Gardening with the RHS

This week’s show is all about growing something new. We’re spreading the word about exciting plant species, cultivars, and hybrids from those that love them most. Legendary plantsman Roy Lancaster chats about shrubby honeysuckles, Canadian horticulturist Grahame Ware makes the case for a curious genus called Syneilesis, and Wisley horticulturist Jack Aldridge shares the stories behind flowering do...

For this week’s show, we take a behind the scenes look at the ways spring is fighting its way into the picture at RHS Garden Wisley. We go behind the scenes at the Alpine Display House, we get a masterclass on pruning wisteria, and we dive into the life and work of the eccentric and influential horticulturist Ellen Willmott – and explore a theory for why she may have missed her Victoria Medal of H...

In this week’s show, we’re zeroing in on how to stretch the money we spend on our gardens as far as possible. We hear from gardening influencer Anya Lautenbach - aka Anya the Garden Fairy – on her money-saving tips. We explore the science behind cuttings with botanist and editor James Armitage. And we take an inside look at the RHS apprenticeship programme. Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Anya...

This week’s show is all about cultivating change – whether in your own garden, in your local neighbourhood, or in a magical National Trust property. We’re chatting guerrilla gardening with Ellen Miles, getting top tips from Wisley advisors, and taking a look at all the work that goes into maintaining the laburnum arch at Bodnant Garden (one of our most beloved partner gardens!)   Presenter: Guy Ba...

As gardeners, we all have plants we love to hate – think aucubas or heathers. And in winter, especially, it seems that these common but unpopular plants play a really important role in our gardens, adding structure, berries, or cheery variegated leaves when we need it most. So today, we’re addressing the overlooked. We’re giving mahonias a well-deserved second chance. We’re revisiting houseplants,...

We’re past the solstice, so it’s time to both revel in the present and prepare for what's to come as the days get longer and warmer. So, in this week’s show, we’re doing exactly that, taking note of winter wins – like winter-flowering camellias and snowdrops– and addressing RHS members’ questions as we look ahead to the growing season to come.   Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Jack Aldridge, N...

To start off the new year right, we decided to begin with a practical and sustainable guide on what you can get up to outdoors this year – it’s what we’re calling a sustainability health check for the garden. We’ll be chatting about the state of play on peat-free growing, hearing from a range of RHS experts for some top garden sustainability tips, and exploring the future of grow-your-own in our e...

For our final episode of 2023, we’re taking a look back at some of our favourite moments on the podcast and across the RHS from the year, exploring emerging trends, new beginnings, and time-honoured advice. Stay tuned for highlights from Director General Clare Matterson, Head of Editorial Tom Howard, Head of Libraries and Exhibitions Fiona Davison, and more.  Presenters: Gareth Richards & Guy Bart...

As we approach the most festive time of year, we’ve decided to share a recipe for a plant-filled Christmas. In this episode, we’ll be returning to Bristol with Naomi Slade to hear how she decks her halls with things from the garden. We’ll then be making our way to the Frenchay Christmas Tree Farm to get a feel for life at the busiest point in their calendar. And finally, we’re exploring the curiou...

This week, we’re wrapping up warm and heading out into our gardens to take a moment to really appreciate our garden birds. Wildlife sound recordist Gary Moore gives us a masterclass on recognising the calls of common birds at this time of year. Writer and wildlife gardening guru Kate Bradbury shares her top tips for making a bird-friendly garden. And finally, we delve into the story behind the rem...

Weeds have many faces. They feed birds, butterflies, bees, and the like. They spread like wildfire, but are resilient. They compete with crops, yet can add colour and beauty at times when our gardens feel lacklustre. They’re complicated – and the way we regard them, even more so. So, in today's show, we’re taking a holistic look at the weeds in our gardens – discussing what constitutes a weed, how...

With the first cold snap hitting the UK this past week, it’s really starting to feel like winter. It’s a time of structural beauty, of evergreen supremacy, of frosty seedheads, and of low but magical light. So this week, we’re focusing in on all the mystery and enchantment of a winter garden. We’re chatting with author Naomi Slade about designing and revamping gardens in the colder months, leaning...

It’s that time of year again… Our annual book special is here! Today, Helen Griffin, RHS Book Publishing Manager, chats with Fiona Davidson, Guy Barter, and Arthur Parkinson about their top gardening book picks of 2023. Tune in for a discussion on the future of GYO and resilient planting, the relevance of gardening history, and wildcard topics like cut flowers, winter gardening, and yes, even murd...

As the surrounding world starts looking a little bleaker, we’ve decided to explore how to best turn our homes into verdant oases. RHS Digital Editor Jenny Laville chats with Gareth Richards about the best low-maintenance houseplants, fun climbers for indoors, and underrated care tips and tricks. Social historian Catherine Horwood regales us with the history of ever-changing houseplant trends. And...

This week, we’re journeying back through time, taking stock of a few significant moments in botanical history. We’re unravelling their mysteries, considering their reverberations, and imagining what this all might mean for the future. We're starting with a tale on the first flowering of the giant waterlily in cultivation, then discovering how ‘Midwinter Fire’ gave Cornus sanguinea a whole new repu...

This week, we journey through RHS Garden Wisley, capturing some of its autumnal beauty while also looking ahead as winter edges ever closer. Garden Manager Sheila Das chats with us about her no-dig journey, entomologist Dr. Seirian Sumner fills us in on wasps’ winter preparation, and finally, Wisley advisors provide a seasonal Q&A.    Links: How to grow a No-Dig Garden   How to improve your soil w...

This month – October – is UK Black History Month – and the theme for 2023 is “Saluting our Sisters,” highlighting the influence Black women have had in shaping history and inspiring change. So for today’s show, we’re exploring a few of the extraordinary stories of Black women gardeners who’ve made and continue to make a difference in the world of horticulture — all while looking ahead to what we c...

This week, with all the glorious leaf colour on display, we’re exploring the entangled wonder of the arboreal world, getting a behind the scenes look at what trees are up to now and chatting about how best to incorporate them within our gardens. Renowned nurseryman Nick Dunn is back on the podcast to talk crab apples. Silvologist and author Dr Gabriel Hemery is lifting the veil on what exactly is...

It’s no secret our living spaces are getting smaller. As more and more of us move to urban areas, we’re often having to put up with tight quarters – living in tiny flats with limited outdoor space. So in this episode, we want to explore how to maximise the space you do have – getting the best out of whatever garden, patio, porch, or windowbox you can access. Award-winning garden designer Tony Wood...

This Saturday – 7 October – is UK Fungus Day. And so for this week’s show, we’re exploring the fascinating faces of fungi. We’re taking a tour of the Fungus Garden at RHS Wisley, journeying back in time with biologist Merlin Sheldrake to investigate our historical uses of these organisms, chatting about 3 easy ways you can grow your own edible mushrooms, and finally, we’re returning to Wisley to g...

We’ve passed the autumn equinox and officially entered harvest season. It’s time to pick apples, pears, and autumn-fruiting raspberries, harvest squashes, beetroot, aubergines, leeks, and much, much more. And, of course, what we can grow and how crops perform is changing. As our climate becomes more unpredictable and more extreme, some of our go-to classics are no longer shoe-in wins. So, this wee...

Soil is the backbone of our gardens. A healthy soil means happier plants, higher crop yields, and greater biodiversity. So, this week, as we begin laying out our deliciously rich compost with fervour, we’ve decided to dive deep into what makes for top-notch, productive soil. We’re starting with a masterclass on composting in colder months. Then, we’re turning to the science of eco-acoustics – and...

With the release of Fiona Davison’s new book – An Almost Impossible Thing: The Radical Lives of Britain’s Pioneering Women Gardeners – we decided to dedicate this week’s show week’s show to women in the garden. And in that vein, we’re exploring the potential for gardens to be empowering, educational, equalising, and radical spaces. Fiona shares a story from her book about two women from over 100 y...

Now that it’s September, we’ve officially entered bulb-planting season. It’s time to get things like daffodils, alliums, crocuses and hyacinths into the ground. So, with that in mind, we’ve put together a bulb deep dive – with a strong emphasis on those golden classics, narcissi. In the episode, we travel to Lindley Library to get the backstory of daffodils’ long history of cultivation, chat with...

Perhaps nowhere do we face the realities of life and death more frequently and intimately than we do within the garden. We witness a cycle of growth, dieback, and rebirth on a seasonal, weekly, and even daily basis. And so, as we once again inch closer to a new season – to autumn, a time of abundance, growth, but also, let’s face it, decay – we’ve decided to take a deeper look at what gardens and...