>> HEY, IT'S NEXT UP.

WENDY WIESE, ALVIN REID.

HONE -- HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PREVIOUS SHOW.

WE SURE DID.

WE'RE JOINED BY DR. PETER WYSE JACKSON THIS EVENING.

HE'S PRESIDENT OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDENS AND A LOVELY SPRING DAY, I CAN HEAR THE THINGS IN MY BACKYARD JUST GROWING AND GETTING READY TO TAKE OVER.

DR. JACKSON, I WANT TO START OUT WITH KIND OF A SERIOUS QUESTION FOR YOU.

FOUR-LEAF CLOVERS, ARE THEY REALLY THAT RARE?

ARE WE TALKING ONE IN 100, ONE IN A THOUSAND, ONE IN 10,000?

I'VE ALWAYS WONDERED.

ON THIS ST. PATRICK'S DAY, LET'S START OFF WITH THAT ONE.

>> WHAT I CAN DO IS DUCK THAT QUESTION BECAUSE FOUR-LEAVES HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH ST. PATRICK'S DAY.

THE SHAMROCK HAS TO HAVE THREE LEAFLETS BECAUSE IT REPRESENTS THE HOLY TRINITY.

SO IF YOU PUT A FOURTH ONE INTO THE MIX, I DON'T KNOW WHERE THAT IF FITS IN.

POSSIBLY THAT ACCOUNTS FOR ST. PATRICK.

YOU DO FIND FOUR-LEAF CLOVERS QUITE COMMONLY, BUT I THIS ALSO THINK WHEN I SEE IT IN CONNECTION WITH ST. PATRICK'S DAY, IT'S ABSOLUTELY THE WRONG THING TO HAVE THERE.

>> ALL RIGHT, I'LL PASS THAT ON.

>> AND WE HAVE ALSO LEARNED, DR. WYSE JACKSON, THAT THERE WERE NO SNAKES IN IRELAND FOR ST. PATRICK TO DRIVER OUT.

IS THAT TRUE?

YOU WOULD KNOW BETTER THAN ANYBODY ELSE.

>> WELL, WENDY, WHEN ALL THE ICE MELTED AFTER THE ICE AGE, IRELAND GOT PRETTY MUCH CUT OFF FROM MAINLAND EUROPE BEFORE THE SNAKES MANAGED TO GET THERE.

THEY SLITHERED THEIR WAY UP THROUGH NORTHERN EUROPE AND GOT AS FAR AS BRITAIN, BUT NEVER MADE IT INTO IRELAND.

SO -- BUT MAYBE ST. PATRICK BANISHED THEM, WHO KNOWS?

>> WE BELIEVE.

BUT THERE'S ALSO -- AND BEFORE WE GET INTO THE PROGRAM, WE DID WANT TO ASK YOU, THERE IS A REALLY INTERESTING CONNECTION BETWEEN YOU AND THIS PROGRAM, CORRECT?

DONNYBROOK.

>> WELL, YES INDEED.

OF COURSE, I WATCH DONNYBROOK RELIGIOUSLY EVERY WEEK, BUT I USED TO LIVE IN DONNYBROOK.

>> WOW.

>> AND AS I KNOW YOU KNOW, IT'S A WONDERFUL WORD, DONNYBROOK.

IT MEANS A FREE-FOR-ALL, A BRAWL, AND WAS NAMED AFTER THE DONNYBROOK FAIR, WHICH IS A -- NOW A VERY FASHIONABLE SUBURB OF DUBLIN, BUT WAS VERY NOTORIOUS FOR SEVERAL CENTURIES FOR HAVING A REALLY WILD FAIR WHERE THERE WAS LOTS OF DRINKING AND LOTS OF FIGHTING, AND IT WAS SO BAD THAT IN 1855 OR THEREABOUTS, IT WAS BANNED.

BUT THE NAME LIVED ON AS BEING REALLY A FREE-FOR-ALL.

>> THE TOWN ENDURED.

DID THEY MAKE RAY HARTMANN LIVE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF TOWN?

WAS THAT SOMETHING THEY HAD TO DO IN DONNYBROOK, IRELAND, AS WELL?

>> WELL, I MUST SAY, THE DONNYBROOK -- PBS DONNYBROOK IS VERY MUCH MORE CIVILIZED THAN THAT DONNYBROOK THERE EVER WAS.

>> WOW, THAT'S SAYING QUITE A LOT.

>> ALL RIGHT.

WELL, DR. JACKSON, WE HAVE A DONNYBROOK IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA RIGHT NOW WITH REGARD TO CLIMATE CONTROL AND WHAT WE'RE DOING TO OUR PLANET.

IN YOUR JOB AND WHAT YOU SEE, YOU COULD PROBABLY RECITE CHAPTER AND VERSE EXACTLY WHY WE'RE DAMAGING OUR PLANT LIFE.

IF YOU HAD TO BE SUCCINCT AND JUST TRY TO EXPLAIN IT TO THOSE WHO DON'T BELIEVE IN, LIKE 100 WORDS OR LESS, WHAT WOULD YOU SAY?

>> WE TAKE PLANTS FOR GRANTED.

WE DON'T KNOW -- MANY PEOPLE DON'T KNOW THAT THERE ARE 400,000 DIFFERENT PLANT SPECIES ON THE PLANET AND ABOUT A THIRD OF THEM ARE CURRENTLY IN DANGER OF EXTINCTION BECAUSE WE ARE DESTROYING THEIR HABITAT.

THEY'RE BEING LOST AS A RESULT OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND INVASIVE SPECIES AND SO ON.

WE TAKE THEM FOR GRANTED WHEN WE FORGET THAT ALL LIFE RELIES ON SOME.

THERE WOULD BE NO LIFE ON THE PLANET IF WE DIDN'T HAVE OUR PLANTS.

WHEN YOU THINK THERE ARE 101 USES FOR THEM, A THOUSAND AND ONE USES FOR FOOD, FOR MEDICINE, FOR FIBERS, FOR TIMBER, FOR THE BASIS OF ALTER REST TRAL HAD BEEN -- OF ALL TERRESTRIAL HABITAT.

>> CAN YOU TALK ABOUT A FEW MORE USES THAT THOSE OF US WHO ARE NOT SPECIALISTS DON'T KNOW ABOUT WHEN IT COMES TO PLANTS AND THEIR IMPORTANCE TO US?

>> IF YOU THINK ABOUT PLANTS FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES, WHEN YOU GO TO MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD, IF YOU GO TO CHINA, TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINES USE 13,000 DIFFERENT PLANT SPECIES.

INDIA USES ABOUT 8,000 DIFFERENT PLANT SPECIES IN AYURVEDIC TRADITIONAL MEDICINES.

BUT EVEN WE USE SO MANY MEDICINES FOR MODERN PURPOSES THAT ARE ACTUALLY DERIVED FROM PLANTS.

ONE OF THE GREAT -- THE GREAT TREATMENTS FOR CANCER IS THE USE OF TAXOL AND THAT IS -- THAT WAS EXTRACTED FROM PACIFIC YEW TREES.

AND ONLY IN 1983 DID THEY START TO DO CLINICAL TRIALS.

AND WHERE WOULD WE BE WITHOUT HAVING TAXOL FOR THE EFFECTIVE TREATMENT OF SO MANY CANCERS?

>> DR. WYSE JACKSON, ARE WE JOINING TO SEE IN ANY AREAS A DETERIORATION THAT IS NOTICEABLE WHEN IT COMES TO THE PLANT WORLD AND CLIMATE CHANGE?

>> OH, WE ARE, YES.

AND IT'S A COMPLEX -- IT'S A COMPLEX SERIES OF REASONS BECAUSE IN SOME CASES, THE PLANTS ARE BEING EYE -- BEING ATTACKED BY INVASIVE SPECIES THAT ARE SPREADING BECAUSE THE CLIMATE IS CLANGING.

WE'RE LOSING POLLINATORS WHO MAY BE ADAPTED TO A SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT CLIMATE.

WE'RE SEEING SOME PERHAPS UNABLE TO REPRODUCE SUCCESSFULLY.

WE'RE SEEING DIFFERENT CHANGES IN TERMS OF THE WARMER SUMMERS AND COLDER WINTERS, AND SO IT'S -- THE RESPONSE OF PLANTS TO CLIMATE CHANGE IS A REALLY COMPLEX AREA THAT IS NOW REALLY AN IMPORTANT AREA FOR RESEARCH IN SO MANY BOTANICAL INSTITUTIONS, INCLUDING THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN.

>> AND DR. JACKSON, OF THOSE THIRD PLANT SPECIES THAT ARE ENDANGERED AS YOU SAID WORLDWIDE, I'M SURE THAT YOU HAVE SOME OF THEM THERE ON YOUR SITE AND DOES THAT FRIGHTEN YOU SOMETIMES WHERE YOU THINK TO YOURSELF THAT A DAY COULD COME WHERE THE ONLY PLACE YOU WILL SEE THIS PLANT IS IN SOME PLACE LIKE THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN?

ONE, IT'S SAD, BUT IS IT KIND OF FRIGHTENING TO YOU?

>> IT IS, AND THE WORRY IS THAT THERE WILL BE SO MANY SPECIES THAT WILL DISAPPEAR INTO EXTINCTION WITHOUT EVEN BEING IN A BOTANICAL GARDEN.

WE HAVE ABOUT 17 1/2 THOUSAND DIFFERENT PLANT SPECIES AND VARIETIES IN THE LIVING COLLECTIONS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN TODAY, AND OF THOSE, 1500 OF THEM ARE RARE OR ENDANGERED IN THE WORLD AND ARE PART OF OUR CONSERVATION CONNECTIONS.

I WAS JUST LOOKING AT ONE OF THEM TODAY, WHICH IS POSSIBLY THE RAREST PLANT IN THE WORLD.

THERE WAS, UNTIL RECENTLY, ONE SEEDLING OF THE SPECIES LEFT, AND WE HAVE SOME FOUND ONLY ON THE LITTLE PACIFIC ISLAND OF PITCAIRN WHERE IT WAS -- IT HAD ALMOST COMPLETELY BEEN ERADICATED AND HAS BEEN PROPAGATED FROM SEED, AND WE HAVE TWO YOUNG PLANTS OF IT NOW GROWING IN THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN.

THEY WILL GO ON DISPLAY IN THE CLIMATRON BEFORE TOO LONG.

AND THERE ARE FAR TOO MANY STORIES LIKE THAT OF PLANTS ON THE EDGE, BUT IT DOES HEARTEN ME THAT BOTANICAL GARDENS AROUND THE WORLD SO TAKEN ON THE PRIMARY TASK THAT THERE IS NO REASON WHY ANY SPECIES SHOULD DISAPPEAR ENTIRELY IF BOTANICAL GARDENS ARE DOING THEIR JOB PROPERLY.

>> YOU SURPRISED ME.

I THOUGHT YOUR NEXT WORDS WOULD BE YOU ALL WILL NEVER SEE THEM, THEY'RE TOO ENDANGERED, BUT THAT'S WONDERFUL.

I GUESS THAT'S WHAT YOU'RE THERE FOR KIND OF IS FOR US TO SEE THINGS THAT ARE NOT ONLY DISAPPEARING, BUT WHICH WE DON'T SEE ALL THE TIME.

I WOULD IMAGINE OF THE VISITORS YOU GET, MAYBE UNLIKE THE ZOO OR THE ARCH OR SOME OF THE OTHER ST. LOUIS ATTRACTIONS, PEOPLE STILL GET TO THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN AND SAY THIS IS REALLY COOL, THERE'S A LOT HERE.

I BET YOU STILL GET THERE, ESPECIALLY FROM YOUNGER PEOPLE.

>> WE DO, FROM ALL AGES, BECAUSE IT IS -- THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN IS ONE OF THE WORLD'S LEADING BOTANICAL GARDENS.

IT IS -- IT'S AN EXTRAORDINARY INSTITUTION, AND REALLY HAS PROVIDED A MODEL FOR SO MUCH WORK IN BOTANIC GARDENS AROUND THE WORLD, AND WE REALLY WANT TO SHARE OUR MISSION TO SAVE PLANTS AND MAKE PEOPLE AWARE OF THEIR IMPORTANCE WITH THE -- WITH ALL OF THE MULTITUDE OF PEOPLE WHO COME TO THE GARDEN.

NOT ONLY JUST TO ENJOY THE BEAUTY OF THE GARDEN, BUT TO APPRECIATE HOW PLANTS ARE WHAT MAKE US.

>> THIS IS SUCH AN IMPORTANT DISCUSSION TO BE HAVING WITH YOU IN TERMS OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN, BUT AS AN IRISHMAN ON ST. PATRICK'S DAY, THERE IS A PRECONCEIVED NOTION, CULTURAL, WHETHER -- I DON'T KNOW WHETHER IT'S ACCURATE OR NOT, BUT THAT THE IRISH DO HAVE THIS INCREDIBLE LOVE FOR THE LAND AND LOVE OF THE LAND.

WHO INTRODUCED YOU, DR. WYSE JACKSON, TO THE IMPORTANCE AND THE BEAUTY OF THE NATURAL WORLD, AND THEN A SECOND PART OF THAT QUESTION, HOW DO WE CONTINUE THAT LOVE OF AND LOVE FOR THE NATURAL WORLD IN OUR CHILDREN WHEN SO MANY OF OUR CHILDREN DON'T LIVE ANYWHERE NEAR THE NATURAL WORLD, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?

>> I THINK THAT -- I MEAN, I WAS FORTUNATE.

I HAD A WONDERFUL TEACHER IN MY SECONDARY SCHOOL WHO KNEW ALL OF THE NAMES OF IRISH PLANTS AND I SAID TO HIM ONE DAY, I REALLY CAN'T IDENTIFY ALL OF THESE.

AND HE SUGGESTED THAT I SHOULD TRY TO IDENTIFY ONE PLANT EVERY DAY, AND I WOULD NEVER FORGET IT.

AND LEARNED THEM THAT WAY.

I DID THAT.

THERE ARE 400,000 OF THEM TO GO, SO IT'S GOING TO TAKE ME A LITTLE BIT LONGER, BUT I FOUND THAT IT WAS -- THERE WAS INFINITE CURIOSITY TO BE SATISFIED AND I ENJOYED GROWING PLANTS AND GETTING OUT INTO NATURE AND LOOKING AT THEM AND HEARING THE STORIES ABOUT THEM.

YOU KNOW, I LOVE EXPLORING THE USE OF PLANTS.

I COLLECT DANDELIONS EVERY YEAR AND USE THEM IN THE KITCHEN FOR A MULTITUDE OF PURPOSES.

THEY MAKE REALLY GOOD SALADS.

I MAKE HONEY BY BOILING THE FLOWERS.

I GRIND UP THE ROOTS TO MAKE COFFEE.

AND THOSE WERE THE SORTS OF THINGS THAT REALLY CONNECT ME TO PLANTS, AND I THINK THAT THERE ARE THINGS THAT CAN GET YOUNG PEOPLE INVOLVED.

WE TRY TO SPREAD THAT SORT OF LOVE AND INTEREST IN THE BOTANICAL GARDEN FOR PEOPLE TO COME IN AND SAY THAT THEY'RE NOT JUST GREEN THINGS, THEY HAVE A STORY TO TELL.

>> WELL, IF YOU NEED TO FIND SOME DANDELIONS THIS SUMMER, I KNOW WHERE YOU CAN FIND THEM.

[ LAUGHTER ] WELL, LET'S PICK UP THE STORY FROM -- YOU KNOW, MAYBE FROM YOUR YOUTH AND TIME IN DONNYBROOK.

LIKE WHERE DID YOU DO YOUR EDUCATIONAL YEARS AND WHAT BROUGHT YOU TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?

>> I WAS -- I STUDIED IN TRINITY COLLEGE, DUBLIN, AND THEN BECAME THE CURATOR OF THEIR LITTLE UNIVERSITY BOTANIC GARDEN.

AND A FEW YEARS AFTER THAT, I WAS INVITED TO GO TO LONDON TO HELP SET UP A WORLDWIDE NETWORK OF BOTANIC GARDENS THAT IS THE SORT OF UNITED NATIONS FOR BOTANIC GARDENS, AND I SPENT ABOUT 20 YEARS IN THAT AND WENT BACK TO BE THE DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL BOTANIC GARDEN, WHICH I THOUGHT WAS MY JOB, AND THEN I GOT A CALL ONE DAY SAYING WOI BE INTERESTED IN COMING TO THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN WHERE THE GREAT PETER RAVEN WAS PRESIDENT AND WAS ON THE POINT OF RETIRING.

AND I SAID, ME?

REALLY?

ANYWAY, IT WAS -- I CAME AND I KNEW THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN FOR MANY YEARS AS ONE OF THE GREAT LEADERS, BOTANICAL LEADERS IN THE WORLD, AND I WAS THRILLED TO COME ACROSS THE ATLANTIC AND TO FIND THIS ABSOLUTELY LIVE UP TO MY EXPECTATIONS.

AND I'VE SPENT A VERY HAPPY 12 YEARS SO FAR.

MANY MORE TO GO, I HOPE.

>> MANY MORE.

THERE IS A NETWORK.

YOU DO FEEL CONNECTED TO YOUR COLLEAGUES AROUND THE WORLD WHEN IT COMES TO BOTANICAL GARDENS, AND FORGIVE US FOR BEING UNINITIATED, BUT WOULD THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BE KNOWN AROUND THE WORLD AMONG YOUR COLLEAGUES FOR ONE PARTICULAR THING AND THEN OTHER GARDENS AROUND THE WORLD FOR THEIR OWN PARTICULAR ATTRIBUTES?

IS THAT HOW IT WORKS, DR. WYSE JACKSON?

>> WELL, WHEN I FIRST STARTED MY CAREER, THERE WERE ABOUT 750 BOTANIC GARDENS IN THE WORLD.

THERE ARE NOW OVER 3,000, SO IT'S BEEN AN AMAZING PERIOD OVER THE LAST FEW DECADES OF GROWTH IN BOTANIC GARDENS.

THEY'RE OFTEN CREATED AS A RESULT OF THE NEED FOR CONSERVATION, THE NEED FOR CITIES TO HAVE BOTANIC GARDENS AND REALLY PROVIDE A PLACE WHERE YOUNG PEOPLE AND EVERYONE CAN GO TO EXPERIENCE NATURE.

AND THAT REALLY HAS BEEN A KEY PART OF CREATING THE NETWORK.

THEY HAVE SHARED POLICIES.

I'M FORTUNATE, I THINK I'VE GOT FRIENDS IN 100 COUNTRIES NOW IN BOTANIC GARDENS, AND WE DO WORK SO CLOSELY TOGETHER TO SHARE IDEAS AND TO SHARE PLANTS, TOO, AND TO MAKE SURE THAT THE RESEARCH WE DO IS FILLING IN THE GAPS, THE CONSERVATION WORK WE DO IS FILLING IN THE GAPS OF THINGS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE BE OVERLOOKED.

>> AND HAD YOU VISITED THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN BEFORE YOU CAME OVER AND FIRST INTERVIEWED FOR THE JOB?

>> I HAD, YES INDEED.

I'D BEEN TO THE INTERNATIONAL BOTANICAL CONGRESS WHICH WAS HERE IN 1999.

I WASN'T SURPRISED.

>> I WAS GOING TO SAY, WERE YOU SURPRISED KIND OF LIKE WHERE IT IS?

I MEAN, IT'S IN THE CITY.

IT IS NOT ON THE OUTSKIRTS.

IT'S NOT IN SUBURBIA.

IT'S IN THE CITY WHICH IS KIND OF A NEAT THING TOO.

>> BUT IT'S A PRODUCT OF ST. LOUIS.

I MEAN, THE STRENGTH OF THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN IS THE FACT THAT IT'S BEEN CREATED AND SUSTAINED BY ST. LOUIS, WHICH IS REMARKABLE.

ST. LOUIS IS NOT A CAPITAL CITY, BUT THE OTHER WORLD LEADING BOTANIC GARDENS ARE BY AND LARGE IN CAPITAL CITIES, SO ST. LOUIS SHOULD BE VERY, VERY PROUD.

I MEAN, LOOK AT, FOR EXAMPLE, THE NEW JACK C. TAYLOR VISITOR CENTER THAT WE'RE BUILDING AT THE MOMENT, AND THAT IS ENTIRELY THE PRODUCT OF CONTRIBUTIONS MADE BY GENEROUS PEOPLE IN ST. LOUIS.

>> AND IF WE'RE NOT MISTAKEN, DR. WYSE JACKSON, WASN'T, IN ITS INCEPTION, AT ITS INCEPTION, THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN WAS ACTUALLY CONSIDERED TO BE HENRY SHAW -- IT WAS THE COUNTRY, WAS IT NOT?

IT WAS CONSIDERED THE RURAL AREA AROUND ST. LOUIS, WHICH IS -- THAT'S THE PART THAT ALWAYS SURPRISES ME.

>> AND IT WAS -- YES, INDEED.

IT WAS -- I THINK HENRY SHAW, WHEN HE WITH WENT FROM HIS TOWNHOUSE DOWNTOWN, IT WOULD TAKE HIM THE MORNING IN HIS CARRIAGE TO GET TO HIS PROPERTY OUT AT WHAT BECAME TOWER GROVE AND IT WAS PRAIRIE.

>> WHAT OTHER THINGS ARE HAPPENING AT THE BOTANICAL GARDEN?

>> WELL, IT'S GOING TO BE -- IT'S GOING TO BE AN EXCITING YEAR AT THE BOTANICAL GARDEN BECAUSE WE ALL HOPE, WE KNOCK ON WOOD THAT THE PANDEMIC IS GOING TO ALLOW US TO RESUME SO MANY DIFFERENT THINGS.

I MEAN, NEXT MONTH, PEOPLE WILL WANT TO COME IN AND SEE -- WE'LL HAVE ABOUT 40,000 TULIPS IN BLOOM, SO IT'S GOING TO BE BEAUTIFUL.

AND ALL OF THE SPRING FLOWERS.

AND WE ALL NEED A CHANCE TO GET OUT IN THE SPRING AND REFRESH OURSELVES AFTER THE WINTER.

THE CHERRIES WILL BE IN BLOOM AROUND THE JAPANESE GARDEN.

WE HAVE CHINESE CULTURE DAYS COMING UP IN MAY AS WELL WHERE PEOPLE CAN COME IN AND FOLLOW THE 70-FOOT-LONG CHINESE DRAGON AS IT PARADES THROUGH THE GARDEN AND WATCH THE TAI CHI AND ENJOY THE CHINESE FOOD AND TOUR THE CHINESE GARDEN.

WE'VE GOT THE WHITAKER MUSIC SERIES STARTING UP AGAIN ON THE 1st OF JUNE.

WE'LL HAVE TEN CONCERTS IN THE GARNER BETWEEN THE 1 -- IN THE GARNER BETWEEN THE 1st OF JUNE AND THE 3rd OF AUGUST WITH TEN WONDERFUL GROUPS COMING IN TO PLAY.

IT GIVES US THE SENSE THAT LIFE IS GOING TO RETURN TO THE WAY WE WANT IT TO BE.

>> AND WHEN YOU LOOK -- >> AND THEN WE'LL BE OPENING THE NEW VISITORS CENTER AT THE END OF AUGUST AS WELL AND THAT'S GOING TO BE AN AMAZING BUILDING WITH SO MANY NEW FEATURES AND WONDERFUL WAY FOR VISITORS TO BECOME INTRODUCED TO ENJOY THE GARDEN IN NEW WAYS.

>> WELL, YOU MENTIONED THE PANDEMIC.

I MEAN, MY GUESS IS THAT PLANTS DON'T KNOW THAT THERE WAS A PANDEMIC, BUT THEY PROBABLY NOTICED THAT A LOT MORE PEOPLE WERE DOING STUFF OUTSIDE.

DID YOU EXPERIENCE THAT, THAT PEOPLE JUST -- ESPECIALLY A COUPLE YEARS AGO OR YEAR AND A HALF AGO, THEY JUST HAD TO GET OUT OF THE HOUSE.

THEY DIDN'T WANT TO BE INSIDE, THEY WANTED TO BE OUTSIDE, AND I GUESS PEOPLE DISCOVERED THERE WAS AN OUTSIDE AGAIN AND I GUESS THEY FOUND THEIR WAY TO THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN?

>> THEY DID AND THEY ALSO FOUNTAIN THEIR WAY TO THE GARDEN VIRTUALLY AS WELL.

>> AHHH.

>> GOOD POINT.

>> LAST YEAR WE HAD TEN MILLION VIRTUAL VISITORS TO OUR WEBSITE.

WE'VE GOT A SCIENCE DATABASE ONLINE, AND THAT HAD 96 MILLION HITS TO IT.

>> WOW.

>> SO IT WAS -- WE FOUND THAT WE COULDN'T HAVE PEOPLE COMING TO THE GARDEN IN PERSON, BUT WE COULD CERTAINLY GET THEM ONLINE IN MANY CASES.

WE FOUND THE NUMBERS OF PEOPLE WHO WERE SENDING US QUESTIONS ABOUT THEIR OWN HOME GARDENS, I THINK WE ANSWERED 10,000 QUESTIONS FROM POTENTIAL VISITORS ABOUT HOW WE COULD GIVE THEM ADVICE ON THEIR HOME GARDENS.

AND THERE ARE GARDENS THAT WILL BE LOOKING WONDERFUL AFTER THE PANDEMIC THAT HAVE BEEN NEGLECTED FOR YEARS, I SUSPECT.

>> WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SPECIES OF PLANTS.

CAN YOU SHARE WITH US THE -- I KNOW THERE IS A SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE WHEN IT COMES TO SO MANY OF THESE PLANTS.

CAN YOU THINK OF ANY JUST RIGHT OFF THE TOP OF YOUR HEAD, DR. WYSE JACKSON, AT THE MISSOURI BOTANICAL GARDEN WITH THAT SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE?

>> WELL, I OFTEN THINK, WHEN I THINK ABOUT PLANTS AND CULTURE, I RETURN IN SOME WAYS TO MY IRISH ROOTS AND I THINK ABOUT THE FOR TATE TORQUE THE MODEST POTATO.

AND YOU THINK THAT THE UNITED STATES WAS TRANSFORMED AS A RESULT OF THE POTATO DURING THE GREAT POTATO FAMINE IN THE 1840s IN IRELAND.

A TRAGIC CHANGE OF HISTORY FOR IRELAND WHERE A MILLION PEOPLE DIED OF STARVATION, BUT A MILLION, MILLION AND A HALF PEOPLE CAME TO THE UNITED STATES AS A RESULT OF THE POTATO BLIGHT WHICH WIPED OUT THE POTATO.

A THIRD -- BEFORE THE FAMINE, THERE WAS A THIRD OF THE POPULATION LIVING OFF POTATOES, JUST.

I MEAN, A GOOD HEALTHY MAN LIKE ME IN -- BEFORE THE POTATO FAMINE IN IRELAND WAS EATING 14 POUNDS OF POTATOES A DAY AND PROBABLY NOTHING ELSE.

THAT'S ABOUT 65 POTATOES.

ONE WILL DO ME NOW.

[ LAUGHTER ] IT IS EXTRAORDINARY TO THINK ABOUT THE CULTURAL STORIES AND IMPORTANCE OF SOMETHING LIKE THE MODEST POTATO, STARTING OUT LIFE IN THE ANDES WITH THE INCAS, BEING BROUGHT TO EUROPE, POSSIBLY TO SPAIN IN THE MID 1500s, AND THEN BECOMING THE STAPLE FOOD FOR SO MANY PEOPLE IN IRELAND.

THERE ARE THESE EXTRAORDINARY STORIES THAT ONE CAN TELL ABOUT PLANTS.

AND ALSO, SO MANY INTERESTING ARTIFACTS AND OBJECTS RELATED TO THEM THAT TELL THEIR STORIES AS WELL.

AND I LOVE GOING AROUND ANTIQUE STORES SEEING WHAT I CAN FIND, OBJECTS THAT RELATE TO PLANTS AND THEIR USE, WHICH IS PART OF THE CULTURAL ATTRACTION TOO.

>> I HAVE TO ASK YOU IF YOU'RE A CARDINALS FAN.

>> I -- YOU MEAN THE RED ONES THAT FLY AROUND THE GARDEN?

>> WELL, I KNOW YOU'RE FANS OF THE CARDINALS THAT FLY, BUT THE CARDINALS THAT -- AND HOW EXCITED ARE YOU ABOUT EUROPE FOOTBALL COMING TO TOWN?

>> THAT IS -- THAT WILL BE MOST EXCITING.

I STILL -- I'VE WATCHED A LOT OF THE CARDINALS AND I STILL TRY TO COMPARE IT WITH CRICKET AND THE RULES, AND IT DOESN'T WORK WHEN YOU DO THAT.

>> NO, IT CERTAINLY DOESN'T.

>> MY ELDEST SON IS A GREAT FAN OF BRITISH FOOTBALL AND FOLLOWS BRANFORD, WHICH WHEN HE STARTED AS AN 8-YEAR-OLD, WAS DOWN IN THE LOWEST DIVISIONS AND THEY'RE NOW IN THE PREMIERSHIP, SO HE'S THRILLED.

IT ONLY TOOK THEM 20 YEARS OF MANY DEFEATS TO GET THEM TO THAT LEVEL, AND SO I HAVE TO FOLLOW SOCCER AS WELL.

>> WONDERFUL.

>> AND RUGBY TOO.

>> DR. WYSE JACKSON, IN OUR LAST MINUTE, WE'RE ALL GOING TO GO HOME.

WHAT CAN I DO, WHAT CAN WENDY DO TO HELP PRESERVE PLANTS IN OUR OWN BACKYARD OR FRONT YARD?

>> COME IN AND VISIT THE BOTANICAL GARDEN.

GET TO KNOW AND APPRECIATE THE PLANTS.

CONTINUE TO DO THESE WONDERFUL THINGS YOU DO, SPREADING THE WORD ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE IMPORTANCE OF US ACTUALLY LOOKING AT THINGS AND SAYING, WHAT CAN WE DO INDIVIDUALLY IN OUR OWN LIVES TO CHANGE -- TO CHANGE THE WAY WE TREAT OUR ENVIRONMENT AND LIVE SUSTAINABLY WITHIN IT?

CAN WE BRING MORE GREEN INTO THE CITY?

ABSOLUTELY, WE CAN.

WE NEED TO DO THAT.

AND IT WILL ONLY HAPPEN IF WE ARE EACH ONE PLAYING OUR PART.

>> WELL, THE GARDENS ARE A LONG TREASURED TRADITION HERE IN THE ST. LOUIS AREA, DR. WYSE JACKSON.

WE THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR MAKING TIME ON THIS IMPORTANT DAY FOR OUR DONNYBROOK VIEWERS.

WE APPRECIATE IT.

>> THANK YOU.

AND I HAVE MY GENUINE IRISH SHAMROCK ON TONIGHT.

>> OH YEAH, OKAY.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR CLARIFYING THAT FOR ME, AND THANK YOU GUYS FOR WATCHING TONIGHT ON NEXT UP.

WE'LL SEE YOU NEXT WEEK.

>> HAPPY ST. PATRICK'S DAY.

CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY CAPTION ASSOCIATES, LLC www.captionassociates.com * * >> Announcer: DONNYBROOK IS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE SUPPORT OF THE BETSY AND THOMAS PATTERSON FOUNDATION AND THE MEMBERS OF NINE PBS.