My guest this week is Belgian nurseryman Karel Goossens. Karel runs an internationally renowned nursery supplying box plants and is the Chariman of the Belgian arm of the European Boxwood & Topiary Society. With decades of experience growing box and an irreverent approach to tackling the problems that go along with it, when he was recommended to me, I thought he was my ideal sort of guest! He does recommend intensive cultivation methods which include spraying chemical fungicides and insecticides, so this epsiode is not for everyone. However, I do acknowledge that many historic gardens are built around a backbone of box and that many listeners are professional gardeners who deal with box and its attendant blights, so this epsiode is a practical look at what you can do. 

Dr Ian Bedford's Bug of the Week: Box Tree Moth

Links

Kwekerij Goossens on Instagram

European Boxwood & Topiary Society

Karel's website for tripod ladders

Our Plant Stories with Sally Flatman

Other episodes if you liked this one:

Lawns with David Hedges-Gower

Hiring a Garden Designer