Gardening’s Future — The View from Generation Y
My guest
on the radio show and podcast premiering Friday, January 15 is 22-year-old Kelly D. Norris, a horticulturist, plant
breeder, and plantsman who is currently studying for his Masters Degree at Iowa
State.
Due to lectures that Kelly has presented to groups like the Garden
Writers of America, he has become the unofficial spokesperson for generation Y
and gardening. (Generation Y refers to the children of the Baby Boomers who are
typified by an increased use and familiarity with communications, media, and
digital technologies.)
We talked about the iris
nursery Kelly manages for his family (Rainbow Iris Farm), plants that thrive in
Iowa’s cold climate, and media in the new decade. Besides iris like his own new
introduction ‘Gene’s Lora Lavelle’ (below), Kelly’s horticultural focus is on
overlooked species that will thrive in Zone 4 like late-winter blooming
leatherwood (Dirca palustris), the
American smoke bush (Cotinus obovatus),
with incredible fall color, and the disease-resistant bee balm (Monarda
bradburiana). 
The most enlightening discussion focused on the
future of garden communication and gardening from the perspective of someone
who, like his peers, is in touch with today’s fragmented media outlets: blogs,
websites, Twitter, Facebook, TV, cable, smart phones, podcasts, radio, books,
magazines, newspapers and more.
Click on the small black arrow at the left on the bar below to start
listening, or click on the MP3 link to download the show into Windows
Media Player or iTunes: