Why Women Grow

Latest Episodes:

Daisy Johnson on how landscape shapes us Sep 30, 2025

Show notes

Daisy Johnson made headlines when she became the youngest person ever shortlisted for the Booker Prize in 2018, when she was 27. But, as she tells us in this episode, her shortlisted novel Everything Under was born of a time of great transition and growth.

Water ripples throughout Daisy’s work, from the remote rain-lashed house in Sisters to the ambiguous murk of Fen, with its shapeshifting characters who are inseparable from their landscape. On the banks of the Thames in Oxford, the author explains how water has accompanied her throughout her life, from the fenlands of her adolescence to the canals and rivers of her adulthood and matrescence.

Daisy Johnson's latest publication, The Hotel, is a collection of short stories that offer the perfect accompaniment to autumn evenings. Long Wave, her next book, will be out next year.

This podcast is inspired by my book, ⁠Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival⁠, which is available in all good bookshops. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by India Hobson on my ⁠website⁠ and instagram account @⁠⁠⁠alicevincentwrites⁠⁠⁠.

Use code WWGAUTUMN at ⁠⁠⁠Crocus.co.uk⁠⁠⁠'s checkout to save 20% on full priced plants. It is valid when you spend a minimum of £50 on full priced plants and / or bulbs. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other codes or offers.

Isabella Tree on rewilding a garden Sep 30, 2025

Show notes

Today we are at the Knepp Estate - a huge rewilding project across 3500 acres of land, undertaken by the writer and conservationist Isabella Tree and her family.

As she outlines so beautifully in her bestselling memoir Wilding, when Isabella moved into Knepp, then her husband’s family estate, she inherited more than just a castle. A crumbling property and a financially precarious farm were part of the package too. By the late 90s the couple found themselves in debt and realised they needed to stop farming - but what to do with all this land? Well that’s when they decided to try an experiment to bring back wildlife that would become their life's work. 25 years later the result is Knepp Wildland. The site, part of which is open to the public, now plays host to all sorts of species including roaming pigs and ponies alongside some of Britain’s rarest animals: turtle doves, nightingales and purple emperor butterflies.

We join Isabella among the golden fields of ragwort and beneath nesting storks to learn what makes a woman tear up a rule book for the sake of ecology’s survival - before being taken to one of the estate’s best-kept secrets: the walled garden at the castle. As the sun sets, she tells us about the courage and conviction needed to make real change.

If you’d like to find out more about Knepp, head to www.knepp.co.uk for information on how to visit and to sign up to the Knepp newsletter for events, the Rewilding Garden Blog, safaris and the Knepp Wilding podcast, which Isabella hosts.

Michelle Ogundehin on finding home Sep 30, 2025

Show notes

What is it that makes a home? Interior design may not seem the first port of call to consider when we think about our gardens, but Michelle Ogundehin’s approach to how our environments affect us shows just how important the outside world can be on our wellbeing.

Michelle, who is a series judge on Interior Design Masters, describes herself as a homes therapist. After training as an architect, she was the Editor in Chief of Elle Decoration for over a decade. Now, through books such as Happy Inside, Michelle’s approach encourages a holistic and thoughtful way to live that shrugs off trends for emotional insight.

At Bedgebury Pinetum, where Michelle comes to walk, we speak about the life changes that helped her reassess how to live - and how bringing the outside in can change how we do, too.

Glean more of Michelle's wisdom through her book, Happy Inside or her subscription service, the Happy Insiders Club. Michelle is also on Instagram and Substack, @michelleogundehin.

This podcast is inspired by my book, Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, which is available in all good bookshops. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by India Hobson on my website and instagram account @⁠⁠alicevincentwrites⁠⁠.

Use code WWGAUTUMN at ⁠⁠Crocus.co.uk⁠⁠'s checkout to save 20% on full priced plants. It is valid when you spend a minimum of £50 on full priced plants and / or bulbs. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other codes or offers.

Beyond the Garden: new season trailer Sep 23, 2025

Show notes

Leaves are falling, the sunsets are glowing, and we’re taking every moment we can to reflect here on the Why Women Grow podcast. This autumn, we’re exploring beyond the garden: into the stories crafted alongside fairytale rivers in Oxford, beneath the wingspan of storks flying over rewilded land in Sussex and getting lost in the woodlands of Kent.

We’re delving even deeper into the matters that make us human: what it is to mother, what it is to make a home, what it is to change our landscapes for the future with three incredible guests: author Daisy Johnson, conservationist and writer Isabella Tree and author and broadcaster Michelle Ogundehin.

Stay tuned for new episodes of the Why Women Grow Podcast, with me Alice Vincent, coming on 30th September.

It can be confusing knowing what to plant or how to look after your garden, which is why I’m so glad we’ve partnered with our friends at Crocus this year. Crocus is the country’s most trusted online gardening brand, with a website that’s packed full of advice, inspiration and products to help bring your dream garden to life. Do check out Crocus’s website to find out more, and if you see something you like, use the code WWGAUTUMN to enjoy 20% off all full-priced items for Why Women Grow listeners. Check the show notes for full Ts & Cs.

Jeany Cronk on ripping up the rule book Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

When Jeany Cronk moved her young family from London to the south of France, she did so on a mission to not only make delicious wine, but shake up the whole rose tradition in the process. The co-founder of Mirabeau, Jeany and her family decided to put sustainability at the heart of their company.

After waking up on the vineyard, we are treated to a tour of Jeany’s farm, which is the first Regenerative Organic Certified accredited vineyard in France. There, along with meeting a couple of pigs and llamas, we learn more about the risk and reward of taking the plunge to work with the outside world.

A huge thank you to Jeany Cronk, who has recently released At Home in Provence, a book that charts a culinary and family journey in the region along with life on the farm and its regenerative practices. Mirabeau has recently welcomed a new Rose to the family, called One Day.

This podcast is inspired by Alice's book, ⁠Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival⁠, which is available in all good bookshops. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by ⁠Sophie Epto⁠n on ⁠Alice's website⁠ and instagram account @⁠⁠⁠alicevincentwrites⁠⁠⁠.
Use code WWGSUMMER at⁠ ⁠Crocus.co.uk⁠⁠'s checkout to save 20% on full priced plants. The code is valid until 11.59pm on August 31st, 2025, It is valid when you spend a minimum of £50 on full priced plants and / or bulbs. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other codes or offers.

Louise Pascal on gardening in a time of crisis Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

What does it mean to be split between two places? Where we come from, and where we work? For actor Louise Pascal, putting on a character is part and parcel of her daily life, but one that relies on her returning to her childhood garden to ground herself in the realities of a landscape weathering the climate crisis.

We meet Louise in the village of Cucuron, over an Orangina, next to a pretty, tree-lined pond. There, she tells us about how to live a life caught between the bustle of Paris and the expanse of Provence, and how she connects with nature to give her hope in a changing world.

Louise’s latest film just premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, and is called Colours of Time, but you can see more from behind the scenes of her acting and gardening on Instagram - @louisepascal.

This podcast is inspired by Alice's book, ⁠Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival⁠, which is available in all good bookshops. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by ⁠Sophie Epton on ⁠Alice's website⁠ and instagram account @⁠⁠⁠alicevincentwrites⁠⁠⁠.
Use code WWGSUMMER at⁠ ⁠Crocus.co.uk⁠⁠'s checkout to save 20% on full priced plants. The code is valid until 11.59pm on August 31st, 2025, It is valid when you spend a minimum of £50 on full priced plants and / or bulbs. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other codes or offers.

Jamie Beck on starting a new life in Provence Jun 10, 2025

Show notes

It’s easy to dream of building a whole new life, but it’s quite another to actually do it. Jamie Beck is a woman who knows - the American artist, photographer and author swapped her high-flying career as a fashion photographer in New York to live simply and slowly in Provence.

Since 2016, Jamie has amassed a following of over 400,000 people for her beautiful portrayals of life in the South of France. In the shade of the Chateau de Mille, looking over idyllic rose gardens, we meet Jamie after she has been gathering flowers for one of her shoots.

Here, she tells us about changing her life in the pursuit of art, how gardens, flowers and nature never fail to inspire her practice and how it really feels to start your life again.

You can enjoy Jamie’s sumptuous original artwork on her website jamiebeck.co, where you can also sign up to her free weekly newsletter, Sunday Flowers. Her New York Times bestsellers, An American in Provence, and its follow-up, The Flowers of Provence are out now.

This podcast is inspired by Alice's book, Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, which is available in all good bookshops. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by Sophie Epton on Alice's website and instagram account @⁠⁠alicevincentwrites⁠⁠.

Use code WWGSUMMER at⁠ ⁠Crocus.co.uk⁠⁠'s checkout to save 20% on full priced plants. The code is valid until 11.59pm on August 31st, 2025, It is valid when you spend a minimum of £50 on full priced plants and / or bulbs. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other codes or offers.

The French Life: new season trailer Jun 03, 2025

Show notes

Summer is upon us - and the Why Women Grow podcast has gone on tour in Provence. Among the lavender fields, chateaux, rose gardens and town squares of Southern France, we meet three women who have made dramatic and inspiring life choices to work with nature in a different way.

If you’ve ever dreamed of giving it all up for a wilder way of being somewhere warm, our guests have plenty to offer in this new series: The French Life.

Stay tuned for new episodes of the Why Women Grow Podcast, with me Alice Vincent, coming on 10th June.

Jo Thompson and Kali Hamerton-Stove on strong beauty May 20, 2025

Show notes

Few Chelsea Flower Show gardens are designed by women. Fewer Chelsea Flower Show show gardens are created by the people they are intended for. And there has never before been a Chelsea Flower Show garden inspired by and made for female prisoners. But The Glasshouse Garden, garden designer Jo Thompson and founder of social enterprise The Glasshouse, Kali Hamerton-Stove, have done exactly that: created a show garden that breaks boundaries. Behind the duo’s beautiful show garden, in the heart of the Chelsea Flower Showground, we were joined by Jo and Kali and a live audience for a special press day recording of this powerful conversation.

You can find out more about The Glasshouse at theglasshouse.co.uk, or follow them on Instagram, @theglasshousebotanics. Jo Thompson can be found via her brilliant substack, The Gardening Mind, on Instagram @jothompsongarden. She’s also the author of books including The New Romantic Garden and The Gardener’s Palette.

This podcast is inspired by my book, ⁠Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival⁠, which is available in all good bookshops. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by India Hobson on my website and instagram account @⁠⁠⁠alicevincentwrites⁠⁠⁠.

Ula Maria on making space for loss May 20, 2025

Show notes

Some people move house for the location, some people move for the fireplaces: for Ula Maria, it was a neglected, overgrown garden in South London that confirmed her future home. The Lithuanian garden designer is arguably the most celebrated of her generation: Ula became the youngest person to ever win Best In Show at Chelsea in 2024 - and only the third woman to take the prize in the Flower Show’s century-long history.

But behind the scenes of a skyrocketing career, Ula was navigating considerable personal struggle and loss - and, all the while, she was building her own garden from that overgrown plot. It’s here that we speak to her about all of it: her achievements, her designs, her life, and what it’s actually like to be in the middle of a Monty Don media storm.

Find out more about Ula's work on her website, ulamaria.com, and her instagram, @ulamariastudio.

This podcast is inspired by my book, ⁠Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival⁠, which is available in all good bookshops. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by India Hobson on my website and instagram account @⁠⁠⁠alicevincentwrites⁠⁠⁠.

Use code WWGSUMMER at⁠ ⁠Crocus.co.uk⁠⁠'s checkout to save 20% on full priced plants. The code is valid until 11.59pm on August 31st, 2025. It is valid when you spend a minimum of £50 on full priced plants and / or bulbs. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other codes or offers.

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