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Gardening with the RHS

Gardening with the RHS

'Gardening with the RHS' offers seasonal advice, inspiration and practical solutions to gardening problems. Trusted gardening professionals give you the latest horticultural advice, scientific research and tried and tested techniques to bring out the best in your garden. Topics covered include: growing your own vegetables, flowers, garden design, lawn care and gardening with children. Plus expert masterclasses in topics ranging from cottage garden plants, growing orchids, to pest control and eco-friendly gardening. Plus we?ll have behind the scenes reports from the country?s most prestigious flower shows. There?s something in these podcasts to interest every gardener, whatever your level of expertise. For more info see www.rhs.org.uk/podcast A Pixiu production.

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Episodes

Something New!

This week?s show is all about growing something new. We?re spreading the word about exciting plant species, cultivars, and hybrids from those that love them most. Legendary plantsman Roy Lancaster chats about shrubby honeysuckles, Canadian horticulturist Grahame Ware makes the case for a curious genus called Syneilesis, and Wisley horticulturist Jack Aldridge shares the stories behind flowering dogwood hybrids. All the stories in this show are based on articles from the March issue of The Plant Review. You can find information on how to subscribe here. Presenters: Gareth Richards & James Armitage Contributors: Roy Lancaster, Grahame Ware, and Jack Aldridge Links: Shrubby honeysuckle Flowering dogwood
2024-02-15
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Alpine Delights, Wisteria Pruning, and the Great RHS Award Snub

For this week?s show, we take a behind the scenes look at the ways spring is fighting its way into the picture at RHS Garden Wisley. We go behind the scenes at the Alpine Display House, we get a masterclass on pruning wisteria, and we dive into the life and work of the eccentric and influential horticulturist Ellen Willmott ? and explore a theory for why she may have missed her Victoria Medal of Honour ceremony.  Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Alex Hankey, Matthew Pottage, Suzanne Moss Links: Visiting Wisley Narcissus bulbocodium  How to get wonderful Wisteria: Buying, planting, pruning and care tips ?Gardens have provided solace, opportunity and inspiration for LGBTQ+ people? Miss Willmott?s Ghosts: the extraordinary life and gardens of a forgotten genius
2024-02-08
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Growing on a Budget

In this week?s show, we?re zeroing in on how to stretch the money we spend on our gardens as far as possible. We hear from gardening influencer Anya Lautenbach - aka Anya the Garden Fairy ? on her money-saving tips. We explore the science behind cuttings with botanist and editor James Armitage. And we take an inside look at the RHS apprenticeship programme. Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Anya Lautenbach, James Armitage, Sheila Das, Rory Doyle Links: The Money-Saving Gardener Propagation techniques New Shoots RHS Apprenticeships
2024-02-01
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Guerrilla Gardening, Seasonal Advice, and Maintaining a World-Famous Laburnum Arch

This week?s show is all about cultivating change ? whether in your own garden, in your local neighbourhood, or in a magical National Trust property. We?re chatting guerrilla gardening with Ellen Miles, getting top tips from Wisley advisors, and taking a look at all the work that goes into maintaining the laburnum arch at Bodnant Garden (one of our most beloved partner gardens!)   Presenter: Guy Barter   Contributors: Ellen Miles, James Lawrence, Becky Mealey, Michaela Freed, and Lucy Bidgood   Links:   Guerrilla gardening and reclaiming urban spaces   Get Guerrilla Gardening   Nature is a Human Right   The Laburnum Arch at Bodnant Garden   Horticulture Careers Discovery Week   Diploma in Horticulture Practice
2024-01-25
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Second Chances

As gardeners, we all have plants we love to hate ? think aucubas or heathers. And in winter, especially, it seems that these common but unpopular plants play a really important role in our gardens, adding structure, berries, or cheery variegated leaves when we need it most. So today, we?re addressing the overlooked. We?re giving mahonias a well-deserved second chance. We?re revisiting houseplants, which may or may be looking worse for wear after the chaotic holiday season. And finally, we?re taking a look at the work The Glasshouse, a nursery in Kent, does to give women in prison a fresh start.  Presenter: Gareth Richards Contributors: Jack Aldridge, Tony Le-Britton, The Glasshouse Team Contact us at [email protected] Links: Mahonia Not Another Jungle: Comprehensive Care for Extraordinary Houseplants Growing hope and houseplants in prison The Glasshouse
2024-01-18
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Winter-Flowering Camellias, Cold Weather Inspiration, and Gardening Questions Answered

We?re past the solstice, so it?s time to both revel in the present and prepare for what's to come as the days get longer and warmer. So, in this week?s show, we?re doing exactly that, taking note of winter wins ? like winter-flowering camellias and snowdrops? and addressing RHS members? questions as we look ahead to the growing season to come.   Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Jack Aldridge, Naomi Slade, James Lawrence, Becky Mealey, Michaela Freed   Links:   Autumn and winter-flowering camellias   RHS The Winter Garden    Wisteria: pruning   Snowdrops
2024-01-11
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A Sustainability Health Check for the Garden

To start off the new year right, we decided to begin with a practical and sustainable guide on what you can get up to outdoors this year ? it?s what we?re calling a sustainability health check for the garden. We?ll be chatting about the state of play on peat-free growing, hearing from a range of RHS experts for some top garden sustainability tips, and exploring the future of grow-your-own in our ever-changing climate.   Links:   Peat-free gardening   Peat- free nurseries   10 ways to be more sustainable in your garden   Edible: 70 Sustainable Plants That Are Changing How We Eat
2024-01-04
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2023 Highlights and Trends

For our final episode of 2023, we?re taking a look back at some of our favourite moments on the podcast and across the RHS from the year, exploring emerging trends, new beginnings, and time-honoured advice. Stay tuned for highlights from Director General Clare Matterson, Head of Editorial Tom Howard, Head of Libraries and Exhibitions Fiona Davison, and more.  Presenters: Gareth Richards & Guy Barter Contributors: Clare Matterson, Tom Howard, Fiona Davison, Jenny Laville, and Jenny Bowden Links: Rewilding Small Spaces The Winter Garden Maximising Minimal Space
2023-12-28
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A Gardener?s Recipe for Christmas

As we approach the most festive time of year, we?ve decided to share a recipe for a plant-filled Christmas. In this episode, we?ll be returning to Bristol with Naomi Slade to hear how she decks her halls with things from the garden. We?ll then be making our way to the Frenchay Christmas Tree Farm to get a feel for life at the busiest point in their calendar. And finally, we?re exploring the curious world of parasitic plants, including a festive favourite: mistletoe. Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Naomi Slade, Simon Maughan, Alex Summers Links: RHS The Winter Garden Frenchay Christmas Tree Farm How to grow your own mistletoe Christmas with the RHS
2023-12-21
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For the Love of Birds

This week, we?re wrapping up warm and heading out into our gardens to take a moment to really appreciate our garden birds. Wildlife sound recordist Gary Moore gives us a masterclass on recognising the calls of common birds at this time of year. Writer and wildlife gardening guru Kate Bradbury shares her top tips for making a bird-friendly garden. And finally, we delve into the story behind the remarkable number of American songbirds that made it across the Atlantic this autumn.  Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Gary Moore, Kate Bradbury, and Rob Jaques Links: Birds in your garden Plants for birds RHS Wildlife Gardening for everyone and everything,  RHS How to Create a Wildlife Pond Garden BirdWatch BTO?s BirdTrack Migration Blog
2023-12-14
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What's That Weed?

Weeds have many faces. They feed birds, butterflies, bees, and the like. They spread like wildfire, but are resilient. They compete with crops, yet can add colour and beauty at times when our gardens feel lacklustre. They?re complicated ? and the way we regard them, even more so. So, in today's show, we?re taking a holistic look at the weeds in our gardens ? discussing what constitutes a weed, how to deal with them safely, and how we can see them as more than the enemy. Chief horticulturist Guy Barter chats about this upcoming book What?s That Weed?, the students who brought together Wisley?s ?What is a Weed?? exhibition share their perspectives on these rapid spreaders, and finally, author Ann Treneman gives her advice on creating weed containers.  Presenter: Gareth Richards Contributors: Guy Barter, Ann Treneman, Students from St John the Baptist School Links: RHS Weeds: The beauty and uses of 50 vagabond plants Identify common weeds Controlling Weeds Exhibition: What is a weed?
2023-12-07
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The Winter Garden

With the first cold snap hitting the UK this past week, it?s really starting to feel like winter. It?s a time of structural beauty, of evergreen supremacy, of frosty seedheads, and of low but magical light. So this week, we?re focusing in on all the mystery and enchantment of a winter garden. We?re chatting with author Naomi Slade about designing and revamping gardens in the colder months, leaning into year-round grow-your-own with garden manager Sheila Das, and exploring how to bring a bit of the winter charm inside with what?s available now to pick.  Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Naomi Slade, Sheila Das, Gareth Richards, Hazel Gardiner, and Shane Connolly Links: RHS The Winter Garden Vegetables: growing for winter Winter Flowers Week
2023-11-30
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The Best Gardening Books of 2023!

It?s that time of year again? Our annual book special is here! Today, Helen Griffin, RHS Book Publishing Manager, chats with Fiona Davidson, Guy Barter, and Arthur Parkinson about their top gardening book picks of 2023. Tune in for a discussion on the future of GYO and resilient planting, the relevance of gardening history, and wildcard topics like cut flowers, winter gardening, and yes, even murder.  Presenter: Helen Griffin Contributors: Fiona Davidson, Guy Barter, Arthur Parkinson, and Matt Pottage Books Discussed: Botany of the Kitchen Garden by Helena Dove Rekha?s Kitchen Garden: Seasonal Produce and Home-Grown Wisdom from One Gardener?s Allotment Year by Rekha Mistry RHS The Winter Garden by Naomi Slade England?s Gardens: A Modern History by Stephen Parker Gardening can be Murder: How Poisonous Poppies, Sinister Shovels, and Grim gardens Have Inspired Mystery Writers by Marta McDowell Not Another Jungle: Comprehensive Care for Extraordinary Houseplants by Tony Le Britton Chatsworth: The gardens and the people who made them by Alan Titchmarsh A Year Full of Veg: A Harvest for All Seasons by Sarah Raven The Cut Flower Sourcebook by Rachel Siegfried
2023-11-23
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Crazy About Houseplants: Top picks & tips and the stories behind our obsession

As the surrounding world starts looking a little bleaker, we?ve decided to explore how to best turn our homes into verdant oases. RHS Digital Editor Jenny Laville chats with Gareth Richards about the best low-maintenance houseplants, fun climbers for indoors, and underrated care tips and tricks. Social historian Catherine Horwood regales us with the history of ever-changing houseplant trends. And finally, author and podcaster Alice Vincent reveals the role houseplants played in her own gardening journey.   Presenters: Gareth Richards and Jenny Laville Contributors: Catherine Horwood and Alice Vincent   Links:   Picking the right houseplant   Houseplants for different locations   Houseplants for students   Potted History: How Houseplants Took Over Our Homes   Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival   Rootbound: Rewilding a Life
2023-11-16
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Travelling Back in Time

This week, we?re journeying back through time, taking stock of a few significant moments in botanical history. We?re unravelling their mysteries, considering their reverberations, and imagining what this all might mean for the future. We're starting with a tale on the first flowering of the giant waterlily in cultivation, then discovering how ?Midwinter Fire? gave Cornus sanguinea a whole new reputation, and finally, we're taking a look at the life and legacy of Arthur Bulley, founder of Ness Botanic Gardens. Each of these stories draws inspiration from articles in the December issue of The Plant Review. The Plant Review RHS A Plant for Every Day of the Year Foggy Bottom: A Garden to Share Ness Botanic Gardens
2023-11-09
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Winter Preparation & The Case for No-Dig

This week, we journey through RHS Garden Wisley, capturing some of its autumnal beauty while also looking ahead as winter edges ever closer. Garden Manager Sheila Das chats with us about her no-dig journey, entomologist Dr. Seirian Sumner fills us in on wasps? winter preparation, and finally, Wisley advisors provide a seasonal Q&A.    Links: How to grow a No-Dig Garden   How to improve your soil with the ?No Dig? technique   Endless Forms: Why We Should Love Wasps   Leafmould   Mulches and mulching   Preventing winter damage   Autumn-interest shrubs
2023-11-02
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Hidden Roots: Extraordinary Tales from Black Women Gardeners

This month ? October ? is UK Black History Month ? and the theme for 2023 is ?Saluting our Sisters,? highlighting the influence Black women have had in shaping history and inspiring change. So for today?s show, we?re exploring a few of the extraordinary stories of Black women gardeners who?ve made and continue to make a difference in the world of horticulture ? all while looking ahead to what we can do to create a more equitable future. Award-winning garden designer Juliet Sargeant is sharing the stories behind her designs. We?re getting a look at the life and work of Mrs Annie Vann Reid ? an American nurserywoman who built a plant empire almost 100 years ago. And, finally, we?re chatting with floral artist Hazel Gardiner about making an impact through plants.  Links: The history of Black British gardeners is one of resistance The Garden History Podcast A Short History of Flowers Juliet Sargeant: Gardens & Landscapes Hazel Gardiner Design
2023-10-26
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Entangled Wonder: An Autumnal Survey on Trees

This week, with all the glorious leaf colour on display, we?re exploring the entangled wonder of the arboreal world, getting a behind the scenes look at what trees are up to now and chatting about how best to incorporate them within our gardens. Renowned nurseryman Nick Dunn is back on the podcast to talk crab apples. Silvologist and author Dr Gabriel Hemery is lifting the veil on what exactly is happening with trees at this time of year. And finally, garden designer Arit Anderson and scientist Dr Henrik Sjoman discuss what to keep in mind when choosing what to plant. Links: RHS guide to trees RHS The Garden Magazine The Tree Almanac 2024 The Essential Tree Selection Guide
2023-10-19
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Maximising Minimal Space

It?s no secret our living spaces are getting smaller. As more and more of us move to urban areas, we?re often having to put up with tight quarters ? living in tiny flats with limited outdoor space. So in this episode, we want to explore how to maximise the space you do have ? getting the best out of whatever garden, patio, porch, or windowbox you can access. Award-winning garden designer Tony Woods gives us a front garden masterclass. We?re then chatting with journalist and gardener Ann Treneman about creating fetching winter containers. And finally, Fiona Davison, our head of Libraries and Exhibitions, is back to tell the story of an early city gardener ? and what we can learn from his 18th century ideas. Links: RHS Big Ideas, Small Spaces Garden Club London RHS Urban Show Growing plants in containers  Thomas Fairchild: The first city gardener?
2023-10-12
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A Fun Guide to Fungi

This Saturday ? 7 October ? is UK Fungus Day. And so for this week?s show, we?re exploring the fascinating faces of fungi. We?re taking a tour of the Fungus Garden at RHS Wisley, journeying back in time with biologist Merlin Sheldrake to investigate our historical uses of these organisms, chatting about 3 easy ways you can grow your own edible mushrooms, and finally, we?re returning to Wisley to get an update on the science team?s honey fungus research.  The music you hear at the very beginning of the show was created by Cosmo Sheldrake. The sounds you hear -- apart from the accompanying piano -- are from recordings of oyster mushrooms devouring a copy of Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life. You can listen to the entire song here. Links:   Saprotrophic fungi   Mycorrhizal fungi   Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures   Rebel Gardening: A Beginner?s Handbook to Creating an Organic Urban Garden   Honey Fungus: identifying mushrooms   10 fun facts about fungi  
2023-10-05
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Harvest Reflections and The Future of Grow-Your-Own

We?ve passed the autumn equinox and officially entered harvest season. It?s time to pick apples, pears, and autumn-fruiting raspberries, harvest squashes, beetroot, aubergines, leeks, and much, much more. And, of course, what we can grow and how crops perform is changing. As our climate becomes more unpredictable and more extreme, some of our go-to classics are no longer shoe-in wins. So, this week, we want to honour the harvest season, while also exploring what it means to grow food resiliently ? and in a way that benefits both our gardens and our stomachs. We?re stopping by RHS Garden Wisley?s impressive pumpkin patch, discussing the connection between our soil and gut microbiome with Garden Manager Sheila Das, and exploring unusual but sustainable crops that could be staples in the years to come*.    Links: Pumpkins and winter squashes: storing   Festival of Flavours   Vegetables: growing for winter   Edible: 70 Sustainable Plants That Are Changing How We Eat   *Please note, when foraging, never eat a plant if you aren?t 100% certain of its identification, and check before harvesting that doing so is legal where you are. Follow the Countryside Code and only pick as much as you will use.
2023-09-28
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Boosting Your Soil Health

Soil is the backbone of our gardens. A healthy soil means happier plants, higher crop yields, and greater biodiversity. So, this week, as we begin laying out our deliciously rich compost with fervour, we?ve decided to dive deep into what makes for top-notch, productive soil. We?re starting with a masterclass on composting in colder months. Then, we?re turning to the science of eco-acoustics ? and how the sounds worms and other invertebrates make can give us insight into the state of our soil health. And finally, we?re myth-busting! Electroculture gardening is everywhere on social media these days, but is it actually worth your while? Links: How to care for your soil Composting through the winter Earthworms Soil types
2023-09-21
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The Radical Lives of Britain's Women Gardeners

With the release of Fiona Davison?s new book ? An Almost Impossible Thing: The Radical Lives of Britain?s Pioneering Women Gardeners ? we decided to dedicate this week?s show week?s show to women in the garden. And in that vein, we?re exploring the potential for gardens to be empowering, educational, equalising, and radical spaces. Fiona shares a story from her book about two women from over 100 years ago who show that the roots of ecological gardening run further back then we may realise. Psychotherapist, writer, and gardener Marchelle Farrell reveals how her English country garden helped her get to the core of a question that had troubled her throughout her life: What is home? And finally, garden historian Twigs Way joins us again to give the inside scoop on an early and influential gardening school for women. But, If you?re looking for more advice-oriented content ? fear not! Throughout the programme, we?re giving story-specific gardening tips.  An Almost Impossible Thing: The Radical Lives of Britain?s Pioneering Women Gardeners Uprooting: From the Caribbean to the Countryside ? Finding Home in an English Country Garden Vine Weevils Autumn-interest shrubs Study & Learn at the RHS
2023-09-14
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A Host of Golden Daffodils (And Other Bulbs!)

Now that it?s September, we?ve officially entered bulb-planting season. It?s time to get things like daffodils, alliums, crocuses and hyacinths into the ground. So, with that in mind, we?ve put together a bulb deep dive ? with a strong emphasis on those golden classics, narcissi. In the episode, we travel to Lindley Library to get the backstory of daffodils? long history of cultivation, chat with TV horticulturist and daff-lover Camilla Bassett-Smith about her favourite varieties, catch a tutorial on naturalising narcissi in the landscape, and then finally, check in with Michael Perry (aka Mr Plant Geek) on all that?s trending with bulbs this year. Links: Visit the RHS Lindley Library A Host of Golden Daffodils: The story of a springtime favourite How to grow daffodils Bulbs: naturalising
2023-09-07
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In Life and Death

Perhaps nowhere do we face the realities of life and death more frequently and intimately than we do within the garden. We witness a cycle of growth, dieback, and rebirth on a seasonal, weekly, and even daily basis. And so, as we once again inch closer to a new season ? to autumn, a time of abundance, growth, but also, let?s face it, decay ? we?ve decided to take a deeper look at what gardens and our beloved flora can reveal about both life and death. We?ll hear from Dr. Ross Cameron about his 2023 release How Plants Can Save Your Life, get a behind-the-scenes peek at the field of forensic botany, travel to The Poison Garden in Alnwick to learn about their pernicious new addition, and finally, take a second look at the life cycle of wasps. Warning: This episode contains a story about police investigations into death, murder and suicide. Listener discretion is advised. Links: Gardening for Health and Wellbeing How Plants Can Save Your Life Murder Most Florid: Inside the Mind of a Forensic Botanist Mark Spencer's Lindley Late Lecture The Alnwick Garden Endless Forms: Why We Should Love Wasps
2023-08-31
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Late Summer Gardening

With autumn drawing closer and closer, we?re exploring late summer gardens ? with all their lushness, colour, and vibrancy ? and considering what we can get up to in the garden now to set us up well for the next year. We visit RHS Garden Wisley to take a look at their seed collection process ? and get their tips for how to replicate this all at home. We chat with kitchen gardener and food writer Kathy Slack about how we can get the best out of the fruit and veg we?ve grown this summer. And finally, garden historian Twigs Way joins us again to share the second part of her allotment series all about their history from the early 1900s until today.  Links: RHS Members? Seed Scheme RHS Grow Your Own From the Veg Patch Tales from the Veg Patch Newsletter Festival of Flavours Allotments
2023-08-24
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Rewilding Small Spaces

Today?s show focuses on specific ways we can rewild gardens. We?re exploring how we can intervene in space spaces to create dynamic habitats ? without using herds of free-roaming animals. Isabella Tree, co-author of The Book of Wilding and one of the foremost rewilding experts in the UK, chats about her own experiences rewilding her estate and her top tips for getting into a wilder mindset. We?re then shifting gears a bit ? turning away from specific practices, to look at some of the fauna pivotal to our natural ecosystems. We visit RHS Garden Wisley to hear the curious case of the roman snail colony there. And finally, we catch up with Lloyd of the Flies Creator Matt Walker and RHS Entomologist Andy Salisbury to learn about the new family-friendly insect trails across all of our gardens.  Links: The Book of Wilding Roman Snails at Wisley Summer holiday fun at RHS Gardens
2023-08-17
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Back on the Allotment

It?s National Allotment Week ? a time to celebrate our country?s vast network of allotment plots and re-invest in our own dedication to growing fruit and veg. So for this week?s show, we?re taking a wander through a variety of allotments, getting a behind-the-scenes look at the techniques growers use to get the best out of their crops and examining the ways allotments help us better connect to the food we eat. We return to RHS Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter?s allotment in Surrey, where he shares this season?s successes and failures. We stop by RHS Garden Wisley?s Student and Community allotments to have a look at the different approaches taken there. And finally, we get the history of how allotments became commonplace here in the UK from garden historian and writer Twigs Way. Links: Allotment: getting started Grow Your Own Advice Tomato blight Allotments by Twigs Way
2023-08-10
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Orchid Special

With the grand opening of Wisley?s Orchid House this past month and the publication of The Orchid Review ? our annual orchid yearbook ? within reach, we thought it the perfect time for another Orchid Special. In this week?s show, we chat with Julian Shaw, who heads the International Orchid Register, Reshma Lobo, a London-based jewel orchid grower, Art Chadwick who breeds the cattleyas named for American First Ladies, and Kevin Wigley, who?s transformed a room in his house into an orchid sanctuary. Links: The Orchid Review The International Orchid Register Ugly Plantling Chadwick & Sons The Orchid Committee
2023-08-03
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Growing Up in the Garden

Now that it?s late July and the whole family?s around, we thought it the perfect time to explore gardening with kids and to reflect on our own memories of growing up in gardens, allotments, and parks. We visit the Hitchin Youth Allotment ? Paul Dee, the founder, will share the story of the project as well as his top tips for growing fruit and veg with kids. Afterwards Fiona Davison, RHS Head of Libraries and Exhibitions, recounts the constantly evolving history of the role that children have played in our gardens ? and how this relates to societal and cultural shifts. And finally Roy Lancaster, renowned plantsman and broadcaster, divulges the tale of the epic plant discovery he made as a young boy in Lancashire. A discovery that propelled him into the world of horticulture.  Links: RHS Campaign for School Gardening The Garden Magazine Hitchin Youth Allotment Growing Up in the Garden Exhibition
2023-07-27
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Trending at Tatton

RHS Flower Show Tatton Park is finally here! And we?re taking you on a tour of some of the highlights. We?re speaking with young designers like Camellia Hayes and Nathan Webster, exploring the new Sensory Long Border displays, and taking in the extraordinary RHS Nocturnal Pollinator Experience. But that?s not all! Because it?s the final flower show we?re covering on the podcast this summer, we?re putting all the emerging trends we?ve noticed at Tatton in context with themes from the other shows we?ve covered this year.  Links: Discover RHS Flower Show Tatton Park Seeking Resilience Garden Sensory Long Borders RHS Nocturnal Pollinator Experience Off the Grid Garden
2023-07-21
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Refashioning the Unfashionable

This week, we?ll be exploring a few of our cultivated genera and species that, for a variety of reasons, have gone out of style. We?ll hear about Plant Heritage?s Threatened Plant of the Year competition, take you to the beautiful garden of horticultural legend Roy Lancaster to get a tour of his most-cherished aucubas, chat with Wisley curator Matthew Pottage on why we should give Parthenocissus a chance, and finally, take a trip down memory lane with author Naomi Slade. Naomi will be telling us all about the history of the lilac?s bumpy ride in the popularity stakes.  Links: The Plant Review Plant Heritage RHS?s National Plant Collections Lilacs: Beautiful Varieties for Home and Garden
2023-07-13
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RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2023

It?s the 30th anniversary of the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival and it?s looking better than ever. There?s a magnificent Floral Marquee filled with displays from over 80 nurseries, a Festival of Roses boasting several exciting new cultivars, models of allotment growing, creative show gardens, and star-studded talks all week long ? to name but a few of the features that make this festival an annual favourite among gardeners. For this week?s episode, we?re bringing you the highlights. We?re chatting with imaginative designers like Zoe Claymore and Jo Thompson, and we?re taking you inside the Floral Marquee and Festival of Roses to get advice from the UK?s best nurseries. Links: RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival  RHS Wildlife Garden The Wildlife Trusts: Renters? Retreat David Austin Roses The Harkness Rose Company
2023-07-06
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Fabulous Florals: Lilies, Verbena bonariensis, and Flowering Dogwoods

It?s peak summer ? a time when many of our flowers are flourishing, adorning our gardens with bright colours and sweet, rich fragrances. We?ve gone from nurturing our gardens to flipping the switch ? sitting back and letting them fill us with joy. So, this week we?ve decided to celebrate that with an episode dedicated to flowers. Author and gardener Ben Dark will be explaining why Verbena bonariensis is our horticultural salt, writer and lily-lover Naomi Slade will be sharing her favourite Lilium varieties, and finally, botanist Barry Clarke will make the case for including flowering dogwoods in our gardens.  Links: The Grove: A Nature Odyssey in 19 ½ Front Gardens Lilies: beautiful varieties for home and garden The Garden magazine Sir Harold Hillier Gardens
2023-06-29
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Ungardening

Ungardening isn?t the antithesis of gardening ? instead, it?s about taking a new perspective on what tending to the earth can look like. And that?s a fitting theme for today?s show, as it?s chock full of stories that force us to look at things with fresh eyes. We?re getting handy and slightly unusual tips from RHS advisors on June grow-your-own problems. Then, we?re heading to RHS Garden Wisley?s orchard to hear the latest on their brand new fast-growing habitats. And finally, we?re chatting with Garden Museum curator Emma House about how artist Jean Cooke explored the concept of ?ungardening? through her paintings.   Links:   Jobs to do in June   Trees! What are they good for?   Jean Cooke: Ungardening
2023-06-22
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Summer Scents

As we get closer and closer to the official start of summer, the fragrances of our favourite flora are reaching a fever pitch. So for today?s show, we decided to focus on the many smells of our June gardens. In this aromatic deep dive, we?ll chat with renowned garden designer Isabel Bannerman on crafting a balanced but sweet-smelling summer plot, we?ll hear about the favourite Lathyrus cultivars of sweet pea supremo Roger Parsons, and finally, we?ll end with a mystery. Urban naturalist and author Bob Gilbert is back on the show to discuss the curious story of how a favourite scented flower of the Victorians lost its hallmark smell.  Links: Scent Magic   Lathyrus: The Complete Guide   The Missing Musk: A Casebook of Mysteries from the Natural World
2023-06-15
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June Garden Reset: GYO Chillies, Protect Your Soil, and Wonderful Wasps

It?s June and our gardens are now in full swing. It?s a wonderful time of year ? that perfect sweet spot where we can start to take in the fruits of our spring labour, while still looking ahead to the wonders yet to come. And so this week, we?ll be focusing on what you can keep on doing to ensure your garden flourishes all summer long. We?ll be chatting with Alessandro Vitale about the plant that inspired him to grow ? chillies, hearing from entomologist Seirian Sumner on the surprising benefits of wasps in June, and checking in with Caroline Williamson at RHS Garden Bridgewater on how we can keep our soil happy and healthy this summer. Links: Rebel Gardening: A Beginner?s Handbook to Organic Gardening Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps How to care for your soil 
2023-06-08
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The Art of Our Gardens

In this special episode, we?re branching off from the regular content of the show to zero in on what we can make when using flora as both our inspiration and our medium. It?s about art ? where the greenery of our landscape is the lens through which we create. We?ll be travelling to RHS Lindley Library to get some expert insights into the secrets of the world?s finest botanical art, getting the inside scoop on what to grow to produce natural dyes ahead of the WOVEN festival in Kirklees, and finally, chatting with academic and author Elizabeth-Jane Burnett about writing poetry about moss. Plus, you?ll get a rundown from RHS Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter on what you can do in your garden this week.   Links: RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show   WOVEN 2023   Twelve Words for Moss
2023-06-01
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It's Chelsea, Baby!

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023 is finally upon us! And this week, we?ve brought you an episode recorded amongst the hustle and bustle of designer gardens, best in class floral displays, traders, talks and exhibitions, and more. We?ll catch up with a few of the big designers ? including Tom Massey, Cleve West, Charlotte Harris & Hugo Bugg ? explore the RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year Competition, and get a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on at the show.  Links: The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023 The Royal Entomological Society Garden The Centrepoint Garden Horatio?s Garden Project Giving Back
2023-05-24
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Greening the Grey: Wisteria, Vertical Gardening, and the Sounds of London?s Trees

For this week?s show, we?re delving into the natural world of cities ? looking at how best to grow our favourite plants with limited space and to treasure the diverse flora and fauna of our cityscapes. Author Ben Dark shares his love for the wisteria embellishing urban front gardens. Urban farmer Alessandro Vitale ? you might know him as Spicy Moustache ? takes us through all his tips and tricks for growing vertically in whatever space you?ve got. And, author and amateur urban naturalist, Bob Gilbert, gives his thoughts on the sounds of London?s trees. But that?s not all ? we?re ending the show with a touching tribute from Daisy Payne on what she?s doing in honour of Celebration Day on 28 May. Links: Rebel Gardening: A Beginner?s Handbook To Organic Urban Gardening The Grove: A Nature Odyssey in 19 ½ Front Gardens Ghost Trees: Nature and People in a London Parish ?The Susurration of Trees? BBC Radio 4 programme Make the most of your urban garden
2023-05-18
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Grown Here From Elsewhere

As the UK becomes more and more diverse, the flora we grow is changing ? and we want to honour that. So, this week, we?re spotlighting the plants grown here from elsewhere. First up, we?ll take a trip to an allotment site in Southall. Here, award-winning garden designer Manoj Malde will chat with us about the fruit and veg from around the world that he?s including in his garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. We?re then delving into the history of plant collectors. Fiona Davison, Head of Libraries and Exhibitions at the RHS, will take us through the often overlooked legacy of how some of our garden favourites made it to Britain from far-off lands. Finally, we?ll head to RHS Bridgewater?s Chinese Streamside Garden ? and explore how international horticultural partnerships have changed over the years.    The RHS and Eastern Eye Garden of Unity   The Chinese Streamside Garden   Rare and Familiar Friends: The story of Chinese plants in our gardens
2023-05-11
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Gardens Fit for a King

The coronation of His Majesty King Charles III is just two days away. As a royal society, we thought it was only fitting to celebrate our new monarch with a royal-themed episode. First, we?ll check in with three of the Prince?s Foundation estates ? Highgrove, The Castle of Mey, and Dumfries House ? to get the inside scoop on how they manage their vast gardens while still considering the environment. Then we?ll visit Arundel Castle for their Tulip Festival, leading you on a tour of their over 130,000 tulip blooms, before giving you a tutorial on how to build a coronation container in time for National Gardening Week. Links: The Prince?s Foundation Dumfries House Highgrove House and Gardens The Castle of Mey Arundel Castle National Gardening Week 2023
2023-05-04
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Dig for Dopamine

It?s almost May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month. So for this week?s show, we?re getting into growing for wellbeing, and the many ways you can enjoy the sounds, sights, smells and experiences of gardening this spring. RHS Advisors discuss their go-to wellness tips in the thick of the growing season, artist MoYah reveals the unexpected links between gardening and hip hop, and RHS Advisor Becky Mealey takes us back to the mediaeval times, explaining how monks created productive but calming gardens of their own.  Links: Gardening for health and wellbeing May Project Gardens A Gentle of Plea for Chaos
2023-04-27
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Earth Day 2023: A Flora & Fauna Love Affair

At the RHS, we try to think critically about the ways we cultivate the earth and interact with the wildlife that inhabit our green spaces everyday. But this week, in honour of Earth Day, we wanted to take extra time to really celebrate our gardens ? and to share our love for the many plants and animals that bring them to life. Gardener and writer Ben Dark shares a history of the tulip that stretches back 1,000 years, RHS Senior Ecologist Gemma Golding chats with us about her exciting wildlife research, and artist and author James Bridle takes us through his exploration of the intelligence of plants. Plus, throughout the show we?ve sprinkled in plant love letters from Alice Vincent, Victoria Bennett, and Sue Mabberley.    Links:   The Grove: A Nature Odyssey in 19 ½ Front Gardens   iNaturalist   Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence   RHS Sustainability Strategy
2023-04-20
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Healthy Garden, Healthy Gardener

This week, we?ll be checking in on the health of our gardens, taking a look at the various diseases on the rise here in the UK and what we can do to stave off their encroachment. But that?s not all! With the return of allergy season, we?re also going to explore the many ways we can garden with not just the health of our plants in mind, but with that of our own bodies, as well. Plant Pathologist Dr. Liz Beal chats with us about the RHS annual disease rankings, Dr. Shubha Allard and Dr. Patrick Yong take us through the allergies to watch out for this spring, and finally virologist Dr. Tim Wreghitt shares his advice on building a low-allergy garden. Links: RHS Disease Ranking Hilltop Live: ?Plants and Allergy? on 21 April Low Allergy Gardening: The Why and Where of Plant Allergies and Plants to Choose for Your Low Allergy Garden Pollen forecast
2023-04-13
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Designing a Resilient Garden

Today, we?re looking to the future ? exploring how we can create resilient gardens that can flourish in the changing climate while also serving their local ecosystems. Renowned Garden Designer Tom Massey shares his blueprint for designing sustainable gardens that persevere, Peter Jones, the Garden Manager of Hardy Ornamental at Wisley, gives us a tour of the plants that survived through this past winter, and finally, RHS Advisor Esther Wolff chats with us about her tips on what you can do now to build up your garden?s resilience. Links: RHS Resilient Garden: Sustainable Gardening for a Change Climate Plants for wet and dry soils  What can I do about climate change in my garden?
2023-04-06
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Spring To Do's

April is just around the corner, and you know what that means: The hectic growing season is finally upon us. So, with that in mind, today?s episode will be exploring some of the big spring to-do?s. RHS Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter takes us to his allotment in Surrey, giving us a tour of his current grow-your-own projects, Flower Farmer and Author Rachel Siegfried chats with us about creating the perfect spring bouquet, and finally, Fiona Davison, Head of Libraries and Exhibitions, walks us through the influence certain royals have had on gardening trends throughout history.   Links: Allotments Allotment: getting started The Cut Flower Sourcebook The Old Laboratory at Wisley
2023-03-30
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Reimagining Our Lawns

In today?s episode, we?re exploring the many, many ways we can all get wilder with our lawns. It?s part of a larger RHS campaign with The Wildlife Trusts to celebrate how we can Bring Our Lawns To Life by gardening with nature, rather than against it. Mark Schofield from conservation charity Plantlife takes us through the whys and hows of creating wildlife-friendly lawns, Sue Mabberley from Nant y Bedd garden in Wales chats with us about her grassland and meadow care, and Janet Crouch from Maryland, USA tells us the story of her legal battle to keep her biodiverse front yard.  Links: Plantlife Nant y Bedd Garden Workshops Wild About Gardens Campaign Lawn and mini-meadow habitats
2023-03-23
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Blossoms Special

With spring just around the corner, we thought we?d devote an entire episode to blossoming trees. We?ll get into selection and planting advice, and journey across time and space to discover their history and current status. Tree Nurseryman Nick Dunn walks us through how to select the perfect cherry tree for an English garden, Journalist Naoko Abe takes us back in time to explore the work and legacy of cherry-tree fanatic Collingwood Ingram, and Richard Baines, Curator at Logan Botanic Garden in Scotland, gives us an inside look at his efforts to conserve endangered evergreen magnolias. Plus, RHS Advisor Lenka Cooke shares a dynamic tutorial on planting flowering apple trees this March.  Links: Flowering cherry trees for small gardens ?Cherry? Ingram: The Englishman Who Saved Japan?s Blossoms Plant Explorer: A Plantsman?s travels in Northern Vietnam How to grow apples: RHS advice
2023-03-16
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A Root of One's Own

This week, in honour of International Women?s Day, we?re giving space to a few of the women who?ve found meaning and fulfilment in the gardens they?ve created. We?re exploring the power that exists in our own connection with the rich environments we inhabit, and the myriad of ways we can care for and cultivate it. Writer and gardener Alice Vincent opens up about her quest to find out why exactly women grow, RHS edible grower Suzie Kelly shares her top tips for growing her favourite vegetable (tomatoes!), and author Victoria Bennett gives us an honest look at the apothecary garden she built in the midst of deep grief.  Links: Why Women Grow  Why Women Grow Podcast All My Wild Mothers Tomatoes ? growing your own Fast tomatoes ? the quickest way to grow your own
2023-03-09
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