Wow, where did the time go? On October 4, Central Texas Gardener launches Season 30, but we actually taped our pilot program in 1989. Back then, there weren’t TV garden shows that spoke to our region’s challenging soil and weather. Gardeners quickly responded to our “right here, right now” philosophy, and by 1990, CTG was a monthly regular. Jess Doherty directed our first programs, here in front with audio engineer Tim Record’s daughter. Later, Jess left Austin PBS to work for NASA. I was tasked with producing and Tom Spencer took on the role of host along with his public affairs and cultural programs.
A few years later, Michael Emery (in front of Tom in 2002) took the director’s chair. Michael also lit and set up all local and national productions, and ran camera–including for Austin City Limits–and produced and edited Juneteenth Jamboree programs.
Next to me is final editor Paul Sweeney–you’ll often see his name on many other Austin PBS programs, including ACL and Overheard with Evan Smith.
Freelancer Ed Fuentes–long term technical director on Austin City Limits–signed on as director in 2006. He’s also the extraordinary eye behind the camera on location.
We’ve skillfully navigated multiple formats and cameras, analog to digital to HD television and streaming, tape machines (remember Betacam?), editing systems, social media, and hair styles. In an early ‘90s program, Tom met with legendary Travis County Extension Horticulturist Ted Fisher (right) and acclaimed Dr. William Welch, A&M professor and Extension Horticulturist. Dr. Welch taught us how the cultural melting pot brought together garden styles and Texas tough heirloom plants from around the world.
In 1999, CTG went to a weekly broadcast. Skip Richter had taken the Travis Extension spot, promoting organic techniques and water conservation. He alerted us that drought was not a temporary dip. Instead, we were in for the long haul that mandated a new look at how we garden. His prediction that we’d start losing tree canopy in 10 years was spot on.
When Skip moved on to Harris County, our buddy Daphne Richards joined the team in September 2009. Augie the Plant Doggie signed on as wiggly mascot in 2011. By then, more viewers sported digital cameras and eventually smartphones, making it much easier to contribute their photos and video that connected their plants, pollinators, and problems with the whole CTG neighborhood. We love the garden glimpses from across Texas and also the questions that guide our content! In 2024, mascot Augie crossed the Rainbow Bridge, a sad loss for us all.
From the start, local gardeners and shop owners taught us about plants that work right here.
In 1986, Connie Moore founded The Herb Bar to reacquaint us with culinary and medicinal herbs. In 1995, she sold the shop and moved to Hawaii (!). Now owned by Megen Mundy, The Herb Bar recently moved into the Cherrywood neighborhood to carry on “Austin’s Original Apothecary,” along with hosting classes and events.
We introduced brand new entrepreneur Eric Pedley in 2011, who started his succulent plant business out of his house. Thanks to the Austin Cactus and Succulent Society, gardeners were ready to get spiky! In 2010, he opened East Austin Succulents next door to Tillery Street Plant Company (owner Jon Hutson was an early CTG guest at another nursery.) That land is now being developed into supportive housing, and EAS has moved to a south location.
Native plants slowly made it into nurseries. There’s lots more work to do, but Sharon Truett from The Natural Gardener helped get that ball rolling with native clumping grasses.
Succulents are great, but they are not the only water-conserving plants. For years, we’ve emphasized that the philosophy of Xeriscape relates to water-conserving plants, NOT “zero-scape” with a soulless pad of gravel and a few lonesome agaves. Often, it’s been an uphill battle. In 2013, a San Antonio gardener told me that she watched a fellow nursery customer reject a beautiful four-nerve daisy–a native pollinator perennial– after a staff gardener praised its xeriscape quality. “I don’t want those zero-scape kinds of plants,” the customer said as she walked away.
It was also time to take things to the next level. Water conservation is important, but diminishing wildlife, including pollinators and birds, needed our help–from food to water to habitat.
Jovial Mary Irish crossed state lines to teach us how to layer a wildlife-friendly garden. With facts and quick wit and wisdom, she deciphered succulents in Agaves, Yucca, and Related Plants. She spotlighted drought-tough, pollinator plants in books on trees and perennials (here in 2015) along with her husband Gary, the photographer. We lost her prematurely in 2021. Recently, her last book–in progress when she died–was finished by Gary. It’s another real gem–Gardening on the Dry Side of Texas: Drought-Tolerant Plants and Techniques.
Horticulturists from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center strengthened recognition of native plants and their roles in the ecosystem, our gardens, and our kitchens! In 2005, Andrea DeLong-Amaya joined us to chat about native plants for shade. Since then, she’s been an integral part of the team, teaching us about native plants and the wildlife that rely on them. This October 4, she shares pro tips for success with wildflower seeds.
Texas A&M entomologist Wizzie Brown joined CTG early on to teach us about IPM techniques–Integrated Pest Management–and how to recognize the beneficial insects that handle pest control for us! We learned that “organic” products are not necessarily “safe”: they will kill our butterflies, bees, and ladybugs, too.
Composting is nothing new, but it certainly was a new concept to many urban gardens digging in for the first time. In the 90s, we met with this couple (I think this is Glenn Cooper and Janet from TexZen) who literally spread the save-the-landfill word! That’s Dusty Sexton on camera and Steve Maedl on audio.
In 2002, we headed to Fredericksburg to meet Robb Kendrick and Jeannie Ralston, the pioneers behind Hill Country Lavender that launched a new plant industry and tourist destination.
They started their lavender farm in 1999, after Kendrick, an award-winning photographer, traveled to Provence to shoot a lavender harvest for a National Geographic story on perfume-making around the world. Now under new owners, it’s still a fun Blanco destination.
Earlier in Blanco, we’d met dear Pamela and Frank Arnosky who had renewed the value of locally-grown cut flowers in 1993 as the Arnosky Family Farms.
I’m a DIY kind of person, and fixed a lot of things in my house while watching This Old House. As a very new, clueless gardener, I never missed The Victory Garden. Both were produced by Russ Morash, who introduced Julia Child to a new PBS audience. I wanted to be just like Russ, so superfan me was thrilled to meet Roger Cook when the team came to Austin to renovate a home in Hyde Park. He worked with local landscapers Russell Womack and Adams Kirkpatrick to upgrade the garden with Texas-style plants. It was quite a kick to swap notes about similar goals across different climates.
Many gardeners turned to CTG when they left their home states that boasted fluffy soil, temperate summers, and rainy days. Gardener Kathleen Lorsbach was one of them when she and her husband moved from Minnesota to rocky west Austin. In 2012, she invited us to see her beautiful new-style garden inspired by CTG.
John Dromgoole, founder of The Natural Gardener with wife Jane, elevated conversations about gardening organically. Again, nothing new, but often put to the wayside when instant gratification chemicals replaced patience, composting, and picking the right plant for the site.
When we went weekly, he joined CTG as a rotating Backyard Basics guest.
We based every segment on the season and what local gardeners wanted to know.
In 2019, we taped John and Jane’s home garden where he told us his pathway story. It was one of the first gardens I edited at home in spring 2020 when Covid hit.
In the early 2000s, we were thrilled when Trisha Shirey joined the Backyard Basics rotation. She brought her experience as grounds director at Lake Austin Spa to cover everything from techniques to crafts and recipes to plants.
In 2016, Ellen Zimmermann, founder of EZ Herbs, joined Trisha to promote beneficial “weeds.” She sold the business to Corey Gusnowski in 2020, who is joining us for Backyard Basics this November 1.
Colleen Dieter, garden consultant and co-founder of Central Texas Seed Savers, joined Trisha in 2015 to make hypertufa containers.
And then in 2018, we bid Trisha a tearful farewell as she took her expertise and kindness to north Texas.
Our set has gone through many renditions. Director Ed and I sure battled against that fake grass! CTG’s guests always take the spotlight, though, here in 2004 with Mark Gibbs and Tom Tingueley, founder of The Great Outdoors.
In 2011, we called on the talented Litmus Industries team to renovate our set for more portability when we moved from Studio 6B to the now-historic Austin City Limits Studio 6A. AND, we dumped the grass for a neutral blue-gray floor! In 2017, dynamic food growers Ian McKenna and sister Addison explained how they started as youth hunger advocates–eventually donating over 20,000 pounds of organic food that they grew. Mom Sarah’s been a champion since the start!
In 2013, Commander Ben (Benjamin Shrader) joined us in his valiant battle against invasive species–teaching kids of all ages about science and dyslexia.
I much prefer to be behind the camera as producer, writer, and editor, but in 2012, I sat in for Tom to chat with landscape designer and friend, Diana Kirby.
Then, in September 2019, Tom Spencer suffered a debilitating stroke. He passed away this past April, but the fun memories live on, along with his legacy of knowledge and stewardship.
Ed and I had met John Hart Asher when we taped his home pocket prairie with wife Bonnie Evridge in 2017. After that, he joined Tom for a conversation about starting native clumping grasses. I reached out to see if he would consider stepping in as host, at least for a while. We were over the moon when Panayoti Kelaidis, Senior Curator and Director of Outreach at Denver Botanic Gardens, joined us for a talk about water resourceful landscapes that cross regional and international borders.
In 2021, John Hart formed Blackland Collaborative with Michelle Bertelsen and Emily Manderson (one of his guests–already planned when he came on board). He’s brought another dimension to CTG as a landscape architect committed to ecological restoration, amplifying our mission. We are so grateful to him.
When the pandemic sent us home in March 2020, Paul and I recorded and edited Zoom interviews from our respective homes. I met Chloe Phea (Monstera Maven) on Instagram and we had a blast talking houseplants in 2021.
As the pandemic hit, our new state-of-the-art facility was in construction at ACC Highland. With this and that, it was August 8, 2023 when we turned the new cameras on for our first guest, Andrea DeLong-Amaya.
And here we are in 2025 heading into Season 30! Stay tuned as we present new episodes starting October 4 on-air and streaming always.
Although many things have changed over the years, one thing remains steadfast–your encouragement, passion, and support for us and for gardening in Central Texas. You’ve shared your stories, your ideas, and your solutions. We absolutely could not have done this without you.
Love,
Linda
