Felder Rushing's "The Gestalt Gardener" on Mississippi Public Broadcasting is one of the best gardening broadcasts in the U.S. Try out this column on Felder in yesterday's New York Times.I remember Felder from way back, when he was the state agricultural extension agent in Madison County, Mississippi ... back when my mother religiously renewed my subscription to the local newspaper each year, where I read Felder's column from my perch in Brooklyn.
I was surprised to discover Felder on the radio a couple of years ago and have been listening to his podcasts since. The guy's a great entertainer and certainly an iconoclast in the gardening world of Jackson, Mississippi, where he lives in the "trendy" Fondren neighborhood.
Felder gives people permission to try gardening in any way they want, and he probably does more to attract newcomers to gardening than most. He's easygong, happy, generous with his advice, and really concerned to get people to drop their preconceptions and just give gardening a try, without worrying about what the neighbors think or fretting over a few dead plants.
You can get his weekly podcast from iTunes by searching in Podcasts for The Gestalt Gardener.
I think he may qualify for national treasure status, at least for the gardening world.
ReplyDeletemp3 archives of the show are here: http://www.mpbonline.org/radio/programs/GestaltGardener/archives.htm
ReplyDeleteI once saw Felder at a lecture for a hardcore gardening audience. He tried to show us that we weren't like most people by asking for a show of hands to a series of questions, like 'How many of you grow more than four or five varieties of a single plant?' And other things that most folks would find ridiculous. My favorite: How many of you have ever given a tour of your garden by flashlight?
He's fun too.
ReplyDelete