Gardening with the RHS

Latest Episodes:

The Enchanting World of Herbs Jun 06, 2024

Show notes

This week we’re diving into the enchanting world of herbs. Join us as author and horticulturist Connor Smith uncovers the rich history of these remarkable plants, celebrated in food, medicine, and mythology for millennia. The Queen of Herbs, Jekka McVicar, shares her expert advice on cultivating your own herb garden. From RHS Garden Wisley, Liz Mooney delivers a heartfelt love letter to her favourite herb. Plus, we’ll hear reflections from Wisley curator Matt Pottage as he bids a fond farewell after 20 dedicated years with the RHS.

Host: Gareth Richards

Contributors: Connor Smith, Jekka McVicar, Liz Mooney, Matt Pottage

Other Links:

How Herbs Healed the World by Connor Smith

100 Herbs to Grow by Jekka McVicar

Jekka’s farm website

Squashes, Hebes, and the new RHS patron is announced! May 30, 2024

Show notes

From butternuts to tromboncinos – on this week's show, Wisley’s Liz Mooney tells us about some of her favourite squashes with top tips on how to grow them. Roz Marshall talks us through the results of the RHS Hebe trial at Wisley and Harlow Carr, and Director General Clare Matterson reflects on the announcement of King Charles III as the new patron of the RHS.

Presenter: Guy Barter

Contributors: Liz Mooney, Roz Marshall, Clare Matterson

Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk

Links:

Shrubby Veronica (Hebe) trial results

How to grow squashes - RHS

RHS patron announcement

It's RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024! May 23, 2024

Show notes

Welcome to RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2024! We’re diving headfirst into all of the trends and highlights this hotly anticipated show has to offer; from the growers filling the Great Pavilion with their dazzling botanical displays, to the striking RHS Plant of the Year Prunus ‘Starlight’, and of course the legendary garden designers lining main avenue with some truly spectacular show gardens.

This year is all about celebrating the young gardeners of tomorrow, so join us for a peak inside The RHS No Adults Allowed Garden designed by Harry Holding in collaboration with local schoolchildren, as well as Ula Maria’s Best Show Garden-winning Muscular Dystropy UK - Forest Bathing Garden showstopper, Tom Massey and Je Ahn’s Gold medal-winning WaterAid Garden, Tom Stuart-Smith’s luscious Gold-winning The National Garden Scheme Garden, Ann-Marie Powell’s RHS Children Choice Award-winning garden, and much, much more…

Presenters:

Jenny Laville, Gareth Richards, Guy Barter

Contributors:

Tom Massey, Je Ahn, Ula Maria, James Armitage, Ann-Marie Powell

Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk

Other links:

RHS Chelsea Flower Show Website

SheGrowsVeg

Urban Organic

Pure Grenada

The Season of Colour May 16, 2024

Show notes

This week we’re celebrating the abundance of colour on offer at this time of year. RHS trials project manager Roz Marshall shares the results of the Grandiflora sweet pea trial; highlighting some beautifully scented selections to try at home. Plantsman Andrew Large chats about the astonishing range of form and colour offered by the often overlooked Buddleja. And plant hunter Kevin Hobbs describes the discovery of a species new to science; the striking black Carex nodosa ‘Kurofune’, and the fascinating story behind its name…

All these stories and more can be found in the June edition of The Plant Review ‘Summer: The Season of Colour.’ You can find out more information on how to subscribe here

Presenters: Gareth Richards, and James Armitage

Contributors: Roz Marshall, Andrew Large, and Kevin Hobbs

Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk

Links:

Sweet Pea show at RHS Garden Wisley

The Buddleja Garden

Pinnacle Plants International

Topiary, lilacs and Chelsea judging May 09, 2024

Show notes

In the week leading to World Topiary Day, RHS Horticultural Advisor Jenny Bowden gives us an update on growing alternatives to box (Buxus sempervirens), with insights into the ongoing threat of box blight and box tree moth from Dr Stephanie Bird. Nurseryman Ed Canon from Langthorns Plantery shares his love for lilacs, flowering plants that haven’t always been considered fashionable, but are experiencing new interest due to exciting cultivar development and increased availability through micropropagation. Plus, Jenny Laville asks “what makes an award-winning garden?” as she meets Eleanor Hollingworth from the RHS Chelsea Flower Show judging team, two weeks ahead of the world’s most prestigious garden event.

Presenter: Gareth Richards

Contributors: Dr. Stephanie Bird, Jenny Bowden, Jenny Laville, Eleanor Hollingworth, Ed Cannon

Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk

Links:

Box alternatives trial at RHS Garden Wisley

Langthorns Plantery

Chelsea Flower Show Tickets

Cucumbers, peonies and houseplant propagation May 02, 2024

Show notes

Peter Adams from RHS Garden Rosemoor gives a masterclass in growing indoor and outdoor cucumbers with suggested varieties for growing in different situations. Esteemed plantswoman Claire Austin shares her expertise in selecting and caring for peonies – covering herbaceous, tree and intersectional types. And American plant stylist and author Hilton Carter spreads joy through the gift of houseplants – with tips for multiplying your collection through techniques including leaf and stem cuttings.

Presenter: Guy Barter

Contributors: Peter Adams, Claire Austin, Hilton Carter

Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk

Links:

RHS Garden Rosemoor: Fruit and Vegetable Gardens

How to grow cucumbers

Claire Austin: Celebration of Flowers

How to grow herbaceous and intersectional peonies

Hilton Carter: The Propagation Handbook

RHS plant propagation guides

Highlights from the RHS Urban Show 2024 Apr 25, 2024

Show notes

Gareth Richards, Jenny Laville and Guy Barter bring a jam packed show of highlights from the inaugural RHS Urban Show in Manchester - a festival of ideas focussed on greening up small spaces, looking after houseplants, and opening discussion about better urban planning. Amanda Grimes talks us through her easy-to-replicate designs for small (often concrete) spaces, including a Punk Rockery! Jason Williams aka The Cloud Gardener showcases seven innovative gardens designed with local communities that take on the challenges of urban gardening and development. Jacob James from Grow Tropicals talks us through his amazing display of rare and intriguing houseplants, with tips for different growing environments. And award-winning young designer Nathan Webster gives us a tour of his Urban Forest design, created to provoke conversation around the importance of woodland management in built up areas.

Presenter: Gareth Richards, Jenny Laville, Guy Barter

Contributors: Amanda Grimes, Tom Massey, Tinie, Jason Williams, Nathan Webster, Jacob James

Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk

Links:

The RHS Urban Show 2024

Pop Culture Planting: Punk Rockery

RHS City Spaces: Cloudspaces

Happy Houseplants with Grow Tropicals

RHS Urban Forest

Chase presents: Inspired by the wild with Tom Massey and Tinie

Single-colour planting, GYO tips (for radishes, peas, cardoons), and a floating greenhouse Apr 18, 2024

Show notes

In the stunning Colour Gardens at The Newt In Somerset, Joe Dransfield explains how a monochrome approach to flowers can deliver dazzling impact. Liz Mooney shares grow your own tips from the World Food Garden at RHS Garden Wisley, including peas, radishes and cardoons. And we hear the inspirational and unconventional story of Roka Brings Flowers – a grower and florist who started a wonderful cut flower business from a narrowboat with a floating greenhouse in tow.

Presenter: Gareth Richards

Contributors: Liz Mooney, Joe Dransfield, Roka Brings Flowers

Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk

Links:

How to grow peas

How to grow radishes

Cynara cardunculus Cardoon

The Newt in Somerset – an RHS Partner Garden

Roka Brings Flowers

RHS Urban Show

GYO tips from Rosemoor, plant hybrids, and shrubscapes Apr 11, 2024

Show notes

Desert roadcuts, abandoned pasture, heathland and marshy thickets inspire naturalistic planting ideas from Kevin Philip Williams and Michel Guidi, whose new book Shrouded in Light draws from wild shrubscapes. We also visit RHS Garden Rosemoor in North Devon, where Peter Adams gives us a tour of the extensive fruit and vegetable gardens with top tips for growing parsnips, shallots, cloching potatoes and protecting peas. Jenny Laville and James Armitage return to the podcast to debunk more plant terminology – this time talking about “hybrids” – what they are, how they occur and how they can be used to your advantage.

Presenter: Gareth Richards

Contributors: Peter Adams, Jenny Laville, James Armitage, Michael Guidi and Kevin Philip Williams

Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk

Links:

Sustainable plant combos, GYO tips (for tomatoes, beetroot, squash), flowering shrubs Apr 04, 2024

Show notes

Do you ever fall in love with a plant, buy it, but then not know what to pair it with? Principal Horticultural Advisor James Lawrence introduces his guide to creating planting combinations that don’t just look good, but have a sustainability impact too. Guy Barter shares seasonal tips for establishing tomatoes, beetroot, and winter pumpkins and squash – helping you to set up for the Grow Your Own season. And Jack Aldridge, a horticulturist who looks after Oakwood at RHS Garden Wisley, will be singing an ode to his favourite flowering shrub, the Stachyurus.

Presenter: Guy Barter

Contributors: James Lawrence, Jack Aldridge

Links:

Oakwood at RHS Garden Wisley

RHS Gardening advice / ChatBotanist