traditional plants, traditional practices: ‘the heirloom gardener,’ with john forti

WHEN I SAW NEWS of a popular new garden book called “The Heirloom Gardener,” I thought it would be about growing vegetables or flowers of old-time, open-pollinated varieties maybe. You know: of heirlooms. But John Forti’s latest book is about much more, about not just traditional plants, but traditional practices, too, that serve to connect us to the environment and to one another.

John Forti is a garden historian and heirloom specialist and ethnobotanist, and a longtime leader in the slow-foods movement. He’s currently the executive director of Bedrock Gardens landscape and sculpture garden in New Hampshire.

We talked about a range of topics including a new generation of chestnuts; what the difference between the words “yard” and “garden” is; the impressive properties of yarrow, and how Queen Anne’s lace is “the ancient queen of all carrots.”

Read along as you listen to the November 1, 2021 edition of my public-radio show and podcast using the player below. You can subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotifyor Stitcher (and browse my archive of podcasts here).

Plus: Enter the giveaway to win his new book, “The Heirloom Gardener” (affiliate link) in the comments box near the bottom of the page.

heirloom plants and practices, with john forti

Margaret Roach: I’ve been enjoying dipping into the book myself. And so just to explain, the book is called “The Heirloom Gardener.” So I think we first give a little context to “heirloom” in that sense. To John Forti, what does “the heirloom gardener” mean; what does that term mean? Because I misinterpreted it at first[laughter], as I said in the introduction.

John Forti: Sure. Well, initially Timber Press had asked me to write a book about garden history, and I

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