Roots and All

This episode I’m joined by 3 guests; Louise Moreton who heads up the horticultural programme at Wicor Primary School and 2 of the MiniHorts themselves, Rebecca and Kieran. Rebecca and Kieran are Year 6 pupils who are members of the after school gardening club and leads in the MiniHorts programme, passing on their knowledge and enthusiasm to younger pupils.

This episode I’m speaking to Jake Rayson. Jake lives in rural Wales on a 2 acre smallholding, which is set up as a working forest garden. In addition to managing his own plot, he also teaches about and designs forest gardens in the UK and beyond.

This episode is a double-bill, featuring two interviewees speaking about two historical figures who led lives with many parallels, although they were working almost two centuries apart. The first interview is with Teri Sayers-Copper and we discuss the life and work of Marianne North. The second interview is with Tanya Latty, Associate Professor of Entomology at the University of Sydney. Tanya talks about Maria Sibylla Merian, a naturalist and scientific illustrator who was born in Germany in 1647

This week’s guest is Fergus Garrett, Head Gardener at Great Dixter, an historic house and garden in East Sussex. Over the past four or so years, experts from many fields have come together to record the biodiversity of the site and the results have been fascinating. Fergus shares some of the results of this biodiversity audit and talks about how important it is to establish a coherent network of habitats in both public and private spaces across the UK.

This week I’m speaking to Richard Stubbs of David Austin. Richard lectures, designs and advises all over the world and what he doesn’t know about roses you can write on the back of a stamp and still have room to lick it. I asked him about which roses need pruning and which don’t, when to do it, how to do it and how not to do it. Plus, I got some inside information on why you shouldn’t leave the label on a rose when you plant it...

The National Geographic published an article by Saul on December 9th titled “How to live with mega-fires? Portugal’s feral forests may hold the secret”, which provides an insight into what conditions are needed for mega-fires to occur, the effects they have on humans once they take hold and how we can, and indeed must, be responsible for curtailing these events in the future, however the way forward is not certain and will undoubtedly involve a large amount of individual responsibilty.

Part 2 of the Design Experts Series, kindly sponsored by the London College of Garden Design Arguably, it’s necessary on any project to tie together the culture, history, geology, the people, the place but never is it more important to get this right on large projects where human experience is being shaped through what happens in the landscape and will be for generations to come. Kim talks about his large projects & how he is led by the land through every part of the design process.

This week, I’m speaking to Robin Snowdon who runs Limeburn Hill Biodynamic Vineyard. The vineyard is biodynamic and Robin works closely with the land, managing the estate not just for the vines but also for native flora and fauna. He also uses fascinating methods to produce unique wines that encapsulate the flavour and essence of the site. Robin gives an excellent insight into what can happen when you grow crops in tune with your site, rather than fighting against it.

This is a bonus episode and a follow-up to one I did back in April with Graham, where he spoke about new DEFRA Legislation that comes into effect on Dec 14th 2019.  This episode will be relevant if you buy, sell or supply plant material (including plants, cut flowers, bulbs, Christmas trees and so on) in the UK.

This week, I’m speaking to one of the world’s foremost experts in ornamental, edible plants, Stephen Barstow. Stephen grows a dazzling range of plants, some you probably haven’t even heard of, let alone eaten and more still that you may have heard of but may not have considered to be edible. Stephen’s book Around the World in 80 Plants looks at perennial, leafy plants from around the globe.

A warm welcome to new listeners and to those existing listeners who haven't quite got to grips with my wonky episode numbering system - this episode is for you!  Join me for a quick whizz through all the previous content. I've split it into areas of interest (sort of!) to help you navigate easily through the back catalogue and discover episodes you may have missed. 

Part One: The Design Experts Series - Sponsored by The London College of Garden Design This episode features Thomas Rainer, Principal Designer at Phyto Studio in Virginia and co-author of the book Planting In A Post-Wild World.

This week I’m talking to Catherine Horwood, authorised biographer of Beth Chatto and author of the recently released Beth Chatto: A Life With Plants. Catherine talks about Beth's life, her career in horticulture, her achievements and there may be a few surprises about Beth along the way!

This episode we’re discussing apples and I have TWO guests; Naomi Slade who is the author of An Orchard Odyssey and Sassie Yassamee who runs Eve Apple Press, a mobile apple pressing service in East Sussex. We’re just harvesting the last of our apples here in Sussex, so with the tastes and sights of varieties fresh in your mind, what better time to start planning your own orchard? 

This episode, I’m talking about one of the fundamental cornerstones that underpins everything we do as growers - soil. And to talk about this vital element, who better than soil scientist and international expert on the subject, Tim O’Hare? Tim answers questions about issues that most gardeners have faced at some point; soil compaction, poor drainage, working with the soil you have and what to look out for if you’re bringing new soil in to your garden.