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

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The Money-Saving Gardener

Propagation techniques

New Shoots

RHS Apprenticeships

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

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Guerrilla gardening and reclaiming urban spaces

Get Guerrilla Gardening

Nature is a Human Right

The Laburnum Arch at Bodnant Garden

Horticulture Careers Discovery Week

Diploma in Horticulture Practice

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

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Mahonia

Not Another Jungle: Comprehensive Care for Extraordinary Houseplants

Growing hope and houseplants in prison

The Glasshouse

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

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Autumn and winter-flowering camellias

RHS The Winter Garden 

Wisteria: pruning

Snowdrops

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.

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Peat-free gardening

Peat- free nurseries

10 ways to be more sustainable in your garden

Edible: 70 Sustainable Plants That Are Changing How We Eat

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

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Rewilding Small Spaces

The Winter Garden

Maximising Minimal Space

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:

RHS The Winter Garden

Frenchay Christmas Tree Farm

How to grow your own mistletoe

Christmas with the RHS

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

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Birds in your garden

Plants for birds

RHS Wildlife Gardening for everyone and everything, 

RHS How to Create a Wildlife Pond

Garden BirdWatch

BTO’s BirdTrack Migration Blog

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

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RHS Weeds: The beauty and uses of 50 vagabond plants

Identify common weeds

Controlling Weeds

Exhibition: What is a weed?

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:

RHS The Winter Garden

Vegetables: growing for winter

Winter Flowers Week