Watch The Foodscape Revolution on GGWTV

In this episode we visit Brie Arthur in her garden where we explore foodscaping – or edible landscaping.  Brie is the author of the book, Foodscape Revolution, so we couldn’t think of a better way to demonstrate this concept than visiting her own foodscape garden.

Landscaping and gardening have always been treated as two totally different practices. And yet, they have more similarities than differences. Brie shows us first hand how to mix vegetables in with those ornamental plants to create an edible landscape that’s both practical and aesthetically pleasing.

If there was ever a time for foodscaping to go mainstream, it’s now.  With more of us at home and foot shortages part of our new reality, 2020 is the year to take advantage of growing food whenever and wherever we can.

Even though the concept of foodscaping has been around for a long time, most gardeners still tend to keep their food garden hidden – tucked away where their neighbors (and their HOA) won’t see.  But a better way could be hiding veggies, fruit, herbs, and even grains in amongst trees, shrubs, and perennials. There doesn’t need to be a distinction between a landscape and a food garden.

Season 11 will air starting in September 2020 and I am thrilled to be in 3 episodes! We covered a lot of great information from both of my books The Foodscape Revolution and Gardening with Grains in addition to featuring my neighbor garden helpers Aidan and Abby. You can watch anytime from the GGWTV.com website.

Growing A Greener World TV

The summer of 2014 was a challenging one for me. I was in between jobs and basically experiencing a full blown career crisis. One day, Joe Lamp'l a long time friend from GWA contacted me about doing an episode for his PBS television program, Growing A Greener World on propagating plants.  Initially I was hesitant- after all I wasn't even working as a propagator at a nursery any longer, what could I possibly offer? Joe persisted and reminded me of something I will never forget, "Its not about what you are doing, its about what you know, and you know how to propagate plants." That advice, which I still hold dear motivated me to agree to film my first ever television appearance in my home garden.  

At the time Joe had no idea that he was changing my life; frankly I didn't know either. But after filming episode #513 Making More Plants my life and career would never be the same. It was one of those moments that I couldn't understand until much later, when upon reflection it was clear as day. How my life would be if I hadn't taken a chance on being my silly self for all the world to see, I will never know. But I am forever grateful to Joe and the GGWTV crew for teaching about the possibilities of a career in garden communications. 

In the months that followed I kept in touch with Joe who genrously mentored me and offered me an opportunity to film with GGWTV on future episodes. 

In Season 6 of GGWTV I participated in episode #626, Designing A Landscape as a designer, using Georgia native plants to create habitat for beneficial pollinators. It was a great experience to test my design skills while we created content that was the opposite of the instant gratifying HGTV programs. Rather our goal is to show the reality of creating a landscape from scratch while planting trees and shrubs with appropriate spacing so they will have room to grow for years to come. THIS was reality gardening tv, and there should be more of it. 

Then came the summer of 2016, when Joe and the GGWTV crew visited the house multiple times to keep track of my tomato growing obsession. The result was episode #813, New Ways of Growing of Favorite Vegetables. You see, since building my current garden in 2011 I have had an increasing issue with soil born diseases and root knot nematodes- the result of living in a former tobacco field. So I have had to become very creative in how I grow my favorite heirloom tomatoes. Typically hydroponic systems are used in controlled environments, but I decided to try my hand at incorporating them outside in the landscape. We show the good, the bad and the ugly in the episode which is full of "what not to do" advice. 

It has been a sincere pleasure and true honor to work with the the Growing A Greener World Team. Sharing my knowledge and insights with viewers across the US led me to write The Foodscape Revolution! Thank you Joe for taking a chance on me and showing me there are career opportunities where you least expect them!

You can watch GGWTV online or on a local PBS Station: click here to find your schedule