Ketzel On The Radio

Ketzel and Della

NPR's Doyenne Of Dirt (a name she considers as flattering as a mud pack) is in her element when she’s Talking Plants. That is, until she starts talking dogs (sorry, Ketzel; it ain’t in the budget). Over the last eight years, Ketzel has amassed quite a bouquet of NPR gardening gems. Here are the latest pages from the DoD:

Cornerstone Festival: The Art of Landscape Design
Hundreds of spinning pinwheels masquerading as daisies are among the eye-popping sights at an unusual roadside attraction in Sonoma Valley's wine country.

Climbing Big Trees to Understand Them
A new tree-climbing institute in Oregon wants to increase awareness of old-growth forests by helping people explore treetop ecosystems. But the group wants to make sure the venture does less harm than good. Ketzel makes the climb.

Devil's Club: A Medicine Cabinet for Alaska Tribe
In Sitka, Alaska, one of the most revered members of the community is the thorny devil's club. But the plant's popularity as a medicinal may endanger its sacred role in Tlingit culture.

Green Roofs Sprout Up All Over
The idea of covering the tops of buildings with plants, trees and grasses is as ancient as Mesopotamia. Touted as a solution to environmental problems, "green" roofs are increasingly showing up around the country.

Researchers Set Height Limit on Tall Trees
It is theoretically impossible for trees to be more than 426 feet tall, according to researchers. Reasons for the limit? Water and gravity.

Touring the Bush Ranch
President Bush's top getaway, his ranch in Crawford, Texas, is also the place where Laura Bush seems to find the most solace. Ketzel gets a rare tour of the ranch with the first lady.

A Very Live Oak
The Village Sentinel keeps a watch over residents of a Georgia retirement community. Ketzel visits the mighty oak and collects stories about it in the conclusion to her big-trees series.

Bushwhacking with a Big-Tree Hunter
Ketzel accompanies big-tree hunter Bob Van Pelt in search of some of the world's biggest specimens. Its the latest story is her series on big trees.

A Walk Among the Giants
Ketzel continues her series, Big Trees and the Lives They've Changed, with a trip to California's Humboldt Redwoods State Park.

Big Trees and the Lives They've Changed
Big trees are the stuff of poetry, religion and story. They are an integral part of the human experience. Ketzel reports in a special series about big trees and the lives they've changed.

The Bird Singer and His Travel Log
Ketzel profiles Charles Kellogg, an amazing bird singer who was one of the most eccentric champions of the California redwoods.

An Irish Garden
NPR's Ketzel Levine tvisits Helen Dillon's Dublin garden and discovers the work of a conjurer who mixes plants, colors and shapes in seemingly random combinations.

Hiking in the Kalmiopsis Wilderness
NPR's Ketzel Levine tours Oregon's Kalmiopsis Wilderness a year after the devastating Biscuit Fire of 2002. She finds new growth blooming in a badly charred landscape. View a gallery of photos.

Plant Disease Resurfaces In Oregon
On Morning Edition, Ketzel Levine goes into the field with John Griesbach, plant pathologist for the Oregon Department of Agriculture, to track down plants possibly infected wtih Sudden Oak Death.

Chlorophyll Art
Morning Edition, June 24, 2003
NPR's Ketzel Levine profiles Vietnamese-born photographer Binh Danh, who uses the power of the sun to print pictures on leaves. At the age of 25, Binh Danh is one of the youngest artists to be invited into Stanford University's master of fine arts program.

The Quest for 'Erythronium'
Morning Edition, May 6, 2003
British garden expert Keith Wiley visits the Pacific Northwest in a search for the demure bulb Americans call the trout lily or the dog-tooth violet. NPR's Ketzel Levine hunts along with him. View photos from the Olympic Peninsula, and from Wiley's Garden House in Devon, England.

Rick Bartow: Turning Agony into Art
Morning Edition, April 21, 2003
The paintings and drawings of Vietnam veteran Rick Bartow are not easily forgotten. His images are graphic and intense, shaped from the material of grief and fear. NPR's Ketzel Levine reports on Bartow's work. View a gallery of his images.

Could It Be Spring?
March 12, 2003
February in Portland was so glorious, Ketzel promptly forgot about March. Now the skies are full of drizzle, pour, and the user-friendly spritz. The garden, however, is full of good news and promise.

Fugu: The Deadly Delicacy
Morning Edition, February 12, 2003
It's a chubby little puff of a fish with big expressive eyes, a lovely metallic color and enough neurotoxins in its body to kill dozens of human predators. But if it's expertly prepared, it's considered a rare treat. Ketzel takes a break from Talking Plants to profile fugu, and meets some food lovers who covet its taste.

Piet Oudolf and the Gardens of Remembrance
Morning Edition, January 16, 2003
The Gardens of Remembrance, blocks away from the former site of the World Trade Center, will be designed by Dutch plantsman Piet Oudolf. NPR gardening expert Ketzel Levine speaks with NPR's John Ydstie about Oudolf's way with plants.

Ricin and the Castor Bean Plant
Morning Edition, January 9, 2003
The seven men arrested in Britain over the weekend were allegedly manufacturing Ricin, a poison made from the berries of a common ornamental plant. NPR's Ketzel Levine looks at the plant itself.

Foraging for Foliage
Morning Edition, December 20, 2002
Join NPR's Ketzel Levine and her neighbors Mar Goman and Virginia Lindley for a Talking Plants foray into the alleys of North Portland, Ore., in search of festive urban flora. They make wreaths from plants -- even weeds -- they find along the way, from smokebrush and clematis to cinnamon fir.

A View from the Woods
Morning Edition, December 5, 2002
NPR's gardening expert Ketzel Levine speaks with Rick Darke, author of The American Woodland Garden. Darke has more than a few suggestions for using lessons from the forest to bring drama and mystery into the garden.

Talking Plants in South Africa
Morning Edition, October 23, 2002
Spring in the western Cape of South Africa is like nowhere else in the world, Ketzel Levine finds. On Morning Edition, the Doyenne of Dirt checks her sanity at the gate and reports on the three weeks she spent in a floral fantasy.

Compost Soup
Weekend Edition Saturday, August 31, 2002
Her mother's been waiting for her to start cooking for years, but it took a guy to make her do it. Ketzel Levine brews Scott Simon a few gallons of compost tea on Weekend Edition Saturday.

The Courtly Clematarian
Morning Edition, August 29, 2002
NPR's Ketzel Levine as she travels to a greenhouse outside Portland, Ore., to visit with one of the world's leading experts on the genus Clematis.

Desert Gardens
Morning Edition, July 22, 2002
While much of the desert Southwest has converted to water-wise landscaping, Phoenix has been slow to come around. NPR's Ketzel Levine talks to some avant-gardeners who are taking heat for digging up their lawns.

Gardening in a Drought
Morning Edition, June 26, 2002
Are you tired of resuscitating limp plants? Is schlepping hoses around the yard getting a little old? Maybe it's time to crib from nature herself and take a more ecological approach to your garden. Join Ketzel Levine and Morning Edition for a look at permaculture.

A Walk Through Ray Magliozzi's Garden
Morning Edition, June 7, 2002
The differences between Car Talk's two brothers have been subtle -- until now. Guess which one of Mama Magliozzi's boys is a gardener! Ketzel gets us in through the back gate for a tour of Ray's garden.

Look Who's Planting Bamboo!
Weekend Edition Saturday, June 1, 2002
Tune in to Talking Plants where the impossible can come true. Ketzel gets Scott Simon into the garden, where he plants, yes, a well-behaved bamboo.

Ferns
Morning Edition, May 30, 2002
NPR's Ketzel Levine talks with neurologist Oliver Sacks about his fern fetish.

Water-Wise Gardening
Morning Edition, May 23, 2002
A drought threatens in many regions of the United States. Even if you're not yet facing arid conditions, NPR's Ketzel Levine says now is still a great time to re-evaluate the ways you use water in the garden. The Doyenne of Dirt reports for Morning Edition on how to make the most of every life-giving drop.

Talking Clematis
Weekend Edition Saturday, April 13, 2002
Meet 'Frankie', the latest addition to Ketzel's garden, and listen in to Weekend Edition Saturday as Ketzel shows Scott Simon how to plant clematis vines.

Daffodils
Morning Edition, April 11, 2002
Ketzel Levine reports on the American daffodils that have been muscling in on the garden that once belonged to English poet William Wordsworth.

Oh No! Not My Wisteria!
Morning Edition, March 21, 2002
Across the country, ordinary garden plants have become aggressive invaders. Is there a chance your "coveted plant" might escape into the wild? Ketzel takes a closer look at how a good plant goes bad.

Invasive Plants
The Diane Rehm Show, February 26, 2002
Invasive plants infest about one hundred million acres in the U.S. each year, costing American industry billions of dollars. Diane and her guests talk about the risks of invasive weeds and how to identify, prevent, and control them.

NPR Office Plants: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
Weekend Edition Saturday, February 23, 2002
Follow Ketzel and Weekend Edition Saturday guest host John Ydstie as they wander the halls of NPR looking for evidence of life - that is, plant life!

Armchair Gardener #4: Winter Gardener Confessions
Morning Edition, February 22, 2002
In this fourth and final piece in Ketzel's series, The Armchair Gardener, Morning Edition listeners confess to the extreme measures they've taken to get their favorite plants through winter.

Armchair Gardener #3: A Walk Through a Tasmanian Garden
Morning Edition, February 15, 2002
Ketzel takes us on a tour of a three-acre garden on the Australian island state of Tasmania. The catch is, she never leaves home.

The Doyenne at the Dog Show
Morning Edition, February 13, 2002
The 2002 Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show, the second-oldest sporting competition in the United States, has a new winner! What a relief for the 2,499 other competing dogs who have survived New York City and will get to go home.

The 2002 Westminster Dog Show
Morning Edition, February 11, 2002
How do you get her back in the garden after she's seen Westminster? Ketzel talks with Bob Edwards on Day One of the unrivaled four-legged beauty pageant of the year.

Armchair Gardener #2: Charles Dudley Warner
Morning Edition, February 8, 2002
The series continues as Ketzel talks with writers Michael Pollan and Allan Gurganus about a little-known 19th century author who reinvented American garden writing.

Armchair Gardener #1: Let Them Read Books!
Morning Edition, January 4, 2002
NPR's Ketzel Levine begins a four-part series for gardeners trying to weather the winter months without access to their favorite pastime. Today, Ketzel stops by a Portland, Oregon, bookstore that's packed with gardening books... and brings several plant-lovers along.

Maybe Then I'll Be A Rose
Morning Edition, December 20, 2001
June Tabor gardens in the Welsh countryside, a soggy place to grow roses, but she perseveres because she can't resist them: either in flower or in song. Ketzel talks with the folksinger about her newest CD, Rosa Mundi.

The Great Gift Grab-Bag
Weekend Edition Saturday, December 8, 2001
We know it's the thought that counts, but what were they thinking? Ketzel and Scott exchange one-of-a-kind gardening gifts, more advice on vermicomposting, plus tips for what (and what not) to buy your favorite gardener.

Composting Worms
Weekend Edition Saturday, November 17, 2001
Ketzel and New York City worm expert Naomi Bloom clue in Scott Simon about red wiggler worms. The little guys can be put to work turning kitchen waste into compost.

Coming Home To Eat
Morning Edition, November 8, 2001
Throw out that packaged cake mix and meet essayist, ecologist and ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan, who talks with Ketzel about living the sweet life of locally grown food.

Mount Angel Abbey
Morning Edition, October 25, 2001
Ketzel reports on the men and women of Oregon's Mt. Angel Abbey, many of whom are military reservists being called to active duty. They now have to reconcile their duty to God with their duty to country.

Healing Gardens
Morning Edition, October 10, 2001
Ketzel visits with Topher Delaney, a San Francisco-based artist and landscape designer, who talks about the sanctuary of gardens and her own recent trip to the firehouses of New York City.

Gardening Renewal
Morning Edition, September 29, 2001
Scott Simon talks with Ketzel, about the value of getting into the garden even at a time of national tragedy. Ketzel says it took her a few days to feel comfortable in the garden. When she finally got there, it was the right place for her to be.

Bonfante Gardens
Morning Edition, September 11, 2001
Tag along with Ketzel, as she visits California's Bonfante Gardens, the nation's first non-profit, horticultural theme park. But Levine wonders if children will even notice the garden aspect of the park.

Fall Gardening with Nina Totenberg
The Connection, WBUR, August 24, 2001
Yes! Ketzel and Nina talk plants

Gardening As A Couple: Haven or Hell?
Weekend Edition Saturday, August 18, 2001
Two gardeners sharing one space; haven or hell? Scott Simon joins Ketzel as she arms herself with mike and pruners and steps into the marital fray.

Wave Hill Garden Story
Morning Edition, July 31, 2001
Ketzel reports on a visit to Wave Hill, an unusually personal yet public garden in the Bronx, and meet a great American plantsman.

It's Alive! Or Is It?
Weekend Edition Saturday, June 16, 2001
Ketzel and Scott talk about what to do when bad things happen to good plants. Be sure to take a sneak peek at the DoD's emerging front garden.

A Plant's-Eye View Of The World

Part One

Part Two

Morning Edition, June 4, 2001
"Did I choose these plants, or did these plants choose me?" Author Michael Pollan explores this question in the first of a two-part conversation with our own DoD.

A Visit To Wordsworth's Garden
Morning Edition, May 10, 2001
Talk about the magic of radio! Ketzel visits Rydal Mount, the last garden of 18th century English poet, William Wordsworth, without ever leaving home.

No Such Thing As A Bad Plant?
Weekend Edition Saturday, April 14, 2001
A weed is simply an unwanted plant, but a noxious weed is a dangerous thug. Hear Ketzel and Scott talk about a couple of plants that are so bad, they've been banned.

Ten Tips For Shopping Plant Sales
Morning Edition, April 12, 2001
Listen to Ketzel talk about attending the kickoff plant sale of the season.

Sport Fishing for Camellias
Morning Edition, March 22, 2001
Bob and the DoD break new ground together in this first Morning Edition plant chat.

Plant This!
The Diane Rehm Show - Wednesday, March 14, 2001
A whole hour of the Dofd? She didn't want us to bring it to your attention, but we thought the interview was way too juicy to let it go to seed.

Fence Update and The Doyenne's Choice Awards
Weekend Edition - Saturday, March 10, 2001
In a special two-part feature, Ketzel shares the latest dirt on the Great Fence Challenge, and also and gives us the inside skinny on a couple of plants awarded high honors around the country with her Doyenne's Choice Awards.

Desert Wildflowers
Morning Edition, March 9, 2001
It was a grueling assignment -- traveling to the most floriferous wildflower display in twenty years -- but somebody had to it. Join Ketzel for a quick gallop through the Sonoran Desert west of Tucson.

Seattle's Northwest Garden Show
Weekend Edition Saturday, February 10, 2001
Ketzel's attending Seattle's annual Northwest Flower and Garden Show. The show, which is bursting with the latest in floral design, is a reminder to frustrated gardeners that spring is just around the corner.

Tips for Ordering Valentine's Day Flowers
Morning Edition, February 9, 2001
Order early, order often - whether it's Valentine's day, your mother's birthday, or just Tuesday, here are Ketzel's tips for getting the most for your money when sending flowers. Don't forget to check out the Official Doyenne Disclaimer.

Holiday Greenery
Morning Edition, December 22, 2000
With her vast knowledge of plants, NPR's Doyenne of Dirt, Ketzel Levine, offers a brief, musical field guide on holiday greenery.

Great Gifts For Gardeners
Weekend Edition - Saturday, December 9, 2000
Take it from a woman who knows how to shop: every gardener wants a gift certificate to a nursery. Other ideas include books, garden art, tools and kitsch. Check out Ketzel’s on-line gift list

Chinese Garden
Morning Edition, Tuesday, November 28, 2000
Oregon's recently opened Classical Chinese Garden -– also known as The Garden Of Awakening Orchids -- is in the heart of downtown Portland. It’s a 17th century re-creation of a garden style popularized in Suzhou, China. In her Morning Edition report, Ketzel captures the magic of the place, but as she tells us here (she wouldn't dare admit it on the air), the story was a hard one to tell.

The Great Fence Challenge
Weekend Edition - Saturday, November 18, 2000
Ketzel admits to Scott Simon that she hates her garden; turns out it’s in the front of the house on a very busy street. Listen to Scott and Ketzel banter about her dilemma, read the subsequent barrage of listener suggestions, and follow the evolution of a fence design.

Listen To Ketzel

Plant This
Weekend Edition - Saturday, September 16, 2000
Scott speaks with Ketzel about her new book, Plant This! Best Bets For Year-Round Gorgeous Gardens, published by Sasquatch Books.

Celebrity Gardeners
Morning Edition, July 28, 2000
In part 4 of a month-long series, Ketzel visits Lotusland, a vast, sprawling garden in Montecito, California, one the most exotic public gardens in the country. It was created by the vivacious and passionate Polish-born socialite, Ganna Walska.

Celebrity Gardeners
Morning Edition, July 21, 2000
In part 3 of a month-long series, Ketzel explores the secret obsession of actor Peter Strauss, best-known for his starring role in the series, Rich Man, Poor Man. Once Strauss discovered gardening, it quickly became his second career.

Celebrity Gardeners
Morning Edition, July 14, 2000
In part 2 of a month-long series, Ketzel spends some time with T. Coragghesen Boyle, the author of eight novels and several short story collections. The DoD describes his work as 'dark and quirky,' and says he’s more of a referee than a gardener to thousands of warring plants.

Celebrity Gardeners
Morning Edition, July 7, 2000
In the first of a summer series on celebrity gardens, Ketzel visits with actor John Spencer, an L.A. Law alumni currently appearling on West Wing. He's a transplant from New Jersey, who favors roses, delphiniums, hollyhocks – none of which thrive in his Bel Air, California backyard.

Doyenne of Dirt's New Digs
Weekend Edition - Saturday, July 8, 2000
Scott speaks with our gardening guru as she settles in to a new home and garden. She's still in Portland, Oregon, but entirely untilled ground.

Uprooting Oneself and One's Garden
Weekend Edition - Saturday, March 11, 2000
After two years cultivating a garden, Ketzel has to move. She speaks with Brooke Gladstone (did you know their grandmothers were sisters?) about which plants to take along for the ride.