The Gardener Ben Podcast

• S2E14 Matthew Pottage

  Take a listen to episode 14 of season two of my podcast, now streaming on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and on my YouTube channel.Don’t forget, there’s also a bonus episode slipped into the schedule that I recorded last week @bbcgwfair.On this week's episode, I had the pleasure of talking to the very knowledgeable @matt.pottage, who, although being an incredibly busy man, managed to take the time to join me for an informal and very enjoyable conversation.Mathew is the head of horticulture and landscape strategy @theroyalparks, an author and writer on @scribehound_gardening, and like me, a massive houseplant enthusiast who loves the rare, different, and unusual.He’s taken on a massive public task, which many would shy away from. Listening to him talk about his new role, his journey into gardening, and his long-term approach to maintaining these beautiful public spaces gives me hope for horticulture's long-term future.In my own garden, I’m having to dial back how much physical gardening I’m doing in favor of creating the massive body of work I’ve set out for myself this year.Next week, the podcast takes us in a very different direction, and I’m joined by @childrensallergy. I will be talking at length about hay fever and airborne allergies, so if these are affecting your ability to garden and impacting your life, make sure to listen next week.#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardener #gardeningpodcast #listennow #streamingnow #helpingyougrow #gardenersofinstagram #growgram

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• S2E13 The Basket Maker

  Episode 13 of season two of the Gardener Ben podcast is available for you to stream on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and YouTube. It’s been a frustrating week in the garden, with soaring temperatures meaning that keeping up with the watering has been a real challenge. I’ve also been in a personal battle with a local squirrel who’s not only taken to digging in the top of one of my very precious trees, breaking off at least seven or eight of its new fronds, but it also went on a little bit of a rampage, causing utter destruction in the greenhouse. This week’s guest is John Williamson, @johnwilliamson.dartmoor, maker of the very endangered and beautifully crafted Devon Stave basket. This dying Bushcraft is more than just an art form, and talking about the process all the way from the selection of timber to the construction of the actual basket and its use was really inspiring.Listen to the full episode now, and make sure that you head over to John's profile and show his account some love 💚Next week, I’m joined by @matt.pottage, talking about his new role as head of horticulture and landscape strategy @theroyalparks.#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #listennow #streamingnow #helpingyougain #gardener #craft #woodcraft

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• Bonus Episode BBC Gardeners World Spring Fair Beaulieu

  Bonus episode brought to you from the BBC Gardeners world Fair, Beaulieu.I had a marvellous day wandering around the show, admiring some amazing garden concepts, enjoying some great food, and of course, had the opportunity to purchase some amazing plants from specialist nurseries and some of the best growers in the country.A busy time for everybody, but I wanted to offer my personal thanks to those who spared the time to speak to me about their garden concepts and design processes.Starting with @david_long_gardens. His garden really needed to be enjoyed from on the stage, where its cool, fresh, dense planting mixed beautifully with wood, corten steel, and woven willow.I also had the pleasure of talking to Una from @kingstonmaurwardcollege, part of a team of four students bringing together a stunning installation centered around a path made of grey engineering bricks and laid with hazel rounds, carefully planted with snowball bushes and juvenile birch.Special thanks go to Lizzy from @capelmanor, a mature student part of a larger group approaching their project from a different angle, displaying a garden very much of two sides: a north-facing aspect, damp and lush, full of decaying timber and ferns.And on the reverse, the south side is arid and dry, featuring alpine gravel and a structural yucca. Both equally beautiful in their design and execution.Last up was a very enjoyable chat with Emma, who’s head of horticulture @hilliergardencentres. There was a stunning installation depicting four very distinctive styles of gardening in one space, proving that even on not a very average plot size, you can create a multitude of very different feeling spaces within one.

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• S2E12 Robs Allotment

  On this week's episode, I had to confess that I haven’t managed to spend a huge amount of time in my own garden. Being a full-time garden landscaper, this time of year keeps me on my toes in other people's gardens, and mine has to take a little bit of a backseat. This is one of the main reasons I’m so disciplined and organized with my own schedule—sharing content well before you actually need to be doing things.I am, however, pressing on with getting in my pea sticks and plant supports to ensure my herbaceous perennials stay exactly where I want them to during the coming months.I’ll also be going around the garden placing in some marker sticks so I know where I have holes in my spring bulb display. This saves me from disturbing any existing bulbs when I come to bed out bulbs at the end of the year.This week's guest is Rob Smith (@robsallotment). Rob is a garden writer and the author of the book Grow to Eat. He is also on the RHS Fruit, Vegetable, and Herb Expert Group panel, helping decide the varieties that we all grow every year in our gardens.Gardening in a very different way to me, if it’s not tasty, edible, or useful, Rob pretty much doesn’t grow it. This proves that even with a relatively small space, you can still have a highly productive garden producing something for the table for pretty much every meal.Next week’s guest is John Williamson (@johnwilliamson.dartmoor), basket maker extraordinaire.Don’t forget to get involved if you’ve enjoyed listening and leave a comment on your favorite platform.#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #listennow #gardener #organicgardener #helpingyougrow #gardentotable #growtoeat

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• S2E11 Becky -Sow Much More

  Episode 11 of season 2 of my podcast is available to stream on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube now, covering topics such as organic pest control of aphids, greenfly, and black fly; focused watering of newly planted first-season roses and shrubs; and we’re all about soil as I get to have the most wonderful and enlightening conversation with Becky from the account @sow_much_more.No matter what point in your gardening journey you are at, whether you’ve been doing it for years or you’re following for hints and tips as you just start out, this is a must-listen episode. Becky is a garden writer, soil expert, ecologist, and botanist, and like me, is incredibly passionate about no-dig organic gardening and the health, condition, and biodiversity of soil.Proving that if you really pay attention to your soil, you can really grow a garden. Look out for her newly released book ‘Grow a New Garden’ or ‘The Seed Collectors Kit,’ both of which are out now.In next week’s episode, I’m joined by @robsallotment, whose garden focuses very heavily on tasty and useful produce to cook and eat, while you know it’s completely the opposite here at North Lodge in my garden, which is just roses, dahlias, and sweet peas.#garderben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #listennow #streamingnow #gardener #organicgardening #helpingyougrow #gardenersofinstagram #grow #ecologist #botanist #gardenwriter

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