- [Madeline] I'm Madeline Hooper.

I've been gardening for decades and living with aches and pains, so I finally decided that maybe I should find a fitness trainer to see if I could fix my problems.

And after learning better ways to use my body in the garden, it dawned on me, what would be more exciting than to travel all over America, visiting a wide variety of gardens and helping their gardeners get "GardenFit"?

In season one, for all our guest gardeners, gardening was their life.

For season two, we're going to visit artists who are also passionate gardeners.

And for this lucky group, I'm so thrilled and excited to welcome this season's garden fitness professional, Adam Schersten.

Taking care of your body while taking care of your garden, that's our mission.

- [Narrator] "GardenFit" is made possible in part by Monrovia.

[bright uplifting music] - Adam, next, we're going to visit Meridith Baer.

Meridith Baer lives in California in a beautiful part of the world, and she's quite an accomplished person.

She was an actress.

Then she became a screenwriter.

And while she was writing, she was renting a home.

And she always loved to garden.

So she wanted a garden, but wasn't gonna start a garden in somebody else's property.

So she bought pots and started to put her favorite plants in these pots and arrange them in the front of the house.

And when the owner of the rental home came to see her, he got so excited about how fantastic the house looked that he put it on the market for a lot more money than he ever wanted to get for it, and he sold it for something like $50,000 more than he ever thought he would get.

- [Adam] Right out from under her.

- Right out from under her.

So she did a wonderful job making the house appealing.

But she had no home.

She was homeless, as she put it.

So she did that one more time and started to think, "Wait a minute, if I can make houses more marketable "by how I style them, that might be a business."

And she started a whole new field that never existed before: home staging.

- [Adam] Wow.

- Yeah, it's really impressive.

- I love this story, this idea that you are just doing something you love and then realizing people will pay you for it.

- [Madeline] Yeah, it's like a big business.

- That's the dream.

- So I think now she has the nation's premier home staging company, with over 200 designers working for her.

She has over 300,000 square feet of warehouse space, where she keeps furniture and accessories and linens and flowers.

I mean, an amazing array of products.

Some I think she even designs now herself that they use to style and stage these homes.

- And so, what kind of gardens, do you know?

- So I was gonna say, however, she is such a besotted gardener.

She gardens every day.

And again, I don't know how she finds the time.

I think she gets up very early in the morning.

She fell in love with this house, and it had nothing around it.

As a matter of fact, I think it had a mountain in the back, like, of earth, and she'll tell us how she kind of cleared this.

I'm sure it's an amazing story.

But now she has this layered backyard and she has places for all these fruit trees that she loves.

So she grows a tremendous variety of fruit and vegetables and flowers.

- Wow, that's delicious-sounding.

- So that'll be fun to see.

The other thing that's so special about her garden is that it is staged almost like an indoor.

So there are a lot of eating areas and resting areas and accessories that she's put in the garden.

It's absolutely charming.

- Wow, yeah, that sounds awesome.

I can't wait to see it.

- Yeah, it'll be quite something to see.

And we'll have a wonderful time with Meridith.

What a beautiful neighborhood.

I love all of the split-rail fencing.

- Yeah, no, it's amazing.

- And I think this is a fence to her property.

Look how beautiful it's actually planted.

I can't wait to see inside.

- Yeah.

- There's Meridith!

- Hey!

- Oh, it's so nice to see you.

- Finally, yes!

- Meridith, this is Adam Schersten.

- Oh, gosh, Adam, I've heard so much about you.

- Likewise.

- Great to meet you.

- Pleasure to meet you.

- I'm so glad that you got to see each other in person.

So Meridith-- - Yes.

- Would you tell us where you started gardening?

- San Quentin prison.

[group chuckles] - Isn't that crazy?

- My father was a warden there, and I grew up on the prison grounds.

And my mother gave me a little plot that was my own.

And that was where I learned to love gardening.

- [Adam] Well, that's very unique.

- Well, exactly.

- Did you grow vegetables?

- Oh, yeah, we grew everything.

You know, we had all kinds of fruit trees, vegetables and flowers.

- Oh, how nice.

- So it was really, it was really great.

I loved, you know, taking a carrot out of the ground and eating it, just thrilling.

- I think when you're young, it's just such an amazing experience.

- I think so.

I think when you learn to love gardening as a child, I think it stays with you forever.

- Definitely yes, it's fun.

So we'd also love to learn a little bit about how you started your business, now that we know how you started and where you started gardening.

- Well, I'll show you the roots.

Come this way.

- Okay.

Well, this is such a pretty area.

- Yes, so this is the view that I have from my bedroom.

- This is a lovely view.

- Yes [chuckles].

- I love these hydrangeas, they're absolute, look at that.

- I know, can you believe the size of that?

- And they're in a pot.

- And they're taller than I am.

- So the pots are the, that's how I started my business.

I was a screenwriter living in this little rented house, and I was just sick of writing, sitting in my room all day, and I kept wanting to go out and garden.

But since I was renting, I didn't want a plant in the ground.

So I went out and started buying one pot at a time and planting trees and flowers and all kinds of things.

- [Madeline] In your pots.

- In my pots until I had 100.

And then, one day, I had knock at the door.

It was my landlord, and he went, "I can make some money on what you've done."

And he sold the house from under me and told me to leave.

- Oh my goodness.

- So, I took my pots and left.

Except, where do you put your pots?

- Right.

- And I had a friend trying to sell a house, a brand-new house with a courtyard.

And I said, well, how about I put all of my plants in your courtyard?

That way, the buyers will see what this space could be.

- Wow.

- And that was the beginning.

The house sold in a couple of days for a half million over asking to the head of one of the studios.

And then my phone started ringing off the hook: "Would you do this for me, would you do this for me?"

And I just said yes.

- Just the idea of really raising the market value of a home by how it looks inside and out.

I mean, it seems so simple, but what a big idea.

- Right, right, I wish I had had the idea.

I just did what I do [laughs].

- And so a whole new industry started.

- That's right, that's right.

- [Madeline] Home staging?

- Yes, I actually didn't come up with the term "staging".

The brokers started calling it staging.

- [Madeline] Really?

- And so that was the industry, yes.

- [Madeline] So, now how many years ago is that?

- That was 25 years ago.

- Okay, so, how many people are home staging for Meridith Home now?

- 350 employees I have.

- [Adam] Wow.

- [Madeline] All over the country?

- Yeah, that's all over the country, yes, yes.

- Meridith, that's outrageous.

- I don't know.

- And where do you keep all the things?

- Our main warehouse in LA is 200,000 square feet, stacked three high.

And then we have warehouses in Northern California, Connecticut and Florida, and a warehouse downtown where we manufacture.

- So, you're making furniture?

- We're making a lot of our own furniture.

- Oh my.

- So, this has really continued to progress and grow?

- Oh, yes.

Oh, yes, it has, it has.

- That's amazing.

- So this is a big question: how do you have time to garden?

- Well, I just stop doing what I'm doing and I go outside.

You know, I mean that's what I do.

But I, you know, I don't have the time I used to have.

- Right, I'm sure.

But once that's in you, like you said earlier... - Yeah, I just... No, honestly, instead of taking a lunch break, you know, I'll eat my lunch really fast and go out and garden.

I'll get my clippers.

I have clippers everywhere, so I'll just clip this.

- [Adam] Stationed here.

- Yes, [laughs] Yeah, I really don't miss writing.

- You don't.

But I think you could write a screenplay about starting a new business.

- That's actually a pretty good idea.

Hey, if I do that, do I owe you a commission for coming up with the idea?

- Maybe not a commission, but how about a tour of the garden?

- Okay, it's a deal.

Come, I'll show you around.

[bright upbeat music] - So, Meridith, how did you find this house?

- Oh, well, okay, I have to give you a little backstory.

- Okay.

- When I started the staging, I was homeless.

So I would make a deal saying, basically, I'll give you a discount on my fee if you let me live there.

So I was living in the houses I was staging, and because I'd be up all night fixing them up and everything, they would sell like that.

So every month I was moving to another house.

- [Madeline] Oh my goodness.

- And I could not stand it anymore.

So I was, I was looking for a house, and it was at the time when houses were flying off the market, and somebody told me about this street, that this house was coming on the market.

And I drove by it, called my broker, and I said, I have to have this house.

- [Madeline] From the street?

- Yeah.

But then I moved in and I hadn't noticed, so I didn't know about the orange shag carpet, and I didn't know that there was basically a huge mountain behind the house that came right up to the house.

- [Madeline] You're kidding.

- No.

So when I had downtime, I started, you know, getting my guys just with a wheelbarrow to get a little dirt.

And the next thing you knew it, I literally moved the mountain.

- Oh, you're kidding.

- So I moved 250 truckloads of dirt, and then they made me build this retaining wall.

- That's outrageous.

I don't even wanna think about where that dirt went, where they could have taken it.

- There's a lot of it all over LA.

[group laughs] A little here, little there.

- So, did you name this house?

- I did.

It's called "La Casa de Montana Movida," which means "The house of the moved mountain."

[group laughs] - That makes sense.

So, you moved mountains so you could garden more?

- I could, and then I was able to have a backyard.

And then I thought, hmm, what about up there?

I'm not using that land.

And so my crew, when we weren't working, just started to build the stairs and lay the brick.

And pretty soon, I used every little inch of the property with fruit trees and herbs and flowers.

- How exciting.

Where did you get the idea of doing all this terracing?

- Well, I had this vague memory of my grandfather's home, where he had some terraces.

He used to raise carnations for a living.

That's what he did.

And so I kind of had that memory.

I felt it and just started doing it.

- Isn't that great?

I just love, I love it.

It really beckons you to come up there.

- [Meridith] It does, right?

- I see there are a lot of steps.

- Oh, come, I wanna show you what it's like up there.

- It's like an adventure.

- [Meridith] Yes.

[gentle music] Well, I hope you like steps because there's more to come.

- [Madeline] Oh, look at these steps.

- I love being up in the canopy of the trees from the first level.

- Oh, it's fabulous.

Don't you love this?

- Actually, you can reach right here and pick some grapes.

- Oh, I might have to.

Is that permission?

- [Meridith] Yes, you have permission.

This is a loquat and a guava.

- [Madeline] Are these olive trees?

- [Meridith] These are all olive trees.

I've planted them all.

- [Madeline] Fantastic, do you get olives from them?

- [Meridith] No, they're actually, darn it, they're olive-less.

Oh, so this is a California pepper tree.

- [Madeline] Oh my goodness, I've never seen a pepper tree.

- Yeah, you can actually take them and crush them.

- [Madeline] Can I take one?

- [Meridith] Sure, take some.

- Oh, yeah, looks like little peppercorns.

- Oh, look.

- Right?

And little crab apples.

- [Madeline] Oh my goodness.

- And grapes galore.

- [Adam] Whoa!

- This is such a beautiful view.

You never see the tops of grapevines like this.

- They're not all flattened out.

- Meridith, you have tons of space for more plants.

- Oh, I know it's a work in progress here.

- I love that.

- So, peaches.

- [Madeline] Peaches?

- Yes, actually, here are a few.

- [Adam] Oh, yeah, the little baby peaches.

- They're so nice and fluffy.

- [Meridith] And these are all plum trees up here.

- [Madeline] Oh, you have quite a lot of plums.

- [Meridith] Japanese persimmon, a cherry tree.

- [Madeline] Oh, I love that.

- [Adam] Wow.

- And then down here: fig, a papaya tree, if you could believe it.

- Oh my goodness.

- What a treat to be able to eat all of these ripened off of the tree as opposed to-- - Isn't that the truth?

Oh, and you have to just touch the rosemary with your hands.

Oh, it smells so great.

- I love that.

That smell stays with you all day.

My goodness, Meridith, these are a lot of stairs.

- This is my kind of garden.

- Yeah, but all these stairs, they do bother my hip.

- Oh, that's actually something we could talk about.

- Oh, yes, let's do it.

- [Adam] Yeah.

You wanna tell me more about your hip?

- Well, it's, yeah, it's my right hip.

It's been bothering me off and on for the last couple of years.

Sometimes more than others.

But I do sit a lot as well.

So, yeah, it's just that nasty hip.

- [Adam] Yeah.

- Annoying hip.

- Yes, well, it's very common, especially even on the right side.

But what I'll show you first actually, is, while you're sitting, there's a little bit of a symptom relief.

This is a stretch I love, that you can just take that right leg, cross it over the left, and then just kinda lean forward and hang your body forward.

We're actually trying to bring that pelvis forward and stretch out this hip, the outer hip.

- Okay.

- Looks pretty comfortable.

I'm actually much looser on my right side, so when I switch to my left, you'll see, it's a little harder for me to get it up.

- [Meridith] Oh, right.

- And then, you know, I might even put a little pressure here, but just leaning into this to loosen up both sides.

Because sometimes, just because the right hip is the one that's bothering you doesn't necessarily mean it's really the root of the problem.

- That hip might be the guilty party, okay.

- It might be.

So I want you to give this a try and see how it feels on each side.

- I think that's a nice position to be in when you're taking a break and just sitting on a bench.

- Yeah, I mean, even at your desk.

- So, I start this way?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- Exactly, and then just kinda lean forward, and you'll feel that stretch.

- Oh, yes, gosh I feel it.

It actually feels, it's a nice stretch.

Yeah, feels good.

- Yeah, and this might be a great thing to do while that hip is bothering you.

If you're at the desk and you can't get away, you can just throw this leg up and give it a try.

- [Meridith] Oh, yeah.

- And then let's-- - So, I don't even have to get up to stretch.

- Exactly, yeah, you could stay seated.

And then try it on the other side.

- Oh, they feel completely different.

- Yeah, that's quite common.

- This hip actually feels tighter in a way.

Does that make sense?

- Yeah, it really does.

I mean, it's, I have the same thing.

I'm really trying to loosen my left hip up.

Where, yeah, my right side.

And it's really because most of us are right-handed.

We're most right-footed.

- And we just gravitate towards standing on that right leg.

And so that right hip comes into this more adducted position.

- I like the way it feels.

I mean, I get some relief pretty quickly.

- [Adam] Yeah.

- I think it even, you know, you tend to do things the same way, like even dig with the same foot or whatever, is that also kind of a-- - Yeah.

- How your hips?

- Well, right, when you think about it, right.

We kind of move in these grooves or with these methods that we're kind of doing subconsciously.

So it's very common that you're always doing the same, doing it the same way.

And so, yeah, we all gravitate into this right adducted hip position.

- [Meridith] Right.

- And another way to really illustrate this and actually try and correct the imbalance is, if you stand up, and just standing up on a curb or something like this with... Madeline, you can jump up too, actually, and show... As you lower the leg that is hanging off of the step, we're adducting the hip.

And then as we raise it up, we're abducting and we're trying to keep that leg nice and straight, both legs.

We're not bending the knees to create this motion.

It's really all coming from the hip.

- This feeling too, you can really get into.

- [Adam] It's a nice-- - It's like a little dance.

- Here, come give it a try.

- Come here.

- Okay.

- So this would be-- - So keep the leg straight.

- Yeah, keep your leg straight.

This is on your left side.

And so this is on that tighter side, so you may find that dropping that right leg down is a little harder.

That's great.

And then you're lifting that hip up.

And you can feel the the work that's happening on your left side.

- Oh, right, yeah, very interesting.

- That looks great.

- Yeah, and so now let's come, and we'll try it on the other side.

And now this is that right side.

This is the side that's giving you a little bit of trouble.

- Right.

- And you may find that it's easier to drop down into-- - Yes, exactly.

- Yeah, and so in order to really reset or fix this imbalance is, you really want to practice bringing that right side up out of that hole, really hiking the left hip.

And then when you're over here on the left side, you wanna practice really dropping that left side.

- Got it, yes.

- Into that adduction.

And that's really gonna help reset that balance of, you know, one side that's really adducted versus one side that's abducted.

And you can really feel it, feel that difference.

- So when I'm in the office, I could just come out here and... - Exactly, you've got your-- - And I have the tree to lean on [laughs].

- All the equipment you need is right here.

- I love it!

Do you know the same thing applies to interior design?

It's all about the symmetry and the relationship of one part to another.

So I get it profoundly.

- Awesome, yeah, see, great.

- Well, I think you owe us, then, a little more touring so we can see more symmetry.

- Okay, yeah, okay.

- That was our deal, right?

- I'm gonna pay up.

Okay, so, you know, I continue the fruit trees.

So, you know, guava, lemon, strawberry guava.

- And this-- - Peach tree.

Oh, yes.

- This looks like a home stager.

I mean, talk about a beautiful scene with your little objects.

- [Meridith] My little squirrel.

- [Adam] The symmetry of the-- - Pots, aren't they gorgeous?

Those urns are absolutely gorgeous.

It just makes you wanna sit there.

- That's right.

But, you know, that's what it's all about.

That's what staging's about.

You put it there, and you make someone want to sit there.

And once they sit there, they're gonna write the check and buy the house.

- I would write a check and buy this house in a heartbeat.

- This looks like professional backyarding for sure.

- And what is this?

- Well, this is my angel.

My son gave it to me for my birthday.

Can you believe it?

- So sweet.

- Very thoughtful.

- I love it.

It's just the perfect spot.

- I know.

- Just seems to sit over everything and take over, and you have your birdbath, your little fountains.

I mean, just every object, Meridith, looks so inviting.

- Thank you, thank you.

Oh, and I wanna show you some more down here.

- Okay.

- This is a plum tree here.

- Oh, look at that.

- Wow.

- More fruit trees.

Passion fruit.

- Isn't that wonderful, there's...

Hang on a minute.

Shelves in a garden?

- [Meridith] Of course.

- [Madeline] I don't think I've ever seen that before.

- [Meridith] Hey, but they have to be really beat up and rusty, you know, to work.

- Of course they do.

They just look fantastic.

And the variety of things that you have on them.

- [Meridith] And my stone eggs.

- Stone eggs.

- Flea market find.

- May I?

- A flea market, ooh, these are heavier than they look.

- They are, and they've got such a nice patina, like everything else on that shelf.

- I'd love to show you how I stage shelves inside, okay?

- Oh, that would be wonderful.

- Come, let's do it.

[gentle music] - [Madeline] Off to the shelves.

- [Meridith] Off to the shelves now.

- [Madeline] Oh, wow.

- Now, first I wanna introduce you to my fence post finials.

I know, call me crazy.

Got them at a flea market.

Of course - Of course.

- So these I thought looked like this little cute little family with these funny little heads with no heart.

- Open bodies, yeah.

- [Meridith] Well, you can put it like open body instead of no heart, okay.

- Very sculpturesque.

- Yes, and then these have, like, a little hat.

- [Madeline] They're so cute.

- Aren't they cute?

And the spears up there.

But there's just something that made me fall in love with them as art.

- I think this is so special that you actually see a collection of something that probably nobody's ever collected before.

- Yeah, that looks, uh, okay.

- That's a very interesting thing to put up on a shelf, with art and other artifacts.

- Well, yeah, I like to put little pieces of art in between other things, just to kind of break it up a little bit.

- [Madeline] I love that.

- And then this guy, this horse I found in, I fell in love with him.

And then there's, you can put you can put secrets inside of here.

- Oh!

- Yeah, so, like, this little guy has a place for a message as well.

- Oh, I love that.

Isn't that cute?

- But, yeah.

I mean, the idea of secret messages, I just find it kind of fascinating.

- But just the balance of all this on these shelves.

They look so perfect.

- And also, don't they look, like, kind of like royalty or people that were worshiped, as he does?

Doesn't he look very important?

- [Madeline] Oh, definitely, he looks very important.

- I mean, just that sense of themselves, right?

I kind of like.

- I like this band up here too.

- [Madeline] Oh, I do too.

- Yes, they're musicians.

Each one is a different instrument.

- But, again, I love the idea of a collection all across the shelf.

- Yes, I mean, a collection of something.

Speaking of which, my mother, my late mom, was a collector of art glass.

Each piece is handmade and signed.

And so my brothers and I divided it when she passed.

And, so this is my part of the collection, and I have an idea.

I have an empty shelf.

I think I was moving things around and I didn't get around to this one.

I have an idea.

How about you take some of this art glass and do a shelf?

- I think we can handle that.

- We got this.

- I wanna watch this.

- Okay.

I think Adam has to take the ones from the top.

- Any favorites?

I really like this one with the-- - Okay, so take your favorites then.

- I like this little guy.

- [Adam] Nice.

- And we need a tall one, right?

- Yeah, we need some height.

What do you think?

- Do you want the big belly one?

- Definitely.

- Okay.

And how about another little guy or two?

- [Adam] Yeah, how about this one?

- Oh, okay.

And maybe... Do you want the real tall one?

- Yeah.

- Yeah, I think we need a tall one.

- Yes, yeah.

- Okay, so we're gonna position them now?

- Yeah.

[group laughs] - I get quite intimidated.

Okay, let's make that the middle.

- Okay.

I feel like these two have a similar shape.

- Yeah, they're kind of nice together.

I think we need one more big guy.

- On the far side?

- Like, yeah.

No, you're right.

- Maybe over here.

- Is that enough?

Okay, that's our shelf.

- Okay, okay, now-- - Be nice.

- Yeah, tell us.

- Yeah, right.

Well, I guess, you know, I'm just not into two, two, two.

It's a little too symmetrical.

In other words, it's too predictable.

So I like mixing it up a little bit.

So this has a similar pattern and patina.

I'd almost bring him in to round that off.

- That already looks better.

- Right?

And then this one, I would say this one I think is kind of pretty unique.

Those are unique.

So I would say here I'm gonna go with color.

And I would probably bring in this.

And this.

- Oh, my.

- Yeah, I mean... - That already looks so much better.

- I see the logic.

- So really, what I'm looking for is I'm looking for the relationship of patterns, colors.

I like to alternate size of a type of thing.

And I kind of look at it as if putting a family together.

- How lovely.

- Yeah, a group.

- [Madeline] The shelves look so appealing.

- Thank you, thank you.

Hey, I think maybe we have some lemonade.

I have all those lemon trees out there.

Are you up for it?

- [Adam] Yeah.

- I'm definitely up for lemonade.

[bright soft music] That really looks delectable.

- Oh, yes, especially when you have the fresh lemons, right?

- Oh my goodness.

- Oh, yeah.

- Straight from the garden.

- Yes.

- Adam.

- Thank you.

- They look so beautiful.

- Don't they?

- Thank you.

Well, you definitely held up your end of the bargain.

We had a wonderful tour of the garden and a fantastic day.

- Oh, I really loved spending the day with you.

- [Adam] Yeah, it was really great.

Thank you so much.

- We loved it so much.

Cheers.

[gentle music] - [Narrator] Get "GardenFit" with us.

[upbeat music] [upbeat music continues] [upbeat tune] "GardenFit" is made possible in part by Monrovia.

[bright uplifting music] [gentle upbeat music]