Saturday, August 12, 2023

GardenDC Podcast Episode 160: Gardening in the 21st Century with Janet Draper

In this episode of GardenDC: The Podcast about Mid-Atlantic Gardening, we chat with Janet Draper, Horticulturist at the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden, part of Smithsonian Gardens. The plant profile is on Balloon Flower and we share what's going on in the garden as well as some upcoming local gardening events in the What's New segment. We close out with the Last Word on Gardening with Water from the late James van Sweden.

If you liked this episode, you may also enjoy listening to:

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 131: 2023 Garden Trends

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2022/12/gardendc-podcast-episode-131-garden.html

~ GardenDC Podcast Episode 29: Butterfly Gardening

https://washingtongardener.blogspot.com/2020/09/gardendc-podcast-episode-29-butterfly.html


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Show Notes: 01:19 Meet Janet Draper, a horticulturist at the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden, part of the Smithsonian Gardens. 02:41 Draper’s experience with gardening during her childhood. 04:11 How Draper became a horticulturist and worked her way through a multitude of experiences. 08:36 A bit about Kurt Bluemel, who helped change the way Americans saw perennials and horticulture in the early 90s. 11:54 How Draper got into public gardens after her internships. 14:40 The Mary Livingston Ripley Garden: location, size, history, design, and more. 16:47 “When I first got there, my whole goal was to show people the amazing diversity of Mother Nature that’s out there,” Draper said. 18:31 The garden is very accessible, attracts urban wildlife, and is almost a different zone (Zone 8) than the surrounding area. 19:35 Has Draper seen a change in the climate and zone throughout her time taking care of the Mary Livingston Ripley Garden? 20:52 Plant availability and information are significantly better than it was decades ago, but gardeners must beware that the information is applicable to them and their areas. 22:40 Horticulture information used to be centered around a British perspective making a lot of it inapplicable to American gardeners, but there is much more American-based information now. 26:30 Chemicals in the garden: a focus on being organic. Gardeners now care much more about their ecosystem including bugs and pollinators. 29:15 “My gardens are wild and crazy; I am not the kid that separates his peas from his mashed potatoes,” Draper said. 30:57 Gardeners used to “put [their] gardens to bed in the winter,” however there is a greater emphasis on leaving the debris for the birds and insects to help support the surrounding ecosystem. 32:36 There is an entirely new understanding of what a garden is and what it is for. Gardens are for more than just humans, there’s a new understanding that they can provide for the entire ecosystem. 34:28 Weeds vs. Native Plants: embracing our natives. 36:32 Many invasives were intentionally brought into America before horticulturists realized the seeds were so viable in our climate. 39:34 There has been a “tropical craze” in gardening recently, which has been incredible for the DC area’s high heat and humidity in the summer. 43:16 Draper has been incorporating more natives into her own gardens recently to support insects and her local ecosystem. 45:07 Contact Draper through her Email: drapeja@si.edu, Instagram: @smithsoniangardens or on the garden’s Website: https://gardens.si.edu/ 46:11 The Mary Livingston Ripley Garden is open 24/7. You can typically find Draper there Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to the early afternoon. 48:05 Balloon Flower: This week’s Plant Profile! 49:59 Garden Updates: Jentz spent most of the weekend touring gardens in Minneapolis with GardenComm where she received a gold level award for “Best Podcast Overall” for GardenDC. In the gardens, the Abelia is blooming, some Hydrangeas, the Peppers, Potatoes, and Garlic are doing great, and the Dahlias are blooming beautifully. 51:10 Upcoming Events: Montgomery Park’s Foodie Friday: The People’s Medicine (https://montgomeryparks.org/events/fo... USDA’s Climate Smart Agriculture & Who's in the Garden webinar (https://www.usda.gov/peoples-garden/w.... 52:37 “The Urban Garden” by Kathy Jentz and Teri Speight. 53:38 “Groundcover Revolution” by Kathy Jentz. 55:00 The Last Word on Gardening with Water by the late James van Sweden. 55:58 “Water has transformed every environment to which it has been introduced,” supporting animals, plants, and humans alike.

We welcome your questions and comments! You can leave a voice mail message for us at: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/gardendc/message Note that we may use these messages on a future episode.

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Episode Credits:
Host and Producer: Kathy Jentz
Interview Editor and Show Notes: Marissa Yelenik

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