Martha Leb Molnar
Hello and welcome. I write about the relationship between plants and people from a hilltop meadow in Vermont.
Martha Leb Molnar is a freelance writer and author based in Vermont. She is the author of Playing God in the Meadow: How I Learned to Admire My Weeds (University of Massachusetts Press, 2022) and Taproot: Coming Home to Prairie Hill (Verdant Press, 2014). She was a regular commentator on Vermont Public Radio and has written articles for The Boston Globe, Horticulture, Northern Woodlands magazine, Mother Earth News and Green Mountain Club magazine. Earlier in her writing career, she was a New York Times stringer with dozens of by-lined articles. Most of her professional career was spent in media/public relations and marketing. She is currently working on two new books and is an avid gardener and outdoors enthusiast.
NEWS & EVENTS
September 2, 2025: Hanover (NH) Garden Club
Past Events
Book Launch at Vermont State University, Castleton
Presentations at Vermont libraries in Woodstock, Killington, Castleton, Stockbridge, Shrewsbury, Chester
Presentations at Northshire Books, Phoenix Books, Brandon Books
Lectures at Audubon Society, Rutland Garden Club, Poultney Women’s Club
PUBLICATIONS
Please Don’t Call It Dirt, The Boston Globe, May 16, 2025
Got weeds? Read this before you whack them,The Boston Globe, April 26, 2023
Cash On Demand, Vermont Public Radio, September 27, 2017
Weed Wars: A Battle Against Poison Parsnip, Northern Woodlands, Summer 2016
Small State Advantage, Vermont Public Radio, October 16, 2018
What’s in a Name? Tree ID for Ordinary Mortals, Northern Woodlands, Winter 2017
The Wonders of Avian Architecture, Long Trail News, Fall 2018
Amid Spring Planting, Keep in Mind a Longer Fall, Horticulture, March 30, 2021
"Unmapped Days" in Making Connections: Mother-Daughter Travel Adventures, Seal Press 2003
"Unmapped Days" in Wild With Child, Solas House 2010
Cable Television Is Coming, At Last, To 2 Northern Towns, The New York Times, May 18, 1986
To Be or Not to Be?, The New York Times, November 30, 1986
BOOKS
Playing God in the Meadow: How I Learned to Admire My Weeds (University of Massachusetts Press, 2022)
"I don't think 'meadow' and 'meditation' have the same root, but perhaps they should—Molnar’s book is a lovely reminder of how you can see the world in an acre."
— Bill McKibben, environmentalist, author, journalist, and founder of 350.org
“Funny, thoughtful, and provocative musings… Fledgling and experienced land tillers alike will be captivated by the action that ensues.”
– Booklist, September 1, 2022
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“Molnar's journey of working to restore the biological potential of her land shows the richness and depth of living systems, and the many ways that people can engage with that dynamism. Her story is an important one as we seek to understand the best ways to steward land and resources in changed and changing environments.”
— Tao Orion, author of Beyond the War on Invasive Species: A Permaculture Approach to Ecosystem Restoration
“Molnar creates a valuable testament to our evolving attitudes toward nature. And by weaving in her own personal history, Molnar makes this an important contribution to the field of natural history writing in the tradition of Robin Wall Kimmerer and Michael Pollan.”
— Robert Taylor, nature writer
“A remembering of our ancestry and our connection to place. Molnar weaves past with present, reawakening her connection with nature through her relationship with a reclaimed meadow and the promise of bobolink song.”
--- Bridget Butler aka Vermont's Bird Diva
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Taproot: Finding Home on Prairie Hill (Verdant Press, 2014)
“Her powerful prose will charm not just those who love Vermont – it’s for everyone who feels a strong attachment to particular places and wonders why,”
– Bill McKibben
“I thought I’d dip into a paragraph or two. I kept going, couldn’t help it”
– Sidney Lea, past Vermont’s poet laureate
“Molnar demonstrates that no matter how many newcomers sit down to write about Vermont, the talented ones will still find something new to say.”
– Seven Days​
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To Life: A Family History (self published, 2019)
The history of Jewish persecution and survival told through the story of one family. The book traces the story of the Leb family in time and place through its diverse members, from 19th Century Transylvania through Paris and Israel to 21st Century New York, Vermont, Colorado and Oregon.