Talking with Joe Gardener
Recently I had the opportunity to be a guest on Joe Lamp’l’s“Growing a Greener World” podcast. I’m sure that many of you know Joe from his role as host on GardenSmart on PBS as well as his appearances on Today, Good Morning America, Victory Garden, etc. He is a great spokesperson for the gardening world and spending time with him was great fun, so I am repeating Joe’s post from his website about our podcast here so readers of TracyLive.com can hear our conversation.
Recently Joe Lamp’l interviewed award-winning and best-selling author Tracy DiSabato-Aust to discuss her brand new book, 50 High-Impact, Low-Care Garden Plants. Find out what are the criteria that makes each of these plants pass “Tracy’s test of toughness”. She’s also a popular garden designer and international presenter on perennial gardening, design and sustainability. They also talk about her previous best selling books and more…
Note to TracyLive.com readers: You can also subscribe to Joe’s “Growing a Greener World Podcast” by using the links below
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I’m often asked for publishing advice from people on gardening as well as non-gardening topics. I’m by no means the authority but I share what has worked for me with my three books…First you must truly believe in your topic and have a passion for it as well as lots of firsthand experience. Writing articles for various magazines, newsletters and even blogging is often a good way to start with topics you are interested in writing about in book form. See the response from these other venues first–learn what “issues” people are drawn to so you can accentuate those in your writing/marketing angle. Speaking on the topic is also a great way to make yourself the “expert” on it as well as to accurately learn people’s responses and see your weaknesses on the topic. Remember you have to learn in order to teach. Research you topics extensively and learn from other’s success and failure. What would make your book a contribution that’s not been offered before? There is a lot of ground work that goes down first before the book can be written. Try to find a publisher who will accept your proposal before you write the whole book or consider the pros/cons of self publishing. Once you commit to the book follow your dream and remain indomitable through the process. Then market with abandon, as it’s no use to have a book and a message to share if no one reads it!! Good Luck and Happy Writing!
High Impact Traits
r perennials or ornament grasses, don’t prune these plants now as the foliage may help protect their crowns from cold damage. We do prune plants that may become unsightly over the winter or that may reseed heavily. It’s also particularly important to prune any perennials that may have had disease or insect problems. Be sure to remove the pest ridden foliage from the garden to reduce incidence of trouble next season. My favorite tool for quick clean-up in the autumn is the Okatsune hedge shear pictured here along with some of my other favorite tools. For complete information on Pruning to Prepare for Winter see Chapter 12 of my book 
llent weekend column in the Financial Times. I was honored that his most recent comments draw a little inspiration from some of my writing on the subject of “deadheading”. You can read his column by 
