Garden Design with Gregg Tepper from Laurel Hill Cementery
In this episode, host and Master Gardener, Meredith Nutting guides us through the history of gardening, a little on the basics of design and how to create your own container garden. Then she’s joined by Gregg Tepper, from Laurel Hill to explore how to design the garden you want to experience. Gregg Tepper is the Senior Horticulturist at the Arboretum at Laurel Hill where he stewards the green burial areas with a naturalistic style utilizing hundreds of ecologically supportive native plants. His years of experience has helped build many gardens and allowed him to expand his knowledge and experience. Of the many rewards that he receives, his most valuable is the enthusiasm to share that knowledge with others, both seasoned professionals and those new to gardening. His advice for a successful garden is understanding it’s not simply WHAT you do, but also HOW you do it.
Episode Notes
To find out more about Laurel Hill Cemetery visit https://laurelhillphl.com/
And to listen to Green Philly’s panel discussion about green burials at Laurel Hill check out the special episode in this feed or at: https://gritty-and-green.simplecast.com/episodes/special-episode-green-burial-panel-i6ezpfd6
To submit a gardening question email grittyandgreen @ coolgoonproductions.com or contact the Penn Extension Master Gardener Hotline: https://extension.psu.edu/programs/master-gardener/counties/philadelphia/hotline
If you want more information about local sustainability go to https://www.greenphl.org
EPISODE TRANSCRIPTION
NAT SOUND: I’m just going to start taking you on a tour. And the first thing you’re going to see is the parking lot here.
TOWARDS THE END OF LAST SUMMER I HOPPED IN A PICK UP WITH THE SENIOR HORTICULTURALIST AT LAUREL HILL CEMETERY.
Gregg: And this is a plot or a lot that is owned by a family and if you want we can get out.
I WANTED TO SEE SOME OF THE DIFFERENT GARDENS HE TAKES CARE OF AND A FEW THAT HE EVEN DESIGNED.
Gregg: There are so many things that a garden can provide and one of the things that was important to Mrs. Spain was that whenever she visited if it should be in June or August or January or March, she wanted it to have green. And this is the first opportunity, especially here, to design a garden that was evergreen.
AND IT GOT ME THINKING ABOUT HOW I WORK SO HARD TO LEARN HOW TO PLANT DIFFERENT PLANTS. FIGURING OUT WHAT RATIO MAKES ITS IDEAL SOIL. HOW MUCH LIGHT AND WATER IT NEEDS. WHAT PLANTS GO TO TOGETHER. HOURS AND HOURS OF RESEARCH AND TRIAL AND ERROR. BUT I WAS SO FOCUSED ON IF I COULD PLANT A GARDEN I DIDN’T EVEN CONSIDER WHY I SHOULD.
Gritty and Green Theme song
I’M MEREDITH NUTTING AND THIS IS GRITTY AND GREEN – A PODCAST ABOUT TRULY URBAN GARDENING. EACH EPISODE WE’LL EXPLORE THE CONNECTION BETWEEN PEOPLE AND PLANTS, WE’LL LEARN A BIT ABOUT SCIENCE AND A LOT ABOUT HOW TO GROW SUCCESSFUL URBAN GARDENS.
IF YOU HAVEN’T HEARD THE EPISODES IN SEASON ONE I ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO BACK AND HAVE A LISTEN – I GOT TO SPEAK WITH SOME AMAZING PEOPLE SHARING THEIR GARDEN KNOWLEDGE. AND THIS SEASON I’LL BE BRINGING YOU EVEN MORE INTERVIEWS, VISITS TO GARDENS AND I’VE EVEN GOT A TEAM OF MASTER GARDENERS TO ANSWER YOUR GARDENING QUESTIONS.
SO LET’S GET GROWING!
MEREDITH: THE SUMMER PALACE GARDENS IN CHINA, THE JARDIN MAJORELLE IN MOROCCOS, THE PALACE OF VERSIALLES IN FRANCE, LONGWOOD GARDENS IN THE US.
YOU CAN TRAVEL THE WORLD AND NEARLY EVERYWHERE YOU GO YOU’D BE ABLE TO FIND A GARDEN TO VISIT. EACH ARE A FEAT IN HORITICULTURAL DESIGN AND BOTANICAL EXPERTISE. BUT HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT HOW WE GOT FROM LEARNING TO GROW FOOD TO A SOCIETY THAT HAS OVER 4,500 BOTANICAL GARDENS WORLDWIDE?
OF COURSE THAT NUMBER ONLY REFLECTS THE GARDENS THAT FOCUS ON PLANT CONSERVATION, SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, AND EDUCATION. IT DOESN’T INCLUDE THE GARDENS THAT GREGG WORKS IN AND CERTAINLY NOT THE GARDENS THAT YOU AND I GROW.
LOOKING AROUND AT PAVEMENT DEVOID OF GREENERY I UNDERSTAND WHY PURPOSEFULLY CREATING GARDENS IN THE SPACE BETWEEN IS IMPORTANT AND INSPIRING. BUT THOUSANDS OF YEARS AGO WHEN THE WORLD WAS STILL FOR THE MOST PART LUSH AND GREEN - WHY WORK SO HARD TO CURATE AND PLANT AND CARE FOR GARDENS?
MEREDITH: IT ALL STARTED 12,000 YEARS AGO WHEN EARLY HUMANS WERE FIRST LEARNING HOW TO PUT A SEED IN SOIL SO THAT IT WOULD GROW FOOD. AGRICULTURE STARTING AROUND 21,000 BCE IN DIFFERENT AREAS OF THE WORLD. THE ABILITY TO GROW OUR OWN FOOD BIRTHED CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT.
BUT IT WASN’T UNTIL 2,000 BCE THAT GARDENING FOR THE SAKE OF GARDENING STARTED IN EGYPT. USING THE NILE FOR IRRIGATION, ANCIENT PEOPLE PLANTED FRUIT TREES AND VEGETABLES BUT AS TIME WENT ON AND SOME PEOPLE BECAME RICHER THE PLANTS WITHIN THE GARDENS STARTED TO SHIFT. GARDENS WERE ARRANGED PLANTINGS IN GEOMETRIC DESIGNS WITH LARGE PONDS AS THE CENTERPICE. NEW KINDS OF TREES AND FLOWERS WERE BROUGHT BACK FROM CONQUESTS ACROSS THE REGION.
AROUND THE SAME TIME GARDENS SPROUTED UP IN CHINA HUGE SWATHS OF NATURE THAT ALLOWED ANIMALS TO ROAM AND BE HUNTED.
MEREDITH: AND THEN FROM ABOUT 150-350 CE THERE WERE THE ROMAN GARDENS TAKING INSPIRATION FROM LANDS AS THEY CONQUERED THEM. THEY WERE ENCLOSED IN COURTYARDS WITH FLOWERING PLANTS SURROUNDING TREES AND WATER FEATURES. LIKE THEIR ARCHITECTURE, THE ROMAN GARDENS IDEALS STOOD ON THREE PILLARS – DURABILITY, UTILITY AND BEAUTY. THESE PRINICPLES ARE STILL PREVELENT IN MODERN DAY GARDEN DESIGN.
WHEN THE RENNAISANCE HIT IT WASN’T JUST ART AND MUSIC THAT WAS REVIVED BUT GARDENS AS WELL. THEY BECAME A STATUS SYMBOL AND THE WEALTHY FAMILIES THAT PATRONED THE OLD MASTERS PAINTINGS ALSO COMMISSIONED GARDENS WITH DESIGNS MIRRORING THE COMPOSITION, TEXTURES AND PERSPECTIVE TECHNIQUES USED BY THE LANDSCAPE PAINTERS OF THAT TIME. UNSURPRISNIGNLY, THE FIRST BOTANICAL GARDEN OPENED IN PISA IN 1543.
HERE IN THE UNITED STATES AESTHETIC GARDENS DIDN’T REALLY TAKE OFF UNTIL THE MID 1800S. THE EARLY COLONIZERS GREW SMALL KITCHEN GARDENS RIGHT OUTSIDE THE FRONT DOOR FILLED WITH FOOD, HERBS AND MEDICINAL PLANTS. BUT WHEN THE PREVELENCE OF PRODUCE MARKETS GREW, GARDENS MOVED AWAY FROM NOURISHING PLANTS INTO ORNAMENTAL PLANTS.
MEREDITH: IT DIDN’T TAKE LONG FOR THE KILLER OF GARDENS TO TAKE OVER – THE GRASS LAWN. BY THE 1900S HAVING A WELL MAINTAINED MONOCULTURE OF GREEN GRASS IN FRONT OF YOUR HOUSE WAS THE EPITOME OF HIGH STATUS. HOME GARDENS – VEGETABLE OR OTHERWISE – WERE PUSHED TO THE SIDE OR BACKYARD.
DURING TIMES OF CRISIS THE KITCHEN GARDENS BRIEFLY POPPED BACK INTO VOGUE. BUT LAWNS STILL REMAIN KING EVEN TODAY.
WHILE THEY PROVIDE AN AREA FOR OCCASIONAL RECREATION, THEY REMOVE VALUABLE SPACE TO GROW FOOD FOR PEOPLE AND POLLINATORS. AND GROWING THE PERFECT LAWN USES A LOT OF WATER, FERTILIZER AND PESTICIDES.
BUT WHILE ITS BEEN HARD TO COMBAT THE TURF LAWN, IT HAS ACTUALLY BEEN ON A SLOW DECLINE FOR DECADES.
AT FIRST FLOWERS AND ORNAMENTAL PLANTS HAVE CREPT BACK IN CREATING A BORDER ON THE EDGES OF MOWED GRASS.
THEN IN THE 1970S THERE WAS A RENEWED INTEREST IN GROWING FOOD AT HOME IN THE FORM OF EDIBLE LANDSCAPING MIXING FOOD AND FLOWERS. COMMUNITY GARDENS AWAY FROM VALUABLE LAWN REALESTATE STARTED TO BECOME MORE POPULAR.
IN THE 1990S WHEN CITIES WERE GROWING FASTER THAN EVER THERE WAS A FOCUS ON SMALLER CONTAINER GARDENS AND TRELLISING TO FIT INTO OUR SMALLER SPACES.
AND NOW THERE’S A TREND TO REWILD OUR LAWNS IN TO NATIVE HABITAT TO HELP OUR POLLINATORS AND WILDLIFE.
MEREDITH: OVER THE PAST 4 THOUSAND YEARS OF AESTHETIC GARDENING THERE HAVE BEEN ALL SORTS OF GARDENS. TEA GARDENS, HANGING GARDENS, MOSS GARDENS, ROSE GARDENS, SCULPTURE GARDENS, ZEN GARDENS, ROCK GARDENS JUST TO NAME A FEW. EACH HAS ITS OWN HISTORY AND PURPOSE.
IF YOU’RE NEW TO GARDENING OR LOOKING TO ENHANCE YOUR OUTDOOR SPACE YOU MAY FEEL OVERWHELMED. WITH SO MANY KINDS OF GARDENS, VARIETIES OF PLANTS AND TECHNIQUES TO MASTER IT’S HARD TO KNOW WHERE TO START.
FIRST, YOU HAVE TO FIGURE OUT WHAT YOU WANT YOUR GARDEN TO BE? IS IT A PLACE YOU WANT TO RELAX WITH A GOOD BOOK ON A WARM SUMMER’S DAY? IS IT SOMEWHERE YOU WANT TO HAVE PARTIES AND FRIENDS? WILL IT BE FOR MEDITATION? OR EXPORATION? OR A TOUR DE FORCE OF YOUR BOTANICAL SKILL?
THERE ARE SO MANY REASONS GARDEN’S EXIST. BEFORE YOU FIGURE OUT THE HOW YOU NEED TO FIGURE OUT THE WHY.
WHEN I BOUGHT MY PHILADELPHIA HOME I WAS LUCKY TO HAVE A FAIRLY LARGE BACKYARD BUT IT WAS JUST CONCRETE. THIS HOT SLAB OF 12 INCH THICK CEMENT WAS IN A WAY A BLESSING. IT FORCED ME INTO CONTAINER GARDENING FOR A FEW YEARS AND GAVE ME AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY OBSERVE MY SPACE THROUGH THE SEASONS. I LEARNED WHICH AREAS WERE THE SUNNIEST. WHERE THE WATER POOLED THE MOST AFTER HEAVY RAINS. HOW I USED THE SPACE TO EXERCISE, LOUNGE, AND SOCIALIZE. THAT GAVE ME THE INITIAL BLUEPRINT FOR HOW I WANTED TO LAYOUT MY GARDEN ONCE I FINALLY REMOVED THE CONCRETE.
MEREDITH: IF YOU’RE JUST STARTING OUT DESIGNING YOUR GARDEN, I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TAKING A SEASON TO OBSERVE.
OF COURSE NOTHING IS SET IN STONE AND THROUGHOUT THE YEARS AS MY FAMILY HAS CHANGED AND THE TREES AROUND ME HAVE GROWN, I’VE HAD TO ADAPT MY PLANS AND THAT’S THE BEAUTY OF GARDENING – EVERYTHING GROWS EVEN YOU.
BUT EVEN IF YOU DON’T HAVE A GARDEN SPACE, YOU CAN STILL DESIGN A REALLY GREAT GARDEN ALL WITHIN THE CONFINES OF A CONTAINER.
GROWING PLANTS IN A CONTAINER IS FAIRLY STRAIGHT FORWARD BUT TO TURN YOUR CONTAINER INTO A GARDEN TAKES A LITTLE BIT OF KNOWING THE DESIGN RULES AND WHEN TO BREAK THEM.
SO LET ME WALK YOU THROUGH HOW TO CREATE A CONTAINER ORNAMENTAL GARDEN THAT YOU CAN BE PROUD OF.
IF YOU’VE TAKEN JUST ABOUT ANY ART CLASS THIS MIGHT START TO SOUND A BIT FAMILIAR. DESIGNING A GREAT GARDEN COMES DOWN TO A BALANCED COMPOSITION, A VARIETY OF TEXTURES AND A LITTLE BIT OF COLOR THEORY.
MEREDITH: LET’S START WITH COMPOSITION. THERE’S LOTS TO CONSIDER WHEN THINKING ABOUT COMPOSITION - REPETITION, SYMMETRY, LEADING LINES BUT PERHAPS THE MOST FAMOUS PRINCIPLE IS THE RULE OF THIRDS. TO EXPLAIN THIS WE’LL NEED TO USE OUR IMAGINATIONS A LITTLE. OR MAYBE EVEN GET OUT A PIECE OF PAPER. DIVIDE IT INTO THIRDS FIRST ALONG THE HORIZONTAL AND THEN ALONG THE VERTICAL. YOU’LL HAVE A GRID WITH NINE SQUARES. IF YOU PUT YOUR SUBJECT RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF THAT GRID, THE COMPOSITION IS A LITTLE BORING, STAGNANT. BUT IF YOU PUT YOUR SUBJECT OFF TO THE SIDE IN ONE OF THE THIRDS, BAM – YOU’VE GOT A DYNAMIC COMPOSITION.
THIS RULE OF THIRDS IS SO UBIQUITOUS YOU LIKELY GRAVITATE TO COMPOSITIONS THAT FOLLOW IT WITHOUT REALIZING.
THIS CAN BE TRANSLATED INTO OUR CONTAINER GARDEN IF YOU THINK OF PROPORTIONS OF POT TO PLANT. YOU’LL WANT YOUR CONTAINER TO BE AS SHORT AS ONE THIRD OR AS TALL AS TWO THIRDS WITH THE PLANTS TAKING UP THE REMAINING SPACE.
WE CAN CONTINUE WITH THE RULE OF THIRDS WHEN YOU GET TO YOUR PLANT SELECTION. YOU WANT THE MAIN INTEREST TO PULL YOUR EYE TO THE UPPER THIRD OR DOWN TO THE LOWER THIRD.
IN GARDEN DESIGN THERE’S A TRICK TO HELP YOU FOLLOW THIS RULE ON YOUR OWN. AND THAT’S BY PLANTING THRILLERS, FILLERS AND SPILLERS. THIS FUN LITTLE RHYME IS KIND OF A CHEAT SHEET TO START FIGURING OUT THE PLANTS YOU WANT TO USE IN YOUR CONTAINER GARDEN.
SO, STARTING WITH THE THRILLERS – THESE ARE PLANTS THAT ARE EYECATCHING. THEY BRING THE WOW FACTOR. THEY’RE USUALLY TALLER WITH COLORFUL FLOWERS OR INTERESTING FOLIAGE – THINK YOUR ELEPHANT EARS, CANNA FLOWERS OR TALL SPIKES OF GRASSES.
THEN AT THE BOTTOM ARE THE SPILLERS. THESE ARE SPRAWLING PLANTS OR VINES THAT CAN SPILL OVER THE EDGE OF THE CONTAINER ADDING SOME GREEN TO THE LOWER THIRD OF YOUR COMPOSITION. CREEPING JENNY AND SWEET POTATO VINES ARE VERY POPULAR SPILLERS.
MEREDITH: AND BETWEEN THE THRILLER AND THE SPILLER IS THE FILLER. THESE TEND TO BE SHORTER BUSHIER PLANTS TO FILL IN THE SPACE BETWEEN MAKING THE CONTAINER LOOK FULL OF LIFE. PETUNIAS, COSMOS AND SALVIA ARE TYPICAL FILLERS.
JUST PLANTING WITH THOSE THREE THINGS IN MIND WILL ALREADY CREATE A CONTAINER GARDEN THAT LOOKS INTENTIONAL AND EXCITING.
BUT IF YOU WANT TO GO A STEP FURTHER, YOU’LL WANT TO THINK ABOUT TEXTURE – THE SURFACE OF THE LEAVES AND PETALS OF THE PLANTS YOU ARE USING.
WHEN WE TALK ABOUT TEXTURE WITH PLANTS USE THE TERMS FINE, MEDIUM AND COARSE. FINE TEXTURED PLANTS HAVE SMALL LEAVES OR FLOWERS. THEY FILL SPACES WITHOUT TAKING OUR ATTENTION. THINK ABOUT THE DELICATE FRONDS OF FENNEL OR LAVENDAR.
ON THE OTHER END WE HAVE COARSE TEXTURE. THOSE ARE BIG LEAVES THAT DEMAND YOUR ATTENTION LIKE HOSTAS FOR EXAMPLE. MOST OF OUR PLANTS FALL IN BETWEEN FINE AND COARSE AND ARE REFERRED TO AS MEDIUM TEXTURED. YOU CAN CREATE MORE INTEREST IN YOUR CONTAINER GARDEN BY USING PLANTS WITH DIFFERENT TEXTURES.
FINALLY, WE HAVE COLOR. IN PLANTS WE HAVE SO MUCH TO THINK ABOUT WITH COLOR – THERE’S THE COLOR OF THE FLOWER BUT ALSO THE COLOR OF THE LEAVES. AND YOU CAN GO IN MANY DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS. YOU CAN KEEP EVERYTHING ALL ONE COLOR – WE CALL THAT MONOCHROMATIC. THIS WILL BE SHADES OF GREEN FOLLIAGE. BUT IN GARDENING THE GREEN CAN FADE IN TO THE BACKGROUND AS A NEUTRAL AND YOUR MONOCHROMATIC GARDEN CAN BE FLOWERS OF ALL ONE COLOR. TO ADD MORE INTEREST TO A MONOCHROMATIC PALETTE LOOK TO INCLUDE LIGHTER AND DARKER HUES.
YOU CAN ALSO GO WITH ANALOGOUS COLORS. THOSE ARE COLORS NEXT TO EACH OTHER ON THE COLOR WHEEL. SO YELLOW AND ORANGE AND RED. OR PURPLE, BLUE AND GREEN. EACH OF THESE PAIRS ADDS A PLEASING SPLASH OF COLOR TO YOUR GARDEN.
FINALLY, WE’VE GOT THE EXCITEMENT OF COMPLIMENTARY COLORS. THESE ARE COLORS ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE COLOR WHEEL AND COMBINED THEY ARE NATURALLY PLEASING AND ADD CONTRAST THAT CREATES A BIT OF POP AND PIZZAZZ. SO RED AND GREEN, ORANGE AND BLUE, YELLOW AND PURPLE.
SO THOSE ARE THE DESIGN RULE – BUT OF COURSE RULES WERE MADE TO BE BROKEN SO GO AHEAD YOU DO YOU. NO MATTER YOUR DESIGN A CONTAINER GARDEN IS A GLORIOUS THING. EVEN THAT LITTLE POT OF PLANTS CAN REALLY BRIGHTEN UP SOMEONE’S DAY. AND THAT’S REALLY WHY WE’RE GARENING RIGHT? TO FEEL HAPPY AND MAYBE SPREAD A LITTLE BIT OF HAPPINESS ON TO OTHERS.
MEREDITH: AND THAT’S WHAT BROUGHT ME TO LAUREL HILL CEMETARY TO LEARN MORE FROM GREGG ABOUT HOW TO CREATE A FEELING WITH A GARDEN.
Gregg: And what we wanted to do here is make it pleasant and enjoyable. And I love movement in the garden. So one of the things I chose was this grass. It's called, Hakonechloa or, some people, it's called Japanese woodland grass. And here it is, growing in the sun just fine. But even on the lightest breezy days, there's always movement. And it kind of brings just a gentle softness and activity to the space, which I really like
Meredith: I don't know that I've heard like I've done a lot of, you know, research about How to make garden design. But I don't know that I’ve heard movement
Gregg: Oh, yes. Yeah. Yeah. It's so many things should be considered. If you start to approach designing garden from an experience, all of a sudden it starts to really. You really think, oh, yeah. It doesn't about color or height always. It's about how I'm going to feel when I'm going through the space, how others are going to go through the space. Here's a good, good example of of the movement.
Gregg: I grew up in Delaware County, PA. I was very fortunate to have woods nearby. Really part of my parent’s property. And that’s where I played as a kid. I mean had a creek had woods found all the wildflowers and it just became a part of my existence. And by the time I became 8 or 9 I was seriously into gardening, as serious as an 8 year old perhaps could be.
MEREDITH: HIS INTEREST IN PLANTS ONLY GREW AND WHILE SOME PRETEENS SPENT THEIR TIME AT THE MALL, GREGG WAS NERDING OUT ON PLANTS AND ATTENDING MEETINGS WITH THE AMERICAN IRIS SOCIETY.
Gregg: By the time I was 15 or 16 I knew that horticulture was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life and that’s been great because it’s not only been my passion it’s my career.
MEREDITH: GREGG STARTED HIS OWN SMALL PRIVATE LANDSCAPING COMPANY BEFORE MOVING INTO PUBLIC GARDENS STARTING IN 2005 AT MOUNT CUBA CENTER. HE LATER HELPED OPEN DELAWARE BOTANICAL GARDENS UNTIL HE ENDED UP AT LAUREL HILL CEMETERY.
Gregg: And I had friends that said, you're going to be a horticulturist at a cemetery. And I would say it's an arboretum as well
MEREDITH: BETWEEN THE EAST AND WEST LOCATIONS LAUREL HILL HAS 265 ACRES HOUSING A LIVING COLLECTION OF OVER 6,500 TREES AND SHRUBS COMPRISED OF MORE THAN 950 SPECIES.
Gregg: it's pretty vast of all the things that need to be known and done in the Arboretum. and it has been an amazing learning experience.
MEREDITH: YOU MAY HAVE THE IMPRESSION THAT CEMETARIES ARE JUST MOWED LAWN AND A COUPLE OF TREES TO PROVIDE SHADE TO THE MOURNERS VISITING THEIR LOVED ONE’S HEADSTONE. AT LEAST I DID. BUT THAT COULDN’T BE FARTHER FROM THE TRUTH AT LAUREL HILL.
Gregg: Our first and foremost focus at the cemetery is as a place of eternal rest. No doubt. But, more recently, they came up with three pillars, and that was, place of eternal rest, basically, civic engagement or civic value and recreation.
MEREDITH: VISITORS ARE WELCOME TO BRING LIFE TO THE CEMETARY. YOU CAN WALK OR BIKE ON THE ARBORETUM PATHS AT BOTH LOCATIONS. YOU CAN EVEN BRING DOGS AND PICNICS. AND ONE OF THE VERY SPECIAL THINGS ABOUT LAUREL HILL IS THAT IT IS ONE OF THE FEW CEMETARIES IN THE AREA THAT PROVIDE GREEN BURIALS.
Gregg: So green burial the cemetery came about at of public demand. People said we want a green burial option.
MEREDITH: BEFORE THE 1860S GREEN BURIALS WERE THE NORM BUT EMBALMING BECAME COMMONPLACE DURING THE CIVIL WAR GIVING THE FAMILIES OF SOLDIERS THAT DIED ON BATTLEFIELDS FAR FROM HOME A CHANCE TO SEE THEIR LOVED ONES.
THE PROCESS OF EMBALMING USES TOXIC CHECMICALS AND THE STRONG CASKETS ARE MEANT TO KEEP THE BODY AND SOIL FROM EVER MIXING. AT BEST THEY KEEP US OUT OF THE NATURAL CYCLE WHERE DECOMPOSITION FEEDS NEW LIFE. AT WORST, THEY POISON THE ENVIRONMENT.
EVEN CREMATION POLLUTES THE AIR WITH PARTICLES THAT ARE TOXIC TO THE FOLKS LIVING AROUND THE CREMETORIUMS.
BUT GREEN BURIALS NOT ONLY PUT OUR BODIES BACK INTO THE SOIL PROVIDING NUTRIENTS TO NEW PLANTS, THEY ALSO PROTECT THE ENVIRONMENT THAT THEY ARE BURIED IN BY CREATING A NATURAL BUT SACRED PLACE.
Gregg: And so a person is buried, it will be a pine box or wicker box, something like a shroud. And it's with the thought that once this, degrades and they become one with the Earth, it's pretty special, and there's very little impact. It's a positive impact on the environment as opposed to anything negative.
Gregg: So this is Nature’s Sanctuary
MEREDITH: LAUREL HILL HAS THREE GREEN BURIAL SITES – EACH IS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT BUT I CAN TELL NATURE’S SANCTUARY HAS A SPECIAL PLACE IN GREGG’S HEART.
Gregg: So almost everything I’ve added to this garden has been first and foremost for its wildlife value and then if it happens to have a pretty color it has seasonality then I’m fortunate and it’s worked out really well. It really has. It’s always changing. It never looks the same. Even during a year. It really does change.
Gregg: Nature sanctuary is a successional meadow. So that means right now you're going to see a lot of sunny, sun loving plants and open areas with some trees coming in and eventually more and more trees will be planted as it's filled with interments and, more shrubs, more trees. Eventually it becomes a mature forest. It's just incredible to see the variety of mammals and birds that have utilized this space so it’s also a habitat so it’s pretty cool. It’s good for the families. They can come. They know where their loved ones are buried and at the same it’s maintained as a wildflower garden basically.
People come in and say oh my goodness this is so pretty. One woman her mother had been buried in nature sanctuary said, mom love to garden and how much comfort it gives our family to know. She now is buried in a garden. So it’s pretty cool.
MEREDITH: WANDERING THE PATHS THROUGH THE MEADOW YOU ALMOST FORGET YOU ARE IN THE CITY. LISTENING TO THE BIRDS AND WIND THROUGH THE TREES IT CREATES A PEACEFUL PLACE TO REFLECT, POSSIBLY ON THE LOVED ONES WHOSE BODIES ARE NOURISHING THE BLOOMS BUZZING WITH BEES.
WHILE WE WERE THERE GREGG SHOWED ME ANOTHER ASPECT OF GARDEN DESIGN I HADN’T THOUGHT OF – FRAGRANCE.
Gregg: so this is one of them which I love ot show people. You’re just going to go bonkers with this. Now crush the foliage in your fingers and smell it.
Meredith: oh
Gregg: Everybody loves it! Isn’t that wonderful. it’s fruity
Meredith: yea like pineapple.
Gregg: Yea it’s Agasti its got a square stem so it’s in the mint family and you can make a delightful simple syrup from the leaves and or the flowers which is wonderful. And then this is commonly found here. This is bee balm and this is Mondarda fistulosa. It bloomed in June but you rub that one and it smells almost like oregano.
MEREDITH: FRAGRANCE – WHETHER ITS TANGY ODORS OR FLORA AROMAS – PLAYS SO STRONGLY IN OUR EXPERIENCE OF A PLACE OR EVEN TIME. SCENTS AND MEMORIES AND EMOTIONS ARE SO INTERTWINED IT COULD BE AN IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION WHEN DESIGNING A GARDEN – PARTICULARLY AT YOUR HOME A PLACE YOU’RE GOING TO VISIT THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
AND WHILE GREGG WORKS ON HUNDREDS OF ACRES AT THE CEMETERY – HE ALSO HAS A SMALL URBAN GARDEN OF HIS OWN.
Gregg: when at the cemetery I can think big I can think large scale and lots of space and vastness, at home I have a little backyard which is maybe I don’t’ know 10 feet by 20. It was a former lot. And there’s square foot gardening and I feel like I do square inch gardening. You know? And I have this want to have every plant under the sun including orchids and tropicals and I’ve been able to figure out less is more. Have the plants that give me the most joy. I even have little troughs like a rock garden. I have a little shade area. Some natives plants of course. I have an espaliered apple tree and an espaliered witch hazel and lots of containers. And so I have learned to make the most out of the space that I have and it’s about the experience. When I come into the little space that I got I can walk from one end to the other end in about 20 seconds but when you add the plants and points of interest and you add different heights different shapes you can spend almost and hour in that little garden just looking at the things that are there. Even though it’s small scale it’s something I can take care of and it gives me an awful lot of pleasure.
MEREDITH: OF COURSE I HAD TO ASK GREGG FOR SOME TIPS!
Gregg: for anyone that wants to do urban gardening or small scale, you can do a container out the front of your house if you don’t have a backyard. Containers are a great way for people to – especially if they don’t want to necessarily garden down in the ground or kneeling, a container can be waist height and easy to garden with and a lot of change over. You can put in different annuals, vegetables can be grown. a lot of possibilities.
I suggest bigger containers just because of vandalism or people tipping them over whatever it can be. That’s pretty unusual. But the bigger containers can be a seasonal display that changes with annuals or tropicals or you have a more permanent planting. Herbs are another thing that can be a lot of fun because if you forget to water them they’re usually pretty forgiving. They’re from the mediterranean so they can go through dry periods.
MEREDITH: HERBS LIKE LAVENDAR, THYME, SAGE, ORGEGANO – A LOT OF THESE CAN ALSO LAST OVER THE WINTER IN OUR AREA. AND TALK ABOUT FRAGRANT. YOU’D BE GIVING EVERY PASSERBY A WAFT OF AROMATIC HERBS THAT MAY JUST INSPIRE THEIR DINNER OR SENDING THEM INTO A MEMORY OF SPENDING TIME IN THEIR GRANDMOTHER’S GARDEN. OF COURSE THEN THERE’S GREGG’S BACKYARD.
Gregg: so I have, this space that I have, there's a certain amount of, flat garden space, soil, if you will. Then there's these walls. And I've trained an apple tree to be on a flat surface. I've done the same with the witch hazel. And so that way, these walls, it would normally not have anything to, to look at, have some, some greenery and some something.
It's like the garden comes from the ground, up the walls. I have planters on the walls. I have lots of lush, growing vines that come up the fence and, really trying to cover every, every little space that I have. What can go there? Well, I put a container there, or will I, will I have, a, something in the ground there
MEREDITH: YOU CAN FIND SO MANY IDEAS FOR SMALL SPACE GARDENING ONLINE AND THROUGHOUT THE CITY. THE BEST WAY TO FIND OUT WHAT WILL WORK FOR YOUR SPACE IS TO EXPERIEMENT. SOME IDEAS MAY SUCCEED AND FILL YOU THE JOY OF ACCOMPLISHMENT.
OTHERS MAY FAIL HORRIBLY. BUT WITH EACH EXPERIMENT YOU’LL LEARN MORE AND MORE ABOUT HOW TO CREATE YOUR UNIQUE GARDEN.
Gregg: It’s really about thinking what do you want your garden to bring back to you. What do you want to get out of it. The experience of it. it may be very simple it may be very complex. – But it’s just about joy and happiness. I think for all of us. I think, for all of us. But also joy and happiness.
MEREDITH: THAT WAS GREGG TEPPER THE SENIOR HORTICULTURALIST AT LAUREL HILL CEMETERY. YOU CAN FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE ARBORETUM AND ITS PROJECTS RANGING FROM CHIRSTMAS TREE RECYCLING WITH GOATS TO REWILDING THE EMBANKMENT BY KELLY DRIVE BY VISTING THEIR WEBISTE LAUREL HILL PHL . COM
AND IF YOU WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT GREEN BURIALS CHECK OUT THE PANEL GREEN PHILLY CONDUCTED WITH GREGG AND HIS COLLEAGUES AT THE CEMETERY LAST YEAR. I’LL PUT A LINK FOR THAT IN THE SHOW NOTES.
AND NOW THIS IS THE PART OF THE SHOW WHERE YOU CAN GET YOUR GARDEN QUESTIONS ANSWERED.
DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE’S A HOTLINE WHERE YOU CAN ASK QUESTIONS AND MASTER GARDENERS WILL BE ON CALL TO ANSWER THEM? IT’S AN EXTREMELY USEFUL SERVICE. IN FACT, I’VE USED MYSELF TO FIND GARDNERS WITH EXPERTISE IN AREAS I’M JUST NOT THAT KNOWLEDGABLE IN.
THIS SEASON I’LL BE INVITING MEMBERS OF THE HOTLINE TEAM ON TO FUTURE EPISODES TO ANSWER SOME OF THE TRICKY GARDENING QUESTIONS THEY’VE RECEIVED IN THE PAST AND TO HELP WITH YOURS! NO QUESTION IS TOO BASIC OR TOO SMALL.
AND SHARING IT HERE WILL HELP OTHER GARDENERS LEARN AND GROW.
I’LL PUT INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO SUBMIT A QUESTION BOTH DIRECTLY HERE OR TO THE HOTLINE IN THE SHOW NOTES.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING ME TO LEARN ABOUT DESIGNING GARDENS WITH EXPERIENCE IN MIND.
AND A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO GREGG TEPPER FOR TAKING ME AROUND THE BEAUTIFUL LAUREL HILL CEMETERY AND SHARE SOME OF HIS SMALL GARDENING TIPS.
IF YOU’VE BEEN LIKING THIS PODCAST PLEASE LIKE, REVIEW AND SHARE IT. AND IF YOU HAVE A GARDEN QUESTION, EMAIL TO GRITTY AND GREEN @ COOLGOON PRODUCTIONS.COM
UNTIL NEXT TIME, DECIDE WHAT EXPERIENCE YOU WANT AND GROW IT!
GRITTY AND GREEN IS PRESENTED BY GREEN PHILLY.
IN COLLABORATION WITH COOL GOON PRODUCTIONS.
IT WAS WRITTEN, DIRECTED AND EDITED BY ME, MEREDITH NUTTING.
THEME MUSIC BY KAZUYA
IF YOU WANT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT LOCAL SUSTAINABILITY GO TO GREENPHL.COM