Our Plant Stories

Take an audio walk through a park in the sky above Manchester. We’ll walk a route that spans 130 years of history; where once there were trains now there are plants and pedestrians.

We perhaps associate the National Trust with stately homes, grand gardens and stretches of countryside but this episode may make you think again.

And how does the Castlefield viaduct link with an iconic structure in a famous British seaside town?

Kate Picker from the National Trust is our guide.

Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally Flatman

The music is Fade to Black by Howard Levy

Mentioned in this episode:

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Picture yourself in a garden. Do you get your phone out to take photos of the plants and send them to friends and family? Maybe a swift selfie! Perhaps like me you google the plants - wanting to identify them.

Now picture a bench in the same garden but this time you and anyone else around you are just sitting, not a phone in sight. You're in the equivalent of the 'quiet carriage on the train' - and as you sit, you start to experience the garden in a different way.

Welcome to Silent Space the brainchild of garden writer Liz Ware.

Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally Flatman

The music is Fade to Black by Howard Levy

You can click the Buy Me A Coffee link here or on the website to buy a virtual coffee and join the crew and get a shout out.

Everyone shares their stories for free and I make it because I love it but there are costs like the hosting platform and the editing programmes etc. Buy Me A Coffee

THANK YOU!

Mentioned in this episode:

Finalist in the Independent Podcast Awards 2024

Check out the blog to see what happens!

Our Plant Stories blog

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Some of us (I think I mean me!) buy flowers, rummage for a vase, search for the scissors and then maybe tweak them a little bit before standing back to admire our handiwork. This is lovely but it is not art.

In this podcast episode we travel to Strawberry Hill flower festival where floral artists take British grown flowers to a whole new level and they do create art. Follow up and down the stairs of this small gothic mansion, as it is transformed for one weekend into a feast of flowers. The theme this year is 'Nature unbound.' At the end of this sustainable flower festival all that will be left is a compost heap.

Guests:

Leigh Chappell and Janne Ford are the co-founders and creators of this festival now in its sixth year.

Leigh Chappell grew up in Wales where she studied Botanical Illustration. She later moved to London and worked in graphic design before decided she wanted to be a floral designer. She is passionate about flowers. Follow her Instagram account.

Janne Ford is a floral photographer. "I use natural light, composition and colour to create emotive floral imagery." She works from her garden studio at home, growing many of the flowers she uses in her designs. Follow her instagram account

In this episode you also hear from:

Philippa Stewart of Just Dahlias who you can also hear in two other episodes - 'Dahlia bonus' and 'Philippa's dahlias'.

Andy Monaghan - who on his website says: "With a background in dance, I bring movement to my floral work, crafting a free and natural aesthetic inspired by the vibrant, changing seasons".

Lucy Phillips who describes herself on her website as: "grower and supplier of unusual and unruly dried flowers. Part of the slow flower movement."

Kara Johnson of Floral Odyssey, Kara spent 14 years as a Creative Producer in the design industry before becoming a floral designer.

Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally Flatman

The music is Fade to Black by Howard Levy

You can click the Buy Me A Coffee link here or on the website to buy a virtual coffee and join the crew and get a shout out.

Everyone shares their stories for free and I make it because I love it but there are costs like the hosting platform and the editing programmes etc. Buy Me A Coffee

THANK YOU!

Mentioned in this episode:

Finalist in the Independent Podcast Awards 2024

Check out the blog to see what happens!

Our Plant Stories blog

Our Plant Stories website

Have you fallen in love with dahlias this year? Perhaps you have loved them for many years. But have you ever thought of harvesting the seed from your favourite blooms and creating your own unique flowers? Listen to hear how this is exactly what Philippa Stewart has been doing for the past few years.

We also learn about the relationship between the grower and the floral designer as Philippa in conversation with Leigh Chappell, describes how they work together to produce stunning installations using Philippa's flowers.

You can find Philippa Stewart, a dahlia farmer, at her Instagram account: Just Dahlias

Leigh Chappell is a floral designer - you can see her work on her website here. Or follow Leigh on Instagram.

Leigh will be designing with Philippa's unique dahlia blooms at the Strawberry Hill flower festival which takes place in Horace Walpole's 18th Century gothic villa (Twickenham, London) between the Friday 13th - Sunday 15th September 2024. 30 floral designers will be "pushing the boundaries of sustainable floristry". Booking is advised.

02.00 How do you become a dahlia farmer?

05.10  The first 70 dahlias

08.00 Selling the first bucket of flowers

09.45 Can you dry dahlia flowers?

12.27 Growing from seed

15.00 Working with a floral designer

20.20 What’s a floral installation?

22.30 The Japanese art of Ikebana

23.30 How to save dahlia seed

30.15 When to sow your dahlia seeds

Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally Flatman

The music is Fade to Black by Howard Levy

You can click the Buy Me A Coffee link here or on the website to buy a virtual coffee and join the crew and get a shout out.

Everyone shares their stories for free and I make it because I love it but there are costs like the hosting platform and the editing programmes etc. Buy Me A Coffee

THANK YOU!

Mentioned in this episode:

Finalist in the Independent Podcast Awards 2024

Check out the blog to see what happens!

Our Plant Stories blog

Our Plant Stories website

Hill Close was a pasture until 1845 when its owner decided to divide it up into gardens. Individual plots where Victorians could rent a space to tend their plants, build a summer house, relax with their family. These were detached gardens for people who had no outdoor space where they lived but a little bit of money to rent one nearby.

Once there were many such gardens in the UK. Where did they go? Why did Hill Close survive? And who were the people who gardened here?

Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally Flatman

The music is Fade to Black by Howard Levy

You can click the Buy Me A Coffee link here or on the website to buy a virtual coffee and join the crew and get a shout out.

Everyone shares their stories for free and I make it because I love it but there are costs like the hosting platform and the editing programmes etc. Buy Me A Coffee

THANK YOU!

Mentioned in this episode:

Buy Me A Coffee

Finalist in the Independent Podcast Awards 2024

Check out the blog to see what happens!

Our Plant Stories blog

Follow, Rate and Review Our Plant Stories

Follow podcast

Cacti are among the world's most threatened species.

Jared Margulies research led him to the extraordinary illegal trade in these plants. Hear him talk about his work and his book The Cactus Hunters. Who are stealing the cacti and where are they taking them?

You can click the Buy Me A Coffee link here or on the website to buy a virtual coffee and join the crew and get a shout out.

Everyone shares their stories for free and I make it because I love it but there are costs like the hosting platform and the editing programmes etc. Buy Me A Coffee

THANK YOU!

Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally Flatman

The music is Fade to Black by Howard Levy

Can I share my plant story with you?

YES PLEASE! I called this OUR Plant Stories for a reason and that is that I love to hear from listeners wherever you are in the world!

You can email me [email protected] and tell me your plant story. That's all you need to do - I'll do the rest. I'll work out who we can talk to. Can we find someone who shares your passion for the plant, they maybe in the same country as you or the other side of the world.

Mentioned in this episode:

Follow, Rate and Review Our Plant Stories

Follow podcast

Finalist in the Independent Podcast Awards 2024

Check out the blog to see what happens!

Our Plant Stories blog

A Disocactus x hybridus or forest cactus but in Lindy's family this particular plant is known as Sally's Cactus! It is also sometimes known by a common name: orchid cactus.

In finding out about Sally who gave the original cutting we also learn how to get these cacti to bloom, what "soil' you should use to pot them up and where you should put them. This is all thanks to Sarah Gerrard Jones who is also known as The Plant Rescuer, who says:

“I just think there is something so... beautiful about all the care and attention that has gone into nurturing this plant and when that person passes away I feel all that love is still contained there within every single cell of those plants and I feel that's something you can really feel.”

Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally Flatman

The music is Fade to Black by Howard Levy

Can I share my plant story with you?

YES PLEASE! I called this OUR Plant Stories for a reason and that is that I love to hear from listeners wherever you are in the world!

You can email me [email protected] and tell me your plant story. That's all you need to do - I'll do the rest. I'll work out who we can talk to. Can we find someone who shares your passion for the plant, they maybe in the same country as you or the other side of the world.

Can I dig into more plant stories?

YES! You can check out the website where there are lots of photographs of plants and how to grow instructions. Our Plant Stories website

You can also follow the weekly blog where you will get the behind the scenes lowdown on making the podcast and you could also contribute - readers have suggested gardens to visit, plants to feature, experts to contact.

Our Plant Stories blog

And you can follow more plants over on my Instagram account Instagram

You can click the Buy Me A Coffee link here or on the website to buy a virtual coffee and join the crew and get a shout out.

Everyone shares their stories for free and I make it because I love it but there are costs like the hosting platform and the editing programmes etc. Buy Me A Coffee

THANK YOU!

Mentioned in this episode:

Finalist in the Independent Podcast Awards 2024

Check out the blog to see what happens!

Our Plant Stories blog

Follow, Rate and Review Our Plant Stories

Follow podcast

Buy Me A Coffee

How's your knowledge of Latin plant names? Meet Elizabeth Richmond she loves Latin plant names and she chalks them around the plants she finds growing between pavement cracks or along kerbsides. She does also chalk the common name too!

Why does she do it? And how an earth did she get started?

Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally Flatman

The music is Fade to Black by Howard Levy

You can click the Buy Me A Coffee link here or on the website to buy a virtual coffee and join the crew and get a shout out.

Everyone shares their stories for free and I make it because I love it but there are costs like the hosting platform and the editing programmes etc. Buy Me A Coffee

THANK YOU!

Can I dig into more plant stories?

YES! You can check out the website where there are lots of photographs of plants and how to grow instructions. Our Plant Stories website

You can also follow the weekly blog where you will get the behind the scenes lowdown on making the podcast and you could also contribute - readers have suggested gardens to visit, plants to feature, experts to contact.

Our Plant Stories blog

And you can follow more plants over on my Instagram account Instagram

Can I share my plant story with you?

YES PLEASE! I called this OUR Plant Stories for a reason and that is that I love to hear from listeners wherever you are in the world!

You can email me [email protected] and tell me your plant story. That's all you need to do - I'll do the rest. I'll work out who we can talk to. Can we find someone who shares your passion for the plant, they maybe in the same country as you or the other side of the world.

Mentioned in this episode:

Buy Me A Coffee

Follow, Rate and Review Our Plant Stories

Follow podcast

Finalist in the Independent Podcast Awards 2024

Check out the blog to see what happens!

Our Plant Stories blog

"Every child needs someone to introduce them to nature" - Rachel Carson author of Silent Spring

In this episode we hear how one woman came up with the idea for a GCSE in Natural History - a way for children to be introduced to nature. So where did the idea come from, what would an exam look like, and how far has she got? She had the idea in 2011.

In this episode we learn what it takes to introduce a new exam and the reasons that despite many setbacks, Mary Colwell is not giving up, indeed she is determined to see this through.

Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally Flatman

The music is Fade to Black by Howard Levy

Can I dig into more plant stories?

YES! You can check out the website where there are lots of photographs of plants and how to grow instructions. Our Plant Stories website

You can also follow the weekly blog where you will get the behind the scenes lowdown on making the podcast and you could also contribute - readers have suggested gardens to visit, plants to feature, experts to contact.

Our Plant Stories blog

And you can follow more plants over on my Instagram account Instagram

You can click the Buy Me A Coffee link here or on the website to buy a virtual coffee and join the crew and get a shout out.

Everyone shares their stories for free and I make it because I love it but there are costs like the hosting platform and the editing programmes etc. Buy Me A Coffee

THANK YOU!

Can I share my plant story with you?

YES PLEASE! I called this OUR Plant Stories for a reason and that is that I love to hear from listeners wherever you are in the world!

You can email me [email protected] and tell me your plant story. That's all you need to do - I'll do the rest. I'll work out who we can talk to. Can we find someone who shares your passion for the plant, they maybe in the same country as you or the other side of the world.

Mentioned in this episode:

Buy Me A Coffee

Finalist in the Independent Podcast Awards 2024

Check out the blog to see what happens!

Our Plant Stories blog

Why is a tiny plant from Janet Hickenbottom's childhood so important? And what was the special thing that her mum Margaret shared with Janet and her brother that has stayed with her for all her life?

Lee Connelly is also a bit obsessed by this thing and he's on a mission to make sure we don't miss out on it....and even if we weren't given it as children, like Janet was, he promises we can still get it.

And learn to grow a plant that you can literally fit anywhere - it only requires the tiniest of spaces and it's guaranteed to spread.

Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally Flatman

The music is Fade to Black by Howard Levy

Can I dig into more plant stories?

YES! You can check out the website where there are lots of photographs of plants and how to grow instructions. Our Plant Stories website

You can also follow the weekly blog where you will get the behind the scenes lowdown on making the podcast and you could also contribute - readers have suggested gardens to visit, plants to feature, experts to contact.

Our Plant Stories blog

And you can follow more plants over on my Instagram account Instagram

You can click the Buy Me A Coffee link here or on the website to buy a virtual coffee and join the crew and get a shout out.

Everyone shares their stories for free and I make it because I love it but there are costs like the hosting platform and the editing programmes etc. Buy Me A Coffee

THANK YOU!

Can I share my plant story with you?

YES PLEASE! I called this OUR Plant Stories for a reason and that is that I love to hear from listeners wherever you are in the world!

You can email me [email protected] and tell me your plant story. That's all you need to do - I'll do the rest. I'll work out who we can talk to. Can we find someone who shares your passion for the plant, they maybe in the same country as you or the other side of the world.

Remember if you listen on Google Podcasts you need to switch to a new podcast app which you can find here:

https://ourplantstories.captivate.fm/listen

Mentioned in this episode:

Buy Me A Coffee

Finalist in the Independent Podcast Awards 2024

Check out the blog to see what happens!

Our Plant Stories blog