Madeline Hooper from GardenFit
GardenFit, created and hosted by Madeline Hooper, is a hit national public television series that offers a new approach to gardening, based on the premise that the joy need not be spoiled by body stress or pain. It’s a first-of-its-kind fusion of garden tours and self-care, teaching viewers how to take care of their body while taking care of their garden. The show brings together themes of nature, sustainability and wellness in a delightfully engaging format.
Madeline created and tends a 10 acre garden in Canaan NY that includes a 450‘ rock ledge, vegetable garden, perennial borders, water features and more.
As an extension of the TV series, Madeline hosts workshops around the country where she teaches audiences how to implement GardenFit principles and techniques in their everyday gardening lives. She demonstrates how your body is your most important garden tool and teaches new easy habits to adopt when carrying out chores involving the repetitive move like to get up and down from the ground, bend over to weed/ deadhead, and smart ways to lift.
How She Works with Monrovia
Madeline grows Monrovia plants in her garden, and uses them in her appearances and workshops around the country. Monrovia was the sponsor for season 2 of GardenFit, and we have created several videos together demonstrating how to move right with our plants.
About Madeline
After a trailblazing public relations career in New York City that included creating and building the leading marketing-PR firm DeVries Global, as well as a career as a ballroom dance competitor and teacher, Madeline de Vries Hooper immersed herself in the world of gardening. She was invited to become a trustee of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and then of the Berkshire Botanical Garden, where she has been Vice Chair for the past 10 years. She has visited many of the finest gardens in the United States and Europe and developed relationships with leading horticulturalists, garden designers, and plantspeople. However, her passion for gardening left her with many aches and pains. A friend recommended she work with a personal trainer, from whom she learned new techniques and exercises to relieve her pain and enable her to garden more enjoyably and productively. These newfound habits were the inspiration for the GardenFit television series and workshop program. Madeline and her husband live in Columbia County, New York, where for the past 30 years they have devoted themselves to maintaining Rockland Farm, a 10-acre garden they created from scratch.
