/).

Margaret Pickoff, Penn State Extension (host)
Tom Butzler, Penn State Extension (host)
Shari Edelson, Outgoing Director of Operations at the Arboretum at Penn State

Lead photo: Tom Butzler, Penn State Extension

Keeping It Green has an email: [email protected]
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode? Want more information on something we talked about? Send us your questions and comments, or just say hello! We would love to hear from you!

Check out Penn State Extension's Green Industry Team website!

Margaret and Tim discuss plants and more with Jim MacKenzie. The conversation covers a wide range of topics within the nursery industry, starting with his journey from landscape architecture to co-owner of Octoraro Native Plant Nursery. He’ll also give insight into labor issues, sustainability, and philosophy on mentorship within the industry.



Margaret Pickoff, Penn State Extension (host) 
Tim Abbey, Penn State Extension (host)
Jim MacKenzie, President, and Co-owner of Octoraro Native Plant Nursery

Lead photo: Tom Butzler, Penn State Extension

Keeping It Green has an email: [email protected]
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode? Want more information on something we talked about? Send us your questions and comments, or just say hello! We would love to hear from you!

Check out Penn State Extension's Green Industry Team website!

Margaret and Tom talk insects with Dr. Michael Skvarla. We’ll cover his role with Penn State’s Insect ID Lab and the process of identification. Plus, what he sees as the insects that Green Industry professionals could see as our next invasive species in managed landscapes.

Margaret Pickoff, Penn State Extension (host)
Tom Butzler, Penn State Extension (host)
Michael Skvarla, Assistant Research Professor of Arthropod Identification, Penn State University

Lead photo: Tom Butzler, Penn State Extension

Keeping It Green has an email: [email protected]
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode? Want more information on something we talked about? Send us your questions and comments, or just say hello! We would love to hear from you!

Check out Penn State Extension's Green Industry Team website!

Margaret and Tim talk with Kathleen Salisbury about her path to becoming the Director of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University. The conversation steers towards extreme weather and the effects of the September 2021 tornado that tore through the arboretum.
Listen carefully as a bird crashes the interview!

Margaret Pickoff, Penn State Extension (host)
Tim Abbey, Penn State Extension (host)
Kathleen Salisbury, Director of the Ambler Arboretum of Temple University

Lead photo: Tom Butzler, Penn State Extension 

Keeping It Green has an email: [email protected]
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode? Want more information on something we talked about? Send us your questions and comments, or just say hello! We would love to hear from you!

Check out Penn State Extension's Green Industry Team website!

Margaret and Tom talk with Vinnie Cotrone about his role and journey within Penn State Extension’s Urban Forestry program. The discussion looks at how the perceptions of urban trees have changed over the decades and some of the ecosystem services these trees provide to communities. Plus, what are some of the biggest stressors trees face in urban environments?

Margaret Pickoff, Penn State Extension (host)
Tom Butzler, Penn State Extension (host)
Vinnie Cotrone, Extension Educator, Urban Forestry, Penn State University

Lead photo: Tim Abbey, Penn State Extension

Keeping It Green has an email: [email protected]
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode? Want more information on something we talked about? Send us your questions and comments, or just say hello! We would love to hear from you!

Check out Penn State Extension's Green Industry Team website!

Margaret and Tim talk with Dr. Margaret Hoffman about the components, benefits, and issues with natural swimming pools. We’ll cover a few of the workhorse plants in this system. We also discuss Margaret’s journey from undergrad to landscape design owner to program coordinator of Penn State’s Landscape Contracting major.

Margaret Pickoff, Penn State Extension (host)
Tim Abbey, Penn State Extension (host)
Margaret Hoffman, Penn State University

Lead photo: Margaret Hoffman, Penn State University

Keeping It Green has an email: [email protected]
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode? Want more information on something we talked about? Send us your questions and comments, or just say hello! We would love to hear from you!

Check out Penn State Extension's Green Industry Team website!