Weave Habitat Restoration into Food Gardens

Botanist Ryan Godfrey

Not Mutually Exclusive

Ever wondered if growing food and and growing native plants are mutually exclusive?

Our guest Ryan Godfrey talks about his sixth-floor balcony garden where he weaves together edible and native plants—all in containers.

Habitat-Themed Containers

Godfrey’s balcony container garden includes habitat-themed containers:

• Alvar container garden

• Riverside container garden

• Boulder container garden

• Woodland container garden

Edible plants include woodland strawberries, Jerusalem artichoke, sweet grass, and Virginia mountain mint.

Godfrey also has an allotment garden plot where he grows both food and native plants. He says that his plot draws a lot of pollinators.

It Started with Acorns

In a journey that started with vacuuming acorns as a child, Ryan went on to study biology and evolutionary biology. He says this makes him a “plant nerd,” a gardener who learned about plants outside of a garden context. It colours his approach to gardening.

“Failure is a huge part of gardening. I encourage folks to document and learn from your failures.” Ryan Godfrey

Godfrey currently works with World Wildlife Fund Canada on a project called In The Zone, an initiative to build Carolinean habitat in Canada.

Connect with Ryan Godfrey

• Website: botanicallyspeaking.org

• Facebook: botanicalryan

• Instagram: botanical_ryan

• Twitter: botanical_ryan

More about In The Zone

In the Zone is a program by WWF Canada and Carolinian Canada to help gardeners in Canada’s Carolinian Zone recreate Carolinean habitat in gardens big and small.

Neighbourhood Foraging for the Wild Food Gourmet

Robin (Robert K.) Henderson, author of The Neighborhood Forager: A Guide for the Wild Food Gourmet

Robin Henderson joins us to talk about foraging.

As he was growing up, he heard family stories about the foraging of previous generations.

Then, as urban growth engulfed the area where he lived, he discovered the many edible plants growing in his own neighbourhood.

Henderson points out that many people think of “subsistence” foraging—foraging to fill the stomach. For him, foraging can be a lot more than subsistence—he’s a big believer in “gastronomic foraging.”

Henderson explains that it’s even possible to forage in winter, while there is snow on the ground.

Gourmet Ideas Include:

• elderflower champagne

• sumac lemonade

• sorrel paste and sorrel soup

• spruce beer

• dandelion salads and dandelion root coffee

• velvety lambs quarters

Grow a Food Garden You Love

Emily Murphy, Author of Grow What You Love

Emily Murphy finds daily inspiration in her garden in Northern California. She describes her passion for gardening as, “A love affair.”

Early Start

Emily got an early start in gardening. “If you were around in the 70’s, I was the kid down the road whose family was growing potatoes in her front yard instead of a lawn,” she says.

Teaching Gardening

Emily is a garden designer, educator, and author who weaves together her studies in botany, ethnobotany, environmental science, and ecology.

In her teaching she brings together gardening and living.

“Our gardens are one of our most immediate touch points with nature.”

Grow What You Love, by Emily Murphy

Emily is the author of the book Grow What You Love, 12 Food Plant Families to Change Your Life, an inspiring guide to planning, making, and growing a garden.

Connect with Emily Murphy

• Website: passthepistil.com

• Facebook: passthepistil

• Twitter: passthepistil

• Instagram: passthepistil

Food Garden Life Show RSS

Gardens and Healing

Stephanie Rose, author of Garden Alchemy and writer and blogger at GardenTherapy.ca.

Stephanie Rose has a passion for inspiring other people to grow and use plants. It’s a passion that began with her own journey of healing herself by taking up gardening.

“This is where I’m going to recover. I’m going to rehabilitate myself using the garden.”

Stephanie is a Vancouver-based award-winning author, speaker, and master gardener who teaches people how to grow and use plants. She weaves her knowledge of herbalism and permaculture into her work.

Using Gardens to Heal

Stephanie talks about her own journey of recovery as she began to garden.

A parent, she has a lot of ideas for parents who want kids to garden. In her own yard, she opted for a play garden instead of a plastic swing set. Her 6-year-old son says that he wants to be a master gardener: When she runs kids gardening events, he likes to lead groups of kids on scavenger hunts.

Garden blogger Stephanie Rose’s latest book, Garden Alchemy.

Garden Alchemy

Stephanie discusses ideas from her new book, Garden Alchemy, which is a guide for gardeners who want to make and do things themselves. The book covers a wide range of topics including fertilizers, soil amendments, sprays, and ideas to beautify the garden.

In the book she demystifies ingredients used to create soil and plant “elixirs.” There are recipes for homemade fertilizers, steps for building a compost pile, soil tests, and techniques for making foliar sprays.

“It’s a recipe book for your garden.”

Connect with Stephanie Rose

• Website: gardentherapy.ca

• Facebook: GardenTherapy

• Twitter: garden_therapy

• Instagram: garden_therapy

• Pinterest: garden_therapy