It's dawn on a Sunday morning in July, and San Antonio radio host Bob Webster is already discussing bugs, root rot, Labrador glory and being with his visitors from his Boere ranch. Diego is currently online and concerned about his sago palm which is showing signs of stress after its owner returned from a two week vacation. Various remedies have been unsuccessful and Diego needs Webster's advice. After a series of intense and increasingly somber questions, Webster announced the verdict. The crown of the tree, where the roots meet the trunk, is dying and action needs to be taken quickly. But Diego is undaunted: a piece of the contaminated area and a fertilizer called SuperThrive, and Webster predicts that Diego's sago palm will be given new life. "It's for Rita now!" Hello Rita! "
Over the course of three hours, Webster offers gardening tips to KTSA listeners across the state. A series of characters parade on the phone line: Linda de Boerne, who wants to know how to keep rabbits out of her garden ("with a big dog," jokes Webster), Dan de Devine, who has news of a plague. ... he is at his grocery store. Use the control tip and call Pat di Seguin to ask Bob what other honey he recommended for allergies? (It's Tupelo.) There are numerous greetings, several funny jokes and a missed call or two. And that since 1991.
The Garden Show, as it was originally called, grew out of Webster's landscaping class at Trinity University. When Charles Kilpatrick, longtime editor of the San Antonio Express-News , learned of the unique lesson, he persuaded Webster to write a weekly column, which became so popular that it attracted the attention of radio stations. The biweekly show, now called South Texas Gardening with Bob Webster , is consistently number one in its time slot. Webster fostered an organic approach to gardening that grew out of summers spent working in his grandparents' flower shop outside of Dallas. There he helped grow tomatoes and cut flowers, eventually finding that they flourished best when natural pest control methods were used and the soil was enriched with chemical-free fertilizers and plant waste compost. After college at SMU, where he earned a bachelor's degree in research biology, Webster met many of his mentors, including Dallas agronomist and gardener Howard Garrett and the late "Compost King" Malcolm Beck. These early years shaped his gardening philosophy. "It is not true at all when people say that natural landscaping methods are not as effective as chemical methods. On the contrary. I try to incorporate that into my work,” he told me.
In the mid-1980s, Webster wrote a book, spoke nationally, and opened an organic daycare in San Antonio with his business partner, Roberta Church, in Shades of Green. A sublime oasis near the airport, Shades of Green serves as a relief from the stresses of city life and a valuable resource for local residents. The annual staff acts as a mini-Webster, advising customers who often bring photos of sick factories. When Webster shows up, arguing with a lemon tree or cutting down plumbago, clients tell me it's hard to break his intense focus. Patron Elizabeth says that while she knows she doesn't mind when he interrupts her with a question ("why is she so nice"), the radio show is where she gets most of her advice.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Shades of Green offered free seminars on topics such as vegetable growing and composting, which were so popular that they quickly sold out and filled the parking lot with cars. Seminars have not yet resumed, but sales in nurseries are growing. "We used to see customers mostly in their 50s and 60s, but now they're in their teens and 20s. It's been a big change. Really surprising," Webster told me one recent afternoon. "These young people, they read, are interested. You go in knowing the terminology of the plant. They look for houseplants because they know that having a plant in the house can increase oxygen levels. Research on the consumption habits of Millennials and Generation X confirms this. A 2020 report from predictive analytics firm First Insight found that 73% of Z consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable and organic products, and a June survey by the giant McKinsey & Company found that millennials during the pandemic gives special attention to healthy products. . In the kindergarten, I ask Jack, a 22-year-old high school student who is waiting to buy a cactus because he is visiting Shades of Green. The seedlings are of good quality, so I don't mind if it costs a little more". Lorraine, a shopper in her thirties, browses through the containers of seasonal vegetables from a friend in town and decides that a trip to the nursery is worth it. of New Braunfels. So comfortable," he sighed.
The radio show may seem boring or even clumsy compared to Shades of Green, but the cast of characters still makes it fun, green thumbs or not. Frequent phone users sometimes earn funny nicknames like "Chicken Joe" or "Fred Fresco". Friends are made over the air. I listened to Webster's radio show for hours and the rhythmic tenor of his voice lulled me into a kind of trance while I was cutting flowers or pulling weeds. After I'm past retirement age, I'm easily mocked by my friends (who still appreciate all my advice on the cleansing powers of orange oil). But like many millennials, I see the importance of organic as fundamental to the future of our world. For other audiences, Webster's appeal is simpler. My aunt, who visits the exhibition regularly, compares it to a book club or a religious group. "We share things and you know the people. Listening is like meeting family. As proof, he cites Linda de Seguin, who has since retired from teaching and only heard about it last week. I suspect the show's appeal may be deeper, as he admits, "Really, I listen to the company."
Asked about the slowdown, Webster, 73, said he takes a few days off here and there and maybe travels a little less for his lessons. But a life dedicated to teaching and preserving the Texas landscape doesn't lend itself to retirement. And while Shades of Green has "no plans" to close, Churchin and Webster plan to continue teaching long after they're gone: Shades of Green will eventually become a public garden. It's all part of a lifelong learning that began a few years ago in a Dallas flower shop. "My grandfather taught me that work can be fun. When it's no longer fun, I stop working". Somehow I doubt it will ever be.
