Talking Dirty

In part one of our latest podcast with Steve Edney of No Name Nursery, we get a glimpse of some recent purchases. Plus great foliage plants, and one of many Cannas he's grown from seed this year. Next week, we take a stroll around his garden at home for jungle inspiration! PLANT LIST Chlorophytum saundersiae 'Starlight' Dahlia 'Jomanda' Dahlia 'Sam Hopkins' Canna 'Whithelm Pride' Aster × frikartii...

If you're keenly pouring over seed catalogues and dreaming of what you're going to grow, Alan Gray (East Ruston Old VIcarage) and Thordis share their thoughts on what to sow now and why in this Talking Dirty Special. PLANT LIST Papaver rhoeas 'Amazing Grey' Papaver rhoeas 'Shirley Poppy' Eschscholzia californica Briza maxima Ammi majus Visnaga daucoides syn. Ammi visnaga Hordeum jubatum Nigella pa...

This week Jimi Blake of Hunting Brook Gardens returns with more summer sensations from his plot, including Agastaches and Lilies. Plus reminiscences from his recent adventures in Romania. PLANT LIST Phymosia umbellata Agastache 'Fleur' Agastache 'Kolibri' Melianthus major Lobelia × speciosa 'Hadspen Purple' Agave montana Hydrangea aspera 'Koki' Hydrangea aspera 'Hot Chocolate' Lilium 'Scheherazade...

The Talking Dirty Podcast returns and with it one of our favourite guests. Jimi Blake of Hunting Brook Gardens brings some dazzling Show and Tell from his gorgeous Irish plot and we start wiht a focus on Dahlias and Salvias. Next week further floral wonders from his garden. PLANT LIST Salvia greggii 'Royal Bumble' Dahlia 'Cornel Brons' Dahlia 'Sylvia' Dahlia 'Danique' Dahlia 'Copperboy' Dahlia 'Am...

Talking Dirty may be taking a break for Maternity Leave, but Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis couldn't resist having a planty catch-up! Before regular podcasting resumes, the pair chat about the horticultural glories at EROV this year and what Thordis has managed to grow alongside her forays into Motherhood! Weekly episodes hopefully resuming in due course... PLANT LIST Agave monta...

This week something different for our Talking Dirty Podcast as Alan Gray shares exciting news about East Ruston Old Vicarage. To help tell the story Alan and Thordis are joined by 'horticultural greats' Barbara Segall (Award-winning Garden Writer) and Paul Rochford (Joseph Rochford Gardens). And while this week's podcast is about the garden rather than specific plants, we couldn't resist sneaking...

If growing your own and living off the land are passions and aspirations, then this week's Talking Dirty Podcast is especially for you. Homesteader Liz Zorab joins Alan Gray (East Ruston Old VIcarage) and Thordis from her four-acre plot in Wales to share some of her favourite varieties plus ground-breaking methods like her Food Forest. Plus find out why Thordis and Liz are FLOMO*-ing over the same...

East Ruston Old Vicarage - home to Get Gardening's Founding Father Alan Gray - is back open for 2023 and celebrating a very special year! As the garden marks its Golden Anniversary, Alan and Thordis talk about plants of the moment, plus propagation tips and FLOMO*! *FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out PLANT LIST Pelargonium 'Lord Bute' Pelargonium 'Purple Unique' Pelargonium papilionaceum Pelar...

As the garden at East Ruston Old Vicarage reopens for 2023, Alan Gray and Thordis sit down for a chat about how the garden is evolving in its 50th year, plus plants of the moment, from Magnolias to Violets and some top propagation tips from Alan's potting shed. Next week Daffodils, Pelargoniums and lots of FLOMO*! *FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out PLANT LIST Magnolia 'Caerhays Belle' Magnoli...

Last week Tim Fuller of Norfolk nursery The Plantsman's Preference wowed Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis with Ferns, Ivy and wonderful winter foliage. This week - in part two - we turn our attention to flowers, from bulbs to shrubs, most of them amazingly scented. PLANT LIST Sarcococca confusa Sarcococca ruscifolia Sarcococca saligna Sarcococca hookeriana 'Winter Gem' Lonicera sta...

If you're in the market for interesting plants to bring greenery to your garden in winter then look no further than Tim Fuller's latest appearance on Talking Dirty. The South Norfolk-based Nurseryman (The Plantsman's Preference) brings along an amazing array of Ivy, Ferns, Cyclamen and Arums to form a foil to your winter and spring flowers. Next week he's got more of a floral focus in part two and...

There are few houses that aren't home to an Orchid. But with 28,000 species, distributed in about 763 genera, the world of Orchidaceae goes far beyond Phalaenopsis and Cymbidium. This week we're joined by Cambridge University Botanic Garden Glasshouse Team Leader Luigi Leoni, and Orchid expert Phil Gould, to see some of the plants wowing the crowds at the moment and share amazing stories behind th...

This week Talking Dirty is 'Grasping the Nettle' as Tamsin Westhorpe returns to talk about her new book. Tamsin, who gardens at family plot Stockton Bury in Herefordshire has spent her life caught up professionally and personally in horticulture in almost every way imaginable - from working in Parks and Gardens, to Magazine Editor and everything in between. Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and...

After last week's Snowdrop extravaganza, in part two of his Talking Dirty appearance, Brian Ellis is wowing Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis with a whole host of Winter Garden plants...ideal bedfellows for this extensive Snowdrop collection. From Arums to Eranthis, Hellebores to Hamamelis and Heuchera, there is SO much inspiration for your garden! Our thanks to Dorset Perennials fo...

It's peak Snowdrop Season and here on Talking Dirty it looks like we've all caught the fever! Alan Gray has quite the collection at East Ruston Old Vicarage, while Thordis is enjoying her first forays into growing these delightful plants in her small suburban garden. So this week Galanthophile Brian Ellis is back on Talking Dirty to share some interesting varieties and the stories behind them. And...

This week we're heading to the allotment as Rekha Mistry (author, Instagram star and Gardeners' World presenter) joins Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis to talk about her new book 'Rekha's Kitchen Garden'. Whether you've caught the Grow Your Own bug or not, Rekha is such a joy, as she shares the lessons she's learned and the varieties she loves to grow (plus the tasty dishes she cre...

In the second part of her latest appearance on Talking Dirty, award-winning garden writer Val Bourne has some fab Fern advice, including choice plants to grow. Plus an array of things on the wishlist for 2023. *FLOMO = FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out PLANT LIST Salvia officinalis 'Berggarten' Achillea 'Moonshine' Polypodium cambricum 'Richard Kayse' Asplenium scolopendrium syn Phyllitis sco...

One of our Talking Dirty favourites is back! This week award-winning Garden Writer Val Bourne rejoins Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis to talk about Rose varieties and pruning, the Apples she's picked for her garden in the Cotswolds and - of course - a few choice Snowdrops! Next week even more wonderful plants and FLOMO* *FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out PLANT LIST Galanthus...

Time for part two of our chat with award-winning garden writer Barbara Segall. After focussing on her new book 'The Secret Gardens of the South East: A Private Tour' last week, this time we've got Show and Tell from Barbara's garden in Suffolk. And - as a Herb expert - you'll be unsurprised to hear she's got some choice Herbs to share! PLANT LIST Sarcococca Salvia rosmarinus Albiflora Group Salvia...

Our first guest of 2023 is award-winning garden writer Barbara Segall. Her new book 'The Secret Gardens of the South East: A Private Tour' is out now and packed with inspiring plots. Alongside telling the story behind the book, Barbara shares Show and Tell from her own garden. More of that next week, plus FLOMO. PLANT LIST Ilex aquifolium Ilex latifolia Ilex × koehneana 'Chestnut Leaf' Ilex aquifo...

It's a new year and before we get back to our regular podcasts, Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis thought they'd share some of their thoughts as we start a new gardening year, including what excites them about 2023. PLANT LIST Arum italicum subsp. neglectum 'Miss Janay Hall' Rosmarinus officinalis 'Severn Seas' Rhaphiolepis Dicksonia antarctica Fuchsia procumbens Euphorbia mellifera...

It's our 100th episode and to mark it we're celebrating the return of an RHS Chelsea Flower Show 'Great'. In 2023 Cleve West returns to Main Avenue with The Centrepoint Garden. In this instalment of Talking Dirty - our final one of the year - we hear about the garden and meticulous process involved in creating it, plus feature some of Cleve's favourite plants of the moment. And of course have a re...

After an inspiring first instalment, packed not only with plants but Christmas gift ideas, Dan Cooper returns with some inspiring plants to light the garden up at this time of year. There are even species Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) hasn't heard of! And some fabulous FLOMO* *FLOMO = FLoral/plant-based fear Of Missing Out PLANT LIST Entelea arborescens Ochroma pyramidale Sparrmannia africa...

Stumped for what to buy the horticulturalist in your life this Christmas, or perhaps what to put on your own list? Well, look no further!  @The Frustrated Gardener: Dan Cooper  has lined up a bevvy of treats to tempt you. And, talking of temptation, he's got planty inspiration aplenty from his own courtyard garden to inspire late season interest in your plot. Next week, lots more lovely...

If you're on the lookout for autumnal stars for your garden, then look no further. Last week, in part one of the podcast, Joe Sharman of Monksilver Nursery wowed Alan Gray (East Ruston Old Vicarage) and Thordis with Chrysanthemums and Snowdrops galore. And this week he returns with a host of seasonal plants from Cyclamen to Crocus, via Alliums and Asters. PLANT LIST Rabdosia effusa Allium thunberg...