'This Is a Gardening Show' and 4 More Shows to Watch for Earth Day

Earth Day honors our planet and the effort to teach the public about conservation and how we can all better protect the one place in the universe we call home. Much of the conversation centers around sustainability, the drain on our resources in the age of AI, and the rollback of green initiatives in the U.S.

But if you’re looking for a way to recharge and relax your nervous system after a day of spreading awareness, let a TV series about gardening help you tap into what this holiday is also about—learning how to cherish our planet while benefiting from the fruit of its soil and connecting to nature.

Below, you’ll find a list of programs available on streaming, including Zach Galifianakis’ new Netflix series, that are wholesome, warm, and remind viewers that there are farmers growing food with our health in mind. They’re educators looking to pass on their knowledge and help people feed themselves if they’re willing to get their hands dirty and have the means to care for a plot of land.

This list also features gardeners who find purpose in growing flowers and different species of plants for the sake of their beauty and the memories they capture for those who grew up around them. Our planet is wondrous, and these shows highlight all that it offers us in fun and surprising ways.

Happy Earth Day!

1. This Is a Gardening Show
2. Grow Cook Eat
3. The Garden Chronicles
4. Homegrown
5. Growing Floret

This Is a Gardening Show

Streamer: Netflix

Seasons: 1

Zach Galifianakis’ This Is a Gardening Show is likely the most comedic dip into gardening education that you’re going to get. Chock full of his questions for local farmers, novice growers, and children willing to indulge his silliness, the series provides insight into how to take your own step toward growing produce. 

Galifianakis highlights the serious need for nutritional food options in a market dominated by ultra-processed foods and makes it inviting for all to learn about. Gardening is hard work, but it can be rewarding. What keeps people from starting is often a lack of education or knowledge on where to begin, and the actor/comedian’s series is helping to fill that gap in edutainment.

Grow Cook Eat

Streamer: Prime Video

Seasons: 3

Set in Ireland, Grow Cook Eat is hosted by Michael Kelly and Karen O’Donahue. Each episode focuses on a specific vegetable—and in one case a fruit (strawberries) in the third season—and how to grow it. 

The series is educational, teaching viewers about the sustainability in Irish communities, ways to do your part, and community efforts to protect the environment. As the title notes, cooking is a part of this model. A recipe prepared by a chef is a feature of the episodes, giving the show’s audience inspiration for what they can make with the vegetables they grow or purchase.

The Garden Chronicles

Streamer: HBO Max

Seasons: 1

With a season that spans less than 90 minutes, The Garden Chronicles can be enjoyed with bite-sized episodes (the longest are 11 minutes) that spotlight gardens like Blithewold and Sleepy Cat Farm. Every garden featured is on the East Coast, with a few accessible to the public if the viewer wishes to visit.

The gardeners and the horticulturists who tend to these beautiful spaces bring the audience with them as they care for the plants and structures on the estates they’re located on. These experts, and a few volunteers who share their experiences assisting them, provide history about the gardens, the species of plants being grown, and the people who first cultivated the grounds.

Homegrown

Streamer: HBO Max

Seasons: 4

Jamila Norman, owner of Patchwork City Farms, is an Atlanta-based urban farmer who grows organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs on 1.2 acres of land in the city. What began as a way of ensuring her sons had healthy food options became a business that’s community-focused. 

In Homegrown, Norman helps Atlantans interested in growing their own food, but she goes beyond consulting and providing her expert advice. She’s there for every step of the process from renovating their gardens to giving their plants what they need to thrive. This includes sustainable methods like goatscaping and introducing clients to other local farmers.

Growing Floret

Streamer: HBO Max

Seasons: 2

Growing Floret is an Emmy-nominated docuseries about Erin and Chris Benzakein’s journey to successfully grow their flower farm in Washington state from two acres to 20. For decades, Erin wanted to expand their business, and now that they have the capital and the means to do so, the reality of her dream is starting to settle in. 

The first season centers on a soil issue in a new plot that could undermine their effort to produce the crop they need to support their business expansion. Floret Farm doesn’t sell flowers;  instead their product is the seeds that come from the blooms they grow. Erin wants to ensure that there are more flowers in the world to be enjoyed and breeds her own varieties, dubbed Floret originals, to make this possible.

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