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This month on We Dig Plants, hosts Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito visit Zone 4 of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which includes the Wisconsin prairie.

A pioneer in the native plant industry and recognized internationally as an expert in native plant community ecology, Neil Diboll has guided the growth of Prairie Nursery for 30 years. He has dedicated his life to the propagation of native plants and their promotion as uniquely beautiful, ecologically beneficial and sustainable solutions for landscapes and gardens. In 2013 Neil was the recipient of the Great American Gardeners Award from the American Horticultural Society.

This month on We Dig Plants, hosts Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito visit Zone 5 of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which includes parts of both Nebraska and Iowa.

Del and Alice Hemsath are members of Nebraska’s Soil Sisters and Misters Garden Club, which promotes education of the general public about the importance of outside activities for health, supports community projects, and provides education for youth and adults.

Kelly Norris is an award-winning author and plantsman from Iowa and the first director of horticulture at the Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden, a newly revitalized public garden in Des Moines, Iowa.

This month on We Dig Plants, hosts Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito visit Zone 6 of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which includes Utah and western New York.

Geoff Ellis is a landscape architect in Salt Lake City. He was born and raised in Utah and received a Master’s Degree in Landscape Architecture from Utah State University. He is the Past President of the Utah Associated Garden Clubs and currently the President of the Alternative Garden Club.

Sally Cunningham is a garden writer, educator, and CNLP (landscape professional), well known in Buffalo after 23 years on Channel 4 (WIVB-TV) and as columnist for the Buffalo News and Buffalo Spree magazine. She is formerly a Master Gardener and Cooperative Extension Agent. She is also author of Great Garden Companions which has sold 50,000 copies. She leads Great Garden Travel for AAA around the U.S. and Europe.

This month on We Dig Plants, hosts Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito visit Zone 7 of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which includes our home state of New York, as well as Virginia.

Joining them are Dr. Cait Field, Manager for Science and Research Development at Freshkills Park in Staten Island, and Symsi Houser, ‎Operations Coordinator for the Virginia Beach Department of Parks and Recreation.

John Coykendall is a renowned heirloom seed saver, a classically trained artist, and Master Gardener at Blackberry Farm, one of America’s top resorts. For nearly four decades, Coykendall’s passion has been preserving the farm heritage – the seeds and stories – of a small, farming culture in Southeastern Louisiana, and this work is the subject of a new documentary, Deeply Rooted, from Louisiana Public Broadcasting. The documentary will be screening at Slow Food Nations in Denver this July.

This month on We Dig Plants, hosts Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito visit Zone 8 of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which includes the great state of Texas.

First, they’re joined by Master Gardener Jenny Peterson of J. Peterson Garden Design, which has been creating cool gardens in the Austin area since 2001. She is also the author of The Cancer Survivor’s Garden Companion: Cultivating Hope, Healing & Joy in the Ground Beneath Your Feet.

After the break, Rick Herman of the Chihuahuan Desert Research Institute tells us about the organization’s 507- acre site, which is comprised of semi-desert grasslands and igneous rock outcrops.

On the summer season premiere of We Dig Plants, hosts Alice Marcus Krieg and Carmen Devito visit Zone 9 of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which includes New Orleans and Palm Springs.

First up is Ann Macdonald, director of The New Orleans Department of Parks and Parkways. Employees at the Department of Parks and Parkways perform an enormous number of tasks to maintain and upgrade public green spaces, and to re-green and beautify New Orleans.

After the break, we’re joined by Troy Bankord of Troy Bankord Design, which specializes in landscape and interior design, consultation, and project installations in Palm Springs, San Francisco, Long Beach, Las Vegas, the Midwest, and the across The Desert Southwest.

This week on We Dig Plants, Alice and Carmen examine Zone 10 of the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, which includes parts of Oregon, Florida, and Arizona.

First, we’re joined by Chris Daly, a senior research professor at Oregon State University, and founding director of the PRISM Climate Group. Next up is Denyse Cunningham, curator of the Bonnet House Museum & Gardens in Fort Lauderdale. And last but not least, we hear from Humberto Hernandez, farm superintendent of the University of Arizona.