Spring is in full bloom, so this week we’re taking a deep dive into flowers and gardening. Prepare your floral arrangements and soil mixes and revel in the beauty of the season. Also, wishing a Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms out there – including mine! Love you, ma!
Yours in media,
Elizabeth He, Visual Communications Editor
This is a web edition of GBH's The Deep Dive, a weekly newsletter bringing you the best GBH has to offer.
April Showers Bring May Flowers
Call the Midwife: Sister Monica Joan, Expert Florist
What’s the key to flower arrangements according to Sister Monica Joan? Science and mathematics, of course.
Petals for Primates
Nasturtium flowers, part of the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum’s central garden display, are normally composted, but this year they were given to gorillas and lemurs at the Franklin Park Zoo. What a lovely snack!
Agatha Christie’s Poirot: How Does Your Garden Grow?
Poirot investigates when a woman he met at the Chelsea Flower Show dies from poisoning. Very suspicious...
Pocket Sketching with Kath Macaulay: Flowers Outdoors
Kath demonstrates how to paint clusters of flowers by focusing on getting just one flower right.
Grow Your Garden
The Garden Lady on CAI: Spring Planting Extravaganza
Katie Rotella, of Ball Horticultural, talks with C.L. Fornari about four top performing plants for 2026.
Could Urban Gardening Be Boston’s Answer to Rising Food Insecurity?
Boston’s urban gardeners and farmers agree that the city faces inequity in fresh food access. But approaches to acquiring – and stewarding – the land vary.
How Growing Places Is Keeping Mass. Communities Fed
The nonprofit supports farmers and makes fresh produce accessible to families across 27 communities. Read more about their work on GBH News’ Joy Beat.
The Culture Show: Uli Lorimer, Director of Horticulture at Native Plant Trust
Lorimer talks about spring blooms – trilliums, rhododendrons, and what this season is showing us after winter.
Victory Garden (1977)
Host Jim Crockett puts in a nursery seedbed, does tomato tricks, and plants some Brussels sprouts, lake cabbage, cauliflower, and kale. Watch this nostalgic throwback!
New England Gardening with Charlie Nardozzi Springtime Edition
Welcome the sights, scents, and signature signs of New England springtime with gardening expert and author Charlie Nardozzi. Discover how to rejuvenate your spring gardens.
Growing a Greener World: Creating a Meadow Garden
Enjoy the diversity, beauty, and low maintenance benefits of this pollination haven. Watch these simple how-to steps for installing mini-meadows in small spaces or balcony gardens.
Recipe of the Week
Asparagus Tart
The ground has thawed and local produce is sprouting up. Fresh asparagus is a sure sign that spring is here, and this tart recipe is one delicious way to enjoy it. Yum!
Venture Outdoors
- ANTIQUES ROADSHOW visits coastal Maine botanical gardens. What secret treasures are in this garden?
- Weekends with Yankee co-host Amy Traverso heads to Rockland, Maine to explore the gardens at the farm-to-table restaurant, Primo. Then she journeys to Sunfox Farm in Concord, NH to admire the sunflower fields.
- In A House in the Garden: Shofuso and Modernism, three architecturally significant sites in the Philadelphia region highlight the influence of traditional Japanese architecture and design.
- Join host Kathy McCabe on Dream of Europe to visit the unusual plants at Kew Gardens in London, England. There’s always something more to discover.
Dive Into America 250
Cornerstones of the Revolution
Author Kiernan P. Schmitt takes listeners beyond the Freedom Trail and into the lesser-known corners of Greater Boston where the Revolution still leaves visible marks on the landscape.
Off Topic
- GBH News Rooted's Paris Alston sits down with acclaimed astrophysicist and NOVA’s “Particles of Thought” host Dr. Hakeem Oluseyi to talk about his new book, Why Do We Exist? The Nine Realms of Universe that Make You Possible. Unpack the hidden layers of the cosmos.
- What happened when GBH staff were given retro cameras? The results are so fun!
- Sometimes you just need to compliment your sibling, even when it’s hard. Let’s all learn from Arthur, the aardvark.
