Today's guest is Haeley Giambalvo from San Antonio, Texas. You may know her on Instagram as the person behind Native Backyards, the highly informative account that features native plants and native plant gardening advice focused on Texas. I have loved what Haeley has been doing since the very start of her account and have admired the effort she has put into the outreach and advocacy for native plants on her account. In addition, she has a website that delves into all this even more, complete with resources on where to find native plants in your region. In our conversation we talk about her entry to gardening with native plants, how and why she began the Native Backyards platform, and some of her favorite native plants to garden with. There’s a lot to learn from Haeley!

Native Backyards | Haeley Giambalvo

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Since starting to produce this podcast in November 2015 all the way through May 2023, it’s been a wonderful ride to learn about gardening from so many great people. I’ve truly enjoyed interviewing and getting to know so many folks through this podcast, but all good things must end. And it is time to put this podcast into the compost heap. It’s time to cultivate some other projects I’ve got going and maybe some day there will be another incarnation of The Garden Path Podcast. I truly thank everyone who has listened or been interviewed over the years!
You can still find me writing about gardening at the In the Weeds newsletter:

Thanks for the wonderful gardening conversations!


Putting the Podcast Into the Compost Heap – A Heartfelt Goodbye!

Today’s episode features a return guest, Nancy Lawson! Nancy was first on the podcast in November of 2017 to talk about her book The Humane Gardener. Nancy’s book said so much of what I was already thinking and really pushed me to think harder when it came to looking at the garden landscape as an ecosystem. When I found out she was writing a new book I was ecstatic. That new book is Wildscape: Trilling Chipmunks, Beckoning Blooms, Salty Butterflies, and other Sensory Wonders of Nature. The book is such a delight and I hope it will have you wandering around your yard with new eyes, and ears and nose and mouth—taste? Lol anyway, I hope it will make you approach your landscape in a different way. We have a delightful conversation about the book, as well as writing the book during the height of the pandemic. Talking with Nancy is always wonderful and there are so many things to learn from her!

Wildscape | Nancy Lawson

I am excited to bring this episode to y’all, an interview with Amy Martin, a writer and researcher from Dallas who is currently compiling a biography on Texas environmentalist Ned Fritz. Now, you may be asking, who the heck is Ned Fritz? And I was right there with you up until last spring when I read his book Realms of Beauty about the Wilderness Areas of east Texas. His writing cracked me up and was so relevant to today that I was sad to see that Ned had passed away in 2008 after a half century or more of environmental activism in Texas for places and things you may or may not have heard of. I heard Amy Martin give a talk to the Dallas Sierra Club back in January and knew I needed to interview her for the podcast. More people need to know about Ned Fritz and what he stood for, how much he fought to protect Texas land and water and why we need more Ned Fritz’s more than ever.

Ned Fritz’s Texas Environmental Legacy | Amy Martin

Way back in 2018 I had today’s guest on to talk about his book, A New Garden Ethic. Today Benjamin Vogt is back on the podcast to talk about his latest book, Prairie Up: An Introduction to Natural Garden Design. A lot has changed in the last five years in regard to native plants in gardening and I think Benjamin has driven some of that change. Prairie Up is the garden design book that many of us have been looking for. An approach for native plant enthusiasts that is both attainable and manageable, contrary to so many other beautiful garden design books out there. As you’ll hear me say in the interview, the book blew away my expectations and I think even the most experienced native plant gardener will be able to find something to take away from both the book and the conversation.

Get Your Prairie On: Native Plant Garden Design with Benjamin Vogt

Today’s guest is Michelle Lay, a native plant gardener in Austin, Texas. Michelle and I have been Instagram acquaintances and friends over the last few years and I’ve enjoyed seeing her central Texas native plant garden evolve. Michelle has the same passion for conversation and protection of the environment that I do and we talk a lot about that in our conversation. We chat native plants, the Native Plant Society of Texas, the sadness that comes with seeing our open spaces bulldozed for development, and Michelle’s own recent experiences rescuing plants from a development. We pack a lot into the episode and there’s a lot to learn! Let’s hear what Michelle has to say!

Native Plant Gardening in Austin, Texas | Michelle Lay

The Garden Path Podcast

Native Backyards | Haeley Giambalvo

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