| Meet WNOX's Garden Girls |
| Written by Wendy W. Jackson | |||||
| Thursday, 01 May 2008 | |||||
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It may surprise many of you to learn that Sue is actually the Dr. Sue Hamilton of the University of Tennessee. She has a national reputation as a leader in public horticulture education and research. Her area of specialization is herbaceous ornamental plants and people-plant relationships. She is the chief faculty member managing UT's undergraduate and graduate programs in public horticulture. Sue is also the Director of the UT Gardens. Through her hard work, dedication and expertise, Dr. Hamilton has made the UT Gardens a gem that draws thousands of visitors a year from East Tennessee, the southeast and the nation. Sue's gardening buddy and radio partner is Beth Babbit. Beth joined the University of Tennessee in June 2003. She is the Urban Horticulture Extension Specialist and State Master Gardener Coordinator. Beth was the former Extension Agent and Area Horticulture Specialist for The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. Beth received her Bachelors of Science degree at Auburn University in Horticulture Ornamental Production and Landscape Design in June 1997. She received her Masters of Science, Ornamental Horticulture at Auburn in March of 2000. Both of these women are busy professionals, yet being Garden Girls is a priority to them and something they enjoy. "I was first approached about a show by Mitzi Rouse who was a sales representative for WNOX," informed Sue. "She's the one that should be credited with getting our show out to the public. Mitzi is an avid gardener and she felt the radio station needed a garden show. Mitzi got in touch with me and we talked about it and brainstormed with WNOX on what we could do for a show. To tell you the truth, I was a bit overwhelmed. Horticulture and gardening is a wide open field and everybody has their own specialty or area of expertise. It's a tall order to really know your stuff. I told the station that I thought it would be great if there were two of us on the show. That way we could discuss and talk back and forth and it would be entertaining for the folks. I approached Beth about it and she agreed to come on board with me. Beth is a great overall horticulturist and I knew between the two of us we could cover the basics."
"Another reason the show really appeals to me," continued Sue, "is, as the Director of UT Gardens and being in the horticulture program at UT, the show not only promotes the Gardens, but it is a place where we can bring in students who will be pursuing a career in gardening and give them the opportunity to be on the radio. I don't know anywhere else in the US that this outlet is available for students at a university. So, over the years, we have had various students come on and present the plant of the week. That is how Andy Pulte came to be with the show." You can't talk about The Garden Girls without mentioning Andy Pulte. Andy is the show's host and he is also the webmaster for the show's website. "Andy came on about three years ago and he is a natural," stated Sue. "He is an Internationally Certified Arborist and he has a wonderful background in horticulture. He brings a lot of expertise to the show and we couldn't do it without him. I know as he eventually moves on that he is going to have his own show one day. Big things are in store for him. Everyone loves Andy. He knows his stuff." As the radio show has grown the area's green industry has gotten behind The Garden Girls. This year's lead sponsor is Pope's Greenhouse. The show has already had a couple of remotes from Popes this year and another one is scheduled sometime in June. "It's hard to believe we have been doing this over four years," said Sue. "We're going to continue doing this as long as it's fun for everyone. Every single weekend when the show is over I have a sense of really having done something for the community. People are really listening and responding to what we are doing." The Garden Girls radio show is broadcast every Saturday at 2:00 pm Eastern time on 100.3 WNOX. The show can be heard in Eastern Tennessee and Southern Kentucky. To speak with the Garden Girls and the rest of the crew about your gardening questions live and on the air, you may call toll free 1 (800) 951-TALK, or star 100 for all AT&T customers.           
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Who has the greenest thumbs in Knoxville? It's a tie between Sue Hamilton and Beth Babbit. Sue and Beth are known by many as the "Garden Girls" - a name given to them when they began their weekly radio talk and call in show on WNOX, rightfully titled The Garden Girls. So, just who are these media stars and how did they end up entertaining and educating listeners on garden topics?
"January marked our fourth year doing The Garden Girls," said Beth. "It's so much fun. We average about 15-20 callers per two hour show. We learn so much from our callers and we even request that people call in to help us answer some of the public's questions. We also like to tell the listeners about what is going on in the gardening community. We keep them updated on the latest plant sales, events and things we know they'd be interested in hearing."
