KUED Programs

This week, the program is digging in and showing you how to prepare, grow and feast from a victory garden of your own. Gardening correspondent Paul Epsom shares tips from New York's finest - the edible gardens at the New York Botanical Garden. The art of seed saving will enable you to grow the best from the past - magnificent varieties of antique flowers and heirlooms vegetables. Host Jamie Durie is in Sonoma California to tour the Cornerstone Festival of Gardens, which features garden ideas form the worlds' leading architects. And Chef Michel Nischan talks about potatoes in his "homegrown" segment, offering practical tips for how best to grow, cook and eat them.

THE VICTORY GARDEN goes coast to coast today, starting with host Jamie Durie's visit to a city oasis that sits atop the Frank Gehry-designed Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Then, what do the rapper 50-Cent, actress Bette Midler and the Broadway show Wicked all have in common? Victory gardens! All of these folks are working with the New York Restoration Project's citywide effort to grow and eat local. The result? Community gardens are popping up all over the city. Gardening correspondent Paul Epsom is in New York to check it out and gather tips on how to build a community garden anywhere. Finally, celebrated chefs Michel Nischan and Barbara Lynch visit Boston's oldest farmer's market and mix up a fresh salad using the very best local seasonal produce.

OLD is new again. During World Wars I and II, home gardeners supported the effort abroad by growing their own vegetables to feed their families. Today, the Victory Garden movement continues - representing the need to work toward sustainability in an effort to connect the planet to the plate. Join host Jamie Durie as he visits San Francisco to see the installation of "Victory Gardens 2008" in front of City Hall's Civic Center. Jamie speaks with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and renowned chef and passionate slow food advocate Alice Waters about this special city project. Then, gardening correspondent Paul Epsom visits Mixed Border Nursery in Hollis, NH, to show us how many old varieties of plants are still favorites today-- and how they've evolved through hybridization. Resident chef Michel Nischan's "Homegrown" segment features a master gardener whose greenhouse and garden supply a new restaurant.

EXPLORE the Water Conservation Garden near San Diego, California, with host Jamie Durie and learn about xeriscaping: water-wise gardening. LEARN how to create a dry-laid garden wall with hardscape experts, the Stone Guys. GROW a fire-wise garden in an area that's at risk for wildland fires. EAT healthy with chef Michel Nischan - who shows you a Native American-style "Three Sisters" garden that features corn, squash and beans.

The best of the NEW! Host Jamie Durie takes viewers to Cornerstone Gardens one of North America's premier collections of exciting new garden design. Cornerstone presents gardeners with terrific, fresh ideas to bring home to their own spaces. Ever wonder how new plants make it onto nursery shelves? Gardening correspondent Paul Epsom explores the path from seed to retail sale when he visits an All-American Selection trial garden. This week's "Homegrown" segment features a husband and wife team that bring the farm to the table: Farmer Chris Kurth and chef Ana Sortun show resident chef Michel Nischan the glories of freshly-dug potatoes.

Learn about water, in all its forms, in your garden. JOIN gardening correspondent Paul Epsom at Longwood Gardens in Philadelphia to learn about water features and elements that can add to any garden. PLANT a water-wise garden with tips from host Jamie Durie on how to recycle rainwater and put it to good use. GROW a tea garden with Kip Anderson ... then EAT, drink and be merry when chef Michel Nischan stirs up some beverages and recipes using fresh herbs and teas.