Compost Confidential

Behind the scenes at Good Morning America-A big THANK YOU is in order

In a segment of less than one minute, you barely have enough time to say your name, let alone mention all the important issues I wanted to say related to the topic. Such was the case for me on Tuesday when I did a brief segment with Sam Champion on GMA. The point of the spot was to feature one simple thing we could all do to make a positive impact to conserve resources or protect the environment. In this case all they wanted me to offer was more drought tolerant type plants to replace thirsty ones.

Oh, the challenges a garden communicator… that segment could have been much longer and still not covered all the useful information a viewer might like to know about how to select less thirsty plants in the nursery and how to know just how much less water they actually need than their water loving replacements.

And just so you’ll know, the plants appearing on the GMA set that Earth Day morning traveled quite a distance to get there. Just a few days ahead of my appearance, we were notified they wanted live plants for the segment. We immediately went into overdrive to try to find the ones we had simply suggested on paper.

Initially we thought those plants would just be a mention or possibly backed up by pictures, never thinking they wanted the real thing on set. But with little time to spare, now we needed to produce live plants right away, even though it is still too early in the season to find these plants in the New York area.

After two days on the phone, calling everywhere from California to Florida, all it finally took was just one call to the right person. Mike Ferraro of Learn2Grow.com called in a favor and the next thing we knew, Lowes had located all the plants we needed near Charlotte, NC.

So now the challenge becomes how do you get large, live plants from there to the set of GMA in two days? GMA requested they be shipped overnight. But rather than take the chance that the plants would be damaged in transit or not arrive in time, Lowes had this relatively small group of VIPs (Very Important Plants) personally driven right to the GMA loading dock in NYC.

With strict restrictions regarding what I am allowed to say on air, I could not mention any names or companies. So special thanks are in order to Mike Ferraro for taking the time and making the right calls to see this through, Lowes for finding the plants and donating them, along with the time and means to get them there, and David Kiss for driving these plants the many miles and hours it took and to ensure they arrived safe and sound. It’s amazing how it all comes together, even in the face of seemingly impossible odds.

I would have loved to talk about ways you and I can tell how to identify drought tolerant plants by showing viewers the plant tag that Lowes is now using in their garden centers across the country. They’ve partnered with www.learn2grow.com to create tags that identify plants requiring less water to look their best. These special tags are placed into the pots of every plant that merits this recognition. It’s an easy way for consumers, already confused by the myriad of choices, to make a more informed, and environmentally responsible, purchase.

So now you know a little about how things come together on a live television segment and I’ve at least been able to say here what I wasn’t allowed to say then. After all communication comes in many forms.
JL

Good Morning America, ABC News.com and Martha Steward Radio all tout The Green Gardener’s Guide for Earth Day

What a way to spend the day, Earth Day that is. It was a brisk, beautiful morning in New York City and I had the pleasure of spending it in Battery Park. I was there to do a live segment with Sam Champion, GMA’s weatherman extraordinaire. The segment was “Sam’s One Thing”. Although brief, Sam picks one thing each week to feature that we can all do to be more environmentally responsible.

My role for this one thing was to show a few drought tolerant alternatives to more “water-loving” plants. The segment idea was a great one, since there really are so many water-hogging plants with many drought tolerant options. The only problem with the one-thing concept (at least for me) is that you have less than one minute to talk about it…not an easy task for someone like me I’m told. So much to say and so little time. Yet, the concept was put out there along with the message that water conservation is important and there are easy ways to reduce consumption, even by making a conscience decision to select less thirsty plants.

ABCNews.com ran the story as a feature all day on their home page, referencing the book, touting the many environmental benefits of green gardening and listing several ways to go green in your garden and landscape.

After a ride back to the hotel and a quick lunch, it was off to the Martha Stewart studio for a live interview at 1:00. This time, I had a more relaxed, 30-minute opportunity to share great conversation with host Mario Bosquez. The questions and discussions around ways for greening the garden were filled with laughter and insights along with many references from The Green Gardeners Guide.

Next it was a race back to the hotel to write and submit a follow up article for the GMA producer that provided additional information related to my morning appearance. Tomorrow, assuming that article is posted on the ABC News site, I’ll post a link, along with providing the back story to what when on behind the scenes and what I didn’t have time to say that you’ll want to know about. It’s all good.
JL

The Greenest Earth Day Yet?

Maybe it’s because I’m immersed in it on a daily basis. Or, maybe it’s just because we can’t escape it. But whatever the reason, I think this year will be the greenest Earth Day ever. Every magazine, website, commercial, television channel and radio station is devoting some amount of space or time to this important topic of going green.

Already this morning, my pastor sent me an email about an upcoming conference: Faith and the Environment, my snail mail included a magazine with the headline “Go Green Today!” Even the green band I wear around my wrist serves as a constant reminder of my daily commitment to live green. In fact, with so much coming at us from every form of media, I wonder if we’re approaching the saturation point at which people start tuning out the message of ‘going green’ as we become burned out on even the utterance of the word.

Although I feel this is certainly the year to shout it from the rooftops, I fear by this same time next year, we’ll see and hear a lot less about it. Will that be because it has become less important? Certainly not! In fact, we have years of lost ground to make up and no matter how much we say or do; it will take years of sustained efforts and awareness to begin to turn the tide.

So when do we focus more on doing what we say to do, rather than simply saying what we need to do? Years ago would have been a good place to start. And for some, that has been the case. For others, the adoption of a greener lifestyle is a transition, started at some point more recently while catching a ride on the big green wave. Yet there are many that still don’t see that we are facing a global crisis that requires we all make some changes in how we think and live in order to heal our planet.

By this time next year, my hope is that there’s a little less talk and a lot more action. The stage is set, the word is out and now it’s time for each of us to act in a way that makes every day, Earth Day!
JL