Episódios

  • In this episode, award-winning garden designer Butter Wakefield constructs her fantasy garden. From the landscape of Maine to the gardens at Chatsworth, we learn about all of the things she would have to include in her fantasy space. 

    Find out more about Butter’s career, from starting out at Christie’s to her training in garden design and learn how she acquired her unique name. Butter tells us all about her favourite garden plants and why she’s a maximalist and we find out why she would never allow plastic rattan furniture into her dream garden. 

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode.

    AD // Niwaki are offering Talking Gardens listeners the opportunity to save 10% at niwaki.com, until the 28th February 2025 using the code TALK10. This discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount codes and excludes delivery costs. Please visit the Niwaki website for any further Terms & Conditions that might apply at https://www.niwaki.com/about/terms/
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  • No-dig gardening guru Charles Dowding creates his dream garden from all of the places he has been and seen. We find out why he loves the landscapes of the island of Iona in Scotland, his adventures in growing in France and Wales, and how he discovered the no-dig method. 

    Discover his tips on building your social media and learn about Charles’ tried-and-tested methods of composting - plus, what he would never allow into his dream garden. 

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode.

    AD // Niwaki are offering Talking Gardens listeners the opportunity to save 10% at niwaki.com, until the 28th February 2025 using the code TALK10. This discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount codes and excludes delivery costs. Please visit the Niwaki website for any further Terms & Conditions that might apply at https://www.niwaki.com/about/terms/
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  • Plantswoman Rosy Hardy creates her fantasy garden from all of the landscapes and places that have inspired her. From the sunken garden in Edinburgh owned by her childhood neighbour to Amazon Spheres in Seattle and the Patagonian mountains, we hear about how all of the things would play a role in her dream garden. 

    Find out how her nursery Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants was started out of a car boot and why she dug up her backyard, and discover what it takes to create an award winning plant exhibit at a big show. Plus, can you really hear rhubarb growing? And why she loves dandelions.

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode.

    AD // Niwaki are offering Talking Gardens listeners the opportunity to save 10% at niwaki.com, until the 28th February 2025 using the code TALK10. This discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount codes and excludes delivery costs. Please visit the Niwaki website for any further Terms & Conditions that might apply at https://www.niwaki.com/about/terms/
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  • Gardener and broadcaster Monty Don joins us on Talking Gardens to talk about his fantasy growing space. From the design of Wollerton Old Hall in Shropshire to the character of Balmoral Cottage in Kent, and the dramatic views of a Fernando Caruncho design in Greece, Monty shares his favourite spots with us. 

    Get insights into his never-seen second, secret garden, why he rails against the morality of rewilding and how having an opinion works with presenting the Chelsea Flower Show coverage (spoiler alert - he’s not a fan of beavers).

    Plus, discover who his gardening hero is and why he likes to know absolutely nothing before visiting a garden. 

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode.

    AD // Niwaki are offering Talking Gardens listeners the opportunity to save 10% at niwaki.com, until the 28th February 2025 using the code TALK10. This discount cannot be used in conjunction with any other discount codes and excludes delivery costs. Please visit the Niwaki website for any further Terms & Conditions that might apply at https://www.niwaki.com/about/terms/
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  • What does your fantasy garden look like? That’s what we ask our guests on the Talking Gardens podcast. This season we’ve got an amazing new line up of top gardeners, designers, plantspeople and flower fanatics telling us all about their dream growing spaces and the plants, people and tools they couldn’t live without. 
     
    Tune in to hear what national treasure Monty Don really thinks about rewilding, and for no-dig guru Charles Dowding's top composting tips. This season, we'll also be talking to lauded designer Jinny Blom, royal florist Shane Connolly, nurserywoman Rosy Hardy and many more. 
     
    New episodes drop every Tuesday. Hit follow now so you never miss an episode.
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  • This time, Stephanie visits HuntingBrook Gardens in Co. Wicklow, Ireland, to chat to owner Jimi Blake about his dream garden. Discover why he wants to live in a glass box and the places his fantasy corridors would lead to, from New Zealand to South America, and Chanticleer Garden to the Dixter plant fair.

    Find out how Jimi dodges bears while botanising, the ways that HuntingBrook has changed over the years, and how going to train as a gardener was life saving for him. We also hear why his imaginary space would be filled with young, up-and-coming gardeners and why, as an avid plant collector, he finds making ‘nerdy’ plant lists his own personal form of meditation.

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and become a member, at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. 
    Follow now so you never miss an episode. 


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  • Broadcaster, smallholder and author Kate Humble constructs her fantasy garden in this episode. From an origami version of Yellowstone National Park to Dicken from The Secret Garden and Popham’s Arboretum in Sri Lanka, Kate tells Stephanie all about the landscapes, people and gardens that have influenced her. 

    Find out more about how she became a TV presenter, how she knows that Sharon Stone has a big head and the best thing to do when you come across someone wild swimming naked in a river; as well as why Kate loves baobab trees but will never allow a gazebo in her garden.

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and become a member, at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. 
    Follow now so you never miss an episode.
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  • In this episode, lauded planting designer Professor Nigel Dunnett describes all the things he would have to include in his dream garden, from wildflowers to birdsong, and where Claude Monet and David Bowie would fit into his garden fantasies. We hear about what it was like to create his famous projects including Superbloom at the Tower of London, the gardens at the Barbican, Sheffield Grey to Green and plantings at the Olympic Park, as well as details about his own garden on a north-facing slope. Find out why shrubs are due a resurgence, what his problem is with cats, and why he’s not really in favour of low-maintenance schemes. 

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. 
    Follow now so you never miss an episode. 


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  • In this episode, Katy Merrington, cultural gardener at The Hepworth Wakefield gallery garden in Yorkshire, constructs her dream garden - in fact, her dream world, which is a place where the streets of our towns and cities are green and welcoming. Discover who would be on Katy’s ultimate fantasy gardening team; why she thinks we need to reconsider ivy; and what a napping tree is. Tune in to learn how she manages looking after an urban space that’s open 24/7, 365 days a year; why the north of England is the place to be for gardeners right now; about her magical cup of tea that is always the right temperature; and her wish for a hose that never kinks.

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode. 

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  • In this episode, garden designer Andy Sturgeon picks all the things he’d love to have in his fantasy garden - a crazy multiverse of different climate zones and garden styles from a jungle to a desert and a traditional space with topiary and roses… and monkeys. Discover what floral event he’s desperate to see; which international designers he would have help create his dream space; why he wants a fern house; and his thoughts on the sticky subject of sustainability in garden design. Learn about how he is designing his own new garden in the country, and the big question - will he or won’t he do Chelsea Flower Show again? Listen to find out.

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and subscribe , at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode. 


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  • Garden designer Miria Harris tells us what she would choose for her fantasy garden, from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water in Pennsylvania, to roses and the ocean. Discover how she made the leap to a career in garden design via work experience with Jinny Blom, and why she admires Edwardian garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. Miria recounts her personal story of experience of stroke and explains how it led to her designing a show garden for the Stroke Association at the Chelsea Flower Show. Plus find out why mirrors are her bugbear in the garden and her dream of a never-ending lunch al fresco.

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and become a member, at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. 
    Follow now so you never miss an episode.


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  • Designer Ann Marie-Powell is our guest this time, talking to Stephanie about the inspirations for her dream garden, including the wild character of the gardens at Waltham Place in Berkshire and her imaginary party ‘camp’ with hammocks, teepees, a hot water tap and chef. Discover what she would grow in her fantasy greenhouse, who she’s got a girl crush on and the inside scoop on her Chelsea Flower Show garden for the National Trust. Plus, who is the latest object of her Insta stalking?

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and become a member, at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. 
    Follow now so you never miss an episode. 
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  • In this episode we hear from Tayshan Hayden-Smith, the footballer turned community gardener and activist, who tells Stephanie about the landscapes and people that have inspired him, including Meanwhile Gardens and his mum. Discover why he loves the buzz and energy of urban environments, with pavement plants growing in the cracks and crevices, and why he believes we need to rethink what we consider a garden to be. He explains how the fire at Grenfell Tower in London was a turning point in his life that led to him founding the not-for-profit organisation Grow 2 Know, challenging the gardening establishment and creating meaningful gardens in London and at the Chelsea Flower Show to help close the green gap and widen access to nature for more people.

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. 
    Follow now so you never miss an episode. 
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  • Alan Titchmarsh MBE - gardener, broadcaster, author and national treasure - talks to Stephanie about the gardens, places, people and plants that he would like to include in his dream garden, from a tiny cottage garden on the coast of Cornwall to York Gate garden near Leeds and the ultimate summerhouse at Wolverton Hall. Discover which famous designer he would like to ask to create his little piece of paradise, what he really thinks of rewilding and why his legs are censored in North Korea.

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode.


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  • What would you include in your dream garden? On this season of Talking Gardens, that’s what we asked all new gardening guests, from Alan Titchmarsh to Kate Humble, and Tayshan Hayden-Smith to Nigel Dunnett. Discover who would want a napping tree and a cup of tea that never goes cold; who Ann-Marie Powell has been Insta-stalking; why garden designer Andy Sturgeon would need an entire multiverse to create his dream garden; and how gardener Jimi Blake dodges bears while botanising. That’s the Talking Gardens podcast from Gardens Illustrated magazine, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday. Follow now to make sure you never miss an episode.
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  • In this episode, garden designer and TV presenter Arit Anderson creates her dream garden, choosing the wow factor of Dan Hinkley’s Wyndcliffe garden on the sea and a West Country sunset. Discover what she thinks about in-between planting, her cold and soggy childhood holidays in the Lake District, how she finds being on TV, and what she means by ‘shade-loving’ people. Tune in to find out why Arit would love a bluebell meadow and the reason she would never allow leaf blowers in her fantasy space, or in her own garden. 
    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and subscribe, at www.gardensillustrated.com 
    Enjoy this podcast? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode.

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  • In this episode, gardener and garden writer Tamsin Westhorpe talks about her dream garden, from the lived-in atmosphere of an old Arts and Crafts garden to the coastal landscape of The Durrells in Corfu. Find out about the horrible old jumper she keeps pristine in a plastic cover in her wardrobe because of who once complimented it, and why she would have to have an outdoor shower, pots of succulents and a daybed. We hear about Tamsin’s varied career, from art-school drop-out to parks keeper and interior landscaper, and why she thinks gardening is vital for mental health.

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and subscribe, at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoy this podcast? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode. 

    Show notes
    Vann Garden
    Great Dixter
    Outdoor showers
    Succulents
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  • In this episode, designer and gardener Isabel Bannerman - whose projects include the private garden of King Charles at Highgrove, and Arundel Castle - describes what she would have to include in her dream garden, from a woodland stream setting and scented shrubs such as mock orange, to elm trees and rambling roses, a place to sit and a greenhouse. Discover why she thinks naturalistic planting looks like hard work, how she is no good at growing vegetables and where she would go in a time machine.

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and ideas, including Isabel and husband Julian’s top garden books, and subscribe at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode. 

    Show notes:
    Ribes odoratum
    Mock orange Philadelphus ‘Manteau d'Hermine’ 
    Rosa ‘The Garland’
    Gravetye Manor garden - William Robinson
    Ninfa Gardens
    Giverny, Monet’s garden
    Louise Dowding’s Yews Tree Farm garden
    Highgrove
    Keder Greenhouse polytunnel 
    Arundel Castle garden
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  • In this episode, gardener and writer Arthur Parkinson describes his dream of a walled garden with orangery, and all manner of plants and birds. Hear about his fantasy lagoon filled with flamingos, his orchard meadow and why even in his dream space he would have to have practical elements such as a gate for plant and pot deliveries - but would never allow a windchime to pass the threshold. 

    Enjoying this podcast? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode. 

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and subscribe, at www.gardensillustrated.com
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  • In this episode, world-renowned planting designer Piet Oudolf talks to Stephanie about the projects that have shaped his career and why he has never had time to dream . Discover why he enjoys creating gardens in the public realm more than private spaces, why he closed his nursery and garden and what he has planned for exciting upcoming projects, including the reimagining of his borders at RHS Garden Wisley. 

    Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and subscribe, at www.gardensillustrated.com 

    Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode. 

    Show notes
    Piet Oudolf at Work book 
    Piet Oudolf and Henk Gerritsen’s book Planting the Natural Garden - read our review here.
    Lurie Garden, Chicago
    The High Line, New York City
    RHS Wisley Glasshouse borders being replanted
    Camden Highline, London
    Future Plants
    New plant selected by Cassian Schmidt and Piet at Hermannshof is Schizachyrium scoparium 'Ha Ha Tonka'
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