It鈥檚 hard to discuss gardening in Northern Colorado without Tom Throgmorton coming up. He was always sharing gardening and plant advice 鈥� including on KUNC as a former contributor for a couple of decades. He'd record tips and tricks on his tape recorder in his basement.
鈥淚 thought it was the coolest thing: my uncle was on the radio,鈥� Dan Sapienza, his nephew, said in an email to KUNC. 鈥淎s I got older, being related to him became a claim to fame in town. Everyone knew Tom, our local gardening celebrity. (They鈥檇 say,) 鈥楬e鈥檚 the gardening guy with the amazing voice!鈥欌��
But after decades of being surrounded by greenery and sharing about it over the airwaves, Tom Throgmorton passed away last week in Fort Collins. He was 68 years old.
Throgmorton grew up in Cheyenne, Wyoming. That is where he worked on the 鈥� which later became the .
鈥淗e loved the horticulture therapy aspect of it and how nurturing it was,鈥� Debra Throgmorton, his wife, said. 鈥淎nd once you get into it, you just get so hooked, right?鈥�
He moved to Fort Collins in the late 1980s, and worked at the for 19 years. After that, he ran his for another two decades.
He also worked on a side business venture, called , since 2013. In addition to Blue Spruce and other tree varieties, he鈥檇 grow potatoes, onions and garlic. Families would come to dig out potatoes, and Throgmorton would sell them by the bucket.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a tree farm, but some food crops were grown out of pure love of plants and curiosity for what they could grow,鈥� Sapienza said in the email. 鈥淚 doubt they made any money from the potatoes, but that didn鈥檛 matter, Tom cared for every plant with patience and pride.鈥�
Throgmorton鈥檚 son, Brett, said his dad was a very calm, collected man in the garden, who 鈥渢aught more from action rather than explanation.鈥� His sister, Kaitlyn, agrees.
鈥淒ad wouldn't talk a lot when we were out in the garden necessarily, like we'd be joking and talking, but it wasn't like he was constantly chattering,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檇 be walking around and he'd see something and say 鈥極h, that's gonna look like this in 10 years.鈥� That was just kind of how he thought, was like the full range of what a garden or a plant would turn into.鈥�
After becoming a community gardening expert, Shane Smith 鈥� who shared commentary on KUNC in the late 80s 鈥� asked Throgmorton to fill in for him for six months. When Smith came back, he told Throgmorton to 鈥渏ust keep it,鈥� according to his wife.
鈥淗e would go down on Monday morning with a cup of coffee, and he would record a radio show and put it on a cassette tape,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd then I taught at UNC, so I would bring it to UNC on Tuesdays鈥�(or) I would drop off Tom's tape in his (the news director鈥檚) mailbox.鈥�
Most of Throgmorton鈥檚 two-minute stories centered around properly caring for plants in Colorado鈥檚 ever-changing climate. He knew it was a struggle, but he loved the challenge.
鈥淩emember this cold snap 鈥� it may be why normally hardy plants are struggling next spring,鈥� he said in his commentary about protecting perennials after a cold front. 鈥淥r they may not skip a beat. That's what keeps gardening interesting.鈥�
He provided recommendations on topics like beekeeping, peaches and more for almost two decades for KUNC.
鈥淓arly and mid-season varieties are the best fresh-eaten,鈥� Throgmorton said in his commentary on how to keep peaches longer. 鈥淚 can attest to that after slurping down a Blake freshly harvested at the orchard.鈥�
He made horticulture and the complexities of gardening easy to understand for those seeking a green thumb for the first time. But he was still specific, like sharing ideal dimensions for composting bins. His son, Brett, said his tips reached so many people and made them feel like they could tackle a tough hobby.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he understood the outreach, and he was always modest about it,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 was grateful to witness people meeting him and being like, 鈥榃ow, you helped me. This is cool to meet you because you've helped me for like, a couple seasons now. I've learned things from your small garden radio show.鈥欌��
His family members said what Throgmorton loved more than gardening itself was sharing his wisdom with the community and making himself available. He dug multiple gardens for people in Cheyenne and Fort Collins, just to get them going.
鈥淛ust thinking about all of the plants and trees and living things that have been touched and nurtured by my dad, I think, is a huge part of his legacy,鈥� Kaitlyn Throgmorton, his daughter, said. 鈥淚 still drive around town and I'm like, 鈥極h yeah, he used to take care of that garden,鈥� and, 鈥業 used to help him prune that tree,鈥� 鈥� he had a hand in nurturing a lot of the living plants around Fort Collins and Northern Colorado.鈥�
Throgmorton would share knowledge freely with anyone, anywhere 鈥� from official plant presentations for garden clubs to the local diner. People would call him up constantly for advice.
鈥淭hat generosity was just who he was 鈥� he shared freely with friends, neighbors, and anyone he met,鈥� Sapienza, Throgmorton鈥檚 nephew, said in the email. 鈥淚 think his radio show was an extension of that spirit鈥攁 way to plant seeds in the community, so everyone could enjoy the harvest.鈥�
