Episodes
-
Hello podcast People!
This episode I’m chatting to one of my garden designer heroes, Matthew Wilson. He tells us the story of his life in horticulture, and the many bends in the road along the way. Besides heading up a busy garden design practice, Matthew is a regular on BBC Gardener’s Question Time a speaker, journalist and author as well as finding time to spend in his own garden. His 2009 TV show Landscape Man literally broke new ground in telly gardening. We chat about what it’s really like to face the public’s gardening questions, and I grill him on all your tricky ones too. This was my first live podcast and the audience was the sunniest, kindest, smiliest sort. What a lovely bunch of people gardeners are!
Enjoy!
Matthew Wison
Website | Twitter | Instagram
-
Cleve West, by Chaz Oldham
Hi Podcast People!
In this episode I chat to Cleve West, legendary garden designer, and passionate vegan. We talk about just what it takes to create a winning Chelsea garden, eating vegan and having long enough legs! Do take a look at his website www.clevewest.com for links to all the vegan things we speak about in this episode.
Enjoy!
CLEVE WESTWebsite | Twitter | Instagram
-
Missing episodes?
-
Hello Podcast people! Fergus the Forager is a master of living off the land. See the show notes for all his details, including courses you can take.
-
A good portion of this podcast revolves around mulberries, and the rest is basically about muesli. See show notes. ENJOY!
-
www.laetitiamaklouf.com
-
Naomi's Twitter. Naomi's Website
Naomi Slade is a freelance journalist with a degree in science and a background in publishing, events and managing rock bands. In this podcast she shares her love of and fascination for the subject of her latest book, Dahlias: Beautiful Varieties for Home and Garden.
Things we talk about in this episode:
Naomi’s background
Her Snowdrop book: Plant lovers guide to snowdrops (Timber Press)
Joe Sharman of Monksilver Nursery
Naomi’s snowdrop Galanthus 'Naomi Slade'
Her Orchard book: An Orchard Odyssey (Green Books)
Definition of an orchard: 5 Trees with crown edges not more than 20 metres apart
Perennial fruit and food
Dahlia as fashion victim
Divisive dahlias
Rich man’s plants
1851 Exhibition
Christopher Lloyd
Are they worth the effort?
Dahlia genetics
Humans are diploid - 2 sets of chromosomes
dahlias are octoploid - 8 sets of chromosomes
Loads of transposons which spontaneously change what they look like
quick mutations = thousands of cultivars
Yellow and orange dahlias often have irridescence
Dahlia History
Aztec rituals
Cactus dahlias
Dahlia requirements
How to start them off
Slugs and frost
Slugs hide underneath the tuber and come out at night
Pinching out
Planting out
Feeding
Staking
Deadheading
Dahliaworld.co.uk has all 60k varieties - the perfect place to geek out
National collection in Penzance
Overwintering
Nobody likes a soggy bottom
Favourite dahlias
Restrained dahlias: ponpons and small balls
Containers
Varieties and cultivars we talk about in this episode:
D. Hamari Gold
D. Peresii
D. David Howard
D. Arabian Knight
D. Gentle star
D. Thomas Eddison
D. Hootenanny
D. Eveline
The gallery series - compact and pretty
Happy singles - simple daisy flowers
-
Things we talk about in this episode:
What's in a name
The process of creating a stand at Chelsea
Pitching, competing, submitting
Creating an outdoor living space
Choosing carefully so as not to overload the stand. Making a realistic outdoor space
How to choose a grower
How the process works
Trees and hedging
Choosing plants
Having a master plan (or not)
Who is the client? Sponsor? Stand?
It’s all about the medal
Gold medals and good pr
The first job
Sleepless nights
Faking it till you make it
Not knowing the answer!
Asking for help where you need it
Knowledge and confidence
How to be a good service provider
Communication
Selling ideas to a client
Suggesting, steering, guiding
Using FACTS to get your way
A tape measure is your best tool.
Balancing motherhood and a buisiness
Baked beans again
Being there when it counts - sports day etc
Setting a strong example for the children
Garden design creates beautiful spaces for families - it’s one of the nicest things you can do for people
Planting style
Planting a show garden vs planting a private garden
Seasonal planting
Shrubs and herbaceous
Clipped shapes and chaos
Scaling up: putting big in small
Getting vertical interest in - wires and trellis to take eyes up
Getting a mirror in! Should be antiqued - bounces light
Being a weekend gardener
Outsourcing the clearing up
Screening and blocking out
Trellis
Trees
Meadow
Tidying tendencies
Being brave
Computer woes
Turning the laptop on
Delegation
Plants, People, links
Gaze Burvill Garden Furniture
Deepdale- hornbeams
Chichester Trees and Shrubs
Hortus loci
Rosa'Gertrude Jekyll'
Geum'Totally tangerine'
Rosa'Munstead Wood'
Julia Samuel
Colefax and Fowler
The English Gardening School
London College of garden design
Andrew Wilson
Cloudy Bay garden Chelsea 2014
p9’s (0.5 litre pots)
Alchemilla mollis
roses
nepeta
Salvia nemerosa'Caradonna'
Salvia'Nachtvlinder'
Salvia'Amistad'
Hydrangea'Annabelle'
Hydrangea paniculata'Limelight'
Amelanchier lamarckii
Mobilane
Tulipa 'Black parrot'
Fritillaria meleagris
Allium 'Purple sensation'
A. 'Purple rain'
Gareth Kinsella
The wildflower Turf company
RosaMme Alfred Carriere - flowers on a north wall
Stauntonia hexaphylla- will cover everything but beware
Clematis armandii
Akebia quinata
Trachelospermum jasminoides
-
Things we talk about in the episode:
Why we love pelargoniums
scent of leaves
musky stringent smell
bad breath
tomato foliage
the easiness of them
Fibrex nurseries
The National Collection of Pelargoniums
Heather’s growing history
Learning about pelargoniums, ferns and ivies
The difference between pelargoniums and geraniums
Family: Geraneacae
Same family, different genus:
Genus: Pelargonium (southern hemisphere, tender, succulent or woody shrubs)
Genus: Geranium (northern hemisphere, cranesbill. Hardy, herbaceous perennial)
You can’t hybridise between the two - most definitely two different things!
Geranium for pelargonium is WRONG because it’s misleading
If you can’t say pelargonium, just call them pellies
Pelargoniums are really tough in the right environment
Replicate SA in the UK
Loam based, open, free draining compost
Water management
Good light, even over winter
No darkness, no dinginess
In England that’s difficult, but not impossible
Good airflow
In a cool environment - Strip off a lot of the leaves which they don’t need because they’re not growing and you’re not watering.
Zonals, decoratives, uniques, scenteds can have majority of leaves lower down taken off, leaving just the growing tip
Gets rid of mildew, mould, botrytis etc at the same time - bonus!
Allows good airflow which is essential
Keeping pelargoniums indoors as houseplants
Avoid a kitchen or bathroom environment - too damp
Sitting room, living room, porch,
Close to window or on windowsill.
Natural daylight - doesn’t have to be direct sunlight
Feed:
Tomato feed like Tomorite
First feed of season should be a balanced feed but otherwise Tomorite as soon as you see fresh young growth
Bedding
Zonal pelargoniums are still used for bedding - can look stunning
Key is to mass-plant with just one colour. Colour match with neighbouring plants
Key group within zonals: Bold series - good chunky, strong growing with short stems and lots of flowers which are shatter-proof.
Use decorative, uniques and scented for gap-filling too!
Attar of roses, Grey Lady Plymouth in a mixed border -
Chocolate peppermint and Tomentosum at Wisley - looked amazing
Containers:
Potting compost magic formula; John Innes no. 2 and multi-purpose compost half and half
Re-pot in spring and you don’t need to feed for a month because of JI
You cant over-feed a pellie!
Feed every time you water
If you want to get flowers like you see in the shows then you have to feed them! They’re on steroids
Pinching out.
Young cuttings - single stem. Once rooted and growing, pinch out top leaf and newest bud. Leaving a couple of live axils below means it will start to branch out. It’s not about height, it’s about body.
Keep pinching out
Fibrex takes cuttings in August through to April. The pinching out happens throughout, until February. From buds, flowers will appear in six weeks. Pinching out is instinctive and takes practice, but not a lot of time if you’ve got a few pots outside the door.
Dead heading.
Pelargoniums LOVE to flower. If you take off the untidy ones it will grow more as soon as possible. If you leave them, the plant slows down.
Heather deadheads every plant, every week - LOTS of work! Not so for a few pots.
Snap bottom of flower stem between fingers and it will come off naturally
Overwintering.
Cuttings
Prepare your pot, 9 -12 cm Sterile seed compost and perlite or grit for drainage, Pat mixture down and saturate with water. Take cuttings, 2 inches at most depending on variety. Heather takes tip cuttings with one or two leaf nodes. Strip bottom leaves off, leaving growing tip and a couple of leaves at top. After 4-5 days give another drink. 5-10 cuttings in a 9cm pot. Cuttings really do like company. Heather pushes her cuttings straight in - no dibber and no rooting hormone.
Heather likes to keep the leaves touching in the nursery.
Leaving pelargoniums in pots over winter
Start in September to prepare them by feeding them with a general purpose feed
Stops them from flowering. Take a third off in Autumn and strip the leaves. Re-pot in spring with fresh compost, fluffing up the roots. Water in lightly. After a couple of weeks, general feed and then put outside. Night temps should be around five degrees - leave till mid may or end of may.
If you want them to continue flowering in a conservatory then just keep feeding tomato food.
Windowsill with radiator is fine as they like a dry environment
Best are dwarves and miniatures for permanent flowering as they won’t outgrow their space.
Other overwintering ideas:
Hanging the upside-down. Used to be done. It’s a bit extreme and not entirely necessary. You can leave in the compost just ease off on the watering.
Pests and diseases.
The whitefly clap.
Use invigorators rather than insecticides. SB invigorator gives the plant extra and has ammonia which whitefly hate.
Good for spider mite too. Spidermite like dry environments
Greenfly like the soft young growth. Squish.
Pelargonium starter-kit for newbies
Scented: Attar of Roses. The gorgeousness of it!
Decorative: Ashby. Strong, easy, free-flowering, big and beautiful, and EARLY.
Specie: Austral. From Tasmania. Borderline hardy. Dark green, with delicate white flowers
Pellie cake.
What makes a lemon smell like a lemon?
Pelargoniums have over 120 volatile chemicals in the leaves. Hence the huge variety of scents and flavours
Best houseplant pelargonium: Fragrans because of fresh fragrance and height. Delicate, pretty, delightful.
fibrex.co.uk
fibrexnurseries on twitter and instagram
May 1st national collection is open free of charge, but you can visit whenever you like.
Pellie party! Smelly pellie jelly! Turn up!
Links, Plants and important stuff we mention:
Zonal Bold series
Attar of Roses
Grey Lady Plymouth
Chocolate Pepperming
Tomentosum
Tomorite tomato food
SB invigorator
Heather’s top three for beginners:
Attar of Roses
Ashby
Australe
Houseplant favourite: Fragrans
Fibrex Pellie Party
-
Andrew in the greenhouse
why a greenhouse?
hardening off
cold frames
potting on and space considerations
overwintered pelargoniums: feeding
houseplant murder
houseplant care at this time of year
whitefly
mealybugs
feeding houseplants with seaweed extract
upping the watering regime
vine weevil on pillow
nemasys
repotting containerised plants
vine weevil vigilance
dealing with pot-bound plants
standardised plants
intuitive gardening
top-dressing
crocks
alpine scree
daffodils and yellow snobbery
forsythia, the untidy plant
deadheading daffs
chopping tulips
Laetitia’s amelanchiers and how much she loves them
amelanchier - a hard-working plant
Garden visiting in winter and early spring
Box topiary at West Dean gardens
Clipping your sarcococca into mounds
horrifying results post-clippage
On The Ledge PodcastAndrew’s pelargonium tips
Laetitia’s alpine trough
The Garden Log
Narcissi Thalia
Miranda Janatka’s article in the hardy plant society blog
amelanchier canadensis and lamarkii
West Dean Gardens
Plants we talk about and links
On The Ledge Podcast
Andrew’s pelargonium tips
Laetitia’s alpine trough
The Garden Log
Narcissi Thalia
amelanchier canadensis and lamarkii
West Dean Gardens
-
THINGS WE TALK ABOUT IN THIS EPISODE:
Incredible Edible Bristol
Five minute gardening
Knitting theory
Using both sides of your brain
Killing begonias
Ivy and pelargoniums as houseplants
Windowsill seed sowing
Buying seedlings
Not over-sowing
Am I a nurseryman?
Essential seed-sowing equipment
Compost
Plants to grow from seed
Dividing plants with two forks
LINKS, PLANTS, IMPORTANT STUFF WE MENTIONIncredible Edible Bristol
Ron Finley
Emma Mitchell
Coffee plant
Schefflera
Peace lily
On the Ledge Podcast
Sweet peas (cupani)
Cosmos
Chillies
Alpine Strawberries
Hydrangea pruning
-
Things we talk about in this episode:
Judging at Chelsea
Objectivity and how the judging system works
James’s gardening journey
Sex, death and deliciousness
The gardener as referee
The recipe for a good garden
Making sure that the practical essentials are in the right place
James’s own garden
The corner of shame
Calling in help when life gets in the way
James’s inspiration
Show gardens and unattainability
Gardening as larceny
Removing sentimentality (and diseased trees)
Watching and waiting
Dealing with the boring stuff first
Barefoot compost heaps
Gardens, garden designers, succulents, cacti, azaleas and rhododendrons
Roses and revolutionary verve
Stopping gardening when it becomes a chore
Designers and Chelsea show gardens
The cult of the designer
James’s 7 minute Chelsea garden
Evil wisteria
Stop worrying
Fortnum and Mason manure
Plants for dry shade
Right plant right place
Self control
Growing rhododendrons in the cotswolds
And watching them die
Seed sowing
Leggy chillies
Snow hating
Shed cleaning
Weeding with a hula hoop
Apres freeze watering
Dahlias
Slugs and how to deal with them
Slugs vs snails
Evil slugs
Evil drunken slugs
Savage slugs
Hedgehog homes
Podcasting as gardening
-
Laetitia and Andrew introduce themselves and reveal what's in store for listeners of The Virgin Gardener Podcast. Exciting news! Our first guest will be the horticultural rockstar that is James Alexander Sinclair!
