What’s a gardener to do when heat, pests, drought, weird freezes and bad soil (or not much at all) crowd the path to creative, beautiful outdoor handiwork?
Central Texas Gardener is here to help! See how to tackle the techniques, pick drought-tough plants for wildlife, fill up your kitchen with fresh food, and enrich your soul with artistic designs and homegrown philosophy from hands-on gardeners. Get growing, right here, right now, for the future!
Central Texas Gardener is one of the longest-running Austin PBS, KLRU-TV productions, having premiered in the late 1980s. Originally conceived as a monthly show on Saturday afternoons, the show went weekly in 1999. Since a month in Central Texas can span at least two seasons (sometimes in 24 hours!), viewers wanted more. In 2006,Austin PBS, KLRU-TV began distributing the show to other PBS stations around the country and today more than 20 stations in 8 states air the program.
Skilled gardeners and backyard enthusiasts can watch the show anytime and anyplace on the PBS app and the CTG YouTube channel.
Each week producer Linda Lehmusvirta shares inspired ideas, top tips and highlights from area gardens on this site. To get the updates, please sign up for our newsletter.
Follow @CentralTexasGardener on Facebook and @ctglinda on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Snapchat.
Awards
2016
Garden Writers Association
Gold Award Best Overall Broadcast Media
2014
Lone Star Emmy nomination
2013
National Education Telecommunications Association (NETA)
Central Texas Gardener blog
2012
Lone Star Emmy nomination
2011
Lone Star Emmy nomination (Wildflowers: Seeds of History)
2010
Garden Writers Association
Silver Award Electronic Media
2010
Lone Star Emmy
2003
Garden Writers Association
Best Talent Electronic Media
1996
Keep Texas Beautiful Media Award
Station Carriage 2016
KACV (Amarillo)
KAMU (Waco-Temple-Bryan)
KBDI (Denver)
KEDT (Corpus Christi)
KLRU
KLRU-Q
KLRN (San Antonio)
KNCT (Waco-Temple-Bryan)
KPBT (Odessa-Midland)
KTTZ (Lubbock)
KTWU (Topeka)
KUHT (Houston)
KUAT /KUAS (Tucson)
WMTJ (Puerto Rico)
WTJX (Virgin Islands)
WUNC (Raleigh-Durham)
WUNG (Charlotte)
WUNF (Greenville-Spartan)
WUNL (Greensboro)
WUND (Greenville-New Bern)
WUNU (Myrtle Beach)
WUNJ (Wilmington)
John Hart Asher
John Hart Asher, senior environmental designer and principal at Blackland Collaborative Ecological Restoration and Design. He has over 14 years experience helping restore prairies and he and his partners, Michelle Bertelsen and Emily Manderson, have helped impact over 90,000 acres of Texas landscape alone. He stepped in for CTG to help out with hosting and they haven’ been able to get rid of him since. You can get bet your bottom dollar he’s got a pocket prairie.
Tom Spencer
Past host Tom Spencer is a passionate gardener and photographer. By day, Tom is the Program Director for the Texas Living Waters Project (TLWP) a collaborative effort of the National Wildlife Federation, Sierra Club and Galveston Bay Foundation. The TLWP is working to protect wildlife by ensuring that abundant fresh water is flowing in Texas rivers and into our bays. Until 2008, Tom served as host and producer of many award-winning documentaries and public affairs programs at Austin PBS, KLRU-TV.
Linda Lehmusvirta
Linda Lehmusvirta produces, writes, edits and blogs CTG when she’s not in her certified Backyard Habitat. Her goal is to spare gardeners the mistakes she made as a new gardener. And she’s still figuring it out!
Ed Fuentes
Ed Fuentes is CTG’s studio director and on-location Director of Photography who never misses a shot. He’s directed many KLRU award-winning documentaries and is the Technical Director for Austin City Limits.
Paul Sweeney
Paul Sweeney is CTG’s technical editor who brings his vast editing experience to guarantee that CTG looks good however you watch it!
John Dromgoole
John Dromgoole, owner of The Natural Gardener, award-winning nursery and organic gardening center. In 2014 the Natural Gardener was voted as one of the top 5 garden centers in the nation, and #1 in the Southwest. John has been heavily involved in the organic industry and environmental issues for more than 30 years.
Trisha Shirey
Trisha Shirey, Director of Flora and Fauna at Lake Austin Spa Resort, guides the Texas-tough organic herb and vegetable gardens, orchard, and flowers that enhance the grounds, spa treatments and low-fat menus in the award-winning dining room.
Daphne Richards
Daphne Richards is the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension horticulturist for Travis County who answers your questions with hands-on perception and science-based facts. She’s committed to organic, drought-tough techniques for beautiful gardens.