• Hi, I’m Joe! •
My infatuation with gardening and nature began as a child, growing up in Miami, Florida.
After a run-in with my parents’ favorite shrub, I panicked and jammed the broken branch into the ground.
A few weeks later, it had taken root.
I was not only relieved; I was hooked on horticulture.
That defining moment was literally life-changing!
From there I couldn’t get enough information about growing plants. I was a sponge for book knowledge and practical application. And I was only eight years-old! I propagated, planted, and grew everything I could get my hands on.
When it came to plants, I didn’t discriminate. I grew pole beans from seed along the side of our house, mango trees in the backyard, and even found room for a rose garden!
I took cuttings, potted them up and sold them at church fundraisers, bazaars and flea markets. There was no turning back.
When it came time for college, I was dead set on a horticulture degree. Fortunately, my very wise mother encouraged me to pursue a business degree as well. Mother knows best, so that’s what I did.
Upon graduation, there were a lot more employers looking for business majors
than horticulture grads, plus the pay was better.
My life in the business world, although successful monetarily,
left me restless and yearning for a professional life
with the sun on my back and my hands in the soil.
My business background gave me the skills I needed to venture out on my own - shedding the suit and tie and working in horticultural consulting and design, while endlessly using my own home garden and landscape as my living laboratory and loving every second of it.
Then one day my world changed.
A colleague had seen a casting call for a television host of a new show starting up on the DIY Network. It was a show all about how to grow food, from seed to harvest—everything you could possibly grow in a backyard garden!
They were looking for me! They just didn’t know that yet. Fortunately, I did. After a lengthy national search for their host, the stars aligned, and I was ultimately picked to be that person.
What was originally planned as a one-season, 26-episode series, Fresh From the Garden was so successful right out of the ground (bad pun, I know), they extended the series to three years and 52 episodes. The only reason it ended then was that we ran out of edibles to teach people how to grow. We had done it all.
From there, I immediately went on to host another show on PBS about gardening. We toured public gardens all over the country. It was an amazing experience. Yet, something was stirring inside to break away from that and create a new show—one unique and interesting enough to attract brand new gardeners and re-inspire existing gardeners to a world that was getting passed by in media and overlooked in our ever-busier lives.
I couldn’t just sit by and let that happen.
Although I didn’t realize it then, this was exactly what I was made to do.
I was precisely where I was supposed to be when it all started decades earlier—a rambunctious boy and a broken branch. Who knew?
So after three years and nearly 100 episodes as host with an incredibly enviable job description, I left it behind and moved on to create and produce Growing a Greener World®.
Today, 10 seasons and 200 episodes later,
that idea is now an Emmy Award-winning
national series on public television,
currently airing in 96% of the US and 38 countries.
I’ve traveled the country and beyond showing people beautiful gardens.
Yet more importantly, we tell the stories of the people behind those gardens.
The heroes doing great things for the planet through organic gardening,
green living, small farming, and simple yet significant ways
to lighten their footprint on this planet.
These gardeners are the game-changers who are literally “growing a greener world”… and they are showing the rest of us ways to come together at a critical moment in history to save our planet. Lucky for me, I get to share their stories.
These days, I’m told I’m one of the country’s most recognized and trusted personalities in gardening and green-living. I like that.
My experience and profession has allowed me the opportunity to be an on-air contributor to NBC’s TODAY SHOW, ABC’s Good Morning America and The Weather Channel and to publish my books, podcast series, nationally syndicated newspaper column, and more.
In 2011, The American Horticultural Society honored me as the recipient of the Society’s B.Y. Morrison Communication Award, which recognizes effective and inspirational communication—through print, radio, television, and online media.
In recent years, I have been the recipient of the Garden Writers Association Gold Award for Best On-Air Talent and others.
Most recently Growing a Greener World received a 2018 Daytime Emmy Award, the 2018 Pioneer Taste Award, and The Taste Award for Best Branded Program, Breakout Storyteller of the Year and Best Green or Organic Program, Series or Film.
As Growing a Greener World continues to shine
the spotlight on more great people and places
doing good things for the planet,
it’s time to encourage a lot more gardening heroes
starting in our own backyards, patios or balconies.
As the founder and “Joe” behind joegardener.com – we’ve created an ever-growing site dedicated to all things gardening and horticulture through the best how-to videos, podcasts, online courses, and blog posts available. The best part, they’re all in one place.
So no matter if you’re a wanna-be gardener or one
with years of experience under your belt,
if you’re open to learning more about this amazing
world of gardening, you’ve come to the right place,
and I’m just the guy to guide you on your journey.
Here, we’ll continue to create the best and highest production value courses, videos, podcasts, articles, and blog posts related to what you want to know more about. We’re a community here, and in a way, we’re all “joe gardeners”.
Fortunately, my work is my passion too. So when I’m not talking or writing about gardening and green living, it’s a safe bet you can find me doing those things in and around my organic garden and spending time with my family on our north Atlanta, Georgia farm.
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