From Broadcast to Backyard:How Elizabeth Ries Built an Ecosystem of Joy
- Diana Pierce
- Jul 30, 2025
- 5 min read
In Elizabeth Ries’s Minneapolis backyard, you’ll find more than vegetables—you’ll find a whole ecosystem of joy.
The Twin Cities Live co-host has built a world where chickens cluck at sunrise, herbs from raised beds sway in a slight breeze, and the promise of homegrown tomatoes brightens even a cloudy morning.
Best known as a TV personality, Elizabeth has a second life just a few steps from her kitchen, one filled with compost cycles, arching squash vines, and the sweet chaos of a family raised with a garden.
We begin where most garden stories begin: the moment the seed was planted.
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Roots in Apple Valley
Diana Pierce: Do you remember when gardening first took root for you?
Elizabeth Ries: It wasn’t one big moment. It was more like a quiet evolution. Growing up in Apple Valley, my dad built raised beds in the backyard. I remember one year he tossed out pumpkin seeds—nothing careful or planned—and we ended up with this sea of pumpkins. I was hooked. It felt like magic.
Summers with my Aunt Marilyn in northern Wisconsin deepened that love. She had farmer friends and took us on all these adventures. One day, she handed me a glass of goat’s milk—fresh from the goat. That kind of closeness to where food comes from stayed with me.
Walking to where an orange bloom was spreading, she showed me where she now grows pumpkins for her three kids.
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From Reporting to Raised Beds
DP: When did it shift from a childhood curiosity to a daily practice?
As she remembers the first plants on her apartment’s balcony, Elizabeth smiles—clearly, the urge to grow something never left her.
ER: It really took off in my twenties when I started reporting about our industrial food system—things like confined animal feeding operations, monocultures, pesticide use, and the human cost of agriculture. It was eye-opening. That awareness created a void—and gardening helped fill it. Every apartment I lived in, I’d haul up light plastic pots to the balcony just to grow tomatoes and herbs.
But when I bought my first house—this little Minneapolis bungalow at 29—it changed everything. That house had an organic backyard garden and was just steps from the historic Dowling Community Garden. I didn’t know at the time, but it’s one of only two remaining WWII victory gardens in the country.
From there, it became part of my identity. Not just “someone who likes to garden,” but someone living into a larger story.
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Chickens: The Compost Connection
DP: How did chickens become part of your backyard life?
ER: [Laughs] Slowly.
I started composting once I realized I was tossing food scraps and hauling in compost in plastic bags. Chickens were the natural next step—and then I fell hard. There’s this moment where it all clicks—you feed your chickens scraps, clean the coop, compost the pine shavings, and then use that in your raised beds. It’s the no-waste dream. It’s not perfect, but it’s grounded and real.
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Family in the Garden
DP: And your children have grown up with it all?
ER: They have. I have three—ten, eight, and four—and they’re in this sweet spot. I’ve got videos of them as toddlers holding chickens in the backyard. They understand the rhythms of it: we feed our chickens, we care for them, and they give us eggs.
And they’ve learned hard things too. We’ve had losses—to hawks, raccoons. So there are conversations about the circle of life, about giving animals the best life you can, even when the end comes unexpectedly.
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From Garden to Table
DP: Your cooking style is a huge part of how people connect with your gardening life. What do you always grow?
ER: Herbs are essential. I grow all the basics—basil, cilantro, dill, parsley, chives—but I use them as a vegetable, not a garnish. I learned that from Samin Nosrat (Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat). She talks about Persian culture using herbs in abundance, and that changed the way I cook. I’ll throw a half cup of herbs into tacos or potato salad. I’m not shy with flavor.
Then there are tomatoes—especially heirlooms.
And squash. I love how the vines twist and reach—how they seem to grow overnight. Plus, it’s satisfying to wait, harvest, and cure them for fall soups and stews.
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Growing Viewers
DP: You’ve managed to bring your garden into your day job. How do viewers respond?
ER: I think people love seeing how the garden connects to the kitchen. When Minnesota Live launched, our programming director Mandy Tadych asked if I’d be willing to do a weekly cooking segment from home. It’s been this unexpected creative outlet.
People email me, stop me at the State Fair, message me on Instagram. They share their own wins and failures. Someone will say, “I grew those tomatoes you talked about!” or “Try this variety of squash!” There’s a beautiful generosity in the gardening community. No gatekeeping—just joy.
DP: And yet, you do all this with a full-time job, a podcast, and three kids.
ER: Yes—and I always want to be honest about that. I’ve designed my life so I can integrate the things I love into my workday. I know that’s a privilege. If you’re a nurse working 12-hour shifts, you’re not snipping herbs after work. But even then, I believe everyone can grow something. A pot of mint on a windowsill counts.
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Lesson #1 For Newbies
DP: What’s one lesson you wish new gardeners knew from the start?
ER: That you’re not in control—and that’s a good thing. Nature does her own thing. You can read the seed packet, prep the soil, and still not get the result you hoped for. It’s freeing.
DP: If you could go back and talk to younger Elizabeth, what would you say?
ER: I had this moment at 13 watching local news, and something in me said, “I can do that.” It wasn’t a wish—it was a knowing.
So I’d tell her: trust the voice inside. Don’t cling to the goal—nurture the practice. The rest will grow from there.
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From Her Home to Your Home
DP: And finally—do you have a recipe you hope lives on?
ER: A good roast chicken. And homemade chicken stock is where it’s at. No store-bought version even comes close.
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"The joy isn’t in control,” Elizabeth says, “it’s in watching what will grow.”
In a world full of schedules and screens, her garden offers an invitation: grow something real—and watch what takes root. It might bloom into something nourishing, surprising, and beautifully your own.
Diana Pierce
Diana Pierce Photography
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Diana,
Congratulations on your media award! I really enjoy your blog. It is beautifully written and informative, with your lovely photography truly capturing the essence of your content. As a journalist with deep photography roots, I appreciate your skills, story choices and gardening expertise. Your work is a valuable respite in a chaotic world! Sincerely, Susie Eaton Hopper