• Book Reviews,  Face Time,  Podcasts

    Heaven is a Garden – Jan Johnsen

    A few years ago I read a paper about how grasses ‘moved’ to music, then I read about the effects of harmonious sounds on plant growth.

    Just using white summer bedding is very effective in such a large garden

    Why do I mention this?

    Well a few weeks ago we were talking about Tesla and his discoveries, which led us to talking about vibrations, sound waves, force fields etc., then a strange thing happened.

    Ann and I interviewed a wonderful lady landscape architect Jan Johnsen, about her new book “Heaven is a Garden” we talked a little about how at a very young age she discovered during a science fair competition – which against all the odds she won – the effects early morning birds singing have on plants. The sound waves, which are similar to a violin stimulate a plant to open its stomata taking in carbon-dioxide to help it grow quicker.

    Fushia

    Jan has written a book called Heaven is a Garden, it’s a really fascinating and informative read.  Jan has ‘connected’ the dots so as to speak, between the natural world and our emotions. How the Four Winds are important when laying out a space,the careful use of curves, and my favorite Golden Rectangles and the Divine Proportion. – Phi is the mathematical proportion ( 1 : 1.618) we see in every natural form. Using this proportion ensures a sense of harmony in any outdoor space that contains it. I’ve always tried to use these proportions in my designs.

    Jan then talks about Trees – natures rechargers as she puts it… The Celts  shunnache,  the Hindu tree devas, and Greek dryads are really references to light energy? The Chinese call this energy chi…the Japanese consider the health giving properties of trees the basis of a medical therapy called ‘ Forest bathing’, it helps reduce stress.

    Jan then discusses the magnetic attraction in a Zen garden – rocks in these gardens reflect a deep understanding of the geomagnetic properties of stone and its impact on a place.

    Finally the benefits of color in a garden.

    Be inspired by Jan Johnsen's Book
    You can listen to our truly fascinating interview with Jan Johnsen  or if you prefer on iTunes at Growing Trends  or just click on the arrow below to start the interview

    We would love to hear from you if you like this interview

    Ann and Chris,
     

       
       

      Views: 143

    • Face Time,  Podcasts,  World Wide WEsponsibility

      Growing Potential for Algae – Part one

      Our interview this week is with Bill Sosinsky and Joe Ravet, it’s all about the amazing properties of algae and  the work being done today that could transform many areas of our lives. This fascinating interview is in two parts, with the second part coming next week.

      algae2

       

      Algae has some fascinating uses :-

      As an Energy Source –  a 737 plane flew from Houston to Chicago on fuel derived from algae, way back in 2011

      algae for jet fuel

      As a Fertilizer – from as long ago as the 16th century, seaweed has been used a fertilizer.

      As a source of Nutrition – China has been consuming Algae for over 2000 years, they harvest over 70 species as does Japan, Ireland, Chile, Wales,Korea, California, New Zealand, Hawaii, Scotland, Greenland and Iceland to name a few. It was an ingredient in Aztec foods.

      Oils obtained from some algae  have high levels of unsaturated fatty acids,others essential omega 3 fatty acids.

      As a Pollution control –  treating sewage with algae, reducing the use of toxic chemicals that would be used. They can absorb fertilizer run off from fields. Aquariums can be filtered by algae

      As a Pigment  – alternative to chemical dyes

      As a Medicine – helping fight malnutrition, immune health, reducing cholesterol

      algae 3

      Amazingly  there could be more than 72000 algae species worldwide.

      You can hear our interview with Bill Sosinsky and Joe Ravet on iTunes at Growing Trends or here on our podcast just click below to hear 

      We would love to hear from you,

        Views: 62

      • Podcasts,  Time to Eat,  World Wide WEsponsibility

        School Garden Projects have many positives, you can hear many of them here

        Children-eating-salad

        Is this really salad ? it tastes so good like this !

        Ann & I were fortunate to talk to three amazing ladies from Tennessee a little while ago. They wanted to start a school garden at their school, here is their story, the school garden is now in its third year.

        Raised beds

        Some of the main points we heard were:-

        It’s essential to have teacher as well as parent support.

        Take time to plan carefully

        Initially growing from seed is harder , due to the school calendar. 

        Choose plants that will fit into this schedule.

        The children want to take ownership of their plants !

        Educating children in the different choices of produce increases the varieties they will eat.

        Children really take pride in taking home to their family the produce they have grown.

        In a blind radish test, the children could tell which were home grown as opposed to store bought and much preferred home grown !

        strawberry picking

        Ann & I would love to hear from you.  info@grotrends.com

        If you would like us to put you in touch with these wonderful ladies,or if you would like more information on starting your own school garden just send us an email to Growing Trends and we will be in touch. If you would like us to interview you, send us a picture of your garden along with contact details, we will be adding a section to our web site www.grotrends.com specially on School garden projects.

        Thank you Penny, Peggy and Emily, this was a fascinating interview.

        Ann & Chris

         

         

         

         

        Views: 56

      • Book Reviews,  Podcasts,  Time to Eat

        Sustainable food for the Globe an interview with Norma Burnson

        Ann and Chris interview this remarkable lady, Norma is on a mission.

        Norma’s mission is “Sustainable Food for the Globe, One Square Foot at a Time,” and that is also the title of Norma Burnson’s book, available on Amazon.com. At Burnson & Associates, we are passing along the baton of youth leadership development and involving our U.S. Veterans in our projects and workforce.

        sustainable food for the globe

        Be inspired to help Norma, but first listen to our interview.

        Views: 224

      • Face Time,  Podcasts,  World Wide WEsponsibility

        Country : Growing Trends – Introducing Energime University

        World Wide WEsponsibility

        World Wide WEsponsibility

        Bill Sosinsky, Founder, Co-Owner, and CEO of The Energime Family of Companies including Energime Sustainable Technologies, Energime Power, Energime Energy Efficiency and is the Chairman of the Board for The Energime Foundation. Bill is also the Founder and Director of Energime University.

        What Energime University is planning to Accomplish

        Energime University will have three main goals. The first is to train students in the skills required to run this new sustainable infrastructure. We will need tens of millions of specially trained workers to populate the industries and factories that will produce these new technologies, and direct the advanced agriculture, farming, waste and water management protocols that will be the key to this turnaround. Courses and curricula will be specific to developing this skilled workforce so they can support regional efforts throughout the world. The plan is to empower individuals to participate in the ongoing projects and jobs being created through our global partnerships in these key areas.

        The second goal is to offer a basic curriculum to the general population that clearly defines how each individual, household, business, and local government can adapt affordable changes that support this effort. We are living in a new world with new challenges. If we are to get this right it is essential for our population to change the way they relate to our resources. New technologies and advanced protocols will help by increasing output, productivity, and efficiency. It is still necessary to address the consumption part of the equation. If we do not educate our consumer based population to manage their consumption on a more sustainable basis, all attempts at increasing our output will eventually fail.

        Finally, we must educate our business, governmental, and social leaders. They need to understand and implement the proper protocols and methodologies required to allow this process to go forward in a manner that is economically feasible and ultimately adaptable. Without that understanding we will not have the money to finance this global effort. This is essential if we are to re-establish a sustainable balance between consumption and resource management. It is that lack of understanding that has been key to our failures thus far.

        Views: 61

      • Face Time,  Podcasts,  Time to Eat

        Country: Growing Trends – Bees & Beekeeping

        Honey beePatti is one of those rare ladies, an expert bee keeper and a fascinating speaker. Listen to her explain the intricate lifestyle of the honey bee, it's truly fascinating and very educational.

        We visited Patti at her lovely country home one Saturday morning.

        Views: 90

      • Face Time,  Podcasts,  Time to Eat,  World Wide WEsponsibility

        Weston Red Barn Farm

        Red Barn Farm

        We called in to the farm early one morning, just as the sun was rising, to talk to Steve before his busy day had got into full swing.

        A trip to the Weston Red Barn Farm is like visiting a turn of the century working farm.

        In the spirit of preserving the American dream of farming, the Red Barn Farm offers visitors the opportunity to experience a real working farmstead. We feature traditional farm animals and crops. In addition to the working farm, we offer school tours, a country store featuring our fresh produce, facilities for weddings and bonfire/hayride events and a fall festival where families can come pick pumpkins and apples, take a hayride and enjoy the country.

        Views: 55

      • Face Time,  Gardenesque,  Podcasts

        Country: Growing Trends- Kelly’s Garden of Serenity

        Kelly was an inspiration, sitting in her beautiful garden was almost spellbinding.

        Take a listen and tell us what you think ?

        "Finding happiness in a garden – how it's done at the Kelly Gallery"

        kelly_Gallery_garden_rev

         

        Views: 61

      • Face Time,  Gardenesque,  Podcasts

        Iconic Gardens of Kansas City – a must visit when in town

        Ann & Chris sit down with Duane Hoover horticulturist at the Kauffman Memorial Gardens Kauffman memorial garden 2 and then Jan Schall , Sanders Sosland Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art. Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

        Views: 80

      • About us

        Hello world!

        Growing Trends is about people, people who are passionate about their environment, their gardens & landscapes and the experts who help them.

        Ann & Chris

        Ann & Chris bring together interesting  topics  on the environment, gardening and landscaping  then discuss them with fascinating people from around the world

        February's & March's programs

        We are concentrating on sustainability, with our second interview with Bill Sosinsky, then a fascinating series of interviews with Rich Sapienza discussing , solar power,  fracking , food production, simple solutions to growing environmental issues.

        We will also include some interviews with authors of some really interesting books – you can see who on our Book Review pages on www.grotrends.com

        We welcome comments and suggestions… just drop us a line at info@grotrends.com

        Views: 65

      • Growing Trends,  Podcasts

        Growing Trends is listened to in 48 countries, our new program is all about people like you, from all over the world.

        We would like to hear from you with ideas, comments and suggestions for our shows drop us a line at chris@chriscoope.com

        We have been making changes to Growing Trends our internet based radio show, which we started back in 2015

         

        Time to Eat – All about growing Herbs & Vegetables

        Gardenesque – Everything to do with Gardens & Landscapes

        World Wide Wesponsibility – A more serious look at sustainability and how we might all help our planet.

        Face Time – Interviews with experts on topics of interest

        Book Reviews – Interviews with authors of books relating to the environment, nature and garden landscaping.

        Perhaps we could interview you for our Face Time segment? …. just drop us a line and we will contact you.

          Views: 176

        • Edibles,  Food,  Gardening,  gardens,  Healthy Living,  Home & Garden,  Landscape design,  Landscapes & Gardens,  Nature,  park,  Vegetable Growing

          What do our kids really know about plants?

          I was reading an interesting article the other day, it was discussing what today’s children know about plants.

          The part that caused me to sit up and wonder was this line..  “Today’s children can identify about 1000 company logos but only identify 10 plants outside

          I wonder how accurate this statement is?

          So a quick test – could you identify the plant below?

          IMGP1106

          or perhaps this one.?

          Herb

          Thinking a little about it, brings to mind the simple realization that many  children do not really understand where much of our food comes from.

          We really need to change this for many reasons, perhaps our internet radio show, can help?

          Listen at www.grotrends.com
          Listen at www.grotrends.com

          We want to engage ‘Granny Growers’ and introduce them to the ‘Growing Uppers’ , to start this rolling we’re heading off to interview a few senior citizens  in our retirement community, to ask them what they learned and how they think we can help our grand children.

          if you have some ideas , we would love to hear from you to… just drop us a line

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          Views: 112