BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast

Dame Prue Leith is a chef and pioneering businesswoman, creator of a world-leading cookery school, author of so many inspiring recipe books, a prolific novelist, a campaigner, broadcaster - and formidable judge on Great British Bake Off and now lead judge of the B&Q Gardener of the Year competition. And of course, she is a true gardener. She’s not only opened her beautiful Cotswolds garden for cha...

In this week’s Sowalong, world-renowned chef and convert to growing his own food, Marcus Wareing, tells us all about his passion for elephant garlic. He first discovered it when his gardener Anatoli introduced it into his kitchen garden and now considers the mild garlic-meets-onion flavour a delicacy and go-to in his dishes. Sown from bulbs kept back from the previous year, Marcus chats though pla...

Do you wish the children in your life had a better understanding of the natural world? Would you rather they were outside, in the fresh air and at one with nature, rather than addicted to television or a computer screen? Kevin chats to celebrated children’s writer, Michael Morpurgo to discover if our gardens can fuel children’s creativity and play a part in connecting them with nature. Hosted on A...

Today on Sowalong, we’re celebrating the delights of sowing and growing tomatoes from seed. Fast and with reliable germination, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine’s Features Editor Adam Duxbury, tells us why tomatoes are a brilliant way in for those new to growing food at home. Shooting up quickly and with delicious end results, the hardest part is choosing from the hundreds of tomato varieties on offe...

We all love the idea of picking healthy, homegrown food from our own gardens. But the reality doesn’t always match the dream – with gluts of crops when we can least manage them, or plants that just don’t perform and pesky pests that get to our harvests before we do. So, what steps can we all take to enjoy good eating this summer? For this food-focused episode, we turn to Monty Don to share his tip...

This time on Sowalong, BBC GardenersWorld.com’s Content Creator Lily Middleton shares why growing sunflowers from seed, on a balcony in West London, brings her so much joy. Injecting brightness into an urban environment, Lily initially started growing long-lasting Helianthus annuus during the first lockdown, letting their cheery, daisy heads peer over the balcony for passers-by to spot on their da...

Would you like to make simple changes in the garden and be one step closer to becoming a sustainable gardener? Do you consider your garden as an essential part of the ecosystem, as well as a place of beauty, productivity and respite?    This time on the podcast, gardener, author, environmentalist, and Gardeners’ World presenter Frances Tophill, shares her vision of modern gardening. Whether it’s l...

Today on Sowalong, BBC Gardeners’ World’s Monty Don shares his favourite vegetable to grow from seed – Florence fennel. Bringing you his best advice and know-how, Monty makes mastering this tricky-to-grow, tasty veg bed addition, a breeze.    Here to answer all of your fennel conundrums, Monty covers everything from spotting peak harvesting times, to watering regimes and tricks for a good crop. Mo...

Are you concerned by climate change, but feel powerless in the face of such a global problem? Our podcast guest Jack Wallington believes that gardening could be a powerful answer, giving us all a way to make a genuine difference in our own gardens – however small. Jack is an author, influencer, designer and advocate for sustainable gardening. He was first discovered through the Monty Don TV series...

This week on Sowalong, BBC Gardeners’ World magazine’s Deputy Editor, Kevin Smith, shares his much-loved ritual of sowing ricinus. With striking, architectural foliage and tropical jungle appeal, ricinus suits Kevin’s planting style perfectly and he tells us why he sows this seed every year without fail.      Starting as jumbo, shiny, speckled seeds ricinus, or castor oil plant, can be slow to ger...

Would you like to enjoy a bigger harvest and boost your wellbeing by doing less, rather than more, gardening? Have you been considering switching to the no-dig method for growing your own vegetables? Or are you simply curious to find out more about how it all works? Here, organic veg guru Charles Dowding tells GardenersWorld.com writer and enthusiastic grower, Blake Roberts, how. Author and champi...

This week on Sowalong, BBC Gardeners’ World magazine Content Coordinator and keen kitchen garden grower, Lucy Felton, shares one of her go-to crops to grow from seed, Kale ‘Black Magic’.  With lush, dramatic dark green leaves delivering a plentiful harvest, the compact nature of this easy veg patch addition makes it suitable for containers and ideal for squeezing into edges of beds. Not only does...

Would you support gardening being commonplace in our schools if you knew it would improve your child’s mental wellbeing? With one in eight young people suffering with a mental health condition, could gardening be the answer to the healthy heads of a generation?    We chatted to children’s gardening author and NHS patient advisor, Annabelle Padwick, about how gardening helps young people overcome m...

This time on Sowalong, BBC Gardeners’ World magazine Reviews Editor, Kay Maguire, shares her favourite flower to grow from seed. In a frilly mix of pinks, yellows, oranges and reds, Kay talks you through planting Zinnia.  Find out where Kay first discovered these bright annuals and how she likes to sow them in rows in the veg plot, amongst other crops, ready for picking. With vivid colours that in...

Do you strive to do more for wildlife in your garden? Are you cheered by the birds visiting your feeders or the frogs that spawn in your pond? Here, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Wildlife Editor Kate Bradbury, is in conversation with entrepreneur and star of BBC’s Dragons’ Den, Deborah Meaden, about why the rhythm of the garden and nature is so important to her. As well as supporting climate-frien...

This time on Sowalong, BBC Gardeners’ World magazine Gardening Editor, Emma Crawforth, shares her favourite flower to grow from seed. With all the advice and guidance you need to start sowing and growing Nigella damascena, including how to use it in a flower border to fill gaps and why it’s perfect for the vase.    A hardy annual with beautiful, upright flowers and a wave of feathery foliage, here...

Beautiful trees and the UK landscape go hand-in-hand, but did you know that many of our beloved trees are under threat, becoming ravaged by pests and diseases? As part of National Plant Health Week, here, Gardeners’ World presenter Adam Frost chats to former Head of Arboretum at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, Tony Kirkham, and Head Forester for the Duchy of Cornwall, Geraint Richards, about the state...

Having something fresh on your plate, that you’ve grown yourself from seed, is magic. From speedy mixes and little gem lettuces to mustards and pak choi, this low-fuss lunchbox and dinner table staple will quickly reward you with a delicious crop, filled with variety. Salad leaves are easy to grow in veg beds, balcony containers, or even into a couple of handy pots kept by the kitchen doorstep. No...

How does your garden make you feel? We gardeners know the huge benefits gardening has on our mental health and wellbeing. Here, BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Wildlife Editor Kate Bradbury, talks to Dr Amir Khan, NHS GP, TV doctor and devoted gardener, about the wonderful ways gardens and gardening can heal us.    Whether we notice our blood pressure lowering or not, we all have those moments when...

Step inside the Gardeners’ World presenter’s seed library, as he shares his passion for Tithonia flowers, and how to grow them from seed. Monty is here with heaps of advice, to ensure healthy plants and a bounty of blooms, every time.   Plus, the seed-sowing champion lets us all know why he grows Tithonia, the Mexican Sunflower, every year, without fail. As well as, how to ensure successful germin...

Is growing and cooking fresh food from the garden high on your wish list? Do you want to whip up dishes using homegrown ingredients but don’t know which fruits, vegetables and herbs to try first? We chat to Michelin-starred chef Marcus Wareing, about why he’s swapped his chef’s whites for life in the kitchen garden. As he spends more time expanding his smallholding in the East Sussex countryside,...

The joys of spring are here, our gardens are bursting into life and the brand-new season of the BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine podcast is back, full or inspiration and lively conversation – what better way to start the gardening year? From wildlife lovers to foodie growers, don’t miss that nation’s favourite gardeners as they share their love, advice and expert wisdom for all things gardening. Host...

Arit explores ways to garden that will help restore our natural balance – with leading psychiatrist and psychologist, Dr Sue Stuart-Smith. Sue believes that tending to our gardens is a good way to tend to our minds, and reveals how a dose of nature is good medecine for us all. LONGER DESCRIPTION: Our heart rate slows, our mood enhancing hormones rise, and our blood pressure lowers. These are just...

Trees are the life givers on planet earth, providing the oxygen we breathe, habitats to thousands of species, while creating beauty in our landscapes too. Yet these giants of nature are at risk. Arit talks to world-renowned tree expert Tony Kirkham, to discover why there’s a tree crisis and why we cannot – and must not – live without them. What role do trees play in helping to improve our gardens...

We investigate how plants can give city-dwellers vital protection against future climate change including extreme weather conditions and declining air quality, with our guest, scientist Dr Tijana Blanusa With fluctuating weather systems and increasing populations, our towns and cities are on the frontline of rising temperatures, flash flooding and degraded air quality. So just how can some of our...