Our Plant Stories

Sam's Gooseberries

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 bo

Paul's Bananas

In 2017 Paul Oldroyd bought a Japanese banana plant. He got it home in the passenger seat of his car. He didn't have a lot of money to spend on plants but he had a very l

Just Say Compost!

Try saying "compost" to gardeners and see what happens. Inspired by a recent episode - Compost Tales - that's what I did for this short 'Just Say Compost' bonus listen.

The Garden Reveal

The RHS Chelsea Flower Show, opens its doors to the public today - this is one of the gardening world's great horticultural moments - drawing around 157,000 visitors to t

Compost Tales

In this episode we are focused on compost and listen out because there will be a chance for you to get involved and tell us about your compost journey. Liz Elton is an a

The Chair Farmer

Gavin Munro describes himself as a chair farmer. In his orchard he grows trees and meticulously shapes them into chairs. As the trees grow, their branches are carefully t

Jess's Buddleja

Buddleja davidii is Jess's 'spirit' plant and I think if you listen to this episode it will be obvious why. Also known as the Butterfly Bush it's the purple buddleja tha

Missing Collector Garden Part 2

We're following the charity Plant Heritage as they take their first show garden to the RHS Chelsea flower show. This charity was formed almost 50 years ago and for those

Luke's Harakeke

For this episode we are in New Zealand. Luke Gardner wrote to me saying he had been listening to Our Plant Stories since day one and he had a plant story he wanted to sha

Missing Collector Garden Part 1

Our Plant Stories has its first mini series. I love following journeys - a venture undertaken over months even years. If you are a regular listener you will know this fr

Clematis - Searching for Miriam

In this first episode of a new series of Our Plant Stories we are searching for Miriam. To be a bit more precise since this is a podcast filled with plant stories, we are

Series 4 - Our Plant Stories

Happy New Year. The Royal Horticultural Society have just announced that this year in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 - the charity Plant Heritage has an All About Plan

Treacle and Twinning

I know it is a bit of a strange title. But bear with me this is the last episode of Series 3 (Series 4 will start in February 2026) and we have a couple of loose ends to

Gardeners' Glees

If you find yourself in a gathering of gardeners today they are unlikely to break into a glee...a song, as their predecessors might have done. I think its a bit of a sham

Propagating at Kew Gardens

Sal Demain has her dream job and in this Offshoot episode she shares why she loves it so much. Working as the Supervisor of the Arboretum Nursery at Kew Gardens, she has

Richard Hayden: story of the New York High Line

"If you grow plants you are inherently an optimist". I love this thought from Richard Hayden, shared as we wandered along the New York High Line, this summer. Richard is

Natural Surroundings Offshoot

In the last episode Anne Harrap told us the story of how she came to build a series of wildlife friendly gardens on a field in Norfolk. At the heart of the plant story wa

Anne's Natural Surroundings

Sometimes in life you come across a book that just speaks to you - you and the author are on the same page and they have articulated all the things you have been thinking

Poppy Okotcha and Adam Frost at the British Library

I think we're in for a real treat. Listening to Poppy Okotcha and Adam Frost talking about their gardens, their 'safe spaces', their connections to nature. And in the bes

Poppy Okotcha and Adam Frost in Conversation Trailer

Back in July I was lucky enough to host a conversation at the British Library between Poppy Okotcha and Adam Frost. Hear a trailer for the episode which will be out nex