March 22, 2026

Ep69: A Good Ol' Chit-Chat With... Ashley Edwards

1 hour 12 minutes

Horticulturist and horticultural therapist Ashley needs little introduction as one of the presenters on Gardeners' World. But not just that, he’s also a member of the DIY SOS team, appears on ITV’s Love your Weekend with Alan Titchmarsh, is a regular on the BBC Gardeners' Question Time panel, is one of the Ask the Experts team in Gardeners' World Magazine, and is head gardener at Crocus at Dorney Court. *draws breath😮‍💨

Not surprisingly, Ashley's been called the busiest man in horticulture and so we were really grateful he could find a moment to join us. In fact Ashley had to fly off for some filming straight after so we do fairly steam through his dream garden, but we still found time for A Good Ol’ Chit-Chat!

On this final episode of Chit-Chats for Series 4, Ashley tells us about his varied and exciting route into horticulture and how it took him from the UK to abroad - from US Pennsylvania where summers were so humid, the dahlias would produce aerial roots, to Sicily where he could pluck and eat sweet blood oranges straight from the tree.

We also find out about tackling imposter syndrome, manifesting a place in St Lucia, the significance of Japan's cherry blossom festivals, green furry monsters, sunflower borders, mossy mounds, air-frying kale, dance floors in the greenhouse, and Sweetpea and Ashley's shared love for Missy Elliott and Mary J Blige🕺

And if you want to get some time with Ashley, then he’s taking tours and having a chat at Crocus at Dorney Court on 28th March (there will be cake), or you can meet and natter with him at both Gardeners' World Spring Fair on 3rd May and Gardeners' World Live on 18th June.

Some mentions from our guest, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/