My guest this episode is New Zealand based landscape designer Jo Wakelin. Jo creates low impact and environmentally conscious spaces and her own garden is a masterclass in water-wise planting that sits lightly within the landscape - beautiful but in keeping with its surroundings both aesthetically and ecologically. We talk about her extensive research and the lessons she’s learnt along the way.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Black Vine Weevils
What We Talk About
Jo’s work and what she does in her own garden
Jo's thoughts on native versus non-native plants in a garden setting
How gardens can and should work with their surrounding landscape
Current schools of thought in NZ garden design
Links
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This week’s episode, my guest is Clive Farrell. Clive is a butterfly expert who established The London Butterfly House at Syon House and has dedicated his life to breeding and studying the butterflies of Britain and the world. His latest project has been to develop the 100 or so acres around his home in Dorset into a haven for insects, that features unusual, even magical elements such as a giant fibreglass dragon, a replica of a Saxon longhouse that is home to a huge bog oak sculpture, a temple dedicated to ravens and a giant’s chair. Clive’s garden is the stuff of dreams to adult and child visitors, but also to the invertebrates which makes their homes amongst this garden which is built for them.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Overwintering Butterflies
What We Talk About
I’m not telling you, just listen ;-)
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This episode my guest is Jarema Osofsky, founder of the design studio Dirt Queen NYC and author of Moon Garden: A Guide to Creating An Evening Oasis. Moon gardening is an enchanting way to slow down in the evenings, immerse yourself in nature and cultivate a relationship with your plants and the moon and I’m talking with Jarema about how you can create your own.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Large Hairy House Spiders
What We Talk About
What is a moon garden?
Do they have to contain all white flowers?
Should you plant for year round interest?
Should the garden be visible from the house?
Apart from colour, what else is important in a moon garden?
Can you create a moon garden indoors?
Can moon gardens benefit wildlife?
Night blooming and night fragrant plants
How best to enjoy your moon garden
About the book
MOON GARDEN: A Guide to Creating an Evening Oasis (Chronicle 10/3/23) is a guide to creating a garden that comes alive at night, with night-blooming plants and night fragrant flowers. The book is full of design and horticultural wisdom; planting tips for outdoor, indoor, and container gardeners; and soothing rituals such as journaling and meditations. With beautiful botanical illustrations, Moon Garden encourages readers to approach gardening as a grounding, spiritual practice.
Spending time outdoors, and bringing nature into one’s home, is both joyful and healing. MOON GARDEN is part of Jarema’s mission to design beautiful garden spaces that help people cultivate meaningful connections to the natural world, while also benefiting local ecosystems in the process.
About Jarema Osofsky
Brooklyn-based landscape and interior plant designer, Jarema Osofsky is the founder of Dirt Queen NYC, a garden design and plant care business. Her debut book, MOON GARDEN: A Guide to Creating an Evening Oasis (Chronicle 10/3/23), invites readers to dive into the world of moon gardens and all that they offer. MOON GARDEN is a guide to creating a garden that comes alive at night, with night-blooming plants and night fragrant flowers. The book is full of design and horticultural wisdom; planting tips for outdoor, indoor, and container gardeners; and soothing rituals such as journaling and meditations.
With beautiful botanical illustrations, MOON GARDEN encourages readers to approach gardening as a grounding, spiritual practice.
Jarema grew up in New York’s Hudson Valley, the daughter of an avid gardener. Throughout Jarema’s life, visiting family in Hong Kong and Arizona sparked Jarema’s love affair with tropical plants, the desert landscape, and unusual cactuses. What started out as a hobby and a “fresh start” after a bad break-up, Jarema began growing plants and sold them in vintage pots in her neighbourhood. She earned her BA in East Asian studies and fine art from Oberlin College and worked as an artist assistant in New York and Los
Angeles, where she struggled to find her own form of expression. It was a pivotal moment when she realised that plants were the medium she had been searching for. After developing a strong customer base and advising plant owners, she decided to pour all her energy and passion into starting her own business.
Jarema’s design studio, Dirt Queen NYC, works closely with clients to create verdant gardens that offer meaningful and ecologically sustainable connections to the natural world. Jarema’s work has been featured in Architectural Digest, T Magazine, Elle Decor, Apartment Therapy, and others.
Jarema currently resides in Brooklyn, New York with her partner Adam, and their pup, Esme. A day in the life includes a trip to the local farmers market, walks in the park with her dog, qi gong and evening journaling. Always watering, pruning or propagating in her garden, Jarema also loves to travel and immerse herself in other cultures, landscapes, botanical gardens, art and architecture.
Links
Moon Garden:A Guide to Creating an Evening Oasis
Jarema on Instagram @dirtqueennyc
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This episode I’m speaking with Kevin Hobbs & Artur Cesar-Erlach, authors of EDIBLE: 70 Sustainable Plants That Are Changing How We Eat which is a beautifully illustrated book looking at edible plants from around the world that are revolutionising how we grow, eat and appreciate food. It tackles important questions like what do we eat when our usual diets are no longer sustainable, how do we future proof food and how can we be more mindful about what we eat and considers what the future of global food production might look like.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Harvestmen
What We Talk About
The idea behind the book
Traditional staple crops
Hopniss
Great Burdock
Cornelian cherry
Ebbing’s Silverberry
Sea buckthorn
Kevin & Artur’s vote for the most under-utilised crop
About the authors
Kevin Hobbs is a UK-based professional grower and plantsman with over thirty years’ experience in the horticulture industry. He is the author of The Story of Trees and Herbaceous Perennials, Hillier’s Gardener’s Guide.
Artur Cisar-Erlach is an ecologist and food expert based in Vienna, whose work spans the fields of food and ecotourism. He is the author of The Flavor of Wood.
Katie Kulla is an illustrator, writer and farmer based in Oregon in the United States.
Links
Edible: 70 Sustainable Plants That Are Changing How We Eathttps://www.summerfieldbooks.com/product/edible-70-sustainable-plants-that-are-changing-how-we-eat/
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Edimentals with Stephen Barstow
This episode, my guest is Susan Poizner. Susan is the author of the award-winning fruit tree care book Growing Urban Orchards and her new book, which is now an Amazon Number One Bestseller, Grow Fruit Trees Fast. Susan trains thousands of new growers worldwide through her award-winning fruit tree care training program and is the host of The Urban Forestry Radio Show and Podcast and an ISA Certified Arborist. She founded the Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard in Toronto in 2009, helps others establish and maintain community orchards and food forests in Toronto and beyond and has won multiple awards for her work.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Ivy Mining Bees
What We Talk About
Selecting trees for disease resistance and planning for a staggered harvest if you grow multiple trees
Choosing a spot for your tree
Tree roots as the tree matures
Feeding your fruit trees
Mulching
Success in a community orchard
Summer and winter pruning
About Susan Poizner
Susan is the author of the award-winning fruit tree care book Growing Urban Orchards and her second book Grow Fruit Trees Fast. Susan trains thousands of new growers worldwide through her award-winning fruit tree care training program and is the host of The Urban Forestry Radio Show and Podcast and an ISA Certified Arborist. She founded the Ben Nobleman Park Community Orchard in Toronto in 2009, helps others establish and maintain community orchards and food forests in Toronto and beyond and has won multiple awards for her work.
Links
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This episode, my guest is qualified herbalist Meghan Rhodes. Meghan discusses how we can tap into our gardens for better health, why herbs are good for dealing with conditions that are manifestations of multiple problems, such as stomach issues, the 7 keys tastes you find in herbs and how you can get started on your own journey using herbs for wellbeing.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Spanish Slug Story
What We Talk About
How herbalism adds another layer of wellbeing to gardening
Why taste is baked into our biologies, even if you’re brand new to working with plants and herbs
How to recalibrate your palette to be able to detect the 7 key tastes of herbs
How understanding tastes helps you make the most of foraged and homegrown herbs
About Meghan Rhodes
Meghan Rhodes is a qualified herbalist who has helped over 80 people start living herbalism, making healthier, safer solutions for themselves and their families a reality. As the founder of Rhodes Roots & Remedies, she has written 10 course books, authored the books Easy Herbal Remedies for Infants and Slow-Infused Self-Care, as well as developed a unique four season sense-based herbalism course and journey, Awaken Herbal Wisdom.
Meghan’s practice of herbalism is rooted in the belief that we must remember, reclaim and relearn our knowledge of our bodies, our autonomy and how to work with plant medicine in order to bring control of our own health back into our families and homes for a sustainable future for ourselves and the planet.
Meghan is a member of both the College of Practitioners of Phytotherapy and the Ayurvedic Professionals Association.
Links
- Get on the waiting list for Meghan's intensive herbalism course - Awaken Herbal Wisdom - enrolling annually - or DM Meghan the word ACCESS for the link.
- Exclusive access to exploring one of the seven tastes
- Instagram - @rhodesrootsandremedies
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Hello and welcome to Roots and All, where my guest this week is urban apiculturist Mark Patterson. Mark founded and runs Apicultural where he work with businesses and communities to invest in natural capital, improving the environment for pollinators and delivering pollinator monitoring surveys for clients. He provides honey bee hive management solutions, beekeeping training and education and also supplies quality urban honey to a select group of establishments. So you’d think Mark would be all for the idea of urban honeybees, right? Listen on…
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Ear Wigglers
What We Talk About
How many hives are there in London, does anybody have an estimate? Is it a sustainable number? Where are they foraging for floral resources? Are there enough of these?
Are urban conditions more taxing for bees? Do environmental stressors lead to higher incidences of disease, for example?
Do managed bees outcompete wild bees when it comes to consuming pollen and nectar?
Are managed bees necessary? Useful? Desirable? Filling a niche left by potentially dwindling numbers of wild bees? A useful pollination and food source for humans?
Why are commercial beekeeping companies trying to muscle in on the beekeeping tradition in London?
Do honeybees count as an ‘environmental credit’ in terms of planning and building?
About Mark Patterson
After completing a National Diploma in Agriculture, Land use and recreation which included a practical Horticultural course Mark went on to study for an Honours Degree in Countryside Management and Ornithology at Kingston Upon Hull University - an ecology based course of study. It was during this time at University that Mark was introduced to bee keeping by a fellow student.
As senior Consultant Mark has amassed over 26 years of experience in the fields of nature conservation and ecology. His past professional positions include marine biologist/ranger on the Farne islands national nature reserve, Countryside Ranger for a local Authority, Nature reserve manager for Durham Wildlife services, Worked on a bird of prey Reintroduction program with the RSPB , Freelance consultancy and 11 years as a project and program manager for a national Environmental regeneration Charity, Groundwork.
Having assisted others with their beekeeping for several years Mark began bee keeping on his own in 2010 having attended an introduction course and a seasons mentoring. Since then he has volunteered extensively for Bee keeping associations, serving as elected committee official and Trustee to the LBKA, taught courses and organised forage planting activities for the bee keeping community he serves. Mark spent 3 years working for DEFRA as a seasonal Bee Inspector and currently cares for around 30 colonies of honey bees,10 of which are his own.
Mark currently posses the BBKA Bee basic certificate, BBKA Honey bee management certificate, several of the BBKA modular exam certificates and the General Husbandry certificate. Mark has extensive training and experience in notifiable bee diseases diagnosis and management.
As well as Honey Bees Mark is also highly knowledgeable about Solitary bees and Bumblebees and teaches Bee identification courses for the Field Studies Council as part of the nationwide BioLinks program.
Links
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The Garden Jungle with Professor Dave Goulson
My guest this week is David Hedges-Gower. David is a prominent figure in the UK's lawn care industry, known for his expertise and dedication to promoting sustainable lawn care practices. He wrote the book ‘Modern Lawn Care’, is the Chairman of The Lawn Association, founded the world’s first lawn care qualification and works tirelessly to promote responsible, sustainable lawn care practices that benefit the environment and homeowners. What David has to say on lawns certainly challenged my notions on what lawn care involves, whether they’re a sensible option to those concerned about wildlife and the environment and what they can and should be like from a horticultural perspective, so listen on with an open mind…
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Horse Chestnut Moth
What We Talk About
Lawns and their uses
Do lawns have to be high maintenance?
Ideal grass species for sustainable lawns
Do you have to feed a lawn?
Can lawns be of use to wildlife?
Artificial lawns
About David Hedges-Gower
David Hedges-Gower is a prominent figure in the UK's lawn care industry, known for his expertise and dedication to promoting sustainable lawn care practices. His background in greenkeeping, including his role as Superintendent at the prestigious Oxfordshire Golf Club, provided him with a strong foundation in turf management.
After recognizing the need for better information and knowledge in the lawn care field, David transitioned into lawn care and authored a book titled "Modern Lawn Care" in 2014. This publication served as a valuable resource for those seeking to improve their lawn maintenance practices.
In addition to his book, David has been actively involved in educating people about proper lawn care through training days, seminars, and advisory services. He is a trusted source of information, having accumulated 43 years of experience in the field. He often serves as an expert for publications, radio channels, and other advisory bodies, helping to disseminate his knowledge to a wider audience.
One of David's notable achievements is founding the world's first lawn care qualification, which caters to both homeowners and professionals. This qualification helps individuals gain a better understanding of modern and sustainable lawn care practices, contributing to the overall improvement of lawn maintenance.
David Hedges-Gower is also the Chairman of The Lawn Association, an organization dedicated to promoting the value of living lawns and distinguishing between genuine sustainable lawn care and marketing tactics that claim sustainability without delivering on it. The association collaborates with significant horticultural bodies like English Heritage to educate staff, trainees, and apprentices on sustainable lawn care methods.
Recently, David launched the True Garden Range, a groundbreaking product in the form of 2-in-1 fertilizers and soil conditioners made from composted recycled food waste. This product addresses the need for sustainable lawn care options in the retail market, providing a more environmentally friendly choice for gardeners.
David's passion lies in making sustainable lawns a priority, countering the practice of franchises that prioritize profits over the health of lawns. He envisions sustainable lawns as not just a feature of our surroundings but a necessity, and he works tirelessly to promote responsible lawn care practices that benefit both the environment and homeowners.
Links
Modern Lawn Care by David Hedges-Gower
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This week, my guest is Andrew Bullock, who runs The Lavender Garden Nursery. Andrew holds the National Collection of Buddlejas and grows a huge range of lavenders and buddlejas from his nursery in The Cotswolds. We talk about how to attract pollinators to your garden, when and how to prune your buddlejas and lavenders, whether buddlejas are invasive, why lavenders are sometimes short-lived and anything else you ever wanted to know about these two plants for pollinators.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Mosquitoes
What We Talk About
Which is better for bees - buddleja or lavender?
The best varieties for bees/butterflies/pollinators in general
Night time pollinators
How to grow lavender and buddleja
When to prune and how much to take off
Buddleja - invasive?
Causes of short-lived lavender
Links
Contact Andrew on the phone: 01453 860356 or 07837 582943
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Several years ago, Penn Allen inherited a collection of diaries that had been meticulously maintained by her great grandmother. Penn discovered the diaries documented the building of her great grandmother and grandfather’s Arts and Crafts house and the development of the garden that followed. She uncovered an untold story of her family, of plant hunting and of rock gardens - one that has significance to the wider world of horticultural history and in fact, goes some way to rewriting it.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Buddleias and Butterfly Tongues
What We Talk About
What the book is about and why Penn felt it was important to write it
How the garden helped heal; through providing a space to contemplate, a space to communicate, a distraction…
Alpines and rock gardening
Plant hunters
Reginald Farrer
Will Purdom
What became of house and garden
About Penn Allen
Having spent most of my life in the UK, I moved permanently to the beautiful Lot region in SW France with my husband around fifteen years ago. I have a passion for my garden and the outdoors and can generally be found either striding over a windswept hillside or upside down in my flower beds, always with a Labrador or two by my side. The Lost Garden of Loughrigg is my first story, though hopefully not my last!
Links
The Lost Gardens of Loughrigg by Penn Allen
Tickets to see Penn Allen at the Kendal Mountain Book Festival
Twitter @PennAllenwrites
Instagram penn.allen
This episode, my guest is green roof guru, urban designer, photographer, birdwatcher, punk ideologist and all-round straight talker Dusty Gedge. We talk about green infrastructure, encouraging species back into landscapes, how to maintain landscapes for habitat value and what’s being and can be done to up the green value of public spaces.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Woodlice
What We Talk About
Brownfield gardening
Biodiversity in decline
The problems faced by birds in urban environments
What initiatives Dusty is most excited by
What happens if biodiversity starts causing a problem?
Maintaining green roofs as habitats
Links
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My guest this week is Amy Anthony, a certified clinical Aromatherapist and Aromatic Gardener. In addition to that, Amy is an aromatherapy educator, podcaster, herbalist, certified master composter, and artisanal distiller and is one of New York’s top aromatherapy practitioners. We talk about the importance of connecting with nature through scent, how aromatherapy can support wellness and vitality and how you can become an aromatic gardening practitioner yourself.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Rosemary Leaf Beetles
What We Talk About
What is aromatherapy?
What is aromatic gardening?
What’s the difference between plant aromatics and synthetics?
What are best essential oils for supporting wellness and vitality?
Do you need to be careful with any aromatic oils? What are safe and practical approaches to aromatherapy?
How are you connected to plants from your culture?
“Aromatherapy is not a consumptive exercise.” Why? What can we do about this in our own gardens?
How is aromatherapy linked to the moon?
Where to find out more
About Amy Anthony
Amy is a certified clinical Aromatherapist and Aromatic Gardner who left her career in marketing research to pursue what is closest to her heart: working with plants. As a certified aromatherapist, aromatherapy educator, herbalist, gardener, certified master composter, and artisanal distiller, Amy is one of NYC’s top aromatherapy practitioners.
Host of the Essential Aromatica podcast, Amy also tends her own aromatic garden on the North Fork of Long Island where she distills her unique products.
Listed as one of America’s most influential aromatherapists, Amy Anthony is currently the New York State representative for the Alliance of International Aromatherapists and has her private practice called NYC Aromatica which includes one-on-one customized aromatherapy sessions, online class offerings, corporate consulting and article writing.
Links
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Scent Magic with Isabel Bannerman
This episode is an interview with environmental landscape artist, TED Speaker and art21 Educator Tobacco Brown. Tobacco connects art and environmental justice and is a visual artist, digital storyteller, master gardener, social practitioner, cultural historian and intuitive environmental advocate. We talk about community green spaces, how humans connect with the land and why it’s so important that we do.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Beewolf
What We Talk About
What can gardens teach us about ourselves?
Lessons we can learn from a garden that help us live our lives well
Are there lessons we can take from life that will help us be better gardeners?
Wisdom residing in the soil
Land justice
Communication blight remediation
How gardens grow with you as you go through life
Links
Email tobaccobrownartist@gmail.com
What Gardening Taught Me About Life - Tobacco Brown’s TED Talk
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My guest this week is Blanche Cameron, who leads UCL Bartlett School of Architecture's Environmental Design and Greening Cities modules, and is an urban green infrastructure advocate who works closely with industry and the government on urban greening issues. To say our towns and cities are not always good examples of environmentally sound design and biodiversity would be quite the understatement, but Blanche is one of a group of outspoken advocates for nature inclusive design who are are working towards better outcomes in this regard.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Dagger flies
What We Talk About
The built environment and biodiversity collapse
Landscaping in towns and cities
How good design can help mitigate biodiversity loss and climate change
Vertical planting and green roofs
Do we need a coherent plan or is it up to individuals to start changing their landscapes?
“Productising” and the construction industry’s need for homogeneity
Where does technologically fit in?
About Blanche Cameron
Blanche leads UCL Bartlett School of Architecture’s Environmental Design and Greening Cities modules and contributes to other modules and programmes, including the Landscape Architecture and Sustainable Heritage MSc.She coordinated the Living Landscape Strategy for UCL’s £1Bn UCL East development, and sits on UCL’s campus greening ‘Wild Bloomsbury’ steering group. Blanche is an urban green infrastructure advocate, working closely with industry and government, bringing practitioners into the heart of teaching, including John Little, biodiverse landscapes innovator, and Dusty Gedge, living roofs expert and founder in 2004 of the independent advisory organisation, Livingroofs.org. Blanche edited the GLA's 2019 10-year update report on the impact of a decade of urban greening since the London Plan's Green Roofs and Walls 2008 policy, co-written by Dusty Gedge and Gary Grant.
Links
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This episode I’m speaking with author and expert gardener Maggie Stuckey about growing food in containers. We talk about growing a container garden of vegetabhttps://rootsandall.co.uk/podcast/episode-52-grow-fruit-vegetables-in-pots-with-aaron-bertelsen/les, herbs, and edible flowers and the inspirational history of wartime Victory Gardens and their legacy for today’s gardeners.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Painted Lady Butterflies
What We Talk About
Victory gardens
Growing food in containers
With container space at a premium, how can you choose what to grow?
Essential equipment
Cool season and warm season plants
Maggie’s neat trick for planting garlic cloves
Root vegetables in containers
Should you try to focus on one type of plant or can you grow a mixture of things?
Succession planting
About Maggie Stuckey
Bestselling author Maggie Stuckey is an expert in the art of growing good things to eat in containers. For more than twenty years, Maggie has been enjoying vegetables, herbs, and edible flowers grown in her own container garden — and inspiring others to transform even the tiniest spaces into vibrant personal foodways.
In her book The Container Victory Garden, Maggie shares practical and comprehensive tips and techniques for container gardening alongside the rich history of the original wartime Victory Gardens, which date back to 1917.
Links
The Container Victory Garden: A Beginner’s Guide to Growing Your Own Groceries by Maggie Stuckey - HarperCollins Focus, April 2023
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Fruits and Vegetables in Pots
This episode I’m speaking with Seb Stroud. Seb is based at Leeds University and is part of the Ecology & Evolution Group, where his research looks at many different topics including botany, freshwater ecology, ecosystem structures and urban landscapes. He recently co-authored a research paper which looks at the state of botanical education and that’s what I was particularly interested in chatting about today.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Woolly Aphids
What We Talk About
What is the extinction of botanical education? Why is it happening?
The effects of losing our tradition of botanical education
Plant blindness
The UN’s sustainable development goals and future funding
The impact of botanical education extinction on climate change, food security and our economy
What is actually being done about it?
Natural history GCSE
Equity and accessibility in environmental education
The UK as a nation of gardeners and nature lovers…?
Links
Botanical University Challenge
Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
RBGE’s PropaGate Learning - Online Courses
Botanists are Disappearing with Seb Stroud - The Conversation, July 2022
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My guest this episode is urban smallholder Sara Ward. Sara runs Hen Corner, a backyard smallholding in London. Her website Hen Corner has a wealth of information on growing and making food, she runs courses, sells products from her bakery and has just published a book ‘Living the Good Life in the City’. I began by asking Sara what prompted her to follow in the wellieprints of Barbara Good.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Gardening for Nature
What We Talk About
What prompted Sara to set up Hen Corner
How much can you grow in your average urban garden?
Keeping animals
Getting rid of waste from the garden
Preserving food
Looking after things when you're away
About Living the Good Life in the City
Sara Ward has transformed her Victorian terraced house in London into an urban smallholding, ‘Hen Corner’, and in Living the Good Life in the City she shares some of the ways she and her family have brought city and country together, and shows that you, too, can make a difference to how you live and the food you eat.
Divided into sections covering Make, Grow, Preserve, Keep and Celebrate, Living the Good Life in the City is packed full of recipes, stories, tips and tricks including baking
bread, making your own jam, pasta, sausages and cheese, keeping bees and livestock, preserving, foraging, harvesting and celebrating with food.
Links
Living the Good Life in the City by Sara Ward - Pimpernel Press, July 2023
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My guest this episode is artist and activist Katie Holten. Katie has just released a book called The Language of Trees, a collection of literary and scientific works by people like Robin Wall Kimmerer, Ursula le Guin, and Ross Gay. Using her Alphabet of Trees, the book is underpinned by the Katie’s art and asks us to examine our relationship with trees by pulling together wide-reaching strands and demonstrating in one place, just how connected we are to them.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Asian Hornets
What We Talk About
The idea behind the Language of Trees
The Tree Alphabet
Themes behind the essays
Inspiring Tree People
About The Language of Trees
In this beautifully illustrated collection, artist Katie Holten gifts readers her visual Tree Alphabet and uses it to masterfully translate and illuminate pieces from some of the world’s most exciting writers and artists, activists and ecologists.
Holten guides us on a journey from prehistoric cave paintings and creation myths to the death of a 3,500 year-old cypress tree, from Tree Clocks in Mongolia and forest fragments in the Amazon to the language of fossil poetry. In doing so, she unearths a new way of seeing the natural beauty that surrounds us and creates an urgent reminder of what could happen if we allow it to slip away.
Links
The Language of Trees by Katie Holten - Elliott & Thompson, June 2023
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My guest this week is wildlife author and photographer Paul Sterry. Paul has written many books on wildlife but his latest, The Biodiversity Gardener, pulls together his decades of knowledge and the result is a wildlife gardening manual with real-life examples taken from Paul’s Hampshire wildlife friendly space.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Dark Edged Bee Flies
What We Talk About
Can small gardens really make a difference to our declining biodiversity? Won’t they become unsupportable islands of life?
How to start wildlife gardening
Butterfly caterpillars and when to safely cut the grass/meadow/hedges
Weeding and cutting back and species that use certain plants as larval hosts
Is scrub good and how can you incorporate it in your garden? Do you need to manage it to avoid it becoming woodland?
Advice for anyone looking to transition away from a conventional to a wildlife garden
The Nature Conservancy Council!
Links
The Biodiversity Gardener by Paul Sterry - Princeton University Press, June 2023
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This week’s episode, my guests are Chris Young and Susan Ottaviano. Chris and Susan are better known as the 2 Green Witches. Chris Young is a lifelong gardener whose acclaimed garden, Tiny Sur is a certified wildlife habitat and Susan is an artist, performer, songwriter, and food stylist. Their new book is The Green Witch’s Guide to Magical Plants & Flowers: Love Spells from Apples to Zinnias and together we take a light-hearted look at the power of plants to help you manifest your deepest desires.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Invasive Species
What We Talk About
What is a grimoire?
What is green witchcraft?
The forward to the book is written by the iconic Debbie Harry. Is she a green witch?
Love spells
Do spells work?
How the practices in the book help you to connect more deeply with your garden
The Indian paintbrush plant.
Queen Anne’s lace jelly
About Susan Ottaviano
Artist, performer, songwriter, and cooking maven Susan Ottaviano welcomes you into the lush and whimsical world of green witchcraft with her new book, The Green Witch’s Guide to Magical Plants & Flowers: Love Spells from Apples to Zinnias ( 6/6/23 Skyhorse Publishing).
With her rich illustrations and inspiring vegan recipes, Susan and co-author Chris Young shine light on brilliant ways to use products from the farmers market, supermarket, or even your backyard garden to bring light, love, good food, and good humor into your life.
Susan has been a groundbreaking food stylist and recipe developer for over twenty years. Her work has been featured in magazines, cookbooks, and advertisements from Bon Appétit to Grey Goose to Uber Eats.
Best known as the lead singer for pop band Book of Love, Susan and her bandmates recorded five albums for Warner Brothers Records/Sire Records. Book of Love was a fixture on the Billboard Dance Club charts throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with multiple hits in the top ten. The group reunited in 2016 for a sold-out world tour to mark their 30th Anniversary.
Her evocative artwork, which explores food, femininity, and sexuality, has been featured in numerous gallery shows, including a Spring 2023 group show titled “Eat It” at Collar Works Arts Organization.
She earned a BFA in Painting from The Philadelphia College of Art, and has been awarded post-graduate certificates from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park and the Institute of Culinary Education in New York City. She lives in New York’s East Village.
Susan can be found on Instagram at @susanottavianoart
About Chris Young
Author, gardening expert, and former Comedy Central executive Chris Young first discovered his love of the outdoors growing up exploring the vast Indiana backyard of his late grandfather. Even while obtaining a degree from Indiana University and working as the Director of Talent at Comedy Central, Chris never lost his fascination with the power of nature.
In his new book, The Green Witch’s Guide to Magical Plants & Flowers, Love Spells from Apples to Zinnias (6/6/23 Skyhorse Publishing), Chris and co-author Susan Ottaviano share the surprising mystical properties of dozens of plants and flowers.
Over the years, Chris honed his expertise working with green witches, gardening virtuosos, and botanical magic practitioners from New York City to rural Oregon. Eventually Chris settled down in California with his husband, television writer Jon Kinnally, where he re-committed himself to the botanical world.
Chris’ own garden, “Tiny Sur”, has been designated by the National Wildlife Federation as a certified Wildlife Habitat. It is also certified by The Xerces Society as a Pollinator Habitat, by Monarch Watch as a Monarch Waystation, and by the Humane Society as a Humane Backyard. On Facebook, Tiny Sur (@tinysuroflaurelcanyon) boasts thousands of loyal, engaged followers.
Chris writes, gardens, and practices green witchcraft in Laurel Canyon, where he lives with husband Jon, cats Simon, Howard, and Elliott, and two Russian tortoises, Wentworth and Boris.
Chris can be found on Instagram as @plantymcflowers.
About The Green Witch’s Guide to Magical Plants & Flowers
Chris Young and Susan Ottaviano, better known as the 2 Green Witches. Chris Young is a lifelong gardener whose acclaimed garden, Tiny Sur is a certified wildlife habitat. Susan is an artist, performer, songwriter, and food stylist.
Their new is The Green Witch’s Guide to Magical Plants & Flowers (6/6/23 Skyhorse Publishing).
Couldn’t we all use a little more magic in our lives? Equal parts practical guide and beautiful keepsake, The Green Witch’s Guide to Magical Plants & Flowers shows you how to bring more love and contentment into your life using elements of nature. This book, written by our favorite 2 Green Witches, unlocks the secrets hiding in your garden, transforming everyday flowers, fruits, and plants into bath salts, herbal infusions, soaps, sachets, tinctures, and more. It provides all-natural recipes that illuminate pathways to health, peace, love and prosperity, and harmony. The book deals with:
- Love Potions: Learn how to attract your soulmate and cultivate your best self with these love rituals including jasmine bath salts, lavender candles, oils and more
- Food for the Soul: How to use vegan recipes made with organic ingredients that ease stress in your relationship, boost your immunity, relieve a headache and even enhance your fertility. Susan can share recipes, including a meadowsweet and mint tea, lust parsley salad, orange cake, to candied violets.
- Magical Mindfulness: Say goodbye to stress and hello to relaxation with these anxiety-reducing methods and recipes.
- Plant Magic: How does your garden grow? Master magical gardening and growing with plant whisperer Chris Young. Learn about which plants offer protection, give you good luck and prosperity.
Links
The Green Witch’s Guide to Magical Plants & Flowers - June 2023, Skyhorse Publishing
The 2 Green Witches on Instagram
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Hello and welcome to this week’s episode where my guest is poet and scholar Camille Dungy. Camille has documented how she diversified her garden to reflect her heritage in her book ‘Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden’. We talk about the politics of gardening, planting a nature garden and how nature writing has influenced our gardens in the past and how it can shape the way we do so in the future.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Bloodsuckers
What We Talk About
Why Camille believes “Every politically engaged person should have a garden”
The idea behind Camille’s pollinator garden in Colorado
Gardens that offer something more than beauty
Is there something we can do to make ourselves take more thinking, creating time?
The state of modern nature writing
The lessons learnt from gardening
“If I cultivate a flourishing I want its reach to be wide”. What Camille means by this.
About Camille Dungy
Camille T. Dungy is the author of Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden (Simon & Schuster: May 2, 2023). She has also written Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys into Race, Motherhood, and History, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, and four collections of poetry, including Trophic Cascade, winner of the Colorado Book Award. Dungy edited Black Nature: Four Centuries of African American Nature Poetry, the first anthology to bring African American environmental poetry to national attention. She also co-edited the From the Fishouse poetry anthology and served as assistant editor for Gathering Ground: Celebrating Cave Canem's First Decade.
Dungy is the poetry editor for Orion magazine. Her work has appeared in Best American Poetry, 100 Best African American Poems, Best American Essays, The 1619 Project, All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, over 40 other anthologies, plus dozens of venues including The New Yorker, Poetry, Literary Hub, The Paris Review, and Poets.org. You may know her as the host of Immaterial, a podcast from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Magnificent Noise. A University Distinguished Professor at Colorado State University, Dungy’s honors include the 2021 Academy of American Poets Fellowship, a 2019 Guggenheim Fellowship, an American Book Award, and fellowships from the NEA in both prose and poetry.
Links
Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden by Camille Dungy - Simon & Schuster, May 2023
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This week’s episode, my guest is writer Victoria Bennett, author of'All My Wild Mothers – motherhood, loss and an apothecary garden’. The book weaves memoir and herbal folklore and is a story of re-wilding our wastelands, and the transformation that can happen when we do. Daisy, for resilience. Dandelion, for strength against adversity. Borage, to bring hope in dark and difficult times…
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Box tree moth
What We Talk About
What is an apothecary garden?
How Victoria learnt about gardening and herbalism
The garden Victoria and her son built in their new house
Dealing with the challenges thrown up by neighbours and housing associations
Some of the most powerfully useful plants Victoria has grown
How Victoria’s mother influenced her gardening aesthetic
Victoria and her son’s next joint gardening adventures
About 'All My Wild Mothers – motherhood, loss and an apothecary garden’
The book was published earlier this year with Two Roads Books. An intimate weaving of memoir and herbal folklore, it is a story of re-wilding our wastelands, and the transformation that can happen when we do. Daisy, for resilience. Dandelion, for strength against adversity. Borage, to bring hope in dark and difficult times.
Victoria says, “faced with a life very different to what I thought it would be; deep in grief following the tragic death of my eldest sister, facing financial difficulties, and caring for my young son who was diagnosed at age 2 with Type One diabetes, I decided to see what could grow on the barren land of the former industrial site over which our new social housing home was built. With my son, I began to grow, relying on the weeds that were under our feet and the things that other people threw out or eradicated from their pristine gardens.
Stone by stone, seed by seed, my son and I turned the rubble into a wild, healing garden. As we did, we discovered that sometimes what grows does so, not in spite of what is broken, but because of it.”
Links
'All My Wild Mothers – motherhood, loss and an apothecary garden’ by Victoria Bennett
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Grounding Roots with Lulah Ellender
My guest this episode is author and activist Ellen Miles. Ellen is the founder of Nature is a Human Right, she runs Dream Green, a social enterprise that helps people get guerrilla gardening with guides, grants, and workshops and has a book that will be released this Thursday the 8th of June, Get Guerrilla Gardening: A handbook for planting in public places.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Spider silk
What We Talk About
What is guerrilla gardening?
Does it matter who owns the land you guerrilla garden?
Is it illegal? Are you liable if someone trips over your planter, for example?
Should we be growing more food in communities?
If you’re growing food in an urban location, how can you know the soil isn’t contaminated with anything that will be taken up by your plants?
Who decides why a space should be used for? Where is the input from the people that live with and use guerrilla gardened spaces?
What are some potentially good sites?
What are parklets?
Are there spaces (such as wild spaces) that should be left alone?
In order for a plant to establish either from seed or as a plant, it needs to have a degree of tenacity. Is it easy to strike a balance between finding plants that are tough enough to survive and persist and avoiding plants which can be invasive?
How do you cope with practical hurdles such as no water, nowhere to store your tools, nowhere to sit down…?
How do you cope with vandalism?
Should you try and communicate with the local authority? If so, who and how can you best get hold of them?
How do ensure a garden continues to thrive after it’s established?
Other resources and people doing good work in this area
About Ellen Miles
Ellen Miles is an author and activist rooting for nature in urban neighbourhoods. She founded Nature is a Human Right and edited the acclaimed anthology of essays inspired by the campaign (Nature is a Human Right: Why we're fighting for green in a grey world, DK, 2022). Ellen also runs Dream Green, a social enterprise that helps people get guerrilla gardening with guides, grants, and workshops.
Get Guerrilla Gardening is a joyful handbook – packed with illustrated 'how to's, inspiring stories, and photos of vibrant transformations – demystifies the art and science of planting in public places. With no prior gardening knowledge required, Get Guerrilla Gardening guides you through a straightforward, flexible action plan to suit your aims and abilities, covering everything from the legalities of guerrilla gardening, to how to choose the right plants for your patch.
Links
Get Guerrilla Gardening by Ellen Miles
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Public Green Spaces with Neil Sinden of CPRE
My guest this week is gardener Benny Hawksbee. Benny has a background in biology and gardens with one eye on biodiversity. His projects include the Eden Nature Garden, a community garden designed to be a haven for people and wildlife, and John Little’s garden in Essex.
We talk about how Benny brings biology and ecology into his work, what we can all do to garden for wildlife whilst reducing our input in terms of resources and how we can involve the community in building and using gardens that work for everyone.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Broad bean pests
What We Talk About
Benny’s professional background and how he got into horticulture
The Eden Nature Garden
How Benny brings biology & ecology into his work
Gardening on a low budget and with low resource availability, such as the absence of running water and electricity
Going against the horticultural rule book
Bees - native species and honeybees
The importance of community involvement in public gardens
The future of gardening in the UK
Links
London Natural History Society
UK Bees, wasps, ants recording society
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This episode goes out in celebration of The Chelsea Fringe. The Fringe is an annual event which runs concurrently to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show and celebrates everything alternative in horticulture. And this episode is certainly alternative! It was intended to be an AMA (Ask Me Anything) episode but quickly evolved into a general chat with my host this week, Jake Rayson. We then moved on to talk about a new initiative I’m launching. The idea is in its embryonic stage and I have no idea how it’s going to develop, but listen on for some more info.
Thank you very much Jake for being a friend, stand-in host and long-term supporter of Roots and All. Please check out the links to Jake’s work below.
Links
Jake made a handy list of free resources, NBN Atlas and GBIF his latest faves, quite amazing.
And he's available for wildlife forest garden design work, remote sites a speciality. Here's his portfolio
Here's Jake's Garden Wild Spreadsheet
Other episodes if you liked this one:
The Chelsea Fringe with Tim Richardson
This episode features writer, garden historian and returning guest Caroline Ball. In eighteenth-century Bavaria a prosperous apothecary, Johann Wilhelm Weinmann began an extraordinary project, the compilation of an A to Z of plants, meticulously documented, and lavishly illustrated by botanical artists using the latest colour-printing methods of the time. He aimed to include thousands of plants from all over the world, describing their individual characteristics and commissioning magnificent colour illustrations of each specimen.
The first complete volume of the Phytanthoza Iconographia, as he called it, was published in 1737 and the work grew to four immense tomes. The Iconographia gives an unparalleled view of the ornamental and useful plants that were known to botanists and gardeners in the early eighteenth-century. Caroline has written two books, A Splendour of Succulents & Cacti and A Cornucopia of Fruit & Vegetables, which document how this piece of work came to be collated and which reproduce many of the amazing images featured within.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Butterfly Tongues & Buddleia
What We Talk About
Johann Wilhelmina Weinmann and his Phytanthoza Iconographia
Where Weinmann sourced the plants that were included
The painters who documented the specimens
Historical plant pots
How the work was reproduced
Matching the plants depicted to contemporary specimens
Are historical botanical texts merely a curiosity, or can they inform our knowledge of horticulture in the present day?
Some of the more surprising medicinal uses for plants that are documented in the book
About Caroline Ball & the Phytanthoza Iconagraphia
In eighteenth-century Bavaria a prosperous apothecary, Johann Wilhelm Weinmann, grew an ‘American aloe’ that astounded all who saw it. He was also the mastermind behind an extraordinary project - a comprehensive A to Z of plants, meticulously documented, and lavishly illustrated by botanical artists using the latest colour-printing methods of the time. Weinmann aimed to include thousands of plants from all over the world, describing their individual characteristics and commissioning magnificent colour illustrations of each specimen. The first complete volume of the Phytanthoza Iconographia, as he called it, was published in
1737 and the work grew to four immense tomes. The Iconographia gives an unparalleled view of the ornamental and useful plants that were known to botanists and gardeners in the early eighteenth-century.
Caroline Ball is an editor, copywriter and occasional translator who has written on many subjects, but has a particular interest in horticulture, garden history and plant-hunters. She is also a keen gardener.
Caroline’s books A Splendour of Succulents & Cacti and A Cornucopia of Fruit & Vegetables feature illustrations from an eighteenth-century botanical treasury, celebrating Weinmann’s rare and precious volumes by theme.
Links
A Splendour of Succulents & Cacti
A Cornucopia of Fruit & Vegetables: Illustrations from an eighteenth-century botanical treasury
Members of the public can explore the collections via the Bodleian’s online image portal here.
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This week, my guest is Dr Neil Bell, bryologist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and author of The Hidden World of Mosses, which takes a look into the minute and fascinating world of bryophytes.
If you’ve ever wanted to know how these plants live and reproduce, whether you can cultivate moss indoors or outdoors, what that green stuff is you find on the surface of potted plant’s compost and whether you should take it off, the environmental and habitat value of mosses and how they are affected by the moon, listen on…
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Tardegrades
What We Talk About
What is moss? How is it different to other plants?
Liverworts and hornworts
How mosses reproduce
Moss species in the UK
Cultivating mosses in a garden or as a houseplant
Liverworts growing on the surface of potted plants
Is there a place for mosses on brownfield sites?
Do all mosses need shade and moisture?
How mosses take in nutrients and attach to structures
The role mosses play in the environment in terms of water attenuation and conservation, and as habitats for other creatures
Sphagnum bogs as a ‘potential positive feedback loop’ for climate change and what can be done about this
The connection between sphagnum moss and the moon
How you can better see mosses, to explore what they look like in detail and appreciate them
About The Hidden World of Mosses
Did you know that there are nearly 20,000 different species of mosses and their relatives worldwide with over 1000 in the UK? And did you know that Sphagnum moss is almost wholly responsible for the creation and maintenance of peat bogs, preventing harmful carbon from being released into the atmosphere?
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has published The Hidden World of Mosses, providing an accessible guide to these not-so-humble botanical gems. Written by bryologist Dr Neil Bell, the book presents information about these incredible plants, exploring their tiny, intriguing and diverse environments in detail. This fascinating book also contains hundreds of stunning photographs which reveal the beauty and splendour of moss.
Perhaps the most misunderstood and misrepresented of all groups of organisms, moss is often thought of as unattractive and unremarkable, but nothing could be further from the truth. Mosses and their relatives (liverworts and hornworts) are found in almost every part of the world, from lush forests to rocky mountains tops and from city centres in the tropics to Antarctic tundra. Mosses are critical to the planet - if they ceased to exist tomorrow the world would be in a lot of trouble.
Examining the many different types of moss, including those found in the UK and internationally, The Hidden World of Mosses explores the incredible environments of these plants that form their own miniature forests filled with grazers and predators, and have their own ecological norms and mechanics. They play a critical role in climate change prevention and have an extraordinary ability to hold and control water in forests, uplands and valleys.
Incredibly, some mosses can hold more than 20 times their own weight in water. Peat mosses (Sphagnum) are almost entirely responsible for creating and maintaining peat, which is a traditional fuel and used for the flavour it imparts to many whiskies. Sphagnum moss keeps the soil in which it grows permanently wet, largely preventing decomposition.Interestingly, Sphagnum moss has also been used by medics over the centuries. Due to its absorbent and antiseptic properties, it was used as a cheaper alternative to cotton wool dressings in World Wars One and Two, and has been used to treat wounds for many years.
On tropical mountains, mosses prevent flooding by capturing large amounts of water, gently controlling the flow of heavy rainfall, absorbing it like a giant sponge and then slowly letting it out again into rivers in a regulated manner. Additionally, mosses offer hunting grounds, protection and food for a host of much smaller creatures such as worms, mites, spiders and beetles, who use moss as a place to shelter, graze, or reproduce.
Speaking about the publication of The Hidden World of Mosses, Neil Bell said, “Mosses are just a little smaller than most things we deal with in our everyday lives, so we tend not to notice their intricate beauty and how different they are from each other unless we make the effort to look really closely. Mosses and their relatives have evolved to live in a different way from other plants, playing a critical role in the environment that other plants can’t, and the mosses and liverworts we have in Scotland are of international significance - far more so than our other native plants, in fact. We need to recognise that and protect them. I hope that this book will raise awareness of this hidden botanical world and encourage more people to explore it .”
Dr Neil Bell is a bryologist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Much of his research is focused on quantifying, understanding and promoting Scotland’s globally important bryophyte flora, of which mosses are part. Neil is also editor-in-chief of the Journal of Bryology. This year, the British Bryology Society celebrates its centenary.
The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is one of the world’s leading scientific botanic gardens, holding knowledge gained over centuries that the world needs today. All known life depends on plants and fungi. The Garden’s mission is to explore, conserve and explain the world of plants for a better future. We all know biodiversity loss and climate change is threatening thousands of plants with extinction. Through cutting edge science, conservation and education, the organisation is helping to save them. Its four Scottish gardens – Benmore, Dawyk, Logan and ‘The Botanics’ in Edinburgh – attract over a million visitors every year. Together, these gardens comprise one of the richest plant collections on earth. As a registered Scottish charity, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh is funded principally by the Scottish Government – but as an organisation, it is very much global, taking positive action for plants and people around the world – from local communities in Scotland, to over 40 countries overseas.
Links
The Hidden World of Mosses by Dr Neil Bell
www.britishbryologicalsociety.org.uk
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My guest this week is Ben Raskin, the Soil Association’s Head of Horticulture and Agroforestry. Ben is the author of several books on gardening, including Zero-Waste Garden and The Community Gardening Handbook. His latest book is ‘The Woodchip Handbook’, which I was very excited to read and even more excited to speak with Ben about, because I’ve long been a fan of using wood chip in the garden.
In the interview, we cover the many uses for woodchip in the garden, how it can help with plant and soil health, what sort of wood makes good chip and the do’s and don’ts of using it.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: The Syrphids
What We Talk About
Sourcing woodchip
Making your own
Different species of tree woodchip
Runoff when storing woodchip
Do we need to store or compost woodchip before we use it?
The uses for woodchip in the garden
What is ramial chipped wood and what can it be used for?
The benefits of using woodchip as a mulch
Avoiding suppressing self-seeders
Woodchip and carbon retention
What happens to woodchip if treated as ‘waste’?
About Ben Raskin
Ben Raskin has worked in horticulture for more than 25 years, developing a wide range of experience both in practical commercial growing and wider policy and advocacy work.
As the Soil Association’s Head of Horticulture and Agroforestry, he provides growers at all levels of production with technical, marketing, policy, supply chain and networking support. He is currently implementing a 200-acre silvopastural agroforestry planting in Wiltshire.
Ben is the author of several previous books on gardening, including Zero-Waste Gardening (2021), The Community Gardening Handbook (2017) and three volumes of the Grow Together Guides aimed at families with young children: Compost, Grow, and Bees, Bugs, and Butterflies.
Additionally, Ben co-chairs the Defra Edibles Horticulture Roundtable and sits on the boards of the Organic Growers Alliance and Community Supported Agriculture Network UK.
Links
The Woodchip Handbook by Ben Raskin
Innovative Farmers Field Lab - willow woodchip for apple scab (with Glynn Percival)
Innovative Farmers Field Lab - peat free woodchip propagation substrate (with Iain Tolhurst)
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A recording of Iain Tolhurst, where he talks about his use of ramial woodchip
This week’s episode, I’m speaking to holistic funeral director, Holly Lyon-Hawk. It’s not easy for most of us to talk about end of life, death and funeral arrangements and yet it’s such an important thing to prepare for, it’s unavoidable, it needn’t be frightening or taboo, and it is something we can make easier for ourselves and our loved ones if we start a conversation around it whilst we still can. In the interview, Holly talks about her approach and about what options are open to those of us who love nature and gardens and I expect you’ll find what we talk about sometimes surprising and also reassuring to know that there are alternative options.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Choices for pest control
What We Talk About
Holly’s background and how she became a holistic funeral director
How Holly approaches funerals differently
Some common misconceptions around funerals
Can I be composted? Can I be buried in my garden?
Eco-friendly ways to be buried
How a garden or love of gardening can be incorporated into a funeral
Talking about your funeral wishes and how we can prepare for dying
How to make sure your last wishes are followed
About Holly Lyon-Hawk
I originally trained as a veterinary nurse before working as a sculptor for many years.
I set up my own business working as a holistic funeral director many years ago understanding that people needed not only more choice, but also more support than they had been, on the whole, from mainstream traditional funeral directors. I now work across the S/E England supporting many families as both as End of Life Practitioner and a Holistic Funeral Director.
I am an author as well as a multi-award winning Holistic Funeral Director, Specialist in Ceremonial Care of the Body and End of Life Practitioner for People and Pets.
Links
Holly’s Podcast - No One Gets Out of Here Alivehttps://noonegetsoutofherealive.buzzsprout.com
Holly’s Book - A Gentle Goodbye
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Caring for God’s Acre with Harriet Carty
This week’s episode I’m speaking to horticulturist, journalist, host of the On the Ledge podcast and author of a new book ‘Legends of the Leaf’, Jane Perrone. Have you ever wondered why the leaves of the Swiss cheese plant have holes? How aloe vera came to be harnessed as a medicinal powerhouse? Or why – despite your best efforts – you can’t keep your Venus flytrap alive? If you’re familiar with the On the Ledge podcast, you’ll know Jane takes deep dives into the background of houseplants; where they come from, how they behave and how we can best grow them.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: The Lepidoptera
About Legends of the Leaf
Have you ever wondered why the leaves of the Swiss cheese plant have holes? How aloe vera came to be harnessed as a medicinal powerhouse? Or why – despite your best efforts – you can’t keep your Venus flytrap alive?
You are not alone: houseplant expert Jane Perrone has asked herself those very questions, and in Legends of the Leaf she digs deep beneath the surface to reveal the answers. By exploring how they grow in the wild, and the ways they are understood and used by the people who live among them, we can learn almost everything we need to know about our cherished houseplants.
Along the way, she unearths their hidden histories and the journeys they’ve taken to become prized possessions in our homes: from the Kentia palms which stood either side of Queen Victoria’s coffin as she lay in state; to the dark history of the leopard lily, once exploited for its toxic properties; to English ivy, which provided fishermen with a source of bait.
Each houseplant history in this beautifully illustrated collection is accompanied by a detailed care guide and hard-won practical advice, but it is only by understanding their roots that we can truly unlock the secrets to helping plants thrive.
About Jane Perrone
Jane Perrone is a horticultural expert, journalist and the host of On The Ledge, a podcast dedicated to houseplants and indoor gardening. She is a regular contributor to the Guardian, the Financial Times and Gardens Illustrated. She lives in Bedfordshire with her husband, two children, a dog called Wolfie and a home full of plants.
Links
Other episodes if you liked this one:
Plants as Art with Alyson Mowat
My guest this week is Shawn Maestretti of Studio Petrichor, a design studio working out of California. Shawn’s personal mission is to reconnect with the natural world, tread lightly on the land, nurture biodiversity, protect water, and bring people together. We speak about how Studio Petrichor designs with these values in mind and the systems and techniques that are used to achieve these goals.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Orange Tip Butterflies
About Studio Petrichor & Shawn Maestretti
Studio Petrichor is a group of compassionate individuals on a journey to manifest meaningful change in the world through transformational and environmentally-aligned landscaping practices.
Our goal is to help individuals and communities cultivate stronger, richer relationships with their environment. Along the way, we educate and empower one another to support and protect Mother Nature’s living systems.
When we see and believe our actions and lives matter, it places us in a role of responsibility. It is this belief that will bring about a more beautiful, abundant, connected world.
Shawn Maestretti is an Oracle and Alchemist, (aka plant daddy, licensed landscape architect, certified arborist, certified permaculture designer, biospheric caretaker, speaker, and educator). Shawn is a member of the Climate Reality Leadership Corp, a Kiss the Ground Soil Advocate, and has co-founded the non-profit Poly/Ana to empower communities to honor and protect natural, living systems. He is also a Landscape Design Teacher at the Theodore Payne Foundation.
Shawn has been presenting on Nature’s intelligence and humanity’s impact on climate change in his presentation series Regenerative Landscapes and the Climate Crisis, Reimagining Landscape and Lifestyle, and Landscape Architecture and The Death of the Ego. His personal mission is to reconnect with the natural world, tread lightly on the land, nurture biodiversity, protect water, and bring people together. Shawn always considers impacts on flora, fauna, fungi, soil, water, the environment, the interconnectedness of our actions, and of course, a changing climate.
Links
Other episodes if you liked this one:
A Post-Wild World with Thomas Rainer
Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of Roots and All where I’m speaking to both of the Seeds Sistas, Fiona Heckels and Kazzla Goodweather about their latest book ‘Poison Prescriptions’. The book takes a look at three key plants; datura, henbane and belladonna aka the power plants. Steeped in political history, the mysterious past of our native power plants calls to us somewhere deep within. The book urges the resurrection of the ancient tradition of using of these plants in medicine, as well as being a practical guide to plant magic, medicine and ritual.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Ectoparasites
What We Talk About
Witching herbs
How long have they been used by humans and what have they been used for?
The chemicals they contain and how they can affect the body
Developing a deeper connection with plants
Henbane
Datura
Belladonna
Links
Poison Prescriptions by The Seed Sistas - Watkins Media Limited, November 2022
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Hello and welcome to this week’s episode, where in recognition of World Autism Acceptance Week, I’m speaking about Sensory Gardens, with a focus on design for people with autism. I have three guests; Camellia Taylor who’s designed The Natural Affinity Garden, which will be at the Chelsea Flower Show in May, after which time it will be relocated to Kent, to the charity Aspens where it will be used by residents of and visitors to the site. Next, I speak with Meraud Davis who’s overseeing the project at Aspens and finally, to Alexis Selby a foraging obsessed, nature-loving, all-round amazing person who’s giving us her take on using outdoor spaces with her son, Jared.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Narcissus Root Fly
What We Talk About
Why do we need to distinguish between men and women when it comes to environmentalism?
Isn’t it fair to say some women are interested in improving and caring for their environment and some aren’t, and this is the case too with men?
The feminisation of responsibility as it relates to climate change
Why women are more affected by climate change than men
Women and the control of the means of polluting production
Why women lack the opportunity to generate a larger climate footprint
Women who are making a difference
About The Natural Affinity Garden
Aspens will partner with garden designer Camellia Taylor to create a show garden for the RHS Chelsea Flower Show (23 – 27 May 2023), supported by Project Giving Back. Aspens is a social care charity that provides high quality care and support topeople on the autism spectrum and with learning disabilities, and their families in the South-East.
The Natural Affinity Garden for Aspens, is one of six All About Plants gardens being supported by Project Giving Back in 2023. It will encourage a connection with nature and maximise the benefits to a visitor’s wellbeing by engaging with the seven senses (touch, taste, scent, sight, sound, movement and temperature).
Each planting zone of the design targets specific senses and every aspect of the planting has been included for sensory stimulation. The dominant use of green in the garden provides an overall feeling of calm for those with hyper-sensitivity (sensory avoidant) and subtle additions of purple and yellow provide stimulation and interaction for those with hypo-sensitivity (sensory seeking).
After the show, the garden will be relocated to the heart of Aspens’ Kent site, where it will provide a rich, therapeutic haven for the charity’s community. The Natural Affinity Garden for Aspens’ designer Camellia Taylor has a background in psychology and health care and has worked on previous projects with Aspens. She has a strong connection with the charity’s core values of empowerment, inclusivity and integrity and is passionate about supporting their vision for an inclusive society where people with disabilities can thrive.
Links
World Autism Awareness Week - The National Autistic Society
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This week I’m speaking to Dr Anne Karpf. Anne is Professor of Life Writing and Culture at London Metropolitan University and is a writer, sociologist and award-winning journalist. In 2021 she released the book ‘How Women Can Save the Planet’, where she looks at how there is gender inequality across the board from how we experience the climate crisis to our ability to effect change.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Queen Bumblebees
What We Talk About
Why do we need to distinguish between men and women when it comes to environmentalism?
Isn’t it fair to say some women are interested in improving and caring for their environment and some aren’t, and this is the case too with men?
The feminisation of responsibility as it relates to climate change
Why women are more affected by climate change than men
Women and the control of the means of polluting production
Why women lack the opportunity to generate a larger climate footprint
Women who are making a difference
Links
How Women Can Save the Planet by Anne Karpf - C Hurst & Co Publishers Ltd, May 2021
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This week my guest is Tim Richardson, who, amongst many other things, is a garden writer, historian and founder of the Chelsea Fringe. The Fringe is an annual event which is a collection of all things horticultural, the quirkier the better, and it runs concurrent to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show each May. Events are held around the world and are an opportunity to celebrate horticulture in an alternative way.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Cabbage Bomb Aphids
About the Chelsea Fringe
The Chelsea Fringe – the alternative garden festival and established highlight of the horticultural calendar – will take place for a 12th year with nine days of festivities confirmed from 20 - 28 May 2023.
After two years in which participants responded creatively to the restrictions of the pandemic, the festival returned to the real world with a bang in 2022. A programme brimming with stimulating and diverse events took place with contributions from Cranbrook to Perth, and from Naples to Seattle. Fringe organisers are now encouraging everyone to start thinking about the imaginative, quirky, and unusual ideas they might bring to the 2023 Fringe to help create another bumper celebration of horticulture and grassroots gardening.
Fringe founder and director Tim Richardson said:
“We are a ‘true Fringe’ in that we don’t commission or curate. We accept everything that our participants suggest – if an event is on-topic, legal and interesting, it’s in! That means everything from community-garden events, art projects and performances to walks and talks, craft demos, and workshops – just a few of the categories we end up with. We are always surprised – and delighted – by what pops up each year, fresh from the imagination of our horticultural comrades in the UK and around the world.”
Thousands of events have taken place in more than 20 different countries since the first Fringe was held in 2012. What started as a back-of-a-postcard idea has grown over a decade into an international event which is an established — if unorthodox — fixture of the gardening calendar.
It remains an unfunded, unsponsored and volunteer-run Community Interest Company (CIC), powered by a small but dedicated group, with many events in the festival free to attend.
Contributors and venues over the years have included community gardening groups, public parks, artists, poets, chefs, galleries, schools, and major institutions such as Kew, the Inner Temple, the Natural History Museum, and Covent Garden Flower Market, among many others. Despite its name, the festival reaches well beyond Chelsea; not just to every quarter of London, but also to the far corners of the UK and around the world. Events have taken place on the Isle of Mull, in Monmouth, Margate, Leeds, Bristol and Henley-on-Thames, and the Fringe’s global appeal has been underlined by enthusiastic participants signing up in Canada, Sweden, Poland, Italy, Australia, and Japan.
Events usually begin to appear on the Fringe website from February, while registration remains open right up until the very last day of the festival. Potential event organisers are encouraged to make contact as soon as possible in order to make the most of the promotional potential that taking part brings.
Anyone with an idea – however unformed – is encouraged to get in touch now. Our team of volunteers will do everything we can to turn germs of ideas into flourishing blooms by May 2023.
The Chelsea Fringe is now inviting individuals and organisations, first-timers and Fringe veterans, to contact us at info@chelseafringe.com outlining what they propose to do as part of the 2023 festival programme.
Links
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My guest this week is Dr Ana Attlee, co-founder of the company Seedball. The idea for Seedball started to germinate in 2010 when Ana and her fellow PhD student Emily Lambert were looking into ways to successful start wildflowers from seed in order to encourage pollinators. 13 years later, Seedballs are stocked in respectable horticultural establishments all over the country and their range continues to grow with new and exciting seed packages being added all the time.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Preparing for Spring
What We Talk About
What is a Seedball?
What different types can you get?
How many seeds are in a ball and what’s the germination rate like?
How many seedballs do you need?
Can you throw them anywhere?
Do you need to water them?
How long are they viable?
How might you reuse the tins?
Links
Other episodes if you liked this one:
This week, I am delighted to welcome back champion of the soil food web, Jeff Lowenfels. Jeff is the author of the Teaming With series of books which look at what goes on at a micro level in the soil beneath our feet. His new title ‘Teaming with Bacteria’ lifts the lid on new findings about how plants use and interact with bacteria and he’s here to give us the lowdown on this amazing relationship.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Solitary Bees
What We Talk About
Rhizophagy
Bacteria and endophytic bacteria
How bacteria helps make healthy soil
What bacteria does for plants and vice versa
How plants attract bacteria
How plants know when to stop letting in bacteria
Can bacteria still exist happily in the soil without a plant?
Bacteria and monocrops
Bacteria carried in seeds
Bacteria and hydroponics
Simple and practical things we can do to help the plant/bacteria relationship
Bacteria research and the future of gardening and plant growing
About Jeff Lowefels
Jeff Lowenfels is the author several of award-winning books on plants and soil, and he is the longest running garden columnist in North America. Lowenfels is a national lecturer as well as a fellow, hall of fame member, and former president of the Garden Writers of America.
Links
The Teaming with series, written by Jeff Lowenfels
Other episodes if you liked this one:
Mycorrhizal Fungi with Jeff Lowenfels
My guest this week is Hilary Collins who runs Hardy Eucalyptus at Grafton Nursery. Hilary researches the best way to grow Eucalyptus trees in the UK and also Europe. At the nursery, they run all manner of trials and Hilary writes papers and articles on Eucalyptus plus she has a book called Cut Foliage Eucalyptus – Fantastic Foliage and How to Farm it. She consults all over the world, and also works in the Garden Design and Construction Company advising on planting design. Hilary is here today talking all things eucalyptus and my first question was how she came to specialise in this group of plants.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Signals
What We Talk About
Different garden-worth eucalyptus varieties
Eucalyptus selection
Eucalyptus pruning
Eucalyptus seed provenance
How to plant them to ensure success
The benefits of air-pot containers
What is March 18th all about in the Horticultural Calendar and the life of any Eucalyptus tree owner?
About Hilary Collins
First and foremost in my career: I am a horticulturist…and also parent to 2 daughters Charlie and Victoria. Charlie is our landscape Architect for our garden design and build company Envisage Gardens. Victoria has escaped from professional horticulture and works in education.
I started growing plants when I was about 3 or 4 with my father who was a very keen gardener and amateur tree-grower, but we grew all manner of bedding plants, fruit and vegetables, tomatoes, perennials. He was very into Bonsai too. And my mother was very keen that I should learn all about our native flora, from a very early age.
I went to University of Bath to read Horticulture because I loved the subject, loved the city and the location and also partly in rebellion because it really appalled my headmistress who thought it was a really unsuitable career for a ‘young lady’! The course is no longer on offer sadly.
Whilst at Bath, I worked for Long Ashton Research Station running the Specific Apple Replant Disease Trials, following year I ran the Fireblight Trials for Showerings (Allied Lyons) and then just before my final year I worked at the National Fruit Trials – trees again, but this time working in Tissue Culture. So I would have liked to have gone into research, but all the Research Stations closed down. I am an escaped Lab Rat.
So I went into commercial horticulture, growing plants and also garden design.
When I graduated, I ran a tree seed business for a couple of years before selling it. We bought Grafton Nursery in 2008 and decided amongst other plants, to grow trees. This has evolved into almost exclusively growing Eucalyptus trees for a wide range of customers.
I like to talk talk about the wide range of applications of Eucalyptus. There isn’t just Eucalyptus gunnii. We grow over 70 species. They have a wide range of applications.
· Carbon sequestration
· Producing timber for firewood logs, biomass, hardwood lumber and silvo pasture
· Cut Foliage for floral art and fodder for Zoo Animals
· Screening trees – shade trees
· Nectar and pollen for bees – all year round
· Sustainable drainage systems – via the Swamp Gums
· Tencel – Lycocell for clothing fabric and carpets etc
· Oil – antimicrobial – used in cosmetics, medicinal products and rocket fuel
· Gold prospected – ok may be not in the UK…
I run Hardy Eucalyptus at Grafton Nursery, where I research the best way to grow Eucalyptus trees in the UK and also Europe. We run all manner of trials. I write papers and articles on Eucalyptus;
Shrub-on-a-stick – how to prune them to keep them small
Shrub-in-a-tub – how to grow them successful in containers
Screening trees for privacy. How to grow them as a hedge
Best way to grow Cut Foliage so we can support our Flower Farmers with the right advice in their Eucalyptus orchards/plantations
We also have a small firewood plantation and we trial the trees for their use in sustainable drainage systems.
I’ve written a book on how to grow Cut Foliage Eucalyptus – Fantastic Foliage and How to Farm it.
Prior to Brexit we exported all over Europe – trying to make that happen again with our French Project.
I consult all over the world, including America, Norway, New Zealand and Australia.
I also work in our Garden Design and Construction Company – I do the planting plans. I have a particular interest in Wild Gardens and Kitchen/Fruit Gardens.
Links
Cut Foliage Eucalyptus: Fantastic Foliage and How to Farm It by Hilary Collins
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Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of Roots and All, where my guest is garden designer, TV personality and Trustee of the Gardening with Disabilities Trust Mark Lane. Mark talks about the various types of challenges people can face that might impede their activity in the garden, and how gardens and gardening can be adapted to enable people to carry on with these activities. He gives some excellent, practical advice for anyone who may need to adapt horticulture to suit their own needs or those of others.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Stridulation
What We Talk About
Is gardening one of the more tricky hobbies to modify if you find yourself less able?
Why is it a good thing to keep on gardening?
How many people in the UK are gardening with disabilities? What are some of the most common types of disabilities facing gardeners?
Some of the biggest challenges you see come up time and again
Helpful solutions
Where can people go to get help to garden/grants?
Where can designers and pro gardeners go to get guidance?
About Mark Lane
Roger Hirons has been a horticultural speaker for over thirty years, presenting to garden clubs and societies as well as the University of the Third Age and the Women's Institute. Since studying horticulture at Pershore College, he has also run and co-run plant centres and worked in the landscaping industry for nearly twenty years.
Links
Gardening with Disabilities Trust
Other episodes if you liked this one:
Gardening by Touch, Smell, Sound and Taste with Andrew Hesser
This week’s guest is Roger Hirons, a horticultural expert and speaker, who’s been in the industry for over 35 years. Roger has just released a really excellent book called the Gardener’s Guide to Hedges and Living Boundaries, which covers preparation and design advice for establishing a new living boundary; advice on dealing with existing boundaries in need of restoration or extension; planting for both your human and wildlife neighbours and also a directory of some really interesting hedging plants, climbers and trees.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: The Swallowtail
What We Talk About
Why plant a hedge or living boundary instead of installing a fence?
What is a living boundary?
Which plants are well suited to creating a fedge?
What plants are good for wildlife?
Boundaries that are low maintenance
Boundaries that are good for security
Mounds aka bunds
Wall shrubs
Tips for staking newly planted plants
Hedges that are good for wildlife
When to cut a hedge if being considerate of bird nesting and feeding behaviours
About Roger Hirons
Roger Hirons has been a horticultural speaker for over thirty years, presenting to garden clubs and societies as well as the University of the Third Age and the Women's Institute. Since studying horticulture at Pershore College, he has also run and co-run plant centres and worked in the landscaping industry for nearly twenty years.
Links
Gardener’s Guide to Hedges and Living Boundaries by Roger Hirons - The Crowood Press Ltd, October 2022
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This week’s guest is Roger Hirons, a horticultural expert and speaker, who’s been in the industry for over 35 years. Roger has just released a really excellent book called the Gardener’s Guide to Hedges and Living Boundaries, which covers preparation and design advice for establishing a new living boundary; advice on dealing with existing boundaries in need of restoration or extension; planting for both your human and wildlife neighbours and also a directory of some really interesting hedging plants, climbers and trees.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: The Swallowtail
What We Talk About
Why plant a hedge or living boundary instead of installing a fence?
What is a living boundary?
Which plants are well suited to creating a fedge?
What plants are good for wildlife?
Boundaries that are low maintenance
Boundaries that are good for security
Mounds aka bunds
Wall shrubs
Tips for staking newly planted plants
Hedges that are good for wildlife
When to cut a hedge if being considerate of bird nesting and feeding behaviours
About Roger Hirons
Roger Hirons has been a horticultural speaker for over thirty years, presenting to garden clubs and societies as well as the University of the Third Age and the Women's Institute. Since studying horticulture at Pershore College, he has also run and co-run plant centres and worked in the landscaping industry for nearly twenty years.
Links
Gardener’s Guide to Hedges and Living Boundaries by Roger Hirons - The Crowood Press Ltd, October 2022
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Hello and welcome to this episode of Roots and All. This week, I’m speaking to landscape architect Sally Bower. Sally has just been awarded the main RHS prize for her Bursary Report titled ‘Nature Rising from the Rubble’ which looks at gravel and recycled aggregate gardens in Essex and London. Specifically, Sally looked at John Little’s Hilldrop garden, RHS Hyde Hall, Beth Chatto’s gravel garden, the Langdon Nature Discovery Car Park and the Horniman Museum Grasslands garden and her findings were invaluable if you’re interested in designing with or growing in these types of media, and Sally had some surprising findings of note too.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Harlequins
What We Talk About
The purposes of the study and the distinctions between the different growing media used by people creating gravel/rubble gardens
Is this style of gardening be appropriate across the whole of the UK?
Big Sky Meadow - is this style of planting is as labour intensive as a traditional flower border might be?
In Beth Chatto’s garden, when beds are newly installed or are refreshed, they are subject to double digging during which process mushroom compost is incorporated to improve soil fertility. How does this gel with the idea that plants grow really well in low fertility, well-drained gravel substrates?
John Little’s private garden and how it is built to encourage biodiversity
How important is a site specific approach?
One of the gardens is a success because once the plants grow through the aggregate and reach the clay below, they grow happily and healthily. Isn’t this just a gravel mulched garden rather than a proper gravel garden?
How gravel gardens make a positive environmental contribution
Why does soil which contain demolition waste high in lime capture carbon more quickly?
Sally’s favourite example of this type of garden from the ones she wrote about
About Sally Bower
Based in Liverpool, I’ve been a landscape architect and garden design for over 20 years. My designs aim to develop attractive low impact schemes which reconnect people with nature, support wildlife and respond to the site and its setting. I am particularly interested in what it means to make a ‘wild’ garden and brownfield gardens for biodiversity and wildlife.
Links
Link to Sally’s Report - ‘Nature rising from the rubble’
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John Little of the Grass Roof Company
My guest this episode is the super-talented and creative gardener and designer Brent Purtell and we’re talking about the Capitaspring Rooftop Garden in Singapore, which shares the ‘2nd highest’ building ranking along with 3 other buildings, all the same height. There are 3 gardens on the building, covering an area of 10,000 square feet and containing a mixture of ornamentals and edibles, all growing at dizzying heights. Brent was involved on the build and design side before he became the Head Gardener, overseeing the maintenance of Capitaspring Rooftop Garden.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Stinky pigs
What We Talk About
What is the Capitaspring Rooftop Garden and where is it located? How much growing space is there in total?
The kind of things which grow in the garden
How productive a rooftop edible can forest be
How the produce is used
The challenges of growing edibles on a rooftop
Who visits the garden?
About the Capitaspring Building & Gardens
The Capitaspring building was completed in early 2022. At 280m high, it shares the ‘2nd highest’ building ranking along with 3 other buildings, all the same height. This is due to Singapore having a cap of 280m on any new building. It's owned by Capitaland, a major property developer in Singapore and the region. Designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, and Carlo Ratti, it is very much a flagship building for the company and Singapore in general, with the relatively unique use of planting throughout the building. Current tenants are the big investment house JPMorgan, for example.
Within the tower are three restaurants. These are:
‘Sol and Luna’ on level 17 - a casual latin inspired theme
‘Kaarla’ on level 51 - Fine dining coastal Australian
‘Oumi’ on level 51 - Fine dining Japanese
Originally there was no concept of a ‘food forest’ or similar from the architects, and indeed, the chef's garden only takes up 50% of the overall rooftop space, with the other 50% planted in typical ornamental, low maintenance fashion. Rather, the addition of the edible section came from 1 Group, who reached out to a local company, Edible Garden City Pte Ltd to help with the design and installation.
Edible Garden City was started in 2012 with the aim of ‘helping Singaporeans grow their own food’. It has 3 pillars to the business, one being food production at 2 ‘urban farms’, which supplies produce to many restaurants through the city, including many Michelin starred. The second pillar is education, which runs workshops for the public at the aforementioned urban farm, along with onsite workshops for teachers in schools across the city. Thirdly, they design and build edible gardens, with over 260 built to date. The majority of these are gardens built within schools so that the students have access to a working garden, however many gardens have been built for commercial/hospitality venues, including the famous ParkRoyal Hotel, Marina Bay Sands etc. The remaining founder Bjorn Low, is a very recognised figure within Singapore for his environmental efforts.
The garden was opened in Feb/march 2022 and so is still quite new and produces approx 70 - 80 kgs of produce a month. For example, here is a breakdown for October:
Apple mint 200gm
Brazilian Spinach 19.6kg
Fame Flower 1kg
Lemon Balm 800gm
Lemon Myrtle 1.5kg
Moringa leaves 10gm
Kaarla Salad mix 12kg
Purslane 3.1kg
Rosemary 280gm
Thyme 50gm
Wasabina Mustard 1.5kg
Wild Water Cress 15.5kg
Mizuna Mustard 1.5kg
Komatsuna 1kg
Oyster Leaf 500gm
Wild Pepper 500gm
Pumpkin x 3
Edible flowers 2kg
And here are a few of the ways the kitchen use them all:
- KAARLA CLOSED LOOP SALAD - ROOF TOP LEAVES AND FLOWERS, TIGER NUT CURD, DAIKON
- WESTERN PRAWNS, GERALDTON WAX, NATIVE TAMARIND
- ARDEN GROWN TIGER NUT ICE CREAM, TIGERNUT NOUGATINE, WHITE CHITOSE CORN, CALAMANSI JELLY, POACHED ORANGES
- AUSTRALIAN MARKET OYSTER, FIG LEAF AND OYSTER PLANT VINEGAR 8PP
- SESAME CRUST TUNA SERVED WITH WOOD-FIRED PADRON PEPPER, LEMON MYRTLE DRESSING
- LOBSTER DONABE - Garden Komatsuna, Tofu, Shungiku, Chestnut, Mitsuba, Seafood Dashi
- KOHITSUJI YAKI - Grilled Australian Lamb, Red Garlic Sauce, Lemon Myrtle, Lemon Balm, Calamansi, Satsumaimo
- UNI IKURA - Sea Urchin, Salmon Roe, Wasabina, Yuzu
- CHIRASHI Sashimi Of The Day, Daily Produce From Our Food Forest
- BUTA KAKUNI - Braised Australian Pork Belly, Fresh Yuzu, Fame Flower, Eringii, Egg Yolk, Mountain Caviar
- SHIO KOJI TEPPAN CHICKEN - Free-Range Chicken , Sansho Koji, Garlic Flower, Curry Leaf
The ‘Kaarla closed loop salad’ in particular is popular as a signature dish.
Links
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To book-end the winter break, I’m sort of picking up where we left off by talking about a way to mark the passing of the year and the seasons and to ground yourself and your gardening endeavours in the natural patterns that govern them. My guest is Lia Leendertz, author of the annual The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide and she starts by talking about the origins of her almanac.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Winter in the veg garden
What We Talk About
The history of Lia’s Almanac
How Lia intends for people to use the Almanac throughout the year
The importance connecting with traditions, celebrations and rituals
The monthly list of gardening jobs
Gardening by the phases of the moon
Underlying themes of the Almanac; the pond and the zodiac
A discussion of Lia’s line about the month of August, “Your ancestors would be proud to see how far you have come, sipping a glass of cold wine and laughing in the sun.”
About Lia Leendertz
Lia is an award-winning garden and food writer based in Bristol. Her reinvention of the traditional rural almanac has become an annual must-have for readers eager to connect with the seasons, appreciate the outdoors and discover ways to mark and celebrate each month.
Links
The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2023 by Lia Leendertz - Octopus Publishing Group, September 2022
Other episodes if you liked this one:
The Wheel of the Year with Dr Rebecca Beattie
My guest this week is Dr Rebecca Beattie. Rebecca has just released a book called ‘The Wheel of the Year’, which is a look at what is happening in nature and in ourselves as the seasons move from one to the other. She suggests tools and rituals to rediscover and appreciate each seasonal festival, giving you a chance to pause, reflect and connect you to the wheel of your own life. As this is the last episode of 2022 and the winter solstice is just 2 days away, I thought this would be a perfect way to wrap up the year and to encourage you to take time to appreciate, well time, as it passes and as things shift from one state of being to another. Christmas can be a frenetic time so I hope you can take half an hour out of your schedule to sit down and listen to Rebecca and to contemplate your place in the wheel of the year.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Lycaenidae butterflies
What We Talk About
What is the wheel of the year?
The origins of the events and customs you find at the sabbats
In our secular society, are we beginning to realise the importance of connecting back to a framework that makes sense of time and our place in the world?
Useful hints for people to make sure they remember to mark the passing of seasons at appropriate times
Advantages gardeners have in terms of being connected to the wheel of the year
Our own annual wheel of the year and how this connect to those that occur in nature
How our unsettled seasons might affect how we celebrate the sabbats
About Rebecca Beattie
Dr Rebecca Beattie is a Wiccan Priestess with a PhD in Creative Writing. Rebecca grew up on Dartmoor, which gave her an early appreciation of the power and joys of nature. She has been practising solitary witchcraft for twenty years and an initiate of the Gardnerian Wiccan tradition for fifteen. She is acclaimed for her highly informed teaching of witchcraft subjects at Treadwell’s Books in Bloomsbury. By day she is a professional in a major charity, with advanced degrees in Literature and Creative writing.
Links
The Wheel of the Year by Rebecca Beattie - Elliott & Thompson Ltd, October 2022
Catherine Heatherington Designs
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Sacred Woodlands with Simon Leadbeater
This week’s guest is Martyn Richards who is the Home & Garden Manager for Agriton UK, part of a large European group of companies who manufacture products to help commercial and domestic users deal with the ‘soil, crop, animal waste cycle’. Martyn contacted me to see if I would be interested in speaking to him about their bokashi composting system and I thought, yes, I would, because I didn’t really understand the process. So my first question to Martyn was, just what is bokashi? Listen now and all will be revealed…
What We Talk About
What is bokashi compost?
How bokashi systems are different to traditional composting methods
What can you compost? Is there anything you can’t?
Do you need to add anything for the process to work?
What are Bokashi organisms? Where do they originate from?
Is it expensive to set up?
Does it work at any scale?
Does what you put in affect what comes out in terms of nutrient value?
What is Bokashi bran?
Links
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This week, my guest is David O’Carroll. David runs an 11 acre agroforestry learning centre in Totnes, Devon where he teaches natural farming methods, based on the techniques around Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO) and Korean Natural Farming (KNF). He focuses on building healthy soil to produce healthy plants and is both generous with his time and knowledge as he aims to share the details of his techniques to help other growers.
What We Talk About
What is Korean Natural Farming?
What is IMO? How do you make it? Why do you need it?
What is LAB? How does it help plants?
Is KNF as useful for ornamental plants as it is for edibles?
Do you need a lot of space to make the KNF preparations?
Preparations for home gardeners to try
Links
Other episodes if you liked this one:
Mycorrhizal Fungi with Jeff Lowenfels
This week, my guest is renowned horticulturist Andrew Bunting. Andrew is the Vice President of Horticulture at the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, where he leads the utilization of planting and design to promote environmentally sound gardening practices across the organization. Andrew's extensive experience informs the work of PHS' Public Gardens and Landscapes team which maintains a network of public gardens and landscapes across the Pennsylvania region, contributes to creating vital greenspace and encourages all to see the impact of horticulture in their own lives and I must say, it sounds a really wonderful organisation.
Andrew’s expertise extends to many subjects but given his experience of gardening large landscapes in an area where deer are prevalent, and given that at this time of the year in the UK, our gardens are becoming tasty prospects when the wider landscape is offering slim pickings, I thought it would be very useful to get Andrew’s take on managing deer.
What We Talk About
The species of deer Andrew deals with in the US
Can you exclude deer from a garden? How can you do this?
Deer deterrents
Plants that can cope with predation
Is it just eating plants that’s the problem? Do deer trample on plants too?
The times of the year are they most active
Deer welfare
About Andrew Bunting
Andrew Bunting, Vice President of Horticulture at PHS, leads the utilization of planting and design to promote environmentally sound gardening practices across the organization.
As a renowned horticultural expert, Andrew's extensive experience informs the work of PHS' Public Gardens and Landscapes team which maintains a network of public gardens and landscapes across the Philadelphia region, contributes to creating vital greenspace and encourages all to see the impact of horticulture in their own lives.
Links
Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
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This week’s guest is permaculture designer and author of 'The Plant Lover's Backyard Forest Garden’, Pippa Chapman. Growing our own food is becoming more and more important, and Pippa has tips on creating a year-round food forest that is low-maintenance and good for wildlife, that can work in a variety of aspects and that is an enjoyable and beautiful space for people too.
What We Talk About
What is a forest garden?
Can forest gardens can be a bit limited in their plant palettes?
Does a forest garden have to be a decent size in order to work?
Food forest design techniques such as keyhole beds and lasagne beds
The random assembly design technique
Pippa’s essential perennial food plants
Good examples of forest gardens
About Pippa Chapman
RHS-trained and garden designer, Pippa Chapman, is the author of 'The Plant Lover's Backyard Forest Garden', where she shares how she turned her grassy and paved back garden into an abundant, biodiverse, edible and beautiful forest garden that provides for her family and the local wildlife.
Pippa also includes flowers into her garden design, so the garden is both beautiful and productive, and gives advice on using perennials for structure and food, as well as info on guilds, polycultures and growing in containers.
Pippa's real-life examples and years of experience will help anyone create their own multilayered, edible paradise that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Growing our own food is only going to become more important, and a food forest of any size can offer: year-round food that is low-maintenance; wildlife habitat; beautiful gardens for people to enjoy; carbon sequestration; shady microclimates; and more.
Links
'The Plant Lover's Backyard Forest Garden’ by Pippa Chapman - Permanent Publications
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This week, my guest is Julian Ives, founder of Dragonfli Limited, a company specialising in taking biological controls which have been more commonly used in professional growing environments and bringing them to home gardeners. We talk about why these controls might be suitable for helping you manage your own garden, how and when you can apply them and why they might provide a useful long-term solution for those looking to avoid chemical deterrents.
About Julian Ives
Julian Ives is a Director of Dragonfli Ltd, a company he founded in 2010 with the aim of bringing biological pest control to the gardener.
Julian spent his early career advising professional growers on how to use biological pest control whilst working for Koppert Biological Systems, and now advises a number of leading botanical gardens in how to manage insects using biological controls.
Links
Gardener's Guide to Biological Pest Control: Using natural predators in the garden by Julian Ives - The Crowood Press Ltd, August 2022
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Hello and welcome to this week’s episode where I’m speaking with Marianne and Camilla, joint founders of Wolves Lane Flower Company. Marianne and Camilla are on a mission to inspire everyone to have a go at growing flowers and are part of a new wave of “farmer florists” putting the environment first.
Their new book ‘How to Grow the Flowers’ charts a year at Wolves Lane Flower Company and in easy to understand and digest fashion, shows you what to do and when to do it in order to create your own flower farm at any scale.
About Wolves Lane Flower Company
Camila Romain and Marianne Mogendorff are the founders of Wolves Lane Flower Company, a micro flower farm in north London. The duo is on a mission to inspire everyone to have a go at growing flowers and were earmarked as one of British Vogue’s “most talented female gardeners” in 2020. They are part of a new wave of “farmer florists” putting the environment first.
Flowers are something we are irresistibly drawn to and turn to at the milestone moments of our lives, at births, marriages and deaths, to connect with an estranged friend, to send love or say we’re sorry. They colour our most formative experiences and are our gateway to finding our own personal relationship with the planet we inhabit. No matter the size of your garden, ‘How to Grow the Flowers’ is a practical, but approachable guide that will instill the confidence in you to grow flowers to bring into your home and enjoy all year round.
Links
‘How to Grow the Flowers’ by Camila Romain and Marianne Mogendorff - HarperCollins, Sep 2022
Other episodes if you liked this one:
Growing Cut Flowers with Georgie Newbery of Common Farm Flowers
This week my guest is garden and landscape designer and writer, Darryl Moore. Darryl is one of the most, if not in my opinion, the most informed voice on gardens and design in the UK and his new book Gardening in A Changing World: People, Plants and the Climate Crisis presents an overarching perspective of the complexity of plant life, and the ways that we can begin to appreciate and work together with plants, rather than against them, in addressing the rapidly changing conditions affecting the planet.
About Darryl Moore
Darryl Moore is an award-winning garden and landscape designer and writer. He is Director and co-founder of the innovative urban landscape organisation Cityscapes, realising creative approaches to greening city spaces through novel design ideas that ensure ecological, economic and social sustainability. He is co-curator of thehub.earth. He sits on the Society of Garden Designers Council, and is a fellow of the RSA. His most recent award was for the St Mungo’s Putting Down Roots Garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2022, showcasing sustainability and ecology in public places.
Links
Gardening in A Changing World: People, Plants and the Climate Crisis by Darryl Moore - Pimpernel Press Ltd, Oct 2022
Other episodes if you liked this one:
This week I’m speaking to Dr Mike Edwards, Chief Listening Officer at Sound Matters, a company focussed on using sound and listening to create more sustainable and resilient futures. Sound Matters provided the soundtrack to the Rewilding Britain garden that one best in show at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show. Mike recently spoke passionately about climate change, soundscapes and landscapes at the Beth Chatto Symposium and wowed a lecture theatre full of rapt listeners with his prowess on the didgeridoo.
End music included with the kind permission of Sound Matters.
Links
The Soundtrack from the Rewilding Britain Garden at the 2022 RHS Chelsea Flower Show
The Sound Matters Soil Composer
Other episodes if you liked this one:
This week, I’m speaking to co-founder of Roots Allotments Ed Morrison. Along with Christian, Will & Josh, Ed set up Roots Allotments on a site in Bath as an alternative to traditional allotments with their long waiting lists, large and often difficult to manage plots and set up a low carbon footprint, no dig and wildlife-friendly site where people could lease some space and join the grow your own food movement.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Harvestmen
What We Talk About
How Roots Allotments came about
How they are different to conventional allotments
The costs of a plot, waiting lists, term of lease, facilities and support offered
What can be grown on a Roots Allotment?
Why no dig?
Links
Other episodes if you liked this one:
Sharing & Borrowing Gardens with Joyce Veheary of Lend and Tend
This week, my guest is Nikki Barker. Nikki’s long career in horticulture has seen her work across many sectors of the industry and she is now the Senior Horticultural Advisor at the RHS.
She’s just had a book published called ‘A Gardener’s Guide to Propagation Techniques’ and I spoke to Nikki to get some general tips on propagation and to find out what we can be propagating at this time of year.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Allium leaf miners
What We Talk About
With peat being phased out, what are good alternative proprietary growing media for propagation?
Some common seeds that require light to germinate
Seeds that can be particularly tricky to germinate
Good ways of propagating plants at this time of the year
Dahlias - good ways to propagate them
The easiest methods and plants to try propagating if you don’t have a lot of space or equipment
Links
Gardener’s Guide to Propagation Techniques: The essential guide to producing plants by Nikki Barker - The Crowood Press Ltd, September 2022
Other episodes if you liked this one:
This week’s guest is Carol Smith, garden designer, lecturer and author of the book ‘Gardening on a Gradient: Designing and Establishing Sloping Gardens’. Interestingly, the book is relevant to home gardeners and professional designers and covers everything from the initial garden site assessment and survey, right through the design process to the final stages of planting, as well as inspiration and ideas from sloping gardens around the UK. If you’ve ever faced the challenge of a sloping site, you’ll know how tricky they can be but fear not, Carol is here to help you tackle them.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Large hairy house spiders
What We Talk About
Main drawbacks to gardening on a gradient and any advantages
Is it more expensive than gardening on the flat?
Gardens that slope back towards the house and drainage issues
Making changes to levels and water run off
Soil moisture and temperature ranges across a slope
Surveying a sloping site
Retaining soil
More naturalistic ways to deal with a sloping site
About Carol Smith
Carol Smith is a professional garden designer and freelance lecturer. She has worked on several award-winning show gardens and teaches on all aspects of garden and planting design.
Links
Other episodes if you liked this one:
I Want to Like My Garden with Rachel McCartain
This week, making his second appearance on the podcast, is my guest Charles Dowding. Charles is the leading proponent worldwide of No Dig gardening. He’s authored and co-authored many books and articles on the subject, including his latest book No Dig which is the result of 40 years experience and looks set to become the definitive text on the subject.
He produces enough food to sell to local restaurants and inhabitants, to feed all his course attendees and visitors and also his own household from his plot which until recently has only been a quarter of an acre in size, proving categorically that no-dig equals maximum productivity. He is a prolific generator of media content, his YouTube channel has over 55 million views and he’s bought the no-dig technique to a worldwide audience.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Spider silk
What We Talk About
How Charles got started out in gardening
Why do we need compost for no-dig and is it essential to create our own?
No dig techniques on different types of soils
Giving the beds a year off (or not) and crop rotation
No-dig and plant pests and diseases
Why every last gardener in the UK hasn’t adopted no-dig!
About Charles Dowding
Charles Dowding is the leading proponent of no-dig gardening. Not only does he have a huge following, but his advice is born out of more than 40 years of growing, analysing, comparing, and recommending. He has been growing veg since 1981, having gardened in four different locations and grown hundreds of thousands of crops.
Charles currently gardens his modestly sized plot Homeacres, in Somerset, from which he produces enough food to sell to local restaurants and inhabitants, to feed all his course attendees and visitors and also his own household. He is a prolific generator of media content and has bought the no-dig technique to a worldwide audience.
Links
No Dig: Nurture Your Soil to Grow Better Veg with Less Effort by Charles Dowding - Dorling Kindersley, September 2022
Other episodes if you liked this one:
Feeding your Soil with Humanure with Joseph Jenkins
This week I’m chatting with writer Kendra Wilson. Kendra has written a vast amount about gardening but I was particularly interested in speaking to her about her book Garden for the Senses. Engaging all your senses can lead to a deeper connection with the landscape and it can be an unusual and transformative experience. I wanted to find out how we can all learn to better use our senses and firstly, what prompted Kendra to write the book.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: The blue butterflies
What We Talk About
How catering to the senses can lend another dimension to the garden
How many senses should we aim to stimulate in a garden?
One good plant that will engage with each of our five senses
How you can learn to engage your senses more when in the garden
About Kendra Wilson
Kendra has contributed to The Sunday Times, Gardens Illustrated, Guardian Weekend, Garden Design Journal, RHS The Garden, and Vogue. She is a longstanding correspondent for Gardenista online and contributed a chapter 'The Gardenista 100' to the 2016 book, Gardenista: The Definitive Guide to Stylish Outdoor Spaces.
Kendra has worked on numerous projects including a limited-edition book for Mulberry and other books including My Garden is a Car Park and The Book of the Flower.
Links
Garden for the Senses by Kendra Wilson - Dorling Kindersley, February 2022
This week’s guest is ecologist and author Julian Doberski. If you think about compost heaps, how much do you really think about the living micro and macro organisms that dwell within them, how they contribute to the composting process and how what you do to your heap can increase or decrease their chances of survival?
Julian has written about the science of what goes on in a compost heap and about the living organisms who provide the ‘hard graft’ of transforming waste organic matter in his latest publication The Science of Compost. I spoke to Julian to find out more.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Fuchsia Gall Mite
What We Talk About
What is compost?
Does what go in also come out? Eg if we want a high nitrogen compost product should we use raw materials that are also high in nitrogen?
How do you know what you’ll be getting as an end product?
How do you get the right balance of the organisms that break down the heap?
The correct ratio of woody versus green materials in a compost heap
What makes a compost heap break down, apart from the organisms in it?
About Julian Doberski
Julian Doberski has degrees in Zoology (BSc Southampton), Forestry (MSc Oxford) and a PhD in biological control of insects using fungi (Cambridge). He has thirty years of teaching experience at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge (and its predecessor institutions) where he was a Principal Lecturer in Ecology. He has jointly published a resource pack for A level ecology students and a range of scientific research and science in education papers. He is currently retired and lives in Cambridgeshire.
Links
The Science of Compost: Life, Death and Decay in the Garden by Dr. Julian Doberski
Other episodes if you liked this one:
The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments with Nigel Palmer
This week I’m speaking to Juliette Goggin, perfumery consultant to some of the most recognised brands in the world, upcycling and reusing champion, owner of the cosmetics company Hand Made by Juliette and author of the books Handmade Beauty and Handmade Spa. We talk about how you can use plants from your garden to create products that are natural, inexpensive, easy to make and that actually work.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Gooseberry Sawfly
What We Talk About
Juliette’s background in perfumes and cosmetics
The impetus behind the books Handmade Beauty & Handmade Spa
Why should we try to make our own products?
How are they better than what you can buy?
Do you need a lot of equipment?
Do you need to source fairly specialist ingredients?
How you can incorporate items from your garden into your products
Prepping ingredients
About Juliette Goggin
Juliette trained in perfumery evaluation, and worked for a Fragrance house in Grasse in the South of France to develop bespoke products for niche brands in the UK. Throughout this time Juliette was always keen to learn how everything was made and to expand her knowledge, combining this with a natural love of crafting which she developed as a child forever making things from cast off bits and pieces.
Juliette teaches classes in Natural Skincare and Candle Making, based around her Handmade Beauty and Handmade Spa illustrated books. The books also acted as a springboard to creating her own Collection of natural skincare and home fragrance products in 2018, appropriately called Handmade by Juliette.
Links
Instagram @handmadebyjuliette
Other episodes if you liked this one:
Sensory Herbalism with Karen Lawton
This week’s guest is Hawaii-based writer and grower Ja-Ne de Abreu. When the pandemic began, Ja-ne became an instant 24/7 caregiver for her hanai mother. To keep things positive, she started growing food and discovered it also grew peace and calm to their lives amid the ongoing chaos. Ja-ne had an intuition to write Sassy Food to share the inspiration that everyone can grow food at any time of year, anywhere in the world on any budget and harvest peace in the process. We talk about growing in small spaces, how growing food can foster positive connections in difficult times and what happens when the creative spark catches.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Butterfly decline
What we cover
The idea behind Sassy Food
The climate in Hawaii and what you can grow
Why it’s important that we all grow food where we can
Seeds that can be eaten as sprouts
Grow tents to increase indoor growing space
Easy and cheap/free ways to propagate edible plants
Washing produce and some easy, natural products to use
Why is food like music?
About Ja-ne de Abreu
When the pandemic began, Ja-ne de Abreu became an instant 24/7 caregiver for her hanai mother. To keep things positive, she started growing food and discovered it also grew peace and calm to their lives amid the ongoing chaos. Ja-ne had an intuition to write Sassy Food to share the inspiration that everyone can grow food at any time of year, anywhere in the world on any budget and harvest peace in the process. Sassy Food has won two first place book awards and was a finalist in two book contests for the book cover as well as interior design.
De Abreu’s other award-winning books are a memoir with her sister and brother-in-law, Chasing the Surge: Life as a Travel Nurse in a Global Pandemic, and her debut novel, The Energy Inside Valsin’s Choices. In addition, de Abreu also published five books of the Richard Tregaskis Classics Collection under the JMFdeA Press imprint last year and will publish five more in the near future. Ja-ne’s focus is exploring the energy inside our choices and the resulting responsibilities and freedoms by telling stories through various methods.
Links
Join Sassy Food Farms on Instagram
Other episodes if you liked this one:
This week I’m speaking to Founder of Wildflower Turf Limited and author of the book ‘How to make a wildflower meadow’ James Hewetson-Brown. James has a vast amount of experience creating meadows at domestic and public scales, is passionate about creating species rich habitats which are attractive to people and wildlife and which have the added benefits of pollution mitigation and carbon sequestration. We talk about the nuts and bolts of meadow making but also about why meadows can be the solution to so many of our landscaping needs.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Tardegrades
What we cover
Why meadows can be a quick solution to bring biodiversity to previously relatively barren areas, particularly in urban environments
If you build it, will they come? Or is biodiversity too depleted already?
The best ways of establishing a meadow
Convert an area of lawn to meadow
Annual species, perennials, and mixtures of both
Do you need grass species in a meadow?
Unusual or interesting projects James has worked on
Links
How to make a wildflower meadow: Tried-And-Tested Techniques for New Garden Landscapes by James Hewetson-Brown - Filbert Press, 2016
Other episodes if you liked this one:
My guest this week is naturalist, conservationist and writer Benedict Macdonald. Benedict has recently released a new book ‘Cornerstones’, which talks about how by restoring cornerstone species we can help turn around the current impoverished state of nature in the UK. His previous book ‘Rebirding’ was how I first came to know of his work and I’ve been a great admirer of his work ever since. We talk about the numbers of UK birds, how land management needs to change in order to stop the loss of species in this country and what we can do at a garden level to make changes.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Box tree moth
What we cover
- Do we waste money propping up untenably small populations of threatened species in isolated areas?
- Bird species that are the ‘walking dead’ in Britain
- Achieving cooperation between individual land owners to create the large scale and connected habitats that are needed to sustain populations
- Adopting a build it and they will come approach
- Are we wasting our time trying to make a difference at the garden scale? If not, what can we do to make a difference?
- Some of the problems mentioned in Rebirding are directly related to the EUs common agricultural policy. How could this change given Brexit?
- Ecotourism
About Benedict Macdonald
Benedict Macdonald is a conservation writer, field director in wildlife television, and a keen naturalist. He is passionate about restoring Britain's wildlife, pelicans included, in his lifetime.
During his extensive global travel experience, Benedict has found inspiring examples of why desecrating our country’s ecosystems is both entirely avoidable and against the national interest. This book is his attempt to ensure that this generation, for the first time in thousands of years, leaves Britain’s wildlife better off, not worse, than the generation before – for wildlife and people alike.
Benedict is a long-time writer for Birdwatching magazine, as well as a contributor to the RSPB Nature’s Home and BBC Wildlife. He has been fortunate to work on TV series for the BBC and Netflix - most notably the grasslands and jungles programmes of Sir David Attenborough’s conservation series Our Planet.
Links
Cornerstones: Wild forces that can change our world by Benedict Macdonald - Bloomsbury Publishing PLC , 2022
Orchard: A Year in England's Eden by Benedict Macdonald - HarperCollins, 2021
Rebirding: Restoring Britain's Wildlife by Benedict Macdonald - Pelagic Publishing, 2020
Other episodes if you liked this one:
This week’s guest is Martin Harvey, an entomologist and biological recorder based at the UK CEH Biological Records Centre. His main areas of work include the iRecord online recording system, liaison with national recording schemes, and the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme. Martin enjoys watching and recording hoverflies and I was delighted he agreed to an interview as although I know next to nothing about them, I do love seeing them in the garden and I’m always keen to find out more.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Beewolf
What we cover
The UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme
How hoverflies are distinct from bees or other flies
How many species of hoverfly are in the UK
More common species and the rarest
Mimicry
How to encourage more hoverflies into our gardens
Where to find out more about hoverflies
About Martin Harvey
Martin Harvey is an entomologist and biological recorder based at the UK CEH Biological Records Centre. His main areas of work include the iRecord online recording system, liaison with national recording schemes, and the UK Pollinator Monitoring Scheme. He also teaches for Field Studies Council. Martin enjoys watching and recording hoverflies and other insects, and as a volunteer he runs the national Soldierflies and Allies Recording Scheme, and is County Moth Recorder for Berkshire.
Links
UKCEH Biological Records Centre
Buzz Club hoverfly lagoons from Sussex University
Dipterists Forum (the society for the study and conservation of flies)
Other episodes if you liked this one:
This week, I’m speaking to Michael Marriott about historic roses. Micheal is an expert rosarian, Chairman of the Historic Roses Group and author of the recently published book RHS ‘Roses’. We talk about what historic roses are, some of the myths surrounding them and why they’re an excellent choice for your garden, particularly if you’re looking for something a little different. I began by asking Michael about his background and how he became interested in historic roses.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Harebell Carpenters
What we cover
The Historic Roses Group and Michael’s involvement with the group
What is an historic rose?
More common historic roses we might have come across
Disease resistance
Scent
Do they repeat flower?
Gardens in the UK where you can see historic roses
Good old rose varieties if you’re dipping your toe in the water of growing them
Links
RHS Roses: An inspirational Guide to Choosing and Growing the Best Roses by Michael Marriott
Other episodes if you liked this one:
This week I’m speaking to horticultural expert Guy Deakins who amongst other things is a garden designer, historic gardens expert, consultant and author of the new book Gardener’s Guide to Protected Growing: Creating a successful, sustainable and health micro-climate in the garden. I wanted to find out a bit more about creating protected environments for plants, and about the positives and negatives and Guy’s book provides comprehensive answers all rooted in scientific research.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Fleas in the garden
What we cover
What is protected growing?
When thinking about protecting crops, should we look to install a windbreak first of all? How do we know we’re not going to create a frost pocket or channel winds in an unfavourable way?
Does growing on a protected site mean you are usually dealing with an artificial growing medium?
If you want to automate the watering, some good alternatives to hand watering
Avoiding too much light for plants growing in a protected space
Moderating temperatures
Good examples of growing in protected spaces
About Guy Deakins
Since starting his business in 1999, Guy has gained experience in many differing environments from small courtyards and roof gardens in the heart of the city, fen gardens in rural Norfolk, windswept beach-side formal gardens, and country estates designed by twentieth century cognoscente – with just about every beautiful variation in between.
With the coming of the global climate crisis, the focus of the company is always to encourage biodiversity whilst maintaining a good design aesthetic. To this end, Guy studied neuroscience at degree level, so that he could fully understand the brain’s aesthetic pathways when looking at shapes, structures and colours.
Links
Gardener’s Guide to Protected Growing: Creating a successful, sustainable and health micro-climate in the garden by Guy Deakins - Crowood Press, 2022
This week I’m speaking to gardener and writer Lulah Ellender about her book Grounding: Finding Home in a Garden. Lulah’s book is about tuning into the unceasing rhythms of nature in order to live with uncertainty and how they can help us become more connected to the places in which we live. We talk about how gardens can root us in time and place, even when those roots seem tenuous and liable to break.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Sentient bugs
What we cover
The premise behind the book and the circumstances in which Lulah came to write it
How Lulah gardened differently when she thought she might lose her garden
Why the potential loss of her garden seemed such a wrench
Custodianship of gardens
Advantages to being a temporary, more tenuous occupier of a space
How do gardens help us cope with our emotions? How do they help us make sense of cycles of life, death, birth, aging?
About Lulah Ellender
Lulah lives in Lewes, East Sussex, with her husband, four children and assorted animals. She has written for the Guardian, the Mail on Sunday’s YOU magazine, and Sussex Life among others. She was recently writer in residence at Charleston’s Festival of the Garden. Her first book Elisabeth’s Lists was published in 2018.
Links
Grounding: Finding Home in a Garden by Lulah Ellender - Granta Books, April 2022
Hello and welcome to this week’s episode where I’m speaking to Marion Whitehead from the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden in New South Wales, Australia, part of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney.
I talk with Marion about one of her areas of speciality; the intersection of plants and human feelings, particularly in the context of 3 books as recommended by Marion; Enid Blyton’s ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s ‘The Secret Garden’ and ‘The Overstory’ by Richard Powers.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Venom
What we cover
Enid Blyton’s ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’: the tree is the central character, but actually seems pretty inanimate. How does the magic faraway tree provoke emotion?
Is there a suggestion in Blyton’s book that wild plants are more emotionally provocative than cultivated plants?
‘The Secret Garden’: the garden heals but it seems to be healing physically as much as emotionally, is this the case?
Is the garden responding to individuals’ needs?
Do people instinctively find or seek out what they need, emotionally, in a garden?
Do we have the language to describe our relationship to plants?
Richard Powers’ ‘The Overstory’: are plants losing their power to connect with us emotionally, or vice versa, given our detachment from nature?
About Marion Whitehead
Marion is Senior Horticulturalist at the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden. She has an extensive background in cool climate plant species, with a specific interest in ephemeral and heathland plants. Marion has many horticultural topics of interest from Australian plant history, to managing plant nurseries, to the emotional connection between human and fellow flowers.
Links
www.bluemountainsbotanicgarden.com
The Overstory by Richard Powers
This week’s guests are Kenton Seth and Paul Spriggs, co-authors of a book that’s just been released called ‘The Crevice Garden: How to Make the Perfect Home for Plants from Rocky Places.’ This book is immensely detailed and if you’ve ever had an interest in crevice aka rock gardens, or indeed have not but are curious, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the types of plants suited to growing in this style of garden (there are many), the different looks you can create, how to build and maintain them, famous and successful examples and why they are good from an environmental perspective.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Flower Crab Spiders
What we cover
What is a crevice garden?
Advantages to putting plants in crevices
The sort of plants suited to growing in crevices
Installing a crevice garden
Sourcing stone you might need?
Planting into a crevice garden
Are they a purely aesthetic addition to a garden or can they be useable too?
Maintenance
About Kenton & Paul
Kenton J. Seth began his career in public horticulture and the nursery trade and is now a garden designer who specializes in crevice gardens, drought-tolerant natives, and meadows. He writes for a variety of local, national and international magazines and lectures to rock garden clubs at home in Colorado and overseas.
Paul Spriggs has been rock gardening for 23 years and building crevice gardens for the last 16. He is a professional gardener and landscaper, and an avid plant explorer. He has a passion for all wild plants, especially miniatures, collecting and cultivating them at home in Victoria, British Columbia.
Links
The Crevice Garden: How to Make the Perfect Home for Plants from Rocky Places by Kenton Seth & Paul Spriggs - Filbert Press, April 2022
This week’s guest is veg growing expert Huw Richards. Huw grows a vast range of plants in his garden in mid-West Wales and is always trialling and experimenting with new ways of growing. He has an enormously popular YouTube channel and has authored a number of books, the latest of which is ‘The Vegetable Grower’s Handbook’ which draws on his experience as very much a thoughtful and philosophical gardener.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Flower Crab Spiders
What we cover
Gardening with a mission statement
Being organised in the garden; keeping checklists, batching jobs, planning
Some of the most surprising things Huw’s discovered on his gardening journey
Poly culture
Intercropping
Having an odds and ends bed
Harvesting water in the garden
The method of multisowing
New veg Huw’s trialling in 2022
On being a philosophical gardener
Links
The Veg Grower’s Handbook by Huw Richards - Dorling Kindersley Ltd, March 2022
This week’s guest is Clare Keller, a fashion designer and stylist who’s previously work at Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Pringle, Chloe and Givenchy. Clare is currently a Trustee and spokesperson for the British Iris Society, a society dedicated to promoting and preserving UK irises and providing resources to iris growers. We talk about these picturesque, perpetually popular flowers.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Organic recyclers
What we cover
How Clare became involved with the British Iris Society and interested in irises
Species of iris
Ideal iris growing conditions
Iris hardiness
Propagation of irises
Easy irises to grow
Links
This week’s guest is Frank Hyman, a certified mushroom forager who teaches mushroom identification to chefs, arborists, organic farmers and the general public. Frank’s latest book is called ‘How to Forage for Mushrooms Without Dying’ and contains guidance on mushroom identification, on your suitability for becoming a mushroom forager on which subject he writes “if you have a reputation among your friends and family for exercising poor judgement…you may not be a very good candidate”, about the sniffy attitude of the English to mushrooms versus that of mainland Europeans and a whole host of other myco-related topics that should help you in your quest to survive foraging. Despite dealing with a potentially lethal topic, both book and author are laugh out loud funny and I was delighted that Frank agreed to an interview.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Viruses
What we cover
Can you take a mushroom guide from one country or continent and use it in another?
Frank’s three different types of mushrooms
Mycophobia
Should you be careful of the soil mushrooms are growing in?
Nutritional and medicinal values
Cleaning and cooking mushrooms
About Frank Hyman
Frank is a certified mushroom forager who teaches mushroom identification to chefs, arborists, organic farmers and the general public. His writing on foraging has appeared in Forbes, Paleo Magazine and Hobby Farms. He lives in Durham, North Carolina.
Links
Other episodes you might like:
Edible Mushrooms with Geoff Dann
This week I’m speaking to April Windle. April is a naturalist with a particular interest in lichens, especially those occupying our rainforest habitats along the western seaboard of the British Isles.
April works on a variety of lichen education and conservation projects and co-chairs the Education & Promotions Committee of the British Lichen Society. April talks to me about what lichen actually is, where you can find it and why it’s interesting and worth studying.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Brimstone butterflies
What we cover
What is a lichen? Might they be confused with algae, moss or fungi?
The provenance of lichens
UK species
Where you can find them
Lichen propagation
Lichens as species or material specific
What is life like for lichen given things like development, air pollution and climate change?
Edible and medicinal uses
Where you can find out more about lichens
About April Windle
April Windle is a naturalist with a particular interest in lichens, especially those occupying our rainforest habitats along the western seaboard of the British Isles.
She is currently self-employed and involved in a variety of lichen education and conservation projects, whilst co-chairing the Education & Promotions Committee of the British Lichen Society. Her employment history includes Plantlife International, the Natural History Museum, Exmoor National Park Authority and the RSPB.
Links
www.britishlichensociety.org.uk
April on Twitter: @aprilwindle
This week I’m chatting with New England-based horticultural therapist and master gardener, Erik Keller, who is also the author of the book A Therapist’s Garden: Using Plants to Revitalise Your Spirit.
Over 20 years, Erik has worked with thousands of people of all ages and types, using horticulture and therapeutic techniques to help them deal with physical, emotional and mental challenges. Erik talks about using an outdoor space as a place for therapy and learning and about the downs and ups of bringing horticulture into peoples’ lives as a way to heal.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Home grown bugs
What we cover
Erik’s background in therapeutic gardening
The most therapeutic and stimulating plant scents for people to work with
How plants spark memories
Establishing a connection between growing and eating plants
Techniques to stop attention wandering whilst completing a task
Techniques you use if people are exhibiting undesirable behaviour
Lesson planning and being flexible during gardening sessions
Using your garden year round
How seasonal changes can help garden users deal with their personal issues and relate to the garden
About A Therapist’s Garden: Using Plants to Revitalise Your Spirit
The Zen of mixing mud with seniors; crafting surprising salads out of weeds; and a hidden rabbit bringing joy to girls in a juvenile detention center. These are a few of the nearly 100 stories that Erik Keller takes readers on through a journey of how interacting with plants and nature can help heal mental, emotional, and physical trauma. Through the lens of January to December in a New England landscape, discover how horticultural therapy improves the lives of those in pain including special-needs children, cancer patients, and disabled seniors.
A Therapist’s Garden is unique in portraying how gardening, nature-based arts, plants and horticulture can revitalize the spirit of people. It encompasses over 20 years of experiences seeing the healing power of horticultural therapy. Its themes and subject material are universal in interest as different portions of this book apply to nearly anyone who likes plants or to garden, both booming activities today, as well as therapists who will find the approach interesting and of use to their client bases.
About Erik Keller
Over the last 20 years, Erik Keller has worked with thousands of people of all ages and types using horticulture and therapeutic techniques to help them deal with physical, cognitive, social and emotional challenges. Venues have ranged from special-needs schools, to prisons, to nursing facilities to private homes. Certifications from the University of Connecticut as a Master Gardener in 2000 and the New York Botanical Garden in Horticultural Therapy in 2009 has given Keller a strong base of knowledge from which he has been able to help his clients. He is a member of the American Horticultural Therapy Association, the Northeast Horticultural Therapy Network as well as the Connecticut Master Gardeners Association. He writes extensively about the healing power of horticultural therapy on a variety of social media platforms and on his website www.grohappy.com.
For over a decade, Keller has been running a twice-monthly horticultural therapy (HT) program at Ann’s Place, a not-for-profit facility helping those with cancer located in Danbury, CT. Since the emergence of COVID-19, Keller has developed a wide variety of virtual and hybrid HT sessions for clients. He also manages and maintains the grounds at Ann’s Place, which he designed over a decade ago to accommodate therapeutic needs of the client base.
Keller is also a commissioner for the Ridgefield Conservation Commission, which manages and maintains over 5,800 acres of open space in Ridgefield, CT. In the past, he has run horticultural therapy programs at senior living and nursing facilities as well as run programs at Green Chimneys, a school for special-needs children in Brewster, NY.
Earlier in Keller’s career, he spent a decade as a journalist and editor for a variety of technology- focused trade publications, a decade as a Research Fellow at Gartner, Stamford, CT (the leading technology advisory firm in the world), and another decade as a management consultant with his own firm. During that time he received many awards for editorial, writing and analytical excellence. He also wrote a well-received book for the technology community called Technology Paradise Lost (Manning Publications) in 2004.
Keller graduated from State University of New York at Stony Brook with a Bachelor’s of Engineering degree as well as minored in English and Journalism. While at Stony Brook, he won the University’s Martin Buskin Memorial Scholarship for Journalism.
Links
Black Rose Publishing - A Therapist’s Garden: Using Plants to Revitalise Your Spirit
The collection comprises over 160 varieties and includes some favourite varieties which date back to the 1800s. Jack talks about his collection, the different types of violas you might come across and how you can best grow them in your garden either in the ground or in containers.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Biodiversity Decline
What we cover
Jack’s collection of violas
How many species of viola there are
The history of violas in cultivation
Violettas
Pruning violas
Viola growing conditions and feeding
Hardiness
Violas and scent
Viola colours
Propagation
Edible flowers
Links
This week’s guest is Dr Si Poole, founder of Mintopia, a website dedicated to mint featuring its own online reference library for the different types, the mintopaedia. Si holds one of the National Collections of mint and holds getting on for 200 different cultivars. From his plastic-free, organic nursery, he sells themed collections of mints and he’s passionate and knowledgable about every aspect of the Mentha genera, impressive given that there’s much more to this plant than mint sauce and mojitos.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Locusts
What we cover
How Si became interested in mint
The different species and cultivars of mint
The Mintopia Mint Collections
How is mint propagated?
The cultivation of mint in the garden
Is it true that you shouldn’t allow mints of different varieties grow in the same container otherwise they all end up tasting the same?
Mint pests and diseases
Links
I stumbled across a book called The Humanure Handbook: Shit in a Nutshell and of course, I had to buy a copy. I’ve long thought that if we’re aiming towards a closed system within our gardens then our own waste needs to be factored into the equation so I was intrigued to find out what the book’s author Joseph C Jenkins had to say on the matter. What I didn’t expect was the book to be one of those that slaps you in the face with facts and makes you question the whole way you’ve lived your life, in this case in relation to loos and their contents. Not only does Joe comprehensively explain how you can take the contents of your loo and compost it along with your garden waste so that you have a clean and useful product that can be used on everything from vegetables to houseplants, he will make you wonder why you ever thought the alternative of flushing it away was a sensible, viable option. There is so much I wanted to cover with Joe and we only scratched the surface of the subject in this interview. I urge you to get the book and think about the issue of how we deal with waste, it’s a vitally important environmental issue.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Eating insects
What we cover
The background to Joe’s work on composting toilet waste and his book, The Humanure Handbook
In order to put back what we take out of the soil, we need to be reusing our waste as well as all household and garden waste - how can this work in practice?
Is a flushing toilet the holy grail of comfort and civilised living for all?
Composting and pathogens
Composting and drug residues
Compost toilets vs dry composting systems
Links
Humanure Handbook can be downloaded here
Humanure research papers:
The flora of Armenia is one of the most diverse and interesting in the world and includes many favourite garden plants and their relatives. This week’s guest, Tamar Galstyan, has travelled the length and breadth of the country botanising and leading guided plant tours. She’s recently published ‘A Field Guide to the Plants of Armenia’ which includes more than 1000 of the diverse range of plants found in the country and in the interview, we cover the range of habitats and climates found in Armenia, what it’s like to travel there to find plants and how the native flora is threatened by things such as climate change and grazing animals.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: UV light
What we cover
How Tamar become interested in plants
What makes Armenia so significant in terms of plants
The sorts of climates experienced in Armenia
The rarest plants you could find
Armenian wild plants that are also garden cultivars
The protection given to the native flora
How to see the plants in Armenia and the best time to visit
About Tamar Galstyan
Tamar Galstyan graduated from the University of Art and Theatre in Yerevan, Armenia. After some years she studied ecology and worked with children as an ecology teacher. Tamar began travelling regularly in Armenia, taking numerous pictures of plants and identifying them. She created a website to help her students learn about the Armenian flora and this led to her popular Facebook page 'Plants of Armenia'. In 2012 Tamar was invited to guide a botany trip in Armenia. Gradually the geographical range of her trips expanded and some are managed through her own travel company, SkyGreen. Travels in Georgia, Iran and Central Asia deepened Tamar’s love of nature as well as her plant knowledge. She learns by travelling and is passionate about sharing what she has learnt during the past nine years guiding botany trips.
Links
This week, I’m talking to Susan Young, author of the book ‘Growing Beans’. As I’ve looked further into having a sustainable diet, into growing and storing crops and into sources of plant protein, beans just seemed to tick every box, but I needed to know more. So Susan’s book ‘Growing Beans’ is exactly what I’ve been looking for, because it covers growing, harvesting and storing beans and it argues a very convincing case for a fact that many people the world over have known for centuries; that beans are good not only for you but for the planet, because they’re such a resilient, easy to grow, low carbon footprint crop.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Tobacco whitefly
What we cover
What makes beans such a good crop to grow, in terms of their eco credentials?
The beans we commonly grow here in the UK
Beans to grow for their green pods, as fresh green beans, half dried and drying
Bean nutritional needs
Overwintering tubers of runner bean plants
Drying beans in a UK climate
Bean toxicity
Storing different types of beans
Easy beans to grow
Beans for taste and aesthetics
Preparing and cooking beans
About ‘Growing Beans: a diet for healthy people and planet' by Susan Young
Susan's new book brings together 10 years of experimentation with multiple varieties of beans. She clearly explains how to sow, grow, harvest, dry, store and cook them, and shares her six ‘must grow’ varieties.
Beans are easy to grow and cook, help build healthy soil in the garden, and also provide a nutrient-rich diet, helping to reduce the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer – they are good sources of protein, fibre, folate, iron and potassium. Plus, they can reduce your carbon footprint and food miles as well!
Links
'Growing Beans: a diet for healthy people and planet' by Susan Young
This week’s guest is Nick Macer, plant hunter, self-taught botanist, rare species expert and owner of Pan Global Plants, a nursery based in the Severn Valley, which, to quote the website, offers “a selection of the finest, most desirable and often rarest plants capable of growing on these isles”. And that’s key - Nick hand selects plants, in the past, directly from where they were growing in the wild and brings them into cultivation. He’s renowned for choosing sublime varieties and for openly sharing his knowledge and experience. I did intend to talk to Nick a bit about his plant hunting trips, but as a stop has been put to these recently due to rules around the transportation of plant materials, the conversation went in other directions.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Mealybugs
What we cover
How Nick got into plant hunting
How plants make the grade for inclusion into your nursery catalogue
Rare plants - hardy or non hardy?
Propagating rare plants
Using rare plants in the garden
About Nick Macer
Coincidentally connected to last week’s episode on Georgian gardens, Nick Macer rented land at Painswick Rococo Garden before moving to Frampton-on-Severn to set up Pan-Global Plants, which specialises in rare and unusual plants, many of which are well-suited to growing in a UK climate.
Nick trained at Merrist Wood and went on to have placements at Westonbirt Arboretum and the Sir Harold Hillier Gardens. He’s travelled the globe to find the most beautiful specimens to bring into cultivation and continues to work at the nursery and to share his knowledge in person and in the media.
Links
I’m speaking to Dr Cathryn Spence this week, about Thomas Robins, a painter who documented the country estates of the Georgian gentry in all their Rococo splendour. Robins captured images of this flamboyant age of outdoor design where gardens were laden with symbolism and crammed full of Chinoiserie, follies ruins and the latest imports of exotic animals and plants. Follow the story of Robins as he moves from jobbing fan painter to star of his own paintings, the development of the floral borders around his canvases, for which he’s famed, and the evolution of the Georgian garden and what remains of this style today.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Fig wasps
What we cover
The artist Thomas Robins and when and where he worked
What gardens looked like at the time Robins was painting
What is a Rococo garden?
Why Robins painted floral borders around his paintings
How exotic species came to be included in these frames
In the book, Cathryn references “the Rococo’s requirement of asymmetry”. How did this manifest in Robins’ artworks and in gardens?
Political themes in Georgian gardens
Robins’ botanical art
How contemporary painters painted entire estates on one canvas
Remaining examples of rococo gardens
About ‘Nature’s Favourite Child – Thomas Robins and the Art of the Georgian Garden’
Thomas Robins the Elder (1716–1770) recorded the country estates of the Georgian gentry—their orchards, Rococo gardens, and potagers—like no other, with both topographical accuracy and delightful artistry, often bordering his gouaches with entrancing tendrils, shells, leaves, and birds. Robins's skill was honed by the delicacy required for his early career as a fan painter and is shown too in his exquisite paintings of butterflies, flowers, and birds. This ravishing and scholarly study emerges from many years’ research by Dr Cathryn Spence, the curator and archivist at Bowood House who has also worked for the V&A, the Bath Preservation Trust, and the National Trust. This is the first full study of Thomas Robins since John Harris’s Gardens of Delight, published in two volumes in 1978; Harris, in fact, made over all his research notes to Spence in 2005 when she embarked on her work. Chinoiserie is everywhere—a wooden bridge over the Thames, delicious kiosks in a garden, a view of Bath with sampans, and Chinese fishermen on the river. There are also fascinating views of Sudeley Castle and other great houses that incorporated more or less ruined monastic structures, destroyed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries. Spence has tracked down many previously unknown paintings by Robins and sets his elusive life and work in the framework of his patrons. More detective story than art historical monograph, this lavish study delights in Robins’s astonishing proficiency as a topographical, botanical, entomological and naturalist artist.
About Cathryn Spence
Dr Cathryn Spence is a museum professional, lecturer and historic gardens and buildings consultant. After a career in London and Bath museums, including the Victoria & Albert Museum and the Building of Bath Museum, she is now Lord Lansdowne’s consultant Archivist and Curator at Bowood House, Wiltshire. She has published several books on the architectural and social history of Bath, most recently The Story of Bath (2016). Her study of Thomas Robins is the culmination of over fifteen years research. Cathryn has worked with the team at Painswick Rococo Garden, a site restored using Robins’s paintings from 1984, for the last 5 years advising on the continuing heritage and conservation of the garden.
Links
Nature’s Favourite Child – Thomas Robins and the Art of the Georgian Garden by Cathryn Spence is available from John Sandoe Books or directly from the author. Email thomasrobinselder@gmail.com (£45 to include p&p to a UK address, for RoW postage contact Cathryn on the above email for quote).
This week, I’m talking to Joyce Veheary about her fantastic Lend and Tend project, which aims to match garden owners who perhaps don’t have the time, experience, desire or means to tend their garden with gardenless gardeners keen to employ their green fingers,
pairing up people who are local to each other, then sending them on their merry way in the hopes they will have a long and happy garden sharing relationship. Joyce talks about why she felt the need to begin the project, how it works, what happens when it succeeds and why the idea is of benefit to whole communities, as well as the individuals involved.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Indoor houseplant bugs
What we cover
Lend and Tend and how it came about
How likely are you to find someone on Lend and Tend who shares the same view of what a garden can and should be?
Some of the keys to having a mutually beneficial relationship between lender and tender
What about tools?
Practical considerations such as insurance and references
The social element of Lend and Tend and how it benefits the community
Where to find out more and get involved
About Joyce Veheary
Joyce is the founder of Lend and Tend and is a self-taught gardener with a passion for sharing skills and experiences. She is particularly interested in growing her own produce to cook with and she’s a keen forager too.
Joyce is always looking for ways to look after the environment and to promote social justice. Her aim with Lend and Tend is to democratise access to growing space, which she rightly views as an act of horticultural rebellion.
She’s also a film and TV actor and her latest role is in Zack Snyder’s Justice League where she plays a Gotham cop. Talk about multi-talented!
Links
P.s. for those expecting exotic plants and sunny climes as promised last week, apologies! The course of podcasting never did run smooth - hopefully next week!
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Overwintering moths
What we cover
Brown Envelope Seeds and how Madeline started the company
Why organic seeds? Why open-pollinated?
On the Brown Envelope Seeds website, Madeline writes that open pollinated seeds “are naturally pollinated - by insects or wind; not enforced pollination or in-breeding”. She expands on what she means by this.
Food plant biodiversity
Why you should try to buy seeds from a seed producer in your region or from one who has similar growing conditions
Saving our own seeds
If we save seeds each year, are the resulting plants are getting better and better?
What to look for when saving seed
Potential problems with seed crops that can affect the quality of the seed
The situation globally with seed production and seed sellers?
About Madeline McKeever
Madeline began Brown Envelope Seeds in 2004 with 25 varieties. Since then, the company has grown, along with the amount of varieties offered (especially tomatoes!) to a family business supplying organic and open-pollinated vegetable seeds to Irish growers.
Madeline’s mission statement is to enable people to grow their own food and she believes producing and saving seeds is a vital part of that. She is doing her part to preserve and safeguard the future of food diversity in Ireland and by sharing her knowledge and expertise, is helping this happen on a global scale.
Links
Other episodes you might like:
This year’s first guest is organic vegetable grower Anna Greenland. Anna has supplied produce to some of the UK’s top chefs, including Raymond Blanc and Jamie Oliver, has created gardens at Soho Farmhouse, Kew Gardens and the Huntington Botanical Gardens in LA. She is currently establishing a market garden and gardening school in Suffolk and has just released a book called ‘Grow Easy’. Anna talks about working with the best chefs in the best kitchens and catering to their clientele, about producing pristine veg organically, about growing food in different climates and the fundamentals of veg garden success.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Overwintering fruit & vegetable bugs
What we cover
Anna’s background
How Anna begins to plan a veg garden from scratch
What makes a good site
The chefs Anna has worked with
Growing food for a professional kitchen
Keeping a veg garden in a public space looking good all year round
The biggest challenges for new veg gardeners and how they can be overcome
About Anna Greenland
Anna was working as a model when she moved to Cornwall and began working at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Cornwall. Bitten by the veg growing bug, she took on a job at The Lost Gardens of Heligan and began supplying produce to Jamie’s restaurant. From there, she moved to LA to study Ecological Horticulture and set up a food growing garden at Huntington Botanical Gardens.
After moving back to the UK, she worked at Soho Farmhouse, Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons for Raymond Blanc and has set up a productive area at Kew Gardens. She won gold and Best in Show for her ‘Herbs and Preserves’ garden at RHS Hampton Court Flower Show in 2018 and has just released a book, ‘Grow Easy’. She now lives in Suffolk where she is setting up a market garden and gardening school.
Links
Grow Easy: Organic crops for pots and small plots - October 2021, Octopus Publishing
Welcome to this pre-Christmas episode of the podcast, the final one of 2021. And what a year this has been! In this episode, I talk about what’s been happening at Roots and All and look back over some of the favourite episodes from this year.
Thank you for supporting the podcast this year and a Merry Christmas to you!
What I cover
The redesigned Roots and All website and the bookshop
Episode 94 - Wild Gardens with Jo McKerr
Episode 99 - Pollinators & Pollination with Prof Jeff Ollerton
Episode 108 - Dr Glynn Percival of Bartlett Tree Research
Episode 125 - Modern Plant Hunters with Dr Sandy Primrose
This week’s guest is Dr Jude Piesse. Jude’s book ‘The Ghost in the Garden’ is essentially about Charles Darwin’s largely forgotten garden in Shrewsbury but the book turned out to be much more than a study of the garden, its history and the man himself. In fact, these aspects are almost incidental to the other characters in the book and this makes it an amazing narrative where many aspects are hung together on the framework of the garden. In the interview, Jude tells us about how the book developed, the characters that animated the garden and how it fed into Charles Darwin’s work and life.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Winter Bumblebees
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What we cover
How Jude first came across Charles Darwin’s garden and what was it about the garden that interested her
Jude says the book is more a collective biography and memoir than just the story of Darwin and it incorporates a whole host of characters. She talks about whether this was intentional.
When the garden was built and what the contemporary horticultural world was like
How might the change from landscape gardens to the collectors’ gardens with their array of exotic species have contributed to scientific discoveries at that time?
Whilst he was on The Beagle, the correspondence between Darwin and his family seems to have been set against the backdrop of seasonal events in the garden. Was this merely a common topic of conversation or were these updates of a deeper significance?
Who were the Darwins’ gardeners and what role did they play in shaping the garden and Darwin’s work?
How much did the garden feed into his work?
Did Darwin love the garden or was it a laboratory?
What is the condition of the garden now?
Whose ghost is it in the garden?
About Dr Jude Piesse
Jude Piesse is an academic and writer. She holds an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia and a PhD in English Literature from the University of Exeter. She has published widely on nineteenth-century literature and culture, including her book about emigration literature, British Settler Emigration in Print, 1832–1877 (OUP, 2016). Though she grew up in Shropshire, she did not discover Darwin’s childhood garden until she moved to Shrewsbury with her young family to take up her first lectureship. She now works as a lecturer in English Literature at Liverpool John Moores University. https://scribepublications.co.uk/books-authors/books/the-ghost-in-the-garden-9781913348052
Links
The Ghost in the Garden by Jude Piesse - Scribe Publications, 2021
This episode features garden designer, grower, speaker and writer Andrew Sankey. Andrew specialises in English cottage gardens and has meticulously researched the subject for decades, becoming an expert on this style of gardening. He’s recently released a book called The English Cottage Garden and in the interview, we talk about what defines a cottage garden, both in the past and now, the plants and features most commonly found in one and tips if you’re looking to create your own.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Ivy Mining Bees
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What we cover
What was a cottage garden historically and what is it now?
How big is a cottage garden?
What hard landscaping elements characterise a cottage garden?
Which planting techniques stand out as most cottage garden-like?
Where does the winter interest come from in a cottage garden?
Using plants as supports for other plants
Cottage gardens and wildlife
Andrew’s 3 essential plants
Edibles in a modern cottage garden
About Andrew Sankey
Andrew left teaching (Head of Graphics/Design) in 1989 to start a Garden Design & Landscaping business in Lincolnshire. He discovered it was very difficult to obtain plants required for designs so started a specialist nursery stocking plants for dry shade/ dry sun.
He went on to organise Plant Fairs in Lincolnshire, Cambs and Norfolk & produced a booklet called the Plant Fair Guide for a number of years.
Andrew moved to a cottage near Woodhall Spa, Lincs in 1992 and created a cottage garden which was opened twice a year for the NGS and other groups.
He became Chairman of the Lincolnshire branch of the Cottage Garden Society and began lecturing on cottage gardens and related subjects (including lecture tours to Minnesota and Wisconsin in the USA).
He’s written booklets on Companion Planting, Cottage Favourites and Sayings and Superstitions and he continues to design gardens and lecture widely on a range of gardening topics.
Links
The English Cottage Garden by Andrew Sankey - The Crowood Press Ltd, 2021
Hello and thank you for joining me this week, as I talk to Wade Muggleton, permaculturist, tree expert and author of The Orchard Book, a book about incorporating fruit trees into your garden, however big or small your space. Wade is my favourite type of guest in that he’s written a book based on 20 years of solid experience and he’s busted a few myths along the way, not least the received wisdom around fruit tree pollination. So if you’d like to find out what makes an orchard, when to prune your trees, what types of tree to select, how to underplant your trees, creative tree training, what is a pitcher and what is a chequer, then listen on!
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Ear wigglers
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What we cover
What is an orchard?
What types of tree might one contain?
Underplanting orchard trees
Keeping the costs down when establishing an orchard
Have you heard of chequers?
Grafting and over grafting
Pitchers
Pollination and the need for multiple trees of the same pollination group
Creating step overs and fruit tree arches
Pruning in summer instead of winter
Top types of tree
About Wade Muggleton
“Wade Muggleton lives in Shropshire with his partner and two children, where their plot, Station Road Permaculture Garden, is a demonstration site for permaculture and opens under the National Open Gardens Scheme. In 2013, he acquired a field and now has a collection of over 130 fruit trees and was featured on BBC Gardeners’ World in 2018.” https://www.chelseagreen.com/writer/wade-muggleton/
Links
The Orchard Book: Plan, Plant and Maintain Fruit from Garden to Field by Wade Muggleton - 2021, Permanent Publications
Welcome to this week’s episode, where I’m talking water-wise gardening with Janet Manning. Janet undertook a three year project with the RHS and Cranfield University where she looked at strategies and techniques currently available to gardeners to help them both conserve and manage water in a way that reduces waste and protects the environment. We talk about why there’s a need to be water-wise in wet countries like the UK, what we can do to help and why gardens are an important part of the bigger environmental picture.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Harvestmen
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What we cover
Janet’s work with Cranfield University and the RHS
How we gardeners can conserve water in our gardens
How we can contribute towards rainwater management
Drought tolerant plants
The fabled moist, well-drained soil!
Using swales and hugelkultur beds
Long term meteorological predictions
About Janet Manning
Janet has just completed a three year water management knowledge transfer partnership between Cranfield University and the RHS. As a graduate of Cranfield with an MSc in process engineering, and after a 17 year career as a scientist in the water industry, she followed her passion for the natural environment into horticulture where she worked on a production nursery producing hardy ornamentals. Having worked 'both ends of the hose' she was well placed to take up the role at the RHS as the first garden water scientist. She has contributed to the water neutral targets set within the RHS's new sustainability strategy and has written the first water road map for Wisley as a plan implement the strategy. A gardener since she was big enough to pick up a trowel, the combination of practical gardening experience and scientific knowledge, she has recently left the Environmental Horticulture Team at Wisley but with a legacy that will continue through the sustainability strategy.
Links
This week’s episode features James Golden, talking about the naturalistic garden he’s built around his home in New Jersey. James’s garden has been created intuitively over time and sits perfectly within the landscape, in fact is a landscape in its own right. Sometimes baffling, sometimes threatening and without utilitarian purpose, the garden is nonetheless life-affirming, vital and dramatically beautiful in different ways from one moment to the next.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Harlequins
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What we cover
About the garden at Federal Twist
Would the garden be as successful from a horticultural and aesthetic standpoint if James had plotted the garden on paper, particularly the planting?
Visitors often seem to get lost in the space and can’t find a route through it - so who did James design the garden for, himself or was it always meant to be shared with visitors?
James’s stone circle, which serves no purpose other than an aesthetic one
James on being a fearless and philosophical gardener
How long is long enough to make a garden?
How do you create a garden which varies so dramatically from one season to the next?
What inspired the garden
About James Golden
“James Golden’s garden design has been featured in national and international magazines, in The New York Times, and in several books on garden design. He has been the recipient of national awards and is widely known in the gardening world through his garden blog View from Federal Twist (www.federaltwist.com). James’ Federal Twist garden regularly appears on tours of the Garden Conservancy, the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society, the Hardy Plant Society, and on numerous private tours. Recently retired, he has started a garden design practice.” https://federaltwistdesign.org/about
Links
The View from Federal Twist: A New Way of Thinking About Gardens, Nature and Ourselves by James Golden - Filbert Press, 2021
This week’s guest in Simon Morley, a British artist and art historian. Simon is the author of several books on modern and contemporary art and is a keen rose gardener. Simon’s latest book was released a few weeks ago and is called ‘By Any Other Name: A Cultural History of the Rose’. During the interview I ask Simon about the cultural significance of roses throughout history, their symbolism, their origins and what how we use roses in gardens today says about us as a society.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Cluster flies
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What we cover
Why the rose is a meme
Why the rose has been so enduringly beloved by humans
The origins of Valentine’s Day and why roses are intrinsically linked to it
Why roses in religious symbology fell out of favour during protestantism
Of all the concepts or beliefs that the rose signifies, which most resonates with Simon
Which nations were the most important players in the development of the rose varieties we know today?
Simon writes "aesthetic horticultural considerations were often coupled with a theoretical component, and the selection and arrangement of plants were determined by the botanical theory of the period, which in its turn reflected the way the world was perceived to be ordered”. What does Simon think the way we use roses today tell us about how we perceive the world to be ordered?
The lack of a role for roses in movements such as rewilding and the new perennial movement
About Simon Morley
Simon Morley is a British artist and art historian. He is the author of several books on modern and contemporary art, and has contributed reviews and essays to a number of publications. His artworks have been exhibited internationally. He is currently writing a new history of modern painting, to be published in 2023. Simon lives in France and South Korea, where he teaches at Dankook University. He is also a keen rose gardener.
Links
By Any Other Name: A Cultural History of the Rose by Simon Morley - Oneworld Publications, 2021
This week’s guest is my second ever returning guest, Fiona Edmond of Green Island Gardens a garden and nursery in Essex. Fiona holds National Plant Collection status for her range of camellias, which includes winter/spring flowering varieties, but also the sometimes overlooked autumn flowering varieties, unjustly so as they offer colour in the garden when little else is happening. This episode tells you everything you need to know about successfully growing camellias.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Spanish slugs
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What we cover
Autumn and spring flowering varieties
The need for acidic soil when growing camellias
Cultivation
Feeding
Some of Fiona’s favourite varieties for the garden
Pests and diseases
Links
This week’s guest is Harriet Carty. Harriet is the Charity Director & Beautiful Burial Ground Project Manager at Caring for God’s Acre, an organisation which works nationally to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy burial grounds and graveyards. These sites are refuges for wildlife, veteran trees and plants. They’re community assets which need protecting and preserving for us and for future generations and I was fascinated to find out more about what’s being done to look after these local treasures.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Overwintering butterflies
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What we cover
About Caring For God’s Acre
Why it’s so important to protect burial grounds and the wildlife and plants that call then home
Burial grounds as important historical sites and as a link to the past
Veteran trees and ancient yews in burial grounds
Biodiversity in burial sites
How you can get involved with recording wildlife
How to check if your local church is involved
About Caring for God’s Acre
“Caring for God’s Acre works nationally to support groups and individuals to investigate, care for, and enjoy burial grounds and graveyards. There are over 20,000 burial grounds in England and Wales, ranging from small rural medieval churchyards to large Victorian city cemeteries, spanning different cultures, religions and centuries. Appealing to many who are interested in local history and the natural world, burial grounds encapsulate the history of communities whilst offering refuge for our native wildlife.” https://www.caringforgodsacre.org.uk
Links
This week’s guest is Philip Oostenbrink, Head Gardener at Walmer Castle and Gardens, Collections Coordinator for Plant Heritage in Kent, Plant Trials committee member for the RHS and self-confessed jungle plant nut. Philip has just published a new book titled ‘The Jungle Garden’ and in this interview, I talk to him about what a jungle garden is, whether they can work in shady and sunny aspects, easy jungle plants, rarer ones, plant hardiness, seasonal and winter interest and where to get plants.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Black vine weevil
Please don’t forget to rate, review and share the podcast!
What we cover
What sparked Philip’s interest in jungle plants
How the jungle influences his design aesthetic
The importance of seasonal changes and how do you can highlight these in a jungle garden scheme
How much did writing the book make Philip examine what is an instinctual talent for grouping plants?
Can jungle plants mix with more traditional cottage style plants?
Mixing exotic plants from different continents or eco regions
Winter interest in a jungle garden
Jungle gardens in full sunshine
Good jungle garden climbers
Trees for a small space but big impact
Easy to look after starter plants
Rarer plants to wow your friends
About Philip Oostenbrink
“My name is Philip Oostenbrink and I am Head Gardener at Walmer Castle and Gardens in East Kent. Apart from my full-time job I am Collections Coordinator for Plant Heritage in Kent and Plant Trials committee member for the RHS. I am also a horticultural speaker for any groups who are interested in gardening and/or history.
I have been a plant collector all my life. I have a passion for jungle gardening and I have four National Plant Collections: Aspidistra elatior & sichuanensis, Variegated and Yellow-leaved Convallaria, Hakonechloa macra and Ophiopogon japonicus. I have a love for variegated plants.” https://myplants.me
Links
The Jungle Garden by Philip Oostenbrink - Filbert Press, October 2021
Philip’s Blog - ‘Thoughts of a plant nut.”
Philip on Instagram - mr.plantaholic
This week I’m speaking to gardener, TV presenter, author, government adviser and wildlife and environment advocate, Chris Baines. Chris designed the first ever wildlife garden at the Chelsea Flower Show in 1985, which was swiftly followed by his bestselling book ‘How to Make a Wildlife Garden’ so I thought it would be a perfect time to speak to Chris, given the continuing interest in wild gardens that we witnessed again at this year’s Chelsea.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Carrot root flies
Please don’t forget to rate, review and share the podcast!
What we cover
How Chris thinks things have changed since the 1980s with regard to the plight of wildlife
Why a wildlife garden which mimics a woodland edge is desirable
Planting a wildflower strip next to a mixed native hedge, how could you go about starting this type of strip and what plants you might use
How you can identify the wildlife in your garden
Is Chris hopeful for the future and are things changing quickly enough?
Documenting your garden wildlife, in order to help protect habitats threatened by developments
About Chris Baines
"Chris Baines is one of the UK’s leading environmental campaigners, an award-winning writer and broadcaster and an experienced speaker at national and international conferences. His particular garden-related expertise lies in wildlife gardening, community participation and trees in towns. Specilaist subjects: industry and environment, wildlife gardening, community participation, habitat creation, sustainable water management." https://www.gardenmediaguild.co.uk/guild-members/directory/profile/Chris-Baines/15
My guest this week is Jonathan Sheppard, a political lobbyist who somehow fell into becoming the holder of 2 national plant collections; hollyhocks and cosmos. Jonathan talks about how to grow hollyhocks and cosmos, what you can, or can’t do about rust, good varieties to try and what to look out for in the coming year in terms of new varieties and colours.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Dragonflies
Please don’t forget to rate, review and share the podcast!
What we cover
Hollyhocks and rust
When to sow hollyhocks
Are they biennial or perennial?
The best places to grow hollyhocks
Some of the best varieties
New colours
The cultivation of Cosmos
Links
Jonathan Sheppard on Twitter
This week I’m speaking to social media sensation and veg grower Gerald Stratford about growing big veg - do they taste better, how do you avoid pests and diseases, what growing media is best and what you can do with your big veg once you’ve grown it? Gerald’s new book Big Veg has recently been published and his star continues to ascend. Gerald spoke to me from his shed, with his wonderful wife Liz and cat Jet in attendance.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Woodlice
This episode is brought to you by Horti:couture, a conference exploring the influence of plants and gardens on the fashion world and featuring some of the industry’s leading academics and influencers. For more information visit the LCGD website LCGD.org.uk or their Eventbrite page. The conference will take place on the 9th October and tickets start at just £59 and the day will be streamed online as well as in person at Kew Gardens.
Please don’t forget to rate, review and share the podcast!
What we cover
How Gerald got started on social media
Why would you want to grow big veg and is big always best for taste?
What type of soil you need to grow big veg
Avoiding blight on tomatoes and potatoes
And rust on onions
Using the trench system for runner beans
What Gerald is doing on his plot right now
About Gerald Stratford
Gerald’s book of tips and tricks, 'BIG VEG', is accessible for beginners and those interested in grow-your-own veg. This gentle guide distils years of knowledge, including the top 10 vegetables to begin with, how to ‘supersize’ them and a month-by-month breakdown to sowing, planting and harvesting.
Aged 72, Gerald rose to fame later in life, gaining over 308k followers after sharing pictures of his potatoes at the height of lockdown in May 2020. He has been hailed the ‘Veg King’ by the press and is passionate about sharing the benefits of mindful gardening at any age and cultivating your own food. After becoming a social media sensation, he continues to go viral with his wholesome allotment content.
Illustrated with photos throughout, Big Veg is encouraging, full of wisdom and dry humour, much like lovely Gerald himself. In the spirit of bringing joy, please enjoy Gerald as the star of GUCCI’s latest campaign!
Links
Gerald Stratford on Twitter
Get your tickets for Horti:couture from Eventbrite
In this episode, I’m speaking to award-winning writer Catherine Mack about getting a gardening book published. Catherine talks about why you might want to write a book, the process of getting your ideas onto paper and how to get published. Plus, she addresses the most important issue of whether or not you’ll make your fortune! If you’ve ever harboured dreams of writing a book, listen on and be inspired by Catherine’s advice and encouragement.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Red Admirals
This episode is brought to you by Horti:couture, a conference exploring the influence of plants and gardens on the fashion world and featuring some of the industry’s leading academics and influencers. For more information visit the LCGD website LCGD.org.uk or their Eventbrite page. The conference will take place on the 9th October and tickets start at just £59 and the day will be streamed online as well as in person at Kew Gardens.
Please don’t forget to rate, review and share the podcast!
What we cover
Good reasons for writing a book
How do you know if it will be of interest to readers?
How to check someone hasn’t already written something similar and does it matter if they have?
Your options if you’re looking to get published
Getting published in a magazine
What you need in order to approach potential publishers or crowdfunders
Traditional publisher vs. alternatives
Are you likely to make any money?!
About Catherine Mack
Catherine is an award-winning travel writer specialising in sustainable and ethical tourism. Storytelling and sustainability go hand in hand for Catherine, who engages with people just as much as place on her travels. As Covid clipped her wings she started to focus on journeys that people took closer to home. In other words, to their allotments. She is delighted that The Allotmenteers, Profiles of a Growing Community - has now been commissioned by Unbound, an award-winning crowdfunding publisher.
Catherine has always sought to understand why people journey and is keen to capture what people gain from travelling this short distance from urban to rural, from home to allotment, as well as the growing and personal journeys they take while being allotmenteers. Catherine doesn’t have an allotment and, as it is considered such a private world by those who maintain them, she is able to offer an objective eye in her interviews and subsequent essays, helping the reader feel as if they too are privileged to enter this private world.
Read more about The Allotmenteers, and do please pledge to help have this book hit its crowdfunding target. You can also follow Catherine on Twitter and Instagram.
Links
Get your tickets for Horti:couture from Eventbrite
This week, I’m speaking to Gwendolyn van Paaschen about the legendary garden designer John Brookes. Gwendolyn is the owner of Denmans Garden and chairman of the John Brookes-Denmans Foundation. Gwendolyn’s new book ‘How to Design a Garden’ brings together a collection of John’s works from across his lengthy career, disseminating the fundamental principles which underpinned his design work, in a way that is useful to both professionals and home gardeners. Gwendolyn is carrying on John’s work at Denmans by opening the garden to the public and as she puts in at the end of the interview, keeping his conversation going.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: House Spiders
Please don’t forget to rate, review and share the podcast!
What we cover
Who was John Brookes and what are some of the highlights he accomplished during his long career?
The importance of designing in the vernacular and John expressed this through his designs
How John’s design style and interests evolved during his career
Garden designers today who particularly embody the work of John Brookes
His influence on garden design over the past 50 years
The long term effect of John's design in the realms of amateur gardening
About Gwendolyn van Paasschen
Gwendolyn van Paasschen, a garden designer and writer, worked with landscape designer John Brookes MBE and helped write his memoir, A Landscape Legacy (Pimpernel Press, 2018). Chairman of the John Brookes-Denmans Foundation, she owns Denmans Garden. Currently writing a book about Denmans, she also writes about garden design.
Links
How to Design a Garden By John Brookes MBE. Edited and introduction by Gwendolyn van Paasschen. Preface by Andrew Duff Released 7th October
This week’s guest, Marlow Renton, is the co-founder of Wild Food UK. Marlow talks about why we should all go out foraging, especially children, about how we can overcome our fear of wild food (particularly mushrooms!), what to look out for, when to do it and where to do it responsibly and how to get help if, like me, you’re a bit of a wild food wuss.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Cabbage Root Flies
Please don’t forget to rate, review and share the podcast!
What we cover
How Marlow learnt to forage
How easy is it to forage?
Why it’s important to take children foraging
What to be careful of when foraging
Foraging responsibly
How scared should we be of mushrooms?
Helpful resources if you’re unsure where to start
About Wild Food UK
“Wild Food UK was formed a few years ago by Marlow and Eric driven by a desire to expand peoples experience of nature into a practical source of enjoyment. Since then the company has grown in course leaders and course locations, covering most of the UK. Our aim is to educate people about tasty edible wild plants, mushrooms, fruits, roots and flowers that we think everyone should be able to identify, pick and eat with confidence.
We’re extremely lucky in Britain to have a climate that provides us plenty of food all year round, all you need to know is how to find it. We teach these “skills for life”; and we believe that with the skills we teach, every life will be enhanced. Not only is foraging fun and interesting; you never know when being able to pick your own food might come in genuinely useful or even life saving!” https://www.wildfooduk.com/about-us/
Links
This week, I’m speaking with Dr Sandy Primrose about his brilliant book Modern Plant Hunters, which tells the stories of plant hunting in more recent times; who’s doing it, why and what are they looking for. Find out about the challenges plant hunters past and present have faced, whether you can do it in somewhere like the UK and the kind of qualities and personal traits you might need if you want to start - spoiler, it’s not for the faint-hearted!
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Mosquitoes
Thanks to Betakut for sponsoring this episode - visit https://www.betakut.co.uk/shop to find out more - enter the code ROOTS20 to get 20% off until the end of August.
What we cover
Why do people go on plant hunting expeditions in this day and age?
Some of the difficulties they face
The prominent plant hunters today
The CITES treaty and the Nagoya protocol
The extent to which politics, funding issues, international relations etc have interfered with the work of plant hunters
Plant hunting in the UK
Advice for anyone interested in plant hunting
About Dr Sandy Primrose
Dr Sandy Primrose MBE PhD has spent his professional life as a biologist in academia and industry, as well as working with various government agencies on food fraud and related topics. He is a keen gardener and passionate teacher and lectures extensively on plant-related topics. - https://olympiapublishers.com/authors/sandy-primrose/
Links
Modern Plant Hunters by Dr Sandy Primrose - Pimpernel Press Ltd.
This week, I visited Golden Hill Nurseries to interview Roger Butler, Find out about the different species in cultivation, the best way to prune hydrangeas, what and when to feed them and of course, the all important information about whether your flowers will be pink or blue and what, if anything, you can do about it!
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Horse Chestnut moth
Thanks to Betakut for sponsoring this episode - visit https://www.betakut.co.uk/shop to find out more - enter the code ROOTS20 to get 20% off until the end of August.
What we cover
Where hydrangeas originate from
Their preferred growing conditions
The main species in cultivation
Why are some hydrangeas blue and some pink? Can blue hydrangeas turn pink and what can we do if we want blue hydrangeas but can only seem to grow pink ones?
The colour range of hydrangea flowers
How and when should to prune hydrangeas
How many months off the year can we expect hydrangeas to bloom?
Particularly good species
Pests and diseases, or lack thereof!
About Roger Butler
Roger is the owner of Golden Hill Nurseries, a plant centre based in Kent, specialising in hydrangeas, hedging plants, Japanese maples and larger shrubs. Roger has made many appearances in the media sharing his expertise about hydrangeas and regularly gives talks on the subject. The nursery has won multiple medals at RHS shows for their plant displays and you can catch up with them at one of the RHS shows this year, or order from them online.
Links
This week’s guest is Annika Zetterman, a Swedish garden designer teacher and author of New Nordic Gardens. Annika works internationally designing visually beautiful gardens which encompass sustainability, respect for the local environment and aesthetic and which exemplify all the best aspects of Scandinavian design. In this episode, Annika talks about the ethos behind Scandinavian design as it’s expressed in a landscape setting and decodes why the gardens featured in her book are so downright stunning.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Grasshoppers
Thanks to Betakut for sponsoring this episode - visit https://www.betakut.co.uk/shop to find out more.
What we cover
When talking about Nordic gardens, which countries Annika includes in her book
The importance of light in Nordic gardens and what effect this has on the colours and materials designers choose
Nordic design can be thought of as pared back, uncluttered, clean - where does this aesthetic come from?
Sustainability and how it underlies outdoor design in Nordic countries
Attention to detail and the meticulous selection of hard landscaping materials
The weather and how this is coped with in gardens
Trends emerging in contemporary Nordic gardens
About Annika Zetterman
“Annika Zetterman is the founder and designer at Zetterman Garden Design, creating gardens with Scandinavian ethos throughout the Nordics and beyond, with projects in Sweden, Spain, France, Switzerland and in the UK. She arrived back to her homeland, Stockholm, Sweden 2010, after living abroad, in Hawaii, USA and 10 years in London, UK.
Annika is the author of the book ‘New Nordic Garden, Scandinavian Landscape Design’ published in 2017 and in 2021 (Thames & Hudson), with a Danish translation 2018. Her projects have been featured in books and publications, nationally as well as internationally. Annika was teaching garden design in Stockholm for seven years and lectures on the subject both in Sweden and abroad.
Annika is driven by creating aesthetically pleasing and sustainable expressions, with respect to surrounding landscapes and architecture, while maintaining a positive contribution to future generations and to the Scandinavian design heritage." http://www.annikazetterman.com/indexENG.html
Links
This episode I’m speaking to permaculture designer, teacher, author Anna Locke. Anna is my favourite type of gardener, in that she walks the walk and has a wealth of experience in growing edible plants. Anna has recently published a book called The Forager’s Garden, and in the interview, we talk about how to create an easy to look after yet productive space.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Crab spiders
Thanks to Betakut for sponsoring this episode - visit https://www.betakut.co.uk/shop to find out more.
What we cover
A forest garden is "a project to dip into and out of as time, money and opportunity comes along” (The Forager’s Garden). Can a garden really be that little work?
Guild planting
Grafting fruit trees onto wild hawthorns and blackthorn
The theory behind Anna’s 'keep it for now' policy
Hugelkultur beds
Ollas
Advice for anyone starting a forager’s garden from scratch
How to ID the plants you have
About Anna Locke
Anna is a permaculture designer and teacher based in Hastings. She is also a community development project manger. With a solid background as a gardener, specialising in forager’s gardens, she offers a bespoke design service or consultancy. She has planted over 50 forager’s gardens of varying sizes, including a large ongoing project in Hornshurt Wood and in her own small-scale permaculture farm, both in East Sussex. She regularly holds workshops to empower people to plant their own, look out for- ‘How to Plant a Forager’s Garden’ on her instant courses website.
Links
www.annalockepermaculture.co.uk
The Forager’s Garden by Anna Locke
This week, I’m talking Head Gardeners with Ambra Edwards; why she chose the ones she did to feature in her book of that name, the diverse range of tasks they undertake and what makes a good one. I ask Ambra what prompted her to write a book about some of the legendary and some of the unsung heroes of the horticultural world and if she could swap places with one, whose boots would she choose to fill.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Gooseberry sawfly
This episode is sponsored by gardencourses.com. gardencourses.com offers online horticultural training for those looking to develop their own, home gardens. The lasted course to be added is Create Your Garden Sanctuary - you can go to gardencourses.com to find out more.
What we cover
How Ambra chose the head gardeners included in the book
Is there any such thing as a typical head gardener?
Some of the unexpected roles the gardeners in the book have to perform
How much gardens are expressions of the personality of the head gardener
Is it stifling for a head gardener to stick to historical plans/designs and not inject their own creativity into a space?
What makes a great head gardener?
Gardening as a profession
About Ambra Edwards
Ambra Edwards is a journalist with a special interest in garden history, and the people, passions and often surprising stories that lie behind our gardens. Three times voted the Garden Media Guild's Garden Journalist of the Year (2006, 2009 and 2015), she is a regular contributor to the Guardian, the Telegraph, Gardens Illustrated, Hortus and Country Living. Her most recent book is The Story of the English Garden (Pavilion, 2018). She lives in Dorset. https://www.pimpernelpress.com/ambra-edwards
Links
https://www.pimpernelpress.com/head-gardeners-2
In this episode, I’m talking to Dr Elizabeth Westaway and Matthew Adams, founders of Growing Real Food for Nutrition, or Grffn for short. Grffn’s vision is for a world where all food is grown for its nutritional qualities using regenerative practices, and made accessible to all. We talk about how the way food is grown can affect its nutritional value and how this can support environmentally sound growing practices.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Conopid flies
This episode is sponsored by gardencourses.com. gardencourses.com offers online horticultural training for those looking to develop their own, home gardens. The lasted course to be added is Create Your Garden Sanctuary - you can go to gardencourses.com to find out more.
What we cover
How Elizabeth and Matthew came to start Growing Real Food for Nutrition
Why not all carrots are made equal
How you measure the nutrient content of food
Why it can vary
How we can make sure we’re growing nutrient dense food
How citizen science helps
Brix testing
Is organically grown food generally higher in nutrients than non-organically grown?
About Growing Real Food for Nutrition
Grffn’s vision is for a world where all food is grown for its nutritional qualities using regenerative practices, and made accessible to all, creating an abundance of health and harmony, reconnecting humans with Mother Earth.
Grffn’s mission is to deepen citizens’ understanding of how we derive nutrition from natural processes and to realise its impact on human development.
Links
This week I’m speaking to Michelle Mason, stylist, designer, author and co-founder of Mason & Painter a shop located next to Columbia Road which specialises in furniture, homewares and plants. Michelle’s latest book Flower Market: Botanical Style at Home, is a mouth-wateringly beautiful and inspirational guide to styling your home using plants and cut flowers.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Noctuid moths
This episode is sponsored by gardencourses.com. gardencourses.com offers online horticultural training for those looking to develop their own, home gardens. The lasted course to be added is Create Your Garden Sanctuary - you can go to gardencourses.com to find out more.
What we cover
Can you learn an eye for design?
The importance of taking the time to arrange a small corner or table top with a collection of beautiful things
The creative process and the end result
Starting the habit of creating botanical displays
How a theme or narrative can underpin a creation
The accessories Michelle wouldn't be without when styling
The importance of sourcing sustainably grown and seasonal plants and flowers
Arranging plants and flowers on a budget?
About Michelle Mason
Michelle Mason is a designer, shopkeeper and stylist and has worked for a number of clients including Sir John Soane’s Museum shop, the British Library, the National Gallery and the Southbank Centre. She is also co-founder of east London vintage shop Mason & Painter in Columbia Road, home to the weekly Sunday Flower Market. Her first book was Flower Market (Pimpernel, 2019). https://www.pimpernelpress.com/michelle-mason
Links
Flower Market: Botanical Style at Home by Michelle Mason
This week I’m speaking to Mark Laurence. For decades, Mark has been at the vanguard of sustainable and ecologically sensitive landscape and garden design. He currently specialises in coastal plants and gardens and in this interview we cover what makes a coastal garden, which types of plants fare well on the coast and whether these gardens can be havens for wildlife.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Flatworms
This episode is sponsored by gardencourses.com. gardencourses.com offers online horticultural training for those looking to develop their own, home gardens. The lasted course to be added is Create Your Garden Sanctuary - you can go to gardencourses.com to find out more.
What we cover
Mark’s background and work
What is a coastal garden? How far can a garden be from the sea and still be classified as coastal?
Some of the challenges facing plants in a coastal garden
Plants that do well by the coast and plants don't fare well
Coastal gardens and wildlife
Trees for coastal gardens
Further resources (or not!)
About Mark Laurence
Since 1987 Mark has worked as a designer, specialising in sustainable and adaptive landscapes, natural “drift” planting, coastal, water & rain gardens, living walls and vertical green infrastructure for urban environments. He is a current committee member (Technical & Sustainability) and has been a keynote speaker at SDG and other conferences. He works locally and internationally, creating water gardens in USA, living walls in London, Trondheim, Chicago and Dubai.
Mark is a chartered horticulturalist and consults on horticulture and arboriculture in the Middle East.
He has a passion for creating nurturing and relaxed gardens and landscapes which connect people to nature and place.
Links
Today’s guest is Mairi MacKenzie, fashion historian, writer and curator, whose research looks at the relationship between the clothes that we wear and our culture. Her latest research is into the world of scent and what flower could be more intrinsically linked with perfume than the rose? In the interview, we discuss famous rose-based perfumes, the symbolism behind its use, whether its historically been perceived as a feminine scent, the mysterious workings of the Osmotheque and why that rose perfume you made as a child never worked!
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Hummingbird Hawk Moths
This episode is brought to you by the team at LECHUZA, suppliers of self-watering pots and planters. www.lechuza.co.uk
What we cover
Mairi’s career and her interest in the role of the rose in perfume
When roses were first used in fragrance
The Osmotheque
Roses for symbolism as well as scent
Has rose always been perceived as a feminine scent?
What does rose scent connote?
Scents that are heavily rose based
The role of the rose as an ingredient in contemporary perfumes
About Mairi MacKenzie
Mairi MacKenzie is Research Fellow in Fashion and Textiles at Glasgow School of Art. She is a fashion historian, writer and curator, and her research seeks to understand not just what was worn and by whom, but why it was worn and what the relationship is between the clothes that we wear and our culture. - https://www.gsa.ac.uk/research/design-profiles/m/mackenzie,-mairi/
The London College of Garden Design’s Horti-couture conference takes place in October. The Conference will explore the influence of plants and gardens on the fashion world and features some of the industry’s leading academics and influencers. For more information visit the LCGD website LCGD.org.uk or their Eventbrite page. Tickets start at just £59 and the day will be streamed online as well as in person at Kew Gardens.
In this episode I’m speaking to horticultural therapist Carol Sales. Carol headed up a therapy garden in a prison, before moving over to lead the Therapy Garden at Headley Court, a rehabilitation centre for injured military veterans. Carol was a pioneer in the use of horticultural therapy and is one of the most well-respected professionals in the field.
Carol is featured in many books and media articles, including Head Gardeners by Ambra Edwards and Sue Stuart-Smith’s The Well Gardened Mind and she was awarded the British Empire Medal in 2019.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Vapourer Moths
This episode is brought to you by the team at LECHUZA, suppliers of self-watering pots and planters. LECHUZA brings decades of experience in state-of-the-art, precision manufacturing to bear on its stylish high-functionality range of planters. All LECHUZA products are designed in-house and manufactured in the same factory as the iconic Playmobil toys. The complete collection comes in a wide variety of traditional and trend-led colours and shapes and are highly reliable for use both indoors and outdoors. The integrated soil irrigation system ensures that the plant receives the perfect amount of water for optimal growth. Thanks to a reservoir that always holds enough water and is controlled by a water level indicator, dried out or overwatered root bales are a thing of the past. Find out more by visiting www.lechuza.co.uk
About Carol Sales
Carol is a gardener and designer who started working in horticultural therapy for the prison service. She was recruited by High Ground who worked out of Headley Court, a military hospital providing horticultural therapy to military veterans. Carol ran the therapy garden there for almost a decade, during which time she pioneered treatment methods and set the gold standard for therapeutic horticulture as it pertains to those with both physical and mental health issues.
Links
This week I thought it would be good to get an overview of the horticultural industry - so I’m speaking to the person with their finger on the pulse, Matthew Appleby, Editor of Horticulture Week and host of the Horticulture Week podcast. We cover the effect of Brexit, plant passports and the pandemic on plant supplies and how this has affected consumers. Find out how the industry is faring given supply issues and the uptick in interest in gardening. Matthew talks about whether consumers need to adjust their expectations and their way of gardening and we end on how has the push to go peat-free is affecting gardeners and the trade too.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Aphids and Ecosystems
This episode is brought to you by the team at LECHUZA, suppliers of self-watering pots and planters. LECHUZA brings decades of experience in state-of-the-art, precision manufacturing to bear on its stylish high-functionality range of planters. All LECHUZA products are designed in-house and manufactured in the same factory as the iconic Playmobil toys. The complete collection comes in a wide variety of traditional and trend-led colours and shapes and are highly reliable for use both indoors and outdoors. The integrated soil irrigation system ensures that the plant receives the perfect amount of water for optimal growth. Thanks to a reservoir that always holds enough water and is controlled by a water level indicator, dried out or overwatered root bales are a thing of the past. Find out more by visiting www.lechuza.co.uk
Whether a gardener or working in the horticultural trade, this episode is relevant, covering Brexit, the pandemic, plant supplies, the popularity of gardening and how the push to go peat-free is affecting gardeners and the trade too. Matthew, Editor of Horticulture Week & host of the Horticulture Week podcast, gives an overview.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Aphids and Ecosystems
This episode is brought to you by the team at LECHUZA, suppliers of self-watering pots and planters. www.lechuza.co.uk
Links
This week I’m speaking to smallholder and YouTuber Liz Zorab. Liz has been documenting her growing efforts, firstly via a blog and then via her hugely popular YouTube channel. She’s recently written Grounded: A Gardener’s Journey to Abundance and Self-Sufficiency in which she talks about setting up at a new site in Wales and how her gardening journey went hand in hand with her journey from ill-health to relative wellness.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Black Garden Ants
This episode is brought to you by the team at LECHUZA, suppliers of self-watering pots and planters. LECHUZA brings decades of experience in state-of-the-art, precision manufacturing to bear on its stylish high-functionality range of planters. All LECHUZA products are designed in-house and manufactured in the same factory as the iconic Playmobil toys. The complete collection comes in a wide variety of traditional and trend-led colours and shapes and are highly reliable for use both indoors and outdoors. The integrated soil irrigation system ensures that the plant receives the perfect amount of water for optimal growth. Thanks to a reservoir that always holds enough water and is controlled by a water level indicator, dried out or overwatered root bales are a thing of the past. Find out more by visiting www.lechuza.co.uk
About Liz Zorab
“Liz works full time on the homestead and as a content creator in various media. Her love of gardening started as a small child, but blossomed when she left home. In her own garden, she found joy in propagating plants and growing food for her family.
At her happiest when pottering in the garden, Liz now manages the half acre fruit and vegetable gardens and food forest at Byther Farm. Liz is available for talks and presentations about gardening, growing for food security and self-sufficiency.” http://bytherfarm.com/about/
Links
This episode, I’m speaking to Canadian gardening superstar Niki Jabbour. Niki is a gardener and author of 3 books, including ‘Growing Under Cover’, which is the most comprehensive guide to using crop covers in your vegetable garden. It’s based on Niki’s first-hand, decades long research into successfully growing food 365 days a year in the challenging climate of Nova Scotia and what she doesn’t know about using covers to protect crops, prolong the season and cheat the weather, you could write on the back of a stamp and still have room to lick it.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Doodlebugs and Billy Witches
This episode is brought to you by new green-tech company Harvst. The company's recently launched smart web-connected ‘mini greenhouses’ are designed to help people grow more at home, with less effort and minimal space. Choose between The Yard and The Terrace; both are simply popped directly on the ground or patio, they’re self-watering, climate controlled, space efficient and enable you to grow your own produce without the need to tend every day. So whether you’re a budding beginner or a seasoned pro, visit www.harvst.co.uk and take advantage of a 5% discount on all 4 seasons and eco Mini Greenhouse orders from now until the end of July. Simply enter the code mentioned in the episode at the checkout.
About Nikki Jabbour
Niki Jabbour is the award-winning author of four books – The Year Round Vegetable Gardener (2012 American Horticultural Society Book Award), Groundbreaking Food Gardens: 73 Plans That Will Change the Way You Grow Your Garden, Veggie Garden Remix: 224 New Plants to Shake Up Your Garden and Add Variety, Flavor, and Fun (Winner of the 2019 American Horticultural Society Book Award, Winner of the Gold Book Award from GardenComm, and winner of the 2019 Silver Award from Taste Canada), and Growing Under Cover: Techniques for a More Productive, Weather-Resistant, Pest-Free Vegetable Garden. She also writes for magazines like Fine Gardening, Horticulture, and Birds & Blooms. Niki is an in-demand speaker, offering seminars and keynotes at events, shows, societies, and greenhouses across North America such as the Northwest Flower & Garden Show, The Dow Gardens, The Philadelphia Flower Show, The Boston Flower Show, and Canada Blooms. Since 2006, Niki has hosted and executive produced her popular radio show, The Weekend Gardener which airs on News 95.7 FM in Halifax as well as online. For her broadcasting work, Niki won the 2015 Gold Award from GardenComm as ‘Best On-Air Talent’. Niki is very active on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter and you can find her gardening videos on Youtube. When she’s not writing, speaking, or broadcasting about food gardening Niki is harvesting year-round from her twenty raised bed vegetable garden in Halifax, Nova Scotia which is filled with an eclectic mixture of popular vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, and beans, as well as unique heirloom varieties, and crops from around the world like cucamelons, snake gourds, and za’atar. https://savvygardening.com/about-us/
Links
Growing Under Cover by Niki Jabbour - Storey Publishing, 2021
This week’s episode is a little bit different as it’s a recording of me chatting to Daniel Fuller on the brilliant Plants Grow Here podcast. Although we may be geographically antipodean, there are a lot of similarities between Roots and All and Plants Grow Here, as Daniel and I both cover a wide range of horticultural topics, including those on the fringe and we both love a bit of geeking out! Join us as we dive into the world of podcasting and gardening.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Garden snails
This episode is brought to you by new green-tech company Harvst. The company's recently launched smart web-connected ‘mini greenhouses’ are designed to help people grow more at home, with less effort and minimal space. Choose between The Yard and The Terrace; both are simply popped directly on the ground or patio, they’re self-watering, climate controlled, space efficient and enable you to grow your own produce without the need to tend every day. So whether you’re a budding beginner or a seasoned pro, visit www.harvst.co.uk and take advantage of a 5% discount on all 4 seasons and eco Mini Greenhouse orders from now until the end of July. Simply use the code mentioned in the episode.
About Daniel Fuller
Daniel is the primary host on the Plants Grow Here Podcast and content writer. Currently based in St. Kilda, Melbourne, he has been working in the horticultural maintenance field for 8 years, leading crews for most of this time.
The idea of Plants Grow Here was born from his desire to learn more from people who have specialised knowledge and a passion for what they do.
Links
Today’s intro comes to you from by back garden, courtesy of the local birds!
This week I’m speaking to Jessica Walliser, author of ‘Plant Partners: Science-Based Companion Planting Strategies for the Vegetable Garden’ which as it says, is a scientific look at companion plant to find out if it works, and if it does, in what way and why. Jessica’s unique book is essential reading if you like to uncover some of the secrets behind the received horticultural wisdom that’s passed down from one gardener to the next.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Red lily beetle
This episode is brought to you by So & Mo. Launched this year, So & Mo is a new lawn care brand bringing the right products and expertise to give everyone the confidence to be a lawn expert. They have developed the perfect 12 month plan, through 6 liquid feeds to give your lawn all the nutrients needed for complete plant health and professional results. Packaged into a one size fits all box lasting 6, 12 or 24 months based on the lawn size, ensures the ability to cater for all lawns with no waste.
As a special offer for listeners, So & Mo is offering 15% off your first box. Simply visit soandmo.com and enter the code mentioned in the episode at checkout.
What we talk about:
What we know now about companion planting that wasn't known previously
Why companion planting works
Why we should be interested in nitrogen fixing plants
Cover crops
How companion plants help with weed control
Busting the myth that it's the scent of the companion plants that deters pests
Beetle bumps
Companion planting and plant diseases
About Jessica Walliser
Jessica is the co-founder of SavvyGardening.com and was co-host of the award winning radio show ‘The Organic Gardeners’ for 15 years. Jessica is a journalist, editor and Acquisitions Editor for Cool Springs Press. Jessica takes an organic and wildlife-friendly approach to gardening and is the former owner of a 25 acre market farm. She also teaches horticulture and has a degree in ornamental horticulture from the Pennsylvania State University.
She’s the author of ‘Good Bug, Bad Bug: Who’s Who, What They Do, and How to Manage Them Organically’, ‘Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control, ‘Container Gardening Complete: Creative Projects for Growing Vegetables and Flowers in Small Spaces’, ‘A Gardener’s Journal: Life With My Garden' as well as ‘Plant Partners: Science-Based Companion Planting Strategies for the Vegetable Garden'.
Links
Plant Partners: Science-Based Companion Planting Strategies for the Vegetable Garden
Today’s intro comes to you from by back garden, courtesy of the local birds!
In this episode I’m joined by Greg Peterson, who started The Urban Farm nearly 30 years ago. His third of an acre site is covered in edible crops which feed his family and other families too. Gardening as he does in Phoenix, Arizona he has to make full use of rainwater harvesting systems, soil improvement techniques, plus he’s heavy into recycling and reuse. We talk about how he’s created a fully functioning and successful farm in an urban neighbourhood.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Leaf rollers
This episode is brought to you by So & Mo. Launched this year, So & Mo is a new lawn care brand bringing the right products and expertise to give everyone the confidence to be a lawn expert. They have developed the perfect 12 month plan, through 6 liquid feeds to give your lawn all the nutrients needed for complete plant health and professional results. Packaged into a one size fits all box lasting 6, 12 or 24 months based on the lawn size, ensures the ability to cater for all lawns with no waste.
As a special offer for listeners, So & Mo is offering 15% off your first box. Simply visit soandmo.com and enter the code ROOTS15 at checkout.
What we talk about:
Why Greg began The Urban Farm
Gardening in a desert and managing water
Greg's natural soil and how he fertilises it
The importance of growing local
Seed saving
Neighbourhood rules and regulations
One easy win that people could achieve if they’re thinking of establishing their own urban farm
About Greg Peterson
Greg has lived at the Urban Farm for almost 30 years. His 1/3-acre yard features an entirely edible landscape, including over 70 fruit trees, rainwater and grey-water harvesting, solar applications, and extensive use of reclaimed and recycled building materials.
Greg is a longtime permaculture advocate, flunked out of university in 1981 because he was bored, then went back twenty years later to get a bachelor’s degree and a Masters in Urban and Environmental Planning in 2006 and is a lifelong continual learner.
On his days off he hangs out in his garden with his sweetheart Heidi and their chickens, creating new projects and catching some rays.
Links
Brad Lancaster - Rainwater Harvesting
In this episode, I’m interviewing Gina Buenfeld-Murley, exhibitons curator of the Camden Art Centre and co-curator of the online exhibition The Botanical Mind. In this episode, we go deep into the relation between art and the natural world and talk about sacred geometry, indigenous art, symbolism, Jung, the mysterious Voynich manuscript and why this exhibition is so pertinent given the current relationship humans have to the rest of nature.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Pollen beetles
This episode is brought to you by the team at The Real Soil Company. Launched to the market in 2020 The Real Soil Company proudly offers new organic, peat-free SuperSoil. Packed full of organic nutrients for optimal plant health, SuperSoil’s natural ‘boosters’ will stimulate quicker plant establishment and better resilience against pests and disease, whilst also enabling edible crops to benefit from nutritional enhancement and a higher crop yield. The enhanced soil also offers better water retention and release for optimum plant growth, whilst providing a more balanced and workable material for gardeners.
What we talk about:
Sacred geometry and that patterns that are found in nature and in entheogenic experiences and which occur at the micro and macro level
Georgio Griffa’s writing, which forms part of the exhibition, talks of art and science two being in extricably linked. How do seemingly pre-determined and logical patterns such as fractals influence art? Do the patterns stop being science when they are recreated by a human hand?
How can we be inspired by indigenous art and nature appreciation, both past and present, whilst avoiding cultural appropriation or slipping into romanticism?
The Voynich Manuscript
The significance of Jung’s archetypes in relation to botany
About The Botanical Mind and Gina Buenfeld-Murley
Humanity’s place in the natural order is under scrutiny as never before, held in a precarious balance between visible and invisible forces: from the microscopic threat of a virus to the monumental power of climate change.
Drawing on indigenous traditions from the Amazon rainforest; alternative perspectives on Western scientific rationalism; and new thinking around plant intelligence, philosophy and cultural theory, The Botanical Mind Online investigates the significance of the plant kingdom to human life, consciousness and spirituality across cultures and through time. It positions the plant as both a universal symbol found in almost every civilisation and religion across the globe, and the most fundamental but misunderstood form of life on our planet.
Gina Buenfeld-Murley is Exhibitions Curator at Camden Art Centre, London where she has co-curated The Botanical Mind: Art, Mysticism and The Cosmic Tree (2020-21); A Tale of Mother’s Bones: Grace Pailthorpe, Reuben Mednikoff and the Birth of Psychorealism (2019); Athanasios Argianas, Hollowed Water (2020); Wong Ping, Heart Digger (2019); Yuko Mohri, Voluta, (2018); Joachim Koester, In the Face of Overwhelming Forces (2017); João Maria Gusmão & Pedro Paiva, Papagaio (2015); Bonnie Camplin (2016) and Rose English (2016). Recent independent curatorial projects include Gäa: Holistic Science and Wisdom Tradition, at Newlyn Art Gallery and The Exchange, Cornwall, and Origin Story, at The Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art, Turku, Finland (both 2019). In 2017 she was curatorial resident at Helsinki International Curatorial Programme, Finland and has been researching the place of plants within indigenous cultures in Europe and South America, including in Finnish Lapland (Samí shamanism) and in the Colombian, Peruvian and Brazilian areas of the Amazon Rainforest where she researched the sacred geometries and music of the Yawanawa, Huni Kuin and Shipibo-Conibo peoples. In 2014-15 she was curator-in-residence with Arts Initiative Tokyo (AIT) and established Tokyo Correspondence, a series of exhibitions, residencies and research visits, facilitating cultural dialogue between artists in the UK and Japan and curated At the Still Point of the Turning World at Shibaura House Tokyo, featuring work by Manon de Boer; Joachim Koester; Simon Martin; Ursula Mayer; Jeremy Millar; Sriwhana Spong; Jesse Wine; and Caroline Achaintre. She was previously Director at Alison Jacques Gallery, London.
Links
This week, I’m speaking to Senior Arboricultural Research Manager Dr Glynn Percival, who works for Bartlett Tree Experts. I first heard Glynn speak about 7 years ago and I was blown away by his straight talking and the research he presented that day, which exploded many myths about tree planting. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that his eye-opening lecture was a pivotal moment in my understanding that I didn’t have to swallow all the received wisdom surrounding horticulture.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Orange tip butterflies
This episode is brought to you by the team at The Real Soil Company. Launched to the market in 2020 The Real Soil Company proudly offers new organic, peat-free SuperSoil. Packed full of organic nutrients for optimal plant health, SuperSoil’s natural ‘boosters’ will stimulate quicker plant establishment and better resilience against pests and disease, whilst also enabling edible crops to benefit from nutritional enhancement and a higher crop yield. The enhanced soil also offers better water retention and release for optimum plant growth, whilst providing a more balanced and workable material for gardeners.
What we talk about:
- Why tree pests and diseases are on the increase
- The benefits of feeding trees with sugar
- Chemicals and how they can switch on tree defences
- Mulching trees - why it matters
- Biochar applications
- Chitin and phosphites
- Issues affecting trees in the UK
- Scented plants and their effect on tree health
About the Bartlett Tree Experts
“Bartlett Tree Experts was founded by Francis A. Bartlett in 1907 and is the world's leading scientific tree and shrub care company.
From its over 100 offices worldwide, Bartlett helps both residential and commercial customers maintain beautiful, healthy trees. Bartlett is dedicated to developing environmentally sound products and promoting their use on our clients' properties. With the Bartlett Legacy Tree Programme, Bartlett provides tree seedlings to help with reforestation efforts, and teaches people how to care for trees.” https://www.bartlett.com/about-us.cfm
Links
Bartlett Tree Experts on Facebook
Today’s episode is the first in another new series called the Roots and All Takeover, where I hand the microphone over to an individual or group of people and they produce the content for the episode. There are no rules, they have complete free rein, the idea being to give an audio platform to people that don’t already have one. So this first takeover is by The Young Propagators Society and features a chat between Ellie and Sophie, the founding members of the society, Michal who’s a dendrologist at Westonbirt Arboretum and Natasha, a builder and gardener and they talk about the challenges, successes and techniques they’ve discovered when propagating a very diverse range of plants.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Broad bean pests
This episode is brought to you by the team at The Real Soil Company. Launched to the market in 2020 The Real Soil Company proudly offers new organic, peat-free SuperSoil. Packed full of organic nutrients for optimal plant health, SuperSoil’s natural ‘boosters’ will stimulate quicker plant establishment and better resilience against pests and disease, whilst also enabling edible crops to benefit from nutritional enhancement and a higher crop yield. The enhanced soil also offers better water retention and release for optimum plant growth, whilst providing a more balanced and workable material for gardeners.
About the Young Propagators Society
The Young Propagators Society was founded to create a network of people interested in propagation to share their knowledge with one another. They produce a quarterly zine that members contribute to, which you can find on their website www.youngpropsoc.com and you can get involved by contributing written pieces or artwork to hello@youngpropsoc.com
Ellie and Sophie are co-creators of The Young Propagators Society, they met at Great Dixter when they were both students. They, at the same time, got their positions in their jobs as; propagator at Crug Farm and assistant nursery manager at Great Dixter. Respectively. Michal and Ellie worked together in the arboretum nursery at RBG Kew when Michal was botanical horticulturist and Ellie was a student, Michal is now the dendrologist at Westonbirt arboretum. Natasha and Ellie have been friends since teenagers and they have inspired each others’ learning and understanding of plants and botany. Natasha is a gardener and builder.
Links
This week I’m speaking to Doug Bierend, journalist and author of In Search of Mycoptopia, a book which documents Doug’s journey of discovery as it pertains to the world of mushrooms. We talk about what sparked this journey, about what, as he puts it in the interview, was his Come to Mushroom moment and how his interest in fungi continues to develop with each new step he takes along the way.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Hoverflies
This episode is brought to you by the team at The Real Soil Company. Launched to the market in 2020 The Real Soil Company proudly offers new organic, peat-free SuperSoil. Packed full of organic nutrients for optimal plant health, SuperSoil’s natural ‘boosters’ will stimulate quicker plant establishment and better resilience against pests and disease, whilst also enabling edible crops to benefit from nutritional enhancement and a higher crop yield. The enhanced soil also offers better water retention and release for optimum plant growth, whilst providing a more balanced and workable material for gardeners. Order HERE.
What we talk about:
- How Doug’s relationship with mushrooms began and what led to the birth of the book
- The future of mycology in terms of research and education
- Citizen science and its relevance to the progression of mycology
- Mushroom farming as an industry
- Why Doug thinks those in the mycological community are so non-competitive and community-minded
- How mycelial networks can be used as potential blueprints for societal organisation
- How mushrooms help improve soil
About Doug Bierend
“Hi, my name is Doug. I'm a freelance writer and recent first-time author based in the Hudson Valley. Over the last decade or so, I've written with a special interest in science, technology, visual and interactive media, food, sustainability and general subversiveness. My first book, In Search of Mycotopia, is due out in March of 2021 with Chelsea Green Books.”
https://dougbierend.com/About-Me
Links
In Search of Mycotopia by Doug Bierend - Chelsea Green Publishing, 2021
This episode features Luke Taylor, co-founder of So and Mo, talking about a new type of liquid lawn feed that’s formulated to work in different ways at different times of the year, depending on the growing needs of your lawn.
When you buy the box, you receive 6 formulas that you apply to your lawn between February and December. They’ve been developed using the decades of experience and knowledge Luke and his business partner have gleaned working with lawns on a commercial scale - basically, it’s a professional standard of lawn care simplified and delivered so you can get professional results in a really easy way. Luke talks about the product, about lawn care, what you should be doing with your lawn right now and how to get the best out of those pesky sprayers - plus if you listen to the end there’s a discount code just for you.
This week’s guest is Laura Erickson, talking about her brilliant book the Love Lives of Birds. Find out why some birds mate for life whilst others play the field, why some value age and experience, which birds lay their eggs in other bird’s nests and which stash their young in riverbanks and why there’s so much dancing involved!
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Bee Flies
This episode is brought to you The Seed Sistas, who have been community herbalists for over 20 years. Their work took a turn last March and they converted their passion for plants, people and the planet into an online course called the Pathway to Peace. It is an engaging Seven-day immersive journey with lots of wonderful content. If you suffer from stress or anxiety this course may well be able to offer you connection to herbs and tools for stress management, better sleep and nourishment for your nervous system. The next course starts again on April 28th.
What we talk about:
Why bird courtships so varied and whether there’s any correlation between courtship patterns and life span/size/habitat
Why there’s so much dancing involved
The issue of age and its relevance when finding a partner
Nest parasites and why they steal other birds’ nests
Kingfishers and where they nest
The need for privacy when mating
Why some birds mate for life whilst others can have multiple mates in a breeding season
About Laura Erickson
“Laura Erickson, 2014 recipient of the American Birding Association’s prestigious Roger Tory Peterson Award and the 2020 Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union’s Thomas Sadler Roberts Memorial Award, has been a scientist, teacher, writer, wildlife rehabilitator, professional blogger, public speaker, photographer, American Robin and Whooping Crane Expert for the popular Journey North educational website, and Science Editor at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. She’s written twelve books about birds including, in 2020, The Love Lives of Birds. (also the ABA Field Guide to the Birds of Minnesota, National Geographic Pocket Guide to Birds of North America, the best-selling Into the Nest: Intimate Views of the Courting, Parenting, and Family Lives of Familiar Birds (co-authored by photographer Marie Read); the National Outdoor Book Award-winning Sharing the Wonder of Birds with Kids; 101 Ways to Help Birds; and The Bird Watching Answer Book for the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. She’s currently a columnist and contributing editor for BirdWatching magazine. Since 1986 she has been producing the long-running “For the Birds” radio program for many public radio stations; the program is podcast on iTunes. She lives in Duluth, Minnesota.” - https://www.lauraerickson.com/about-laura/
Links
The Love Lives of Birds: Courtship and Mating Rituals by Laura Erickson - Storey Publishing, 2020
Pathway to Peace course - starts 28th April - more details.
Episode 67 with Karen Lawton of Sensory Solutions
This week’s guest is Stephen Hackett, head gardener at Horatio’s Garden South West. We talk about this amazing garden which was designed by Cleve West and is managed by Stephen, with the help of and for the benefit of the staff and patients at the adjacent spinal injuries unit.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Brimstone Butterflies
This episode is brought to you The Seed Sistas, who have been community herbalists for over 20 years. Their work took a turn last March and they converted their passion for plants, people and the planet into an online course called the Pathway to Peace. It is an engaging Seven-day immersive journey with lots of wonderful content. If you suffer from stress or anxiety this course may well be able to offer you connection to herbs and tools for stress management, better sleep and nourishment for your nervous system. The next course starts again on April 28th.
What we talk about:
About the charity Horatio’s Garden and the South West
How the gardens help people with spinal injuries
Managing a garden from a therapy as well as a horticultural perspective
The features of the garden which make it useful to patients and staff
The most rewarding part of the job
Visiting the Horatio’s Garden sites
About Stephen Hackett
Stephen Hackett grew up in Lancashire, before studying at Oxford and Nottingham.
He spent several years teaching Cultural Studies in Southampton before joining the Arts Council in 2000.
Subsequently he worked in in adult education, and was Principal of a residential adult college in Oxfordshire.
Always a keen gardener, Stephen trained in Horticulture at Sparsholt College in 2010 and established a gardening business in the Salisbury area.
Stephen joined Horatio’s Garden South West in 2016 as Head Gardener. He lives in Salisbury with his family, and has written gardening columns for magazines including Wiltshire Life and The English Garden.
Links
Online Spring Raffle running from 29th March - 3rd May
Horatio's Garden Summer Art Auction which opens on 15th May for two weeks until 30th.
Pathway to Peace Course - starts 28th April. Sign up now.
Episode 67 with Karen Lawton of Sensory Solutions
This week’s guest is Carolyn Mullet. Carolyn is an author and garden tour organiser. She recently released a book about some of the most beautiful gardens she’s visited in Europe, called Adventures in Eden. In the interview, I speak to Carolyn about the book and (with barely concealed envy) I ask her about the trips she undertakes and the gardens she sees with her company Carex Tours.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Bay Sucker Psyllid
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Natural Grower. Launched in 2019, their award winning liquid fertiliser and plant feed and soil conditioner is made entirely from maize. Naturally rich in nitrogen, potash, phosphate and other trace elements that plants and vegetables love, it is approved by the Soil Association, Vegan Society and Organic Farmers and Growers. Their concentrated natural fertiliser can be poured around the base of plants, whilst the plant feed and soil conditioner can be mixed into the soil or compost and used as a mulch on the surface as a long-term slow-release fertiliser. The fertiliser can be used for all outdoor and indoor plants. As a special offer for listeners, Natural Grower are offering 15% off all of their range. Simply go to naturalgrower.co.uk and enter ROOTS15 on checkout.
What we talk about:
How Carolyn chooses gardens to visit
How does a garden make the grade for the book or to be included in a tour?
Whether there is any correlation between an owner’s personalities and the type of garden they have
The ways Carolyn has noticed private gardens changing over the past decade or so
The recipe for a successful garden
The most exciting place for garden design and innovation right now
About Carolyn Mullet
Carolyn Mullet is a retired award-winning garden designer who practiced in the Washington, DC metro area for over 30 years. She received her formal training in residential landscape design from George Washington University. She is also the owner and creative director of CarexTours offering international garden tours each year for the discerning garden traveler. Her book "Adventures in Eden: An Intimate Tour of Private European Gardens" was published by Timber Press in 2020. In addition, she produces popular social media posts daily showcasing gardens from around the world on both Instagram and Facebook for a large international community of garden and plant enthusiasts.
Links
This is the first episode in the series and it features Rik Sellwood who along with his business partner Chris Tanner, has launched a company called Harvst. They build greenhouses for home gardeners, which can be controlled via an app. During the episode we talk about Harvst’s products of course, but we also talk about managing crops in greenhouses and how technology can be applied in a garden setting to make our lives easier.
Listen to the end for the 15% discount code!
App information and to register for the app go to app.harvest.co.uk
Hello. This is a short introduction to a new episode that’s being released on Thursday called Roots and All: Dig In.
Dig In is a new series which came about because I’ve been contacted by various companies who would like to come on the podcast and talk about the wonderful products they have to sell.
So do drop by on Thursday when I'll be speaking to Rik Sellwood of Harvst about, that amongst other things, a greenhouse you can water and ventilate via an app. Clever stuff!
This week’s guest is forest gardener Anni Kelsey. Anni is an experienced grower of edibles and she follows the principles of forest gardening - if you’re not sure what that means, all will be revealed. Her latest book The Garden of Equal Delights sets out principles for managing a garden in order to maximise its productive yield but it’s much more than that, it’s about gardening sustainably and using techniques that many conventional gardeners might find unusual but which work.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Signalling
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Natural Grower. Launched in 2019, their award winning liquid fertiliser and plant feed and soil conditioner is made entirely from maize. Naturally rich in nitrogen, potash, phosphate and other trace elements that plants and vegetables love, it is approved by the Soil Association, Vegan Society and Organic Farmers and Growers. Their concentrated natural fertiliser can be poured around the base of plants, whilst the plant feed and soil conditioner can be mixed into the soil or compost and used as a mulch on the surface as a long-term slow-release fertiliser. The fertiliser can be used for all outdoor and indoor plants. As a special offer for listeners, Natural Grower are offering 15% off all of their range. Listen now for details.
What we talk about:
- What is a forest garden?
- Anni writes in her book "how would I describe or explain what I do in the garden to someone else?”. Given her gardening style is very intuitive and site specific, find out how she manages to communicate her principles to others
- The practice of bringing nothing in and taking nothing out of the garden
- How Anni brings uncultivated areas into production
- Dealing with weeds
- Why she doesn’t compost
- Why all plants are special
About Anni Kelsey
“Anni Kelsey has been passionate about gardening and the natural world for as long as she can remember. As her concerns about the unsustainability of our present food system grew she began to 'edibilise' her garden aiming to find a way of growing food that required as little time, effort and skill as possible. She based her experiments on forest gardening but adapted this to fit in an average sized back garden. This led her to focus on experimenting with perennial vegetables, obtaining and growing as many as she possibly could.
As she gained experience and enthusiasm for this style of gardening she wanted to convey what she had learned to others which in turn led her to write Edible Perennial Gardening or the book she would have liked to have been able to read years ago, if it had already been written! She hopes that it will inspire and enable others to grow perennial vegetables which are little known but tasty and rewarding crops.
Anni's garden is in a challenging situation high on a hill facing Wales in one direction and England in the other. When she is not in the garden she loves nothing more than exploring the local countryside and coffee shops” - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anni-Kelsey/e/B00N8XJMPK/ref=dp_byline_cont_pop_ebooks_1
Links
The Garden of Equal Delights by Anni Kelsey - Permanent Publications, 2020
Podcast 101 - GrowVeg with Benedict Vanheems
This week I’m talking to Benedict Vanheems, gardener, author, editor and face of the popular GrowVeg.com YouTube channel. If you’re thinking about growing veg this year, whether you’re an old hand or new to it, you’re bound to hear something of value from Benedict, who’s innovative approach to growing food takes the hard work out of things.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Black Garden Ants
This episode is brought to you by Natural Grower.
Launched in 2019, their award winning liquid fertiliser and plant feed and soil conditioner is made entirely from maize. Naturally rich in nitrogen, potash, phosphate and other trace elements that plants and vegetables love, it is approved by the Soil Association, Vegan Society and Organic Farmers and Growers. Their concentrated natural fertiliser can be poured around the base of plants, whilst the plant feed and soil conditioner can be mixed into the soil or compost and used as a mulch on the surface as a long-term slow-release fertiliser. The fertiliser can be used for all outdoor and indoor plants. As a special offer for listeners, Natural Grower are offering 15% off all of their range. Listen to the episode now to access the discount code.
What we talk about:
Is growing edibles right for everyone? And is it worth it?
Tips for getting seeds started in open ground
Moving seeds from indoors to outdoors
What should we be doing in our veg gardens right now?
Upcycling and repurposing household items as containers for growing in
Labour intensive jobs in the veg garden and ways to make them easier/quicker
Keep things low maintenance
Growing mushrooms
Sprouting seeds
About Benedict Vanheems
Benedict Vanheems is a passionate home gardener specialising in delicious, organically grown fruit, vegetables and herbs. No stranger to dirt under his nails, Benedict’s fascination with plants started at an early age. As a young boy he could often be found digging holes, experimenting with sowings, or helping his granddad plant leeks or pick climbing beans on his veg patch.
As a teenager, Benedict worked during his school holidays at a nursery supplying plants to many of the UK’s top garden designers. After completing a degree in Horticulture he went on to edit gardening publications, including Garden Design Journal and Grow it!. He has written for Grow Your Own magazine and is an ongoing contributor to Kitchen Garden, Britain’s longest established edible gardening title.
In 2014 Benedict joined the team at GrowVeg.com where he has become the face of their YouTube channel, growing it from 20,000 subscribers to more than 280,000. A firm advocate of growing in tune with nature, he continues to produce compelling gardening content for the respected GrowVeg.com website, inspiring both new and seasoned gardeners to get more from their space.
Benedict lives in Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire and has recently moved house, taking on a third-of-an-acre garden where he is creating two kitchen garden areas to indulge his horticultural hunger.
Links
GrowVeg: The Beginner's Guide to Easy Vegetable Gardening by Benedict Vanheems - Storey Publishing, 2021
This week’s guest is Nigel Palmer, an experimental gardener who brings to bear his experience as an aerospace engineer to analyse, identify and organise the various components that make plants grow well. From his research, he’s compiled a recipe book of garden amendments, some easy to make and some involving more complex methods, but all of which you can recreate at home and use on your garden for better plant health and resilience.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Darwin’s Worms
This episode is sponsored by gardencourses.com
What we talk about:
The book ‘Natural Farming Agriculture Materials’ by Cho Ju-Young and how it influenced Nigel’s work
When making soil amendments and fertilisers and having them analysed in a laboratory, how does Nigel know the results will be consistent for future batches?
Why is local biological material important for a garden?
The theory behind feeding a plant with its own 'ancestors'
The ability of a plant to change the soil pH in the immediate vicinity of its roots
How plants need different nutrients and minerals at different stages of their development
Using a refractometer
Fermented plant juice and its uses
What difference can these amendments make to a garden?
About Nigel Palmer
“Nigel Palmer has been a lifelong gardener in New England relying on the amazing complexity of nature to inspire his gardening philosophy, as well as working as an aerospace engineer sorting, organizing, and resolving complex technical issues. He is the instructor and curriculum developer of the Sustainable, Regenerative Gardening program at The Institute Of Sustainable Nutrition (TIOSN). ” - https://www.chelseagreen.com/product/the-regenerative-growers-guide-to-garden-amendments/
Links
The Regenerative Grower’s Guide to Garden Amendments: Using Locally Sourced Materials to Make Mineral and Biological Extracts and Ferments by Nigel Palmer - Chelsea Green Publishing, 2020
This episode I’m speaking to Professor Jeff Ollerton, author of the brilliant new book ‘Pollinators and Pollination’, another must-have to add to your ever burgeoning reading pile I’m afraid! I loved the book and as you’ll hear during the interview, it threw up all sorts of interesting questions about pollinators, their role in our lives and gardens and how much we need them.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Queen Bumblebees
This episode is sponsored by gardencourses.com
What we talk about:
What is a pollinator?
Apart from being nice to look at, why should gardeners want pollinators to visit?
How pollinators navigate via linear features in a landscape and what this means for plants situated near these features
Would it be fair to say the increase in pollinators since older times has gone hand in hand with that of humans? Did our populations increase in tandem?
Now we seem to have the upper hand and are disregarding the pollinators, will we ultimately be damaging ourselves, at least from a food growing point of view?
How useful is it to measure the number of species of pollinators that visit a garden? Are species over-represented in gardens due to the garden’s value as a food source?
Top tips for inviting pollinators into the garden
About Jeff Ollerton
“During a career spanning more than 30 years, Professor Jeff Ollerton has established himself as one of the world’s leading experts on pollinators and pollination. The author of more than 120 articles and book chapters, his highly-cited, ground-breaking research has been used by national and international agencies to support efforts to conserve pollinators and their pollination services. Jeff is also in demand as an advisor and consultant to governments, local authorities, printed and broadcast media, and funding organisations.
Although he is based in the UK, Jeff’s field work in support of his research and advisory activities has been conducted across Europe, Africa, Asia, South America and Australia. He received his PhD in pollination ecology in 1993 from Oxford Brookes University, and holds Visiting Professor positions at the University of Northampton in the UK and Kunming Institute of Botany in China. Jeff has previously held visiting researcher positions at the University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in Brazil and the University of New South Wales in Australia.” - https://jeffollerton.co.uk/about/
Links
Order a copy of Jeff’s book and get 30% off with the offer code ROOTS30
Episode 74: Wasps with Richard Jones
This week, I’m speaking to Danielle Draper, Manager of the Cats Protection National Cat Adoption Centre in Surrey and we’re talking about that sometimes contentious issue of cats and gardens. Cats are part of gardeners’ lives, particularly if you live in an urban area. Love them or hate them, you can’t get away from them and Danielle’s here to talk about learning to live harmoniously alongside the neighbourhood felines…
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Narcissus Bulb Fly
This episode is brought to you by our friends at Natural Grower. Launched in 2019, their award winning liquid fertiliser and plant feed and soil conditioner is made entirely from maize. Naturally rich in nitrogen, potash, phosphate and other trace elements that plants and vegetables love, it is approved by the Soil Association, Vegan Society and Organic Farmers and Growers. Their concentrated natural fertiliser can be poured around the base of plants, whilst the plant feed and soil conditioner can be mixed into the soil or compost and used as a mulch on the surface as a long-term slow-release fertiliser. The fertiliser can be used for all outdoor and indoor plants. As a special offer for listeners, Natural Grower are offering 15% off all of their range. Simply go to naturalgrower.co.uk and enter ROOTS15 on checkout.
What we talk about:
How many cats there are in the UK - is cat ownership growing or declining in popularity?
Where do cats factor in the big picture of wildlife decline?
Can we exclude the neighbourhood cats from our gardens? Or deter them?
Is it myth that cats don’t use their own gardens to go to the loo? Can we deter them from doing it?
What can we do if all the neighbourhood cats choose to use our garden as a battleground?
What can we do if we want to feed the birds but keep them safe from cats? What about if we put food out for foxes, hedgehogs?
Ways to avoid wildlife casualties
Plants cats particularly like/don’t like
What benefits can cats bring to a garden?
About Cats Protection
Cats Protection is the UK's largest feline welfare charity in the UK and helps around 200,000 cats and kittens every year. Formed in 1927, when it was known as the Cats Protection League, Cats Protection (CP) has grown to become the UK's leading feline welfare charity. Its vision is a world where every cat is treated with kindness and an understanding of its need and it has simple and clear objectives to help cats:
• Homing - finding good homes for cats in need
• Neutering - supporting and encouraging the neutering of cats
• Information - improving people’s understanding of cats and their care
More information about the work of the charity can be found at www.cats.org.uk. To make a donation, please visit https://www.cats.org.uk/donate
Advice about cats and gardens:
https://www.cats.org.uk/help-and-advice/home-and-environment/garden-and-outdoors
https://www.cats.org.uk/help-and-advice/home-and-environment/keeping-cats-out
https://www.cats.org.uk/help-and-advice/home-and-environment/dangerous-plants
This week I’m speaking to Harriet Gross, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Lincoln. She was part of a team that won a gold medal for the Digital Capabilities garden at the 2013 Chelsea Flower Show and she is the author of The Psychology of Gardening. Harriet talks about our emotional connection to our gardens, what makes people connected to nature and the environment, why we can be territorial over our gardens and just what it is we get from gardening.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Stridulation
This episode is sponsored by the London College of Garden Design Melbourne.
Based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne the college brings together unique Australian design and horticultural expertise with the training experience of Europe’s leading garden design college. The College delivers professional skills training for those aiming for a career in landscape design and from 2021 will offer a real-time online option for those who want to study from anywhere in Australia or New Zealand. To find out more visit lcgd.com.au
What we talk about:
- What led Harriet to write the book
- Is the amount of research conducted into the psychology of gardening commensurate with its popularity in the UK?
- People who are more connected to natured and concerned with the environment and their personality type
- Personality traits that are generally common to gardeners
- Why people become so emotionally attached to their gardens
- Taking refuge in our gardens during the pandemic
- Emotional attachment to allotments
- Fractals and their significance in landscapes and to our appreciation of these landscapes
About Professor Harriet Gross
Harriet Gross is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at University of Lincoln. She was part of a team that won a gold medal for the Digital Capabilities garden at the 2013 Chelsea Flower Show and she is the author of The Psychology of Gardening.
Harriet Gross on Twitter @Harriet_Gross
Links
The Psychology of Gardening by Harriet Gross - Routledge, 2018
This episode is the last one before Valentine’s Day. Of course, you may be thinking about buying some flowers to give on Sunday so I thought, what better person to interview than a British flower grower? So I’m talking to Ben Cross of Crosslands Flower Nursery, a family owned and run nursery specialising in cut Alstroemerias. Ben is an expert grower, public speaker, an ambassador for British flowers and founder of the British Flowers Rock Campaign. As you will find out, growing flowers isn’t all roses but Ben loves what he does and he starts by giving some background on the nursery and his involvement…
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Tobacco Whitefly
What we talk about:
- The history of Crosslands Flower Nursery and how Ben came to be involved
- Specialising in growing Alstroemerias - why them?
- The scale of the nursery operations
- Organic and sustainable flower farming
- Some of the biggest challenges facing British flower growers
- The British Flowers Rock campaign
About Ben Cross
Ben is a 4th generation grower at Crosslands Flower Nursery which was established in 1936 in West Sussex and is one of the last flower nurseries producing cut flowers in a full colour range all year-round.
Ben’s British Alstroemeria is a very sustainable crop. His flowers are not sprayed with any chemicals after being harvested and go into recyclable, reusable boxes and arrive with customers the next day. No soil cooling techniques are used to force production and some flower beds are over 20 years old, still producing premium quality stems. Under 5% of the crop is replanted a year so sterilizing the soil is kept to a minimum.
The British Alstroemeria is known as a ‘Cool Crop’ and a ‘Dry Crop’ so doesn’t take much heat input or watering. Optimum heat at night through the winter is just 13°C via a biomass boiler and the crop is watered for just 20 minutes once a month in the winter and just 20 minutes once every 10 days in the summer unlike flowers grown in warmer countries that use a lot more water resource.
When Ben’s flowers have been picked they don’t go into big freezers, the cooling storage system at Crosslands is usually turned off between November and March. When the flowers need to be stored in warmer weather they’re only chilled at about 6°C instead of 0.5°C like most imported flowers. They are only stored for a couple of days before they are with the customers. They are a lot fresher than flowers that go all around the world. Most importantly all the stems are harvested at a ‘ripe’ big fat bud stage giving a bigger more vibrant flower unlike the imports that are harvested too tight so more can be transported in boats and planes.
Ben also only employs local people and more importantly does apprenticeship schemes with local horticultural colleges and goes into floristry colleges to give his British Flowers Rock Talks.
Next to being a full time grower, Ben is an avid campaigner for British Flowers and takes any opportunity he can to spread the word that British Flowers Rock!
Ben won the Grower Award in 2019 and won the Gold Sussex Environmental award in 2020.
Links
Crosslands Flower Nursery
Barnham Lane
Walberton
Nr Arundel
West Sussex
BN18 0AX
M: 07712332241
Email: crosslandsflowernursery@gmail.com
Follow on Twitter @AlstroemeriaBen
Follow on Instagram @AlstroemeriaBen
Find Us on Facebook at Crosslands Flower Nursery
In this week’s episode I’m speaking to Fiona Edmond of Green Island Gardens about one of the stars of the winter garden, the Hamamelis aka witch-hazel. Fiona is the holder of the National Collection of Hamamelis and she talks about their cultivation and goes through some of the fool-proof and some of the choicer varieties. I dare you not to buy one after listening!
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Fig Wasps
This episode is sponsored by gardencourses.com
What we talk about:
Fiona’s background and that of Green Island Gardens
How Fiona came to have the National Collection of Hamamelis
Their preferred soil and aspect and their hardiness
Pruning
Propagation
Potential pests and diseases (hint: this is short answer!)
What can they be underplanted with? Do they look particularly good in one sport of setting/against a certain type of plant as a background?
The flower colour spectrum
Easy to grow cultivars and Fiona’s favourites
About Green Island Gardens
Green Island Gardens are private gardens, open for the public. Professionally designed by its owner Fiona Edmond, they are laid out as a series of structured gardens displaying a huge range of unusual trees, shrubs, perennials, and bulbs - 'A Plantsman’s Paradise’. Surely one of the best gardens open to visit in Essex. Recommended in Great British Gardens 2019 and Essex Days Out.
20 acres of Water Gardens, Seaside Garden, Japanese Garden, Gravel Garden, Woodland Gardens, Island beds and stunning colour everywhere. There is a tearoom serving light lunches, home-made teas and cream teas.
The nursery offers plants all seen growing in the gardens. We now offer mail order service for the nursery during the lockdown period.
We also run different courses and special events.
Visitors will be able to enjoy flat and easy walking throughout the gardens.
Links
Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuTfQ6Aq6evRmBZ0fjfqwdA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenislandgardens
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/greenislandgardensuk/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/greenislandgdn
This week’s episode features garden designer and horticulturist Jo McKerr, who runs Pratensis Gardens. Jo is particularly interested in designed spaces where soil health, biodiversity and wildlife are encouraged but which still look good to the human eye. I started with a list of questions for Jo but the interview became more of a fireside chat, so pull up a chair and join Jo and I as we wend our way through eco-gardening.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Winter Moths
This episode is sponsored by the London College of Garden Design Melbourne.
Based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne the college brings together unique Australian design and horticultural expertise with the training experience of Europe’s leading garden design college. The College delivers professional skills training for those aiming for a career in landscape design and from 2021 will offer a real-time online option for those who want to study from anywhere in Australia or New Zealand. To find out more visit www.lcgd.com.au
What we talk about:
Jo’s background and the type of projects she is currently working on.
Rewilding has been a buzzword for a few years and is creeping over into gardening. Can we rewild our gardens?
Jo wrote an article for Bloom magazine about creating natural gardens and stated that due to our lack of real knowledge about gardens and their wild inhabitants, “I’ve come to the conclusion that if we are to garden in a way that’s kind to the planet, we need to be conscious protectors and regenerators, with good instincts.” Jo explains what she means by this and talks about how it can be at odds with the way many currently garden.
Younger generations or people new to gardening - are they are alienated by certain practices or traditional methods of thinking?
The place of gardens in a climate crisis.
The future of horticulture.
About Jo McKerr
“Horticulture and garden design is my second career. Before I had children and a mortgage I worked as a TV producer and director and dreamed about writing and performing in the theatre.
Plants and garden-making snuck up on me. I initially just wanted to save some stag beetles and create bit of an oasis in London. I found life in London challenging, I was used to space and quiet and contact with the elements, and I ended up becoming homesick (what we now understand as “biophilia”). It was my little London garden with two trees and birds and insects and the feel of the soil that made me sane at the weekend.
I have all the requisite qualifications that make me both a garden designer and trained gardener: a Garden Design Diploma from Merrist Wood and a RHS2 in Practical Horticultural Theory from Bristol University. However, it has been my fortunate ability to constantly fiddle in my own gardens that has allowed me the space to develop and grow.
I am always looking to collaborate with fellow landscapers, soil scientists, entomologists, gardeners, architects, designers and artists. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch – my gate is always open!” - https://jomckerr.com/about/
Links
I’m kicking off the year on the podcast with an interview with conservationist and wild meadows expert Keith Datchler. We talk about the state of our wildflower meadows, their importance for biodiversity and where we, as humans, fit as part of the biodiversity that feels at home in meadows.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Winter Bumblebees
What we talk about:
The definition of a meadow
How many ancient meadows are left in the UK. When they date from. How they were created.
Do we need to protect them from a wildlife and a human perspective?
How meadows are region and ecosystem specific
Why we should consider the locale when choosing plant species to add to or to create a meadow
Can meadows work on a small scale? How long do they take to establish? What are the major hurdles to implementing one?
Whether it’s desirable to encourage people to visit meadows and interact with them in terms of footfall and conservation
What’s being done to preserve ancient meadows and create new ones
About Keith Datchler OBE
Keith Datchler started his career as a dairy farmer, before moving into estate management, with his latest position being Estate Manager at the Beech Estate in Ashburnham, East Sussex. He is a Trustee of the Weald Landscape Trust and of People Need Nature and he works as a conservationist and wild meadows consultant.
Links
This week I’m talking to Dr Jack Hunter, anthropologist and author of the book Greening the Paranormal: Exploring the Ecology of Extraordinary. The book isn’t about fairies at the bottom of the garden, although they do get a mention in the episode, but looks more at ways of studying and engaging with the super-natural and considers how these might be useful when approaching the environmental crisis.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Holly Leafminer
About Dr Jack Hunter
Dr. Jack Hunter is an anthropologist exploring the borderlands of ecology, religion and the paranormal. He lives in the hills of Mid-Wales with his family. He is an Honorary Research Fellow with the Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Centre, University of Wales Trinity Saint David and a Research Fellow with the Parapsychology Foundation, New York. He is a tutor on the MA in Ecology and Spirituality and the MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology with the Sophia Centre, University of Wales Trinity Saint David.
He is the founder and editor of Paranthropology: Journal of Anthropological Approaches to the Paranormal, the author of Spirits, Gods and Magic: An Introduction to the Anthropology of the Supernatural (2019) and Engaging the Anomalous (2018). He is the editor of Strange Dimensions: A Paranthropology Anthology (2015), Damned Facts: Fortean Essays on Religion, Folklore and the Paranormal (2016), Greening the Paranormal: Exploring the Ecology of Extraordinary Experience (2019) and is co-editor with Dr. David Luke of Talking With the Spirits: Ethnographies from Between the Worlds (2014).
Links
Greening the Paranormal: Exploring the Ecology of Extraordinary Experience by Dr Jack Hunter, August Night Press, 2019
This week, I’m talking to Anna Soper, a Canadian artist, writer, podcaster and master of too many things to mention really about Kate Crooks, a largely forgotten Canadian botanist whose work Anna uncovered for a project she undertook in 2018. Anna’s research into Kate Crooks has unearthed pieces of a historical jigsaw puzzle which leave us wondering how many other botanists and specimens are out there just waiting to be discovered and how many of these important pieces of the botanical record have been lost forever.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Fleas
About Anna Soper
“Anna Soper has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from OCAD University, where she won the OCAD University Medal in 2011. She has studied abroad at the Glasgow School of Art, and has a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Western University.
Soper has exhibited her work in Toronto, New York, and London, UK. She lives and works in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, where she has created two public art works for the City of Kingston.” https://www.annasoper.ca/about
Links
Anna Soper’s Article on Kate Crooks in Atlas Obscura
Teen People Podcast on Twitter
Teen People Podcast on Instagram
Botanical Society of Canada - Biodiversity Library
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/kate-crooks-botany-collection-lost-1.5249427
https://news.westernu.ca/2019/08/alumna-searches-for-botanists-trailblazing-work/
This week, I’m delighted to speak to Robert Galster, one of the co-founders of Safe Soil UK, about soil testing. There are many companies offering soil testing but the whole process is incredibly opaque. Companies offering the testing don’t often tell you what to test for, or offer to explain the results they’ll be sending and the process can be very costly. Enter Soil Safe UK, who offer soil tests for gardeners, that make sense and that don’t cost a small fortune!
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Indoor Plant Pests
What we talk about:
What does a soil test involve?
Are all soil tests the same?
When might we need one? Is it a legal requirement in some cases?
What does it measure? What might it reveal about your soil?
What are some typical results we might see?
What are some common problems that might be revealed?
About Robert Galster & Safe Soil UK
“At Safe Soil UK, our aim is to make the testing and analysis of soil easy. Whether it’s to check that soil has all the nutrients it needs to grow great veg or to investigate for potential serious contamination (the UK’s industrial heritage has left behind much that can have a negative impact on our health), we offer a straightforward approach to soil testing. Because while growing and eating local, even homegrown, should ideally be what we do as often as possible, it definitely shouldn’t be dangerous.
Britain’s proud industrial and farming history left behind a legacy of contamination, with countless substances and waste products that have the potential to harm human health being discharged into the ground. Our testing packages can give you peace of mind that your growing space is safe - so why chance it?
We’re big fans of gardening in general and growing vegetables in particular. Have been for as long as we can remember. Robert, one of our cofounders, tells of his early childhood memories annoying his mum by “planting” exotic fruit in various plant pots around the family home. This involved making a little hole in the soil using a toothpick and dropping orange, grapefruit and lemon seeds into the holes. Not a great deal came of these early efforts - Robert blames the climate - but he got better with time. And lots of practice.
Since then his interest in gardening has remained with him and flourished as it expanded to include growing his own fruit and veg.
And that interest played a part in launching Safe Soil UK. That and curiosity.
A few years ago we came across a local rumour that a site near our urban house was once a battery factory. At this point, our interest started to extend beyond soil basics like pH and texture and on to toxic elements that may have been lurking beneath our feet. So we started to root around (pardon the pun) for a way to check the soil.
What if our little annual harvests of veg and flowers were actually serving up a cocktail of lead, arsenic, chromium and other unsavoury (to say the least) elements while our time tending the fledgling crops was exposing us to airborne samples of dioxins, hydrocarbons and even asbestos? Posing that question marked the germination (again, sorry!) of Safe Soil UK, which aims to make the testing of urban soils easy, affordable (the scientific analysis involved in the testing is never going to be cheap but we’re doing our best) and also help interpret the results using UK government standards where they’re available and relying on international guidelines to fill in any blanks.
There’s no disputing that the UK’s industrial heritage has left behind a legacy of contaminated land. We are descendants of a people who were at the sharp end of the industrial revolution and while this played an important part in establishing the living standards we now enjoy, there was a darker downside as the very industrial processes and activities that made Britain one of the wealthiest nations on earth also released substances and waste products into the environment that have the potential to have a detrimental impact on our health.
When we started our journey in search of peace of mind that our little patch of land was not slowly killing us, we hit a roadblock. There is no shortage of laboratories capable of testing soil but many of these charged a fortune. Then there was the problem of what we actually wanted to test for. The list of harmful chemicals and elements that a lab could test for is a long one. Which ones should we be testing for? And finally, how much of something is too much?
The answers to these questions required extensive research but we got there in the end. And while no health authority can make a definitive call on the precise level at which something becomes harmful or even lethal, most agree on ranges. We use these to interpret results and where conflicts exist, we point them out to allow our customers to make informed decisions and, hopefully, provide peace of mind. When that’s not possible, we are happy to share recommendations on potential remediation approaches.
We’re happy to report that we’re now in position to make everyone’s journey of discovery markedly easier than the one we had to take.”
Links
In this episode, I am very pleased to have a double interview with Dan Pearson and Midori Shintani, the two key horticultural forces driving the Tokachi Millennium Forest project in Hokaido, Japan and co-authors of the book Tokachi Millennium Forest: Pioneering a New Way of Gardening with Nature. I speak to Midori first, then Dan, about this vast, 1000 year project, their hopes and intentions for now and the future and about their own places with the timeline of the forest.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Ivy Mining Bees
What we talk about:
The history of the site of the Tokachi Millennium Forest
The idea behind the project
The challenges on site, posed by flora and some big fauna!
Influences on the design
The future of the site
About Dan Pearson & Midori Shintani
Twenty years ago, Dan Pearson was invited to make a garden at the 240-hectare Tokachi Millennium Forest in Hokkaido, Japan. Part of the intention was to entice city dwellers to reconnect with nature and improve land that had been lost to intensive agriculture and this was achieved along with much more. By tuning into the physical and cultural essence of the place and applying a light touch in terms of cultivation, this world-class designer created a remarkable place which has its heart in Japan's long-held respect for nature and its head in contemporary ecological planting design. The bold, uplifting sweep of the Meadow Garden mixes garden plants with natives while the undulating landforms of the Earth Garden bring sculptural connection with the mountains beyond.
Under the skilful custodianship of Midori Shintani, the garden has evolved beautifully to reflect principles that lie at the heart of Japanese culture: observation of seasonal changes, practical tasks carried out with care and an awareness of the interconnectedness of all living things. This beautiful, instructive book allows us all to experience something of the Tokachi effect, gain expert insights into how to plant gardens that feel right for their location, and reconnect with the land and wildlife that surround us.
Links
Tokachi Millennium Forest: Pioneering a New Way of Gardening by Dan Pearson & Midori Shintani - Filbert Press, 2020
This interview features two guests instead of the usual one and those guests are Lottie and Connor, founders of Earthly Biochar. Maybe you already use Biochar in the garden, maybe you’ve heard of it but aren’t quite sure what it does or how it works, or maybe you’re completely new to it as a concept. In any case, I’m sure you’ll learn such a lot from this interview.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Spiders and their Webs
What we talk about:
The origins of Earthly Biochar
What is biochar
Biochar in the home & garden
The history of biochar and its uses around the world
‘Charging’ biochar
About Earthly Biochar
Website: www.earthlybiochar.com
Twitter: @earthlybiochar
Instagram: @earthly.biochar
Email: lottie@earthlybiochar.com and connor@earthlybiochar.com
"We'd love to offer the audience 10% off their order with the code ROOTSANDALL - simply place an order on our website and enter this code at checkout. All our orders come with free shipping! We're based in North Devon in Appledore and if anyone wants to meet up, talk biochar, have a go with our kiln, please reach out to us on Instagram or via email. We're currently offering a special price for our biochar makers for the first 10 orders, if anyone would like to be a raving fan and get one of our first kilns, then please email connor@earthlybiochar.com ***The special price is not listed on our website so if you're interested please email us***
We sell only high quality, EBC certified, organic and professionally tested biochar which has been made in a carbon negative process – aka it's capturing carbon not emitting it! You can learn more about this process in our free guide and webinar, which you can sign up to receive on our website here.
Lottie is doing her PhD on biochar at Reading University, working with growers across the UK, and she is recruiting farms (of all sizes and all crops), nurseries and orchards – basically anyone growing plants on a commercial scale – who would like to take part and try biochar out. If you want to take part, please email us!
We're a growing company with great friends and partners in soil health, horticulture, agriculture and wood management but we're always looking to meet new people. We have an exciting project coming up, working with tree planting projects in the UK, and we are starting trials with the RHS. Please get in touch if you want to learn more about us, our plans and opportunities to collaborate.
This week I’m speaking to scientist and science communicator Dr Anna Zakrisson about green roofs, particularly with regard to their use in urban areas and the important role they can play in water management. Amongst other things, we talk about the functions these roofs can perform, whether they can work in rural as well as urban situations, how self-sustaining we should expect the plants on green roofs to be and if they’re always the best solution.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Allium Leaf Miner
About Dr Anna Zakrisson
Anna Zakrisson has travelled extensively for work and study, including periods spent at Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge University and Stockholm University, where she completed her doctoral thesis on cyanobacteria. She worked as a researcher for the Max-Planck-Institute before working in Berlin as a biologist. She currently works as a consultant on green roofs and is attached to US-based research company Green Roof Diagnostics.
What we talk about:
The functions green roofs can perform
Do green roofs improve our environment?
The adverse effects they can mitigate
Can green roofs have an application in rural areas too?
Is it responsible to supplement green roofs with water and/or nutrients?
Are green roofs always the best solution?
Pioneering work in the world of green roofs and future developments
Links:
This week I’m speaking to Barbara Wilkinson, a Trustee of The Herb Society, which was founded in 1927 in order to promote the use and understanding of herbs and to provide a worldwide forum for the exchange of ideas and information pertaining to these plants. We talk about growing herbs in different garden situations, unusual herbs to grow, why humans seem drawn to them, what Barbara refers to as “generous” herbs and why we seem to enjoy abusing them by cramming them in unsuitable containers and most importantly, what even is a herb?
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Box Tree Moths
About Barbara Wilkinson
Following a lifelong passion for health and nutrition, Barbara qualified as a Consultant Medical Herbalist in 2012. She is a member of the College of Medicine and Integrated Health, and runs The Springfield Clinic of Natural Healing in Cheshire. Barbara is an advocate of cultivating the use of plants in everyday life and keen to empower people with the confidence to embrace food as medicine. As well as running her own practice, Barbara is a Trustee for The Herb Society and has appeared as a guest speaker at numerous events and conferences. She has an allotment, where she grows produce that is used for medicines within the practice, and has worked with The Herb Society on designing gardens for the RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. In 2018, she appeared in the BBC’s coverage of the RHS Flower Show, as part of a special segment looking at fermented foods. She recently supported Horticulturist Alys Fowler in producing her new book A Modern Herbal.
What we talk about:
What is The Herb Society?
The definition of a herb
Humans’ affinity with herbs
Herbs for shade
Herbs for dry, sunny spots
Unusual herbs to grow
Links:
The Herb Society on Instagram : @theherbsocietyuk
Evolutionary Herbalism: Science, Spirituality, and Medicine from the Heart of Nature by Sajah Popham
This week I’m speaking with Sir Roderick Floud, author of ‘An Economic History of the English Garden’. The book charts the economics surrounding English gardens since the seventeenth century and talks about private gardens, public spaces, professions related to gardening and the often eye-watering amounts of money spent on achieving a bigger and better gardens. Sir Roderick calculates the cost of yesteryears’ gardens in today’s money and it’s worth reading the book alone to find out how much the likes of Capability Brown earned or the amounts spent on the gardens of Versailles!
Paperback edition of ‘An Economic History of the English Garden’ out on 5th Nov.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Cluster Flies
About Roderick Floud
“Roderick Floud has been a pioneer of two new kinds of history: using statistics to study the past and the history of human height and health. The economic history of gardens is his third innovation.
He has taught at the universities of Cambridge, London and Stanford, has written or edited over 70 books and articles and is the long-standing editor of the Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain.
He has also led London Metropolitan University and Gresham College London and undertaken many other roles in the university world, such as President of Universities UK, receiving a knighthood for services to higher education.” - https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/123901/roderick-floud.html?tab=penguin-biography
What we talk about:
Public parks
Charles II and his popularisation of garden making
Why were extravagant gardens built? Were these gardens worth the huge sums spent on them?
Technological advances that were later applied outside the world of horticulture
Trends around people growing their own fruit and vegetables
Trends in the numbers of people employed as gardeners
How gardeners wages over the centuries compare with those today
Economic trends on the horizon related to gardening
Links:
An Economic History of the English Garden - Roderick Floud Paperback out 5th Nov 2020. Pre-order here
This week I’m speaking with Sir Roderick Floud, author of ‘An Economic History of the English Garden’. The book charts the economics surrounding English gardens since the seventeenth century and talks about private gardens, public spaces, professions related to gardening and the often eye-watering amounts of money spent on achieving a bigger and better gardens. Sir Roderick calculates the cost of yesteryears’ gardens in today’s money and it’s worth reading the book alone to find out how much the likes of Capability Brown earned or the amounts spent on the gardens of Versailles!
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Cluster Flies
About Roderick Floud
“Roderick Floud has been a pioneer of two new kinds of history: using statistics to study the past and the history of human height and health. The economic history of gardens is his third innovation.
He has taught at the universities of Cambridge, London and Stanford, has written or edited over 70 books and articles and is the long-standing editor of the Cambridge Economic History of Modern Britain.
He has also led London Metropolitan University and Gresham College London and undertaken many other roles in the university world, such as President of Universities UK, receiving a knighthood for services to higher education.” - https://www.penguin.co.uk/authors/123901/roderick-floud.html?tab=penguin-biography
What we talk about:
Public parks
Charles II and his popularisation of garden making.
Why were extravagant gardens built? Were these gardens worth the huge sums spent on them?
Technological advances that were later applied outside the world of horticulture
Trends around people growing their own fruit and vegetables
Trends in the numbers of people employed as gardeners
How gardeners wages over the centuries compare with those today
Economic trends on the horizon related to gardening
Links:
An Economic History of the English Garden - Roderick Floud Paperback out 5th Nov 2020. Pre-order here.
This week I’m speaking with permaculturist, teacher, speaker and author, Graham Burnett. Through his organisation Spiralseed, Graham has been involved with both public and private projects across the globe and has accumulated a huge portfolio of work. We talk about the principles which underpin permaculture and how to implement these in your own garden.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Earwigs
About Graham Burnett
“In addition to cultivating his own garden and allotments in Southend in Essex, where he lives with his family, Graham nowadays teaches permaculture and writes extensively on the subject. Graham founded Spiralseed in 2001, and he has worked with projects and organisations including Comic Relief, Naturewise, Green Adventure, the Vegan Organic Network, Ars Terra (Los Angeles), NuArc Health and Wellbeing Centre (Puglia, Italy), Wild Earth Farm and Sanctuary (Kentucky, USA) and Ekosense Ecovillage (Croatia), as well as a number of Transition Town initiatives. He has also over the years written a number of books and booklets (including The Vegan Book of Permaculture, Permaculture a Beginners Guide, Well Fed Not An Animal Dead, and Earth Writings).
Earlier this year Graham taught a permaculture course in Italy, and in summer 2015 he was one of the instructors in the first ever vegan permaculture course in the USA. He continues to teach and organise courses both at home and abroad.” - https://spiralseed.co.uk/graham-burnett-‒-path-permaculture/
What we talk about:
How Graham became involved in permaculture
The theory behind a permaculture garden
How much work is involved in establishing a permaculture garden from scratch, or from an existing garden?
Can permaculture gardens incorporate ornamental areas?
Permaculture gardens; are they completely dedicated to production?
Vegan permaculture gardens
Can we feed ourselves without harming animals in some way? For example, how do you successfully grow brassicas without excluding birds and butterflies?
Links:
This week’s guest is Caroline Ball, author of a beautiful book called ‘Heritage Apples’. In normal circumstances, this week would have seen lots of events to celebrate Apple Day taking place across the country, but instead, I’m celebrating here on the podcast by delving into some of our lesser known and historic varieties with Caroline, plus there’s a very useful bit at the end where Caroline explains the mysteries of apple tree pollination.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Leather Jackets
About Caroline Ball
“Caroline Ball is an editor, copywriter and occasional translator. She has written on subjects from horticulture and travel to antiques and health, and has contributed to books about William Morris and a guide to historical sites. She is a keen gardener and, having been born a 'Kentish Maid’, some of her earliest memories are of apple orchards in blossom.” - https://bodleianshop.co.uk/products/heritage-apples
What we talk about:
What is a heritage apples?
The Herefordshire pomona
Why should we grow heritage apples?
Some of the varieties described in the book; Beauty of Kent, Catshead & Oslin
Where to taste heritage varieties
Apple tree pollination
Links:
This week I’m speaking to Nick de Rothschild, President of the Nerine and Amaryllid Society and of Exbury Gardens in the New Forest. The gardens play host to a huge range of plants providing interest throughout the year, but one of jewels in the crown of Exbury is the collection of Nerines. There are many types of Nerines planted in the garden and an exhibition is currently underway of one particular species, sarniensis. We talk about the different types, how to grow them successfully and about some of the intricacies and intrigue of plant breeding. (Apologies for sounding muffled, I was wearing a mask!)
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: House Spiders
About Nick de Rothschild
Nick de Rothschild, President of the Nerine and Amaryllid Society and of Exbury Gardens in the New Forest.
Now celebrating more than 100 years, Exbury Gardens encompasses a spectacular collection of woodland, herbaceous, contemporary, formal and wildflower gardens.
At over 200 acres, these impressive gardens located in Hampshire, were created and are now managed by the Rothschild family. They boast a number of special collections including world-famous rhododendrons and azaleas, unprecedented swathes of hydrangeas and the National Collection of Nyssa trees - https://www.exbury.co.uk/gardens
What we talk about:
The different nerine species
Growing nerines outdoors and under glass
The history of Nerine sarniensis cultivars
Breeding Nerine sarniensis
Pests and diseases
Links:
This week I’m speaking to Sue Allen of Microbz, which produces and distributes probiotics for gardens. The concept of probiotics in gardens is new to me, but it dovetails nicely with previous episodes looking at soil health and mycorrhizal fungi so I was delighted to speak to Sue and find out more about how probiotics work in gardens and what we can do to encourage them.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Woodlice
About Susan Allen
I’m co-founder and co-director of Microbz Ltd, producers and distributors of probiotics for gardens. Most of all I love gardening. I love long summer evenings out on our land nurturing our plants and vegetables, and even cold wet winter days preparing for the next season. Part of the reason I am so passionate about microbes is because I really see the difference that they have made to my garden. They really work. My soil is healthier, my plants are more robust, and the best thing is: it is all natural.
I want to share my love of using microbes so that other people feel confident to give it a go. It will benefit their health and the long-term health of soil and plants all over the UK.
About Microbz
In 2007 my husband was asked to join a philanthropist who travelled the globe looking for solutions to environmental problems. His job was to mediate the potential conflicts of interest between investors and innovators. It was a fascinating time of travel and discovery.
When he got home, Jeff described the technology he saw that really excited him: Microbial Balancing Technology. The excitement we both felt for the potential of this ‘solution’ for the planet, was immediate.
We committed to learning more and quickly turned one of our outbuildings into a mini-brewery.
The first brews in 5-litre jars were trialled by us, and by friends and family. Now we’re up to 100 and 300-litre containers, regular lab tests and a fully functioning business.
Our involvement with microbes is all that you would wish a love affair to be, full of enthusiasm to be learning and growing and caring for and nurturing the brews. Our hope is that every person who uses microbes sees a health benefit and is aware that they are contributing to the sustainability of our precious planet.
What we talk about:
Microorganisms as the fundamental building blocks of life
What microbes do in our gardens
How do they work
Why it’s important to have them in the soil
What happens when you don't have a diversity of microbes or you use a lot of chemicals in the garden?
How does introducing beneficial microbes back into your garden work?
How do microbes impact each stage of the cycle of life e.g. seeds, growth, flowering, death, decay, composting, back to new life?
Links:
Life at the Edge of Sight by Scott Chimileski, Roberto Kolter
This week I’m speaking to Joff Curtoys, conservationist, ecologist and founder of Sloemotion Distillery. Saturday just gone saw the launch of National Hedgerow Day, an annual event launched by Joff to inspire people to undertake their own foraging missions to spot what’s growing and living in their local hedgerows. Hedgerows are historically important, biodiverse and fascinating, as Joff explains.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Fruit Flies
About Joff Curtoys
Joff is the founder of Sloemotion Distillery, a family-run Yorkshire business producing small batch spirits and liqueurs, and a passionate advocate of wildlife conservation. He has a background working for the RSPB and his respect for the environment and protection of the countryside is deeply embedded into how Sloemotion operates. The brand has its roots firmly in the Yorkshire countryside and this is a huge influence on the premium spirits they produce providing not only a source of sloes and hedgerow fruits, but also inspiration on their doorstep.
What we talk about:
The history of hedgerows
Hedgerows and biodiversity
When and what to forage from hedgerows
Managing hedgerows for foraging
Links:
This week I’m speaking to Adam Kirtland, who began gardening seriously at the start of lockdown. His initial interest has become a full-blown obsession and we talk about the challenges presented by going back to work full time and having less time to garden. For more seasoned gardeners, this episode may be a useful reflection upon how we communicate with newer gardeners.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Flatworms
About Adam Kirtland
“Bookseller by day, gardener by night. I work as part of the head office team at Waterstones looking after some of the gifting products rather than books, but it’s still the love of books that got me here in the first place.
Gardening has always been something that I’ve used as a tool to relax and wind down but it’s only this year, during lockdown that I really found what it was to be a gardener. For me it’s not just mowing the lawn every fortnight or doing a bit of weeding, it’s become so much more. Making a garden for both me and my family that can be used in all season.
Lockdown opened my eyes to the world of Instagram and how huge the community is there and that’s where my gardening journey has taken me now.”
What we talk about:
Sources of gardening information
Catching the gardening bug
Gardening post lockdown and post-furlough
Gardening social media
Links:
Adam’s Instagram account - @viewfromthepottingbench
This week I’m speaking to Philip Johnson of Johnson’s Sweet Peas. Philip grows and sells plants and seeds via his website and he sells and exhibits his plants at shows across the country, when they’re on! He judges at major shows and has put in 25 years service as a Sweet Pea judge. He is a former chairman of the National Sweet Pea Society/RHS Sweet Pea trials held at Wisley and is currently serving as a member of the RHS Herbaceous Committee. So what Philip doesn’t know abut sweet peas you could write on the back of a stamp and still have room to lick it.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Woolly Aphids
About Johnson’s Sweet Peas
Johnson's Sweet Peas is a traditional Sweet Pea specialist, growing their own seeds and plants at their nursery in Kent. Through their extensive breeding programme, they occasionally have brand new varieties available for naming and introduction.
Philip grows and sells plants and seeds via his website and he sells and exhibits his plants at shows across the country. He judges at major shows and has put in 25 years service as a Sweet Pea judge. He is a former chairman of the National Sweet Pea Society/RHS Sweet Pea trials held at Wisley and is currently serving as a member of the RHS Herbaceous Committee.
What we talk about:
When to sow sweet pea seeds
Can we succession sow to prolong the season?
Pinching out seedlings
Deadheading; why? Essential?
Why do stems get shorter as the season progresses?
Watering, feeding, soil requirements
Best kinds of supports for sweet peas
Pests and diseases
Wildlife value
Best varieties for scent
Colours in sweet pea flowers
Colour trends for next year. Exciting developments on the horizon in sweet pea breeding?
Links:
This week I’m speaking to biologist and ecologist Sophie Leguil. Sophie is an outspoken and passionate advocate for nature, plants and wildlife and can often be found on social media, helping make sense of complex concepts that affect gardeners and their outdoor spaces. We talk a bit about public spaces, a bit about gardens and urban areas and we touch upon what can happen when you try to stand up for what you believe in.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Tardegrades
About Sophie Leguil:
“Trained as a biologist & ecologist, with experience in horticulture, I am fascinated by the natural world in all its forms. I have a soft spot for plants, from the tiniest orchid at the top of a Vietnamese mountain, to the blousiest iris in a 18th century garden.
I currently work freelance in the UK and France, as a writer, photographer, speaker, translator and wildlife tour leader.
My BSc research focused on pollens of Psychotria (a fascinating genus with ethnobotanical uses), and my MSc on systematics of a small genus of African orchids.
I am particularly interested in the love-hate relationship between plant conservation and horticulture, and more specifically how growing plants can help us better understand, preserve and raise awareness on need to conserve plants.” https://naturanaute.com/about/
What we talk about:
Rewilding
Warren Park
Meadows and wildflower planting
Sophie’s ‘More Than Weeds’ Project
Brownfield sites and their ecological value
The future of nature under our current government
Links:
This week I’m speaking to garden designer, writer and podcast host Rachel McCartain. Rachel believes the garden should work for you, that it should suit your lifestyle. If you struggle to reconcile the garden you want with the time you have to spend on it, this is the episode for you. Whether you have your own garden or you create gardens for others, Rachel’s advice will no doubt prove useful.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Tree Bumblebees
About Rachel McCartain:
Rachel founded PlantPlots.com an online garden design company which is now one of the world's most popular websites. PlantPlots offers uniquely practical garden design advice, with the aim of making gardening easier for everyone.
In addition PlantPlots creates affordable and practical garden design for anyone with a garden. She has designed gardens in both the UK and the USA and presents the popular gardening podcast The Plotting Shed. It was whilst transforming her second garden, she began to wonder why with all the thousands of gardening books available do so many gardens all look the same! A lawn in the middle surrounded by borders hugging the fence and a couple of hanging baskets.
It began to dawn on her that the reason was because all these books showed how to make A garden but didn't say how the reader could change THEIR garden - and that's why PlantPlots was founded. To help you make the gardening easier.
Rachel currently lives by the sea in West Sussex UK, she is married with 3 children. Although having pets has never been high on her list of must haves, her garden does boast a chicken wire heron named Eric, a shoal of wire ‘Michael’ fish (named after a departed uncle) and in pride of place a 7-foot sunbathing topiary leopard called Ingwe. Rachel is currently planning whether to ‘grow’ a giraffe or some antelopes.
What we talk about:
Useful ways of analysing your garden from a planting and design perspective
Having a garden that works for your skills and your schedule
Buying plants for your garden
Links:
This week I’m speaking to botanical storyteller Amanda Edmiston. Amanda trained in herbalism and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of historical plants and botanical figures but in this episode, we focus mainly on what Amanda does and her work around Elizabeth Blackwell’s book ‘A Curious Herbal’.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Conopid Flies
About Amanda Edmiston:
“Amanda takes people into the stories she tells and brings other worlds, redolent with layers of history into people's lives. Immersion into one of Amanda's stories involves all the senses and often reveals facts which are often threatening to drift from the everyday consciousness. Each session is a magical experience and often stays in participants memories for years.
Her work weaves together plants, herbs and flowers with traditional tales, facts and her own stories.Amanda creates an enchanted world to take people into, one that is frequently funny and full of unexpected twists. Her work illustrates and is inspired by oral traditions, history, food, smells, places, objects and the audience themselves. Working with people in museums , botanical gardens, libraries, wherever they are, Amanda's work opens up different possibilities and can enhance a range of events and projects.” https://www.botanicafabula.co.uk/about
What we talk about:
The art of botanical storytelling
Elizabeth Blackwell’s ‘A Curious Herbal’
The lost connection with nature?
Historical herbals
Links:
Amanda’s website: www.botanicafabula.co.uk
This week I’m speaking to nationally acclaimed entomologist and author of the book ‘Wasp’, Richard Bugman Jones, about a species of wildlife that may not spring to mind as one of your immediate favourites. Wasps, yellow jackets, jaspers, stripy bastards…whatever you call these members of the insect world and whether you love them or loathe them, you will certainly learn lots about them as Richard explains their life cycles and the role they play in ecosystems. If you’re not convinced to become a full-blown wasp lover by the end of the episode, I suspect you will at least have a grudging respect for these resilient creatures. (FYI This episode was recorded a while ago, so it may sound as if we're talking in late winter.)
About Richard Jones:
Richard writes about insects, wildlife and the environment for a number of publications such as Gardener’s World and BBC Wildlife magazines, The Guardian and The Sunday times. He guests on programmes such as Radio 4’s Home Planet and Natural Histories, plus is the author of many books, full list below. He is a fellow of the Royal Entomological Society and of the Linneaen Society of London. He’s past president of the British Entomological and Natural History Society.
What we talk about:
- The number of species of wasps plus which wasps you’re most likely to find in your garden
- The life cycle of a wasp
- A look at a typical nest
- What stings worse, a wasp, bee or hornet?
- Invasive species
Links:
Richard Jones’s website: www.bugmanjones.com
Books by Richard Jones
Wasp - Reaktion Books, 2019
Beetles - Collins New Naturalists Series, 2018
Call of Nature: The Secret Life of Dung - Pelagic Publishing, 2017
House Guests, House Pests - Bloomsbury Publishing, 2016
Nano Nature - Collins, 2008
Mosquito - Reaktion Books, 2012
The Little Book of Nits - A & C Black Publishers, 2012
Extreme Insects - HarperCollins, 2010
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
This episode is somewhat of a follow-up to my interview with Jeff Lowenfels in Episode 51. Following that interview, I found myself asking a few more questions, particularly about how we’re progressing with research into mycorrhizal fungi here in the UK. So here I am talking to Petra Guy, who’s based at Reading University. Petra looks mainly at woodland health from the perspective of mycorrhizal fungi but we cover a lot of garden territory too including proprietary fungi mixes, composts and replant disease.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Crab Spider
About Petra Guy:
Petra is a postgraduate researcher at the University of Reading modelling the responses of trees to climate, land-use soils and mycorrhizal symbioses. Currently exploring game theory as a means of understanding different ectomycorrhizal/plant relationships and responses.
What We Discuss:
How long mycorrhizal fungi can persist in the soil without a host
The efficacy of proprietary mixes
Saving soil over the winter to inoculate next year's crop
Replant disease
Should we be building ‘soil bridges’?
Susan Simard’s concept of mother trees in forests
Links:
Episode 51: Mycorrhizal Fungi with Jeff Lowenfels
Paul Stamets - Host Defence Mushropoms
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Support me on Patreon
Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week I’m talking to Vicki Cooke of Plant Heritage. Plant Heritage is a UK charity that works to conserve cultivated garden plants, predominantly through the National Plant Collection scheme and their Plant Guardians initiative. Think National Plant Collections are the preserve of stately homes with huge gardens or horticultural institutions? Not at all! In fact, you could start you own on an allotment, in your greenhouse or porch, you could choose a genera with a 1000 species or just one and choose anything from trees to houseplants. All you need is a passion for a particular group of plants and you can join the ranks of experts and plant fans helping to look after our cultivated plants for future generations.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Gooseberry Sawfly
About Vicki Cooke:
Vicki Cooke is the Conservation Manager at Plant Heritage, and has spent much of her career delving into plants and their history. From Garden Organic's Heritage Seed Library, growing and saving seed from heirloom vegetables, to the Hampton Court Palace kitchen garden and now at Plant Heritage, Vicki has always been passionate about growing and conserving our garden plants.
What We Discuss:
What is Plant Heritage
National Collections and why they are important
The Missing Genera project
Some of the genera that don’t already have a home
What is involved in becoming a National Collection holder?
How you can take part
Links:
Missing Genera top 10 for 2020, plus a link to the long list of all genera without a National Plant Collection
How to start a National Plant Collection
Join and support the National Plant Collections
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Support me on Patreon
Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week I’m talking to Dr Lionel Smith, horticulture lecturer and author of the book Tapestry Lawns: Freed from Grass and Full of Flowers. As the title suggests, a tapestry lawn replaces grass with flowering dicots, increasing biodiversity, lowering maintenance needs and seriously upping the aesthetic value of a lawn. Living with a tapestry lawns involves a little bit of self-education around how you treat plants and I start by asking how to overcome one of my own biggest worries about having one…
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Painted Lady Butterfly
About Dr Lionel Smith:
Dr Lionel Smith received his PhD in Biological Sciences from the University of Reading in 2014. He is currently Lecturer in Horticulture at Myerscough College, Lancashire, and lives in St. Anne’s-on-Sea.
What We Discuss:
The history of lawns
What is a Tapestry lawn?
Tapestry lawn maintenance
Height convergence and why it's relevant to Tapestry lawns
Tapestry lawns and wildlife
Tapestry lawns over winter
Sourcing plants for a Tapestry lawns
What does the future hold for Tapestry lawns?
Links:
Tapestry Lawns : Freed from Grass and Full of Flowers by Lionel Smith - Taylor & Francis, 2019
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Support me on Patreon
Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week I’m chatting with Stephanie Hafferty. Amongst other things, Stephanie is a writer, speaker, long-time champion of No-Dig gardening, a food growing expert, a talented chef she shares some brilliant tips with us this week. The knowledge comes thick and fast in this episode, so you may want to grab a pen and paper before you begin listening!
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Asian Hornets
About Stephanie Hafferty:
“I’m an organic no dig kitchen gardener, plant based cook, award winning food & gardening writer, small scale homesteader and mum of three.
I live in Bruton, a small market town in rural Somerset where I grow delicious vegetables, fruit, flowers and herbs in my garden and allotment using no dig methods. I love reading (I studied Literature and Art History at university and worked as an English teacher), crafting, visiting interesting places, exploring the countryside, trying out new recipes and food, making potions and learning new skills.” https://nodighome.com/about/
What We Discuss:
Avoiding bolting crops
The best way to pick leafy crops to prevent bolting
When to sow to stop bolting
Eat crops like rocket and mustard greens when they’ve flowered
Quick fillers for gaps
Gluts of crops
How can we avoid gluts
Preserving food
Deadheading and harvesting
Crops that people might think have gone past their best but are actually still usable
Links:
Stephanie's website nodighome.com
Stephanie Hafferty on Twitter
Stephanie Hafferty on Instagram
The Creative Kitchen by Stephanie Hafferty
No Dig Organic Home & Garden by Charles Dowding & Stephanie Hafferty
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Support me on Patreon
Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week I’m speaking to Andrew Hesser, the man behind Bryan’s Quest, a website and YouTube channel dedicated to exploring the natural world from the perspective of Bryan, a blind person. Andrew is also blind and draws on his personal experiences of gardening, volunteering for the National Trust and getting out and about in nature to produce videos and a library of resources for gardeners, in order to highlight how the natural world can be experienced without sight.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Grasshoppers
About Andrew Hesser:
“I’ve been blind for many years and I’ve enjoyed the challenge of study, work and family life. There have, of course, been difficult times when I’ve struggled to keep positive as I’ve ‘battled’ hard to get information made accessible to me. It is, for example frustrating to find shops full of cookery and gardening books totally inaccessible to me. Then there are the significant challenges of getting around using buses, trains, taxis and on foot, especially in new locations.
It is only in the past five years, or so that I have started to discover new ways of engaging with and enjoying nature and this naturally leads to wanting to learn more about the wonderful wildlife we are all surrounded by. However, much of the natural world is presented in a visual way, with colourful photos in books and amazing television documentaries. In fact it’s easy for all of us to think of nature being predominantly a visual experience, with all those beautiful views across gardens, countryside landscapes and hill-top vistas.
However, I continue to explore the opportunities to appreciate nature using hearing, touch, smell and taste. There is a lot of work to be done to arrange facilities and services to fully exploit the use of all five senses to appreciate the natural world.
Gardening is one readily available pastime that brings me very close to nature. Without sight all of the non-visual senses can be applied to get success in the garden and a feeling of achievement. However, this can only be obtained by developing discipline to be methodical, patient and resourceful to get truly meaningful pleasures from sowing, growing and caring for plants.”
What We Discuss:
Some of the biggest challenges faced by partially sighted or blind gardeners
Navigating around the garden and other outdoor spaces
What we’re missing out on in gardens if we just focus on the visual
Playing to the other senses - including particularly good plants or garden features
Methods and processes that help when working in the garden
Gardening as an activity for those visually impaired people who may not have already tried it
What do visually impaired people need more (or less of) of in public gardens?
Helpful resources
Links:
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
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This week I’m speaking to Professor Doug Tallamy, author of amongst other things, the internationally influential wildlife gardening books Bringing Nature Home and Nature’s Best Hope. Prof. Tallamy calls for an urgent rethink of gardening methods and backs up these calls with an illustrious career's worth of research, facts and figures This interview is a must-listen for wildlife gardeners everywhere!
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Rosemary Leaf Beetle
About Prof. Douglas W. Tallamy:
“Doug Tallamy is a professor in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored 95 research publications and has taught insect related courses for 40 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities. His book Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain Wildlife in Our Gardens was published by Timber Press in 2007 and was awarded the 2008 Silver Medal by the Garden Writers' Association. The Living Landscape, co-authored with Rick Darke, was published in 2014. Doug's new book 'Nature's Best Hope' was published by Timber Press in February 2020. Among his awards are the Garden Club of America Margaret Douglas Medal for Conservation and the Tom Dodd, Jr. Award of Excellence, the 2018 AHS B.Y. Morrison Communication Award and the 2019 Cynthia Westcott Scientific Writing Award.” - http://www.bringingnaturehome.net
What We Discuss:
The problem with thinking that nature is somewhere else, that it’s outside our garden fences
The most compelling reasons to choose natives over non-native plants in gardens
Carrying capacity and why it’s important to humans
The problem with losing species that have evolved as specialist feeders
Are our native trees disease prone and do non-natives provide us with a healthier alternative?
Key research that needs to be done and what people can do in order for us to keep moving in the right direction
Links:
Nature's Best Hope: A New Approach to Conservation that Starts in Your Yard by Douglas W. Tallamy - Timber Press, 2020
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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This week, I’m speaking to Karen Lawton, co-author of the book ‘The Sensory Herbal Handbook’. The book isn’t just about herbalism, it’s about developing a connection to plants and yes, this can include talking to them! ‘The Sensory Herbal Handbook’ is a manual for learning not just to look at plants but to really see them. If you want to take your appreciation of plants to a deeper level, this episode is a good place to start.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Summer Snowflake
About Karen Lawton & Fiona Heckels:
Karen and Fiona are the Seed SistAs, authors of The Sensory Herbal Handbook and founders of herbal education group Sensory Solutions Herbal Evolution. Combining medical training and years of clinical practice with a passion for plants and creativity, their teaching gives people more autonomy in their health by connecting them with their local medicinal plants and the magical nature of the green world.
What We Discuss:
- What is sensory herbalism?
- The benefits of starting a herbal journal
- Some good exercises to do if you would like to start one
- Making a connection with a plant and using intentions when making remedies
- An easily recognised herb that can be harvested now (July) and what could it can be used for
- The importance of communities having medicinal gardens
Links:
Facebook - Sensory Solutions Herbal Evolution
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
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Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week, I’m speaking to esteemed entomologist Dr Ian Bedford about accepting the insects in your garden and learning to accept their vital role in the wider ecosystem. We talk about the how gardens can work alongside public spaces to provide habitats for beleaguered bugs, how we can reconcile growing food with welcoming bugs and whether reports of Insectageddon are justified.
About Dr Ian Bedford:
“I have been fascinated by insects and other invertebrates for most of my life.
Starting out as an Amateur Entomologist, studying and conserving butterflies on the South Downs, I went on to pursue a professional career as a Research Entomologist and ran the Entomology Department at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, until my recent retirement after 42 years. I can now follow my passion for all things Entomological at a more leisurely pace.
Following retirement I am continuing to visit Garden and Horticultural Societies to give talks on various insect - related subjects.
In addition, I'm attending event days for Garden Centres, giving talks and arranging a Plant Pest Clinic for visitors and customers. I'm also invited to talk at a number of Garden Shows around the country.
I also speak on a number of radio shows and currently have the great honour of being the resident 'Go To' Entomologist for BBC Radio Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire. I also record a bug-related story each week for Toby Buckland's Sunday morning show on BBC Radio Devon 'An Entomologist Entertains’.
I've also featured on BBC Gardeners Question Time and appeared on TV shows such as BBC Gardeners' World, Inside Out, Tonight, Horizon, BBC Breakfast, A to Z of TV Gardening, The Great British Garden Revival and even Harry Hill's Alien Fun Capsule!”.
What We Discuss:
- The species that most need our help at the moment
- Some of the best and worst habits us gardeners have that either help or hinder insects
- Plants that are fairly common but do little or nothing to provide a food source or habitat
- Public and private landowners collaborating in order to establish a network of habitats
- The ecosystems of our gardens and our region-specific species
- Are all pesticides a no-no?
- How can we reconcile the need for wilder areas in our gardens and landscapes with the desire to grow food plants?
- Insectageddon - exaggerated or as bad as reported?
Links:
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
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Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week I’m speaking to James Basson of Scape Design. James runs his design practice along with wife Helen out of the south of France and their work is synonymous with a naturalistic style, the use of native plants and often, the implementation of matrix or grid planting to populate large areas of landscape. It was this part of James’s practice that initially sparked my interest and we get round to talking about that towards the end of the interview, but first we cover the type of work undertaken by Scape Design and the gardens James designs for some of the most demanding environments.
About James Basson:
James specialises in dry, sustainable gardens that are inspired by his passion for the natural landscape and is known for using natural materials and local artisans. He has won numerous awards at Garden Shows throughout the world with Gold Medals at the Gardening World Cup in Japan, the Singapore Garden Festival, the Philadelphia Flower Show and the Chelsea Flower Show, where he won best in show in 2017.
He has published papers on a generative approach to Garden Design, and is currently developing a database around matrix form planting design, to help designers and gardeners create ecological planting schemes.
What We Discuss:
- The work of Scape Design
- The design principles that underpin James’s work and how he separates the cultivated from the uncultivated
- The importance of building in resilience to the gardens James designs, both in the hard landscaping and planting
- Problems with invasive plants in naturalistic plantings
- James’s matrix form of planting and this works from an ecological point of view
- His work to develop a database of plants that work together from an ecological point of view
Links:
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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This week’s interview is with Kenya-based organic farming champion Simon Murungi. Simon is an organic farming trainer and founded the organization SOFAFRICA (Spreading Organic Farming in Africa). He is passionate about Agro Ecological Regenerative Agriculture and Rural Development and sees organic farming methods as a sustainable approach that can turn around smallholder agriculture from mere subsistence farming to a more commercial enterprise. We talk about why Simon believes organic agriculture is important for Kenya’s farmers, how it can be implemented and the challenges farmers face.
About Simon Murungi:
Simon is an organic farming trainer who founded the organization SOFAFRICA (Spreading Organic Farming in Africa). He is passionate about Agro Ecological Regenerative Agriculture and Rural Development as a viable and sustainable approach to turn around smallholder agriculture from mere subsistence farming to a more commercial enterprise.
He is a promoter and experienced trainer of Agro-ecological techniques towards social, economic and environmental conservation in Africa. Simon is also a change maker on how food is produced and linking the plate with the farm for a more safe and nutritious food to the ever increasing population. He champions and advocates for Organic Market Enterprises and Agribusinesses through value addition, creating employment in the rural areas and reversing the rural to urban migration.
SOFAfrica provides training to farmers, youths and schools on climate change mitigation strategies, indigenous seed saving, water and soil conservation, organic agriculture, natural resources conservation, rural development, nutrition, animal welfare, human rights especially for the young, elderly, those with disabilities and related issues based on public policy, the best available research science, and effective management.
SOFAfrica has a vision to provide economic opportunity through innovation, helping rural Kenyans to thrive; to promote agriculture production that better nourishes Kenyans/ Africans while also helping feed others throughout the world; and to preserve their Nation's natural resources through conservation, restored forests, improved watersheds, and healthy private working lands in line with the sustainable development goals SDGs. Their strategic goals serve as a roadmap towards helping to ensure they achieve their mission and implement their vision.
What We Discuss:
- The work of SOFAfrica
- The popularity of organic farming in Kenya
- The reasons Simon believes organic farming is important and is the right way to grow food
- Seed sourcing and the importance of using organic seed
- Objections from farmers and growers to organic growing methods
- How Simon spreads the organic farming message
- How Fair Trade initiatives work alongside ecologically sustainable farming practices;
- Whether organic growing reduces the water requirements
- Whether there is a measurable impact on the 'inputs' and the yields
Links:
Spreading Organic Farming in Africa
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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This week I’m speaking to expert ornithologist Ricky Whelan about a talk he gives on the Secret Life of Crows, which has surprised Ricky with its “unexpected but massive interest and attendances”. As a life long lover of crows myself, I thought it would be great to find out a bit more about these birds in general, but also in a garden context. So if you’re intrigued to find out how corvids organise their societies, how they communicate, about their love lives and about the good and not so good things they do in the garden, join us as we put an eye to the key hole and spy on the secret life of crows.
About Ricky Whelan:
Ricky grew up in the Irish midlands surrounded by rural landscapes and bogland and it was here he developed his love for nature. After university Ricky left Ireland and started his conservation career in the UK working for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) as part of their reserve’s teams in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. On return to Ireland Ricky began working for BirdWatch Ireland on the Dublin Bay Birds Project and now leads on Urban Bird projects with a large focus of his work being on Swifts. Outside of work Ricky volunteers with a number of wildlife and conservation projects close to home and has had unexpected but massive interest and attendances with and at his “Secret Life of Crows Talk” which he regularly gives around the country. Ricky lives close to his birthplace with his Claire and their son Art.
What We Discuss:
- Some of the biggest misconceptions surrounding crows
- Their societal structures
- Do crows mate for life?
- How clever are crows?
- Their repertoire of songs and sounds
- How crows recognise humans
- Their main food sources
- Do they cause problems for gardeners or can they be beneficial?
- The most amazing thing Ricky has discovered about crows during his research
Links:
Ricky Whelan on Twitter
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week, I’m talking to journalist and author Val Bourne about her book The Living Jigsaw: the secret life in your garden. Val is a perfect example of a gardener who loves ornamental plants as much as she respects the wildlife in her garden. She walks the walk, produces writing based on her observations and has a palpable love for all the things that share her garden. We talk about how to achieve an outdoor space where there’s room for everything to flourish.
About Val Bourne:
Val Bourne is an award-winning author and journalist, photographer and lecturer. She gardens organically in the Cotswolds, growing a huge range of ornamental and edible plants. Val is a true plantaholic and her work is informed by growing often challenging plants and observing how they interact, not only with each other but with other species that share the garden.
What We Discuss:
The idea behind The Living Jigsaw
Slugs and snails in the garden - how bad are slug pellets? Garlic spray?
Which roses work in an organic garden
Is leaving patches of garden undisturbed a necessity?
Some key wildlife plants
When to cut grassy areas of the garden
Some of the best and worst practices for a wildlife garden
Links:
Val Bourne - The Natural Gardener
The Living Jigsaw: the secret life in your garden by Val Bourne - Kew Publishing, 2017
SLUGS IN GARDENS: THEIR NUMBERS, ACTIVITIES AND DISTRIBUTION. PART 2 - Barnes, H. F. and Weil, J. W. 1945. Slugs in gardens: Their numbers, activities and distribution. Part 2. Journal of Animal Ecology. 14 (2), pp. 71-105.
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week I’m chatting to author of the book I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast, Michael Holland. The book is a botanical and environmental textbook for children that makes learning about even quite complex topics such as plant scientific names seem like fun. I talk to Michael about activities you can do with children using stuff you can find in your cupboard, about some of the most engaging horticultural concepts for kids and how you can make learning entertaining.
About Michael Holland:
Expert ecologist, educator and author, Michael Holland FLS is on a mission to educate and inspire people from all walks of life about the powerful world of plants and the vital role they play in our daily lives. Michael’s first book, I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast is published by Flying Eye Books on April 1 2020. Printed on Munken Arctic Paper and with ink using soya beans and linseeds, it provides an inspiring and accessible introduction to the wonderful world of plants and how they are relevant to our lives. Colourfully illustrated, it is packed with hints, tips, practical ideas and fun-filled activities to get children 7+ and their families informed, engaged and excited about plants.
Michael studied Ecology at Lancaster and Oregon State Universities and is a keen photographer, wildlife gardener and all-round composting nerd! Michael had a 25-year career at the eminent Chelsea Physic Garden in London, latterly as Head of Education for over 17 years. He has taught tens of thousands of people, aged 2 to 92, about the natural world. He is both a Fellow of the Linnean Society of London and of the London Environmental Educators’ Forum (LEEF) - both organisations that work tirelessly ensuring people from all walks of life are connected to nature and natural history. Michael has spoken at a number of global conferences; a highlight being invited to talk at a botanical garden in Japan on subjects including ‘State of the Art Medicinal Plants’, ‘Container Gardening’, ‘London’s Parks & Gardens’ and ‘Five Plants that Changed the World’.
Michael has delivered a herb-planting master class for the team at Jo Malone London for their Herb Garden perfumes cologne collection, and in 2003, developed the innovative and award-winning Shelf Life project, labelled by Head of Interpretation, Sharon Willoughby at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, as “the most effective piece of plant-based interpretation.”
What We Discuss:
- Michael’s background in horticulture
- The importance of the book having roots in science and botany as well as being fun
- Some of the best experiments kids can do with plants
- Michael’s favourite fact to reel a child in to horticulture
- The Shelf Life project
- Useful online resources
Links:
www.growingunderstandings.co.uk
I Ate Sunshine for Breakfast by Michael Holland and Phillip Giordano - Flying Eye Books, 2020
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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This episode is the fourth and final part of the Design Experts series and this week’s guest is New Zealand-based garden designer Xanthe White who runs Xanthe White Design which has offices in Auckland and Wellington. As with the other episodes in the design experts series, we talk about the practicalities of running a design practice in the region, what the client design relationship looks like and the evolving face of garden design. The interview starts with me asking Xanthe about the beliefs underpinning her practice.
This series has very kindly been sponsored by the London College of Garden Design.
About Xanthe White:
Xanthe is one of New Zealand’s top landscape designers. Her studio works with clients to design gardens that work for them on a personal level, creating gardeners as well as gardens. Her work is fused throughout with concerns for sustainability, ecosystems and the cultural significance of the spaces she builds. She has won medals at the 2006 and 2011 RHS Chelsea Flower Shows and has also won top awards at the Ellerslie International Flower Show and the Gardening World Cup in Japan.
What We Discuss:
- The ethos behind Xanthe White Design
- What would Xanthe’s ideal client looks like
- Some of the biggest challenges Xanthe faced as a garden designer in New Zealand
- Xanthe’s favourite part of the design process
- Who or what inspires Xanthe right now
- How Xanthe sees the discipline of garden design evolving over the coming decades
Links:
With thanks to the episode sponsor, the London College of Garden Design.
Tel +44 (0) 1483 762955
Email info@lcgd.org.uk
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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This is an interview I did with garden designer and author of the book Scent Magic, Isabel Bannerman. You will deduce from some of the comments in the episode that it was recorded in autumn last year and for one reason or another, I’ve sat on it all that time, never quite sure when to release it. Of course, there are scents in the garden all year round, but when you’re heading towards winter and the scent of a sweet pea flower seems a lifetime away, somehow I couldn’t quite get together the enthusiasm for the subject matter that I felt this episode deserved, especially as scents are such an important thing to me. If you read the book, you will realise these ethereal, ephemeral things make up an integral part of our very being and yet we don’t have a consensus on a vocabulary to even begin to describe them. As the natural world bursts into green and flower around us, stick your nose in the air and have a good sniff.
About Isabel Bannerman:
Alongside Julian Bannerman, Isabel heads up a garden design practice. Together, the couple have designed gardens for HRH The Prince of Wales, clients from the worlds of film and fashion and have won gold medals at RHS Chelsea for their work. Isabel is also an accomplished photographer with 4 solo shows under her belt and is the author of two books, 'Scent Magic’ and ‘Landscape of Dreams’ (2016).
What We Discuss:
- The importance of scent to Isabel’s design work. Designing scentscapes.
- Dreaming scents; why don’t we?
- Air pollution and its affect on the way scent carries
- Unexpected or overlooked scents in the garden
- How aspect affects the way scent travels
- The faecal smell that sometimes underscores the top notes of flowers
- Some of Isabel’s favourite scent combinations
- Combinations that don’t work together
Links:
Scent Magic by Isabel Bannerman - Pimpernel Press, 2019
Isabel & Julian Bannerman Garden Design
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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I’m speaking to Peter Marren, author of Chasing the Ghost: My Search for all the Wild Flowers of Britain. Peter travelled the length and breadth of Britain to track down those native species he’d never seen growing in the wild. Like all the best hero’s journeys, the path must be littered with challenges, disappointments, interesting characters, in this case both plants and people and the drama of the journey travelled surpasses the quest. This episode is perfect for those of us lucky enough to still have access to nature and my hope is that by the end of it at least one or two of you will have a new hobby/obsession!
About Peter Marren:
Peter Marren is an all-rounder naturalist, nature writer and conservationist. Peter is the author of many books, including volumes on nature conservation, mushrooms and butterflies. His writing has appeared in every issue of British Wildlife since 1990, where he writes a satirical column ‘Twitcher in the Swamp’.
What We Discuss:
- The quest embarked upon in Chasing the Ghost
- How many species of native wildflower are there in the British Isles? How many did Peter need to see in order to see the ‘full set’?
- How the book is as much about the people Peter met along the way as it is about plants
- Peter's best/most triumphant find
- Of all the plants Peter saw, which is the most endangered, in his opinion?
- His most dangerous expedition
- Plant twitching as a hobby
- Some of the most interesting common names
- How could a person embark upon their own plant hunting quest? Where would be a good place to get started?
Links:
Chasing the Ghost: My Search for all the Wild Flowers of Britain - Peter Marren Vintage Publishing, 2019
Harrap’s Wild Flowers by Simon Harrap - Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018
Wild Flowers of Britain and Ireland by Marjorie Blamey, Richard Fitter, Alastair H. Flitter - Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013
The New Concise British Flora by Rev. W Keble Martin - Sphere Books Ltd, 1972
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Patreon Link
Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week I’m talking to anarchist organiser, agroecologist and grassroots herbalist, Nicole Rose. Nicole runs the Solidarity Apothecary, an organisation supporting mainly prisoners and refugees either by supplying herbal remedies or by facilitating the growing and making of these. We talk about Nicole’s work to help prisoners, refugees and other facing state repression by helping them with their physical and mental wellbeing through a connection to nature.
About Nicole Rose:
“I’m undertaking a four-year clinical training with The Plant Medicine School in Ireland to develop my skills as a practitioner. This site shares my learning journey as well as the work of my project, the Solidarity Apothecary.
Plants and social struggle have always been inseparable to me. I learnt how to grow food on a 3.5 year prison sentence for a campaign to close down Europe’s largest animal testing company. Inside, it was the plants cracking the concrete that kept me going. On release, I have organised with many collectives and campaigns, from helping organise the first Radical Herbalism Gathering in the UK to stopping fracking in Somerset. I now mostly engage with campaigns against prison expansion and the prison industrial complex, as well as supporting prisoners and people experiencing repression.
As a massive and unashamed plant geek, my main field has been agroecology and food autonomy.
I started Empty Cages Design in 2011 to offer design consultancy services and community education in liberatory forms of land use, including teaching an annual Vegan Permaculture Design Course. In 2013, I co-founded Feed Avalon, a workers cooperative that works for socially-just and ecologically sound food production in Glastonbury, Street and surrounding villages. We have community gardens, a kitchen, mushroom farm and all sorts of projects! I complimented this grassroots work with studying for a Diploma in Applied Permaculture Design, as well as a BSc Integrative Ecosocial Design and MSc Applied Agroecology with Gaia University." - https://solidarityapothecary.org/about-nicole/
What We Discuss:
The Solidarity Apothecary and what sparked Nicole to start the project
Who benefits from the herbal remedies Nicole produces? What are some of the most popular remedies?
What are the benefits to prisoners of connecting with nature? How much opportunity do they have to engage with the natural world and healing plants whilst they are in prison?
How the Solidarity Apothecary benefits people outside the prison system
The idea of Queer Ecology
How inaccessible horticulture, ecology and permaculture can seem to LGBTQ+ people. What can be done about this.
Links:
Email Nicole Rose info@solidarityapothecary.org
The Prisoner’s Herbal by Nicole Rose
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
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Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week I’m speaking to Tomos Jones. Tomos is a PhD student at the University of Reading where he’s currently researching invasive plants. There are 17000 plant species from all over the world currently residing in our gardens here in the UK. A small percentage of these manage to jump the garden fence and survive in the wild and a smaller percentage still become a problem. But although it’s a small percentage that become invasive, anyone who’s done battle with Japanese Knotweed knows they can be a huge problem. Tomos is working to predict which plants may become a problem in the future, using a range of forecasting techniques, coupled with help from gardeners.
This episode is published in support of another of our independent nurseries, Ivy Hatch Plants, who continue to deliver fantastic plants to customers at this time. Please support them! www.ivyhatchplantsupplies.co.uk
About Tomos Jones:
Tomos Jones is a NERC SCENARIO PhD student at the University of Reading and a passionate gardener. His research focuses on the 17,000 plant species - introduced from all over the world - which are found in our gardens. A small number of these ornamental plants have become invasive, having a detrimental impact on native biodiversity. Climate change could provide opportunities for more plants to become a problem. Tomos' challenge is to identify which plants might become our future invaders. Gardeners are crucial to his approach to this challenge; in both their choice of plants to grow and in understanding how ornamental plants can escape gardens and potentially become invasive.
Before starting his PhD, Tomos worked at Treborth Botanic garden in N. Wales. Tomos also completed a British Council internship at Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden in Yunnan, China, where he focused on in situ orchid conservation. These are only two of many fantastic gardens he has visited around the world giving him an appreciation of the long history of global horticultural trade, and the risk ornamental plants can pose to native biodiversity.
What We Discuss:
- What is a native plant and what is a non-native?
- How many new species of plant do we introduce to the UK each year and of those, how many ‘jump the garden fence’ and become established in the wild? Of those, how many cause an identifiable problem and become invasive?
- The definition of an invasive plant
- Do non-native plants cause problems by occupying a niche that could otherwise be taken up by a native plant?
- Non-native plants appear to perform OK in terms of providing nectar and pollen sources, but how do they compare to native plants as host plants?
- Should there be tighter controls on the importation of plants into the UK?
- Ornamental plants which might naturalise in the future and why
- Which ornamental plants have invasive potential, now and under future climate scenarios?
- Can gardeners be effective in identifying invasive potential early in the invasion process?
- Will the way we garden will change in the future as a result of threats to our ecosystems, eg less plants imported, a smaller range available, the banning of certain species, etc?
Links:
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
Patreon Link - Help me keep the podcast free & independent!
Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week I’m speaking to butterfly expert Peter Eeles. If you’re interested in encouraging more butterflies into your garden and you’d like to know what plants to grow to encourage them, we discuss how you can be a better gardener for butterflies and it doesn’t stop at growing some buddleia! Peter is the author of the book Life Cycles of British & Irish Butterflies. The book is THE definitive guide to UK butterflies and documents the different life stages from adults down to the smallest eggs.
This episode is supporting Independent UK Nursery Johnson’s Sweet Peas.
What We Discuss:
- How many British butterfly species are there? How many life stages are documented in the book?
- What are the chances of us recreating butterfly habitats in our gardens?
- What are some of the most important host or nectar plants we can include in our gardens?
- Are butterflies fussy about their food plants? Are some plants better than others?
- Do any of our butterflies overwinter in the UK or are they all migratory?
- Do we have any invasive species that force others out?
- Which species are most able to cope with a loss in habitat? Will we see a proliferation of one or two successful species that are more adaptable?
- The key period we should avoid cutting back foliage in our gardens/meadows/road verges
Links:
Life Cycles of British & Irish Butterflies - Peter Eeles, NatureBureau 2019
Peter Eeles on Twitter @petereeles
Johnson’s Sweet Peas on Twitter @JohnsonsSweetPs
Johnson’s on Instagram @johnsonssweetpeas
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
Help me keep the podcast free & independent by subscribing at Patreon!
Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week I’m speaking to Nicola Mehdi who’s been making and using natural dyes using the contents of her own and other people’s gardens and over the years through trial and error, she’s gained a huge amount of knowledge that she’s happy to share. If you’re stuck indoors with little to do, making dyes is a fantastic pastime that you should be able to do using just the contents of your garden or store cupboard. This episode is for anyone looking to learn a new skill or keep children entertained and it will hopefully give you enough pointers to go off and explore natural dyes for yourself. It’s a slightly longer episode than usual, so sit back and like a scoured piece of fabric, soak up the dye of Nicola’s knowledge.
This episode I’m delighted to support independent nursery Ashwood Nurseries, who are still open for mail order and have a stunning range of Lewisias and Primula auriculas looking their best right now. Plus, they have an impressive range of shrubs, trees, conifers, fruit, roses, climbing plants, herbaceous perennials, alpines, heathers, patio and indoor plants. Visit www.ashwoodnurseries.com to browse their range and for cultural information on the plants they grow.
What We Discuss:
- How long it takes to make a dye
- Some common things you might find in your garden that you could use
- General dyeing processes
- Different techniques involved in applying the dye to the fabric
- Which fabrics you can dye
- Relatively quick and easy projects you can try with children
- Where you can find out more about making and using natural dyes
Links:
Jean Dean - Wild Colour : How to Make and Use Natural Dyes, Octopus Publishing Group, 2018
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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This week’s guest is writer Julian Hoffman and we’re talking about his book Irreplaceable. I read the book a few months back and as you might expect from reading the blurb, it’s about those irreplaceable wild environments and the species we’re in danger of losing. But it’s also about the people who are so deeply connected to the landscapes and the animals they’re battling to save. Julian speaks about why it’s imperative that we stop the destruction of precious landscapes, how we can help at the individual level and why it’s vital to maintain the connection between people and place.
About Julian Hoffman:
Julian is a writer living in the northwest of Greece, next to the Prespa Lakes. This area is home to a particularly diverse range of people, wildflowers, animals and habitats, making it a rich environment in which to learn about the connections between people the natural world. Julian’s previous book, ‘The Small Heart of Things: Being at Home in a Beckoning World’; won the 2012 AWP Series for Creative Nonfiction. His fiction and nonfiction work has been widely published; you can find some links below and more on his website.
What We Discuss:
- What are we really losing when we lose wild places?
- If future generations don’t experience as much biodiversity or wild spaces as we do, does that matter? Will they know what they’re missing if they never have it?
- Does it matter if we lose established habitats, such as ancient woodland?
- What’s the problem with biodiversity off-setting?
- How can we reconcile a desire to protect wild spaces with our need to expand, be better/faster/richer?
- Who’s to say the changes we make to the landscape today won’t contribute to positive developments in the future?
- Restoration of landscapes versus preservation
- How can people learn to love landscapes that may not be so easily read or their beauty not quite as apparent?
- What can we do to help protect threatened landscapes, as individuals?
Links:
Julian’s Blog - Notes from Near and Far
Irreplaceable : The fight to save our wild places by Julian Hoffman - Penguin Books, 2019
The Small Heart of Things: Being at Home in a Beckoning World by Julian Hoffman - Georgia Press, 2014
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
Patreon Link - Help me keep the podcast free & independent!
Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week I’m talking to Aaron Bertelsen about his new book ‘Grow Fruit & Vegetables in Pots’. Aaron is the resident kitchen gardener at Great Dixter but as with many who work there, he lives and breathes the Great Dixter way of life and works tirelessly to support the house and garden. You may find him harvesting produce in the kitchen garden, serving lunch to guests and students, hosting horticultural royalty in the house or travelling the world to promote Great Dixter.
‘Grow Fruit & Vegetables in Pots’ is both a practical guide to growing food in containers and a recipe book, providing inspiration for what to do with the abundance of produce you’ll have once you’ve mastered the art. Aaron gives tips on the best fruit for containers, how to avoid flea beetle, what to feed your crops, cooking with lettuce, plus loads of other invaluable advice for those growing their own produce in containers.
About Aaron Bertelsen:
“Aaron studied Social Anthropology at the University of Otago before coming to England in 1996 to volunteer in the garden at Great Dixter. He subsequently studied for a Diploma in Horticulture at Kew Gardens, and spent two years at Jerusalem Botanical Gardens in Israel, where he is still a trustee. Aaron returned to Great Dixter in 2005 and became the vegetable gardener and cook in 2007. Aaron is regularly invited to speak about gardening at events worldwide. His first book The Great Dixter Cookbook is published by Phaidon and has received international acclaim since its publication in March 2017.” - www.greatdixter.co.uk
What We Discuss:
- What crops you can grow in containers
- What crops you can’t
- The best salad leaf crops
- Feeding crops in containers
- The best fruit for containers
- Growing for aesthetics as well as production
- Aaron’s top 3 crops (which turned into 4!)
Links:
Aaron’s Blog https://dixtervegetablegarden.wordpress.com
Grow Fruit & Vegetables in Pots by Aaron Bertelsen - Phaidon, 2020
The Great Dixter Cookbook by Aaron Bertelsen - Phaidon, 2017
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
Patreon Link - Help me keep the podcast free & independent!
Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This week I’m speaking to Jeff Lowenfels, author of the ‘Teaming With’ series of books, specifically about the latest volume in the series ‘Teaming With Fungi: The Organic Grower’s Guide to Mycorrhizae’. Jeff writes the longest running gardening column in the US, is a former president of the Garden Writers of America and was inducted into the GWA Hall of Fame in 2005. He lectures on organic gardening, has presented a gardening show on television and is the founder of a programme that has resulted in millions pounds of garden produce being donated to the hungry. And gardening is just his side gig.
I start by asking Jeff what inspired him to write his series of books, which deal with some in-depth scientific concepts around plant growth and nutrition, and also to explain what mycorrhizal fungi actually is.
About Jeff Lowenfels:
Jeff Lowenfels is the author of the ‘Teaming With’ series of books; ‘Teaming With Microbes: The Organic Gardener’s Guide To The Soil Food Web’, ‘Teaming With Nutrients: The Organic Gardener’s Guide to Optimizing Plant Nutrition’ and ‘Teaming With Fungi: The Organic Grower’s Guide to Mycorrhizae’.
Jeff writes the longest running gardening column in the US, is a former president of the Garden Writers of America and was inducted into the GWA Hall of Fame in 2005. He lectures on organic gardening and hosted Alaska’s most popular gardening show “Alaska Gardens with Jeff Lowenfels”. He also hosted a weekly radio show.
He is the founder of a national programme that has resulted in millions pounds of garden produce being donated to the hungry. “Plant A Row For The Hungry” runs across all 50 US states and in Canada and is something Jeff is deeply passionate about.
In his spare time, Jeff is a lawyer.
What We Discuss:
- What is mycorrhizal fungi?
- How does it interact with plant roots and how does it benefit the plant?
- How does the relationship benefit the fungi?
- Plants that don’t form symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi
- How can we encourage mycorrhizal fungi?
- Do different species of plant need different types of mycorrhizal fungi? Is this particularly important in the case of trees?
- If we’re buying a proprietary product, how can we be sure it’s appropriate for the plants we’re planting, will contain enough spores and that these will be viable?
- How can we protect the mycorrhizal fungi that already exist in our soils?
Links:
Jeff on Twitter @gardenerjeff
Teaming with Nutrients by Jeff Lowenfels - Timber Press, 2003
Teaming with Microbes: The Organic Gardener's Guide to the Soil Food Web by Jeff Lowenfels, Wayne Lewis - Timber Press, 2010
Teaming with Fungi by Jeff Lowenfels - Timber Press, 2017
DIY Autoflowering Cannabis : An Easy Way to Grow Your Own by Jeff Lowenfels - New Society Publishers, 2019
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
Patreon - Help me keep the podcast free & independent!
Or donate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
Hello and welcome to this episode of the podcast. In this episode, I’m talking to ecologist and woodland owner Simon Leadbeater. We talk specifically about whether trees are sacred; spoiler alert, Simon thinks they are and he explains eloquently and convincingly why. He touches on books by authors you may well have already read; The Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben and Thus Spoke the Plant by Monica Gagliano. However, if you believe trees are sacred and sentient, a problem arises, namely do you have any right to move them, to prune them or even to move amongst them. And it’s questions like these that we touch on in the episode.
About Simon Leadbeater:
Simon has a background in local government and the third sector. He and his wife bought Rector’s Wood in 1999 and have lived there ever since. Simon has published work around the themes or ecology, rewinding and forestry. In his own words, Simon sums up his feelings on woodlands and the right to roam therein;
“I think my essential philosophy is that we lack empathy for nature and particularly her animals, and we no longer venerate nature, in particular we no longer consider trees (and other plants) as sacred. If you have empathy, and wish to act as animals’ proxy, then obviously you will give them space; if you consider trees sacred, then you will wish to look after them with reverent care. The latter would include behaving in a woodland as if you were in a temple or church – our behaviour would be appropriate for such sacred settings.”
What We Discuss:
- Simon’s beliefs surrounding the sacredness of trees.
- What are the historical roots of considering trees to be sacred? How/why have we moved away from this idea?
- What makes Simon believe trees are sentient? How does this sentience manifest itself in the everyday lives of trees?
- What is open access to nature? Why might it be problematic?
- How do humans rediscover their connection with forests and woodlands?
- Why is important to consider the feelings of the trees themselves?
Links:
Simon’s Work:
Leadbeater, S.R.B. (2019), ‘Ancient Roots to Untruths; Unlearning the past and seeing the world anew,’ Quarterly Journal of Forestry,’ January 2019 Vol 113 No.1
Leadbeater S (2019) ‘In defence of tears,’ The Ecological Citizen 3(Suppl A): 101–3
Leadbeater, S.R.B., (2018) ‘Meat: the Alpha and Omega of Extinction,’ ECOS, 39(3)
Books Simon mentions in the interview:
Wohlleben, P., (2016) The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate, Discoveries from a Secret World (2016), Greystone Books
Gagliano, M., (2018) Thus Spoke the Plant: A Remarkable Journey of Groundbreaking Scientific Discoveries and Personal Encounters with Plants, North Atlantic Books: Berkeley, California
Mathew Hall (2011), Plants as Persons: a Philosophical Botany, State University of New York Press
The Imagination of Plants: A Book of Botanical Mythology (out this year, not yet read – but probably excellent)
Safina, C., (2015), Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel, Henry Holt and Co.
Taylor, B., (2010), Dark Green Religion: Nature Spirituality and the Planetary Future, University of California Press
Powers, R., (2018) The Overstory, William Heinemann: London
Hill, J., Butterfly, (2000) The Legacy of Luna: the story of a tree, a woman, and the struggle to save the redwoods, HarperCollins Publishers Inc
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
Patreon Link Help me keep the podcast free & independent!
Or onate as much or as little as you like at GoFundMe
This episode I’m speaking to Victoria Leedham, Co-Curator and Gallery Manager of the Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden.
I visited the garden earlier this month and even in winter garb, it was beautiful, set as it is in ancient woodland with streams running through it that pour down from Leith Hill in Surrey. The sculptures in the garden are diverse in character and look stunning within the location, each one fitting harmoniously into the backdrop of planting and landscape. Victoria is responsible for sourcing and placing sculpture in the garden, alongside owner garden designer Anthony Paul. We spoke about Victoria’s work, about the sculpture garden and also how you can select and place sculptures in your own garden.
This episode I’m speaking to Victoria Leedham, Co-Curator and Gallery Manager of the Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden. I visited the garden earlier this month and even in winter garb, it was beautiful, set as it is in ancient woodland with streams running through it that pour down from Leith Hill in Surrey. The sculptures in the garden are diverse in character and look stunning within the location, each one fitting harmoniously into the backdrop of planting and landscape. Victoria is responsible for sourcing and placing sculpture in the garden, alongside owner garden designer Anthony Paul. We spoke about Victoria’s work, about the sculpture garden and also how you can select and place sculptures in your own garden.
About the Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden:
“The Sculpture Garden was the brainchild of owner and original curator Hannah Peschar 36 years ago, and has grown from a handful of sculptures to over 200 pieces exhibited every summer. Artists come from across Britain and Europe to exhibit their work in these breathtaking surroundings, allowing their sculptures to be seen in a whole new way.
The Garden used to be part of a large estate, laid out between 1915 and 1920. Later it was split up and sold in several lots; leaving the 15th Century, grade 2 listed cottage with ten acres of land including a large water and rock garden. The garden fell rapidly into decline after the estate was sold. Over the past 40 years the garden has been redesigned and replanted by award-winning landscape designer Anthony Paul, who has introduced many large-leaved plants in bold groups, tall grasses and created 3 new ponds.
The range of works selected by the curators is wide with styles varying from figurative to highly abstract, innovatively using contemporary metals, wire, glass, ceramics and plastics as well as the more traditional stone, wood and bronze. Each sculpture is placed in a carefully considered and meaningful relationship with the other featured works within the garden. The result is an inspired combination of peaceful, enclosed harmony and dramatic, surprise vistas in an ever-changing environment.
Throughout the 37 year lifetime of the Garden, the overriding theme is the powerful relationship between art and nature. Neither one outshines the other: every piece is placed in harmony with its surrounding to create an amazing synergy within the environment.” - http://www.hannahpescharsculpture.com/about
What We Discuss:
- The ethos behind the Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden
- Considerations around placing sculpture in the garden, including planting and lighting
- A discussion of the different materials used and their pros and cons
- Choosing sculpture for and placing it in your own garden
Links:
Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden www.hannahpescharsculpture.com
The Hannah Peschar Sculpture Garden
Black & White Cottage, Standon Lane, Ockley, Dorking, Surrey, RH5 5QR
Telephone: (+44) (0) 1306 627 269
Email: hannahpescharsculpture@gmail.com
Re-opens for the year from 3rd April 2020
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
GoFundMe gf.me/u/w7sy4c
Hello and welcome to this episode of the podcast. This episode is the hotly anticipated Part 3 of the Design Experts series and this week’s guest is South African garden designer Leon Kluge who runs a design practice in Cape Town. I spoke to Leon about his work and the particular set of challenges he faces in South Africa. And let’s just say, you might just think twice the next time you moan about aphids…Leon goes out of his way to source and propagate plants from his local region and he discusses some of the amazing landscapes that surround the area. He also talks about when and where to go if you’re a plant lover and you’re planning a visit to South Africa.
This series has very kindly been sponsored by the London College of Garden Design.
About Leon Kluge:
“Leon kluge was brought up in the Lowveld botanical gardens,From an early age, Leon has nurtured a great affinity for plants; his grandfather was the curator of the Betty’s Bay Botanical Garden and the Lowveld National Botanical Garden, while his mother owns and runs a renowned wholesale nursery in Nelspruit.
Leon has been invited to create his unique landscapes throughout the world: being the only landscape designer from Africa that has ever won the Gardening World Cup held in Nagasaki Japan. He has also been awarded best designer at the biggest Garden design event on earth held in the USA, The Philadelphia flower show. Leon is also a multiple Gold award winner at the prestigious Chelsea flower show held in London-UK. He has also been the first designer from Africa to win Gold at the biggest design show in Asia, The Singapore Garden Festival and also the New Zealand International flower show. Some of Leon’s Clients include gardens for Disney ,The United Nations, Hollywood celebrities, and for governments all over the world. Leon also represents Cape Town and Kirstenbosch at the Chelsea flower show yearly. Leon Kluge has become synonymous with modern contemporary landscaping and garden design.” - www.leonkluge.com/about/
What We Discuss:
- The ethos behind Leon Kluge Design
- Influences/ Inspiration
- Options for those who wish to train as garden designers in South Africa
- The type of projects Leon works on, typical clients
- The climate in and around Cape Town, the environmental challenges faced
- The importance of gardens and horticulture in South Africa The challenges gardeners face
- Sourcing plants, the use of native plants
- The best time for plant lovers to visit South Africa
Links:
Leon Kluge Design www.leonkluge.com
Leon Kluge on Instagram @leonkluge
With thanks to the episode sponsor, the London College of Garden Design.
Tel +44 (0) 1483 762955
Email info@lcgd.org.uk
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram @rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at Patreon
Or GoFundMe
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. Louise set up a horticultural programme at the school 11 years ago, initially in a voluntary capacity. The programme became such a success she’s now employed by the school and works 4 days a week to deliver what has become a vital part of the curriculum. 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. The MiniHorts have been in the media quite a bit, including featuring in an episode of Gardeners’ World in 2017, so they’re seasoned pros at this sort of thing! If you don't have children or children of school age, I think you'll still find this episode interesting and inspiring, it's well worth a listen.
About Louise, Rebecca and Kieran:
Rebecca and Kieran are two MiniHorts; year 6 pupils who are also in the Wicor after school gardening group.
Louise’s history at Wicor is having worked from volunteer 11 years ago to employed horticulturalist 8 years ago. Her work has grown from a few hours a week to 4 days. She also works as a horticultural consultant alongside her work at the school.
After the school gardens appeared on Gardeners' World, Louise was approached to work for the BBC on the Editorial Review Board for the Gardeners’ World magazine. In January's clippings, she was asked to comment on The Wildlife Trust's recent survey on school gardening, from an angle that’s mentioned in the episode; what is stopping more schools gardening?
What We Discuss:
- What are the MiniHorts?
- Objections to school gardens; they’re hard work, rely on volunteers and run to rack and ruin whilst pupils are on holiday. How can you overcome these challenges?
- Is horticulture on the curriculum in UK schools? Can more be done to promote horticulture in schools?
- What are the key factors needed to implement a successful school garden? Parent/community buy-in? Key stakeholder support? External funding?
- What support is available to people who may be interested in setting up a similar scheme?
- Has there been an increase in interest in horticultural careers amongst the children who’ve participated in the MiniHorts programme?
- Evidence of measurable positive impacts as a result of involvement in horticulture
- Particularly uplifting/poignant/heart-warming experiences as a result of being involved in MiniHorts
Links:
Wicor Primary School
Hatherley Cres, Portchester, Fareham PO16 9DL
01329 237412
Video of the Wicor School Garden at the 2017 RHS Chelsea Flower Show
MiniHorts on Twitter @minihorts
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like - Patreon
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. For a long time, forest gardening was one of those terms I’d heard but I’m not sure I fully understood the principles behind it, partly because the term always struck me as a bit if a misnomer. Essentially, it’s a common-sense and ecologically respectful way of organising a productive garden. Jake is here to explain exactly what it entails and how you can apply the principles in your own garden.
About Jake Rayson:
Jake moved to a West Wales farmhouse in 2015 to pursue his vocation as a forest gardener. In a time of climate emergency, he passionately believes that a productive garden can be sustainable, wildlife-friendly *and* ornamental. He divides his time between forest garden design and teaching, the relentless planting of 3 acres of hillside and his relentless young family.
What We Discuss:
- What is forest gardening?
- How much space do you need to practice it? Can anyone do it?
- What are some common things people struggle with when they’re starting out growing this way or are establishing their first forest garden? What are your top tips for success?
- Is it possible to be self-sufficient?
- Top performing plants in a forest garden
- How long does it take to establish a successful patch from scratch? Does it require a lot by way of maintenance?
- Essential features in a forest garden
- Where to find out more about forest gardening
Links:
email hello@forestgarden.wales
Twitter @ForestGdnWales
Facebook @ForestGardenWales
Free mini-course 'Make a Forest Garden Plan'
Further Reading
Creating a Forest Garden by Martin Crawford
Plants For A Future, online database of useful plants
RHS Plant Finder (with native filter)
Database of Insects and their Food
Backyard Larder and Incredible Vegetables for perennial vegetables
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
GoFundMe gf.me/u/w7sy4c
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. Marianne was a biologist and botanical artist who journeyed across the world during the Victorian era, documenting the flora and fauna of the countries throughout which she travelled. Marianne explored and painted in every continent except Antartica and was responsible for documenting landscapes that were rapidly changing and disappearing in the wake of a developing world.
The second part of the 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. Merian also travelled the globe, meticulously observing and documenting insects and plants. In fact, she was the first to document caterpillar metamorphosis in an age where her contemporaries believed they came about by “spontaneous generation”!
Links:
Teri Sayers-Cooper www.creativeforce.org.uk
The Marianne North Gallery - Royal Botanic Gardens Kew
Marianne North : The Kew Collection - RBG Kew, 2018
Recollections of a Happy Life: Being the Autobiography of Marianne North
Hidden women of history: Maria Sibylla Merian, 17th-century entomologist and scientific adventurer - Dr Tanya Latty, The Conversation, February 20 2019
The Woman Who Made Science Beautiful - Andrea Wulf, The Atlantic, January 19 2016.
Video of a talk given at the Linnean Society - A Curious Performance: Maria Sibylla Merian and the Art of Natural History by Kate Heard, Senior Curator of Prints and Drawings at Royal Collection Trust
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
Over the past four or so years, experts from many fields have come together to record the biodiversity at Great Dixter 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.
About Fergus Garrett:
Fergus trained in horticulture at Wye College. He worked for Rosemary Alexander and for Beth Chatto before becoming Head Gardener at Great Dixter in 1992. Fergus worked closely with Christopher Lloyd until Christopher’s death in 2006. Since then he has become Chief Executive of the Great Dixter Charitable Trust. Fergus continues to work full-time in the garden alongside a dynamic team of gardeners and students. He also writes for many publications and lectures extensively across the world. In 2019, he was awarded the RHS Victoria Medal of Honour.
What we talk about:
- The decision to commission the Biodiversity Audit of Great Dixter
- The findings of the audit
- Biodiversity hotspots
- How the ornamental areas compare to wilder areas such as the meadows and woodland
- Thoughts about how the research that’s underway at Great Dixter can be developed and how it can beneficially inform the way we all garden
- The importance of preserving historic houses and gardens from a biodiversity perspective
Links:
Great Dixter House & Gardens www.greatdixter.co.uk
Great Dixter Biodiversity Report
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of the podcast. This week I’m speaking to Richard Stubbs who currently works as the Trade Manager at David Austin but who’s worked in pretty much every department there, including as the Head Gardener of the 2 acre show garden. 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.
About Richard Stubbs:
“My interest in gardening stretches back to my childhood as my dad was very knowledgeable and worked in the trade for a number of years after the War.
My original intention was to go to college when I left school but due to the poor economy at the time I found myself working for a bank !!!
After nearly 15 years I found myself out of work and decided a change of career was the right way to go. As I lived in the village of Albrighton the local unemployment office suggested I went to see David Austin Roses to see if they would consider me under a special Government Scheme at the time.
After a quick interview with Michael Marriott the then Nursery Manager I was taken on, on a temporary basis. My first job was to walk through a field full of 900,000 new plants picking up the tops of the rootstocks that had been chopped off to allow the actual varieties to grow on.
I loved the place from day one and still do to this day, it’s a family business and everyone who work there is treated very much as members of their family.
I was very keen to learn and obtained a copy of Mr Austin’s first book ‘The Heritage of the Rose’ which I found fascinating, and my passion for roses quickly grew. Over the years I have worked in almost all the departments, the breeding section, producing 100’s of thousands of seedlings each year and helping them test possible new varieties for various attributes, the production department, growing the roses, lifting them from the fields and packing them up to send to our customers, and for many years the head gardener of the 2 acre show garden. The garden was my passion and I became almost obsessive about it trying to make sure it was kept to a very high standard (not easy with only one person to look after nearly 5000 roses of all different shapes and sizes). I loved working and listening to Mr Austin on a daily basis and the memories of this time will live for ever.
After a short break to look after people’s gardens in the area I started back at DAR but this time in the office, passing on my knowledge to our customers and processing orders. That was nearly 15 years ago now and I have had various positions in the offices including office manager. My main role now is to look after all our trade customers (apart from Garden Centres), so Local Councils, National Trust, large public estates, garden designers and landscapers. I am also responsible for staff technical training and one of my favourite jobs is designing rose gardens for either private or trade customers. These can range from a simple small border right up to very large park projects. Mostly it is just advising on what roses to plant where but sometimes you are given a completely blank canvas to work on and I always think it is a wonderful job to be able to create a beautiful rose garden for people to enjoy over many years from a blank space. I also visit gardens in the UK and abroad to advise and my favourite rose garden of all is a garden we created 10 years ago in Assisi Italy and I hold pruning courses there every February.
I am very, very passionate about roses and love to share this passion with whoever is willing to listen !!! This is one of the main reason I started The Magnificent Rose group on Facebook along with my wife so people with the same passion could share their pictures and their knowledge with likeminded people all over the world. I also have my own photography page RICMAY PHOTOGRAPHY as I am a keen amateur and love taking flowers and landscapes with my DSLR.”
What we talk about:
- A brief overview of the various types of roses we might find in our gardens
- Roses that don’t need pruning
- When to prune
- The key tenets of rose pruning aka the 3 D’s.
- Different types of pruning for different types of roses
- What can go wrong?
- What would happen if you didn’t prune your rose?
- Pruning hygiene and good practice
- Common mistakes
Links:
David Austin Roses www.davidaustinroses.co.uk
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
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 responsibility. I began by asking Saul just how much of a problem forest fires are becoming across the globe.
About Saul Elbein:
Saul is a freelance journalist who writes non-fiction features for outlets such as The New York Times Magazine, the National Geographic and one that some listeners may be fans of, the radio program and podcast, This American Life. He writes articles about the environment and the complex and often tense relationship between people and the land.
“Above all, my work is guided by one idea: the world is changing for all of us alike. Vast storm fronts sweep across it, bending down forests in their wake, shaking boulders from the mountains. We can see the outlines of faraway storms before they reach our homes. In my small way, as a Texan far from home, I try to chart these storms and find a logic in them.” - Saul Elbein www.saulelbein.com
What we talk about:
Are forest fires getting worse globally?
What areas are most at risk
How more densely planted areas can actually be more susceptible to wildfires
How have the ways communities are structured contributed to the problem?
Do people realise the extent of the problem?
What is being done to tackle the problem in Portugal and is it enough?
What should/could be done?
Is there a danger communities are waiting for someone in power to do something when we all need to take back management of our lands, which involves a cost to the individual, at least in terms of time?
Is there a danger knowledge of land management is dying out?
Links:
Website: www.saulelbein.com
National Geographic - How to live with mega-fires? Portugal’s feral forests may hold the secret - by Saul Elbein Dec 9th 2019
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
Part 2 of the Design Experts Series, kindly sponsored by the London College of Garden Design
My guest for this episode is Kim Wilkie. Kim grew up in the Malaysian jungle and the Iraqi desert, before moving to England to attend school. He is a prolific landscape architect who works on large-scale projects in the UK and internationally, in both public and private spaces. He works on a scale that is beyond the experience of many, if not most designers, for example, designing the green spaces around an entire new city in Oman or his 100 year Thames Landscape Strategy that encompasses the land along the river Thames from Richmond to Kew.
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 projects of this scale where human experience is being shaped through what happens in the landscape on a huge scale and will be for generations to come. Kim’s book Led by the Land explores just that, how he is led by the land through every part of his design process.
About Kim Wilkie:
“After 25 years of running his own practice, Kim now works as a strategic and conceptual landscape consultant. He collaborates with architects and landscape architects around the world and combines designing with the muddy practicalities of running a small farm in Hampshire, where he is now based.
Kim studied history at Oxford and landscape architecture at the University of California, Berkeley, before setting up his landscape studio in London in 1989. He continues to teach and lecture in America; writes optimistically about land and place from Hampshire; and meddles in various national committees on landscape and environmental policy in the UK.
Current projects are focused on regenerative farming combined with human settlement, both in England and North America.” - www.kimwilkie.com
What we talk about:
- Keeping landscapes in a state of adolescence
- Kim’s projects in Solovki and Transylvania. How modern ways of living seem so incompatible with bygone ways where people lived in harmony with the land and with the other species that occur within that landscape. Can we successfully have it all i.e. have a life where all the component parts work together in a mutually beneficial way or is it one compromise after another when we try to modernise?
- An overview of the Thames Landscape Strategy
- Kim’s work at the Natural History Museum and how Kim sees urban green spaces performing as natural resources get more squeezed and our climate changes
- Kim’s Chelsea Barracks design, incorporating a vegetable garden. Who looks after the vegetable garden, who can harvest the produce and where would the produce be used or sold?
- Landforms
- The need to reconcile areas of high maintenance turf with wildlife gardening
- Is it the job of the designer to impose their artistry on a project or to channel the views of the stakeholders? Or both?
- Are gardens art? If they are, does this mean we can sacrifice the environment when creating them so as not to compromise our artistic freedom? If so, where do we draw the line, should we draw a line in terms of materials used, the ecological impact and so on?
Links:
Website: www.kimwilkie.com
Led by The Land - Kim Wilkie, Updated, expanded and reissued by Pimpernel Press, 2019
With thanks to the episode sponsor, the London College of Garden Design
Tel +44 (0) 1483 762955
Email info@lcgd.org.uk
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
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.
About Robin Snowdon:
Robin Snowdon and Georgina Harvey planted Limeburn Hill Biodynamic Vineyard in 2015, and Robin now works full time managing the vineyard and making the wine. The vineyard has been run following biodynamic practices from the beginning and this helps create both vineyard and wines that are full of character, identity and with a strong sense of place. More than half of the vineyard area is managed purely as habitat for native flora and fauna, and all wines are natural and fermented using only wild yeast from the vineyard. As part of his commitment to the land and his interest in the spiritual aspect of farming, Robin is also training to become a Druid.
What we talk about:
- How Robin manages the vineyard and what they produce from Limeburn Hill?
- How the vineyard is biodynamic? What does this involve?
- What made Robin decide biodynamic growing was the best way to manage his vineyard?
- Is there evidence that biodynamic growing produces better crops, higher yields and so on?
- Robin’s salutogenic approach to growing. The anti-fungal and anti-mildew sprays he uses on his vines
- The terroir and why the wines wouldn’t taste the same if they were grown anywhere else
Links:
Website: www.limeburnhillvineyard.co.uk
Instagram: limeburnhill
Twitter: @limeburnhill
For more details on Biodynamics have a look at the Biodynamic Association UK website
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
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. As you listen, you'll discover that there are no clear-cut answers as to what exactly the new legislation means as it seems very much up in the air, especially for small scale and independent nurseries.
I will aim to keep you abreast of the situation, but for now, here's Graham's take on how the industry may be affected.
Links:
Plantbase Nursery www.plantbase.co.uk
Plantbase on Twitter https://twitter.com/Plantbaseuk
Plantbase on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/plantbase
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
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 that play a big part in the diet of those living where these plants naturally occur in abundance. He’s grown and studied these in his garden in Norway and selected varieties for taste, growth performance and for nutritional, ornamental and entomological value. that please the eye, work from a maintenance perspective and can evolve successfully over time. We talk about what he grows in his garden, his passion for onions, his book and some of the varieties mentioned therein.
About Stephen Barstow:
“Stephen Barstow has devoted 30 years to trialling the world’s perennial vegetables. It is unlikely that anyone anywhere has tried as many different species of edible plants – just witness his salad comprising 538 varieties in 2003 – earning him the title of ‘Extreme Salad Man’!
Stephen grew interested in green issues whilst studying in Norwich. He began eating whole-foods baking bread and learning the names of birds and plants. He became vegetarian when studying in Edinburgh and began a vegetable patch at his landlords flat. He was even sold with the building to the new owner as a lodger/gardener. In 1981 Stephen moved to Norway for work and found vegetarianism was only a small underground movement and that supermarkets stocked little vegetables. To survive they grew their own, and now Stephen has a garden that takes over two days to tour and 2,000 or so edibles, each with their own ethnobotanical story to tell.” - Permanent Publications
What we talk about:
- Stephen’s book and how he came to write it, plans to release further editions that go beyond leafy veg?
- Advice for interested in growing edimentals, where to source seeds or plants, in the UK and internationally?
- If you’re ‘blessed’ with Japanese knotweed, what can you with it?
- How to carry out blanching to improve flavour
- How onions propagate themselves? Stephen’s favourite ornamental edible onion?
- If it’s possible to be self-sufficient in ornamental veg all year round? How much space would you need?
- How vital is it that we use our gardens to at least supplement our diets?
- Other good resources for those interested in Edimentals
Links:
Around the World in 80 Plants: An Edible Perennial Vegetable Adventure For Temperate Climates by Stephen Barstow - Permanent Publications, 2014
Stephen Barstow on Twitter https://twitter.com/s_barstow
Edimentals Group on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/273637002647408/
Edulis Nursery www.edulis.co.uk
Incredible Vegetables www.incrediblevegetables.co.uk
Cool Temperate Nursery www.cooltemperate.co.uk
Edgewood Nursery edgewood-nursery.com
Eric Toensmeier www.perennialsolutions.org
Plants for a Future - Online Database
Cornucopia II: A Source Book of Edible Plants by Stephen Facciola
With thanks to Jackie Currie, National Collection Holder of Alliums and Jake Rayson - www.forestgarden.wales
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
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.
Thanks for listening.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
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. Thomas’s approach to design pays particular attention to establishing new plant communities, especially within urban and suburban environments, where the native flora and fauna has effectively been pushed out. Concentrating on plant selections that work alongside each other and also with the site, Thomas introduces green spaces that please the eye, work from a maintenance perspective and can evolve successfully over time.
About Thomas Rainer:
Thomas is a leading voice internationally in ecological landscape design. He co-authored the book ‘Planting In A Post-Wild World’ in 2015 and has designed landscapes for the U.S. Capitol grounds, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, and The New York Botanical Garden.
Thomas is Principal Designer at Phyto Studio and works alongside Melissa Rainer and Claudia West. Phyto Studio was created “to bring clients both customized, technical expertise in plant community ecology as well as an artistic vision of the possibilities of gardens with emotional depth.” He lectures internationally and teaches planting design on the George Washington University Landscape Design program.
What we talk about:
- Wild landscapes - accepting that we can’t turn back the clock to a bygone era and what this means for designers and gardeners going forward
- Planting in urban and suburban landscapes versus rural areas?
- Thomas’s 3 archetypes for the purposes of categorising planting and landscapes
- If there's a danger, especially in public spaces, that people come to accept edited versions of nature as the correct way ‘natural’ spaces should look and therefore become less tolerant of wilder, transitional, unkempt spaces?
- The issue of ongoing, skilled maintenance
- The future of built landscape design
Links:
Tickets to the Thomas Rainer Masterclass at Regent’s College, London on 18th January 2020
Email: gillian@gilliangoodson.com
Phyto Studio www.phytostudio.com
Planting in a Post-Wild World - Thomas Rainer & Claudia West, Timber Press 2015
With thanks to the episode sponsor, the London College of Garden Design
Tel +44 (0) 1483 762955
Email info@lcgd.org.uk
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
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 was hugely privileged to be given access to Beth’s personal diaries and I’m sure there are lots more stories she could tell you about Beth that didn’t make it into the book, but the snippets of Beth’s journals and the biographical information that are in the book paint a wonderful picture of Beth as a wife, a mother, an employer, a gardener and as the RHS crowned her this year an “Iconic Horticultural Hero”.
About Catherine Horwood:
Catherine is a freelance author and journalist and is the authorised biographer of Beth Chatto. As well as writing the recently released Beth Chatto: A Life With Plants, Catherine has written Rose (Reaktion, 2018) Gardening Women: Their Stories from 1600 to the Present (Virago, 2010) and contributes articles to Gardens Illustrated, The English Garden and several national newspapers.
What we talk about:
- Her early career in flower arranging
- How she changed to fit in with the socials circles she found herself moving in
- The move to White Barn House
- Her friendship with Christopher Lloyd
- The inspiration for the gravel garden
- Her awards and the recognition she gained worldwide
- Her legacy, the future of the nursery and the Beth Chatto Education Trust
Links:
Beth Chatto: A Life With Plants - Catherine Horwood, Pimpernel Press, 2019
Catherine Horwood www.catherinehorwood.com
The Beth Chatto Gardens www.bethchatto.co.uk
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help me keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
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?
Naomi’s book, An Orchard Odyssey runs through the practicalities of growing apples, but the focus of our chat is the ways in which we use our apples and our trees as both ornamental and edible additions to our own gardens, particularly from a design perspective. We also chat about how to reconsider how we view orchards and how we can use them within our communities.
Which leads nicely on to my interview with Sassie Yassamee, who runs Eve Apple Press in Hastings in East Sussex. Sassie run a mobile apple pressing service, which helps people conveniently and productively deal with their crops and provides an ingenious solution to gluts and food waste.
What I cover with Naomi:
- The definition of an orchard
- Historical orchards
- Our changing relationship with orchards
- The tale of Johnny Appleseed
- Fruit trees for wildlife
- Designing & underplanting orchards
What I cover with Sassie:
- About mobile apple pressing
- Which varieties you can use
- Preserving the juice
Links:
Naomi Slade www.naomislade.com
An Orchard Odyssey - Naomi Slade, Green Books, 2016
Naomi on Twitter @NaomiSlade
Naomi on Instagram @naomisladegardening
Eve Apple Press www.eveapplepress.co.uk
Eve Apple Press on Facebook
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
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 is the principal consultant of Tim O’Hare Associates and works on a wide variety of domestic and commercial projects, both in the UK and abroad.
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. As well as possessing phenomenal knowledge on the subject, Tim explains things in clear and simple language and you will enjoy this episode whatever your level of gardening expertise.
About Tim O’Hare
Tim is the principal consultant of Tim O’Hare Associates, a leading independent soil science practice that provides soil investigation, testing and consultancy services to the landscape industry. He has been a Soil Scientist for over 20 years, working on anything from domestic garden projects to major construction developments. Tim and his team have worked on a wide variety of assignments throughout the UK and internationally, including the London Olympic Park and Commonwealth Park in Gibraltar. They also test and approve many of the topsoil and subsoil products that are sold into the landscape market nationwide.
Earlier this year Tim was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by The Kew Guild (Association of Alumni of the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew) for his “outstanding contribution to the environment”.
We discuss:
- Common problems with soil management
- Storing and moving soil during building works
- Soil compaction
- Wet soils
- Ways to combat poorly draining soils
- Bringing life into new or damaged soils
- The impacts of transporting soil into and away from a site
- What to look for when you’re buying soil
- Soil contamination
- Tim’s more challenging/unusual work
- Soil erosion and the shape of our future food production
Links:
Tim O’Hare Associates - Soil & Landscape Consultancy www.timohare-associates.com
London Olympic Park www.queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
This week, I’m speaking to Jo Ferguson and we’re talking about bats. As with most of our wildlife, population trends show a decline in bats in the UK in recent times. Loss of habitat, human activities including nighttime lighting and construction and lack of food are all contributing factors. If you’re listening to the Roots and All podcast, in all probability you’re a conscientious gardener who wants to improve the natural landscape, not just for humans but for all species. In this episode, Jo talks about what bats need in order to thrive and how we can make small changes that will make big contributions to our bat populations.
About Joanna Ferguson BSc MCIEEM:
Jo has worked for the Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) for the last 4.5 years as the Built Environment Officer before becoming the Built Environment Manager in early 2019. Prior to starting at BCT she had been involved with bat conservation in a voluntary and professional capacity for over 16 years. Jo’s more recent professional experience is as an ecological consultant specialising in urban bat ecology; providing surveys, mitigation and enhancement advice covering a range of development projects, including residential, commercial and transport. She also has extensive experience in scientific research, working for the Australian Research centre for Urban Ecology and Earthwatch in Melbourne. Jo is a Full Member of CIEEM, a Volunteer Bat Roost Visitor and London Bat Group Member.
We discuss:
- Where bats live
- How many species of bat are there in Britain and some of the most common ones we’re likely to see in our gardens
- The biggest challenges facing bats at the moment
- How we can help our bat populations
- Will they get caught in our hair or give us rabies?
Links:
Bat Conservation Trust www.bats.org.uk https://www.bats.org.uk/
National Bat Helpline 0345 1300 228
Leaflet on helping create a great environment for bats, including which plants to include in our gardens https://cdn.bats.org.uk/pdf/Resources/Stars_of_the_Night.pdf?mtime=20181101151554
Bat 1K Genome project mapping bats DNA:
‘Imagine uncovering the secret of longer health-spans, flight, echolocation and disease resistance hidden in the bat genome.’ https://bat1k.ucd.ie/
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Facebook @rootsandalluk
Patreon Link;
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
This week, Sarah is talking with Geoff Dann. Geoff is a Hastings based forager with a vast and by the sounds of it, pretty unique understanding of the mushrooms that grow in our landscape. He’s also the author of Edible Mushrooms.
Geoff is a pioneer because many of the mushrooms in his book were not classified as edible and he’s taken on the role of a well-informed and cautious taster, but nonetheless has been a human guinea pig in many instances! As he mentions, his book is without parallel in terms of classifying the edibility of our mushrooms and is the bible for foragers.
They discuss:
- Why we’re a nation of mycophobes here in the UK
- How to get started with mushroom foraging
- Mushroom habitats
- Beginner levels edible mushrooms
- Mushrooms to watch out for
Links
Geoff’s website www.geoffdann.co.uk
Edible Mushrooms by Geoff Dann, published by Green Books, 2016
Natural Bushcraft Forum www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
This week, I’m talking garden birds with Kate Risely, Garden BirdWatch Organiser at the British Trust for Ornithology. Kate talks us through the trends that have occurred in our garden bird populations over the past 40 years, what and when to feed them, diseases that are on the rise and how you can attract more birds in your garden. Plus, Kate answers my question; are magpies vandals, living off the fat of our songbirds?
About Kate:
Kate leads the BTO's Garden Ecology team and co-ordinates the programme of garden ecology surveys and research, within the Communications department.
Kate has overall responsibility for running for Garden BirdWatch, a 'citizen science' project where volunteers record birds and other taxa using their gardens on a weekly, year-round basis, as well as additional garden-based surveys. Kate is interested in the research and conservation applications of our garden wildlife data.
We discuss:
- The BTO Garden BirdWatch & how you can take part
- Why the data collected through the Garden BirdWatch is so important
- Trends around garden birds over the last 40 years
- When and what to feed your garden birds
- Diseases in garden birds
- How to attract more birds to your garden
Links:
British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU
Tel: 01842 750050
Garden BirdWatch www.bto.org/gbw
Garden Wildlife Health: https://www.gardenwildlifehealth.org/
Feeding affecting bird communities: https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/peer-reviewed-papers/composition-british-bird-communities-associated-long
Disease risks of bird feeding: https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/peer-reviewed-papers/health-hazards-wild-birds-and-risk-factors-associated
Greenfinch declines due to disease: https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/peer-reviewed-papers/emergence-and-spread-finch-trichomonosis-british-isles
Predator effects on bird populations: https://www.bto.org/our-science/publications/peer-reviewed-papers/population-change-avian-predators-and-grey-squirrels
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Facebook @rootsandalluk
Patreon Link;
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
This week, Sarah is talking Peonies with Alec White of Primrose Hall Peonies. If you attended this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, you probably saw the amazing, gold-winning stand Alec put together in the floral marquee - it was the one with the bath, peonies spilling everywhere and the semi-nude model painted all over with peonies. It certainly caused a stir and rightly so, because it was stunning.
Sarah was delighted to chat to Alec because, frankly, she has a chequered past with peonies. Under discussion are problems such as peony wilt and peonies that don’t flower. Alec also talks about the different types of peonies and debunks myths such as peonies can't be moved. Sarah asks expert-grower Alec how to get the best out of your peonies and if you're planning to add some to your garden or want to troubleshoot any problems you have, this is an episode not to be missed.
They discuss:
- The 3 main types of peony
- Peony wilt
- Moving, dividing, deadheading and feeding
- The reasons your peony may not be flowering
- Pruning tree peonies
- Growing peonies in containers
- Growing peonies from seed
Links
Primrose Hall Peonies www.primrosehallpeonies.co.uk
On Twitter @primrosehalluk
On Instagram @primrosehalluk
On Facebook Primrose Hall Nursery
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
Just how free are we to walk around our cities and countryside? Who owns our parks and public spaces and who makes the decision what you can and can’t do in them and when they can be closed for ticketed events? What can you do to make sure our green spaces stay open and accessible to all?
These are all questions I asked Neil Sinden, the Director of the London branch of the CPRE (Campaign for Rural England). I’d seen mention of the Urban Right to Roam, which piqued my interest and made me wonder about how much freedom we do have to roam across our cities and indeed our countryside. I had always assumed we had inalienable rights across public land but it seems it’s not as clear cut as I thought.
As Neil mentions in the interview, 2.6million people in the UK live more than a 10 minute walk from a green space. That’s hugely important as our country becomes more urbanised and it’s important if, for you, your local green space is your only garden.
We talk about:
- The CPRE and why it’s needed, even in towns and large cities like London
- The Urban Right to Roam
- Rights of Way
- Privately owned public spaces
- Protecting and improving our green spaces
Links
How to register an unrecorded Historic Right of Way
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Facebook @rootsandalluk
Patreon Link;
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
A New Garden Ethic with Benjamin Vogt
Sarah talks to garden designer and author Benjamin Vogt about his book A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future. Benjamin writes in his book how it’s imperative that we take up a new style of gardening, a new garden ethic, and that we do so fast. Benjamin explains what it means for him to garden with every species in mind and what happens when we separate ourselves from the rest of our garden’s community.
Benjamin Vogt runs Monarch Gardens, a prairie garden design practice. His own garden was named a top outdoor space of 2012 by Apartment Therapy and has been featured in Fine Gardening, Garden Design, Nebraska Life, the Omaha World Herald, the Lincoln Journal Star, and on KOLN (Lincoln's CBS affiliate).
Benjamin wrote an award-winning garden column for Houzz for five years and has contributed to books such as Lawn Gone! and Pollinator Friendly Gardening. His book A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future was published in 2017 by New Society Publishers.
We talk about:
- What is A New Garden Ethic
- Why it’s important that we feel part of the entire community that’s specific to where we live
- The effects of a disconnect from nature
- Benjamin’s definition of native plants
- Benjamin’s design work and plant palette
- Objections to using native plants
Links
Benjamin Vogt - Monarch Gardens www.monarchgard.com
A New Garden Ethic:Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future by Benjamin Vogt (2017)
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
Dr Glenn H Shepard is an ethnobotanist, medical anthropologist and film maker whose work focuses on the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. He speaks eleven languages and has done fieldwork with diverse native groups in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East researching shamanism, medicinal plants, and traditional environmental knowledge. His work features in the documentary Spirits of the Rainforest.
We talk about:
- Glenn’s work with the indigenous people of the Amazon forest
- Biopiracy
- Medicinal/Psychoactive plants, in particular ayahuasca
- How psychoactive plants may be used in the West vs the countries they originate from
- The ecological and legal consequences of exporting psychoactive plants
- The fires in the Amazon forest
Links
Dr Glenn H Shepard Jr Blog - Notes from the Ethnoground
Glenn on Twitter @tweettropiques
Spirits of the Rainforest Documentary
The Ethnobotanical Assembly www.tea-assembly.com
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
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In this episode, I’m speaking to Jan Billington of Maddocks Farm Organics, a flower farm in Devon growing and selling organic edible flowers. We talk about the easiest and tastiest flowers you can grow, colour trends, some more unusual edible flowers and how you can use edible flowers for your own special event. The episode starts with Jan telling us about her farm and why she feels her business needs to give something back.
What We Discuss:
- Where to source edible flowers and what to look out for
- Using them in a variety of ways
- Flowers you can grow yourself
- Flowers for insects
- Colour trends
- Unusual flowers
Links
Maddocks Farm Organics - www.maddocksfarmorganics.co.uk
The Scented Kitchen: Cooking with Flowers by Frances Bissell
Jekka’s Herb Cookbook by Jekka McVicar
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
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Alyson Mowat runs her studio out of Shoreditch in London and has been creating botanical masterpieces for the past 5 years. She works with indoor and outdoor plants to make visually stunning green displays and specialises in terrariums, jarrariums, aquascapes and kokedama to stage plants in unique ways.
We talk about using plants to create visual statements, finding sources of inspiration and how you can try some of these techniques for yourself. For more information about Alyson, please check out her website www.alysonmowat.com and her book Terrariums and Kokedama
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
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This week I’m speaking to Dr Wilson Wall of Bewdley Orchids. Dr Wall is also the co-author of How to Grow Native Orchids in Gardens Large and Small and is a foremost expert on UK native orchids. In this episode, he talks about growing orchids in lawns, borders, containers…they’re much more versatile than you might expect! Not only are they beautiful and versatile, if you grow them, you’ll be doing your bit to conserve these plants as their numbers in the wild diminish.
About Dr Wilson Wall
Wilson Wall is the Director of Bewdley Orchids, provider of native British orchids for individuals and groups to grow in their garden or meadow. Elected Fellow of the Institute of Biology (now the Royal Society of Biology) and Chartered Biologist, Wilson has a PhD in genetics and a long interest in growing orchids from seed. He has written several books before, of both single and joint authorship and was editor of The Clematis, journal of the British Clematis Society.
What We Cover:
- The relationship between orchids and fungi
- Which orchids are suitable for growing in gardens
- Orchids that work in containers
- Soil requirements
- The sourcing of plants
- Common pests and diseases
Links
Bewdley Orchids www.bewdleyorchids.com
How to Grow Native Orchids in Gardens Large and Small - by Wilson Wall and Dave Morgan. Published by Green Books. https://www.greenbooks.co.uk/how-to-grow-native-orchids-in-gardens-large-and-small
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
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Sarah chats with Penny Hearn about a new app that's been launched to track bees and pestcide use.
The Bee Watch App is useful for beekeepers, but also for the general public who may locate swarms and are not sure who to call. It's also a great way to track pesticide use in your local area, plus register any spraying that you yourself may be carrying out. The idea behind Bee Watch is the more data we can log and the more beekeepers, those spraying and the general public can exchange information, the more chance we have of ensuring healthy bee colonies and mapping any problems as they occur. To find out more, go to www.bee.watch
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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This week I’m speaking to John Little. John founded the Grass Roof Company in 1998 and for the past 20 years, he’s been designing and implementing gardens in public spaces that work for people, for plants and for wildlife.
Often working in urban locations, he installs wildlife habitats and planting in some unusual places including on roofs and structures such as cycle shelters. He also includes many edible plants in his schemes in order to create beautiful and useful spaces that engage the community.
Maintenance and management is a key focus, and is vital to the success and longevity of his projects. We also talk about the need to revise traditional maintenance practices in order to reduce costs, save time and preserve wildlife.
About John Little
“John’s life with green roofs started when he self built his own home in Essex. The green roof on John’s new house consisted of the standard green roof structure, onto which he literally dumped soil from the foundations. That was 17 years ago and the roof is still growing strong. A few years ago a colony of Bee Orchids appeared from nowhere!!
He has since designed and built small green roofs buildings throughout South Essex and London over the last 20 years. often combining the living roofs with habitat walls made designed to support solitary bees.
John’s company the Grass Roof Company does landscape contracting and green roof construction in Essex and London. John also part owns Green Roof Shelters, a company that produces modular design bike, bin and freight container green roofs.."
What We Cover:
- How John creates gardens that mimic brownfield sites
- Green roofs
- The Clapton Park Estate project
- Including edible plants in a community garden
- John’s favourite trees and herbaceous plants for wildlife
Links
John’s Design Practice - The Grass Roof Company https://www.grassroofcompany.co.uk
Green Roof Shelters - the sister company to The Grass Roof Company, specialising in buildings and structures incorporating green roofs of all types https://greenroofshelters.co.uk
Online Guide to building Green Roofs - co-authored by John Little & Dusty Gedge https://greenrooftraining.com
John on Twitter @grassroofco https://twitter.com/grassroofco?lang=en
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
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Sarah invites you to join her on a walk around her garden. Plus, a quick chat about the garden media.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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This week I’m speaking to Alex Mitchell, aka the Edible Gardener. Alex is the gardening columnist for the Evening Standard and author of five books on gardening, including her latest ‘Crops in Tight Spots’.
I speak to Alex about growing edibles when space in tight and she has some brilliant tips and tricks about how to grow, what to grow and what not to bother with. Alex’s book is based on years of experience and I respect her approach of trialling, experimenting (including catching pupae in jars and observing them as they hatch!) and just giving things a go. As a result of this hands-on experimentation, she’s developed some nifty time, money and space-saving methods and she shares some of those with us in the episode. For the rest, you’ll just have to buy the book!
About Alex Mitchell
“Alex Mitchell is a gardening writer who has been obsessed with growing things she can eat for about 20 years. Before this, she was obsessed with television. On balance, gardening is healthier. Alex is the weekly gardening columnist for The Evening Standard and has written five books about gardening and growing food. Previously she wrote a column for The Sunday Telegraph about growing fruit and vegetables, first in a polytunnel in a muddy field, which often made her cry, then in a little south London garden, which made her happy. She now gardens in a large space in Kent which makes her ecstatic though often overwhelmed.
She has written five books, The Girl’s Guide to Growing Your Own – Or How to Grow Fruit and Vegetables Without Getting Your Hands Too Dirty, The Edible Balcony, The Rurbanite: Living in the Country Without Leaving the City, Gardening on a Shoestring and Crops in Tight Spots."
What We Cover:
- Crops to grow indoors
- Crops for pots
- Recycling compost
- Essential crops for ease and high yield
- Creative training of tomatoes
Links
www.alex-mitchell.co.uk http://alex-mitchell.co.uk
Crops in Tight Spots - Alex Mitchell, 2019 https://www.waterstones.com/book/crops-in-tight-spots/alex-mitchell/9780857835925
Alex’s Previously Published Books http://alex-mitchell.co.uk/alex-mitchell-the-edible-gardener/books/
Alex on Instagram @alexmitchelleg https://www.instagram.com/alexmitchelleg/
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
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This week I chat to Olivia Kirk about low allergen planting. Olivia works on both public and private gardens and has a number of show gardens under her belt, including a gold medal winning garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower show. She specialises in healing gardens and has worked on a number of projects such as hospice gardens, where the effect the garden can have on a person’s physical health is of paramount importance. We often think about the positive effects on mental and physical health that gardens and green spaces can provide, but we don’t often stop to think about the harm they might cause. Olivia explains how with a little bit of knowledge and a few relatively simple steps, we can make our environment a much better place for everyone, especially those suffering from allergies. Check out Olivia's work at www.oliviakirkgardens.com Instagram: oliviakirkgardens
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
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This week I’m speaking to Dave Goulson, who is a Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex. Dave is also the founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and author of three books, the most recent of which is The Garden Jungle: or Gardening to Save the Planet.
With the recent interest in wildlife gardens, we talk about how you can create a good environment for wildlife, but more importantly, how you can avoid actively harming the environment with your gardening habits.
About Dave Goulson
“After a childhood chasing butterflies and collecting bird’s eggs, I studied Biology at Oxford University, and then did a PhD on butterfly ecology at Oxford Brookes University. Shortly afterwards I got a lectureship at University of Southampton, where I stayed for 11 years. It was there that I began to specialize in bumblebee ecology and conservation.
In 2006 I became Professor of Biology and Stirling University. In 2006 I also founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, a charity devoted to reversing bumblebee declines. In 2013 I moved to Sussex University.
I have published over 200 scientific articles on the ecology of bees and other insects, and am author of Bumblebees; their behaviour, ecology and conservation (2010, Oxford University Press) and A Sting in the Tale (2013, Jonathan Cape), a popular science book about bumblebees and The Garden Jungle: or Gardening to Save the Planet (2019, Jonathan Cape).
I am a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2010 I was BBSRC "Social Innovator of the Year" and in 2013 I won the Marsh Award for Conservation Biology from the Zoological Society of London.”
What We Cover:
- What you need to look out for when buying plants and seeds
- Plants for wildlife
- Native vs non-native plants
- The effects of pesticides and fungicides on wildlife
Links
The Garden Jungle: or Gardening to Save the Planet - Dave Goulson https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Dave-Goulson/The-Garden-Jungle--or-Gardening-to-Save-the-Planet/23728420
A Sting in the Tale - Dave Goulson https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Dave-Goulson/A-Sting-in-the-Tale/22927310
A Buzz in the Meadow - Dave Goulson https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Dave-Goulson/A-Buzz-in-the-Meadow/17156479
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org
Follow Dave Goulson on Twitter - @DaveGoulson https://twitter.com/davegoulson?lang=en
RosyBee - Plants for bees http://www.rosybee.com
Contact:
Stefan Batorijs
3 Barnsey Gardens
Ashburton Devon
TQ13 7GA UK
stefan@natureandtherapy.co.uk
+44 1364 652162
Nature and Therapy UK on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/shinrinyokuUK/
Common Farm Flowers on Twitter: @TheFlowerFarmer https://twitter.com/TheFlowerFarmer
Common Farm Flowers on Instagram: @commonfarmflowers https://www.instagram.com/commonfarmflowers/?hl=en
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
This week I’m speaking to Chris Williams, co-founder of Edibleculture, an inspirational nursery based in Faversham in Kent. From the day the nursery was established 5 years ago, ethically and ecologically sounds principles have been employed to create the brilliant business that exists today.
We talk about how the nursery succeeds where so many others are failing to make changes; using peat-free compost, gardening organically without chemicals, eliminating single use plastics from their sales output and many other initiatives that make this nursery truly revolutionary.
Find out more about Edibleculture Ltd at www.edibleculture.co.uk and the paper pots Chris discusses at www.posipot.co.uk
Thanks to Linda from Hastings for giving me the heads up on Edibleculture and their work.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
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Forest Bathing, or Shinrin Yoku, is the practice of immersing yourself in nature as therapy. It’s the perfect antidote for those who feel disconnected from the land and unattached from nature, which is increasingly likely to happen in a world where 55% of us live in urban areas.
In this episode, I speak to Stefan Batorijs who founded Nature and Therapy UK in 2017, as a response to a growing need to foster a spiritual and psychological connection to the land. If you’ve always wondered what Forest Bathing, or Shinrin Yoku, entails, this is the episode for you!
About Stefan
Stefan has been exploring the wild places for 50 years, and trained originally in Countryside Management, Conservation and Environmental Education. He is a qualified Integrative Psychotherapist and Mountain Leader, with 25 years experience facilitating individuals and groups in natural environments.
In 2008 he established the highly acclaimed Ecotherapy Project with Plymouth NHS, for people with severe and enduring mental health needs. Stefan is currently an Associate Lecturer at Plymouth University. He teaches the role of Nature and benefits of natural immersion for mental health and recovery from trauma on the Clinical Psychology Doctorate Training.
Stefan is passionate about trees, birds and Sacred land.
Stefan is a member of INFOM, the International Society of Nature and Forest Medicine and a member of the Eco-psychology Network.
What We Cover:
- Stefan’s personal journey through nature and into Shinrin Yoku
- What Shinrin Yoku entails
- The evidence behind why Shinrin Yoku works
- An excercise from a typical session of Forest Bathing
Links
Nature and Therapy UK - check out the Resources page for excellent links to the research surrounding Forest Bathing http://natureandtherapy.co.uk
Contact:
Stefan Batorijs
3 Barnsey Gardens
Ashburton Devon
TQ13 7GA UK
stefan@natureandtherapy.co.uk
+44 1364 652162
Nature and Therapy UK on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/shinrinyokuUK/
Common Farm Flowers on Twitter: @TheFlowerFarmer https://twitter.com/TheFlowerFarmer
Common Farm Flowers on Instagram: @commonfarmflowers https://www.instagram.com/commonfarmflowers/?hl=en
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
Sarah speaks to the Earth Friendly Gardener, John Walker about the use of peat in our gardens.
We all know it's bad, but how bad is it and what's being done to prevent the use of peat in horticultural products? Is it realistic to think we can eradicate our use of peat? John is one of the foremost experts on this topic and it's fascinating to hear his thoughts. Sobering stuff indeed... About John:
“As well as being a lifelong gardener and allotmenteer, I’m also an award-winning British gardening and environment writer with over 30 years combined experience in professional gardening, horticultural teaching and the garden media. I trained as a student gardener at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens & Glasshouses, Cambridge University Botanic Garden, and at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, England, where I was awarded the Kew Diploma in Horticulture in 1986. I gained a Permaculture Design Certificate in 1997.
While in publishing, I’ve been both features and deputy editor of Garden Answers magazine, contributing editor of Kitchen Garden magazine, and have been technical editor of The Organic Way. My long-running ‘digging deeper’ column, exploring the connections between gardening and our wider environment first appeared in Organic Gardening (later Organic Garden & Home) magazine in 2006.
I write and blog about greener, earth-friendly gardening for national newspapers, magazines and websites. My work has been published in NFU Countryside, Garden Answers, Garden News, Grow It!, Kew magazine, Organic Gardening (later Organic Garden & Home), the Telegraph, The Garden, The Organic Way and Kitchen Garden, and online at the Guardian and Hartley Botanic.
I’m the author of the new and updated Weeds: An Organic, Earth-Friendly Guide to Their Identification, Use and Control and The Bed & Border Planner, the editor of A Gardeners’ Guide to Annuals, and a major contributor to the Garden Organic Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening.”
John’s website is a treasure trove of articles and information, please do check it out: http://earthfriendlygardener.net
You can buy a signed copy of John's latest book, Weeds: An Organic, Earth-friendly Guide to Their Identification, Use and Control' here
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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How many of us haven’t dreamt of having an idyllic smallholding that allows us to be financially self-supporting, maybe even one that grows flowers by the barrowload? Well, this week’s guest is living the dream!
Common Farm Flowers is an artisan floristry and cut flower farm based in Somerset. Founded by Georgie Newbery and her husband Fabrizio in 2010, the ethos of the farm is to produce flowers that are Grown, Not Flown. Add to that Georgie’s passion for wildlife, organic methods and her love of everything that grows and you have a successful business that produces eco-friendly, sustainable and beautiful floral creations.
As well as selling cut flower creations, Georgie also runs workshops and courses and has written two books on the subject. Her first book, the ’Flower Farmer's Year' is a great book for gardeners who want to grow a cut flower patch, whether for pleasure or for profit, and its sister volume, 'Grow Your Own Wedding Flowers.' is an inspiring floristry book for growers and people who enjoy arranging their own flowers. Check out her website www.commonfarmflowers.com to find out more.
What We Cover:
- The values behind Common Farm Flowers
- The current state of the cut flower industry
- Good cut flowers for scent
- What to grow if your space is limited
- Shrubs that make a useful addition to your cut flower patch
- Dealing with pests on a 7 acre site
Links
To order some of Georgie’s amazing creations, call 01963 32883
Georgie’s Books https://www.commonfarmflowers.com/books.html
Common Farm Flowers on Twitter: @TheFlowerFarmer
Common Farm Flowers on Instagram: @commonfarmflowers
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
Mary Reynolds has a long and successful career in horticulture, which is underpinned by design, but has evolved along the way as she has striven to align her personal beliefs with her work.
Starting out in landscape design, Mary went on to become the youngest gold medal winner at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show in 2002 where she took the show by storm with her naturalistic Celtic Sanctuary Garden. The incredible story of her journey to Chelsea and the creation of the garden was told in the 2016 film ‘Dare to be Wild’.
Mary continues to design gardens, seeking to create spaces “that are healing, truthful and magical”. Her design ethos is set out in her 2016 book 'The Garden Awakening – Designs to Nurture Our Land and Ourselves’ which she describes as “a practical treasure map that leads gardeners into a gentle and healing relationship with the land. This book is a step by step instruction manual drawing on ancient methods of working with the land and using them to invite the power and energy of nature back into your life”.
In 2019, Mary launched an initiative called We Are The Ark, which invites gardeners, land owners and stewards to re-wild areas in their care. It’s this project that we focus on mainly in this episode and Mary explains the idea behind the project and how we can all get on board.
What We Cover:
- Mary’s career evolution
- We Are The Ark
- What stops people rewinding their land and how can we overcome these problems?
- Growing food yourself
- How this can work in urban areas or for those with small/no gardens
- What to watch out for when buying plants
- Establishing and managing your own Ark
- The future of garden design and gardening
Links:
Mary on Instagram: wildmarymary
Claire & Joe on Instagram: irishforestgarden
Dr Masaru Emoto - The Hidden Messages in Water
Get in touch:
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link:
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Sarah is interviewed by podcast listener Joanne Richardson
After a few prompts from listeners, Sarah takes the plunge and decides to be interviewed for an episode of the Budcast. Listener Jo does a fantastic job of asking the questions that were posed by listeners, so a huge thank you to her for taking over the reins of the show. This is the longest ever episode of the podcast but it's a not to be repeated event, so sit down with a cup of tea or glass of wine and enjoy!
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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As the RHS Chelsea Flower Show opens its doors to the public today, it’s interesting to see many of the gardens focus on the wellbeing and therapeutic benefits of spending time outdoors. Social Therapeutic Horticulture is a horticulture-based therapy that’s growing in popularity in the UK as more people become convinced of the mental and physical health benefits of spending time outdoors and with plants.
In this episode, I speak to Damien Newman of Thrive, a charity responsible for promoting and providing Social Therapeutic Horticulture throughout the UK. Thrive is also the leading provider of training for those entering the profession. The Thrive website states;
“Social and therapeutic horticulture is the process of using plants and gardens to improve physical and mental health, as well as communication and thinking skills. It also uses the garden as a safe and secure place to develop someone's ability to mix socially, make friends and learn practical skills that will help them to be more independent.” - www.thrive.org.uk
Damien is hugely knowledgable and a great ambassador for the discipline of STH and this is a fascinating insight for anyone considering it as a career or a therapy.
We cover;
- What is Social Therapeutic Horticulture (STH)
- The origins of STH
- Whether STH works for everyone and who benefits from it the most
- Details of where to find evidence-based research supporting the benefits of being outdoors
- How can somebody be referred into STH
- How is STH applied at a practical level
- What makes a therapy garden
- How to embark upon a career in STH
- Some info about the charity Thrive
About Damien Newman
“I have been working in health and social care for 20 years beginning in mental health care where I first noticed the impact of gardens and gardening for health and began to be involved in utilising gardens and nature within care approach. Teaching in the field across my career I had the privilege of moving to Thrive 10 years ago and now manage our training, education and consultancy services. I aspire to support gardens and gardening to be appropriately utilised across society for the value and benefits it can bring.”
Links
Thrive Charity www.thrive.org.uk
Carry On Gardening www.carryongardening.org.uk
King’s Fund Gardens and health Report - 2016
https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/gardens-and-health
Report Author David Buck’s Blog https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/about-us/whos-who/david-buck
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
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Sarah attended a fantastic 2 day weekend course at Homeacres and posed these questions to Charles after the first day of the course was completed, based on what she had learnt up to that point. They talk about what No Dig means, if it works and how to apply the technique in your own garden or allotment. To find out more, check out Charles's informative website www.charlesdowding.co.uk where you can find links to his books, YouTube channel and also find out how you can attend one of his courses.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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This week, I’m speaking to Giles Heap, Managing Director of CED Stone. CED has a long history of supplying natural stone paving and facilitating the use of stone throughout the landscape and construction industries. Giles took over as the Managing Director of CED in 2013.
We discuss:
- Sourcing stone ethically, including mention of the Ethical Trading Initiative
- Using materials appropriate to the job and the location
- Options for those looking to source local stone in the UK
- The production process and the environmental impacts of this
- Issues with permeability and drainage surrounding hard surfaces and how to overcome these
- The future of stone products
About Giles
“I have been working for CED for over twenty years, on and off in many different roles.
My specialities lean towards design specification and consultation using natural stone in both the Urban Realm and Landscaping arenas. With hands on experience in quarrying, production and remedial masonry work I tend to have a slightly more practical and straightforward view on stone, its capabilities and uses.
I regularly lecture (preach) on the use of natural stone, both in Urban Design and Garden Design to Landscape, Urban and garden designers, students and contractors and I am more than happy to write and present bespoke lectures on the subject.
Before working full time for CED, I have previously been a Publican, Bodyguard, Chauffeur, Night-club manager, doorman, and a whole host of other unusual careers!
With a slight addiction to Scuba diving, martial arts (although not so much now I'm a Dad!) and extreme sports, especially climbing, I am quite happy to "say it as I see it" and I am always willing to face a challenge!
As a member of the family that owns CED and the current Managing Director, my professional goal is to make us the best supplier of natural stone and hard landscaping products in the UK, by ensuring that the right advice and materials are used in our cities, parks and gardens, indeed wherever and whenever it is right and correct to do so.”
Links
CED Stone - www.cedstone.co.uk
728 London Road,
West Thurrock,
Grays,
Essex,
RM20 3LU
Tel: 01708 867237
Blog by Giles on Using British Stone https://www.cedstone.co.uk/news/using-british-stone-by-ced-stone-group-managing-director-giles-heap
CED and the Ethical Trading Initiative https://www.cedstone.co.uk/about#3
More info: www.ethicaltrade.org
Ethical Stone Register - www.ethicalstoneregister.co.uk
Steintec - StoneBed Permeable Bedding Mortar https://www.cedstone.co.uk/products/stonebed-permeable-bedding-mortar-pbm
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Sarah chats to organic kitchen gardener James Mellors.
They discuss organic, no-kill pest control, companion planting, interesting varieties and bees in your veg plot.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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This episode is produced in association with the Vegan Organic Network. It was recorded at VegFestUK on the 23rd March 2019.
Iain Tolhurst is a pioneer of what he terms Stock-free Farming; that is farming which uses no animal inputs. Based in South Oxfordshire, Iain talks about the history of his growing operation plus shares some unique practices he employs to maximise crops whilst making the farm a haven for biodiversity. He also gives figures about produce yields and carbon output of his farm, which are fascinating (and encouraging, for anyone considering this method of farming).
With thanks to Iain Tolhurst and The Vegan organic Network for allowing me to part of such a great day.
To find out more about Iain, including his courses, veg box scheme and consultancy work, please check out http://www.tolhurstorganic.co.uk
The Vegan Organic Network is the only organisation in the UK solely working for food to be grown the veganic way. Please check out their website to find out more about the important work they are involved in: http://veganorganic.net
Following on from my episodes on native vs. non-native plants and gardening for wildlife, who better for me to interview than wildlife gardening guru Kate Bradbury?
We talk about the best ways to garden for wildlife, including what to put in to your wildlife garden and what to leave out. Kate champions some unusual species and our conversation touches upon aspects that may surprise even the most seasoned wildlife gardener.
The timing was perfect too, as Kate’s new book Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything hit the shelves 5 days ago. Once she’s tempted you with snippets of wildlife gardening gold, you can go buy the book and find out everything you need to know about turning your own garden, whatever its size, into a haven for all creatures great and small.
- Providing shelter in the garden
- Kate’s top features to include in a wildlife garden
- Kate’s top plants for wildlife
- Common mistakes we make when trying to help wildlife
- The decline of certain species
- Gardening for flies!
- Resources for wildlife gardeners
About Kate Bradbury
Kate Bradbury is an award-winning author and journalist, specialising in wildlife gardening. She edits the wildlife pages of BBC Gardeners World Magazine and regularly writes articles for the Daily and Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian, RHS magazine The Garden and BBC Wildlife and BBC Countryfile magazines.
In 2015 she became the first Butterfly Ambassador for conservation charity Butterfly Conservation, and she writes a quarterly column for its members magazine, Butterfly. Kate regularly talks at events and festivals, and appears on radio including BBC Gardeners Question Time and the popular RHS gardening podcast.
She also makes wildlife gardening videos for gardenersworld.com. She lives and breathes wildlife gardening, and is currently transforming a tired north-facing patio garden into a wildlife oasis, where she hopes to attract a wealth of creatures including frogs, toads, newts, birds, beetles, hedgehogs, butterflies, not to mention her very favourite, and first love: bees.
Links:
Buy a copy of Kate’s new book Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wildlife-Gardening-Everyone-Everything-Trusts/dp/1472956052/ref=sr_1_3?keywords=Kate+bradbury&qid=1554217200&s=books&sr=1-3
Kate on Twitter @Kate_Bradbury https://twitter.com/Kate_Bradbury?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
On Instagram kategbradbury https://www.instagram.com/kategbradbury/
The Bumblebee Flies Anyway by Kate Bradbury - Buy Here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Bumblebee-Flies-Anyway-year-gardening/dp/1472943104/ref=la_B00O0X7MLI_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1554215473&sr=1-2
The Wildlife Gardener by Kate Bradbury - Buy Here https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wildlife-Gardener-Kate-Bradbury/dp/152671289X
Butterfly Conservation www.butterfly-conservation.org https://butterfly-conservation.org
Big Butterfly Count www.bigbutterflycount.org https://www.bigbutterflycount.org
Moths Count www.mothscount.org http://www.mothscount.org
Froglife www.froglife.org https://www.froglife.org
Bumblebee Conservation Trust www.bumblebeeconservation.org https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org
BTO (British Trust for Ornithology) www.bto.org https://www.bto.org
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
This week, I’m honoured to be joined by the Queen of Containers, Harriet Rycroft. Harriet worked for many years at Whichford Pottery in Warwickshire, where she became renowned for producing season after season of the most spectacular planting and colour combinations.
Oh, and Harriet had the door open to her garden, so enjoy the birdsong!
We talk about:
- The ideal container
- Layer planting
- Planting media
- Feeding your pots
- Well and badly behaved container plants
- Pests in/on pots
- Tricks for discouraging mice and squirrels
- Planting combinations for the wow factor
About Harriet Rycroft
Harriet Rycroft switched careers to horticulture while her children were small and spent 14 years
working for Whichford Pottery. As Head Gardener she was responsible for planning, planting and
maintaining large displays of planted flowerpots of every conceivable shape and size and was careful always to provide plenty of planting inspiration for visitors all year round. With up to 500 plantings on display at any time the garden attracted many visitors and much praise from some of the UK’s leading horticulturists.
While at Whichford Harriet also planned and planted container displays for events and shows,
including Chelsea Flower Show, and gave lectures and demonstrations both in the UK and abroad.
She now divides her time between writing about gardening and container planting, giving talks and demonstrations, and teaching container gardening online at LearningWith Experts.com. She still gardens at the Cotswold Wildlife Park and Gardens and at home, where she usually has at least 200 planted containers on display. She’s a keen photographer, using her camera to record her own workbut also as a way to celebrate gardens and the natural world generally and to share inspiration for the creative use of plants.
When she has a bit of spare time she writes a blog called “A Parrot’s Nest’ at https://harrietrycroft.com/ and can also be found chatting about plants and gardening and sharing
photos on Twitter and Instagram @HarrietRycroft
Harriet gives talks and planting demonstrations to garden clubs and groups, so if you would like a
talk about container gardening for your society please contact her at harrietrycroft@btinternet.com for more details.
She recently wrote (and took most of the photographs for) a book about the amazing gardens at the Cotswold Wildlife Park with their Head Gardener, Tim Miles. A Celebration of The Gardens is
available from the Park’s website.
Links:
Cotswold Wildlife Park Website https://www.cotswoldwildlifepark.co.uk
Buy a copy of The Cotswold Wildlife Park - A Celebration of the Gardens https://shop.myonlinebooking.co.uk/cotswoldwildlifepark/shop/product-list.aspx?catid=8
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
To be completely contrary after her plea for gardeners to plant more native plants, Sarah interviews Graham Blunt of Plantbase, a nursery specialising in the most fabulous, exotic and downright bizarre plants!
Graham talks about hardy palms, his favourite exotic trees, cacti and succulents that can be grown outdoors and how to overwinter caudex plants and bananas. Graham has also been intensively researching new regulations that come into play in December 2019 and how these will affect plant lovers. He reckons that Brexit will seem like a "small gust of wind" compared to the potential havoc wreaked by new CITES, Plant Health and Nagoya regulations due to come into effect on Dec 14th 2019. If you buy garden or indoor plants, this episode will be of real interest.
Plantbase,
Sleepers Stile Road,
Cousley Wood,
Wadhurst,
East Sussex,
TN5 6QX.
01892 785599
07967 601064
Twitter: @Plantbaseuk
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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The daffodils have been in full swing for a few weeks now and as today’s guest, Adrian Scamp of Scamp’s Daffodils tells us, we can expect them to carry on gracing us with their cheery blooms into May.
Each year, I’m newly amazed by the indomitable daffodil; its ability to cope in all weathers, to grow in seemingly unpromising situations and to flower successively from December to May if you choose the right varieties.
This episode, we cover every question you had about daffodils but were afraid to ask! Adrian gives his expert advice on:
- When to order and when to plant bulbs (hint: order now!)
- The conditions favoured by daffodils including soil and aspect- When to feed and with what
- How to propagate
- Troubleshooting any problems
About Adrian
Scamp’s Daffodils was started by Ron Scamp. Ron’s passion for the daffodil developed as a child in the 1940’s and 50’s whilst spending his childhood on his uncle’s daffodil farm in the Tamar Valley. In 1990 after years of growing daffodil varieties in his garden and greenhouse, Ron produced his first catalogue offering select varieties to other daffodil enthusiasts.
Over the years the collection has developed and now contains approximately 2500 varieties including modern, species and historical collected from all over the world. As a professional grower, Ron has achieved many awards including RHS gold, the E.H Trophy for best exhibit and the Lawrence Medal.
Adrian joined the company in 2007 and continues to grow and develop the collection. During the spring, they display their flowers at many shows and find this aspect of their work particularly enjoyable, as they meet other enthusiasts and customers both old and new. Each year, a list of the shows they will be attending is published in the news section of their website.
Adrian can be contacted by phone 07826 067175 or via email amscamp@qualitydaffodils.com Please leave a message on the mobile as Adrian is often on the fields with no phone signal.
Links:
Scamp’s Daffodils https://qualitydaffodils.com
The Scamp’s Daffodil Catalogue https://qualitydaffodils.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Scamp-Booklet-2019.pdf
A.M. Scamp
49 Mongleath Road Falmouth
Cornwall
07826 067175 amscamp@qualitydaffodils.com
Scamp’s on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/QualityDaffodils/ Scamp’s on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/scampsbulbs/ The Daffodil Society https://thedaffodilsociety.com/wordpress/
Daffodil: the Remarkable Story of the World’s Most Popular Spring Flower by Noel Kingsbury https://www.amazon.co.uk/Daffodil-Remarkable-Worlds-Popular-Spring/dp/1604693185
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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Join Sarah for a brief recap of why native plants are better than non-native, before a delve into the more positive impact gardeners can have in ensuring wildlife has a future in our landscape.
Part 2 of this exploration of native vs. non-native plants looks at the reality of what happens when natural and human habitats collide. Sarah discusses Darwin Comes to Town, a book by Menno Schilthuizen, which explores how nature is adapting to fit in with our urban landscapes but as in Part One, the conclusions she comes to about the future of our wildlife aren't pretty! However, the second half of the episode looks at how we as gardeners and growers can help make a difference, no matter how big or small our plot.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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Rough & Ready Audio Alert!
This is a bonus episode recording of the wild food tasting session that took place before the main interview with forager Michael Wachter, which aired in Episode 18.
A supporting blog post featuring a photo and names of the plants that were sampled can be found on the Roots and All blog. As with the main episode, this episode and the blog post are not to be used as guides to foraging. Please do not attempt to eat any wild plants unless you are capable of correctly identifying them or you are accompanied by someone who can.
Please note, there is much giggling, background noise and chewing audible throughout, which is not standard for there Roots and All podcast which is usually impeccably produced and edited!
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
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In this episode, I’m talking foraging with expert forager Michael Wachter. Michael has masses of experience when it comes to living outdoors sustainably and being self-sufficient, having lived on a remote island off the North Coast of Germany. He also regularly treks across the landscape both in the UK and abroad, with nothing but a sleeping bag and his survival kit, foraging for food along the way.
Michael currently lives and works in East Sussex, where he indulges his passion for plants at every opportunity. We only scratched the surface of his experiences and if you ever have the opportunity to hear him speak, I urge you to do so, you will be spellbound as he recounts his adventures!
We cover:
- The best places to find wild food
- How to forage in your own garden, however limited you are on space
- Michael’s trek along the South Coast of England
- The philosophy of foraging
About Michael Wachter
Born in the rolling hills of North Bavaria along a river in Bamberg, Michael studied landscape architecture near Frankfurt. After a short stint working in an office, he went to work for the protection of mainly seabirds on the North Coast of Germany, before coming to England in 2014.
He currently works as a gardener in East Sussex and indulges his passion for wild plants on a daily basis.
Links:
Michael Wachter on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/michael_wachter/?hl=en
Robin Harford’s site provides great information, plus he produces a podcast on the topic: https://www.eatweeds.co.uk
The Woodland Trust’s guide to foraging sustainably: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/visiting-woods/things-to-do/foraging/
Wild Food & Foraging UK Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/WildFoodUK/
The website of Samuel Thayer, a foraging resource for listeners in the US: https://www.foragersharvest.com
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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Sarah explores the reasons we all need to go native in our gardens.
From declining insects and struggling bird populations to invasive species and plants for pollinators, Sarah looks at the impact planting non-native species in our gardens can have. Acknowledgement to Douglas W Tallamy for the excellent research presented in his book Bringing Nature Home.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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UK HEDGEHOGS NEED YOU! Since 2000, UK populations of hedgehogs have declined 30% in urban areas and 50% in rural areas. Today’s guest, Hugh Warwick, estimates hedgehog populations have dropped by 90% or more since the second world war. Based on these horrendous figures, we can deduce if we don’t start helping them right away, these beautiful animals could be facing extinction.
That’s where we, as gardeners, come in. Hugh talks about how we can encourage hedgehogs into our gardens and how we can best look after those who decide to share our space.
We cover:
- Encouraging hedgehogs into your garden
- Supplemental feeding and watering
- Ensuring hedgehog safety in the garden
- The importance of creating a network to facilitate hedgehogs’ movements
- How to identify and deal with poorly hedgehogs
About Hugh Warwick
Hugh is an ecologist and author with a particular interest in hedgehogs. He is a spokesperson for the British Hedgehog Preservation Society, runs the Oxfordshire campaign, HedgeOX and is a regular contributor to radio and television. He has written two books about hedgehogs … and much to the distress of his family, has plans for more!
Links:
Hugh on Twitter: https://twitter.com/hedgehoghugh
Link to the video we discussed, where Hugh drills through a perfectly good wall in aid of helping our hedgehogs, a worthy sacrifice!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8joMexoVo38&feature=youtu.be
Hedgehog Street: https://www.hedgehogstreet.org
British Hedgehog Preservation Society
Website: https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk
Twitter: https://twitter.com/hedgehogsociety
Telephone 01584 890801
Email info@britishhedgehogs.org.uk
State of Britain’s Hedgehogs 2018 Report: https://www.britishhedgehogs.org.uk/state-britains-hedgehogs-2018/
Hugh’s project the HedgeOX campaign aims to help Oxfordshire’s hedgehogs:
Website: https://www.hedgeox.org/?fbclid=IwAR2FJwEaBz4Wejdl5PRWn5R-hFq9b8yUCqWrCSwSOes8_HjMpxTqj3Z4S3E
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hedgeox/
Back by popular demand, it's Part 2 of taking on and managing an allotment. With Louise Bell.
Listen as we talk about what to do with your allotment over winter, which crops you should be growing, when to harvest and if you only have time to do one job, which should it be. The follow up to Allotments Part 1 - Episode 5 of the podcast, published on 7th August 2018.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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Have you ever wondered which are the most poisonous plants in your house and garden? Do you know how plant toxins work and how to handle poisonous plants safely? What are we, as gardeners, most at risk of when dealing with our beloved plants? And which risks are sometimes blown out of proportion?
Join me as I speak to botanist Dr Liz Dauncey about poisonous plant facts, myths and interesting cases. And if you’re particularly fascinated by the macabre and want to find out the most gruesome way to go, plus which poisons are untraceable, listen on!
About Dr Elizabeth A. Dauncey
Liz is a botanist with a PhD in Plant Taxonomy during which she undertook a taxonomic revision of Dendrobium section Pedilonum, a group of orchids from South-East Asia. She spent most of her career as a botanical toxicologist working for the Poisons Unit of Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital in London, on joint initiatives with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Her work involved developing strategies and products to reduce the number of poisoning incidents involving plants, and to improve the identification of plants by treatment centres. She worked with the Horticultural Trades Association on their 'Harmful?' campaign that introduced a list of 117 plants on sale in garden centres that should carry warnings on their pot labels. Liz subsequently spent four years with Kew’s Medicinal Plant Names Services, which enables effective communication about medicinal plants in health, regulation and research. She now works freelance, writing books, providing information and advice about plant toxicity, and undertaking poisonous plant surveys.
Liz is author of Poisonous Plants: A Guide for Parents and Childcare Providers (Kew Publishing, 2010) and co-author of Plants That Kill: A Natural History of the World’s Most Poisonous Plants (Kew Publishing, 2018). Plants That Kill is now also available in German, Dutch, Italian and Japanese! She is currently co-authoring a follow-on book called Plants That Cure, due to be published in 2020, which looks in particular at the plants from which pharmaceutical drugs have been developed. There are also plans for a revised and updated edition of her Poisonous Plants guide that will be expanded to include plants that are poisonous to pets.
Links:
Poisonous Plants: A Guide for Parents and Childcare Providers (Kew Publishing, 2010) - out of print at the publisher but still available online:
Plants That Kill: A Natural History of the World’s Most Poisonous Plants (Kew Publishing, 2018) - widely available
https://shop.kew.org/plants-that-kill-a-natural-history-of-the-world-s-most-poisonous-plants
Horticultural Trades Association - Code of practice for potentially harmful plants, downloadable list
https://hta.org.uk/resourceLibrary/code-of-practice-for-potentially-harmful-plants.html
Kew’s Medicinal Plant Names Services - plant name portal
https://mpns.science.kew.org/mpns-portal/
Twitter - @liz_dauncey
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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An episode dedicated to Esiah Levy. A short intro to seed sharing and open pollinated varieities.
Sadly, Esiah Levy who you may have heard interviewed in Episode 12 of the Podcast, passed away on the 22nd January. This episode is dedicated to sharing his passion for seed sharing and open pollinated seeds, and will hopefully inspire you to add some of these varieties to your patch this year. Please check out the GoFundMe set up to help Esiah's young family: https://www.gofundme.com/esiah-levy
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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Matthew Appleby is a multi award-winning horticultural journalist who regularly writes for gardening magazines, national newspapers and the industry bible Horticulture Week. Matthew is a long-time vegan and organic gardener and has a wealth of growing experience upon which to base his new book, The Super Organic Gardener. The book is released on the 31st January 2019 and I spoke to Matthew about what it means to garden in this style.
We touched upon:
The definition of organic and vegan gardening
Why veganism is gaining so much traction
What products do and don’t qualify for use in a vegan garden
What is no-dig gardening
Vegan composts, green manures, fertilisers , seeds and plants
Matthew’s reasons for practising vegan gardening
Further reading:
The Super Organic Gardener - Matthew Appleby
Jan 2019 - Pen & Sword
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Super-Organic-Gardener-Paperback/p/15572
Charles Dowding - No-Dig Gardening
https://www.charlesdowding.co.uk
Poyntzfield Herb Nursery
https://www.poyntzfieldherbs.co.uk
Delfland Nurseries
Walcot Organic Nursery
Hulme Garden Centre
https://hulmegardencentre.org.uk
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Why it's good to know what goes in your compost, especially if you want to shop ethically, sustainably and/or vegan.
"Since the 1980’s Fertile Fibre have been producing peat free coir based organic composts. Fertile Fibre have also been working closely with the Vegan Society and the Biodynamic Association to develop composts which are specifically tailored to meeting the needs of those growers. I talk with Caroline about what goes into making Fertile Fibre composts, what you should look for when making purchasing decisions about composts and fertilisers and why this is important. For more info visit www.fertilefibre.com
Further contact Information;
Fertile Fibre Ltd
Withington Court
Withington
Hereford
HR1 3RJ
Tel: 01432 853111
Email: info@fertilefibre.com
Twitter: @fertilefibre
Facebook: fertilefibre
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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In this episode, I talk with critically acclaimed garden designer Cleve West about his journey to a vegan lifestyle and how this impacts upon his work.
We touch upon vegan gardening, cooking, farming for vegan and meat based diets and why we all need to think about the mark we leave on our gardens and the wider environment.
Further resources;
Our Plot by Cleve West. Published in 2011 by Frances Lincoln
Earthlings – a 2005 documentary
Cowspiracy
Forks Over Knives
https://www.forksoverknives.com
Land of Hope and Glory – Documentary
https://www.landofhopeandglory.org
Knepp Farm
Matthew Appleby – The Super Organic Gardener. Published 31st Jan 2019 by Pen and Sword.
https://www.pen-and-sword.co.uk/The-Super-Organic-Gardener-Paperback/p/15572
Iain Tolhurst – Tolhurst Organic
http://www.tolhurstorganic.co.uk
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Growing-Green-Organic-Techniques-Sustainable/dp/0955222516
BOSH Cookbook
https://www.bosh.tv/book/bosh-the-cookbook
Dr Michael Greger
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Happy Christmas! Welcome to this special festive Budcast episode.
Join Sarah for the inaugral Roots and All Christmas Quiz. Plus, hear from two special guests about their best and worst horticultural Christmas gifts and join in with a seasonal treasure hunt.
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.
The nursery is open to visit, but they also offer an excellent mail order service and you can order plants through their website.
Key talking points with Angela were:
- Growing ivy as a houseplant
- Ideal growing conditions for ivy indoors
- Ideal growing conditions for ivy outdoors
- Different growth habits and the suitability of certain species for certain garden situations
- Fast and slow growing varieties
- Pruning
- Benefits to wildlife
- Unsuitable situations for ivy
- Growing ivy in containers
If you’d like to view and shop the full range of Ivy that Fibrex Nurseries has to offer, you can visit their website:
Nursery Contact Information:
Fibrex Nursery LTD
Honeybourne Road
Pebworth
Stratford-upon-Avon
Warwickshire
CV37 8XP
Telephone: 01789 720788
Email: sales@fibrex.co.uk
Opening Hours
1 Mar - 31 Aug: Mon-Fri 9am-5pm
1 Sept - 28 Feb: Mon-Fri 9am-4pm
1 Apr - 25 Jun: Sat-Sun 10.30am-4pm
Twitter @FibrexNurseries
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Fibrex-Nurseries-Ltd-217275455080317/
Instagram fibrex_nurseries
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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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.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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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. Countries which have SeedsShare seeds growing include Japan, Canada, Peru, Indonesia, France, America, the Netherlands, Russia and more!
What makes the SeedsShare unique is all seeds are grown and harvested locally in Esiah’s own garden and various plots around London. All seeds are 100% free with only postage to pay to get your hands on them!
Key talking points were:
- What is an heirloom vs. a hybrid variety? Which is better and why?
- What are the easiest types of seed to collect and save?
- As a seed distributor, is the SeedsShare subject to any regulations or legislation?
- Can you explain the implications of legislation surrounding seeds?
Esiah has great social media accounts that are well worth a follow! You can find and connect with him here:
twitter / instagram / facebook - @croydongardener
Website – www.SeedsShare.co.uk
Linkedin - Esiah Levy
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
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Patreon Link;
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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 sound quality is pretty raw and not up to our excellent standards, as we recorded in a polytunnel in the lashing rain! The topic up for debate was how climate change is affecting the way designers design gardens for clients. Or not, as the case may be! A straw poll at the beginning revealed that in a room full of garden designers and landscapers, about 4 said their work had been influenced by a changing climate. Which is comforting, or frightening, depending on how you look at it...
Although the debate was intended to be heard by designers, there are definitely words of wisdom that can be applied in gardens or all shapes and sizes, and by gardeners at all levels.
The panel is chaired by Jack Wallington. The designers taking part are your host Sarah Wilson, Emma Page and Nic Howard.
The event was held at How Green Nursery in Hever, Kent. How Green Nursery is a trade nursery supplying plants to retailers, landscapers, designers, local authorities and historic gardens. They also supply plants for show gardens, including the RHS Chelsea and Hampton Court Flower Shows. Thanks to the guys at the nursery for hosting an informative and thought-provoking event.
Further Information
The Roots and All website - https://rootsandall.co.uk
https://twitter.com/rootsandall
https://www.facebook.com/rootsandalluk/
https://www.instagram.com/rootsandallpod/
Email: podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
How Green Nursery - 01732 700382 - www.howgreennursery.co.uk
Jack Wallington www.jackwallington.com
Emma Page www.natureredsigned.co.uk
Nic Howard www.we-love-plants.co.uk
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.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
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Patreon Link;
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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.
We discuss:
- What is biochar?
- Why did people start to produce biochar? What are its origins?
- How is it produced?
- Does it matter what kind of biomass goes into the kiln to make the biochar? Do the end results vary depending on the input?
- What is the difference between biochar and simple BBQ charcoal? Won’t BBQ charcoal be almost as good?
- What does it actually ‘do’ – how does it help plants?
- Is there a rule of thumb regarding which soils and which types of crops it works best on?
- How is it best to apply?
- Can you apply too much?
- Is it for application on new plantings only – or is it also good for mature specimens?
About Craig: Before this interview, I probably knew more about Craig than about his product, because he’s a legend in many fields, not least in food and growing. He founded the first macrobiotic restaurant in London in 1967 and went on to start Harmony Foods, which later became Whole Earth Foods. He and his friends provided the food for the first ever Glastonbury Festival in 1972. In 1991, he and his wife Josephine Fairley founded Green and Black’s. He was Chair of the Soil Association from 2001-2007 and is the author of four books, including the seminal text ‘About Macrobiotics’.
Craig’s website is www.craigsams.com
To read more about/buy BioChar products, go to www.carbongold.com
To read more about the CarbonGold Tree Rescue and to nominate a tree, visit https://www.carbongold.com/save-a-veteran-tree-for-free/
Follow CarbonGold on Twitter: @carbongold
Like on Facebook: www.facebook.com/CarbonGold
Further Resources
The Greenhouse Gas Removal Report https://royalsociety.org/~/media/policy/projects/greenhouse-gas-removal/royal-society-greenhouse-gas-removal-report-2018.pdf
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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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...
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
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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. Key talking points were:
- Naturalistic planting and designing – elaborating on what Toby refers to as Aesthetic Ecology
- The importance of plants as food for invertebrates
- Unpopular plants that are actually good for wildlife
- The best wildflowers/weeds for wildlife
- Wildflowers that are too badly behaved for the garden
- Ornamentals that work well in naturalistic gardens
- Resources for those interested in practicing wild gardening
- Toby’s top tips for wild gardeners
About Toby: Toby Diggens runs Digg & Co., a design studio focussing on ecological landscape design and architecture. His style is one which brings ecological science into the design process, and marries this with the aesthetic and artistic practice of design. Toby studied Landscape Architecture at the University of Gloucestershire and received distinctions in both Post Graduate Diploma and Masters. His masters work, entitled Second Nature explores how wild life can be brought back into our cities and towns through the understanding of ecology as a function rather than only an aesthetic. A great lover of plants, he sees the opportunity of beautiful landscape design, touched by a hint of the wild, as a moving way to rekindle the human passion for the natural world, and hopes that his work, regardless of scale, adds both drama and beauty, but importantly nature back into the gardens and parks of the UK and beyond.
To contact Toby his email is below: You can also request a copy of his Masters work.
Or Follow his Instagram
@diggandco
Further Resources
Emorsgate Seeds – www.wildseed.co.uk
Books
The Wild Garden – William Robinson
The Dynamic Landscape: Design, Ecology and Management of Naturalistic Urban Planting – Dunnett & Hitchmough
Meadows – Christopher Lloyd
Sowing Beauty – James Hitchmough
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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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.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
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Patreon Link;
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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.
We discuss common problems that can occur when sharing our gardens with foxes and Terry dispels some of the myths and misunderstandings surrounding these occasionally maligned animals. Terry offers a refreshing and common-sense perspective to living alongside wildlife based on his decades of experience and observation.
The Fox-a-Gon website is a fantastic resource if you’d like to find out more about co-existing with foxes. It also provides solutions to dissuade them from visiting your plot, should you need them. Their FAQ page is comprehensive and no-nonsense; I highly recommend it as your first port of call if you need even general advice about foxes, it really does provide some brilliant information.
Points of interest;
The Law as it relates to fox control/removal in the UK
Feeding foxes
Why foxes dig up plants
Foxes and cats
Foxes and humans
Urban foxes
Injured foxes
Guest follow up;
Terry Woods founded Fox-A-Gon alongside Graham Le Blond. The company is based in the South East, however they work all over the UK.
www.fox-a-gon.co.uk
Telephone: 0208 925 9639
Mobile: 07768 903 043 / 07973 414 935
Further useful resources;
The Fox Project – www.foxproject.org.uk
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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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.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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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…
After losing some alliums in my own garden, I was determined to find out a bit more about what these plants need to succeed in the garden. Jackie Currie has held the National Collection of Alliums for the past 4 years and I surmised that if anyone could help me on my quest to make my alliums happy, she could.
Since she started studying alliums in earnest, Jackie has learned many things that might surprise even the most seasoned grower and it appears she may be re-writing the rule book on alliums as we know it. Listen to the episode to find out which alliums truly act as perennials, coming back year after year. Also find out which alliums to treat as annuals, what to feed them, where to grow them and the answers to many other questions about alliums you didn’t even realise you should be asking!
Points of interest;
Ideal soil conditions for alliums
Alliums that are easy to grow
Alliums that are tricky
Potential diseases
What to plant them with
Feeding
How to propagate them
Guest follow up;
Jackie Currie has run Euphorbia Design in partnership with Lorraine Cooke for the past 15 years.
Jackie and her alliums can often be found exhibiting at RHS Flower Shows Hampton Court & Chelsea, where she is a multiple medal-winner.
Further useful research;
There is none! Jackie doesn’t recommend any books or websites as useful resources for information on Alliums and I must say that having a poke around on the internet reveals common advice mainly conflicts with Jackie’s findings. Perhaps if you have any experience of alliums that may be useful you can email them to me podcast@rootsandall.co.uk and I will can pass them on to Jackie and I will find a way to share them online with listeners.
Allium names, in order of mention;
Allium
atropurpureum
‘Silver Spring’
ampeloprasum
‘Purple Sensation’
wallichii
altissimum
christophii
sphaerocephalon
senescens
lusitanicum
giganteum
‘Ambassador’
schubertii
caeruleum
caesium
‘Eros’
‘Mount Everest’
‘Mont Blanc’
‘Globemaster’
nigrum
‘Gladiotor’
paradoxum var. normale
siculum
litvinovii
angulosum
fistulosum
‘Early Emperor’
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
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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.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
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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.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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Selecting and planting trees can be a minefield. Never fear though, help is on hand as ‘legend in the world of trees’, Kew-trained, Peter Thurman is here to provide straight-forward advice about what to do and what not to do when buying a tree and planting it out.
Peter’s CV is suitably impressive. He is a landscape designer and plantsman and holds chartered status in arboriculture, horticulture, forestry and the environment. He is a fellow of both the Arboricultural Association and the Chartered Institute of Horticulture and it doesn’t end there. Find out more about Peter and his passion for all things tree related in this episode.
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. Learn how pleached trees can become an attractive alternative to fencing, just beware of the High Hedges Act! Does it pay to have patience when growing your tree, or is it easier to have instant impact?
Pick up some valuable tips and tricks on the planting process. From deciding which food you should feed your prized specimen with, to mulching and watering, your questions are sure to be addressed in this informative episode.
Points of interest;
Soil conditions when planting a tree
Choosing the right trees for your garden
The process of planting a tree
Round vs square hole
Tree food
How to deal with planting a tree in clay soil
Watering your tree
Staking your tree
The importance of mulching
Ideal trees for small or large gardens
Trees for; privacy/scent/flowers/autumn colours/the ultimate seaside garden
FAQs answered;
When is the best time of year to plant a tree?
Should I take the hessian off a field grown tree before planting?
When shopping for my tree, should I buy the biggest one possible?
Are soil Testing kits a good idea?
What do I need to put at the base of my newly planted tree?
How do I deal with leaders?
Which type of stake should I use?
Guest follow up;
Peter Thurman
Email: ThurmanConsultancy@btinternet.com
www.thurmanconsultancy.co.uk - Peter Thurman Consultancy, Landscape
www.lcgd.org.co.uk - London College of Garden Design
Further useful research;
www.kew.org - Visit The Royal Botanical Grades at Kew
www.reading.ac.uk - Dr Glynn Percival
www.biochar.co.uk - Tree food
Rigel-G - Tree food product
Trees in order of mention, Botanical name followed by UK common name;
Kolreuteria paniculata fastigiata – Pride of India
Quercos phellos – Willow Oak
Lime trees AKA Tilia species:
Tilia tomentosa – Silver Lime
Tilia T. henryana – Henry’s Lime
Taxus baccata – Yew
Ginkgo biloba – Maidenhair Tree
Cordyline australis – Cabbage Palm
Pterostyrax hispida – Epaulette Tree
Liriodendron tulipifera – Tulip Tree
Liquidambar styraciflua - Sweetgum
Parrotia persica – Persian Ironwood
Tamarix species - Tamarisk
Quercus ilex - Holm Oak
Acer pseudoplatanus – Sycamore
Cedrus libani – Cedar of Lebanon
Get in touch;
Email: podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website: www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter: @rootsandall
Instagram: rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
If you want to know the answers to why your carnivorous plant may look dead but isn't and why none of them can eat greenfly, listen in...
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
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Patreon Link;
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Sarah is surprised to find that August is not the most popular month with gardeners and explores some ways in which the month can be made a little more bearable. She also talks about thrips on houseplants.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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Houseplants have come a long way since your mum’s Swiss cheese plant from the 1970s. However, successfully cultivating one of the myriad of varieties available today, is not as simple as wedging your chosen species into the barren corner of the living room in a once redundant terracotta pot. From nurturing your first cactus at university to transforming your home into an indoor sanctuary full of orchids, bringing the outside in has always had its challenges but also its benefits.
Discover why, as Sarah places her partner Jason Stevens in the hot seat to grill him on his knowledge and passion for houseplants. Jason served 16 years in the Army leaving in 2016 for medical reasons, after which he undertook a period of rehabilitation. During his recovery he noticed what a positive effect gardening had and chose to follow this up by embarking on a garden design diploma. Eventually he narrowed his focus to sourcing and caring for indoor houseplants.
Jason chats about numerous varieties of houseplants, from easy care perennials such as ferns and aspidistra to trickier specimens such as selaginella. He discusses the potential health benefits some may provide and offers some great tips on general plant care. Whether you know your bonsai from your begonia, there is plenty of useful information to ensure you can achieve your indoor zen.
*Listen today to find out the winner of the review competition.
Points of interest;
Easiest and most difficult houseplants
Sunny spots and shady spots
Bathroom plants
Bedroom plants
Hanging pots
Tips on the procedure of buying plants
General plant maintenance
Rain water Vs distilled water
Top 5 common pests and diseases
FAQs answered;
Do I need to repot a plant once I get it home?
How do I tell if my plant needs watering?
How often should I water my plants?
Should I give my plants food?
Which plants need misting?
Should I use leaf shine?
Guest follow up;
Jason Stephens Instagram simply_garden
Facebook @simplygardensw
Further useful research;
Plant names mentioned:
Aspidistra elatior
Sansevieria trifasciata – Mother-in-Law’s Tongue
Calathea
Nephrolepis exaltata – Boston Fern
Ficus elastica – Rubber Plant
Ficus benjamina – Weeping Fig
Spathiphyllum – Peace Lily
Ceropegia woodii – String of Hearts
Selaginella species
Echinocactus grusonii – Mother-in-Law’s Seat
Brand names:
House Plant Focus
SB Plant Invigorator
Pests:
Aphids
Fungus gnats
Mealy bugs
Spider mites
Thrips
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Beth Otway AKA Pumpkin Beth has turned terrarium gardening into a perfectly balanced combination of science and art. Sarah reads excerpts from her interview with Beth and also talks about when to order your tulips and offers some suggestions for ones to look out for.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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Sarah starts by pondering how come the roses seem to be having 2 distinct flushes this year and gets no nearer to an answer. She also discusses when to trim your box bushes and talks about the intriguing houseplant du jour, the Crocodile Fern. The Budcast finishes with an unexpected confession...
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
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Patreon Link;
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Lacking the space but certainly not the enthusiasm? Taking on an allotment has fast become a popular solution to keeping those green fingers satisfied and the benefits are endless. Not only is it environmentally friendly, working an allotment can be seen as therapeutic, sociable and an all round healthy discipline, which can promote a healthier lifestyle.
In the first part of this episode, Sarah chats to Louise Bell, an accomplished writer and editor and co founder of Sunny Creative. Louise also happens to be a sympathetic gardener and was on the committee for the Marina Allotment and Horticulture Association in Hastings.
Having worked on her own allotment for 10 years, Louise is armed with knowledge to enlighten us on how best to go about finding an allotment. Whether it’s run by the local council or independently managed, she presents a number of key pointers to take into account before committing to a plot and those you will need to consider once you are the proud owner.
With first hand practical advice on various topics, from restrictions on what you are allowed to grow, to how to clear a plot previously owned, there’s enough to get the ball rolling if you are thinking of investing your time and energy into growing your own produce.
Nevertheless don’t forget to follow up soon with part 2 of this episode to discover more about allotments and how to manage expectations on what you grow. Alongside self sowing plants, difficult crops and suggestions on plot structure, you can be sure to pick up many more helpful tips to ensure you have a productive plot.
Please take the time to rate this podcast and you could be in with a chance to win a copy of the Great Dixter cookbook (2017) which contains a delightful concoction of seasonal recipes and is a book Louise was involved with creating.
Points of interest;
Associate members.
Generic allotment rules and regulations.
Choosing your allotment plot.
Practical issues, such as water, electricity and toilet.
Visitors allowed onto the premises.
Time restrictions.
Recommended tools.
Taking over someone else’s allotment patch.
FAQs answered;
Are all allotments run by the local council?
Do I specifically need to choose an allotment near to where I live?
Do allotments have waiting lists?
Will I have to pay for my allotment?
How do I know if having an allotment is the right thing for me?
Do I need planning permission for a shed?
Will I be allowed bonfires?
Who is responsible for any waste?
Are there restrictions on what I can grow in an allotment?
Further useful research;
www.greatdixtershop.co.uk The Great Dixter Cookbook 2017
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
If you're flagging in the hot weather, chances are your plants are too. Listen in to find out if you should be watering your outdoor plants in a drought and if so, how often. Also, Sarah shares a nifty trick to keep your indoor plants happy if you're going away on holiday. Share your watering successes and woes;
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
You’ve got the space, you’ve got a budget, but where to begin? It can be difficult and sometimes daunting to know how to set about transforming and making the most of your outdoor space. For those of us who aren’t blessed with a green-fingered talent, the best option may be to bring in the professionals and hire the services of a garden designer.
Fortunately, Sarah Wilson is here with another essential episode to help guide you down the path alongside her special guest and Chartered Horticulturalist, Andrew Fisher Tomlin. Barely in need of introduction, Andrew is renowned for his incredible gardens and landscapes for which he has won many awards and is on tap in this episode as a never-ending fount of knowledge on the subject. As Director of the London College of Garden Design and Partner of Fisher Tomlin and Bowyer in London, Andrew has a stellar career. Therefore, you can expect to pick up some constructive and reliable advice and tips, from how to choose the right garden designer for you, to the perennial question of how much you should expect to pay. Find out why it’s imperative that you communicate with your garden designer in order to achieve a productive relationship. As with most things in life, the more you put in, the more you get out. From consultation to final horticultural glory, let Sarah and Andrew reassure you, that you can achieve the garden of your dreams!
Points of interest;
What to consider when thinking about hiring a garden designer.
Qualifications and experience of a garden designer.
References, testimonials and insurance of a garden designer.
Choosing the right garden designer for your style.
The design process you can expect to go through from start to finish.
How to communicate with your garden designer and get the outcome you’ve always dreamed of.
Things to look out for during the process.
Why a garden designer can help you save money.
Hourly rate and fees.
Working around your budget.
FAQs answered;
Why do I need a garden designer?
What can I expect a garden designer to bring to a project?
Where do I begin searching for a good garden designer?
Is it beneficial to choose a local garden designer?
What’s the difference between a landscape architect and a garden designer?
Do I need both a landscape architect and garden designer for the job?
How involved should my garden designer be throughout the project?
Guest follow up;
Fisher Tomlin and Bowyer garden designers and landscapers, London.
Further useful research;
London College of Garden Design www.lcgd.org.uk
The Society of Garden Designers www.sgd.org.uk
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
Today, Sarah interviews Paul Hetherington, Director of Fundraising and Communications at the Buglife Invertebrate Conservation Organisation, with a particular interest in discussing worms and depending on the type, their significance in the garden.
So dip into the world of our 2 enthusiasts for an insightful chat about the trials and tribulations of this common garden dweller and much understated invertebrate. Learn about the enormous impact they have on our ecosystems and how we can encourage and nurture these ultimate ‘friends of the earth’. However it pays to be mindful that not all worms have a positive effect on our environment!
As ever, this episode is full of useful tips and advice to bring out the horticulturist in all of us!
Points of interest;
How to identify a particular type of worm.
Importance of earthworms on the landscape and our produce.
How to encourage more earthworms and identify the ones we don't want.
Chemicals and the effects they can have on earthworms.
Worms and compost.
The implications of native and non-native species.
FAQs Answered;
How many species of worm are there in the uk?
How do I conduct an earthworm count?
What do worms look like when they self fertilise?
Why can we consider earthworms as natural recyclers?
Which worms are good for the garden and which ones are not?
Guest follow up;
Visit buglife.org.uk - Particular topic of concern is pollination and species at risk. Find out how you can help?
Further useful research;
Royal Entomological Society
“Formation of vegetable mould through The action of worms” by Charles Darwin 1881.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
Anyone with a modest or sizeable outdoor space will appreciate the time and effort that goes into maintaining it. So the question professionals in the industry are often asked is, how do I get a good gardener?
In the second episode of this series, Sarah Wilson finds out some answers as she interviews Claire Vokins a friend and fellow Horticulturist, who runs her own garden care business, Elizabeth Clare Gardening Ltd, in South West London. With a no-nonsense approach, Claire blows the lid off this topic and reveals a wealth of knowledge and practical advice.
Learn about the benefits and pitfalls of hiring a gardener, the many variables to consider and the most important factors when deciding on your choice, especially the ever grey area of how much you can expect to pay on an hourly rate. Adversely, pick up some helpful pointers on what to do if hiring a regular gardener is out of your budget.
So whether it’s a ‘jungle cut’ or a more detailed maintenance and care plan you have in mind for your outdoor space, there is bound to be something that will grab your attention in this episode.
Points of interest;
Where to source a professional gardener.
Retaining your gardener.
Resources to teach yourself about the plants in your garden.
Guidelines on garden rubbish disposal.
Common gardening mistakes.
How to deal with inherited gardens.
How to have ownership of your outdoor space.
FAQs answered;
What hourly rate should I expect to pay my gardener?
Should I let my gardener use my tools or ask them to supply their own?
When are gardeners at their busiest?
When should I book a landscape gardener if I wish to have more extensive changes done to my garden?
Guest follow up;
Elizabeth Clare Gardening Ltd Twitter @ECGardeningLtd
Claire Vokins Twitter @CEVokins
Further useful research;
www.rhs.org.uk
www.shootgardening.co.uk
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
In the first episode of this insightful series, Sarah covers one of her favourite topics as she talks to two special guests about Dahlias.
Join Emma Page, Award winning Horticulturalist and Garden Designer and Dave Gillam, Chairman of the National Dahlia’s Society as well as being the General Manager for Abercorn Garden Centre in Chelmsford, as they share their extensive knowledge and experience. We discover the inspiration behind Dave Gillam’s passion for growing Dahlias competitively and find out our guests favourite type of Dahlia, and why.
So whether its growing them for the sheer pleasure of it, or you are a bit more serious about the whole affair and wish to grow these beautiful plants in order to compete, this is the place to learn more about the ‘tender’ perennial. They may not be considered low maintenance but any effort put into growing them is likely to be highly rewarded.
Points of interest;
Dahlia growing routine and the ‘mystery’ of growing from seed.
Leaving Dahlias in the ground.
Planting Dahlias in beds.
Growing in tubers.
Combating the ‘danger zone’ surrounding the first shoots.
Tempting varieties of Dahlias, including the Honka Fragile.
Species vs Hybrids
FAQs Answered;
Where can I buy Dahlias?
What do I do with Dahlia tubers?
To stake or not to stake?
How do I go about dead-heading?
What are the well-known competitive varieties of Dahlia?
Where can I buy Dahlias for weddings or other special events?
Guest follow up;
Emma Page www.natureredesigned.co.uk
Email her directly at info@natureredesigned.co.uk
Emma Twitter @epgd181
Dave Gilliam - YouTube
www.dahlias-nds.co.uk National Dahlia Society - and Facebook
Abercorn garden centre, Chelmsford
Please find Richard Ramsey’s transcribed interview on the Roots and all website.
Find Richard at www.withypitts-dahlias.co.uk. for ideas on; Cut flowers, Dahlia seedlings, floristry, flowers for big events.
Further useful research;
www.hallsofheddon.com A Specialist plant nursery; Dahlias and Chrysanthemums.
Get in touch;
Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk
Website www.rootsandall.co.uk
Twitter @rootsandall
Instagram rootsandallpod
Patreon Link;
https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall
