Saturday, October 17, 2026

News and Ideas Worth Sharing

Lee Buttala

Lee Buttala is a writer and organizational consultant. He is the former Executive Director of Seed Savers Exchange, an organization dedicated to the preservation of America’s garden and farming heritage, an Emmy Award-winning television producer of Martha Stewart Living and the creator, producer and director of Cultivating Life, a PBS series on outdoor living and gardening. He has written for The New York Times, Martha Stewart Living, New York, and Metropolitan Home. As an editor, he has worked for Saveur, Garden Design and Interview, and for the book publisher Alfred A. Knopf. He also served as the preservation program manager for the Garden Conservancy and has studied garden design at Kyoto University of Art and Design, the English Gardening School at London’s Chelsea Physic Garden and the New York Botanical Garden. He is the author and editor of the books Cultivating Life: A Guide to Outdoor Living and The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Seed Saving. You can also follow him on Instagram (https://www.igcol.com/user/leebuttala)

written articles

THE SELF-TAUGHT GARDENER: Manhattan’s new island oasis

Little Island, New York City's newest public space, from a gardener's point of view. See what our Self-Taught Gardener Lee Buttala learned there.

THE SELF-TAUGHT GARDENER: Stumped and benched

Uh, oh. Our Self-Taught Gardener Lee Buttala has fallen prey to "productivity malaise," and he's determined to win out over it. Here's what he's doing.

THE SELF-TAUGHT GARDENER: Cut gems

In the past few years, local flowers have become, like local food, prized not only for their freshness, but for their sustainability, and flower farms have blossomed around the country.

THE SELF-TAUGHT GARDENER: Spring fever

There are few bulbs that make us swoon (and sign up in advance to view them) as much as tulips and daffodils.

The Self-Taught Gardener: Spring snow, or a line in the sand?

On the eve of a talk at Berkshire Botanical Garden by garden writer and designer Ellen Ecker Ogden, our self-taught gardener shares his insights into Ellen’s approach to garden design and how it is influenced by her study as an artist.

THE SELF-TAUGHT GARDENER: How does your garden grow?

How do you garden? As a Stoic or an Epicurean? Our Self-Taught Gardener prefers a little of each.

The Self-Taught Gardener: Evaluating candidates and projecting winners

Just when we thought we were done with elections, Lee Buttala is preparing a new slate of candidates...this time for places in his garden.

The Self-Taught Gardener: Local harvest

Does asparagus belong on the Thanksgiving table? Our Self-Taught Gardener Lee Buttala has strong opinions.

The Self-Taught Gardener: Backyard habitats

Lee Buttala brings us up to date on the new thinking about fall cleanup. Read this before you start raking those leaves.

The Self-Taught Gardener: Sunday Bunday, or the cinnamon tree

A young man in Sheffield is helping to reforest the planet, one cinnamon bun at a time.

The Self-Taught Gardener: Second Chances

What plants can overwinter indoors, and when do you take them in? Our Self-Taught Gardener Lee Buttala shares some wisdom.

The Self-Taught Gardener: Summer sowing

Our Self-Taught Gardener applies for an absentee ballot and sows seeds that can grow up to November, hoping that both will produce the desired results.

The Self-Taught Gardener: Pining for privacy

Why is an experienced gardener like Lee Buttala intimidated by evergreen conifers? He discovers he is not alone.

The Self-Taught Gardener: Solace in the garden

Yes, the Berkshire Botanical Garden may offer much needed outdoor solace, but its new Director of Horticulture is livening things up.

The Self-Taught Gardener: The procrastinating vegetable gardener

Beware, impatient gardeners. If you garden like Thomas Jefferson, you just might lose the farm! Here's better advice from our Self-Taught Gardener.

The Self-Taught Gardener: Learning to adapt

In a duel with the coronavirus, years of gardening have taught our Self-Taught Gardener that we will lose. But there is a better option.
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