This week we’re taking a moment to look ahead. Carol Barrie from the RHS  Science and Collections Department joins us to talk about Plants for Purpose, an ambitious new project she’s leading in collaboration with the University of Nottingham. It’s using the power of AI, alongside the RHS’s vast Herbarium, to build a living knowledge bank of plants that benefit the environment. We’ll also turn our gaze to spring, as now’s the perfect time to get tulips in the ground before the ground gets too wet or freezes. We revisit Arundel Castle, where back in 2022, 80,000 tulip bulbs arrived for a spectacular spring display. And finally, we head to RHS Rosemoor to meet Emma McFarline, who’ll be exploring the practical, and sometimes surprising, uses of familiar garden plants, from their roles in history to their value today.

Host: Guy Barter

Contributors: Carol Barrie, Martin Duncan, Emma McFarline

Links:

Plants for Purpose Project

RHS Plants for Pollinators

Planting tulips for seasonal colour

Scientific overview of rosemary

Biomedical research on rosemary as a therapeutic agent

Therapeutic effects of rosemary on nervous system disorders

Calendula in modern medicine

Common mullein, pharmacological and chemical aspects