how plants work, with linda chalker-scott

PLANTS ARE AMAZING. Why do rhododendron leaves curl in winter, or morning glory or bean vines wind cleverly around a support on their way upward? Why does a crabapple bloom in spring and a chrysanthemum in fall—as if they can read the calendar? Why does one plant represent a feast for insects, when another right alongside is of no interest?

And though most leaves are green—why are some not green at all, or at certain times of year?

The new book, “How Plants Work: The Science Behind the Amazing Things Plants Do” answers those questions and more. (Enter to win a copy at the bottom of the page.)

Its author, Linda Chalker Scott, joined me on the public radio show and podcast to explain. Linda is an Extension Urban Horticulturist with Washington State University, and an associate professor of horticulture and landscape architecture there. You may know her as a collaborator on the popular Facebook page The Garden Professors, and a blog at extension.org by the same name.

Linda has her PhD in Horticulture and a double minor in biochemistry and botany – and a continuing passion for researching the latest developments and insights in all of the above.

Read along as you listen to the April 20, 2015 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on iTunes or Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).

read/listen: how plants work,a q&a with linda chalker-scott

Q. So let’s forget the small talk, Linda: Shall we talk biochemistry instead? That’s where the book begins. I love how you talk about what you call “the plant’s personal pharmacy.”

A. That’s where plants have their real strength—the products that they can make in seemingly endless variety.

Q. You write that plants

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