Ecological gardening and midwinter plant questions

By C.L. Fornari

Published February 7, 2026 at 2:00 PM EST

We take your questions about plants in midwinter.

In this episode of The Garden Lady, C.L. Fornari talks with Matt Mattus about what eco-friendly gardening is all about. He is the senior director of horticulture for the American Horticultural Society, the organization that has published the book Essential Guide to Ecological Gardening: Techniques and know-how for gardening with Nature. We also take listener questions.

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C.L. Fornari

C.L. Fornari is the author of eight books, including Coffee for Roses and The Cocktail Hour Garden. She’s a professional speaker, the former host of GardenLine on WXTK, and co-host of the Plantrama podcast. She is a frequent speaker to groups nationwide, and has worked for a family-owned independent garden center for 25 years. C.L. grows vegetables, flowers, shrubs, trees and numerous other plants at Poison Ivy Acres on Cape Cod. In 2015 C.L. launched the Cape Cod Hydrangea Festival, a ten-day regional celebration of gardens that typically raises over $100,000.00 for local non-profits every year and draws public attention to Hydrangeas and gardening.

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