I suspect I’m not alone when I say that weather extremes in recent growing seasons have made me feel a bit like a stranger in a strange land in my own garden—wondering what will bloom when, and when to do what, and most of all: wondering what madness is coming next? Managing our gardens—and especially its longest-lived residents, our trees—in changing times is our topic today. 

My guest is Daniel Weitoish, the arboriculture supervisor at Cornell Botanic Gardens in Ithaca, N.Y., where he and his colleagues care for the woody plants at the 30-acre botanic garden, plus a 100-acre arboretum, and about 3,600 acres of natural areas. Like plant people everywhere, they’ve been feeling their way through the impacts of a shifting climate and extreme weather events—and now that winters are somewhat milder, even experimenting with adding some new plants to the collection. I’m so glad he’s joining us today to share some of their insights.  (Flowering dogwood photo by Rob Cardillo.) 

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