About Michael

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Michael Weishan first began gardening at the age of five. Originally intending to follow his grandfather into the State Department (hence his Harvard training in Classics and Romance Languages), Michael ultimately chose to pursue a different path – combining avocation with vocation in the field of landscape design.

After founding his own design/build firm Michael Weishan & Associates in 1986 – a practice he still actively heads – Michael began to share his gardening expertise through writing, first in his own quarterly newsletter, Traditional Gardening, and then for Old House Journal. From there, Michael went on to publish his first book, The New Traditional Garden, (Ballantine 1999) which has been widely credited with introducing the joys of old-house gardening to North America. A contributor to numerous national magazines and periodicals over the last decade, Michael is the former Gardening Editor of both Country Living and New Old House magazines. He has authored two other books: From a Victorian Garden (Viking 2004), and the Victory Garden Companion, published by HarperCollins in 2006.

In the field of electronic media, Michael is a veteran of National Public Radio where he hosted his own program, The Cultivated Gardener for several years before he debuted as the host of The Victory Garden on PBS in 2001. There he shared his design tips, expert advice, and trademark sense of humor with gardeners of all levels for six years. Michael has appeared frequently on various other national programs as well, including spots on the CBS Early Show, and NBC's Today Show.

Michael lives west of Boston in an 1852 farmhouse surrounded by three acres of gardens, pastures and woodland.