Maybe more than any other topic, the use of native plants has consistently figured among the top garden trends in recent years. Just how popular is the movement toward a more ecological focus in the way we design and care for our landscapes? And how does that effort keep moving forward and growing among those of us who are home gardeners when there can be obstacles, like how hard it can be to find locally appropriate plants at the garden center? 

My guest today is Rebecca McMackin, an ecological horticulturist who creates and manages dynamic landscapes, including a new garden she recently made for the Brooklyn Museum. 

She is currently the arboretum curator at Historic Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx and was a Harvard Loeb fellow in 2023, studying ecological design and the history of native plant movements. For a decade before that, she was director of horticulture at Brooklyn Bridge Park.

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