While in Toronto for theBlogger FlingI snagged some really interesting bus - mates for our daytime - long ride to gardens and events , and one was someone I barely make love but quickly became soulmates with – Linda Lehmusvirta , writer / manufacturer of the Austin - based PBS showCentral Texas Gardener . After I got home I observe some episodes and was so impressed , I settle to succeed up with a phone call .
About LindaLinda’sAbout pageis a merriment read and do most of my questions , like has she done gardening show only ? Not hardly . She has and bear on to raise all kind of content for KLRU in Austin , including work on with lots of famous people and Texas newsmakers – like Ann Richards and Molly Ivins . That ’s the advantage of being with a PBS post – it gives you a broad view of the domain . Linda started at KLRU in 1983 and launched the honor - acquire Central Texas Gardener in 1989 .
About Central Texas Gardener ( CTG)But it is n’t famous person that rouse Linda the most – it ’s “ snagging fascinating new people for CTG , ” like an expert in aquaponics , which use much less weewee and is becoming really big in Texas . She look for modern people who want a “ productive and beautiful position to live . ” And years of feedback have convince her that the show has wallop – deepen the means people recall and what they do with their gardens . So , less trust on pesticide , more people reducing lawn and garden for wildlife .
Her aspiration for the show is to “ promote face through gardens that value resource , wildlife and identity . ” I fuck that !
Linda credits CTG ’s success to several things :
-Viewers hope the masses appearing on the show – real gardener , not professional “ talent . ” They tell apart story about their own gardens , 90 per centum of which were not professionally designed .
-While the show has a clear pro - environment philosophy , it guides rather than preaches . “ We do n’t say ‘ risky , bad , high-risk ! ’ and we ’re not ardent vigilantes . After all , nurseryman are n’t bastardly masses and this is n’t ’ 60 Minutes . ' ”
– She wage with the spectator . For example , multitude email her all the fourth dimension with questions , and she actually answers them , even if it takes calling propagation experts or researching online to do it . She hangs out at glasshouse , expect questions of customers to encounter out what information they involve . ( E.g. , what ’s the difference of opinion between compost and mulch ? ) She asks viewer to ship in pic of their garden and those photos are shown on the show , the website , or via social medium . Combined , those channel widen the range and viewer engagement by a lot .
CTG produces 36 to 38 novel programme each year on a modest budget . Linda ’s the manufacturer / writer / editor , a job that involves piles of contacting , arranging , web for topic , taping gardens , and create final mental object for studio invitee . She also does all the website content , include a really dependable blog , and good deal of social media . For everything else – the server , director , and crew – she engage freelancers . The master of ceremonies of the show is gardening expert Tom Spencer .
How to Have a Great Gardening Show for My / Your area
Of course I need a show like CTG in my arena and asked what it would take to make that happen . Unfortunately , most PBS stations do n’t have room in their budgets to but take on a new show they might like , even one as potentially impactful as a in effect regional horticulture show . So it ’ll probably take finding the support first , then approaching the place with a original .
A 30 - minute of arc show like CTG could be made for a bare - bone budget of $ 1 - 2,000 per instalment , with no travel . And Linda suggests finding an enthusiastic boniface for the show , one who could put a Muriel Sarah Spark under masses just taking up horticulture and the gardening - odd .
With my passion forpublic gardens , I call for how the show help the gardens there in Texas . In lots of means , apparently . CTG has featured many public gardens and “ play always with the Lady Bird Johnson Wildlife Center ” there in Austin . Other local resource and event upgrade on the show include local garden tours , Master Gardeners , and the Garden Conservancy , for which Austin ’s circuit has been the top money - cultivator in the U.S.
New MediaSo how have variety in media impacted the show ? As a PBS station they still have to follow program standards , but viewer videos are welcome . We ’re see them on a regular basis these days – conditions videos and most observably , video of police interact with the public – as people become citizen videographers , even citizen activists . Along with blogs and social media , communicating are becoming more popular and more online , with “ broadcasting ” meaning less . For CTG , the online platform let 24/7 regard , anywhere in the world .
Linda told me she ’s exploring how to avail more viewer make and lead their own garden videos , something that masses are still nervous about , so she might produce a video teaching the great unwashed how to make videos . prison cell headphone videos are ok if the phone is keep unbendable and held horizontally . And do n’t bother using the microphone on the camera .
A great contribution to the show would be viewer videos of their garden undertaking before , during and after – something that would require too many position shots with a crew to be feasible for her staff . Then in the studio she could do the editing and voiceover . Another idea is to have “ web extras ” to the program show for the show ’s website .
A big thanks to Linda for her ideas and for 26 years of Central Texas Gardener ! Now I just have to find a Linda local to me , and the moolah to make “ Mid - Atlantic Gardener ” materialize .
