For four decades, Martha Stewart has been an emblem of all things homemaking. From her elaborate spreads of food to her revered home decor tips, she has built her home and lifestyle expertise into a sprawling media empire.
At 83, she just published her 101st book, Martha Stewart's Gardening Handbook: The Essential Guide to Designing, Planting, and Growing. In the book, Stewart shares advice on topics such as growing produce and arranging flowers. Along with her practical tips, she also opens up about the importance of gardening in her life — which she says is a source of both immediate and long-term gratification.
Stewart spoke with NPR Morning Edition host Michel Martin about how she came to love gardening, tips for beginners and the blooms she's looking forward to this spring.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Interview highlights
Michel Martin: So I saw someplace that you started gardening with your father when you were three years old.
Martha Stewart: It might have been earlier than three.
Martin: Did you always like it?
Stewart: Oh, yes, of course. It was being outdoors. We had a fifth of an acre behind a very modest two-story house with three bedrooms and ultimately six children, one bathroom. And the garden was my refuge.
Martin: So this isn't your first book on gardening? I think your first one was in 1991, but I think this is the first one in a while. What does this one do that the others don't?
Stewart: Well, this is a very good handbook. My first gardening book was a very inspirational book about my Turkey Hill Garden in Westport, Conn. And that went chapter by chapter, month by month. And this one is good for all year long. It's good for the beginner. It's good for the established gardener. It is a very thorough book dealing in all the things one has to know about gardening.
Martin: The book is big on design. You say "choose the use." What does that mean?
Stewart: Well, what do you really want to do in your yard? My place is a haven for wild birds. And I also love to grow trees and shrubs. So I've been planting thousands of trees and I grow them from scratch. The book takes you through all these ways of developing a property, and you can make lots of mistakes and then you can remedy the mistakes. The book goes through that, too, of, you know, just don't be afraid. If you've done something wrong, you can change it because a garden is not ephemeral, a garden is long-lasting, and you can change and alter and redesign and replant, move things. It's not like a house, once you place your house, it's there. But a garden can evolve. And I love that about gardening.
Martin: You talk a lot in the book about being water wise, water conservation and also planting species that are native to the region where you are: "right plant, right place" is what is what you say. Can you talk a little bit about that?
Stewart: Well, there's a huge trend about native plants and what are natives? Plants that grow naturally in an environment, plants that are not imported from foreign lands, nothing that's too invasive. So you have to choose what you like, first of all. If you like oak trees, plant oak trees — even if they're not really common in your neighborhood. If you like maple trees because you like the fall color of maple trees, the change of season — then plant maple trees. I have a whole maple woodland. My youngest sister passed away, but her favorite plant was maple trees. So I planted, like, a ten-acre woodland with all kinds of maple trees, native northeastern kind of maples, as well as a lot of Japanese maples.
Martin: And does that make you think of her when you walk among them?
Stewart: Well, we call it Laura's woodland. And her children and her grandchildren come to see Laura's maple woodland. And, you know, we miss her, but we have her garden right around us.
Martin: You mentioned that you belong to some garden clubs, I have to be honest. Aren't people intimidated to be in a garden club with you? I mean, come on.
Stewart: Well, no, I had to work to get into a garden club.
Martin: Really?
Stewart: I don't want to embarrass my garden clubs too much, but they never invited me. I had my house in Maine for 20 something years and I was never invited. Even though I let people come for garden tours to see my gardens, I was never invited to the garden club.
Martin: What was that about?
Stewart: Well, who knows? Finally, they asked me for a garden tour and I said, You know, I'd love to belong to the garden club. And so then I got an invitation. I think it's less about being intimidated by me, just thinking maybe Martha doesn't have time to be a member of the garden club. You know, it takes a lot of work to be a member.
Martin: Well, but they should have asked you. I mean, let you decide if you want to be in it.
Stewart: Well, of course they should've. But I'm not "you know what" about it. I just — it kind of hurt my feelings that I wasn't considered one of the girls. I wanted to be one of the girls of town. You know, they all belong to the garden club.
Martin: Okay. But is it competitive?
Stewart: Oh, not necessarily.
Martin: 'Cause like, one of the things I like about gardening is it's not competitive. Like, I'm just trying to, like, get my flowers and fruit.
Stewart: You don't have to show off your plants. I would win lots of blue ribbons if I put my plants in. But I don't do the shows so much because, first of all, I don't have time. But I love to go to the shows and see what people are doing.
Martin: Also, because you do want to blow people away, I mean, come on, you can tell. You just don't want to, like, take all the prizes.
Stewart: Oh, no, that's not true. I would love to take all the prizes. But I think gardening is such a joy.
Martin: Yes. You know, a lot of people became gardening fans during the pandemic. Are there some common pitfalls for beginning gardeners that you can help us avoid?
Stewart: Yes. Know how big plants grow and what their growing habits are.
Martin: Okay. Here's where I'm going to tell on myself. Can I ask you about my pet peeve? Squirrels, OMG.
Stewart: That's rule number two. Get a dog.
Martin: Really? It's the dog. That's the key.
Stewart: They chase the squirrels away from everything. It's so funny.
Martin: So before we let you go, are you doing anything special for the spring? Anything you're particularly excited about planting this spring?
Stewart: Oh, you should see what we just did in Bedford. I hope my neighbors don't hate me. We have, like, half a mile of road frontage outside on my wall. And Bedford is known for its messy roadsides. So I've cleaned mine perfectly, put my new compost all over it, planted, don't choke, but about 80 or 85,000 little bulbs like little grape hyacinths and crocus and scilla and all kinds of really beautiful little bulbs.
Martin: Well, why would your neighbors hate you for that?
Stewart: Well, wait 'till when they see it, then they're all going to be embarrassed that they haven't done that to their yard. Gardening is very competitive. My friends are all intense gardeners.
Martin: Do you throw shade at each other, though? Do you give, like, snippy comments?
Stewart: Of course. We try to make each other feel envious of the others. And it's so much fun because there should be no envy at all in gardening. We should be so pleased that other people are doing it.
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