Our Plant Stories

18/02/2025

Just been to the Museum of Homelessness garden where they are planting snowdrops today. This is such a special garden where we learn together, aided today by Sean from the Inner Temple garden.
Snowdrops seem such symbols of hope at the end of winter.
Here’s the finished episode on snowdrops with the very knowledgeable and passionate galanthophile Emma Thick at Thenford Arboretum.

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/1211760a-6f0a-4142-b5d6-872e32dab463/

15/02/2025

Yesterday I learned so much from Emma Thick at Thenford about snowdrops. Offshoot episode coming soon with lots of info and tips about these gorgeous flowers. If you ‘Follow’ the podcast it will automatically get downloaded for you when I publish it.

06/02/2025

It’s launched …40 episodes in the can or perhaps I should say plant pots and a news series for 2025

26/11/2024

https://www.ourplantstories.com/episodes/camden-highline

Take an audio walk along the proposed Camden Highline

12/11/2024

I recorded this on the Castlefield Viaduct back in April and today the episode went live. I love urban parks in the sky - sometimes called Highlines, just getting amongst plants above the city gives you a whole new perspective. Listen here to take an audio walk along the viaduct. https://player.captivate.fm/episode/1c626e1f-4860-47a1-80c7-80c08f479471/

26/03/2024

In the 19th century, this the Dropmore Monkey Puzzle was the most famous Monkey Puzzle in the UK. It was photographed, painted and written about. Queen Victoria visited it! Look carefully in the bottom left of the photograph and you will see a man in a top hat. That is David Gedye’s great great grandfather and he was the head gardener, looking after the Dropmore Monkey Puzzle. But did he plant the seed? Aged 10, David was told he did but over the past 68 years he’s been unravelling this story, told to him by his mum. And he shares it in this podcast episode of Our Plant Stories.

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/b3f88e49-9fbd-43aa-b42f-35f9ee1e86d9

12/03/2024

This Monkey Puzzle tree is in Andrea’s front garden, planted by the previous owner some 40 years ago. When she first moved in, it was on the list, along with the peach shower curtains, of things to go!! But 12 years later it’s still there - find out why in the latest episode of the podcast. And you can learn more about the tree including how to grow it thanks to a Chilean botanist Eduardo Olate who joins us to talk about this, the National tree of Chile.

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/e813b575-caea-4815-bfca-9eb6f6b834dd

03/03/2024

We’ve passed the 10,000 downloads mark on the Our Plant Stories podcast which is exciting and I’d like to thank each and every person who has downloaded and listened. It means a lot to me because when you start a new venture like this you are never quite sure if you will find listeners - it’s very different to making programmes for a guaranteed Radio 4 audience!

I’m thinking about the release day. Originally I thought Friday was best because people perhaps listen on a weekend. But now I am beginning to think that actually podcast listening is often something we do in our weekly routine. On our commute to or from work or perhaps at work if we work outside. So perhaps I may start to release the episodes earlier in the week.

Any comments on when or where you listen gratefully received - to Our Plant Stories or any other podcasts. I have 5 packets of seeds to give away to people who leave comments on this post or my blog or on instagram. Not very scientific audience research but betting Radio 4 didn’t offer seeds as an incentive 🤣

14/02/2024

Valentine’s Day is, according to Vicky Meads of New Forest Hosta’s the day to make your garlic wash to keep the snails off your Hosta’s! I think of it as showing your Hostas some love ❤️ 2 garlic bulbs, crushed in 2 pints of water boiled for 10 -15 mins. (It will smell!) then strained into a PLASTIC bottle. Read how to use it here
https://www.ourplantstories.com/episodes/hosta

06/02/2024

I emailed my friend Liz, saying “I’ll be near you next week - fancy lunch?”
She replied “I’m in New Zealand. So far away from lunch…
Hmmm over 11,000 miles!

BUT she was …just down the road from in Dunedin and head gardener Fiona Eadie features in this weeks Our Plant Stories podcast episode! I love serenity.

So I asked my friend to go to Larnach Castle and take some photos and she did and she met Fiona. So on Friday in the podcast, when Fiona shares her passion for native NZ plants with we’ll all know just how beautiful this NZ garden is.

Thank you Liz and I def now owe you lunch!

02/02/2024

Yesterday I picked up this packet of dahlia seeds. I had been reminded by a conversation with how much I loved this flower. A small shady London garden is not an idea place to grow them - though each year I do buy the odd tuber but it’s never a great success.
But back in 2019, in May, I bought a packet of Dahlia seeds from the National Dahlia Collection and this was the result that summer. There’s a tiny bit of front space - not a garden more of a retaining wall really, in front of the house and that’s where I put them, in pots.
I had such fun and lots of people stopped and commented when I was watering them or generally pottering in my ‘dahlia field’.
So I am going to try again in 2024

29/01/2024

Viburnum is a great plant to have in your garden because in January when little else is blooming you’ll have the Viburnum and it smells beautiful. This picture is from Penn Allen’s garden in France and it’s a Virburnum fragrans - the January plant story that has taken us to the Lake District and China.