This week's plant story began when Sam Turner mentioned gooseberries to me and a collection of bushes that might still be hiding in the undergrowth of a long-abandoned botanical research station in the shadow of Britain's largest radio telescope at Jodrell Bank.

One of the things I love most about making Our Plant Stories is the way that stories are now coming from listeners, which we can tell together.

Listen to hear how Sam and I venture into that undergrowth, where there are many very large stinging nettles, to see if we can find those gooseberry bushes. If we find them, we can also tell the story of Frank Carter and a prize gooseberry growing tradition in Cheshire, that goes back over 200 years.

Sign up to the podcast newsletter here so you can get every episode of Our Plant Stories in your inbox on the day I publish. A half hour plant fix!

In this podcast I strive to bring you not just the plant but the place, hoping that gets you closer to the joy of these stories. You can support this ambition through Buy Me A Coffee and a donation of any size is appreciated.

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.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy