I Dig Your Story

What happens when a lifelong love of plants meets an insatiable curiosity about, well, just about everything? For horticulturist, author, educator and entrepreneur Leslie Halleck, it has made for one fascinating career.
Leslie and I go way back, so this conversation was a chance to talk not just about what she does, but how she got there. From growing up as an Army brat and gardening with an adopted German “Oma” to studying botany, working at a garden center, conducting research trials and eventually building her own horticultural consulting business, Leslie has never been a one-lane kind of person.
We talk about her career in public gardens and retail, how writing became such an important part of her work, and the three-legged stool that is Halleck Horticultural: supporting the horticulture industry, teaching the next generation of horticulturists, and providing scientifically accurate gardening information to consumers.
Leslie also shares why she thinks gardeners need to be especially careful about the information they find online, what she teaches her horticulture students about evaluating sources, and why she believes learning new things—and even picking up new hobbies—is an important part of who she is.
In this episode, we talk about:
Leslie's unconventional path into horticulture
The role writing and teaching have played in her career
How to separate good horticultural information from gardening misinformation
Reinvention, curiosity and embracing your many interests
Listen to Leslie's story on I Dig Your Story—and find out what happens when a horticulturist refuses to stay in just one lane.
Find Leslie:Halleck Horticultural: www.halleckhorticultural.com – sign up for her newsletters here!Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lesliehalleck//LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lesliehalleck/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HalleckHorticultural

Angelique Robb didn’t grow up dreaming of a career in horticulture. She studied engineering, worked in the oil industry, and moved to Scotland before gradually finding her way into landscape design and build. Along the way, she discovered that the problem-solving, project management, and visualization skills she developed as an engineer were remarkably useful in the landscape industry.
Today, Angelique is the owner of SYNKD, a media and events platform created to connect the many disciplines that make up the landscape industry. In this episode, we talk about her unconventional career path, the lessons she learned running a landscape design/build business, and why she believes collaboration—not working in silos—is one of the keys to moving the industry forward.
In This Episode
How designing and building her own gardens on two different continents sparked Angelique’s interest in plants.
What engineering and the oil industry taught her about landscape design, construction, and project management.
Why a frustrating experience with a landscape contractor inspired her to start her own design/build business in Scotland.
How a move back to Louisiana led to the creation of SYNKD—and why Angelique wanted to bring the landscape industry’s many disciplines together.
Why communication, collaboration, and sharing what works are essential to solving the industry’s biggest challenges.
Connect with Angelique Robb and SYNKD
Visit SYNKD at synkd.io for the publication, events, podcasts, videos, and more.
Angelique welcomes feedback and ideas from landscape professionals about what the industry needs. Contact her at Angelique@synkd.io

After a corporate layoff unexpectedly changed his career path, Roshan Patel traded digital marketing for community gardening—and found a new sense of purpose in the process.
In this episode, Roshan shares how volunteering at Mack Park Farm in Salem, Massachusetts, grew into a passion for urban agriculture, food security, and community engagement. He also talks about using social media to make gardening more approachable and why getting your hands dirty can change much more than what's growing in the garden.
In This Episode
Roshan's journey into urban agriculture
How Mack Park Farm serves the Salem community
Gardening, food security, and building connections
Making gardening accessible through social media
Why everyone should spend more time outdoors
It is indeed possible to learn to love kale
Links & Resources
Drizzle Ranch on Instagram: instagram.com/drizzleranch
Mack Park Farm: https://mack-park-farm-salemma.hub.arcgis.com/
 
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In this episode of I Dig Your Story, host Ellen Wells talks with Matt Lebon, a.k.a. The Foodscaper, about the idea of foodscaping—creating landscapes that combine beauty, food production, ecological diversity, and water management.
Matt shares the winding path that took him from business school and the Peace Corps to organic farming, permaculture, and eventually designing food-producing landscapes for homeowners. He and Ellen talk about food forests, edible front yards, rain gardens, resilient plants, and how you can rethink the landscape you already have.
Whether you're interested in growing more of your own food or simply want to make your landscape more useful, this conversation will give you plenty to think about.
In this episode:
What foodscaping is—and what it can look like at home
Why your front yard might be the perfect place to grow food
Food forests and multilayered landscapes
How rain gardens can help manage water
Choosing resilient, low-maintenance plants
Find Matt:The Foodscaper: thefoodscaper.comInstagram: Matt The Foodscaper - https://www.instagram.com/matt.the.foodscaper/
Resources mentioned:Free Plant Guide: https://www.thefoodscaper.com/
YouTube Resources: The Foodscaper - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8X1D7AD9xc2i4tZye61FNQ

Jennifer Rust spent years building a successful corporate career in sales and management consulting. But after stepping away from corporate life—and into what she jokingly calls her "post-corporate therapy" of pulling weeds in her own yard—she discovered that the business she was searching for had been growing alongside her passion for plants all along.
Today, Jennifer is the founder of Jennifer Rust Botanicals and Studio JRB, where she creates everything from seasonal container gardens to biophilic designs for luxury hotels and commercial spaces. In this conversation, she shares how corporate experience became an unexpected advantage, why community was essential to launching her business, and how evidence-based biophilic design improves both human well-being and business performance.
Along the way, Jennifer offers practical container gardening advice and encourages anyone with a dream that it's never too late to build a thriving business around what you truly love.
Whether you're a gardener, entrepreneur, designer, or someone considering your own second act (or even third!), Jennifer's story is a reminder that sometimes the path forward begins by listening to the passion that's been there all along.
In This Episode
Growing up in a military family where gardening always meant home
How working at Crabtree & Evelyn foreshadowed a future in plants
Leaving a successful corporate career and finding "post-corporate therapy" in the garden
Why container gardens became the foundation of Jennifer Rust Botanicals
The value of finding community through Digging In
What biophilic design really means—and the research behind it
How Studio JRB helps hotels and commercial spaces improve guest experience through plants
Jennifer's favorite container garden design principles
The overlooked garden center section where "the good stuff" lives
Why it's never too late to build a business around your passion
Connect with Jennifer
Jennifer Rust Botanicals: https://jenniferrustbotanicals.com/
Studio JRB: https://studiojrb.com/
Follow Jennifer on Instagram:@jenniferrustbotanicals - https://www.instagram.com/jenniferrustbotanicals/@studiojrb - https://www.instagram.com/studio_jrb/
 
More:
The Psychology Today article on biophilia mentioned in Shovel Ready - https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/biophilia
 
Keep listening—because everyone has a story worth digging into.

What if public gardens are much more than beautiful places to visit?
Jessica Turner-Skoff firmly believes—and convinces her listeners—that public gardens are where beauty, science, conservation, and human connection come together.
As Associate Director of Science Communications at Longwood Gardens, Jessica helps translate groundbreaking plant research into stories that inspire visitors, volunteers, and gardeners alike. But her own story begins on a hobby farm in rural Ohio, where farm chores, medicinal plants, and a lifelong sense of wonder shaped the path that eventually led her to one of the world's great gardens.
In this episode of I Dig Your Story, Jessica shares how her childhood fascination with nature evolved into a career that blends biology, communication, conservation, and storytelling. Along the way, we explore American ginseng, the hidden science happening inside public gardens, and why every one of us already has a relationship with plants—even if we don't realize it.
Whether you're a gardener, plant professional, science communicator, or simply someone who enjoys spending time outdoors, Jessica's perspective may forever change the way you experience a garden.
In this episode we discuss:
• Why every person has a relationship with plants• From aspiring zoo keeper to plant scientist• Researching American ginseng and conservation in Appalachia• Why public gardens are scientific powerhouses—not just beautiful destinations• Jessica's TEDx talk on reconnecting people with nature• Her advice for anyone considering a career working with plants
Jessica also shares one of the simplest challenges you'll gladly participate in:
Take 30 seconds to think about all the ways plants make your life better.
You may never look at the world quite the same way again.
 
Connect with Jessica:
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicabturnerskoff/• Longwood Gardens: https://longwoodgardens.org
• GrowerTalks article regarding Christmas poinsettias at Longwood: https://www.growertalks.com/Article/?srch=1&articleID=27630
 

Landscape designer, plantsman, author, and ecological steward Kelly D. Norris believes gardens aren't static works of art but are living communities. In this episode of I Dig Your Story, Kelly shares the remarkable path that led him from running a mail-order iris nursery as a teenager on his family's Iowa farm to becoming one of the country's leading voices in ecological landscape design.
Kelly explains why he prefers the word stewardship over maintenance, why curiosity has shaped every chapter of his career, and why the best compliment someone can give his work is to say it doesn't look designed at all.
Whether you're tending a backyard garden, managing a public landscape, or simply wondering how to create more meaningful connections with the natural world, this conversation will leave you looking at plants—and your own landscape—a little differently.
In this episode, Kelly and host Ellen Wells talk about:
How a 14-year-old convinced his parents to buy a mail-order iris nursery
Why Kelly believes plants are collaborators, not landscape objects
The difference between maintaining a landscape and stewarding one
Leaving security to build an entrepreneurial design studio
The philosophy behind Kelly's motto, "Just Keep Planting."
Why asking better questions matters more than having all the answers
Learn more about Kelly and his work at:
https://kellydnorris.com

Fifth Tuesdays #2:
 
In this quarterly bonus I Dig Your Story sub-pod we call Fifth Tuesdays, host Ellen Wells is answering your questions!
 
In this episode, Ellen answers:
What’s your earliest plant memory?
But Ellen, are you a good gardener?
How do I keep our Wisteria from taking over our small urban yard?
Do coffee grounds really help plants?
Do you have a hack for bugs and other pests?
Ellen also shares the latest IDYS news:
The IDYS website launches this July! – www.idigyourstory.com
The IDYS Substack newsletter is coming at the end of the month
Request the IDYS Media Kit and learn how you can support the show
Nominate someone (or yourself!) to be a guest on the show
Questions? IDigYourStory@gmail.com
Did you know there’s an IDYS Instagram page? Check it out at www.instagram.com/idigyourstory
 

What happens when an eight-year-old sticks a broken branch in the ground and discovers it can grow roots? Mind blown!
For Joe Lamp'l, that moment sparked a lifelong fascination with plants that eventually led him from a corporate career in finance to becoming one of the most recognizable voices in gardening media.
Known to millions as joe gardener, Joe joins Ellen Wells on I Dig Your Story to share the story behind his career. As they talk, he reveals how a childhood obsession with plant propagation evolved into television hosting, podcasting, online education, and environmental advocacy – with only a brief diversion in a suit-and-tie job.
Joe and host Ellen Wells discuss:
the unexpected contact that launched his television career
the challenges of producing 52 episodes of a scripted gardening show
why audio remains his favorite medium
the gardening practice Joe believes is most underrated
and his next move into ecological gardening and native plants
Their conversation goes beyond gardening to explore the nurturing of curiosity, persistence and entrepreneurial drive, and the power of following a passion.
 
Connect with Joe:
Web: www.joegardener.comInstagram: www.instagram.com/joegardenerYouTube: www.youtube.com/@joegardenerTV

In Part 2 of my conversation with horticulture industry veteran Marvin Miller, we go beyond the fascinating intersections of horticulture, data, and business and discuss some of Marvin’s personal passions of travel and photography.
We start with an explanation of how Marvin’s graduate research helped analyze the U.S. cut flower industry and shaped the way all of us understand market trends, industry growth, and business behavior. He also gives a behind-the-scenes look at his role at Ball Horticultural Company, where he tracks industry data, forecasts trends, helps train sales teams, and advocates for horticulture at the national level.
But Marvin's story extends far beyond his professional life. We talk about his commitment to fundraising for multiple sclerosis research through long-distance cycling, his love of photography, and his adventures across Alaska—from photographing polar bears and the Northern Lights to exploring Denali National Park in every season.
You'll also hear:• How market research influences the future of horticulture• Why communication matters during times of industry change• Marvin's work with American Floral Endowment, American in Bloom, and other nonprofit organizations• What motivates him to ride 100-mile cycling events for MS• His favorite photography destinations and dream travel locations• His thoughts on Alaska's cut peony industry and the power of simply saying, "How can I help?"
Marvin's optimism, curiosity, and dedication to both people and plants shine throughout this conversation.
Contribute to Marvin's Tour De Farms Bike MS Ride at:
https://events.nationalmssociety.org/participants/Marvin-Miller-2025-2