Roger Bartlett Swain, (born 5 February 1949,

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...

) known as "the man with the red suspenders", is most famous for hosting the television show, The Victory Garden on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

. He was the host from the mid-1980s until 2001. He graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

with B.A. in 1971 and M.A. in 1972 and went on to earn in 1977 a Ph.D. from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

. From 1978 to 2008 he was writer and science editor at

Horticulture Magazine Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

. He is the author of five books: ''Earthly Pleasures'', ''Field Days'', ''The Practical Gardener'', ''Saving Graces'', and ''Groundwork''. From 2005-06 he was the co-host of the television show People, Places, and Plants with Paul Tukey on

HGTV HGTV (an initialism for Home & Garden Television) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The network primarily broadcasts reality programming related to home improvement and real estate. As of February 2015, appr ...

. Roger was married for 31 years to Elisabeth Ward Swain, who died in February 2008.

References

External links

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Roger Swain teaches you how to grown (''sic'') your own community garden
PBS people Harvard College alumni 1949 births Living people American horticulturists {{PBS-stub