The Garden Question

Award-winning designer, artist and educator, Lisa Nunamaker is a master at teaching others how to communicate garden design and landscape graphic ideas on paper.

Her website Paper Garden Workshop.com is a fun and spirited place to begin learning new amazing drawing and design technique.

Lisa teaches her beautiful illustration skills on her website and in the Department of Horticulture at Iowa State University.

To top it off, Lisa also holds degrees in landscape architecture, is registered in the state of Iowa and formally served on the Association of Professional Landscape Designers National Board of Directors.

Connie Cottingham and Mike Sikes’ garden is every plant collector’s fantasy. Each of their lifetime garden adventures are intertwined in their eclectic Athens Georgia garden.

Connie is a landscape architect and a garden travel writer. She has gardened in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Georgia. Her weekly garden plants and advice email ‘Love Notes From the Garden’ are short, humorous, and informative.

Mike is a horticulturist who is Georgia through and through. His garden world has included owning and operating retail garden centers, hosting a garden radio talk show, assisting with new plant introductions, and serving as President of the Georgia Master Gardeners.

Together Connie and Mike offer talks and landscape consultations between discovering a new public garden.

Facebook: Love Notes From The Garden

Mary Kay Woodworth talks about how to hire your next professional for your garden or landscape needs.

In this episode she reveals some of the best questions to ask when qualifying your potential garden and landscape professional.

Mary Kay serves as the Executive director of the Georgia Urban Ag Council. The UAC organization is composed of Landscape, Garden and Turf professionals that advocate, educate, and promote the green industry in the state of Georgia.

UAC represents one of the largest and most successful industries in Georgia. With more than $9 billion in sales, 8,000 companies, and more than 100,000 employees

She is almost a native Georgian, living here since she was 8 years old.

An avid gardener, she has Georgia soil, temperature and plant varieties (mostly) figured out, but learning to landscape and garden with husband Mark at their second home in New Hampshire planting zone 4b is a new challenge!

This is Episode 22 Hiring a Professional for Your Next Garden Project of The Garden Question Podcast.

0019 - The Great Georgia Pollinator Census - Becky Griffin

Becky Griffin knows pollinators count. Now she wants you to count the pollinators in the The Great Georgia Pollinator Census

Being a self-confessed “Geeky Kid” with a great love for insects she wore out the bee book in her local library.  Now Becky  is the coordinator of The Great Georgia Pollinator Census taking place this year on August 20th and 21st, 2021.

Putting good food on your table is no accident. In this episode we will find out how good insects and their supporting habitat make a difference.

Becky tells us the simple method for collecting important data to be used by the University of Georgia researchers. This valuable data reveals pollinator trends and is needed to conduct economic valuation studies of pollination.

Becky is a Georgia Certified Beekeeper and works with community and school gardeners to increase beneficial insect habitat.

She is also part of UGA's Native Plants and Beneficial Insect Working Group and hosts “The Great Georgia Pollinator Podcast”

This is a back-to-back episode featuring our guest Becky Griffin the Community and School Garden Coordinator for The University of Georgia Extension.

You will want to hear episode 18 “Gardening with Children” when you finish this episode 19 of The Garden Question Podcast.

Connect with Becky: Becky Griffin is the Community and School Garden Coordinator for University of Georgia Extension.

Website: The Great Georgia Pollinator Census

Facebook Group: The Great Georgia Pollinator Census

Certify your pollinator habitat: Connect To Protect Program

Becky Griffin knows gardening connects future generations to agriculture and how they will benefit from that experience.

Our children today need food and agriculture knowledge in order to yield wise policy decisions for their future.

She talks about how a child’s nutrition, wellness and economic benefits increases along with test scores by being exposed to gardening.

Becky has found that a child’s natural curiosity of the outdoor world often leads to developing patients, curiosity and creativity when being involved in school gardening.

Becky Griffin is the Community and School Garden Coordinator for University of Georgia Extension. She knows what it takes to have a successful school garden. 

We will explore the keys to starting a sustainable children’s garden in this 018 episode of The Garden Question Podcast “Gardening with Children”.

Mike and Judy Cunningham are harvesting the last summer crops at Country Gardens Farm.

Fall gardening is just around the corner and Mike takes a break to talk about his favorite time of the year in the garden.

Some of the things you will discover in this episode are the best practices Mike implements for soils, plant selections, and timing. All important for a successful fall harvest.

Mike and Judy Cunningham have been teaching people how to grow, cook, and preserve good organic food for over 10 years.

Country Gardens Farm is a third-generation family farm growing a wide assortment of organic year-round vegetables they sale to the community from their 3 acres.

Mike with lots of input from Judy authored his successful "Seven Steps to an Organic Vegetable Garden"

You will remember Mike's openness in sharing his successful methods for growing good food in our inaugural episode 001 of "The Garden Question" Podcast.

Jo Phillips is the Horticultural Manager for the best-preserved 19th century garden in the United States. The first planting at Hills and Dales Estate occurred in 1841 with the still growing original boxwoods.

The garden estate is a horticultural testament to the three women with their families that have called it home. Today’s garden stays true to the original design and each woman’s contribution.

Jo tells stories about how much Alice Callaway loved Hills and Dales and was ahead of her time in so many ways. The horticultural staff reflects Mrs. Callaway love every day in their care for the original garden design.

You will want to listen all the way to the end to appreciate how important historical gardens are to our future garden success.

Jo earned her BSA Horticulture Degree from The University of Georgia.

This is Episode 016 “Hills and Dales Garden Wisdom” of The Garden Question Podcast.

Paul Chappell grows trees headed to a landscape garden near you. He talks about the fascinating journey your tree might take before finding a home in your garden.

Once your tree finds its home, Paul lays out what it takes for you to be a successful tree grower for multiple generations.

Paul fell in love with plants and their care over 36 successful years ago.

He tells some very interesting stories about his time at Callaway Gardens. The challenges of growing native trees in the nursery. Also, some plant design practices and choices you will want to avoid.

Paul is a Georgia Certified Landscape Professional, an ISA Certified Arborist, and a 20 plus years nursery grower of fine trees.

This is episode 015 “Where Trees Come From” of The Garden Question Podcast. Our conversation with Paul Chappell of Diversified Trees coming up.

You’ll never want to leave a Susanne Hudson designed garden. Each garden room is an invitation to relax and enjoy again and again.

Susanne has been designing homes and gardens for over 40 years. She believes your home is for living and enjoying every day.

Her personal garden has been featured in Southern Living, Better Homes and Gardens, Country Living, HGTV, This Old House, New Zealand’s Lifestyle Book and more.

She shares her garden with guest each year during the Penny McHenry Hydrangea Festival Garden tour.

Designing amazing twist with antique and vintage objects is one of her design signatures.

Gail Woody knows native plants and why they are important for our gardens.

She has been gardening for over 30 years. Creating the perfect eco system with native plants for butterflies, hummingbirds, and other wildlife. Her passion for gardening is contagious! After listening to this episode, you will search out every opportunity to use natives in your garden.

Gail Woody is an ISA Certified Arborist and a seasoned advanced Master Gardener. She speaks and writes on Butterflies, Hummingbirds, and native plants among other garden subjects.

You probably remember listening to Gail in episode 002 Attracting Butterflies to Your Garden and episode 005 Attracting Hummingbirds to your Garden.