Two Good Gardeners

For their season finale, Dan and Julia talk to Becky Fincham and Millie Souter from The Serge Hill Project for Gardening, Creativity and Health, the non-profit initiative set up by Tom & Sue Stuart-Smith around their family home in Hertfordshire. Inspired by Sue Stuart-Smith's bestselling book, 'The Well Gardened Mind', Becky leads a host of programmes that introduce local schools, community groups, charities and cancer survivors to gardening. Becky is joined by Millie Souter, Head Gardener for the renowned Plant Library at the Tom Stuart-Smith Studio. Millie takes care of 2000 varieties of herbaceous plants and low shrubs, plus 500 different bulbs, set out in a grid system. We find out how plants earn a place in the library and how gardeners and plant enthusiasts can make use of this world-class resource. Also in this episode, Julia explains how to collect and store your own seeds, and Dan discovers a fun way to personalise your gardening gear.

Website links:

• More about the Serge Hill Project
• Book tickets for the Serge Hill Plant Fair
• More about Sue Stuart Smith's Book, 'The Well Gardened Mind'
• Dan Cooper Garden
• Parker's Patch

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Perennials are probably the most popular type of plant in the UK, but that wasn’t always the case. In this episode, we talk with Rosy Hardy, the Chelsea Flower Show’s most decorated female exhibitor. She has won 24 gold medals and helped many garden designers and colleagues win awards with her plants. Rosy explains how she helped make perennials popular over the past forty years and shares advice on choosing varieties that can handle our unpredictable summer weather. Later, Dan introduces an innovative plastic-free insect net made from plant fibres, and Julia recommends an unusual fruit that grows well in hot, dry summers.

Website links:

• Hardy's Cottage Garden Plants website offering over 1200 perennials grown peat-free.
• A selection of Rosy's most resilient perennials
• Rosy Hardy Gardening on YouTube
• Dan Cooper Garden
• Insectonet Plastic-Free Net
• Parker's Patch

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Tucked away on the embankment, the Inner Temple Garden has a long and impressive history, including a time when it hosted what is now called the Chelsea Flower Show. In this episode, Dan and Julia chat with Sean Harkin, the Head Gardener, about how he and his team have made the garden a wildlife-friendly, award-winning space while honouring its horticultural roots. In a full-circle moment, we hear that the Inner Temple will host a brand-new plant fair on Sunday, 31st May, 2026. Dan also introduces new plant-based gardening gloves for summer, and Julia shares tips on how to do the Chelsea Chop.

Website links:

• The Inner Temple Garden website
• Advance tickets for the Plant Fairs Roadshow at the Inner Temple on 31st May 2026
• Dan Cooper Garden
• Donkey Gloves Bamboo Gardening Gloves
• Parker's Patch
• How to do the Chelsea Chop

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Britain's country estates must honour their history while looking ahead. In this episode, we talk with Jay Goddard and Mark Bobin from Borde Hill in Sussex to learn how their historic garden became home to nearly 100 champion trees and a national collection of rhododendrons. We also hear about their exciting plans for a new 'garden to plate' restaurant, which will use produce from an edimental garden designed by Anne-Marie Powell. Plus, Dan explains why copper keeps slugs and snails away, and Julia gives an update on her efforts to grow a healthier lawn as she waits for a hollow-tine aerator to arrive.

• Dan Cooper Garden
• Copper Slug Rings
• Parker's Patch
• Borde Hill's website
• Restaurant Isca website
• More Information about the Plant Fairs Roadshow at Borde Hill

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Chillies are prized for the heat and flavour they bring to cuisines all over the world. In this episode, your hosts talk to Clare Kennett of Clare's Chillies about what makes them so addictive and how to grow them successfully at home. Clare shares her top tips for success and common pitfalls when growing these fiery fruits. Also in this episode, Dan recommends a wildflower seed mix that can help restore the natural health of your soil, and Julia describes how to grow one of the chilli family's milder members, the Padron. As always, there's a list of jobs to do in your garden over the next fortnight and news of what Dan and Julia will be getting up to over the coming fortnight.

• Dan Cooper Garden
• Wildflower Seeds for Soil Health
• Parker's Patch
• Clare's Chillies on Facebook
• Clare's Chillies on Instagram
• Plant Fairs Roadshow at Ramster Hall Gardens

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When it comes to creating gardens for the greater good, no landscape architect approaches the subject with more knowledge, passion and commitment than Marian Boswall. In this episode of Two Good Gardeners, your hosts catch up with Marian to discuss the philosophy underpinning her latest book, The Kindest Garden, and learn more about Chalk to Coast, a visionary landscape project working to create a nature recovery corridor across Kent. Also in this episode, Dan extols the virtues of bronze tools, and Julia encourages gardeners not to panic if they didn't sow seeds in March. As always, the episode concludes with a list of jobs you can be doing in your garden over the next fortnight.

• Dan Cooper Garden
• PK Bronze Tools
• Parker's Patch
• Marian Boswall Landscape Architects
• Chalk to Coast

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In this episode, your hosts find out how Steve Edney and Lou Dowle of The No Name Nursery have created a stunning 3-acre garden-nursery that operates off the beaten track and entirely without mains services. The plant-loving partners share insights into how they garden off-grid and cultivate a wide variety of plants for sale as bare-rooted plants. Also in this episode, Julia describes how to grow your own ginger from supermarket-bought rhizomes, and Dan extols the benefits of Traditional Garden Growers, an innovative range of mulches and plant foods made principally from wool and straw. Your hosts round off with a list of jobs you can do in your garden over the next fortnight, and a reminder that the next Plant Fairs Roadshow event takes place at the Horniman Museum on Saturday, 4th April 2026.

Steve's 'must have' aster - "Doellingeria umbellata". Flat-topped aster

• Dan Cooper Garden
• Traditional Garden Growers Range
• Parker's Patch
• The No Name Nursery

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• Dan Cooper Garden
• Biofleece frost protection fabric
• Parker's Patch
• Hever Castle

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Dan and Julia look back on 2025 with a lighthearted New Year Quiz packed with laughs and unexpected revelations. Discover which fungus Dan would describe himself as, and what weed he would munch to treat gout - don't try this at home! Julia proves she knows her Niwaki, but not her onions and can't remember what lurked in her granny's drawers. Listen carefully, and all will be revealed! The episode ends with the announcement of an exciting new sponsor for Series 7, The Plant Fairs Roadshow. To find out where they'll be stopping this year, keep scrolling down.

Two Good Gardeners will return in late February/early March 2026 with eight additional episodes featuring brand-new guests and many brilliant gardening tips.

PLANT FAIRS ROADSHOW 2026

SNOWDROP & EARLY SPRING

• 1 February, 11am-3pm Hole Park, Rolvenden, Kent TN17 4JA

SPRING

• 22 March, 10:30am-3:30pm Hever Castle, Hever, Edenbridge TN8 7NG
• 4 April, 11am-4pm Horniman Museum & Gardens, Forest Hill, London SE23 3PQ
• 19 April, 10am-5pm Arundel Castle & Gardens, Arundel, W. Sussex BN18 9PA
• 26 April, 10am-3pm Ramster Gardens, Godalming, Surrey GU8 4SN
• 10 May, 10am-3pm Borde Hill Gardens, Haywards Heath, W. Sussex RH16 1XP
• 31 May, 11am-4pm NEW! The Inner Temple Garden, Temple/Blackfriars, London EC4Y 7HL

SUMMER

• 7 June, 9am-4pm NEW! Chiswick Flower Market, Old Market Place, Chiswick High Rd, London W4 2DR
• 14 June, 11am-4pm Benington Lordship Gardens, Stevenage, Herts. SG2 7BS
• 28 June, 10:30am-3:30pm EXTRA DATE! Hever Castle, Hever Rd, Hever, Edenbridge TN8 7NG
• 5 July, 12pm-5pm Parham House & Gardens, Storrington RH20 4HR
• 26 July, 11am-4pm ADVANCE PURCHASE ONLY The Serge Hill Project, Featherbed Ln, Herts. WD5 ORT

AUTUMN

• 5 September, 11am-4pm EXTRA DATE! Horniman Museum & Gardens, Forest Hill, London SE23 3PQ
• 13 September, 10am-3pm West Dean Gardens, Chichester, W. Sussex PO18 ORX
• 20 September, 10am-3pm Borde Hill Gardens, Haywards Heath, W. Sussex RH16 1XP
• 27 September, 11am-4pm Mount Ephraim Gardens, Faversham, Kent ME13 9TX

Website links:

• Dan Cooper Garden
• Parker's Patch
• Plant Fairs Roadshow

Expertly produced by Scott Kennett at Red Lighthouse Local

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

B Brooks is the Managing Director and a Course Director at the English Gardening School, based at London’s Chelsea Physic Garden. Former students include Cleve West, Butter Wakefield, Rachel de Thame, Joe Swift and Manoj Malde, and the list goes on! Like many eminent gardeners, B's career began in a completely different field, and she began her transition to gardening 15 years ago at the English Gardening School. In this episode, Dan & Julia find out why B made the change and how she became one of the most prominent figures in garden design. Listen for advice on how to design your own garden, and elevate your gardening skills to a new level.

Jobs for the fortnight

1. Bring forced bulbs into warm, bright light to encourage flowering over Christmas and New Year.
2. Plant garlic this month; you need a cold snap to force the cloves to divide and grow.
3. Clean, sharpen and oil tools ready for the seasons ahead. Use white vinegar to remove surface rust; if that doesn’t remove it all, use a Crean Mate rust and sap eraser.
4. Don’t walk on lawns if they are frozen; you will snap the blades and cause damage. Wait for the temperature to rise before stepping out.
5. Continue to prune apples and pears. Use attractive prunings in Christmas arrangements to produce support for other flowers.
6. Make festive decorations and gather pine cones, etc., for the Christmas table. Pine cones can be encouraged to open by warming them gently in an oven.
7. Keep houseplants in a light, warm room; hold off on watering too much, and stop feeding until spring. Watch out for aphids, which can spread like wildfire in the right conditions.
8. If you are bringing a cut Christmas tree into the house, make sure you keep the base of the trunk in water.
9. Try to stop pond water from freezing by floating a ball in the water. Whatever you do, don’t attempt to break the ice manually as the impact can disturb pond life.
10. Prune grape vines, remove last year’s growth, leaving approximately 4 of the most vigorous canes, then prune these back to 15 buds per cane. Vines benefit from a hard cut. Using anvil secateurs will make this repetitive job much more bearable.

Website links:

• Dan Cooper Garden
• Dan's advice on choosing a real Christmas tree
• Parker's Patch
• The English Gardening School
• BB Garden Design

Expertly produced by Scott Kennett at Red Lighthouse Local

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.