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The Secret Lives of Plants

Raffaele Camardella/Flikr/Creative Commons

Growing a garden seems so simple. You make sure the plants have sunlight, water, and air, and you make sure the soil has the nutrients it needs. But, of course, if you’ve ever toiled in the soil, you know that gardening seems as much an art as a science. Author Ruth Kassinger fully grasps the art of gardening, and she’s written a book about the fascinating science behind it.

For years, she’s cared for plants in a conservatory at her home in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Her latest book is called  “A Garden of Marvels: How We Discovered That Flowers Have Sex, Leaves Eat Air, and Other Secrets of Plants.”  In it, she unravels how plants thrive and survive. She walks us through how we know what we know about plants, and when in history we found out.  Ruth Kassinger joins Tom Hall in the studio.

Host, Midday (M-F 12:00-1:00)