The James & Joe Garden Show

By James Alexander-Sinclair & Joe Swift

Join James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift every week where they tackle a garden topic, from the sensible to the completely ridiculous, armed with sharp opinions, 40 years’ worth of stories and a hab... more

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How many episodes does The James & Joe Garden Show have?

The podcast currently has 99 episodes available.

Best of The James & Joe Garden Show

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Number 1: Hanging Baskets: A Party in a Basket or a Crime Against Gardening?
Are hanging baskets a joyful party in a basket… or a drought-stricken relic dripping brown water onto your pint? This week James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift end up on opposite sides. Joe declares the hanging basket dead: unsustainable, un-waterable, a whole summer of annuals frying fifteen feet up a wall. James wants to make them BIGGER. Big enough to grow an oak tree in. Big enough to have a snooze in. Along the way: the Badminton show garden that won Best in Show on hanging baskets alone, the Hanging Basket King of Lincolnshire and his immortal sales line, a Chelsea judge dressed head to toe in cricket kit, olive oil tins from Hackney kebab shops, hanging basket semaphore in the style of Nelson at Trafalgar, and an entirely unnecessary digression about a prog rock album called Hanging Baskets of Babylon. Plus: what's actually surviving 40°C in France, and the definitive answer to "when is a hanging basket not a hanging basket?" Team hanging basket, or team absolutely not? Tell us in the comments. CHAPTERS 00:00 The least sensible gardening podcast on the planet02:23 40°C in France: what's surviving and what isn't05:22 This week's topic, chosen by our eight researchers06:36 The Badminton garden that won Best in Show08:14 Alpine strawberries, French beans and a bad idea10:21 The Churchill Arms, and why pubs do it best10:46 The Hanging Baskets of Babylon12:18 Drip systems, brown water and your pint13:13 Prog rock digression: 22 minutes of drum solo15:16 The Hanging Basket King: "it's a party in a basket"17:42 Joe's case: the hanging basket is dead18:13 James's case: they're simply not big enough19:00 Nappies, moss, coir and why foraging is illegal20:25 When is a hanging basket not a hanging basket?21:13 Bras, colanders, kitchen sieves and olive oil tins24:38 Le jardin volant: napping in a flying garden28:13 Tumbling toms, pulleys and basket semaphore29:46 The verdict: pubs yes, restraint no31:31 Send us your questions To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com ABOUT OUR HOSTS James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. JOIN THE GARDEN COLLECTIVE For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective.Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: [email protected] Our only two rules: no dead plants and no dull questions.
August 25, 202633min
Number 2: What's the Point of WASPS? (And Ticks, Midges and Chicken Mites)
What's the point of a wasp? Or a midge, a horse fly, a tick, or a chicken mite the size of a full stop that gets into your ear while you're cleaning out the hens? Cue a deep sigh. James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift agree that biodiversity is a good thing. They are less sure about the bits of it that bite. So this week they go looking for the point of the creatures nobody puts on a tote bag, and find out whether "it's food for something else" really is the answer to everything. Along the way: the strip of village green James is quietly annexing, a hedgehog spotted at four in the morning under circumstances Joe would rather not detail, five wasp stings at a French bottle bank, the spider lobbed out of a bedroom window at midnight, why Robert the Bruce means James has not killed a spider since, a squirrel with a mohican on Hampstead Heath, deer being repelled by motion-sensored water pistols, parakeets that may or may not be Jimi Hendrix's fault, and a piranha that bit back after it was already dead. No conclusions were reached. Several were nearly reached. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Cold open 01:41 Summer's over, back to proper gardening 03:19 Letting a patch of village green go wild 05:32 What is biodiversity, actually? 08:24 What's the point of wasps? 11:47 Stung five times at the bottle bank 16:08 The spider in the bedroom 17:48 Robert the Bruce and his spider 20:55 Bitten by a squirrel 25:27 Chicken mites, the worst thing in the garden 30:00 Ticks, long grass and Lyme disease 33:46 Deer numbers and eaten roses 37:56 Parakeets and invasive species 44:47 Bitten by a piranha To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com ABOUT OUR HOSTS James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective. Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegarden Follow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_ Contact us: [email protected] www.jamesandjoegarden.com No dead plants. No dull questions. And no spiders out of the window, apparently.
September 22, 202649min
Number 3: Question Time: Spiky Plants, Lazy Car Park Gardens & a Gnome on the Razzle
Is jungle planting a bloke thing? And more importantly, does a man who wants a garden that requires no gardening actually deserve one? James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift throw the horticultural handbook out of the window again, this time for a full mailbag. What starts as a reasonable question about exotic planting ends up somewhere near cacti societies, edible hostas, whether Walter Raleigh really brought back the potato, and a gnome doing something regrettable in a nightclub. Along the way: why James's curves are superior to your wiggles, the wall he wants built in the shape of his own signature, a listener who drove from New York to Florida listening exclusively to this podcast until her sat nav gave up in protest, and the one garden ornament James never wants to see again (it involves a Jack Russell, and it is not the end you are expecting). This week's questions come from Mrs Lang Shani on jungle planting and gender, Colin in Cardiff and his paved yard that looks like a car park, Gillian on curves versus straight lines, Nina in Melbourne on what gnomes get up to after dark, and Carmilla on the one garden trend that should never come back. Fair warning: one listener gets told, live on air, that he does not deserve a garden. We stand by it. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Intro06:17 Is jungle and exotic planting a bloke thing?14:47 Exotic planting in small city gardens18:10 Why aren't there more women designing at Chelsea?19:52 Low maintenance planting for a paved yard26:31 Curves or straight lines in garden design?38:54 Garden trends that should never come back ASK US A QUESTION To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com. Answer well and you are in with a chance of winning the most coveted prize in horticulture, our gnome, Jekyll. THE GARDEN COLLECTIVE For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective. Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. ABOUT OUR HOSTS James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. SEE US LIVE Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival, Holt Farm, Blagdon, Somerset. 17 September 2026. The Garden Museum, London. 10 November 2026, city gardens versus country gardens, with an audience vote. FOLLOW Instagram: @jamesandjoegarden The Garden Collective: garden_collective_ www.jamesandjoegarden.com Only two rules apply. No dead plants and no dull questions.
September 15, 202646min
Number 4: How Private Does Your Garden Really Need to Be?
How much of your garden is actually yours? And how much of it belongs to whoever's peering over the fence? James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift take on garden privacy, and immediately disagree about whether it's a problem worth solving. James has just come from a client who cut his hedge DOWN so he could ambush passers-by from his wheelchair. Joe once lived next door to a flat that held naked Sunday afternoon parties, and has never fully recovered. Along the way: why retirement flats facing the road always sell first (people want to see a bit of a mugging), the fortress garden problem and why building one leaves you with an expensive shady box, the one screening trick that actually works (move the plant closer to you, not closer to them), and why sitting down is the cheapest privacy money can't buy. Then there's sound, which turns out to be the harder half. Acoustic fencing at Horatio's Garden in Scotland, the futility of arguing with a flight path, and a doomed attempt to coin a name for a quiet garden. Pianissimo gardens, anyone? Plus: Ken. Ken is retired, bored, owns a small yappy dog and a stepladder, and has seen Joe on the telly. Ken's wife Meg cooks anchovies with alphabet spaghetti and plays Slade at volume. Joe is not allowed to move house. Good luck, Joe. With a nod to Dolly Parton and Tim Curry, and the tale of the cattle that ate every single tree James had planted the day before. TIMESTAMPS 00:00 Welcome 01:15 Remembering Dolly Parton and Tim Curry 03:24 Southport Flower Show, Mr Motivator and Anton Du Beke 06:10 How private should a garden be? 08:18 Why fortress gardens don't work 09:10 The screening you can never clip 10:54 Joe's naked neighbours in Hackney 13:28 A prisoner in your own garden 16:28 The screening trick that actually works 16:55 Sit down: the cheapest privacy there is 18:58 Cutting noise with an acoustic fence 23:00 Aircraft noise and why you stop hearing it 25:22 Meet Ken and Meg, the neighbours from hell 38:59 Is a leylandii hedge ever a good idea? 42:46 The cattle that ate every tree Catch us live at the Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival, Holt Farm, Blagdon, Somerset on 17 September 2026. To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com ABOUT OUR HOSTS James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective. Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegarden Follow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_ Contact us: [email protected] www.jamesandjoegarden.com No dead plants and no dull questions.
September 08, 202647min
Number 5: Question Time: Feeding an RHS Judge, Time Travel & the Lords of Landscape
An RHS judge is coming to lunch on Saturday. You have one afternoon. Do you tidy the garden, or cook something delicious? Cue a deep sigh — the answer turns out to have almost nothing to do with gardening. James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift are back in the mailbag, answering the questions that scare the wits out of the other garden podcasts. This week yours send them from a medieval drawbridge to a Babylonian palace by way of a French ski slope. Somewhere in the middle of it they settle the burrata question, acquire a new job title, and Joe decides — live, with no warning whatsoever — precisely which plant represents Arsenal Football Club. Also featuring: why a lawn burnt to a crisp is now the most sustainable thing you own, the correct number of concealed hori horis to carry into a castle, the deluxe half-day tour of the Garden of Eden (compost heap included), a signed fig leaf, James's genuine career ambition to be a professional washer-upper, and a two-dishwasher system that he is convinced cannot mathematically work. This week's questions: Jane — an RHS judge and his wife are coming for lunch. Tidy the garden, or cook? Jackie in Ontario — as an Arsenal fan, which flower would Joe choose to represent his team? Buffy in Maine — one afternoon in any garden in human history. Where are you going? Rocco — if you weren't in garden design and broadcasting, what would you have been? Chapters: 00:00 The two rules 02:12 James attempts the theme tune 04:26 Gnomes, and where to catch us live 06:56 Jane: an RHS judge is coming to lunch 14:13 Jackie in Ontario: which flower is Arsenal? 19:25 Dear Lords of Landscape 21:39 Buffy in Maine: one afternoon, any garden in history 28:05 Rocco: what would you be, if not this? 31:23 The two-dishwasher problem 34:51 James becomes an Olympic downhill skier 36:06 Goodnight from Joseph See James and Joe live: Yeo Valley Organic Garden Festival, Somerset — 17 September. Advice for young and old gardeners, mostly in the form of mistakes they have already made on your behalf. The Garden Museum, London — 10 November. City gardens versus country gardens, with a proper audience vote. Send us a question and you could win the most coveted prize in horticulture. Not a Chelsea gold medal — the gnome. To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com About our hosts James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective. Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegarden Follow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_ Contact us: [email protected] www.jamesandjoegarden.com No dead plants and no dull questions. See you back in the garden.
September 01, 202639min