Keeping It Green
Our landscapes have many functions; they add beauty to our surroundings, provide a place to recreate, reduce stress, and clean and cool the surrounding environment. They also provide pollen and nectar for pollinators and provide habitat for birds. Keeping It Green is a weekly podcast in which Penn State extension educators talk with ornamental plant professionals and enthusiasts who add beauty and function to our landscapes. Topics will range from design, installation and maintenance, plant selection, pests, and other current horticulture topics.
Keeping It Green
Season 2 Episode 10: with Andrew Bunting, Vice President of Horticulture at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Association
In this episode, we chat with Andrew Bunting, vice president of Horticulture at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society (PHS). Andrew discusses the history of PHS and its four main priorities: creating healthy living environments, increasing access to fresh food, expanding economic opportunity, and building meaningful social connections. He also reviews some of their major programs, such as the Gold Medal Plants and the Philadelphia Flower Show. Most intriguing is their vacant lot program. This initiative uses gardening and landscaping to clean, green, and maintain vacant lots in 13,000 lots to develop green spaces in urban areas. PHS partners with contractors and community groups to turn vacant lots into public green spaces, creating lasting benefits such as improved mental health.
Episode Hosts/Speakers:
Margaret Pickoff, Penn State Extension (host)
Tim Abbey, Penn State Extension (host)
Andrew Bunting, Vice President of Horticulture at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Association
Photo credit: Pennsylvania Horticulture Society
Keeping It Green has an email: keepingitgreen@psu.edu
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode? Want more information on something we talked about? Send us your questions and comments, or just say hello! We would love to hear from you!
Check out Penn State Extension's Green Industry Team website!