Roots and All

Fibrex is a family run nursery, started by Hazel & Dick Key over half a century ago. The business is still run by family members; Angela works alongside her sister, brother and sister-in-law, as well as other family members, to make the nursery the success it is today. In addition to being respected horticultural experts, they hold two National Collections and continually attain top accolades at flower shows such as RHS Chelsea, Hampton Court, Malvern and Gardeners World Live.

RHS Plant Hardiness Ratings, Offering the Best Menu to Garden Birds & Why Going to the Gym is Madness. This week is a bit more back to basics as Sarah talks about how RHS and USDA hardiness ratings help you select the right plants for your garden. Plus, Sarah talks about what food attracts which birds, why we should all be eschewing heavy machinery and a cheeky tip to fake it until you make it in your borders. 

Born in 1986 to Jamaican parents in South East London, Esiah Levy is a London-based creative Food Grower, Gardener Designer and the founder of SeedsShare, a project sending edible plant seeds all over the world. SeedsShare is a project set up by Esiah in December 2016 to provide organic seeds which can be sown to produce free food and provide long-term food security for Individuals or community gardening groups, particularly in areas where organic fresh produce is at a minimum.

Gardening in A Changing Climate This is a recording of a panel discussion that took place at a Designers' Day event on 27th November 2018. The topic up for debate was how climate change is affecting the way designers design gardens for clients. The panel is chaired by Jack Wallington. The designers taking part are your host Sarah Wilson, Emma Page and Nic Howard. 

Decoding plant categories so you can tell how long your plant will live. This episode sees the introduction of a new segment, 'Getting to the Roots of...' and this week we're going back to basics to find out the differences between annuals, biennials, perennials etc. so you know how long to expect your plant to live.

This episode, I’m talking BioChar with Craig Sams, the co-founder of Carbon Gold, a company that produces a range of BioChar products for the garden but also for agricultural use. I interviewed Craig in his beautiful garden in Hastings, so please excuse the cries of the seagulls who tried to get in on the act around halfway through the interview.

Sarah shares tips from 3 experts about what you can be doing in the garden this week If you want to find out the best early flowering narcissus, which raspberries varieties taste the sweetest and how to look after your terracotta pots, then listen in...

Have you ever noticed how natural landscapes always seem to work? The colours, shapes, scale and textures of a natural landscape appear pleasing to the eye despite little or no human input. It’s this sense of innate beauty in nature, speaking to us on an almost subconscious level, that interests today’s guest Toby Diggens.  We speak about naturalistic and ecological gardens which incorporate elements of nature that gardeners have traditionally sought to keep out.

This week is all about plant pests and diseases, maintenance and planting. Sarah reads an excerpt from fellow Hastings plant-lover Marianne North's diary to mark Marianne's 188th birthday. 

Do you welcome foxes into your garden or are they the bane of your life when it comes to growing plants and keeping a clean and tidy plot? Foxes can be a joy to watch but a pain when they’re digging up your plants! In this episode, I speak to animal behaviour expert and fox aficionado Terry Woods. Terry is co-founder of Fox-A-Gon, a company which offers organic and ethical solutions in situations where foxes may be unwelcome visitors.

Sarah fields listener questions about herbaceous border maintenance in October and when to prune pieris. She reports back on her visit to the Great Dixter Plant Fair and there's a little bit of housekeeping too.

Alliums have to be one of our most well-loved, contemporary perennials. They’re relatively pest and disease free, pollinators love them, they look good in flower and also in skeletonised form during the winter. However, if you thought growing alliums was as straightforward as bunging some bulbs in the ground and enjoying them year after year, you may be surprised…

Sarah talks about jobs she should have done two weeks ago (same old same old) and about how National Collections work and why you may be able to have one if you so desire it.

The first ever Vegan Garden Festival was held at Hortus Loci Plant Centre in Hampshire on Sept 15th 2018. Sarah reviews the event and her discovery that she may be more than just a vegan who gardens.

In today’s episode, Sarah interviews ‘a legend in the world of trees’, Kew-trained, Peter Thurman. Discover how to select the right tree for your garden’s soil type and which species of tree will help you create the effect you are targeting. Pick up some valuable tips and tricks on the planting process from deciding which feed to use, to mulching and watering. Your questions are sure to be addressed in this informative episode.