Alan’s down-to-earth world of gardening

Peter Brown and Chris Day chat with horticultural supremo Alan Down in this latest Dig It podcast.

Alan has been incredibly active in the gardening trade from early days in commercial growing in

Germany, developing skills in germinating tree seeds and in Somerset to setting up a very successful

garden centre and most recently taking on a new role - President of the Horticultural Trades

Association. Alan is an accomplished gardening writer and broadcaster, who also enjoys worldwide

travel, photography and even deer management!

Plant mentions Wildflowers, pot chrysanthemums, spray chrysanthemum, tomato, bedding plants,

Japanese maples, hellebores, hardy ferns, ornamental grasses, and native trees.

Alan’s desert island plant: Apple tree or a citrus lemon or lime if the island was in the tropics.

Product mentions and useful links

Two recommended peat-free composts Melcourt SylvaGrow Compost, Westland New Horizon

Compost

The popular gift vouchers from the Horticultural Trades Association (HTA) available from all Garden

Centres and Nurseries who are HTA members.

Hilliers Nurseries (container growing unit)

Edible Bus Stop Group

Cannington College

Pershore College

Royal Horticultural Society education

British Deer Society

International Plant Propagator’s Society

Luminaries: Sir Harold Hillier, Roy Lancaster, Stewart Chambers and Stewart Brookfield, head of

horticulture at Somerset College of Agriculture and Horticulture in the 1970s.

HTA toxic plants list https://hta.org.uk/potentiallyharmfulplants

You can follow Alan on these platforms

You can read Alan’s Blogs on gardening and travel on his website www.down-to-earth.co.uk

Gardening Candid app

Alan on Instagram @alanedown Twitter @AlanEDown Candide UK: @AlanGardenMaster

Our thanks to Chiltern Music Therapy for providing the music

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