Our gardens don’t exist in a vacuum, just for us. They are part of a much larger ecosystem. They provide habitats that are crucial for supporting biodiversity and can offer scores of additional environmental benefits. So today, we’ll be looking at straightforward and eco-friendly alternatives we can take up to transform our gardens into the sustainable havens our world deserves. Chris Baines, a leading environmentalist, will delve into how wildlife gardening has changed over the past 50 years, RHS Advisor Nikki Barker will share her top tips for growing seeds and cuttings in peat-free compost, and finally, Jenny Bowden, another advisor and long-time friend of the show, will give us an inside look at her research into box alternatives. 

Links:

RHS Companion for Wildlife Gardening

How to use peat-free compost: for seeds and cuttings 

Box Alternatives Survey

In this week’s show, we’re zooming in on how to garden in small spaces. Whether you’ve got a neglected corner of your garden that you need to fill – or you’ve no garden at all – we’ve got you covered. We’ll be exploring a host of techniques for turning odd nooks and crannies into little green oases. John Dower, a long-time member of the Alpine Garden Society, will start us off with a master-class on constructing mesmerising gardens in miniature. Connor Smith, head of the Rock Garden at Utrecht Botanic Gardens, will share his tried and tested advice for using recycled materials to make compact crevice gardens. And finally, Alpine Horticulturists Amy Smethurst & Bertie Swainston will share their love for dainty dionysias. 

Links:

Alpine Garden Society

Harlow Carr Alpine House

Rock gardening

While it’s not quite planting season, fear not – there are still creative ways you can grow and harvest food today, and, of course, it’s never too early to start planning ahead for spring. So this week, in our food special, we explore the many ways you can enjoy the different tastes and flavours of a winter garden. Woodland Ecologist and author Artur Cisar-Erlach delves into the many unusual and delicious ways of using trees in the kitchen, RHS Chief Horticulturist Guy Barter takes us to a supermarket to share all the cheap and easy ways we can grow fruit and veg from food scraps, and Paul Oswick closes out the show with a tour of the nearly 100 seed potato varieties sold at Clockhouse Nursery in North London.

Links:

The Flavor of Wood: In Search of the Wild Taste of Trees From Smoke and Sap to Root and Bark

Grow your own fruit, vegetables, and herbs

Clockhouse Nursery

This week, we’re journeying back in time to explore plants of yore. Otherlands author Thomas Halliday tells us the story of the United Kingdom’s ecological origins, Kew Botanist Rafael Govaerts describes how garden plants can go extinct, and Karen Clarke gives us the scoop on the RHS’s Digital Dig project – an effort to digitise the many, many thousands of old plant nursery catalogues in our collections. But that’s not all, Mr. Plant Geek, aka Michael Perry, will close out the show by bringing us into the present with a love letter to an exciting hyacinth he helped roll out. It’s an episode chock-full of deep-rooted flora stories! 

Links:

Otherlands: A World in the Making

The Plant Review

Digital Dig

Volunteer with the RHS

This week, we explore some of the most eye-catching parts of deep winter gardening, all while providing advice on what you can do in your garden as January draws to a close. Dawn Smith from Walberton Nursery shares her love of hellebores, RHS Team Leader Mark Tuson teaches us how to build ornamental habitat structures to attract wildlife, and RHS Advisors respond to pressing winter questions and concerns. 

Links:

How to grow hellebores

Plan your visit to Wisley

Dead wood and compost heap habitats

Advice

This week we’re diving into the world of aquatic and semi aquatic plants. Sarah Gerrard-Jones, also known as The Plant Rescuer, gives a dynamic tutorial on making mini water features for the home, Dr. John David, Head of Horticultural Taxonomy, describes the invasive nature of many aquatic plant varieties, and then, Dr. Elisabeth Larsen, RHS Ecosystems Services Fellow, takes us away from ponds and waterways, giving us an exclusive tour of her research on how trees capture water. 

Links:

The Plant Rescuer: The book your house plants want you to read

How to grow aquatic and bog plants

Aquatic Weeds

Climate Change & Trees

Get ready – today’s episode is all about hedges. RHS scientist Tijana Blanusa delves into the environmental benefits different hedges provide, grower and self-proclaimed “plant nerd” Kevin Hobbs fills us in on unconventional plants that end up making great garden barriers, and RHS advisor and longtime friend of the show Leigh Hunt teaches us how to plant deciduous hedges in January. Plus, several RHS experts share hedge “love letters,” letting us in on their favourite variety. 

Links:

Hedges: choices with environmental benefits

Hedges: planting

The Story of Trees: And How They Changed the Way We Live

We thought there was no better way to start off the new year than with an episode entirely focused on sustainable gardening. In this week’s show, RHS Sustainability Fellow Chloe Sutcliffe gives you an inside look at her research measuring the environmental footprint of our horticultural practices, a handful of RHS experts share their go-to tips for cultivating a greener garden, and finally, we delve into our podcast archives to revisit two of our favourite permaculture stories. 

Links:

Gardening for the Environment

Planet-friendly gardening tips

3 ways to connect to nature

RHS Sustainability Strategy

10 ways to be more sustainable in your garden

This week, we’re looking back on our garden highlights (and lows) of 2022 while also taking stock of the current state of our winter green patches. We’ll hear from Wisley horticulturalists on their reflections of the year, learn all about colonised fungi log piles from plant pathologist Jassy Drakulic, and get the inside scoop on why Wisley doesn’t cut back their herbaceous perennials until early spring.

Useful links:

Tis the season of fruiting hollies, mysterious mistletoe, and of course, the ubiquitous Christmas tree. In this episode, we’re bringing you stories on how to make our gardens and homes as festive as the season demands. We’ll hear from RHS advisor Rob Stirling on how to keep your finicky poinsettias alive, get a hands-on tutorial from wildlife expert Helen Bostock on cut-stem crafts, and discover the final tasks you can do in your garden before the start of 2023. 

Useful links: