odd though was that there were always people showing up because the farm had become a mecca. We’d be sitting at the dinner table and curious people would come and look in our kitchen window.

Did you develop your love of
gardening on the farm?
I couldn’t help but absorb it. What’s
interesting is that while my grand-
father and father were the intellectual
pioneers and very interested in
agriculture, my grandmother and
mother were the gardeners. They were
creating beauty everywhere. I’m kind
of a hybrid. To me gardening is really
about creating an environment that’s
beautiful and productive and delicious.

What prompted you to found Organic Style magazine, and what do you think of the new online version? When we started saying “organic style,” people called it an oxymoron. They thought “organic” meant ugly, undyed, unelegant. I helped push the market for well-designed, elegant, yet ethical products. Now nobody questions that organic can be stylish. I love that the new Organic Style is online rather than on paper. We’re thrilled to see the brand live on under the direction of Gerald Prolman, the founder of Organic Bouquet, who has used the Organic Style brand as an umbrella for a group of ethical businesses that have come together as one company, and for the re-introduction of the magazine.

How do you live today? My husband and I built an eco-house two years ago. We have photovoltaic panels and solar-heated hot water. Almost everything in the house is either nontoxic or recycled or locally found. In my refrigerator, I have eggs

THIS pAgE, Maria rodale (left) continues her grandfather’s legacy; the historic rodale farm (right) in rural Pennsylvania. pREvIOuS pAgE: J.i. rodale, founder of the organic gardening movement in the United States.