EARLY ON IN making my yard a very long time prior to now, I bought a nursery pot of bluestar, or Amsonia, at a neighborhood plant sale, and planted it in a border proper right here. It has under no circumstances requested one thing of me, under no circumstances had any pests or sicknesses, and easily retains delivering sky-blue spring flowers and vivid gold fall color, yr in and yr out, and looking pretty handsome in between.

My very unofficial outcomes with my Amsonia would not shock proper this second’s customer, Sam Hoadley of Mt. Cuba Native Plant Center in Delaware, whose trial yard workers there merely achieved a 10-year evaluation of a wide range of bluestars.

Twenty completely totally different Amsonia had been studied over the trial on the renowned native plant yard and evaluation facility, the place Sam is supervisor of horticultural evaluation. He joined me to report on the findings, and discuss how we’re in a position to incorporate bluestars into our gardens.

Be taught alongside as you take heed to the March 4, 2024 model of my public-radio current and podcast using the participant underneath. You’ll subscribe to all future editions on Apple Podcasts (iTunes) or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts proper right here).

amsonias with sam hoadley

 

 

Margaret Roach: Hey, Sam. Longer days, longer days. Prepared for spring, prepared for spring.

Sam Hoadley: Positive. Utterly, positive.

Margaret: Oh, my. So like what I discussed inside the introduction, I don’t assume I’ve had a perennial with me as long as this Amsonia—it’s a tabernaemontana—that really merely performs. It has under no circumstances talked about an element, has under no circumstances talked about, “Margaret, I would really like this,” or, “Margaret, I would really like that.” It merely performs [laughter].

Sam: Yep. Yeah, they’re improbable crops. They don’t ask for lots and they also merely give quite a bit yr after yr, and arguably get greater and better. We seen that for a decade inside the trial yard, and I’m optimistic that they could proceed to go on for yet one more decade if we had been to permit them to maintain in that home. Nevertheless sadly we now have to convey inside the subsequent trial.

Margaret: Correct, correct.

Sam: However it was overwhelmingly a high-performing trial. Only some crops had any factors all by the size. And in most of our trials, we’re form of promoting the simplest of the simplest, maybe a smaller variety of maybe the best 10 or excessive dozen or so. With the Amsonia we trialed 20 and all 20 we’re pretty good. And it’s additional about how you use them, reasonably than making a name on rating. Maybe you’re making a name on what foliage texture you want, how huge of a plant you could possibly have home for, these kinds of points.

Margaret: Yeah. One pleasant Amsonia actuality that people couldn’t know is that they’re related to milkweed, huh?

Sam: They’re, yeah. They’re inside the Apocynaceae family, in order that they’re related to the milkweeds. They’re moreover related to Vinca. And when you’ve got a take a look at the flowers and likewise you take a look at your vinca groundcover flowers, they’re remarkably associated, significantly with crops like Amsonia ‘Blue Ice,’ these similarities flip into very apparent.

Nevertheless yeah, they’re rigorously related. One among many good cues that you’d have the ability to seek for is that milky, form of latex-y sap, that is pretty poisonous and actually is an efficient deterrent for mammalian herbivory significantly.

Margaret: That signifies that Bambi and his associates are normally not as interested by Amsonia most probably as in a number of of the totally different perennials in your border, yeah?

Sam: Positive, fully. Deer resistance is a spectrum, and deer are sometimes hungrier in some areas than others, nevertheless deer will normally depart Amsonia alone. I’ve some experience in my dwelling panorama with Amsonia in a extraordinarily trafficked deer house, and solely on one occasion had they ever been sampled, and it was a very small sample, after which under no circumstances as soon as extra. So that they’re truly, truly good deer-resistant crops, if that’s a major stress and concern for you.

Margaret: Yeah, that latex sap of that family, of the dogbane family, doesn’t model good, I don’t assume [laughter].

Sam: Positive, I would take into consideration not.

Margaret: Nasty.

Sam: I haven’t tried myself, nevertheless…

Margaret: No, no, no, no.

Sam: That’s correct.

Margaret: Don’t, don’t, don’t.

Sam: That’s correct.

Margaret: So it’s a genus, Amsonia, the bluestars, that is largely based totally in North America and the United States-ish.

Sam: That’s proper, yep.

Margaret: Yeah. So I checked out differ maps for all the Amsonia species within the USA. And it’s fascinating because of though there are pretty a amount, there’s none inside the Pacific Northwest as an illustration, I consider.

Sam: Correct.

Margaret: And there’s one, tomentosa I consider, in Southern California and some of the Desert Southwest.

Sam: Correct. Positive.

Margaret: Nevertheless normally speaking, they’re Southeast, South after which some inside the Central Midwest-ish. I don’t know. You’ll make clear, nevertheless who did you take a look at and the place do these come from? The place are they native? Because of “native” doesn’t indicate native to in every single place within the USA.

Sam: Correct, exactly. The definition of “native,” a minimum of what we’re having a look at inside the trial yard and at Mt. Cuba Center as native, is Japanese temperate forest space, which you’ll sometimes simplify as form of the Japanese half of the USA. We primarily centered on these species; that encompasses a number of of the Midwest. There is a focus of Amsonia selection in Midwestern states, Gulf Coast states, and Southeastern U.S. A bit bit eking into the mid-Atlantic, arguably a bit bit bit into Southern Delaware, which we centered on these crops primarily.

There’s moreover one different form of hotspot of Amsonia selection inside the desert Southwest that goes into Northern Mexico as properly.

And there are two non-native Amsonia species, and by non-native I indicate non-native to North America. Actually certainly one of them is Amsonia orientalis, which is unquestionably native to parts of Europe, in Turkey and Greece. After which there could also be Amsonia elliptica, which is native to Japan.

And we really did embrace for the first time ever in our evaluations an occasion of a non-native plant, non-native to North America. We included Amsonia orientalis in our evaluation, because of some anecdotal similarities that we now have seen between that plant and a plant that’s usually supplied inside the commerce proper this second, sometimes listed as a neighborhood species, as Amsonia ‘Blue Ice.’

Margaret: Positive.

Sam: Yeah. So that was a very fascinating issue that we seen after rising these two crops side by side; they’re practically equal.

Margaret: It looks as if ‘Blue Ice’ is in precise reality derived from parentage that is not a neighborhood U.S. plant, yeah?

Sam: Positive. We take note of it to be a horticulturally superior sort of Amsonia orientalis. So a not-native plant; nonetheless a nice yard plant. Nearly all the Amsonia are good yard crops, but it surely absolutely’s not one which we’d should be promoting because of our focus is on Japanese North America and North American native crops. Nevertheless nonetheless obtainable, nevertheless as soon as extra, not one which we’ll be promoting on the end of our evaluation.

Margaret: Correct, correct. However it’s good that you just simply appeared because you had well-known this danger, in that you just simply had been able to truly over that decade truly see it in movement and know what had been the similarities and deduce rather more.

Sam: Yeah, fully. Yeah.

Margaret: I study, by means of differ of the completely totally different species… And as I discussed, I’ve tabernaemontana [above], which as soon as I began gardening I consider was the one one which was spherical. And even that was at native-plant product sales larger than it was in yard services, because of I’m not a youth [laughter], but it surely absolutely wasn’t a most popular plant however.

And I consider I study simply currently on the Lady Hen Johnson Wildflower Center web page that although technically its differ maybe lengthen to someplace in Virginia-ish up the Southeastern United States, it’s seen in some colonies, naturalized colonies, as far north as Massachusetts. So I ponder if with native climate change we’re going to see tabernaemontana flip right into a “wildflower” even up into New England. Are you conscious what I indicate?

Sam: Yeah, very in all probability. I indicate, even in Mt. Cuba Center we had been in all probability a bit bit bit outdoor of its … even tabernaemontana‘s differ, which has the most important differ of any of the species we’re going to be talking about, or we did discuss on this evaluation. It’s nonetheless proved to be an incredible yard plant. Rising up in New England, Amsonia had been planted extensively. They’re merely terribly adaptable, terribly hardy crops, properly outdoor of even their pure ranges.

Margaret: Yeah. What shocked me was as soon as I seen inside the report, and likewise you had achieved a webinar presentation earlier in February that I had watched as properly about when the report was ready with the outcomes and so forth, is that there are completely totally different sizes. You see, I take into account it as just about … Amsonia, to me, is synonymous just about like type of a shrubby-feeling development of a plant.

Sam: Utterly, yeah.

Margaret: Nevertheless you had ones inside the trial that had been pretty completely totally different, just about groundcover-ish, positive?

Sam: Positive. There have been quite a few crops which may fully qualify inside the groundcover class. ‘Blue Ice’ is unquestionably a sort of crops that is rhizomatous, which was certainly one of many first clues that we’re having a look at one factor completely totally different proper right here. This isn’t much like Amsonia tabernaemontana. It tends to be very clump-forming, and easily often emerge from that exact same form of woody crown that they develop yr after yr. Amsonia ‘Blue Ice’ tends to unfold slowly and eventually does cowl flooring.

Nevertheless we had one very unusual plant on this trial. It’s a variety of Amsonia ciliata often known as tenuifolia and a cultivar named ‘Georgia Pancake.’ [Laughter.] And this was a plant that was initially purchase … I actually just like the title. It is the nice title.

Margaret: ‘Georgia Pancake’ [above]. I’ll have a short stack of those, please.

Sam: Positive, exactly. It’s the simplest title, very descriptive. It is a virtually prostrate-growing plant. It does unfold slowly by rhizomes. It was initially collected in Georgia, so it’s ‘Georgia Pancake,’ and it does create this unbelievable groundcover of this very optimistic, feathery foliage.

It’s so fascinating and so distinctive, and that’s maybe on the extreme end of points as far as measurement and stature. Totally different Amsonia ciliata tenuifolia are merely these good … They just about appear as if miniaturized Amsonia hubrichtii. They’ve that exact same very optimistic foliage, pretty early blue flowers, nevertheless they don’t get quite a bit larger than a number of toes tall and in depth. So whenever you don’t have quite a few home, and even in case you’ve gotten a small rock yard or maybe a single container, you may develop this plant in your home yard. There’s good decisions, even whenever you’re merely having a look at this whole measurement of this plant. And as soon as extra, that’s after 10 years of having a look at these crops, there are good decisions for practically any panorama.

Margaret: You merely talked about hubrichtii. And so I consider that’s the one which, in additional moderen years, has come on as a scorching plant, so to speak. And I don’t keep in mind exactly the place it’s from. I consider I’ve it written down in my notes proper right here someplace that I appeared it up, nevertheless I don’t keep in mind. However it undoubtedly has that … The optimistic texture of the foliage is just so extraordinarily pretty.

Sam: It’s improbable, and it’s such an unbelievable plant to yard with. The foliage is so optimistic that it might probably distinction fantastically merely in texture with loads of totally different crops. It’s an incredible companion. And jokingly throughout the office proper right here, we discuss Amsonia flowers fairly quite a bit, they’re pretty. The widespread title, bluestar, refers again to the flowers. In spite of everything it’s good to develop them for that.

Nevertheless the vast majority of the yr in your home yard you’re going to be wanting on the foliage of these crops, which might be equally pretty. They’ve various textures, truly wide-leafed crops, very fine-foliage crops, like thread-like foliage crops like Amsonia hubrichtii. And they also merely have this unbelievable movement inside the panorama, if there’s a lightweight breeze.

Amsonia hubrichtii [below] might even proceed its ornamental season into fall. They may develop truly pretty fall color, significantly for those who develop them in quite a few photo voltaic, form of ranging from golds to yellows. It could be truly, truly a beautiful season merely in and of itself with that fall color.

Margaret: Successfully, that’s to me, certainly one of many truly glorious points about, and even the one which I’ve, is it does get yellowish inside the fall. I indicate, the hubrichtii rather more so. However it’s merely, as soon as extra, it has this type of structural top quality, just about mounded, shrubby-ish.

Sam: Positive, exactly.

Margaret: And it’s like a filler. It serves a job as like a filler, a great trying textural filler, even when it’s not displaying off at one end or the other of the season. So it’s a sort of really, I consider (and likewise you say inside the report), it’s truly a three-season plant. It truly does, in addition to when it’s—because of these are herbaceous perennials—in addition to when it’s dormant, it truly does look good the whole time.

Now they do take some time to get started, is that proper? They’re pretty easy to develop from seed, nevertheless they’re sluggish?

Sam: Yeah, they merely take some time. I consider that the biggest drawback with Amsonia is solely endurance. Merely understanding what these crops are going to develop to be after quite a few years inside the yard. From seed, it’d take three to 4 years to get your first flowers, nevertheless yearly that plant’s going to get larger and it’s going to get additional spectacular. And it’s going to proceed to contribute and pay its rent inside the yard home. Yearly it’s going to get greater.

It merely takes a bit bit little little bit of time. I take into account Baptisia in a very associated means. Everyone knows there’s going to be a bit bit little little bit of endurance required from us, the gardener, upfront, nevertheless we’ll be repaid tenfold into the long run as these crops mature and get additional established inside the panorama.

Margaret: Now, this genus, apparently members of it hybridize with one another pretty freely. It’s a sexy plant [laughter].

Sam: Positive.

Margaret: Yeah. So what’s taking place available on the market and the best way did you deal with that in a 10-year trial? Are you conscious what I indicate? Had been there seedlings being made of-

Sam: Utterly. Positive.

Margaret: Yeah, so inform us about that, because of that’s fascinating too.

Sam: Yeah, so in cultivation and even inside the wild, Amsonia have confirmed to be very promiscuous in cultivation. They may cross-pollinate, they’ll hybridize readily, and chances are you’ll end up with garden-origin seedlings which have traits that form of are contributed from two dad and mother. Usually the two dad and mother will probably be obvious, sometimes it’s fairly much less so.

Nevertheless sometimes for those who’re having a look at these hybrids, they’ll defy categorization. Notably for those who’re making an attempt to find out a plant, it might probably truly complicate points. And sometimes in cultivation, whenever you’re ordering or searching for crops and Amsonia from a provide the place these seeds is maybe collected in a spot the place a few species is present, significantly in a cultivated place, you could possibly have the potential for hybridization to occur.

Throughout the trial yard, we’d merely try to maintain ahead of seedlings. We would weed points out to try to protect the distinctive assortment primarily as a result of it was as soon as we planted it in 2013. That was comparatively simple to us. Nevertheless I do consider the potential of some of those crops for a plant breeder or any person who’s introducing fascinating new genetics to the horticultural market. An entire lot of those seedlings, within the occasion that they’d been grown out in a topic, there might probably be some truly monumental potential for the next smartest factor available on the market, whenever you’re having a look at it from that perspective.

Nevertheless yeah, it could be an fascinating issue from a plant breeder perspective, there’s quite a few various for model spanking new Amsonia or, “improved” Amsonia, whenever you’re making an attempt to get a additional compact plant in any other case you’re breeding in color to the stems or one factor like that. There’s quite a few potential there. Nevertheless from a botanical standpoint, it could be difficult [laughter]. So we did try to debate a bit bit bit about a number of of those choices which may be good ID choices for making an attempt to tease apart a number of of those rigorously related crops, nevertheless even these can hybridize and may set off it to show into a bit bit bit muddied by means of what you’re having a look at. [Below, A. hubrichtii.]

Margaret: I discussed at first that it truly doesn’t ask quite a bit, and likewise you say that, “…and they also don’t ask lots of us as gardeners.” And likewise you say that inside the report, in spite of everything. That they’re form of low maintenance.

What about aftercare? It’s fall or early winter or late winter whenever you depart the whole thing standing, what was the protocol that you just simply tried on them? And what do you advocate, having labored with them for 10 years: cutbacks, don’t within the discount of, regardless of. I do know they’ve these gap stems. Can we profit from that? What’s the story?

Sam: Utterly. Principally the one time of yr that we did one thing to these crops was late winter, early spring. Sometimes we’d try to shoot for some time in March. We would decrease these crops once more, nevertheless we on a regular basis tried to go away a bit bit little little bit of stem to it. I do know Rebecca McMackin has form of coined the time interval “yard stubble,” which I truly love that, the place you enable a bit bit little bit of those stems up, 12 to 18 inches, which could perform habitat, significantly for cavity-nesting bees. Because of the Amsonia stems have this form of spongy pith-filled core, bees can gap into that and nest into it into the next rising season.

And so we tried to do that and we really did see quite a few these stems being colonized inside the later years of the trial, which was very thrilling. And it’s merely one different means for Amsonia to contribute to the overall ecological price of your yard. It’s a great way to double-dip with these crops, as far as providing habitat, and as soon as extra, ecological price. Nevertheless that’s all it is a should to do to these crops, decrease them once more yearly and easily take pleasure in them for the remaining.

Margaret: And maybe not decrease all of them once more all one of the best ways to the underside, so that you just’re leaving a number of of those, so to speak, open, partially clipped nevertheless gap stems-

Sam: Exactly.

Margaret: … for subsequent use inside the years to return.

Sam: Exactly.

Margaret: Yeah. I did some homework, and as well as inside the report you talked about it, there’s truly not quite a few knowledge—and I’m optimistic it’s available on the market proper right here and there, but it surely absolutely’s not consolidated, like there could also be about positive species of crops—about wildlife, totally different wildlife interactions. You merely had been describing one the place stem-nesting bees may benefit from them.

Nevertheless there’s not quite a few like, “Oh, it’s the host plant for these 47 points and its pollen is utilized by this many …” It seems prefer it’s not as well-known. And maybe that’s just because … I don’t know why. Nevertheless you guys observe for interactions as properly with pollinators and totally different creatures, you do a number of of those observations as properly in your trials?

Sam: Positive, significantly a number of of our newer trials, we’re having a look at them from these two views, every the sweetness and price, which ties once more to Mt. Cuba’s mission. We have to encourage people by every. So ornamental top quality is being the sweetness, giving these crops scores on their foliage, flowers, all these points. Nevertheless then the price side of the coin there could also be most of the time we’re having a look at wildlife interaction, and most of the time we’re having a look at pollinator interaction between the numerous species and cultivars had been rising inside the trial yard.

On the time when the Amsonia had been planted at 2013, most of the focus was put onto the sweetness side of the crops. Nevertheless on the end of the trial we would have liked to take a look at pollinator interaction, try to understand if there was any underlying developments, if there have been species that had been truly visiting these crops additional so than others. So we did do some pollinator observations inside the spring, all through the bloom interval of 2023.

And over all we seen comparatively low numbers of bugs on the whole Amsonia. Just a few of them carried out properly or carried out greater than others. Nevertheless apparently, the two lowest-performing crops, so the crops that attracted the least number of bugs, had been ‘Blue Ice’ and Amsonia orientalis. We seen a single insect on every of those crops on solely sometime out of the quite a few weeks of observations that we carried out on the whole Amsonia.

Margaret: And persons are the non-U.S. ones?

Sam: Exactly. These are the non-native crops, not offering quite a few pollinator price, a minimum of for what we seen inside the trial yard. Nevertheless we did see an fascinating number of bugs. We seen bumblebees, a bunch of various native bees, long-tongued flies. We seen a snowberry clearwing moth, which I on a regular basis focus on with as a hummingbird moth. I really saw-

Margaret: They’re hilarious [laughter]. Yeah.

Sam: They’re stunning. They’re a number of of essentially the most charismatic pollinators available on the market. I on a regular basis get excited as soon as I see them. We even seen monarchs visiting a number of of those bluestars in bloom.

Nevertheless certainly one of many truly cool points we did observe on this trial was not a pollinator interaction, we really seen the caterpillars of the snowberry clearwing feeding on Amsonia crops themselves. Amsonia are host crops for quite a few species of butterflies and moths, but it surely absolutely was truly fabulous to see these crops, in cultivation, outdoor of their domestically native differ, supporting wildlife as a bunch plant. That’s very cool. After which seeing the grownup moth later in that season, feeding on these flowers, it was very, very cool.

Margaret: If you happen to occur to assemble it, they could come. Yeah.

Sam: Exactly.

Margaret: Yeah. No. Now, was your trial in full photo voltaic? Was it in photo voltaic and shade? Had been there another parts that will have affected who visited? Because of quite a few situations the place positive bugs choose to feed may be affected by the position, the conditions.

Sam: Utterly, positive. Location may very well be a important challenge on this. The Amsonia trial was borderline full photo voltaic. It was most probably correct on the sting of what we’d define as full photo voltaic, six or additional hours of photo voltaic a day. And because of that, we might have seen a lot much less bugs, nevertheless we moreover seen not the simplest present of fall color. On totally different parts of the yard the place the Amsonia had been situated in full photo voltaic, merely anecdotally, we seen rather more pollinator train and we moreover seen greater fall color. So most probably the simplest bang in your buck if you find yourself gardening with Amsonia: They can take a bit bit shade, nevertheless additional photo voltaic is finest. Probably not just for the ornamental choices of that plant, however as well as for pollinators.

One different issue we had been form of interested in is, had been we missing one factor on this pollinator-watch study? Because of we had been doing all our observations inside the day, was there one factor occurring at night that we weren’t seeing? That was-

Margaret: Like with Phlox paniculata, as an illustration, the place fairly quite a bit of-

Sam: Exactly.

Margaret: Yeah, you’ll see quite a few nighttime pollinators. Yeah. Huh.

Sam: So that’s a danger. I consider one different danger is that in that time of yr, that core season of the Amsonia bloom in mid-May, there are a variety of choices for pollinators spherical Mt. Cuba Center. I consider in some situations, when you could possibly have such an abundance of choices, there may be maybe some which may be additional useful to pollinators than others, significantly when you could possibly have such a saturated state of affairs akin to you do inside the naturalistic gardens of Mt. Cuba Center, which might be correct subsequent door to the trial yard.

So I do marvel if the Amsonia had been situated in house the place they didn’t have that richness of choices, would we now have seen additional train? Nevertheless nonetheless seen some interactions, significantly that host interaction was truly, truly thrilling, and one factor we wrote about inside the evaluation report as properly.

Margaret: I merely wanted to ask, I don’t know within the occasion that they’re used on the grounds outdoor the trial gardens or whenever you’ve ever seen them inside the wild rising with one thing. Do you could possibly have any inspirations on what you concentrate on them wanting good with or what they develop with naturally? Any ideas? Because of I’m wanting in order so as to add some additional, and I’m merely curious.

Sam: Yeah, I indicate, it form of relies upon the plant, nevertheless merely at dwelling, I try so as to add an Amsonia in just about any new yard planting that I’ve. They’re such an incredible complement. I consider that the flowers themselves … Blue is an unusual color to see in a yard, significantly that light sky blue, and it goes with completely something. I actually like having it with spring Phlox, for example, that purple goes so properly with that blue. Points like picket poppy, that yellow as properly. It’s merely such a shocking spectrum of colors. Having the Amsonia, significantly that later-season foliage and fall color can look truly excellent with native grasses.

After which a number of of those crops which may be truly small and compact, rising them in a rock yard or rising them in a container with totally different truly small detailed crops will probably be truly, truly pleasant. Speaking with a number of of the gardeners, having fun with with texture, having crops with associated texture that bloom at completely totally different situations and do varied issues, like planting Amsonia ciliata tenuifolia [below] with points like Liatris microcephala, two associated in look crops as far as foliage texture is anxious, nevertheless they do very varied issues. And it’s merely form of a extraordinarily cool play on how that plant appears, merely in foliage.

Margaret: Comparable nevertheless completely totally different.

Sam: Exactly.

Margaret: Comparable nevertheless completely totally different. Yeah, cool. Successfully, Sam, I’m on a regular basis wanting forward to your subsequent … What’s subsequent? I’m ready. I do know, I’m teasing, because you get a break.

Sam: [Laughter.] Optimistic, optimistic.

Margaret: [Laughter.] What’s subsequent? What are you studying now?

Sam: Yeah, we’re doing fairly quite a bit inside the trial yard correct now. Now we now have a gift evaluation on oakleaf hydrangeas. We’ve merely started an evaluation on ferns and on milkweeds, on tiarella. A small trial on Physostegia, and we merely planted a trial on Pycnanthemum, or the mountain mints, which I am so captivated with.

Margaret: Oh, that’s improbable. They’re good crops, yeah.

Sam: They’re improbable crops. They’re good yard crops and pollinators love them. And easily the vary of bugs we see merely anecdotally at dwelling and inside the naturalistic gardens proper right here, I can’t wait to see and truly doc that inside the trial yard going forward. It’s going to be quite a few pleasant.

Margaret: Successfully, thanks for making time proper this second, and I hope I’ll focus on to you as soon as extra rapidly. It’s been good, Sam, as on a regular basis.

Sam: Utterly. Thanks quite a bit for having me, Margaret.

(All photos from Mt. Cuba Center, used with permission.)

additional from mt. cuba coronary heart

select the podcast mannequin of the current?

MY WEEKLY public-radio current, rated a “top-5 yard podcast” by “The Guardian” newspaper inside the UK, began its 14th yr in March 2023. It’s produced at Robin Hood Radio, the smallest NPR station inside the nation. Concentrate domestically inside the Hudson Valley (NY)-Berkshires (MA)-Litchfield Hills (CT) Mondays at 8:30 AM Japanese, rerun at 8:30 Saturdays. Or play the March 4, 2024 current using the participant near the best of this transcript. You’ll subscribe to all future editions on iTunes/Apple Podcasts or Spotify (and browse my archive of podcasts proper right here).