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’Gardening with the RHS’ offers seasonal advice, inspiration and practical solutions to gardening problems. Trusted gardening professionals give you the latest horticultural advice, scientific research and tried and tested techniques to bring out the best in your garden.
Topics covered include: growing your own vegetables, flowers, garden design, lawn care and gardening with children. Plus expert masterclasses in topics ranging from cottage garden plants, growing orchids, to pest control and eco-friendly gardening.
Plus we’ll have behind the scenes reports from the country’s most prestigious flower shows. There’s something in these podcasts to interest every gardener, whatever your level of expertise.
For more info see www.rhs.org.uk/podcast
A Pixiu production.
The podcast Gardening with the RHS is created by Royal Horticultural Society. The podcast and the artwork on this page are embedded on this page using the public podcast feed (RSS).
Spring is stretching its limbs, and the garden is stirring to life. As the days grow longer and begin to warm, there’s a tangible energy in the air – a heady mix of birdsong, budding leaves, and the unmistakable scent of fresh soil and blossoms. This week horticulturist Liz Mooney will be sharing her expert tips on getting the best from beetroot, turnips and parsnips – perfect for anyone looking to grow a productive plot from the ground up. The RHS Gardening Advice Team will also be joining us to answer your most frequently asked questions this month, and Elizabeth Medal of Honour winner Clare Hermans will be sharing her enduring fascination with Madagascan orchids and the stories behind these rare and remarkable plants.
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Liz Mooney, James Lawrence, Chris Taylor, Nick Turrell, Clare Hermans
Links:
Previous episode on growing potatoes with Liz Mooney
As gardeners, we understand the deep connection between people and the planet. The choices we make in our own green spaces – no matter how small – can ripple outward, creating real impact. This Earth Day, ecological home grower Poppy Okotcha invites us into her world of regenerative gardening. Dr. Hayley Jones explores how welcoming all creatures – even the less popular ones – can nurture a thriving, balanced ecosystem. And campaigner Russell Ball shows us simple, powerful ways to give our urban trees the care and attention they deserve.
Host: Jenny Laville
Contributors: Poppy Okotcha, Dr Hayley Jones, Russell Ball
Links:
A Wilder Way: How Gardens Grow Us
RHS Slugs: Friend or Foe?: Know Your Slugs and Learn to Live With Them
How to stop slugs and snails: what works?
We start this week with a journey back in time, exploring some of the oldest and most resilient plants on the planet: ferns. Gardener, botanist and author Ben Dark has been uncovering some surprising stories about these living fossils as part of his sweeping journey – 2.5 billion years deep – into the fascinating history of plants. Ferns thrive in damp, shady garden corners — but they’re not the only ones. Horticulturist Alessandra Sana faced this exact challenge when she took on the north-facing wall of RHS Wisley’s walled garden. She shares her go-to plants and creative inspiration for transforming those tricky, low-light spots into lush, green sanctuaries. And finally, we cross the Atlantic to hear from John Sonnier, Head Gardener at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C. His pioneering sustainable gardening practices have just earned him the prestigious Elizabeth Medal of Honour from the RHS.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Ben Dark, Alessandra Sana, John Sonnier
Links:
The Grove: A Nature Odyssey in 19 ½ Front Gardens
Shade planting: annuals, bulbs and perennials
What can I grow in a dry shady spot?
April is in full bloom, and with it comes a gardener’s to-do list bursting with promise! This week, Liz Mooney from RHS Garden Wisley shares expert tips on growing a bumper potato crop, while Guy Barter reveals how to plant summer bulbs for a dazzling display. Plus, we celebrate horticultural excellence with Victoria Medal of Honour recipient Martyn Rix, reflecting on a lifetime dedicated to plants.
Links:
This week we’re finding out how to be a hoverfly hero. These masters of mimicry are vitally important pollinators, decomposers, and aphid predators, but their populations are in steep decline in the UK. RHS entomologist Josie Stuart will be telling us more about these garden friends, and how we as gardeners can help. Keeping our gardens blooming for as long as possible is a great help for all our pollinators and Cosmos shows off its delicate flowers all the way from late summer through to the first frosts of autumn. We’ll speak to National Collection holder Jonathon Sheppard for his recommendations of the best cultivars to try this year. And from one remarkable collection to another – Sarah Cook has dedicated years to researching and reviving the lost irises of Cedric Morris. These striking blooms, once thought to survive only in his famous paintings, have been brought back to life thanks to her tireless work in the RHS archives and in Cedric’s garden at Benton End.
Host: Jenny Laville
Contributors: Josie Stuart, Jonathan Sheppard, Sarah Cook
Links:
Help hoverflies: 5 top plants and 5 fun facts
Read Jonathan’s cosmos and hollyhock blog
British cosmos (seed sales)
Plant Heritage, home of the National Plant Collections
Spring is in the air, and it’s time to get your hands dirty! This week, we’re diving into the juicy world of tomatoes with Liz Mooney from the RHS Garden Wisley edibles team. She shares some of her best tried and tested cultivars and expert advice on how to grow a bumper crop. Plus, if hydrangeas are on your planting list, renowned woody plant collector and hybridizer Maurice Foster will be picking out some of his favourites. And finally, we’re tackling food waste head-on – Jenny Laville and composting guru Heather Gorringe break down worm farms, compost heaps, and bokashi bins to help you turn scraps into garden gold!
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Liz Mooney, Maurice Foster, Jenny Laville, Heather Gorringe
Links:
How to stop throwing away food waste – with or without a garden
White House Farm Garden and Arboretum
White House Farm Hydrangea open days: June 28th and August 23rd
Spring is starting to unfold, and with that in mind, we’re heading back to the vegetable patch with kitchen gardener Lucy Chamberlain for the final instalment of her "Grow Food Anywhere" mini-series. This time, Lucy guides us through which crops thrive in those tricky, shady spots that can often be a challenge in the garden. Nick Turrell from the RHS Advisory Team gives us the lowdown on why Leylandii – once a garden favourite – has since earned a notorious reputation, and says what you can do about it! And finally Jamie Walton, the familiar face behind the Nettles & Petals social media account, shares some of the benefits and ecological gardening mindset can bring to your plot.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Lucy Chamberlain, Nick Turrell, Jamie Walton (Nettles&Petals)
Links:
Grow Food. Eat Weeds. Save Seeds. pre-order
This week we’re returning to the vegetable garden with author and kitchen gardener Lucy Chamberlain to find out what delicious goodies will thrive in some of the least loved corners of your garden. We’ll also be discovering more about the rich history of the magnolia genus, and the stunning range of varieties available today with horticulturalist Seamus O’Brien. Rosemoor’s Alex Paines will be sharing how you can employ the chop and drop mulching technique in your own garden without it looking messy. And Alan Tichmarsh CBE launches an appeal to save some of the important work being done at RHS Garden Wisley.
Host: Jenny Laville
Contributors: Lucy Chamberlain, Seamus O’Brien, Alex Paines, Alan Titchmarsh
Links:
With the right approach, your garden can give back just as much – sometimes even more – than you put in. This week, we’re finding out how to get the most out of our edibles plots with kitchen gardener and writer Lucy Chamberlain who will be proving you really can grow food anywhere. We’re also heading back to Roz Chandler’s Field Gate Flowers to discover the perfect mix of annuals, perennials, biennials and foliage plants for stunning arrangements year-round. And finally, how about a cup of tea? Jonathan Jones – head gardener of one of Europe’s largest and most diverse tea gardens – shares how to cultivate tea at home and take your plants from bush to brew.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Lucy Chamberlain, Roz Chandler, Jonathan Jones, Jenny Laville
Links:
This week we’re exploring some of the plants which may have flown under your radar. Plantsman Chris Sanders will take us on a journey that began with a casual flick through a rare horticultural book and spiralled into a decades-long obsession with rare Japanese cherry cultivars, never seen before in the UK. Horticulturist Scott Galloway makes a compelling case why the resilient favourite of Gertrude Jekyll – the much overlooked bergenia – could be a game-changer in an era of shifting climates. And Abbotsbury Subtropical Garden curator David Pearce proposes why African boxwood makes the ideal box alternative.
Hosts: Gareth Richards and James Armitage
Contributors: Scott Galloway, David Pearce, Chris Sanders
Links:
Valentine’s Day and flowers go hand in hand, so what better way to celebrate than by dedicating this week’s programme to the stunning blooms you can grow right in your own garden? Over the past four years, the RHS has been on a mission to find the best red roses for home gardens. We’ll be revealing the top contenders with Wisley’s Roz Marshall. If roses aren’t your thing, Roz Chandler from Field Gate Flowers will be guiding us through the process of starting your own cut flower garden from bare earth to vase. And finally, nothing signals the arrival of spring quite like the golden explosion of daffodils! This year, the RHS is launching a nationwide appeal to track their varieties, flowering times, and distribution across the UK. RHS Principal Scientist and daffodil enthusiast Dr. Kálmán Könyves will share their fascinating history and his hunt for rare—and possibly lost—cultivars.
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Roz Marshall, Roz Chandler, Kálmán Könyves
Links:
This week, Guy Barter takes us through some essential gardening tasks for the season ahead and we explore a hardy favourite: as Caroline Williamson from RHS Garden Bridgewater reveals the fascinating (and surprisingly dark) art of forcing rhubarb. And finally, mother-daughter duo Ellie and Claudia of Elka Textiles will show us how to turn garden plants into beautiful, sustainable dyes—perfect for a creative winter project!
Host - Jenny Laville
Contributors - Guy Barter, Caroline Williamson, and Ellie Fisher & Claudia Gosse from Elka Sustainable Textiles
Other links
This week, Jenny Laville explores the incredible world of seeds with RHS botanist James Armitage, uncovering their diverse shapes and dispersal methods. We’ll also be embracing this time to start planning our gardens for the growing season ahead, RHS Senior Wildlife Specialist Helen Bostock will be describing all the key things to consider when it comes to creating wildlife friendly spaces bursting with key habitats. Plus, in the final part of our front garden mini-series, RHS Gardening Advisor Nick Turrell offers practical advice on designing a space that’s both beautiful and functional.
Host Guy Barter
Contributors Jenny Laville, James Armitage, Nick Turrell, Helen Bostock
Links
Join us as we celebrate garden birdlife ahead of the RSPB’s Big Garden Birdwatch! The RSPB’s Adrian Thomas gives us a crash course in birdwatching from the comfort of your own kitchen window, while scientist Arran Folly discusses the threats facing our feathered friends and what we as gardeners can do to help. Plus Nick Turrell from the RHS advisory team shares how front gardens can play a vital role in reducing flood risks in our communities.
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Dr Arran Folly, Adrian Thomas, Nick Turrell
Links:
There’s plenty to do at this time of year to get your garden prepped for the growing season ahead. This week we’ll be finding out how hellebores can bring some winter joy to your garden with passionate plantsman John Grimshaw. It’s also time to start planning your veg patch and Liz Mooney from RHS Garden Wisley’s edibles team will be explaining the principles of crop rotations and why they are great for some growers (but not all). Finally Nick Turrell, one of the encyclopedic minds on the RHS Gardening Advice team, is on a mission to help us unlock the potential of one of the most overlooked parts of our outdoor spaces…
Host: Jenny Laville
Contributors: John Grimshaw, Liz Mooney, Nick Turrell
Links:
It may be bitterly cold outside but there's still plenty to get excited about in the garden. This week we’re joining Fruit Specialist Jim Arbury in the Orchard at RHS Garden Wisley to find out how to prune your apples and pears at this time of year. Horticulturist Alex Hankey shows us around the diversity and delicate beauty on display at Wisley’s alpine glasshouse, and RHS Garden Rosemoor’s Alex Paines shares his passion for the ancient hedgerows which lace the Devonshire landscape.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Jim Arbury, Alex Hankey, Alex Paines
Links:
Let’s make 2025 the year we all embrace growing our own fruit and vegetables—whether you’ve got a sprawling garden, a small balcony, or just a windowsill! No matter how much space or time you have, we’ve got plenty of inspiration to get you started and keep you going all year round.
First, we’ll hear from Shelia Das and Liz Mooney from RHS Wisley’s talented edibles team, who will share their expert advice on growing delicious produce across every season. Then, we’ll check in with Lucy Chamberlain, author of Grow Food Anywhere, as she reveals how to make the most of your space—whatever its size, shape, or location.
And what about all that fantastic homegrown produce? Don’t worry! We’ll revisit our fascinating chat with Canadian chef and photographer David Zilber, a fermentation expert who’s worked in some of the world’s top kitchens, including the renowned Fermentation Lab at Restaurant Noma. He’ll inspire you with creative ways to preserve and enjoy your harvest.
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Shelia Das, Liz Mooney, Lucy Chamberlain, David Zilber
Links:
RHS Grow Your Own Veg Through the Year: 365 Days of Homegrown Vegetables & Herbs
Today Guy, Gareth, and Jenny reflect on the past twelve months of beautiful blooms and bountiful harvests, but also wet weather and guzzling gastropods! Join us as we revisit some of our favourite stories from 2024, and share what garden tips and seasonal advice we’re taking with us into the new year.
Hosts: Gareth Richards, Guy Barter, Jenny Laville
Episodes mentioned:
Gareth Richards and James Armitage take a walk through Chelsea from episode ‘Notes on hardiness’
Anya Lautenbach’s money saving advice from episode ‘Growing on a budget’
Additional Links:
This week we’re bringing the garden indoors and welcoming in the Christmas cheer. RHS Horticultural Advisor Jenny Bowden will be sharing her love letter to the tradition of the Christmas wreath, and Freddie Garland – founder of Freddie’s Flowers – will be sharing his tips on how to make your own (among many other seasonal crafts to get stuck into). And finally, we’ll be learning all about our favourite festive parasite, mistletoe, with Oxford PhD student and mistletoe expert Oliver Spacey.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Jenny Bowden, Freddie Garland, Oliver Spacey
Links:
This week we’re decking the halls with seasonal foliage, as RHS Garden Hyde Hall’s Sarah Wilson-Frost shares her ideas for natural decorations foraged from your own garden. Gareth Richards is here to inspire you to try a different type of Christmas tree this year and consider bringing a potted plant indoors for the festive season. And we’ve got the perfect gift idea to brighten up a dreary January day, as Chris Lane of Witch Hazel Nursery explains why he fell in love with these winter gems.
Host: Jenny Laville
Contributors: Sarah Wilson-Frost, Gareth Richards, Chris Lane
Links:
Chris Lane - Witch Hazel Nursery
With the festive gift giving season just around the corner, this week we’ve turned our attention to the botanical wonders awaiting us on the bookshelf. We’ve invited journalist, author, and gardening enthusiast Ann Treneman and horticultural hero and authority on all things plants, Guy Barter to join our host - head of Libraries and Exhibitions at the RHS, Fiona Davison, to chat about some of their favourite garden reads from the past 12 months.
Host: Fiona Davison
Contributors: Ann Treneman, Guy Barter
Books mentioned:
Horti Curious: A Gardener's Miscellany of Fascinating Facts & Remarkable Plants by Ann Treneman
RHS Garden Almanac 2025 by Guy Barter and Zia Allaway
The Accidental Garden: Gardens, Wilderness and the Space In Between by Richard Mabey
Good Nature: The New Science of How Nature Improves Our Health by Kathy Willis
Brutalist Plants by Olivia Broome
Small Space Revolution by Tayshan Hayden Smith
A Year Full of Pots by Sarah Raven
A Garden A Day by Ruth Chivers
How Plants Can Save Your Life: 50 Inspirational Ideas for Planting and Growing by Ross Cameron
100 Herbs to Grow by Jekka McVicar
The Crevice Garden: How to Make the Perfect Home for Plants from Rocky Places by Kenton Seth and Paul Spriggs
This week, we're teaming up with The Plant Review magazine for a houseplant special. Jenny Laville talks to Rebecca Hilgenhof of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to learn about the exciting prospect of growing passionflowers on the windowsill. James Armitage is in conversation with former RHS Director of Horticulture Jim Gardiner to chat all about his favourite houseplant, Begonia masoniana, and the famous plantsman who it is named for. Plus, Kevin Mann shares his love of the miniature Christmas cactus.
Passionflowers mentioned: Passiflora citrina, Passiflora murucuja and Passiflora boenderi.
Host: Gareth Richards and James Armitage
Contributors: Rebecca Hilgenhof, Jim Gardiner, Kevin Mann, Jenny Laville
Other Links:
We’re marking National Tree Week, an annual celebration at the start of the tree planting season, and an opportunity for us to wax lyrical about the wonderful world of trees. We’ll be hearing some fascinating stories about the art of tree collecting and the human connection to our woodlands from author and artist Amy Stewart. We’ll be catching up on the latest news from RHS Garden Rosemoor as they set out on a conservation project to protect one of our most rare but little known native trees. And if you’re feeling inspired to get outside and start digging, Bob Askew will be bringing us his thoughts on the best trees for small spaces.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Bob Askew, Amy Stewart, Jonathan Webster
Other Links:
This week we explore the fascinating stories and brilliant work of three exceptional plantswomen. Only recently has pioneering 18th-century herbalist Elizabeth Blackwell received proper recognition for her work A Curious Herbal – a beautifully illustrated botanical text that was, for centuries, mistakenly attributed to her scandal-prone husband! Fiona Davison, Head of RHS Libraries & Exhibitions, shares insights into Blackwell’s life and her groundbreaking work, which was created at a time of rapid botanical discovery in Europe as exotic plants flooded into the Western world. We also hear from passionate plantswoman Jane Steward, a dedicated advocate for the medlar, a rare fruit that was once beloved across the UK – even by King Henry VIII. And finally horticulturist Sarah Wilson-Frost from RHS Garden Hyde Hall will be sharing some excellent advice on growing ornamental grasses to add year-round interest to your garden.
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Jane Steward, Fiona Davison, Sarah Wilson-Frost, Jenny Laville
Other Links:
This week we find out how to help our beloved prickly friends, as RHS Senior Wildlife Specialist Helen Bostock explains the threats to hedgehogs, and what we can do as gardeners to support them. Next we head indoors to find out how tailoring your potting mix can give your houseplants a new lease of life, with the lovely folks at Soil Ninja. Finally, if you’re looking for an autumn project, why not build some raised beds? We glean some expert advice on how to go about this, with RHS horticulturist Peter Adams.
Host: Jenny Laville
Contributors: Helen Bostock, Amy Loosley, Levent Latif-Maeer, Peter Adams
Other Links:
National Hedgehog Conservation Strategy
Wild about gardens - Get creative for hedgehogs
Wild about gardens - Make friends with molluscs
Grow Your Own Veg Through The Year
This All Hallow's Eve, we’re venturing into the woods to see what treasures we can find… First up, one of the gardeners' most feared garden inhabitants is stirring. We’ll be chatting with RHS Senior Plant Pathologist Jassy Drakulic to find out about the notorious honey fungus, and how you can protect your beloved plants against infection. Next we’re stopping off at RHS Garden Rosemoor’s edible forest garden, which is based on one of the oldest forms of land use in the world. We’ll be catching up with horticulturist Peter Adams to hear more about this ancient method of permaculture. Finally, if you’re looking for a new addition to your spooky plant collection, look no further than the Aeonium 'Zwartkop.' With its dramatic magenta-black foliage, this striking rosette-shaped succulent is just one example of the remarkable diversity in colour and form within the aeonium genus. We’ll be finding out more, with the help of National Plant Collection holder Mellie Lewis.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Jassy Drakulic, Mellie Lewis, Peter Adams
Other Links:
This week, Gareth Richards and Guy Barter discuss the science behind autumn colour, why some years are more dazzling than others, and what we can expect to see across the UK this year. RHS Horticultural Advisor Jenny Bowden will share a Love Letter to her favourite tree that promises to shine bright at this time of year and has a distinctive smell that would tempt anyone. We head to northeast Scotland, to explore an RHS Partner Garden - Gordon Castle Walled Garden - to find out what visitors can expect to see at this time of year, and to find out more about the history of one of the UK’s largest kitchen gardens. And we hear from the RHS Garden Wisley trials team about the results of this year's lily-flowered and fringed tulip trial and ask what we should be planting this autumn for a great display next spring.
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Guy Barter, Jenny Bowden, Zara Gordon Lennox, and Roz Marshall.
Other Links:
Cercidiphyllum japonicum (katsura tree)
Bluebell Arboretum and Nursery
RHS Lily and Fringed Tulip Trial Results
This week, Gareth Richards talks to writer and designer Naomi Slade about the allure of chrysanthemums and their long history of symbolism. We head to RHS Garden Rosemoor for the second part of our series on storing produce over winter, focusing on onions, potatoes and root vegetables. And RHS Garden Wisley’s Ian Trought brings us a masterclass on dividing perennials to create more plants for our gardens next year.
Host: Jenny Laville
Contributors: Gareth Richards, Naomi Slade, Catherine Mawdsley, Ian Trought
Other Links:
This week, RHS Garden Wisley’s Sheila Das talks to ‘no dig’ champion Charles Dowding all about his new book on composting, and how you can go about starting the perfect sized heap to suit your own garden. We explore the wonders of mycorrhizae and learn about the beneficial relationship between fungi and the roots in our soil. And we take a trip to the Malvern Autumn Show to marvel at the display of record-breaking giant vegetables and to talk to some of the hardworking growers.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Charles Dowding, Sheila Das, Jassy Drakulic, Jenny Laville, Sebastian Suski, Peter Glazebrook, Graham Barrett
Other Links:
RHS Grow Your Own Veg Throughout the Year
This week Gareth Richards and James Armitage journey to RHS Garden Wisley’s Hilltop Science Centre to hear how cutting edge research on the changing climate is shaping the way we think about our gardens. From coping with drought conditions and mitigating the flooding potential of our front gardens to helping pollinators in our urban environments, this week we hear from the world's leading thinkers, and unpack what it means for gardeners.
Links:
Sustainable planting combinations
Hear more about Leon Davis’ UnPave the Way garden at Tatton
As the cooler weather of autumn settles in, there's still plenty to do when it comes to keeping your garden in top shape. We’ll be hearing from RHS Garden Rosemoor’s Catherine Mawdsley about how to store your homegrown apples, pears, squashes, and pumpkins through the winter months. We’ll also be finding out the results of the recent Muscari (grape hyacinth) trial with horticulturist Roz Marshall, who shares some of the standout varieties ready to get in the ground now. And finally RHS senior plant pathologist Dr. Jassy Drakulic shares her love of fungi with us, ahead of National Fungus Day.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Roz Marshall, Catherine Mawdsley, Jassy Drakulic
Other Links:
On this week's show we take a trip to Holehird Gardens nestled in the beautiful Cumbrian landscape, with chair of the Lakeland Horticultural Society, Maggie Mees. Next, host Jenny plunges into the mysterious world of plant biosecurity with the RHS’s self-proclaimed plant policeman Dario Spagnoli, to find out why plants need passports, and what to do if you suspect an invasive pest has hijacked your new shrub. Finally, we cast our eyes to houseplants, specifically the rosette-shaped succulents, the echeverias, with passionate plantswoman Tracey Coogan.
Host: Jenny Laville
Contributors: Maggie Mees, Tracey Coogan, Dario Spagnoli
Other Links:
National Plant collections episode of Gardening with the RHS
As September rolls in, there's a crispness in the air and the first signs of autumn are upon us. In this episode we demystify the peat-free with Jenny Laville and the RHS’s Peat-Free Transition Coordinator, Nikki Barker – including what the definition means for exhibitors at RHS Flower Shows who will be affected by changes to the rules. Author and vertical veg grower Mark Ridsdill-Smith reveals his top tips for turning even the tiniest balcony into a thriving, productive garden. Plus, he shares which winter greens you can start sowing now for a delicious cold-weather harvest. And as the nights draw in, it’s also mating season for bats! We chat with Jo Fergusson from the Bat Conservation Trust about how you can make your garden a haven for these fascinating nocturnal creatures.
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Jenny Laville, Nikki Barker, Mark Ridsdill-Smith, Jo Fergusson
Other Links:
This week, renowned nurserywoman Claire Austin shares her top picks of stunning bearded irises – the perfect blooms to plant now for a burst of beauty next spring. Plus, join us as we explore the vibrant world of asters with Helen Picton, discovering how these late-flowering gems can add a splash of colour to your garden just when it needs it most. And finally, we'll take a look at the remarkable conservation success story of the bittern, a bird that owes its booming comeback to the vital wetland habitats many of us can help protect.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Claire Austin, Helen Picton, Jarrod Sneyd, Kate Bradbury, Helen Bostock
Other Links:
This week, we're teaming up with The Plant Review magazine to explore how to future-proof your garden in the face of our changing climate. We discover resilient plants that thrive in both flood and drought conditions, and take a fascinating trip to a nursery that’s successfully cultivating greenery in pure sand. Plus, we find out why the unusually named Ungnadia could soon become a common sight in urban landscapes.
Host: Gareth Richards and James Armitage
Contributors: Jenny Bowden, Elisabeth Karlstad Larsen, Thomas Freeth, Philip Clayton
Other Links:
How to choose plants for seasonally wet and dry soils
Planting for the Future report
RHS Feedback email address: [email protected]
This week we head to the Sussex South Downs to explore RHS Partner Garden, Denmans – and hear about its unique history intertwined with the lives of two unsung garden pioneers, Joyce Robinson and John Brookes. We also bring you top tips for the perfect blueberry harvest and we talk to Plant Heritage about the gaps in their collections and what they’re on the lookout for.
Host: Jenny Laville
Contributors: Gwendolyn van Paasschen, Pavlina Kapsalis, Gwen Hines
Other Links:
Denmans Gardens - RHS Partner Garden
Do you get confused between your “sepals” and “stigmas”? This week Jenny Laville will be studying the anatomy of flowers, with the help of RHS botanist James Armitage. Guy Barter shares top tips for August allotmenting as we celebrate biodiversity in National Allotment Week. And RHS fruit specialist Jim Arbury talks apples and pears, with a guide on harvesting and pruning.
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Jenny Laville, James Armitage, Guy Barter, Jim Arbury
Other Links:
The National Allotment Society
Apples and pears: summer pruning
Allotments – all you need to know
This week we talk about all things lavender, exploring the array of varieties and sharing top tips for growing. We hear from a group of gardeners with a passion for growing and showing dahlias. Plus, we bring you a wisteria masterclass and put your mind at ease when it comes to questions about pruning.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Tim Upson, Alessandra Sana, Vanessa Penn
Other Links:
This week we explore the life and work of William Robinson and look at his enduring legacy. We take a tour of an Arts and Crafts inspired show garden at RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. Plus, we have the ultimate guide to collecting and storing seed from your own garden.
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Emma Raymond, Heather Cooke, Callum Bain MacKay
Other Links:
This week we explore the history of Kiftsgate Court Gardens and catch a glimpse of their famous, gigantic, eponymous rose. We chat to self-confessed fern fanatic Julian Reed about what makes this group of plants so fascinating. Plus, we hear why thinking more about the soil microorganisms in our garden could benefit our blooms and crops.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Anne Chambers, Julian Reed, Eddie Bailey
Other Links:
Welcome to the largest flower show in the North of England; RHS Flower Show Tatton Park! This show is all about exploring the infinite possibilities of your back garden – whether you have an acre of land, or simply a patio or windowsill – Tatton really celebrates spaces of all shapes and sizes. We visit Leon Davis’ UnPave the Way garden to find out how to transform dull paved driveways into inviting spaces which are full of clever take-home ideas designed to ‘slow the flow’ of rainwater. We also hear from some of the exceptional growers who have filled the floral marquee to the rafters with botanical wonders, and finally Tom Saunders – designer of the Orchid terrace garden – highlights some of the threats facing one of the most diverse and widespread flowering plants on earth.
Presenters:
Jenny Laville, Gareth Richards
Contributors:
Colin Hickman (Hoyland Plant Centre)
John Amand (Jacques Amand Limited)
Luke Whiting (D’Arcy & Everest)
Other links:
RHS Flower Show Tatton Park Tickets
Ferns & Carnivorous Plants Show
North West Regional Flood and Coastal Committee: Unpave the Way project
Inside Tatton’s Floral Marquee
In this episode we delve into the profound connection between nature and well-being. Landscape Architect Adam White discusses creating dementia-friendly sensory gardens, designed to evoke early memories and nostalgia. Mandy Barber from Incredible Vegetables shares the benefits of growing perennial edibles. Plus, we visit RHS Garden Wisley to get expert answers to your pressing gardening questions.
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Mandy Barber, Adam White, James Lawrence, Amy Ashman, Nick Turrell
Other Links:
Advice on creating a dementia friendly garden
Supporting people with dementia - a guide for community gardens
RHS Sustainable Planting Combinations
ISHS Symposium on Greener Cities: Improving Ecosystem Services in a Climate-Changing World
Welcome to the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival 2024! We’re exploring the site and transporting you right to the heart of this buzzing showground. Anya Lautenbach – best known as ‘Anya the Garden Fairy’ on Instagram, and RHS Ambassador and passionate plantsman Jamie Butterworth share some top tips on how to create a showstopping garden on a budget. Groundbreaking young garden designer Bea Tann illuminates the magic of moss and makes the case for what new build homes could benefit from embracing these prehistoric plants. Finally graduates of the London College of Garden Design show us just how versatile the Asteraceae (daisy) family can be in your garden. All this and more coming up on this special Hampton edition of Gardening with the RHS.
Presenters:
Jenny Laville, Gareth Richards & Guy Barter
Contributors:
Anya Lautenbach, Jamie Butterworth, Bea Tann, Brian Youngblut, Garden Girls Collective (Melissa Wilkinson, Rachel Barnard, Annie Shephard and Bev Small), Kate Campbell, Sally-Anne Rees and William Murray
Other links:
RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival tickets
10 thrifty tips from The Money-Saving Gardener
Contact:
Chris Kidd, Curator of Ventnor Botanic Gardens, discusses his pioneering low-intervention approach to horticulture with a two decade long experiment which has yielded some surprising results on the Isle of Wight. New research from Butterfly Conservation reveals letting parts of your garden grow wild can increase butterfly numbers by up to 93%, we meet entomologist Dr Richard Fox to find out why moths and butterflies are such important members of the garden community. And finally, we catch up with Gemma Burr at RHS Garden Wisley to learn what you can sow right now to ensure your garden stays insect friendly throughout the season.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Chris Kidd, Dr Richard Fox, Gemma Burr
Other links:
Ventnor Botanic Gardens website
Butterfly Conservation wild garden study
After a deluge of questions relating to garden critters, RHS Principal Entomologist Hayley Jones makes the case for why you shouldn’t be too quick to eradicate slugs and snails from your garden. Artist and ‘accidental activist’ Paul Harfleet shares how he has been transforming sites of hate crime through guerilla gardening. Finally, Rosemoor's Peter Adams talks about the benefits of potager gardening, a style of ornamental kitchen gardens with roots in the formal gardens of the French Renaissance.
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Hayley Jones, Paul Harfleet, Peter Adams
Other Links:
This week we’ll be dropping in with the advisory team at RHS Garden Wisley to answer some of your most asked questions this season. Plantsman Ed Cooper will be shining some light on the enigmatic delphiniums he’s been growing down at the trials field, and horticulturist Verity Battyll shares some top tips on how to keep your rose garden looking stunning all year round.
Host: Guy Barter
Contributors: Ed Cooper, James Lawrence, Amy Ashman, Nick Turrell, Verity Batyll
Other Links:
This week we’re diving into the enchanting world of herbs. Join us as author and horticulturist Connor Smith uncovers the rich history of these remarkable plants, celebrated in food, medicine, and mythology for millennia. The Queen of Herbs, Jekka McVicar, shares her expert advice on cultivating your own herb garden. From RHS Garden Wisley, Liz Mooney delivers a heartfelt love letter to her favourite herb. Plus, we’ll hear reflections from Wisley curator Matt Pottage as he bids a fond farewell after 20 dedicated years with the RHS.
Host: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Connor Smith, Jekka McVicar, Liz Mooney, Matt Pottage
Other Links:
How Herbs Healed the World by Connor Smith
From butternuts to tromboncinos – on this week's show, Wisley’s Liz Mooney tells us about some of her favourite squashes with top tips on how to grow them. Roz Marshall talks us through the results of the RHS Hebe trial at Wisley and Harlow Carr, and Director General Clare Matterson reflects on the announcement of King Charles III as the new patron of the RHS.
Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: Liz Mooney, Roz Marshall, Clare Matterson
Contact: [email protected]
Links:
Shrubby Veronica (Hebe) trial results
Welcome to RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024! We’re diving headfirst into all of the trends and highlights this hotly anticipated show has to offer; from the growers filling the Great Pavilion with their dazzling botanical displays, to the striking RHS Plant of the Year Prunus ‘Starlight’, and of course the legendary garden designers lining main avenue with some truly spectacular show gardens.
This year is all about celebrating the young gardeners of tomorrow, so join us for a peak inside The RHS No Adults Allowed Garden designed by Harry Holding in collaboration with local schoolchildren, as well as Ula Maria’s Best Show Garden-winning Muscular Dystropy UK - Forest Bathing Garden showstopper, Tom Massey and Je Ahn’s Gold medal-winning WaterAid Garden, Tom Stuart-Smith’s luscious Gold-winning The National Garden Scheme Garden, Ann-Marie Powell’s RHS Children Choice Award-winning garden, and much, much more…
Presenters:
Jenny Laville, Gareth Richards, Guy Barter
Contributors:
Tom Massey, Je Ahn, Ula Maria, James Armitage, Ann-Marie Powell
Contact: [email protected]
Other links:
This week we’re celebrating the abundance of colour on offer at this time of year. RHS trials project manager Roz Marshall shares the results of the Grandiflora sweet pea trial; highlighting some beautifully scented selections to try at home. Plantsman Andrew Large chats about the astonishing range of form and colour offered by the often overlooked Buddleja. And plant hunter Kevin Hobbs describes the discovery of a species new to science; the striking black Carex nodosa ‘Kurofune’, and the fascinating story behind its name…
All these stories and more can be found in the June edition of The Plant Review ‘Summer: The Season of Colour.’ You can find out more information on how to subscribe here
Presenters: Gareth Richards, and James Armitage
Contributors: Roz Marshall, Andrew Large, and Kevin Hobbs
Contact: [email protected]
Links:
In the week leading to World Topiary Day, RHS Horticultural Advisor Jenny Bowden gives us an update on growing alternatives to box (Buxus sempervirens), with insights into the ongoing threat of box blight and box tree moth from Dr Stephanie Bird. Nurseryman Ed Canon from Langthorns Plantery shares his love for lilacs, flowering plants that haven’t always been considered fashionable, but are experiencing new interest due to exciting cultivar development and increased availability through micropropagation. Plus, Jenny Laville asks “what makes an award-winning garden?” as she meets Eleanor Hollingworth from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show judging team, two weeks ahead of the world’s most prestigious garden event.
Presenter: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Dr. Stephanie Bird, Jenny Bowden, Jenny Laville, Eleanor Hollingworth, Ed Cannon
Contact: [email protected]
Links:
Peter Adams from RHS Garden Rosemoor gives a masterclass in growing indoor and outdoor cucumbers with suggested varieties for growing in different situations. Esteemed plantswoman Claire Austin shares her expertise in selecting and caring for peonies – covering herbaceous, tree and intersectional types. And American plant stylist and author Hilton Carter spreads joy through the gift of houseplants – with tips for multiplying your collection through techniques including leaf and stem cuttings.
Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: Peter Adams, Claire Austin, Hilton Carter
Contact: [email protected]
Links:
RHS Garden Rosemoor: Fruit and Vegetable Gardens
Claire Austin: Celebration of Flowers
How to grow herbaceous and intersectional peonies
Gareth Richards, Jenny Laville and Guy Barter bring a jam packed show of highlights from the inaugural RHS Urban Show in Manchester - a festival of ideas focussed on greening up small spaces, looking after houseplants, and opening discussion about better urban planning. Amanda Grimes talks us through her easy-to-replicate designs for small (often concrete) spaces, including a Punk Rockery! Jason Williams aka The Cloud Gardener showcases seven innovative gardens designed with local communities that take on the challenges of urban gardening and development. Jacob James from Grow Tropicals talks us through his amazing display of rare and intriguing houseplants, with tips for different growing environments. And award-winning young designer Nathan Webster gives us a tour of his Urban Forest design, created to provoke conversation around the importance of woodland management in built up areas.
Presenter: Gareth Richards, Jenny Laville, Guy Barter
Contributors: Amanda Grimes, Tom Massey, Tinie, Jason Williams, Nathan Webster, Jacob James
Contact: [email protected]
Links:
Pop Culture Planting: Punk Rockery
Happy Houseplants with Grow Tropicals
Chase presents: Inspired by the wild with Tom Massey and Tinie
In the stunning Colour Gardens at The Newt In Somerset, Joe Dransfield explains how a monochrome approach to flowers can deliver dazzling impact. Liz Mooney shares grow your own tips from the World Food Garden at RHS Garden Wisley, including peas, radishes and cardoons. And we hear the inspirational and unconventional story of Roka Brings Flowers – a grower and florist who started a wonderful cut flower business from a narrowboat with a floating greenhouse in tow.
Presenter: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Liz Mooney, Joe Dransfield, Roka Brings Flowers
Contact: [email protected]
Links:
Desert roadcuts, abandoned pasture, heathland and marshy thickets inspire naturalistic planting ideas from Kevin Philip Williams and Michel Guidi, whose new book Shrouded in Light draws from wild shrubscapes. We also visit RHS Garden Rosemoor in North Devon, where Peter Adams gives us a tour of the extensive fruit and vegetable gardens with top tips for growing parsnips, shallots, cloching potatoes and protecting peas. Jenny Laville and James Armitage return to the podcast to debunk more plant terminology – this time talking about “hybrids” – what they are, how they occur and how they can be used to your advantage.
Presenter: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Peter Adams, Jenny Laville, James Armitage, Michael Guidi and Kevin Philip Williams
Contact: [email protected]
Links:
Do you ever fall in love with a plant, buy it, but then not know what to pair it with? Principal Horticultural Advisor James Lawrence introduces his guide to creating planting combinations that don’t just look good, but have a sustainability impact too. Guy Barter shares seasonal tips for establishing tomatoes, beetroot, and winter pumpkins and squash – helping you to set up for the Grow Your Own season. And Jack Aldridge, a horticulturist who looks after Oakwood at RHS Garden Wisley, will be singing an ode to his favourite flowering shrub, the Stachyurus.
Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: James Lawrence, Jack Aldridge
Links:
RHS Gardening advice / ChatBotanist
Often referred to as “the greatest living landscape designer” and a leading figure of the New Perennial movement – Piet Oudolf joins curator Matthew Pottage to talk about his new landscape at RHS Garden Wisley. Helen Bostock also introduces the new Bumbles on Blooms project, and the plants you should choose to help support over 250 species of bees in the UK - some with rather particular tastes. Plus, Sam Gallivan, Leader of the Nursery and Propagation team at Wisley talks about propagating plants at scale.
Presenter: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Matthew Pottage, Piet Oudolf, Helen Bostock, Sam Gallivan
Contact: [email protected]
Links:
Garden designer and writer Ann Treneman shares ideas from her new book RHS Greener Gardening: Containers, explaining how you can create sustainable ecosystems whatever size your space. Jenny Laville speaks with RHS botanist James Armitage to untangle taxonomy, and discuss why plant names keep changing. And Gareth Richards meets David Ford, the holder of the National Plant Collection of Chaenomeles in Surrey, to talk about his love affair with the plant and why they’re due a mainstream revival.
Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: Ann Treneman, Jenny Laville, James Armitage, Gareth Richards, David Ford
Contact: [email protected]
Links:
This week Guy Barter and RHS Sustainability Fellow Chloe Sutcliffe react to a recent study published in the journal Nature Cities that claims that urban agriculture has a carbon footprint up to 6 times bigger than conventional agriculture – discussing what this means for allotmenteers and community gardeners, and how we should be thinking about our environmental impact. Entomologist and wasp defender Serian Sumner explains why spring is the perfect time to make peace with yellowjackets, as the queens emerge from hibernation. And the RHS’s Adrian Thorne gives us a practical guide to pruning shrubby hydrangeas.
Presenter: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Guy Barter, Chloe Sutcliffe, Serian Sumner, Adrian Thorne
Contact: [email protected]
Links:
Nature Cities: Comparing the carbon footprints of urban and conventional agriculture
Endless Forms by Serian Sumner
This week, we’re trying to honour March in all its glory. We’re delving into tasty and blight-resistant tomato varieties. We’re exploring how to build and renovate harmonious and colourful borders. And finally, to celebrate International Women’s Day and the 220th anniversary of the RHS, we’re turning back the clock to honour a few of the women who’ve shaped the organisation.
Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: Simon Crawford, Susie Pasley-Tyler, Fiona Davison
Contact: [email protected]
Links:
Gardening with Colour at Coton Manor
This week we’re exploring small but useful nuggets of information that have the potential to change the way we interact with our surroundings this growing season. We’re getting seasonal tips on GYO – things like training and pruning apple trees and preparing allotments for the busiest time of year. And, we’re delving into plant names – and the system behind our classifications.
Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: Andy Lewis, Jenny Laville, James Armitage
Contact: [email protected]
Links:
Apples and pears: winter gardening
The Newt in Somerset – an RHS Partner Garden
RHS Practical Latin for Gardeners
This week, we’re investigating what exactly makes a plant hardy, how tropical plants survive British winters, and the ways in which what thrives here may be changing – especially in urban environments like London. Presenter Gareth Richards and RHS botanist James Armitage take a tour of weird and wacky tender trees that have survived here against all odds. And, Hillary Collins of Grafton Nursery gives us a behind the scenes look at what you can do to help your eucalyptus withstand British winters.
Presenter: Gareth Richards
Contributors: James Armitage and Hilary Collins
Contact: [email protected]
Links:
This week’s show is all about growing something new. We’re spreading the word about exciting plant species, cultivars, and hybrids from those that love them most. Legendary plantsman Roy Lancaster chats about shrubby honeysuckles, Canadian horticulturist Grahame Ware makes the case for a curious genus called Syneilesis, and Wisley horticulturist Jack Aldridge shares the stories behind flowering dogwood hybrids.
All the stories in this show are based on articles from the March issue of The Plant Review. You can find information on how to subscribe here.
Presenters: Gareth Richards & James Armitage
Contributors: Roy Lancaster, Grahame Ware, and Jack Aldridge
Links:
For this week’s show, we take a behind the scenes look at the ways spring is fighting its way into the picture at RHS Garden Wisley. We go behind the scenes at the Alpine Display House, we get a masterclass on pruning wisteria, and we dive into the life and work of the eccentric and influential horticulturist Ellen Willmott – and explore a theory for why she may have missed her Victoria Medal of Honour ceremony.
Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: Alex Hankey, Matthew Pottage, Suzanne Moss
Links:
How to get wonderful Wisteria: Buying, planting, pruning and care tips
“Gardens have provided solace, opportunity and inspiration for LGBTQ+ people”
Miss Willmott’s Ghosts: the extraordinary life and gardens of a forgotten genius
In this week’s show, we’re zeroing in on how to stretch the money we spend on our gardens as far as possible. We hear from gardening influencer Anya Lautenbach - aka Anya the Garden Fairy – on her money-saving tips. We explore the science behind cuttings with botanist and editor James Armitage. And we take an inside look at the RHS apprenticeship programme.
Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: Anya Lautenbach, James Armitage, Sheila Das, Rory Doyle
Links:
This week’s show is all about cultivating change – whether in your own garden, in your local neighbourhood, or in a magical National Trust property. We’re chatting guerrilla gardening with Ellen Miles, getting top tips from Wisley advisors, and taking a look at all the work that goes into maintaining the laburnum arch at Bodnant Garden (one of our most beloved partner gardens!)
Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: Ellen Miles, James Lawrence, Becky Mealey, Michaela Freed, and Lucy Bidgood
Links:
Guerrilla gardening and reclaiming urban spaces
The Laburnum Arch at Bodnant Garden
Horticulture Careers Discovery Week
As gardeners, we all have plants we love to hate – think aucubas or heathers. And in winter, especially, it seems that these common but unpopular plants play a really important role in our gardens, adding structure, berries, or cheery variegated leaves when we need it most. So today, we’re addressing the overlooked. We’re giving mahonias a well-deserved second chance. We’re revisiting houseplants, which may or may be looking worse for wear after the chaotic holiday season. And finally, we’re taking a look at the work The Glasshouse, a nursery in Kent, does to give women in prison a fresh start.
Presenter: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Jack Aldridge, Tony Le-Britton, The Glasshouse Team
Contact us at [email protected]
Links:
Not Another Jungle: Comprehensive Care for Extraordinary Houseplants
Growing hope and houseplants in prison
We’re past the solstice, so it’s time to both revel in the present and prepare for what's to come as the days get longer and warmer. So, in this week’s show, we’re doing exactly that, taking note of winter wins – like winter-flowering camellias and snowdrops– and addressing RHS members’ questions as we look ahead to the growing season to come.
Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: Jack Aldridge, Naomi Slade, James Lawrence, Becky Mealey, Michaela Freed
Links:
Autumn and winter-flowering camellias
To start off the new year right, we decided to begin with a practical and sustainable guide on what you can get up to outdoors this year – it’s what we’re calling a sustainability health check for the garden. We’ll be chatting about the state of play on peat-free growing, hearing from a range of RHS experts for some top garden sustainability tips, and exploring the future of grow-your-own in our ever-changing climate.
Links:
10 ways to be more sustainable in your garden
For our final episode of 2023, we’re taking a look back at some of our favourite moments on the podcast and across the RHS from the year, exploring emerging trends, new beginnings, and time-honoured advice. Stay tuned for highlights from Director General Clare Matterson, Head of Editorial Tom Howard, Head of Libraries and Exhibitions Fiona Davison, and more.
Presenters: Gareth Richards & Guy Barter
Contributors: Clare Matterson, Tom Howard, Fiona Davison, Jenny Laville, and Jenny Bowden
Links:
As we approach the most festive time of year, we’ve decided to share a recipe for a plant-filled Christmas. In this episode, we’ll be returning to Bristol with Naomi Slade to hear how she decks her halls with things from the garden. We’ll then be making our way to the Frenchay Christmas Tree Farm to get a feel for life at the busiest point in their calendar. And finally, we’re exploring the curious world of parasitic plants, including a festive favourite: mistletoe.
Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: Naomi Slade, Simon Maughan, Alex Summers
Links:
How to grow your own mistletoe
This week, we’re wrapping up warm and heading out into our gardens to take a moment to really appreciate our garden birds. Wildlife sound recordist Gary Moore gives us a masterclass on recognising the calls of common birds at this time of year. Writer and wildlife gardening guru Kate Bradbury shares her top tips for making a bird-friendly garden. And finally, we delve into the story behind the remarkable number of American songbirds that made it across the Atlantic this autumn.
Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: Gary Moore, Kate Bradbury, and Rob Jaques
Links:
RHS Wildlife Gardening for everyone and everything,
RHS How to Create a Wildlife Pond
Weeds have many faces. They feed birds, butterflies, bees, and the like. They spread like wildfire, but are resilient. They compete with crops, yet can add colour and beauty at times when our gardens feel lacklustre. They’re complicated – and the way we regard them, even more so. So, in today's show, we’re taking a holistic look at the weeds in our gardens – discussing what constitutes a weed, how to deal with them safely, and how we can see them as more than the enemy. Chief horticulturist Guy Barter chats about this upcoming book What’s That Weed?, the students who brought together Wisley’s ‘What is a Weed?’ exhibition share their perspectives on these rapid spreaders, and finally, author Ann Treneman gives her advice on creating weed containers.
Presenter: Gareth Richards
Contributors: Guy Barter, Ann Treneman, Students from St John the Baptist School
Links:
RHS Weeds: The beauty and uses of 50 vagabond plants
With the first cold snap hitting the UK this past week, it’s really starting to feel like winter. It’s a time of structural beauty, of evergreen supremacy, of frosty seedheads, and of low but magical light. So this week, we’re focusing in on all the mystery and enchantment of a winter garden. We’re chatting with author Naomi Slade about designing and revamping gardens in the colder months, leaning into year-round grow-your-own with garden manager Sheila Das, and exploring how to bring a bit of the winter charm inside with what’s available now to pick.
Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: Naomi Slade, Sheila Das, Gareth Richards, Hazel Gardiner, and Shane Connolly
Links:
Vegetables: growing for winter
It’s that time of year again… Our annual book special is here! Today, Helen Griffin, RHS Book Publishing Manager, chats with Fiona Davidson, Guy Barter, and Arthur Parkinson about their top gardening book picks of 2023. Tune in for a discussion on the future of GYO and resilient planting, the relevance of gardening history, and wildcard topics like cut flowers, winter gardening, and yes, even murder.
Presenter: Helen Griffin
Contributors: Fiona Davidson, Guy Barter, Arthur Parkinson, and Matt Pottage
Books Discussed:
As the surrounding world starts looking a little bleaker, we’ve decided to explore how to best turn our homes into verdant oases. RHS Digital Editor Jenny Laville chats with Gareth Richards about the best low-maintenance houseplants, fun climbers for indoors, and underrated care tips and tricks. Social historian Catherine Horwood regales us with the history of ever-changing houseplant trends. And finally, author and podcaster Alice Vincent reveals the role houseplants played in her own gardening journey.
Presenters: Gareth Richards and Jenny Laville
Contributors: Catherine Horwood and Alice Vincent
Links:
Houseplants for different locations
Potted History: How Houseplants Took Over Our Homes
Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival
This week, we’re journeying back through time, taking stock of a few significant moments in botanical history. We’re unravelling their mysteries, considering their reverberations, and imagining what this all might mean for the future. We're starting with a tale on the first flowering of the giant waterlily in cultivation, then discovering how ‘Midwinter Fire’ gave Cornus sanguinea a whole new reputation, and finally, we're taking a look at the life and legacy of Arthur Bulley, founder of Ness Botanic Gardens. Each of these stories draws inspiration from articles in the December issue of The Plant Review.
RHS A Plant for Every Day of the Year
Foggy Bottom: A Garden to Share
This week, we journey through RHS Garden Wisley, capturing some of its autumnal beauty while also looking ahead as winter edges ever closer. Garden Manager Sheila Das chats with us about her no-dig journey, entomologist Dr. Seirian Sumner fills us in on wasps’ winter preparation, and finally, Wisley advisors provide a seasonal Q&A.
Links:
How to improve your soil with the ‘No Dig’ technique
Endless Forms: Why We Should Love Wasps
This month – October – is UK Black History Month – and the theme for 2023 is “Saluting our Sisters,” highlighting the influence Black women have had in shaping history and inspiring change. So for today’s show, we’re exploring a few of the extraordinary stories of Black women gardeners who’ve made and continue to make a difference in the world of horticulture — all while looking ahead to what we can do to create a more equitable future. Award-winning garden designer Juliet Sargeant is sharing the stories behind her designs. We’re getting a look at the life and work of Mrs Annie Vann Reid – an American nurserywoman who built a plant empire almost 100 years ago. And, finally, we’re chatting with floral artist Hazel Gardiner about making an impact through plants.
Links:
The history of Black British gardeners is one of resistance
Juliet Sargeant: Gardens & Landscapes
This week, with all the glorious leaf colour on display, we’re exploring the entangled wonder of the arboreal world, getting a behind the scenes look at what trees are up to now and chatting about how best to incorporate them within our gardens. Renowned nurseryman Nick Dunn is back on the podcast to talk crab apples. Silvologist and author Dr Gabriel Hemery is lifting the veil on what exactly is happening with trees at this time of year. And finally, garden designer Arit Anderson and scientist Dr Henrik Sjoman discuss what to keep in mind when choosing what to plant.
Links:
It’s no secret our living spaces are getting smaller. As more and more of us move to urban areas, we’re often having to put up with tight quarters – living in tiny flats with limited outdoor space. So in this episode, we want to explore how to maximise the space you do have – getting the best out of whatever garden, patio, porch, or windowbox you can access. Award-winning garden designer Tony Woods gives us a front garden masterclass. We’re then chatting with journalist and gardener Ann Treneman about creating fetching winter containers. And finally, Fiona Davison, our head of Libraries and Exhibitions, is back to tell the story of an early city gardener – and what we can learn from his 18th century ideas.
Links:
This Saturday – 7 October – is UK Fungus Day. And so for this week’s show, we’re exploring the fascinating faces of fungi. We’re taking a tour of the Fungus Garden at RHS Wisley, journeying back in time with biologist Merlin Sheldrake to investigate our historical uses of these organisms, chatting about 3 easy ways you can grow your own edible mushrooms, and finally, we’re returning to Wisley to get an update on the science team’s honey fungus research.
The music you hear at the very beginning of the show was created by Cosmo Sheldrake. The sounds you hear -- apart from the accompanying piano -- are from recordings of oyster mushrooms devouring a copy of Merlin Sheldrake's Entangled Life. You can listen to the entire song here.
Links:
Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures
Rebel Gardening: A Beginner’s Handbook to Creating an Organic Urban Garden
Honey Fungus: identifying mushrooms
We’ve passed the autumn equinox and officially entered harvest season. It’s time to pick apples, pears, and autumn-fruiting raspberries, harvest squashes, beetroot, aubergines, leeks, and much, much more. And, of course, what we can grow and how crops perform is changing. As our climate becomes more unpredictable and more extreme, some of our go-to classics are no longer shoe-in wins. So, this week, we want to honour the harvest season, while also exploring what it means to grow food resiliently – and in a way that benefits both our gardens and our stomachs. We’re stopping by RHS Garden Wisley’s impressive pumpkin patch, discussing the connection between our soil and gut microbiome with Garden Manager Sheila Das, and exploring unusual but sustainable crops that could be staples in the years to come*.
Links:
Pumpkins and winter squashes: storing
Vegetables: growing for winter
Edible: 70 Sustainable Plants That Are Changing How We Eat
*Please note, when foraging, never eat a plant if you aren’t 100% certain of its identification, and check before harvesting that doing so is legal where you are. Follow the Countryside Code and only pick as much as you will use.
Soil is the backbone of our gardens. A healthy soil means happier plants, higher crop yields, and greater biodiversity. So, this week, as we begin laying out our deliciously rich compost with fervour, we’ve decided to dive deep into what makes for top-notch, productive soil. We’re starting with a masterclass on composting in colder months. Then, we’re turning to the science of eco-acoustics – and how the sounds worms and other invertebrates make can give us insight into the state of our soil health. And finally, we’re myth-busting! Electroculture gardening is everywhere on social media these days, but is it actually worth your while?
Links:
With the release of Fiona Davison’s new book – An Almost Impossible Thing: The Radical Lives of Britain’s Pioneering Women Gardeners – we decided to dedicate this week’s show week’s show to women in the garden. And in that vein, we’re exploring the potential for gardens to be empowering, educational, equalising, and radical spaces. Fiona shares a story from her book about two women from over 100 years ago who show that the roots of ecological gardening run further back then we may realise. Psychotherapist, writer, and gardener Marchelle Farrell reveals how her English country garden helped her get to the core of a question that had troubled her throughout her life: What is home? And finally, garden historian Twigs Way joins us again to give the inside scoop on an early and influential gardening school for women. But, If you’re looking for more advice-oriented content – fear not! Throughout the programme, we’re giving story-specific gardening tips.
An Almost Impossible Thing: The Radical Lives of Britain’s Pioneering Women Gardeners
Uprooting: From the Caribbean to the Countryside – Finding Home in an English Country Garden
Now that it’s September, we’ve officially entered bulb-planting season. It’s time to get things like daffodils, alliums, crocuses and hyacinths into the ground. So, with that in mind, we’ve put together a bulb deep dive – with a strong emphasis on those golden classics, narcissi. In the episode, we travel to Lindley Library to get the backstory of daffodils’ long history of cultivation, chat with TV horticulturist and daff-lover Camilla Bassett-Smith about her favourite varieties, catch a tutorial on naturalising narcissi in the landscape, and then finally, check in with Michael Perry (aka Mr Plant Geek) on all that’s trending with bulbs this year.
Links:
A Host of Golden Daffodils: The story of a springtime favourite
Perhaps nowhere do we face the realities of life and death more frequently and intimately than we do within the garden. We witness a cycle of growth, dieback, and rebirth on a seasonal, weekly, and even daily basis. And so, as we once again inch closer to a new season – to autumn, a time of abundance, growth, but also, let’s face it, decay – we’ve decided to take a deeper look at what gardens and our beloved flora can reveal about both life and death. We’ll hear from Dr. Ross Cameron about his 2023 release How Plants Can Save Your Life, get a behind-the-scenes peek at the field of forensic botany, travel to The Poison Garden in Alnwick to learn about their pernicious new addition, and finally, take a second look at the life cycle of wasps.
Warning: This episode contains a story about police investigations into death, murder and suicide. Listener discretion is advised.
Links:
Gardening for Health and Wellbeing
Murder Most Florid: Inside the Mind of a Forensic Botanist
Mark Spencer's Lindley Late Lecture
With autumn drawing closer and closer, we’re exploring late summer gardens – with all their lushness, colour, and vibrancy — and considering what we can get up to in the garden now to set us up well for the next year. We visit RHS Garden Wisley to take a look at their seed collection process – and get their tips for how to replicate this all at home. We chat with kitchen gardener and food writer Kathy Slack about how we can get the best out of the fruit and veg we’ve grown this summer. And finally, garden historian Twigs Way joins us again to share the second part of her allotment series all about their history from the early 1900s until today.
Links:
Tales from the Veg Patch Newsletter
Today’s show focuses on specific ways we can rewild gardens. We’re exploring how we can intervene in space spaces to create dynamic habitats – without using herds of free-roaming animals. Isabella Tree, co-author of The Book of Wilding and one of the foremost rewilding experts in the UK, chats about her own experiences rewilding her estate and her top tips for getting into a wilder mindset. We’re then shifting gears a bit – turning away from specific practices, to look at some of the fauna pivotal to our natural ecosystems. We visit RHS Garden Wisley to hear the curious case of the roman snail colony there. And finally, we catch up with Lloyd of the Flies Creator Matt Walker and RHS Entomologist Andy Salisbury to learn about the new family-friendly insect trails across all of our gardens.
Links:
It’s National Allotment Week – a time to celebrate our country’s vast network of allotment plots and re-invest in our own dedication to growing fruit and veg. So for this week’s show, we’re taking a wander through a variety of allotments, getting a behind-the-scenes look at the techniques growers use to get the best out of their crops and examining the ways allotments help us better connect to the food we eat. We return to RHS Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter’s allotment in Surrey, where he shares this season’s successes and failures. We stop by RHS Garden Wisley’s Student and Community allotments to have a look at the different approaches taken there. And finally, we get the history of how allotments became commonplace here in the UK from garden historian and writer Twigs Way.
Links:
With the grand opening of Wisley’s Orchid House this past month and the publication of The Orchid Review – our annual orchid yearbook – within reach, we thought it the perfect time for another Orchid Special. In this week’s show, we chat with Julian Shaw, who heads the International Orchid Register, Reshma Lobo, a London-based jewel orchid grower, Art Chadwick who breeds the cattleyas named for American First Ladies, and Kevin Wigley, who’s transformed a room in his house into an orchid sanctuary.
Links:
The International Orchid Register
Now that it’s late July and the whole family’s around, we thought it the perfect time to explore gardening with kids and to reflect on our own memories of growing up in gardens, allotments, and parks. We visit the Hitchin Youth Allotment – Paul Dee, the founder, will share the story of the project as well as his top tips for growing fruit and veg with kids. Afterwards Fiona Davison, RHS Head of Libraries and Exhibitions, recounts the constantly evolving history of the role that children have played in our gardens – and how this relates to societal and cultural shifts. And finally Roy Lancaster, renowned plantsman and broadcaster, divulges the tale of the epic plant discovery he made as a young boy in Lancashire. A discovery that propelled him into the world of horticulture.
Links:
RHS Campaign for School Gardening
RHS Flower Show Tatton Park is finally here! And we’re taking you on a tour of some of the highlights. We’re speaking with young designers like Camellia Hayes and Nathan Webster, exploring the new Sensory Long Border displays, and taking in the extraordinary RHS Nocturnal Pollinator Experience. But that’s not all! Because it’s the final flower show we’re covering on the podcast this summer, we’re putting all the emerging trends we’ve noticed at Tatton in context with themes from the other shows we’ve covered this year.
Links:
Discover RHS Flower Show Tatton Park
RHS Nocturnal Pollinator Experience
This week, we’ll be exploring a few of our cultivated genera and species that, for a variety of reasons, have gone out of style. We’ll hear about Plant Heritage’s Threatened Plant of the Year competition, take you to the beautiful garden of horticultural legend Roy Lancaster to get a tour of his most-cherished aucubas, chat with Wisley curator Matthew Pottage on why we should give Parthenocissus a chance, and finally, take a trip down memory lane with author Naomi Slade. Naomi will be telling us all about the history of the lilac’s bumpy ride in the popularity stakes.
Links:
RHS’s National Plant Collections
It’s the 30th anniversary of the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival and it’s looking better than ever. There’s a magnificent Floral Marquee filled with displays from over 80 nurseries, a Festival of Roses boasting several exciting new cultivars, models of allotment growing, creative show gardens, and star-studded talks all week long – to name but a few of the features that make this festival an annual favourite among gardeners. For this week’s episode, we’re bringing you the highlights. We’re chatting with imaginative designers like Zoe Claymore and Jo Thompson, and we’re taking you inside the Floral Marquee and Festival of Roses to get advice from the UK’s best nurseries.
Links:
RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival
The Wildlife Trusts: Renters’ Retreat
It’s peak summer – a time when many of our flowers are flourishing, adorning our gardens with bright colours and sweet, rich fragrances. We’ve gone from nurturing our gardens to flipping the switch – sitting back and letting them fill us with joy. So, this week we’ve decided to celebrate that with an episode dedicated to flowers. Author and gardener Ben Dark will be explaining why Verbena bonariensis is our horticultural salt, writer and lily-lover Naomi Slade will be sharing her favourite Lilium varieties, and finally, botanist Barry Clarke will make the case for including flowering dogwoods in our gardens.
Links:
The Grove: A Nature Odyssey in 19 ½ Front Gardens
Lilies: beautiful varieties for home and garden
Ungardening isn’t the antithesis of gardening – instead, it’s about taking a new perspective on what tending to the earth can look like. And that’s a fitting theme for today’s show, as it’s chock full of stories that force us to look at things with fresh eyes. We’re getting handy and slightly unusual tips from RHS advisors on June grow-your-own problems. Then, we’re heading to RHS Garden Wisley’s orchard to hear the latest on their brand new fast-growing habitats. And finally, we’re chatting with Garden Museum curator Emma House about how artist Jean Cooke explored the concept of “ungardening” through her paintings.
Links:
Trees! What are they good for?
As we get closer and closer to the official start of summer, the fragrances of our favourite flora are reaching a fever pitch. So for today’s show, we decided to focus on the many smells of our June gardens. In this aromatic deep dive, we’ll chat with renowned garden designer Isabel Bannerman on crafting a balanced but sweet-smelling summer plot, we’ll hear about the favourite Lathyrus cultivars of sweet pea supremo Roger Parsons, and finally, we’ll end with a mystery. Urban naturalist and author Bob Gilbert is back on the show to discuss the curious story of how a favourite scented flower of the Victorians lost its hallmark smell.
Links:
The Missing Musk: A Casebook of Mysteries from the Natural World
It’s June and our gardens are now in full swing. It’s a wonderful time of year – that perfect sweet spot where we can start to take in the fruits of our spring labour, while still looking ahead to the wonders yet to come. And so this week, we’ll be focusing on what you can keep on doing to ensure your garden flourishes all summer long. We’ll be chatting with Alessandro Vitale about the plant that inspired him to grow – chillies, hearing from entomologist Seirian Sumner on the surprising benefits of wasps in June, and checking in with Caroline Williamson at RHS Garden Bridgewater on how we can keep our soil happy and healthy this summer.
Links:
Rebel Gardening: A Beginner’s Handbook to Organic Gardening
Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps
In this special episode, we’re branching off from the regular content of the show to zero in on what we can make when using flora as both our inspiration and our medium. It’s about art – where the greenery of our landscape is the lens through which we create. We’ll be travelling to RHS Lindley Library to get some expert insights into the secrets of the world’s finest botanical art, getting the inside scoop on what to grow to produce natural dyes ahead of the WOVEN festival in Kirklees, and finally, chatting with academic and author Elizabeth-Jane Burnett about writing poetry about moss. Plus, you’ll get a rundown from RHS Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter on what you can do in your garden this week.
Links:
RHS Botanical Art and Photography Show
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023 is finally upon us! And this week, we’ve brought you an episode recorded amongst the hustle and bustle of designer gardens, best in class floral displays, traders, talks and exhibitions, and more. We’ll catch up with a few of the big designers – including Tom Massey, Cleve West, Charlotte Harris & Hugo Bugg – explore the RHS Chelsea Plant of the Year Competition, and get a behind-the-scenes look at what goes on at the show.
Links:
The RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2023
The Royal Entomological Society Garden
For this week’s show, we’re delving into the natural world of cities – looking at how best to grow our favourite plants with limited space and to treasure the diverse flora and fauna of our cityscapes. Author Ben Dark shares his love for the wisteria embellishing urban front gardens. Urban farmer Alessandro Vitale – you might know him as Spicy Moustache — takes us through all his tips and tricks for growing vertically in whatever space you’ve got. And, author and amateur urban naturalist, Bob Gilbert, gives his thoughts on the sounds of London’s trees. But that’s not all – we’re ending the show with a touching tribute from Daisy Payne on what she’s doing in honour of Celebration Day on 28 May.
Links:
Rebel Gardening: A Beginner’s Handbook To Organic Urban Gardening
The Grove: A Nature Odyssey in 19 ½ Front Gardens
Ghost Trees: Nature and People in a London Parish
“The Susurration of Trees” BBC Radio 4 programme
Make the most of your urban garden
As the UK becomes more and more diverse, the flora we grow is changing – and we want to honour that. So, this week, we’re spotlighting the plants grown here from elsewhere. First up, we’ll take a trip to an allotment site in Southall. Here, award-winning garden designer Manoj Malde will chat with us about the fruit and veg from around the world that he’s including in his garden at the Chelsea Flower Show. We’re then delving into the history of plant collectors. Fiona Davison, Head of Libraries and Exhibitions at the RHS, will take us through the often overlooked legacy of how some of our garden favourites made it to Britain from far-off lands. Finally, we’ll head to RHS Bridgewater’s Chinese Streamside Garden – and explore how international horticultural partnerships have changed over the years.
The RHS and Eastern Eye Garden of Unity
Rare and Familiar Friends: The story of Chinese plants in our gardens
The coronation of His Majesty King Charles III is just two days away. As a royal society, we thought it was only fitting to celebrate our new monarch with a royal-themed episode. First, we’ll check in with three of the Prince’s Foundation estates – Highgrove, The Castle of Mey, and Dumfries House – to get the inside scoop on how they manage their vast gardens while still considering the environment. Then we’ll visit Arundel Castle for their Tulip Festival, leading you on a tour of their over 130,000 tulip blooms, before giving you a tutorial on how to build a coronation container in time for National Gardening Week.
Links:
It’s almost May, which is Mental Health Awareness Month. So for this week’s show, we’re getting into growing for wellbeing, and the many ways you can enjoy the sounds, sights, smells and experiences of gardening this spring. RHS Advisors discuss their go-to wellness tips in the thick of the growing season, artist MoYah reveals the unexpected links between gardening and hip hop, and RHS Advisor Becky Mealey takes us back to the mediaeval times, explaining how monks created productive but calming gardens of their own.
Links:
Gardening for health and wellbeing
At the RHS, we try to think critically about the ways we cultivate the earth and interact with the wildlife that inhabit our green spaces everyday. But this week, in honour of Earth Day, we wanted to take extra time to really celebrate our gardens – and to share our love for the many plants and animals that bring them to life. Gardener and writer Ben Dark shares a history of the tulip that stretches back 1,000 years, RHS Senior Ecologist Gemma Golding chats with us about her exciting wildlife research, and artist and author James Bridle takes us through his exploration of the intelligence of plants. Plus, throughout the show we’ve sprinkled in plant love letters from Alice Vincent, Victoria Bennett, and Sue Mabberley.
Links:
The Grove: A Nature Odyssey in 19 ½ Front Gardens
Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence
This week, we’ll be checking in on the health of our gardens, taking a look at the various diseases on the rise here in the UK and what we can do to stave off their encroachment. But that’s not all! With the return of allergy season, we’re also going to explore the many ways we can garden with not just the health of our plants in mind, but with that of our own bodies, as well. Plant Pathologist Dr. Liz Beal chats with us about the RHS annual disease rankings, Dr. Shubha Allard and Dr. Patrick Yong take us through the allergies to watch out for this spring, and finally virologist Dr. Tim Wreghitt shares his advice on building a low-allergy garden.
Links:
Hilltop Live: “Plants and Allergy” on 21 April
Today, we’re looking to the future – exploring how we can create resilient gardens that can flourish in the changing climate while also serving their local ecosystems. Renowned Garden Designer Tom Massey shares his blueprint for designing sustainable gardens that persevere, Peter Jones, the Garden Manager of Hardy Ornamental at Wisley, gives us a tour of the plants that survived through this past winter, and finally, RHS Advisor Esther Wolff chats with us about her tips on what you can do now to build up your garden’s resilience.
Links:
RHS Resilient Garden: Sustainable Gardening for a Change Climate
April is just around the corner, and you know what that means: The hectic growing season is finally upon us. So, with that in mind, today’s episode will be exploring some of the big spring to-do’s. RHS Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter takes us to his allotment in Surrey, giving us a tour of his current grow-your-own projects, Flower Farmer and Author Rachel Siegfried chats with us about creating the perfect spring bouquet, and finally, Fiona Davison, Head of Libraries and Exhibitions, walks us through the influence certain royals have had on gardening trends throughout history.
Links:
In today’s episode, we’re exploring the many, many ways we can all get wilder with our lawns. It’s part of a larger RHS campaign with The Wildlife Trusts to celebrate how we can Bring Our Lawns To Life by gardening with nature, rather than against it. Mark Schofield from conservation charity Plantlife takes us through the whys and hows of creating wildlife-friendly lawns, Sue Mabberley from Nant y Bedd garden in Wales chats with us about her grassland and meadow care, and Janet Crouch from Maryland, USA tells us the story of her legal battle to keep her biodiverse front yard.
Links:
With spring just around the corner, we thought we’d devote an entire episode to blossoming trees. We’ll get into selection and planting advice, and journey across time and space to discover their history and current status. Tree Nurseryman Nick Dunn walks us through how to select the perfect cherry tree for an English garden, Journalist Naoko Abe takes us back in time to explore the work and legacy of cherry-tree fanatic Collingwood Ingram, and Richard Baines, Curator at Logan Botanic Garden in Scotland, gives us an inside look at his efforts to conserve endangered evergreen magnolias. Plus, RHS Advisor Lenka Cooke shares a dynamic tutorial on planting flowering apple trees this March.
Links:
Flowering cherry trees for small gardens
‘Cherry’ Ingram: The Englishman Who Saved Japan’s Blossoms
Plant Explorer: A Plantsman’s travels in Northern Vietnam
This week, in honour of International Women’s Day, we’re giving space to a few of the women who’ve found meaning and fulfilment in the gardens they’ve created. We’re exploring the power that exists in our own connection with the rich environments we inhabit, and the myriad of ways we can care for and cultivate it. Writer and gardener Alice Vincent opens up about her quest to find out why exactly women grow, RHS edible grower Suzie Kelly shares her top tips for growing her favourite vegetable (tomatoes!), and author Victoria Bennett gives us an honest look at the apothecary garden she built in the midst of deep grief.
Links:
This week, we’re exploring the afterlife of plants. We’re looking at what happens when we remove different plant material from our gardens – either parts of flora still growing or others long dead – and preserve or display them as they were then, frozen at a particular stage of their life cycle. Flower farmer and author Rachel Siegfried shares her secrets on growing perennials and woody plants for cut flowers, Tivvy Harvey and Lydia Walles take us into the inner sanctum of Wisley’s herbarium, and then horticulturist Mark Tuson shows us the ornamental structures he’s made from pine cones and dried flowers. Finally, Fiona Davison, Head of Libraries and Exhibitions at the RHS, takes us away from dead plants and into the world of dead insects. She’ll help uncover a piece of the RHS’s rich history, giving us an inside look at the life and legacy of entomologist George Fox Wilson.
Links:
How to dry flowers and foliage
Our gardens don’t exist in a vacuum, just for us. They are part of a much larger ecosystem. They provide habitats that are crucial for supporting biodiversity and can offer scores of additional environmental benefits. So today, we’ll be looking at straightforward and eco-friendly alternatives we can take up to transform our gardens into the sustainable havens our world deserves. Chris Baines, a leading environmentalist, will delve into how wildlife gardening has changed over the past 50 years, RHS Advisor Nikki Barker will share her top tips for growing seeds and cuttings in peat-free compost, and finally, Jenny Bowden, another advisor and long-time friend of the show, will give us an inside look at her research into box alternatives.
Links:
RHS Companion for Wildlife Gardening
How to use peat-free compost: for seeds and cuttings
In this week’s show, we’re zooming in on how to garden in small spaces. Whether you’ve got a neglected corner of your garden that you need to fill – or you’ve no garden at all – we’ve got you covered. We’ll be exploring a host of techniques for turning odd nooks and crannies into little green oases. John Dower, a long-time member of the Alpine Garden Society, will start us off with a master-class on constructing mesmerising gardens in miniature. Connor Smith, head of the Rock Garden at Utrecht Botanic Gardens, will share his tried and tested advice for using recycled materials to make compact crevice gardens. And finally, Alpine Horticulturists Amy Smethurst & Bertie Swainston will share their love for dainty dionysias.
Links:
While it’s not quite planting season, fear not – there are still creative ways you can grow and harvest food today, and, of course, it’s never too early to start planning ahead for spring. So this week, in our food special, we explore the many ways you can enjoy the different tastes and flavours of a winter garden. Woodland Ecologist and author Artur Cisar-Erlach delves into the many unusual and delicious ways of using trees in the kitchen, RHS Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter takes us to a supermarket to share all the cheap and easy ways we can grow fruit and veg from food scraps, and Paul Oswick closes out the show with a tour of the nearly 100 seed potato varieties sold at Clockhouse Nursery in North London.
Links:
The Flavor of Wood: In Search of the Wild Taste of Trees From Smoke and Sap to Root and Bark
Grow your own fruit, vegetables, and herbs
This week, we’re journeying back in time to explore plants of yore. Otherlands author Thomas Halliday tells us the story of the United Kingdom’s ecological origins, Kew Botanist Rafael Govaerts describes how garden plants can go extinct, and Karen Clarke gives us the scoop on the RHS’s Digital Dig project – an effort to digitise the many, many thousands of old plant nursery catalogues in our collections. But that’s not all, Mr. Plant Geek, aka Michael Perry, will close out the show by bringing us into the present with a love letter to an exciting hyacinth he helped roll out. It’s an episode chock-full of deep-rooted flora stories!
Links:
This week, we explore some of the most eye-catching parts of deep winter gardening, all while providing advice on what you can do in your garden as January draws to a close. Dawn Smith from Walberton Nursery shares her love of hellebores, RHS Team Leader Mark Tuson teaches us how to build ornamental habitat structures to attract wildlife, and RHS Advisors respond to pressing winter questions and concerns.
Links:
This week we’re diving into the world of aquatic and semi aquatic plants. Sarah Gerrard-Jones, also known as The Plant Rescuer, gives a dynamic tutorial on making mini water features for the home, Dr. John David, Head of Horticultural Taxonomy, describes the invasive nature of many aquatic plant varieties, and then, Dr. Elisabeth Larsen, RHS Ecosystems Services Fellow, takes us away from ponds and waterways, giving us an exclusive tour of her research on how trees capture water.
Links:
The Plant Rescuer: The book your house plants want you to read
Get ready – today’s episode is all about hedges. RHS scientist Tijana Blanusa delves into the environmental benefits different hedges provide, grower and self-proclaimed “plant nerd” Kevin Hobbs fills us in on unconventional plants that end up making great garden barriers, and RHS advisor and longtime friend of the show Leigh Hunt teaches us how to plant deciduous hedges in January. Plus, several RHS experts share hedge “love letters,” letting us in on their favourite variety.
Links:
Hedges: choices with environmental benefits
The Story of Trees: And How They Changed the Way We Live
We thought there was no better way to start off the new year than with an episode entirely focused on sustainable gardening. In this week’s show, RHS Sustainability Fellow Chloe Sutcliffe gives you an inside look at her research measuring the environmental footprint of our horticultural practices, a handful of RHS experts share their go-to tips for cultivating a greener garden, and finally, we delve into our podcast archives to revisit two of our favourite permaculture stories.
Links:
Planet-friendly gardening tips
10 ways to be more sustainable in your garden
This week, we’re looking back on our garden highlights (and lows) of 2022 while also taking stock of the current state of our winter green patches. We’ll hear from Wisley horticulturalists on their reflections of the year, learn all about colonised fungi log piles from plant pathologist Jassy Drakulic, and get the inside scoop on why Wisley doesn’t cut back their herbaceous perennials until early spring.
Useful links:
Tis the season of fruiting hollies, mysterious mistletoe, and of course, the ubiquitous Christmas tree. In this episode, we’re bringing you stories on how to make our gardens and homes as festive as the season demands. We’ll hear from RHS advisor Rob Stirling on how to keep your finicky poinsettias alive, get a hands-on tutorial from wildlife expert Helen Bostock on cut-stem crafts, and discover the final tasks you can do in your garden before the start of 2023.
Useful links:
Trying to impress your neighbours with a rich, diverse, and perhaps even wacky winter garden? Well, look no further. On this week’s episode, we’ll hear about author Phil Clayton’s favourite winter plants, get an inside look at the weird and wonderful seed varieties sold at the RHS, and dive into the world of bird-friendly wreaths with our Senior Wildlife Specialist Helen Bostock.
Useful links:
The handy guide you’ll want for your Christmas shopping! Join Guy Barter, Fiona Davison and Tom Howard as they discuss their favourite horticultural reads of 2022.
Books mentioned:
Useful links:
Putting the garden to bed over winter is a thing of the past. Today we’ll be speaking to an expert horticulturist on how he created a 400m walk of winter interest planting and we’ll be chatting with Big Plant Nursery about spicing up your evergreen reserves with lush exotics. Plus we catch up with our RHS experts to learn the essential gardening jobs you ought to be doing now.
Useful links
Absolutely everything. Today’s episode is in honour of National Tree Week, the largest annual tree celebration in the UK. We’re chatting with a whole host of experts including wildlife gardening presenter and author Kate Bradbury, science educator Jonathan Newell, and RHS Edibles team leader Paul Kettell. From managing apple orchards to the science and history of trees, you won't want to miss this special!
Useful links:
It’s time to stock up on some Vitamin G to get through these colder, darker days. Join us as we chat with RHS Wellbeing Fellow, Dr Lauriane Chalmin-Pui about how scent impacts our emotions, completely subconsciously! Plus we head to RHS Wisley’s Wellbeing Garden to learn how to design with wellness in mind, and visit a community gardening project in London’s Gladstone Park to hear what keeps the volunteers going in even the wettest winters.
Useful links:
Today we’re plunging into the depths of the woods! We’re chatting with permaculturist and garden designer Pippa Chapman on how to make your own backyard forest garden. And wildlife expert James Lowen transports us to some stunning British woodlands to learn about the rare creatures lurking within. Plus we meet the RHS gardening advisors to get some crucial tree-related FAQs answered.
Useful links:
From medieval ruins to country estates, the UK is filled with old and significant spaces that continue to inspire. So today we’re talking to the head gardener at Arundel Castle about how to plant 80,000 tulip bulbs. Plus we hear the epic historic tale of the Bicycle Boys who toured the length of the country visiting all manner of estates and gardens. Finally, we get expert advice from organic gardener Ellie Mitchell on how to plant wildflowers right now, to please the bees and get a touch of that traditional cottage whimsy.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/tulip
https://www.arundelcastle.org/
It’s the last week of October and though the deciduous leaves have yet to all fall, we need to start preparing for the upcoming season. So today we’re talking you through the essential jobs to do in your green space with RHS horticultural advisor Jenny Bowden. We’ll also be hearing from wildlife author James Lowen on the humble moth and how to encourage its numbers in your garden. Plus we visit Gladstone Park in North London, to celebrate Black History Month as we explore a gardening initiative which encourages new ways of looking at British history.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/in-month/NOVEMBER
https://www.rhs.org.uk/wildlife/moths-in-your-garden
https://www.waterstones.com/book/much-ado-about-mothing/james-lowen/9781472966971
A new frontier of debate has arrived in the garden… artificial grass. Does this plastic green sward have any place in our homes? That’s the question we’ll be answering today.
Featuring interviews with Dr Mark Gush, Head of Environmental Horticulture at the RHS, Organic Gardener, Ellie Mitchell and the owner of Dunsborough Park, Caroline Sweerts.
Autumn care for lawns: https://www.rhs.org.uk/lawns/autumn-care
Wildflower meadow establishment: https://www.rhs.org.uk/lawns/wildflower-meadow-establishment
Bulbs: https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/types/bulbs
Ellie’s Wellies Organic Gardening: https://ellieswellies.com/
The Wildlife Garden Podcast: https://thewildlifegardenpodcast.podbean.com/
Dunsborough Park: https://dunsboroughpark.com/
It’s time for a love-in and a few lessons about the stuff we shove our precious plants into… soil! This episode we’re speaking to not one, but two expert scientists on what’s going on in the ground. Dr Magdalena Boshoff clues us into the world of nematodes and Dr Jassy Drakulic fills us in on fungi. Plus we chat with horticulturist Joe Lofthouse about how to choose the best compost bin to improve the soil in your garden.
Send soil samples to the RHS: https://www.rhs.org.uk/membership/rhs-gardening-advice/sending-in-samples
Honey fungus: https://www.rhs.org.uk/disease/honey-fungus
Stem and bulb nematode: https://www.rhs.org.uk/biodiversity/stem-and-bulb-nematode
Dust off your gardening gloves and don your sunglasses, as we look to the skies on today’s show. We’ll be exploring the dizzying heights of a famously tall plant, the gunnera, with expert botanist James Armitage. We’ll also be taking on a high flying adventure with garden author Ben Dark into the world of trees. Plus, if you need a reminder on what to do in your garden or allotment this week, fan favourite Matthew Oliver is here to jog your memory.
If you're curious about extending the growing season and continuing to enjoy home-grown food through the colder months, this episode is for you. Matthew Oliver joins us with tips from RHS Hyde Hall's famous glasshouse – with a focus on overwintering chillies for an abundance of spice next year. Emmy nominated TV chef, Ching He Huang, shares the flavours she’s been playing with at Wisley’s World Food Garden – ahead of her involvement in the RHS’s Festival Of Flavours. And The Garden magazine's Gareth Richards helps us get to grips with winter salads. Presented by Guy Barter.
Useful links:
Let’s take a break from soil and jump into the world of water. With expert advice from award winning garden designer Nicola Oakey on how to introduce a pond to your space and top tips from author Martyn Cox on managing the practicalities of pond life. Plus we get the lowdown on water butts with RHS Chief Horticultural Advisor Guy Barter.
RHS advice on ponds
RHS advice on managing water in your garden
https://www.rhs.org.uk/gardening-for-the-environment/water
The Gardener's Yearbook by Martyn Cox
https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/martyn-cox/the-gardeners-yearbook/9781784728151/
Nicola Oakey Design
In this week's episode we'll be hearing from a panel of experts across the country regarding the humble and often overlooked front garden. Frances Tophill will explain how to keep your small space green during even the darkest winter months. Matthew Oliver from RHS Hyde Hall, shares how to add seasonal variety with a lasagna planter of bulbs. Plus, Ben Dark will inspire us with the history and whimsy of the front garden, along with a few tips on making yours stand out.
It is also with deep sadness and respect that we mark the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Patron of the Royal Horticultural Society. Director General of the RHS, Clare Matterson CBE, shares a few words on the Queen's incredible impact on the RHS and the wider horticultural community.
To read more from Frances Tophill: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-modern-gardener/frances-tophill/9780857839435
To read more from Ben Dark: https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/ben-dark/the-grove/9781784727420/
For more info see www.rhs.org.uk/podcast
Resident gardening guru Guy Barter gives the lowdown on slow worms, a fascinating and under-appreciated part of our garden wildlife. Organic gardener Anna Greenland sings the praises of lemon verbena, sharing some delicious and unusual recipes. Urban food grower Alessandro Vitale ('Spicy Moustache' of Instagram fame) explains hügelkultur - a low-cost and eco-friendly way to boost soil health.
Which fruit and veg thrive in heatwaves? RHS veg growing experts Guy Barter and Matthew Oliver discuss what our record-breaking summer has taught us about the fruit and veg we can grow in the UK climate. BBC Gardeners' World presenter Frances Tophill shares her advice on getting the best from your houseplants. Jenny Berger, a researcher at the University of Reading, offers insight into how houseplants can improve our wellbeing - busting a few myths along the way.
Grow your own fruit and veg (RHS website)
Houseplant hub (RHS website)
This week's programme is stuffed with barrowloads of seasonal kitchen gardening advice from organic grower for top chefs Anna Greenland. RHS Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter offers a guide to harvesting sweetcorn and author Alys Fowler shares some hard-won thrifty gardening wisdom.
Useful links
Grow your own (RHS website)
Grow Easy by Anna Greenland
The Thrifty Gardener by Alys Fowler (eBook)
Fermenting - enlisting the help of friendly microbes - is a brilliant way to preserve your homegrown harvests. Fermented foods can be great for our gut health and are easy to make, explains food writer and gourmet gardener Mark Diacono. Did you know that many herbs are great for bees too? Andrew Perry of Urban Herbs sings the praises of some of his favourites which are a real hit with pollinating insects and cooks alike. Plus Bella Lack, author of The Children of the Anthropocene offers her take on why rewilding offers hope for the future.
Useful links
Food writer and gourmet gardener Mark Diacono sings the praises of home-grown apricots - a crop that's thriving in this warm, dry summer. Forager Alys Fowler braves the prickles of garden (and car-park) favourite mahonia*, harvesting its blue berries to make jams and jellies with stunning colour and unique flavour. And if you're not the only one enjoying your home-grown fruit, Guy Barter has advice on the spotted wing drosophila, a fruit fly that causes tiny white maggots in many kinds of fruit, especially cherries and raspberries.
Useful links:
*Note: the species name for Oregon grape is Mahonia aquifolium. This is the principal edible mahonia species, although the berries of some hybrid mahonias are also sometimes eaten. Never eat a wild food unless you're 100% sure of its edibility and identity. If you have underlying health conditions, are pregnant or nursing, consult a doctor before adding new foods to your diet.
Now's the perfect time to pep up your summer cocktails and add perk to your pasta with an array of unusual plant-based ingredients. Andrew Perry of Urban Herbs is a man on a mission to spice up herb gardens across the country with unusual varieties that you may never have heard of – from lime mint to a smoky rosemary that's a sure-fire summer barbecue hit.
Hear our resident gardening guru Guy Barter give seasonal tips on growing green manures and successionally sowing veg crops for bountiful harvests into the autumn months. Plus, author Kendra Wilson takes us on a journey into sound with her new book, Garden for the Senses.
Useful links
A retrospective look at last week's RHS Flower Show Tatton Park. Meet some of the Young Designer of the Year finalists, discover how science has informed a beautiful travelling garden dedicated to wellbeing, explore the new 'Greener Front Gardens' category and much more.
Useful links
To celebrate Bees Needs Week we're taking a walk with RHS wildlife experts Helen Bostock and Nick Tew, to help count Britain's bumblebees. The Bumblebee Conservation Trust are asking for volunteers to join Bee Walks across the country to help save these cute, furry and very important pollinators. Then we visit a forest bathing garden to discover how a trend that started in Japan in the 1980s is making waves here too. And finally, Ellie Mitchell from The Wildlife Garden Podcast shares her love of a rare native plant that's very much at home in gardens.
Useful links:
This week we meet renowned lavender expert Simon Charlesworth of Downderry Nurseries, who grows hundreds of varieties of this fragrant favourite. Discover which is the most scented type of all and hear his choice of the easiest ones to grow. Matthew Biggs, author of The Great British Village Show, offers tips on how to grow prizewinning veg; and Guy Barter prepares for a bean feast on his allotment as he shares a cunning tip for abundant autumn harvests.
Useful links
A gardening wonderland returns to southwest London with the world's biggest annual flower show. Join us on a tour of the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival – bursting with glorious gardens, petite yet productive allotments, fragrant roses and thought-provoking design ideas.
It's a creature that has been crawling around the earth's surface since the time of the dinosaurs. There are estimated to be more than a million of them for every human on earth. But what do they actually do? Dr Andy Salisbury, Principal RHS Entomologist delves into the fascinating world of ants and their effect on our gardens. Meanwhile in Hackney, Clair Battaglino welcomes us to Rainbow Grow, an LGBTQ+ community gardening project that brings multiple generations together. Plus professional wildlife gardener and fellow podcaster Ellie Mitchell from The Wildlife Garden Podcast offers tips on how to welcome invertebrates great and small to your plot.
Useful links
What have wasps ever done for us? The answer might surprise you, as we meet entomologist Dr Seirian Sumner, author of Endless Forms: The Secret World of Wasps. Food and garden writer Rekha Mistry offers advice on growing turmeric and ginger at home, while RHS Garden Hyde Hall's very own veg growing guru Matthew Oliver gives tips on growing chilli peppers.
Useful links
As summer hits its stride we head into the orchards at RHS Garden Wisley to meet Sheila Das and Liz Mooney. They explain how the garden is greening up its act, bringing wildlife and wildflowers into the heart of the productive growing spaces. Then we head to Alresford in Hampshire, to meet watercress grower Tom Amery who shares the secrets of growing this uniquely healthy British favourite. Plus author Sandra Lawrence tells the tale of an unsung hero of horticulture, the mysterious Miss Willmott – a gun-carrying Edwardian plant collector with a complex personal life.
Useful links
This week we visit the World Food Garden at RHS Wisley to see how new eco-friendly ways of growing are taking shape. Guy Barter gives his expert guide to brassica growing for bumper crops of Brussels sprouts, kale and kalettes next winter. Plus a fond farewell to Sue Biggs CBE, who's been Director General of the RHS for the last 12 years – hear her reminisce about some personal highlights and a close encounter of the royal kind...
Useful links
Are plants passive green things, just waiting for the next passing mouth to munch on them? Or do they sometimes fight back? This week's programme is devoted to the botanical poisoners, the tricksters and the carnivores that turn the tables and seek revenge on the animal kingdom. Featuring Amy Stewart, author of Wicked Plants – The A-Z of Plants That Kill, Maim, Intoxicate and Otherwise Offend; RHS Editor and flytrap fan Gareth Richards; and Dr Chris Thorogood, Deputy Director of Oxford Botanic Garden.
Useful links: ►Wicked Plants [book] ►RHS advice on potentially harmful plants ►Learn more about carnivorous plants ►Oxford Botanic Garden & Arboretum
The greatest flower show on earth is back in its traditional time and place at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea, in spring. And what a show! Join us as we meet the designers of the Gold medal-winning 'A Rewilding Britain Landscape' garden to explore their portrayal of how the return of a long-lost species, the beaver, can transform landscapes and ecology. BBC Gardeners' World presenter Joe Swift gives a tour of his bee-friendly garden and we meet 'Cloud Gardener' Jason Williams and fellow balcony gardener Bea Tann.
Useful links:
Did you know that bumblebees have a 75% higher metabolic rate than hummingbirds? These furry insects need a lot of energy! And your neighbourhood could help fuel our native bumblebees to fly 1 million miles. The secret is plants. We speak to RHS wildlife expert Helen Bostock and the pollinator team at RHS Science who have designed three planters that will give bees, and people, a real boost. Podcast hosts Guy Barter and Gareth Richards discuss companion planting, and Lucy Bellamy shares some simple yet fabulous planting combinations from her latest book, Grow 5.
Useful links
This week we're heading out into the darkness to meet some surprising garden friends – bats. These furry night fliers are surprising garden helpers, hoovering up all kinds of mosquitos and midges that might otherwise be biting us instead. Shirley Thompson MBE has been at the forefront of UK bat conservation for almost 40 years and she offers advice to gardeners on how we can all play our part in helping keep bat numbers strong.
Did you know that some cacti grow on trees and bloom at night? Meet the spectacular moonflower, Selenicereus wittii, an epiphytic cactus from the Amazonian rainforest. Sally Petitt of Cambridge University Botanic Garden tells the tale of how it bloomed in Britain last year, for the first time ever. Plus expert veg grower Matthew Oliver from RHS Garden Hyde Hall gives some brilliant tomato-growing tips, particularly for the tricky-but-tasty beefsteak varieties.
Useful links
RHS advice on bats in your garden
Stars of the Night (Wild About Gardens pdf all about UK bats)
Secrets of the Moonflower (Cambridge University Botanic Garden)
This week we meet Michael Marriott, one of the UK’s foremost rosarians. Michael shares his expertise from a lifetime of rose growing, which is distilled into his new book, RHS Roses: An Inspirational Guide to Choosing and Growing the Best Roses. Plus troubleshooting tips on rose growing from the RHS Gardening Advice team.
Matthew Oliver, horticulturist and veg grower extraordinaire continues our greenhouse growing mini-series with a piece from the beautiful glasshouse at the heart of RHS Garden Hyde Hall. Hear seasonal GYO advice and first-hand hints on how to grow melons with exceptional flavour.
Useful links: ►RHS Roses: An Inspirational Guide to Choosing and Growing the Best Roses ►RHS advice on how to grow roses ►Global Growth Vegetable Garden ►How to grow melons
Join us as we celebrate 200 years of spreading gardening knowledge with RHS educational programmes. Whether you want to travel the world on botanical adventures for a Master of Horticulture qualification, or for your children to learn how to plant seeds, we are there for you. An RHS course can open the door to a fantastic career in gardening, and we hear from students past and present who share their stories.
Out of more than 200 gardens nationwide, only one can take the coveted crown of RHS Partner Garden of the Year. The 2021 winner has just been announced as Larch Cottage Nurseries in Cumbria's Eden Valley – we meet owner Peter Stott to find out the story behind his piece of horticultural heaven. Back at RHS Garden Wisley, horticultural advisors James Lawrence, Nikki Barker and Julie Henderson get together to answer queries on compost-making, wildflower growing and how to get year-round fragrance in your garden. Plus we talk to Sui Searle, curator of the alternative gardening newsletter Radicle, to hear about her journey into gardening and the changes she hopes to inspire within the horticultural world.
Useful links
Scented shrubs mentioned
Today we're taking a trip back in time with Dr Chris Thorogood, Head of Science at Oxford Botanic Garden. Enter long-forgotten worlds of the weird and wonderful plants which flourished before, during and after the age of dinosaurs, and discover their descendants that still flourish today. Ferns are among these 'living fossils', and RHS Gardening Advisor James Lawrence shares some favourite varieties to grow in the garden* in discussion with colleagues Nikki Barker and Julie Henderson.
Plus, an alternative look at ancient plants with Sarah Gerrard-Jones, aka The Plant Rescuer. She's built a huge online following charting her journey into rescuing abandoned plants and championing houseplant heirlooms passed down through generations.
Useful links: ►RHS info on ferns ►RHS info on houseplants ►When Plants Took Over the Planet: The Amazing Story of Plant Evolution by Chris Thorogood ►The Plant Rescuer – The Book Your Houseplants Want You To Read by Sarah Gerrard-Jones
Contributors: Chris Thorogood, Sarah Gerrard-Jones
In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster Tayshan Hayden-Smith brought a traumatised community together through gardening. In almost exactly 5 years his gardening journey has taken him from neglected London street-side spaces to a garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. It's a tale of resilience, resourcefulness and horticultural heroism – and homage to the bravery of 1970s activists whose legacy lives on today.
There's bravery in admitting your mistakes too, as BBC Gardeners' World presenter Adam Frost shows as he shares one of his gardening fails. Plus, RHS advisors gather to answer queries on daffodils that won't flower, growing lawns in shady spots and veg growing in raised beds.
Useful links: ►'Hands Off Mangrove' garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show ►Grow2Know CIC ►Search RHS advice online ►Join the RHS for free, personalised gardening advice ►Houseplant care ►Lawns in shade ►Grow your own fruit and veg
To celebrate the publication of his new book, The Creative Gardener, Adam Frost joins us this week to share some of his favourite creative outdoor projects. From simple yet stylish benches to a planted coffee table, there's a host of wonderful features you can make with very little cash.
Meanwhile at RHS Garden Harlow Carr, horticulturist Aimee-Beth Browning explains how having wet or boggy ground can open up a whole world of planting possibilities. Plus a look at how to up your gardening game with a greenhouse and Guy Barter shares his timely tips for vegetable growing.
Useful links: ►The Creative Gardener by Adam Frost ►Explore RHS gardening design inspiration ►Streamside, RHS Garden Harlow Carr ►Plants for bog gardens ►Further information about bog and aquatic plants ►Choosing a greenhouse ►RHS Grow Your Own
Selected plants mentioned: ►Harlow Car primulas [note spelling] ►Rodgersia ►hostas ►astilbes ►Iris ensata ►RHS Find a plant
Welcome to the contrary and fascinating world of one of the biggest plant families on Earth. 'Orchids are plants of great contradiction but always astonishing beauty' - says James Armitage, botanist and Editor of The Orchid Review magazine, who shares insight into what draws people to these strange and wonderful plants.
Historian Abra Lee tells the tale of a young enslaved man in Reunion who solved the riddle of how to pollinate vanilla - the only orchid out of 25,000-plus species that's commercially grown as a food crop. Did you know you can grow orchids as garden plants? Jeff Hutchings of Laneside Hardy Orchids gives tips on how to grow them outdoors - why not make an orchid meadow in your garden this year?
Colin Newlands tells the tortuous tale of our rarest native orchid, the lady's slipper orchid (Cypripedium calceolus). Thought extinct in the early 20th century: a chance encounter in the 1930s on an isolated hillside led to decades of botanical intrigue - and even personal protection for the plant. We discover how this exquisite wildflower is faring almost a century after its assumed disappearance.
Useful links
Selected plants mentioned
Hardy orchids: Bletilla, Calanthe, Dactylorhiza, Cypripedium, Pleione
Indoor orchids: Phalaenopsis (moth orchids), Cattleya
Our Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter wanders into Hampton Court Palace's historic yew maze to meet Gardens Manager Graham Dillamore. Once haunt of kings and queens, this 300 year old spread of tortuous topiary now welcomes thousands of visitors and contains valuable lessons for modern-day gardeners too. Guy offers hedge planting and maintenance advice before handing over to Dr Stephanie Bird who shares the latest thinking on box tree moth, a recent arrival to Britain that can devastate plantings of box (Buxus sempervirens).
Did you know that hedges have some powerful environmental benefits? Recent RHS research shows they can reduce pollution levels, help prevent flooding and even provide habitat for wildlife and food for pollinators. RHS scientist Dr Mark Gush explains more, and shares details of the best plants to use.
Useful links
Plants mentioned
(to find suppliers please visit RHS Find a Plant or the RHS online plant shop)
Yew (Taxus baccata), western red cedar (Thuja plicata), hawthorn (Crataegus) and cotoneaster (Cotoneaster franchetii and others), beech (Fagus sylvatica), pyracantha, Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii), cherry laurel (Prunus laurocerasus), holly (Ilex aquifolium), hornbeam (Carpinus betulus)
This week’s programme is all about being kinder to the earth and the creatures we share it with. Guy Barter meets the founder of Riverford Organic Farmers, Guy Singh-Watson, to discover how he turned a family dairy farm into a byword for sustainable food. Dave Goulson, author of Silent Earth – Averting the Insect Apocalypse shares his thoughts on how gardeners can be more active in the fight to save our bees, butterflies and all manner of threatened insects. Plus RHS Gardening Advisor Nikki Barker offers advice to gardeners who grow on sandy soil.
Plant names and their pronunciation can be a vexed business. If you’re overwhelmed by long Latin plant names, take heart: botanist and author James Wong comes to the rescue and explains why the botanical names matter and how a little knowledge of them can give us clues as to how plants look and perform. He explains that since Latin is a dead language, there’s no-one around to correct your pronunciation – so just go ahead and have a go!
When familiar plant names are changed, it can be a source of annoyance for us gardeners. But James Armitage, Editor of The Plant Review, explains there is method behind the apparent madness of this; plus, after the storms, what you need to check in your garden this weekend.
Useful links
Promoting garden plant diversity (RHS website)
Swifts... their screaming calls are the sound of summer, yet these aerial acrobats are in trouble. Their UK population has declined by almost 60% over the last two decades. This week we meet John Stimpson, the man on a mission to reverse the decline of this much-loved bird. Does garden size matter when it comes to providing food for pollinating insects such as bees and butterflies? New research from the RHS along with the Universities of Bristol, Cardiff and Northumbria shows that even tiny gardens have a valuable role to play – but it all depends on the planting. The paper also produced interesting findings on how certain types of plants and flower shapes were particularly useful to pollinators, as scientist Nick Tew explains. Plus RHS gardening advisor Nikki Barker shares tips on how to garden successfully on clay soil.
Useful links
The man who built homes for 60,000 swifts (Guardian article)
University of Bristol press release (pollinator research)
This week we visit Yorkshire to talk to allotmenteer and YouTuber Mothin Ali (MyFamilyGarden), to find out how he's preparing for the growing season ahead. Including tips on chillies, tomatoes and green manures (also known as cover crops). RHS Gardening Advisor Nikki Barker shares expert tips on how to garden on chalky soil. Gareth Richards has an ode to an 'allotment workhorse' – a fragrant shrub with abundant crops of healthy berries – the blackcurrant.
Useful links
Mothin Ali - My Family Garden (YouTube)
Advice on green manures / cover crops
Wild gardening might be all the rage right now but it's not as new as you might think. In this programme we examine the legacy of pioneering Irish gardener and writer William Robinson. He shook up the horticultural world in the late 1800s, bringing in new approaches to planting that still resonate today. Plus, Guy Barter has a 'love letter' to snowdrops and we speak to Peter Moore, the British plant breeder behind some of the most successful plant introductions of the past few decades.
Useful links
The number of people renting houses has doubled in the past 10 years. But how do you make a garden when you're faced with blank concrete paving or the prospect of having to move home in just a few months?
Luckily we have barrowloads of fantastic advice from Matthew Pottage, Curator of RHS Garden Wisley and long-term renter of a house in southwest London. His new book, 'How to Garden When You Rent' is published today.
Hear him discuss some of the tips and tricks he's learned from a decade turning a grey concrete yard into a lush urban jungle, all without lifting a single slab. Including advice on design, planting ...and dealing with landlords.
Plus we talk to garden designer Sara Edwards, who created an innovative container garden at last year's RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Using IBCs (intermediate bulk containers, widely used in industry and farming) she created miniature forests, ponds and naturalistic planting, to stunning effect. All without breaking into the ground below.
Useful links
RHS How to Garden When You Rent by Matthew Pottage
See Sarah Edwards' 2021 Chelsea garden, The IBC Pocket Forest
Get RHS advice and inspiration on container growing
From Sussex to South Carolina, this week we're exploring what happens when plants take over. What do you get if you mix poor quality farmland, a passion for wildlife and a biodiversity crisis? The answer is a pioneering rewilding project that has stunned ecologists and revolutionised ideas about nature conservation in Britain. We head to Knepp Estate in Sussex to meet Isabella Tree and find out more.
Bill Finch is a naturalist who grew up in the Deep South of the USA. Here he witnessed a very different form of rewilding from an invasive plant, kudzu (Pueraria montana). It became infamous during the 20th century for swamping roadsides and blanketing everything in its path - becoming known as a scourge and 'the vine that ate the South'. But is it as much of a problem as people think?
And finally, podcast regulars Fiona Davison and Gareth Richards discuss the history of two very wild plants, ivy (Hedera helix) and Japanese knotweed (Reynoutria or Fallopia japonica).
More information
This week's programme is dedicated to vegetable growing. You can grow veg almost anywhere - as New Yorker Kofi Thomas proves with his inspirational story of how he created The Good Life Garden from a former dumping ground in the heart of Brooklyn. It's a project that has improved the lives of thousands of Long Island residents and has distributed literally tons of fresh homegrown fruit and veg to people in need. Regular presenters Guy Barter and Verity Battyll of RHS Garden Wisley offer seasonal veg growing tips and share their successes and failures growing unusual crops in the UK climate. Plus Kamal Bell, CEO of Sankofa Farms in North Carolina tells us all about a crop that's close to his heart - okra. For more info please see rhs.org.uk/podcast or check out our show notes.
This week we're working with plants through time and across the world. Author and previous guest on the show Jonathan Drori explores more incredible plants from across the globe, including Tillandsia (Spanish moss) from the American Deep South. It's a mysterious relative of the pineapple plant that has almost no roots yet is woven into the history and culture of the southern states. Historian Fiona Davison tells the story of Thomas Fairchild, a London man who made the first ever intentional plant hybrid. Plus Anna Greenland presents the last of our grow-your-own beverages series with a look at elderflower.
Useful links: ► Find out more about tillandsias (also known as Spanish moss or airplant) ► Find suppliers of elder plants
Contributors: ► Fiona Davison, Head of RHS Libraries and Exhibitions ► Jonathan Drori, author of Around the World in 80 Plants ► Anna Greenland, author of Grow Easy
Happy New Year from the RHS podcast team! This week's programme is all about looking forward to a green and pleasant 2022. Wisley’s Guy Barter and Verity Battyll discuss their 5 winter must-have plants, while gardening advisor James Lawrence shares his top 5 seasonal jobs. Plus RHS editor and allotmenteer Gareth Richards offers advice on how to grow fruit and veg in a sustainable way. For links to more information please see our show notes or visit rhs.org.uk/podcast
What a year 2021 has been for gardening! We've had weird weather, an autumn Chelsea Flower Show, a peat ban, RHS Bridgewater opening... the list goes on. This week we're looking back to some of our podcast highlights, including delving into the tiny but terrifying world of parasitic wasps with RHS Wisley scientist Magdalena Boshoff who explains how these insects do an amazing job destroying garden pests. Zehra Zaidi tells the story of how she helped name a rose after a trailblazing black gardener - the first rose to be named after an ethnic minority Briton. Allotmenteer and YouTuber Mothin Ali (@MyFamilyGarden) shares tips on growing the perfect potato and RHS Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter gazes into his crystal ball and gives his predictions for gardening in 2022. Plus garden designers Ann-Marie Powell, Humaira Ikram and Lee Burkhill share their thoughts on what they'll be focusing on next year.
This week's programme is bursting with seasonal greenery. Award-winning writer and RHS blogger Graham Rice explains how to grow a Yuletide favourite and one of our most mysterious native plants – mistletoe. Then we hop 'over the pond' for the latest in our Hidden Horticulturists series to explore the life of one of the 20th century's greatest botanists: holly expert Dr Shiu-Ying Hu. Meanwhile back at RHS Garden Wisley, Verity Batyll describes her favourite plants to brighten up winter gardens, and Devon-based food writer Mark Diacono shares his personal recipe for a delicious homegrown lemon verbena cocktail. For links to more info please see our show notes or visit rhs.org.uk/podcast
When a successful lawyer suffered a debilitating stroke, it turned her life upside down. Meet Bhupinder Sohanpal as she explains how she rebuilt herself through gardening with the help of the Wisley Community Allotments programme. The Horticultural Therapy Trust is a charity which uses gardening to help support people facing long-term mental health issues and brain injuries: its Project Manager Deb Hoskin tells the stories of some of the people who've benefitted. Plus, organic food grower Anna Greenland shares a recipe for a traditional homegrown, home-made winter pick me up – fire cider. For links to more info please check out our programme page or visit rhs.org.uk/podcast
Cold winter nights are the perfect time to get reading, so this week’s podcast is a celebration of gardening books and garden writing. Writer and BAFTA award-winning TV producer Jonathan Drori takes us around the world in 80 plants while RHS authors Fiona Davison and Gareth Richards discuss their favourite books of the year. Plus a look at how gardening newsletters are bringing fresh ideas to the horticultural world. Books mentioned in this programme: Around the World in 80 Plants – Jonathan Drori Flower-Name Fancies – Guy-Pierre Fauconnet RHS Weeds – Gareth Richards The Hidden Horticulturists – Fiona Davison Vegetables: The Definitive Guide for Gardeners – Roger Phillips and Martyn Rix How to Garden the Low-Carbon Way – Sally Nex Spirit of Place – Susan Owens Tropical Plants and How to Love Them – Marianne Willburn For links to more info please see our episode page or visit rhs.org.uk/podcast
Did you know that there are 30 different species of worm in the UK? Or that fungi can actually help create habitats for wildlife? This week we're exploring the roles played these crucial but often overlooked garden residents. Back indoors we meet a hidden hero of horticulture - ‘likely the most prolific botanical explorer of the early 20th century’. Staff from RHS Garden Wisley and the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh join forces to tell his story. For links please visit our show notes or rhs.org.uk/podcast
Learn how to grow winter veg staple (and superfood) kale with RHS expert Guy Barter, who recommends the best varieties and explains how to keep problems at bay. There's also great advice on when and how to protect tender plants from the winter cold, and chef Mark Diacono tells us how to make delicious and warming sloe gin from the fruit of the blackthorn bush.
Kuda Chimbudzi is a superstar gardener, growing healthy fruit and veg for the Premier League footballers at Tottenham Hotspur FC. Our resident gardening guru Guy Barter heads to north London to check out his award-winning kitchen garden at the club's grounds. Plus we meet Lucy Vincent of Food Behind Bars – a charity that's trying to improve the lives and diets of prisoners through growing food; and Greig Robertson from Edible Estates in Edinburgh, an organisation creating neighbourhood plots to bring fresh food to disadvantaged communities. **Useful links: ** - Read more about the kitchen garden at Tottenham Hotspur FC https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/health-and-wellbeing/real-life-stories/kuda-chimbudzi - The Garden magazine - https://www.rhs.org.uk/about-the-rhs/publications/the-garden - Food Behind Bars https://foodbehindbars.co.uk - Edible Estates http://www.edibleestates.co.uk - [RHS Flourish Fund](https://www.rhs.org.uk/education-learning/bursaries-grants/rhs-bursaries/flourish-fund)
From smuggled wealth hidden in the pockets of 17th-century refugees to imperial beheadings and long treks up freezing, desolate mountainsides... there's more to the humble tulip than you might think. And as the nights draw in, now is the perfect time to get planting these spring favourites. Garden designer Humaira Ikram shares her favourite varieties and ways of using them, and we head to Cambridge University Botanic Garden to discover a unique collection of species tulips and talk about their origins. Plus historian Fiona Davison tells the tale of how tulip mania shaped the history of Europe and gripped the Ottoman Empire to deadly effect.
You might think of gardening as an intrinsically green activity, but our verdant hedges and lush lawns can cause some very dirty habits. In an eye-opening interview, low-carbon gardening expert Sally Nex gives the lowdown on how ditching petrol power tools is important for the health of both gardeners and our planet. Plus we head to COP26 host city Glasgow to discover a pioneering urban seed library that helps create resilience in local food systems. And in Cornwall we meet artist Dr Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg who's created an inter-species installation using an algorithm to create gardens designed from the perspective of pollinating insects, rather than humans. For links to more information on today's topics please check out our show notes or visit rhs.org.uk/podcast
En liten tjänst av I'm With Friends. Finns även på engelska.