Gardens, weeds and words podcast, S03.5 E04 show notes

A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing.

These notes may contain affiliate links. 

Garden soundtrack

00:40 spring settling in, and it’s been a warm, dry start

02:34 what your garden wants from you, the last in my series of readings on how to find yourself in a state of harmony with your garden

reading

08:00 ‘Cow Parsley’ from Jack Wallington’s Wild About Weeds, read by Milli Proust

interview

10:52 Jack joins us to talk about the impact of his book five (now six!) years on, how practical it really is to incorporate weeds purposefully into our gardens, and whether a gentler, more natural approach to planting has any cut through beyond the garden media. 

12:08 Did Jack’s pro-weed stance feel like a lonely position to be adopting back in 2019?

13:28 The effect on Jack’s garden design practice

13:54 The manifesto approach to writing your first book

14:42 Has there been a noticeable change in the attitude of gardeners towards weeds since the publication of the book?

17:50 Has there been any trickle down to the general public from a wilder look embraced by top garden designers at shows like Chelsea?

22:54 A plant in the wrong place? Weren’t they here first? But gardening is largely about declaring what we want to grow and where. How does Jack find a middle ground?

25:25 Managing a weedy population – regular culling

26:22 Jack’s wildflower meadow and help with weeding

27:15 Practical steps with embracing weeds – where do you start with becoming wild about weeds?

29:22 A weedy through-line – how weeds flow through all of Jack’s work

***

Thank you to Milli Proust for her delightful reading from Jack’s book, Wild About Weeds, published by Lawrence King in 2019.

My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, is published by DK Life, and is available here

I’m ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at https://ko-fi.com/andrewtimothyOB. Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. 

substack: Bramble & Briar website: www.andrewtimothyobrien.com email: [email protected] instagram: instagram.com/AndrewTimothyOB

Gardens, weeds and words podcast, S03.5 E03 show notes

A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing.

These notes may contain affiliate links. 

Garden soundtrack

Winter conditions in the garden.

01:17 A weed for every situation

reading 02:18 from Jack Wallington’s Wild About Weeds, read by Andy Wain

04:15 When to start sowing seeds – a flurry of mild debate

05:28 What instinctively feels right for us in the garden?

06:09 How do you want your garden to look and feel? The third instalment of my series on easing into harmony with your garden.

Q1. How do you want to feel when you’re in your garden?

Q2. ...and what’s getting in the way of this right now?

Q3. What do you like about you garden?

Q4. What do you dislike about your garden? 

Q5. What aspects of gardens and gardening do you find visually appealing?  

Q6. ...and how do you think you might incorporate these into your garden?

Q7. What stories do you want your garden to tell?

***

Thank you to Andy Wain for his spirited reading from Jack’s book, Wild About Weeds, published by Lawrence King in 2019.

My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, is published by DK Life, and is available here

I’m ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at https://ko-fi.com/andrewtimothyOB. Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. 

substack: Bramble & Briar website: www.andrewtimothyobrien.com email: [email protected] instagram: instagram.com/AndrewTimothyOB

A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing.

These notes may contain affiliate links. 

Autumn is settling in and, if we’re honest, we start to spend less time actively gardening. More time for the soil to grow what it really wants, more time for us to start dreaming next year’s garden into being. In this episode, we hear how weeds have evolved to depend upon us making room for them to exploit, with another reading form Jack Wallington’s Wild About Weeds. And I bring you the second instalment of my series on easing into harmony with your garden.

Garden soundtrack

00:40 How we could use our gardens more all year round

02:00 Essential kit for experiencing a soggy garden

03:20 Assessing the garden in autumn, and making a habit of showing up

04:20 What the weeds are getting up to, and how humans and weeds go hand in hand 

reading

05:55 from Jack Wallington's Wild About Weeds, read by Rose White

08:29 Purpose and intention in the garden – weedy, or not so weedy? It's up to you!

09:23 What do you want from your garden? The second instalment of my series on easing into harmony with your garden.

18:48 A special quality to gardening at this time of year – read more on Bramble & Briar, my publication on Substack (you can listen there, too)

On lazy clouds, and the softness of November, Andrew O'Brien, on Bramble & Briar

***

Thank you to Rose White for reading so beautifully from Jack's book, Wild About Weeds, published by Lawrence King in 2019.

(You can order Rose’s own book of her poetry, Songbird, here. 10% of all proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the charity BEAT Eating Disorders).

My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, is published by DK Life, and is available here

I’m ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at https://ko-fi.com/andrewtimothyOB. Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. 

website: gardensweedsandwords.com email: [email protected] Instagram: instagram.com/AndrewTimothyOB Twitter: twitter.com/AndrewTimothyOB

A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing.

These notes may contain affiliate links. 

Garden soundtrack

Shamelessly pinching the title from Jack Wallington’s fabulous 2019 book for this episode – which is only fair, as it’s the jumping off point for this whole mini season. We’re looking at how we can understand our gardens – even enter into a state of harmony with this space around our homes – but I don’t think we can even begin without getting to grips with the whole subject of weeds, what they’re trying to tell us about our soil, and how we can learn from them. We salute summer as it reaches its peak and, just as quickly, begins to pass the baton on to the next season, and enjoy a reading from the introduction to Jack’s book.

05:14 What I love about the garden in summer

10:59 A reading from the introduction to Wild About Weeds, by Jack Wallington

15:20 The first in my series of readings on understanding your garden

***

Thank you to Milli Proust for reading so beautifully from Jack's book, Wild About Weeds, published by Lawrence King in 2019.

(Milli's own book, the wonderful From Seed to Bloom (Quadrille, 2022) is available here).

My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, is published by DK Life, and is available here

I’m ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at https://ko-fi.com/andrewtimothyOB. Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. 

website: gardensweedsandwords.com email: [email protected] Instagram: instagram.com/AndrewTimothyOB Twitter: twitter.com/AndrewTimothyOB

This is a little bit of a teaser. Series 4 of the Gardens, Weeds & Words podcast is starting to come together, but you know how long it takes for things to assemble inside my head. And, from there, to make the journey through all the twigs, and moss, and soil and stuff, into the editing software and out into the real world in a state I can share it with you. So I thought, while I’m working away on that, I’d put a little something out in the meantime. So here comes season three and a half, a short series on the subject of weeds, what they’re trying to tell us, and how they can lead us to a beter understanding of our gardens. Listen to the trailer for an idea of what’s in store...

A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing.

These notes may contain affiliate links. 

Garden soundtrack

February; the natural world waking up; the bossiness of raised beds

2:00 Reading from I was right all along, on my Substack, Bramble & Briar

3:41 the resilience of the purple sage

4:45 Interview with Maya Thomas

Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Diploma in Herbology

Ballymaloe Cookery School at Ballymaloe House in Cork, Ireland

Elisabeth Luard, author, journalist and broadcaster

Royal Botanic Gardens, Peradeniya, Kandy, Sri Lanka, where Maya’s great uncle used to work

Rewilding the Kitchen, Toast 2021, Maya Thomas

Returning to the Urban Wilderness, Toast 2021, Maya Thomas

Grow Easy: Organic crops for pots and small plots, Anna Greeland, Mitchell Beazley 2021

57:01 To Stand and Stare turns one year old

***

Thank you to Maya Thomas for joining me on this episode of the Gardens, Weeds & Words podcast.

You can find Maya on Instagram, and also on the web at The Modern Herbal

My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, is published by DK Life, and is available here

I’m ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at https://ko-fi.com/andrewtimothyOB. Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. 

website: gardensweedsandwords.com email: [email protected] Instagram: instagram.com/AndrewTimothyOB Twitter: twitter.com/AndrewTimothyOB