New host announced for popular ‘Oklahoma Gardening’ program
Monday, November 23, 2015
Casey Hentges has always loved gardening, but what she did not know all those years ago was that passion would land her in front of the television camera hosting the longest-running gardening show on television.
Hentges will take over the hosting duties of “Oklahoma Gardening” when the show resumes new programming in February 2016. In the meantime, she will be busy planning what viewers will be seeing following the show’s winter hiatus.
“I’m really excited about this opportunity and being able to share my horticulture passion with people,” Hentges said. “My past horticulture experiences have helped me foster an interaction between plants and people and I can’t wait to do that on a larger scale.”
She said she plans to draw on all of her previous horticultural work experiences as the host of “Oklahoma Gardening” and will do her best to maintain the integrity and accuracy of the show. Hentges is the 11th host in the show’s long and storied history.
“One of my goals is to highlight unique flowers and plants we have in our state, as well as showcase the beauty and challenges gardeners face due to our diverse climate and growing conditions,” she said. “All gardeners have a story and I’m looking forward to learning even more about gardening, right along with our viewers.”
Hentges earned her bachelor’s degree in horticulture at OSU and her master’s degree in public horticulture management at the University of Delaware in the Longwood Graduate Program.
As an active member of 4-H and FFA in her youth, many of her club activities involved horticulture. And it was then she knew she wanted to pursue a career in horticulture.
Hentges was the director of horticulture at the Myriad Botanical Gardens in Oklahoma City prior to her new role with “Oklahoma Gardening.” She also worked for ValleyCrest Landscaping Companies, where she was responsible for the management of the landscape at the Gaylord Texan Resort and Convention Center. In addition, she served as the Canadian County horticulture/4-H youth development educator for the OSU Cooperative Extension for five years.
Oklahoma Gardening airs every Saturday morning at 11 a.m. and at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday afternoons on local OETA channels. Be sure to check out the show’s website at www.oklahomagardening.okstate.edu for video clips of the program, links to gardening resources, a link to recipes featured on the show and much more. The new season will kick off Feb. 13, 2016.
“Oklahoma Gardening” is produced at The Botanic Garden at OSU located west of Stillwater on the north side of Highway 51. Other collaborators include OSU Cooperative Extension, OSU’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, Agricultural Communications Services and OSU’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.