Gardening for Hot People

About Gardening for Hot People

An unserious podcast for unserious people, living on a warming planet (which is very serious).

Publisher

Cheryl Rafuse and Katie Upchurch

Category

education · science

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

10 Feb 2025

Latest episode

24 Feb 2026

Latest episodes

8 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   24 Feb 2026

   Love Winter, Hate Ice

   Welcome to Gardening for Hot People! This episode we talk about: baby trees, not so baby trees, pine whorls, winter walks, mycelium networks, marcescence, snags, animal snow burrows and tracks, fat bears, how migration is natural, megafauna, being nice to pigeons, and swear a lot but manage to keep things light even when this ish is serious. As the founder of We of Earth, Mikayla Bishop, is a huge nature nerd. She grew up romping around her backyard and the woods, scrambling up rocks, hunting for bugs, brewing up mud potions, carving sticks, and playing lots of make-believe. Nature keeps her grounded, and Mikayla knew she wanted to encourage and guide others to experience the magic of the Earth. Using her education degree, she shifted from classroom teaching to nature education. Her “life’s purpose” is not related to a career at all. Nature educator doesn’t feel like a job—it’s a passion that she feels blessed to share with people everyday through her company. We of Earth offers a variety of ways to deepen our connection with nature through: social media content, workshops for all ages, public community events, private events, corporate team engagement programs, and customized curriculum or program development for schools and educational institutions, parks & recreation departments, companies, or anyone looking to engage with nature in a unique and playful way! Find out more here: https://www.weofearth.co/ (https://www.weofearth.co/) Stuff we mentioned: https://www.lucemass.org/ (https://www.lucemass.org/) Sibley Tree Flashcards (https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/sibley-backyard-birding-flashcards-revised-and-updated-100-common-birds-of-eastern-and-western-north-america/37107803/item/54867547/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_new_condition_books_high_14637440387&utm_adgroup=&utm_term=&utm_content=593819619485&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=14637440387&gbraid=0AAAAADwY45iyc2S_wr82l02a2IQe9tm6H&gclid=CjwKCAiAkvDMBhBMEiwAnUA9BdPmdqLakiRv8I75Y2y0rYhsvxFkmOqCCgHr7QztZZbyqaBfKAg_-RoCxAYQAvD_BwE#isbn=0593578546&idiq=54867547) Fat Bear Week (https://explore.org/fat-bear-week)

2. 

   17 Nov 2025

   Leave the Leaves or Leave

   Welcome BACK to Gardening for Hot People! This episode we talk about: how to leave the leaves without pissing off your neighbor, whether you can still plant in Autumn and Winter, fall cleanup but not like that, how much Cheryl hates lawns, wtf is a deadhedge, how Katie's seedlings are doing and swear a lot but manage to keep things light even when this ish is serious. Stuff we mentioned: Milkweed Clothing Company (https://lasclay.com/en-us) Plant Magic Custom Design Request Link (https://clienthub.getjobber.com/hubs/938b02bd-7d63-447f-9fbc-f294899a5a69/public/requests/595826/new?source=social_media) Soy Much Brighter Events (https://www.instagram.com/p/DRKIugdADVl/?hl=en&img_index=1) Where you can find us: Instagram: @gardeningforhotpeople (https://www.instagram.com/gardeningforhotpeople) YouTube: @GardeningforHotPeople (https://www.youtube.com/@GardeningforHotPeople) Sign up for newsletter at gardeningforhotpeople.com (https://mailchi.mp/plantmagic/gardening-for-hot-people) Email: gardeningforhotpeople@gmail.com Credits: Willow Mckenna music Click here to view the episode transcript. (https://share.transistor.fm/s/c026be52/transcript)

3. 

   6 May 2025

   Landscaping Don'ts and Don'ts

   Welcome to Gardening for Hot People! This episode we talk about: the difference between a gardener and a landscaper, plant butts, hating leaf blowers, the uselessness of weed-blocker, upsetting the landscaping industry, how not to kill your tree with mulch, and swear a lot but manage to keep things light even when this ish is serious. Guest Bio: Molly Janicki grew up surrounded by the forests of Vermont, which instilled in her a deep appreciation for nature. She has been privileged to build her career working in beautiful gardens throughout New England. When the links between traditional landscaping and climate change became impossible to ignore, Molly founded her own company to provide thoughtful horticultural solutions that reduce the energy and resources typically required of our landscapes. Find out more here: https://www.mollyjanicki.com/ Stuff we mentioned: Plant Magic Gardens FREE Native Plant Designs (https://www.plantmagic.shop/free-native-plant-garden-designs) - https://www.plantmagic.shop/free-native-plant-garden-designs (https://www.plantmagic.shop/free-native-plant-garden-designs) UMass Pollinator Steward Course - https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/resources/pollinators/pollinator-steward-certification-program (https://www.umass.edu/agriculture-food-environment/resources/pollinators/pollinator-steward-certification-program)Turtle Rescue League - https://turtlerescueleague.org/  (https://turtlerescueleague.org/)

4. 

   22 Apr 2025

   Planning Eco-Gardens for Dummies

   Welcome to Gardening for Hot People! This episode we talk about: leaving the leaves STILL, bumble bee queens, more garden bed making, bunny damage and how to prevent it, types of habitats in your yard, plant identification, pollinator frogs, how tired we are, the difference between an annual and perennial, and manage to keep things light even when this ish is serious.

5. 

   24 Mar 2025

   Save the Monarch, Save the World

   Welcome to Gardening for Hot People! This episode we talk about: Lepidoptera, milkweed, late season nectar, why butterfly bushes are Skittles, why butterflies flit around, the pollinator wars, mummichogs, The Monarch Gardener’s superhero origin story, planning out your native seed plantings, and manage to keep things light even when this ish is serious. Katie Banks Hone (AKA The Monarch Gardener) has been gardening for her entire adult life. She was a 2012 recipient of the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Slow the Flow grant. This helped her transform her family's Ipswich River-front property from the traditional foundation plantings they inherited from the former owners into a haven for wildlife. In the spring and summer Katie runs a native plant nursery in Topsfield, MA. And year round she brings her knowledge and wonder of the monarch butterfly to community groups in the form of lectures and classes. Find out more at themonarchgardener.com Stuff we mentioned: - Indian Skipper: https://www.butterfliesandmoths.org/species/Hesperia-sassacus - Monarch weigh station: https://monarchwatch.org/waystations/ - Piping Plover bird: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piping_plover - Monarch Watch: https://monarchwatch.org/ - Monarch Joint Venture: https://monarchjointventure.org/ - Grow Native Massachusetts: https://grownativemass.org/ - NOFA/Mass: https://www.nofamass.org/ - Native Plant Trust: https://www.nativeplanttrust.org/ - Monarch Gardener website: http://www.themonarchgardener.com/ - The Monarch Gardener Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1A9sysqGwA/?mibextid=wwXIfr - The Monarch Gardener opens MAY 9TH 2025 OPEN 10-3 FRIDAYS & SATURDAYS: MAY 9-JULY 26 AND SEPTEMBER 5-20 AT 180 IPSWICH ROAD, TOPSFIELD MA

6. 

   10 Mar 2025

   I Like Big Bees and I Cannot Lie

   Welcome to Gardening for Hot People! This episode we talk about: bees, invertabrates, The Xerces Sociey, agriculture, millions of acres of American forests in danger, ways to save the bees, pesticides, avicide (gasp?!), Apple TV show Silo, The Beepocalypse, practical answers, honey bees, Bombus, how bees see flowers, why you should and shouldn't have a honey bee hive, and manage to keep things light even when this ish is serious. Rosemary Malfi (she/her) serves as the director of conservation policy at the Xerces Society, a science-driven non-profit dedicated to protecting invertebrates and the habitats they rely on. At Xerces, she supports and advocates for policy solutions that promote the health of pollinators and other beneficial invertebrates. Rosemary holds a Ph.D. in environmental sciences from the University of Virginia (2015) and completed postdoctoral research positions in entomology at UC Davis and biology at UMass Amherst. Before coming to Xerces, Rosemary worked for the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA/Mass), where she spent two years coordinating a grassroots network of community groups dedicated to pollinator protection and pesticide reform in Massachusetts. She lives with her family in Salem, MA where she does her best to implement Cheryl's excellent gardening advice! Show Notes - It's actually 280 MILLION ACRES of forest in danger. NOT JUST 280 :( - Extinct butterfly mentioned by Rosemary: https://www.xerces.org/about-xerces - Donate to the Xerces Society here: https://www.xerces.org/donate - Honey Bee vs. Native Bees Pictures: https://www.xerces.org/blog/want-to-save-bees-focus-on-habitat-not-honey-bees - Brown-belted Bumble Bee (Rosemary's Fave): https://bugguide.net/node/view/3538 - Long-Horned Bee: https://bugguide.net/node/view/8019 - Colony Collapse Disorder: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/blog/silence-bees-mystery-missing-bees-covered-retroreport/ - Xerces Society Native Plant Lists: https://xerces.org/pollinator-conservation/pollinator-friendly-plant-lists - Plant Magic Gardens Native Plant Design Packets: https://www.plantmagicgardens.com Xerces sign-on letter for public to support listing the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the endangered species list: https://win.newmode.net/xerces-fws-monarch Studies folks may want to check out: - Koh et al. 2016, PNAS. Examines wild bee abundance loss across the US. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1517685113 - Van Deynze et al. 2024, PLoS One. Links pesticides to butterfly declines across the Midwest.  https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article? - Wood & Goulson 2017, Environment Science and Pollution Research. Summary of research on impacts of neonicotinoids: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28593544/id=10.1371/journal.pone.0304319 - Conserving Bumble Bees is an older Xerces publication that discusses the importance of bumble bees as pollinators, the challenges they face, and what we can do to conserve them. A sobering fact is that nearly a third of North American bumble bee species are in decline - some severely so. - Also, from Rosemary: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/03/06/climate/us-butterfly-population.html?unlocked_article_code=1.104.2eFj.CsBM2syZ1Pgt&smid=url-share

7. 

   24 Feb 2025

   Invasive Plants and Why We Hate Them

   Welcome to Gardening for Hot People! This episode we talk about: winter sowing, burlapping shrubs, hating on Japanese maples, pickle brine, invasive plants, Broad City, The Black Forager, snowbanks, lasagna gardening, online plant ordering, colonizers, invasive plant task forces, learning to love poison ivy, respecting our ecosystems, and manage to keep things light even when this ish is serious. Stuff we mentioned: - Akibia vine is actually native to Asia NOT AFRICA (sorry) - Books mentioned:  Northeast Foraging - Leda Meredith - The Black Forager - https://www.youtube.com/c/BlackForager

8. 

   10 Feb 2025

   Unf*ck Your Garden: Plant Native Plants

   Welcome to Gardening for Hot People! This episode we talk about: who we are, what we're about, native plants, cultivars, hostas, how annoying Lily of the Valley is, garden woes, the climate changing, Rachel Carson, respecting our ecosystems, and manage to keep things light even when this ish is serious.

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

20 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

16 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 14 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

7

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

51

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Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.