Fresh From The Pod - Gardening Stories

In our last episode for the season, we're sharing a fascinating interview with legendary journalist, writer, broadcaster, presenter, lecturer and of course gardener, Peter Seabrook.Peter tells us everything about his lucky breaks and perseverance over his 80-year career digging deep into horticulture; from his early years cultivating sweetpea at the age of 6, to how he sees things have changed and his predictions for the future of gardening.Join us for this celebration of 50 episodes of Fresh...

Hayfever season is upon us but this doesn't necessarily mean you need to hide away snivelling in the potting shed! Unbelievably, 25% of people struggle with puffy eyes, runny noses and the infamous Chelsea cough, with this figure increasing annually. But fear not; low allergen and healing garden designer, Olivia Kirk, shares her insights on which plants are fantastic for evolving your garden into a low irritation zone. Olivia started offering low allergen garden design in 2010 after the ...

Every gardener dotes on a good pot! This week Jim Keeling joins the Candide podcast to dig the dirt on his 45-year career handcrafting pots and statement planters for gardeners. Whichford Pottery is world-renowned for its reputation in bespoke and specialist pots and so Jim explains why we should all doth-our-cap and take a bow to the terracotta pot!Hosted by Tamsin WesthorpeEdited, Mixed & Mastered by Antony NascèDirected by Helen Allsebrook

As part of the Candide Festival of Flowers, Tamsin interviews Georgie Newbery, whose whole life revolves around flowers, organically grown on 7 acres, where she creates the most dreamy bouquets, ethically. She talks about her career path up to this point, discloses top tips for growing your own cut flowers and tells us about her favourite and most valued cut flower.Georgie Newbery is the flower farmer and florist at Common Farm Flowers in Somerset. For the past ten years, she has been growing...

To mark Mental Health Awareness week, Tamsin speaks to Hannah Powell of Perrywood Tiptree Garden Centre in Essex. Hannah openly discusses her mental health - in the past, she has suffered from depression and Functional Movement Disorder. She shares practical ways to use the power of plants and nature to improve her well-being and explains why she is so passionate about helping people through her blog, The Cactus Surgeon.Hannah also talks about the mental health of those in the Horticultural i...

This week we have the dramatic story of plant hunter Tom Hart Dyke, who headed off into the Columbian jungle with his companion, Paul Winder, in the year 2000, where they were kidnapped, held hostage for 9 months and given up for dead. During Tom's ordeal, he began plans for a garden that would contain plants from around the globe planted in their respective continents of origin. On his return, he did just that, at his family home of Lullingstone Castle, where he also showcases his passi...

Altruistic garden designer, Lee Burkhill, favourably known as the Garden Ninja, gives insight on why he's so generous with his gardening knowledge, the importance of turning your garden into an extension of your house and shares what he's been up to on his uplifting YouTube channel.Hosted by Tamsin WesthorpeEdited, Mixed & Mastered by Antony NascèDirected by Helen Allsebrook

This week, we're visiting Accra in Ghana to meet Rosaline Nutsugah, who has opened a brand new garden centre during lockdown! This fabulous story focuses on the health, climate and environmental benefits of gardening, which propelled Roseline into this new, ambitious career.Tamsin and Roseline met through the My Real Garden project by Ann-Marie Powell, which started online during lockdown and now an incredible book, celebrating the power of plants and the wonderful people that grow them acros...

Weather is a key part of everything we do as gardeners, so this week, Tamsin talks with meteorologist and weather presenter Laura Tobin. Together they talk about the changing weather, how it affects us as gardeners and how she found herself in this rare, early morning career, taking complicated science and making it easy for us all to understand. Hosted by Tamsin WesthorpeEdited, Mixed & Mastered by Antony NascèDirected by Helen Allsebrook

Like many of us, self-employed hair and beauty advertising photographer to the stars, Tony Le-Britton turned his attention to tropical plants during lockdown but on a breathtaking scale. Tony is a tropical plant obsessive who has cultivated a lucrative side business selling nodes and leaves worth up to £12,000!Will he ever return to his former career? Tamsin finds out!See the scale of his home takeover on Instagram @notanotherjungleHosted by Tamsin WesthorpeEdited, Mixed & Mastered ...