GardenStory is an in-depth exploration of how gardens change our lives
Neither a travelogue nor a how-to series, GardenStory is a fresh, new approach
GardenStory features distinguished designers and citizen advocates
“The earth is a garden and we’re all individual gardeners. We’re charged with the responsibility for taking care of that garden, and how well we satisfy that charge will really determine our success as stewards on earth.”
—Dr.
Peter Raven, Missouri Botanical Garden
Executive Producers
Rebecca Frischkorn
Ms. Frischkorn has designed gardens professionally for 30 years in Virginia,
West Virginia, Kentucky, and Maine and lectures frequently on garden design.
She is a board member of the Cultural Landscape Foundation and the Shenandoah
National Park Trust.
Reuben Rainey
Dr. Rainey is William Stone Weedon Professor Emeritus in the Department of
Architecture and Landscape Architecture at the University of Virginia and a
former chair of the department. He is a trustee of the Foundation for Landscape
Studies.
Producer and Director
Bill Reifenberger has produced, directed, and written productions
for PBS, the Discovery Channel, the History Channel, and Speed Vision. He
produced and scripted two feature-length documentaries —"The Tuskegee
Airmen" and "Lee:
Beyond the Battles"— for presentation on PBS. He teaches film and
video production at the University of Virginia.
Director of Photography
Terence McArdle has worked in film and video for over 20
years, filming programs for PBS, BBC, the Discovery Channel, the History
Channel, and National Geographic. He has filmed dozens of projects for the
National Park Service, the National Air and Space Museum, and such corporate
clients as Mobil Oil and IBM.
5-Minute Series Trailer
Now GardenStory is available free of charge to public television stations through American Public Television (APT).
animated plans that explain the gardens,
exciting aerial views and other forms of creative videography, and
original scores and informative archival materials.
GardenStory is a ten-part series for public television. Over the
past five
years, the GardenStory team has explored gardens from North
Carolina to Massachusetts to Missouri. Focusing on the relationship between
garden and gardener in a refreshing variety of settings, they are weaving stories
of how gardens transform our lives and our communities.
GardenStory is a series with broad appeal to a diverse audience.
It is the intention of the executive producers to promote the series far beyond broadcast on public television.
The DVD set will be a valuable tool for educators, students, civic leaders, design professionals and gardeners.
Each half-hour episode can be used for presentation in conjunction with additional information and discussion questions presented in the Education component of this website.
In conjunction with GardenStory Episode 101, The
Garden as Muse, host Rebecca Frischkorn and fellow Executive Producer,
Reuben Rainey, have published Half
My World - The Garden of Anne Spencer, A History and Guide, on the
Lynchburg, Virginia, garden of this Harlem Renaissance poet. The book won
a prestigious Honor Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
The authors have donated all proceeds from the sale of the book to the
Anne Spencer garden to create an endowment for maintenance.
GardenStory extends special thanks to Jane Riew (artist)
and Dede Hatch (photographer)
