Growing Together

Gardening for wellbeing and mindfulness is top of the agenda in this episode of Growing Together with Claire and Steve.  It's so important to get your dose of Vitamin G! Joining them is Beth Benning from the charity MIND with a new Petersfield Gardening Club and Nelly Hall with the first instalment of her 'Growing Diary' for Alitex's trade stand at the Chelsea Flower Show. There's also advice for...

Claire and Steve meet for a second time this month at the Adhurst Estate Allotment for gardening chat and advice - and they're delighted to welcome Alitex Glasshouses as a supporter of the podcast!  Also joining them in this episode is Bea Attley from the Petersfield Pumpkin Growers Association and Neil and Catherine Wallsgrove from Pepperpot Herbs. There's advice for potato planting and dahlia cu...

Growing Together is growing and you can now listen to a new episode twice a month, full of gardening advice and chat, as well as interviews with experts. Claire and Steve are once again at the Adhurst Estate Allotments, thrilled with the success of Petersfield's first Seed Swap and enjoying the warmth of the Spring sun (when it comes out!).  There's lots to sow and plan for this month with Steve l...

Petersfield In Bloom, the flower growing and display competition, has launched for 2023! Organised by the Petersfield Town Council, the competition is supported for the first time by the gardening podcast Growing Together. With 13 categories, including 2 new ones this year: 'Grow Your Own' and 'Special 2023 Coronation Theme', Kathryn Ellis-Blandford from the town council spoke to Growing Together...

It's Compost Week UK, March 13th-19th.  Petersfield's Community Garden chair Sue Edberg explains the various ways compost is made at the garden and volunteer Sue Dillon encourages more families to come to the garden on Saturday mornings.   There's also good news for the garden's fundraising efforts for their planned Eco Structure too. Claire Vennis presents the gardening podcast Growing Together f...

Hampshire-based gardener Helier Bowling won 5 stars for her cut flower garden on the Alitex stand at the RHS Hampton Court Palace Flower Show last July. Claire Vennis from gardening podcast Growing Together met Helier in her greenhouse to find out where her love of growing flowers started, what flower seeds she likes to grow and how she's broken her own growing rule! Listen to the Growing Together...

There's still time to see the Houseplant Takeover in the Glasshouse at RHS Wisley, open until March 12th.   RHS Garden Manager Emma Allen describes some of the plants on display that make up the amazing 'Deep Sea Dive' exhibition to Shine Radio's Claire Vennis, and looks forward to a new Orchid display coming soon. Claire Vennis presents the gardening podcast Growing Together from Shine Radio. See...

The Petersfield Young Farmers are hosting a charity Dung Run on Sunday 25th March, after last year's success.  All profits will be split between the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance and the Petersfield Young Farmers Club. Young Farmers Jack and Henry, as well as PYF mentor Gwen Woodruff, spoke to Shine Radio's Claire Vennis about the Young Farmers' Club and the quality of the dung! See om...

The yellow daffodils in March remind us of sunny days to come and this month is all about preparing for the sowing frenzy of April. With the transition from Winter to Spring, where the garden starts to bloom again, it's time to prepare your plots, sow a few early seeds AND - come to the first ever Petersfield Seed Swap on March the 26th, from 4 until 6pm at the Half Moon pub in Sheet. Garden Godde...

There's a lot to prepare for the gardening year ahead this month as Claire and Steve discuss at the Adhurst Estate Allotments. It's time to sow chillis, aubergines, tomatoes, broad beans, sweet peas (if you haven't already) and more.  Potato tubers can start to chit and dahlia bulbs need to be gently woken up. Also with pruning advice from local tree expert Phil Paulo and a Houseplant Takeover at...

Happy new gardening year! Claire and Steve meet at the Adhurst Estate Allotments in the January sun to give gardening advice and discuss 2023 gardening plans.   With early sowings of tomato and pepper seeds, ideas for how to put your unwanted Christmas tree to good use, bare root advice and a visit from some young gardeners. Award-winning garden designer Ann-Marie Powell shares her gardening wishe...

It’s December and a new tree plantation is taking root at the allotments, garlic and onion sets are sown and Susanna Jarrett from Flowers By The Bridge gives expert Christmas wreath tips.  Steve and Claire also share their top 3 Christmas gardening wish lists.  What's on yours? Listen to a new Growing Together every month with Steve and Claire from Petersfield's Shine Radio on shineradio.uk or on...

After an unusually mild October, a bumper crop of apples and still-flowering dahlias, it's time to get on with autumnal garden jobs including looking after the soil in your garden, cleaning greenhouses and pots and planting out garlic. Wildlife is thriving at the Adhurst Estate Allotment with a healthy population of dormice and its bare root season too. Claire visits Southern Fruit Trees in Blackm...

Exciting new plans are afoot at Wisley as Shine Radio's Growing Together presenter Claire Vennis discovered when she visited the 30th Wisley Flower Show and met with RHS Wisley Garden Manager Emma Allen. In this special Growing Together episode, the dahlias are on full display in the main Show Tent, Pepperpot Nursery suggest herbs to keep you healthy over the winter, there's a recipe to keep beast...

Claire and Steve meet at the Adhurst Estate Allotments to enjoy the autumnal sun and the last of the year's blooms as they discuss their gardening year. There's still work to be done in the garden with gathering dahlias and protecting the tubers, preparing the soil for the winter and getting ready to sow garlic, onion sets, broad beans and sweet peas, amongst other jobs. And bare root season is co...

Enjoying their harvest, Claire and Steve discuss how challenging this gardening year has been. Steve's passion for dahlias shines through as he gives advice for how to look after these late summer blooms and Claire preps her plots for the autumn with plans to plant hardy annuals, alliums and autumn broad beans. There's great excitement as the Pumpkin Competition heats up at the Adhurst Estate Allo...

This year's Steep Flower Show turns 101 and there's something for everyone at the village's afternoon event on Saturday August 27th, as committee member Steve Amos tells Shine Radio's Claire Vennis. However, the show is in dire need of more volunteers.  If you'd like to get involved come to the show and talk to some of the committee members or email steepflowershow@gmail.com See omnystudio.com/lis...

With the recent heatwave in July, Claire and Steve discuss the effect the hotter weather is having on the garden and gardeners alike. Claire has a mystery muncher in her garden, Steve muses over his rambling runner beans and they inspire each other with plans for Autumn tulip bulbs! There's also advise on what to do with wildflower meadows, taking salvia cuttings, a blackcurrant vodka recipe and S...

The RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival is the world's largest annual flower show.  Celebrating it's 31st anniversary, and the first to be held since the start of the pandemic, the emphasis this year is on the joy of wellness and mindfulness with nature being at the centrepiece. Shine Radio's Claire Vennis met Hampshire gardener Helier Bowling who, along with some new friends, had the opportu...

Paul Abbott at Durleighmarsh Farm used to run the Isle of Wight lavender farm to much success, winning an RHS gold medal.  He still has a passion for lavender and is cultivating new varieties as he explained to Shine Radio's Claire Vennis.   With tips for how to look after and prune lavender plants too! For more gardening tips, advice and chat tune in to Growing Together on shineradio.uk. See omny...

Steve and Claire dodge the rain as they enjoy the growing surroundings at the Adhurst Estate Allotment on a summer's evening. This month there's advice on how to 'stop' dahlias to gain more flowers, what you can still plant to harvest later in the summer and which plants require a high nitrogen feed. Steve's Project Carrot is growing well, The Big Pumpkin Experiment is on its way, there are lots o...

This month, Claire and Steve are at the Adhurst Estate Allotment early in the morning along with lots of singing birds! Steve has so many dahlia plants he doesn't know what to do with them and is even trying out Claire's more 'relaxed' approach to gardening.   With recommendations for specialist growers and advice for how to dry out tulip bulbs, look after roses, grow happy and healthy c...

This year's Chelsea Flower Show is back in May for the first time since 2019.   With 13 show gardens, 12 sanctuary gardens, 20 smaller designs and trade stands as well, the most anticipated flower show of the year is indeed in full bloom.  And there's a lot of Hampshire green-fingered talent on display as well as Shine Radio's Claire Vennis discovered... See omnystudio.com/listener...

From their sunny spot on the Adhurst Estate Allotment, Claire and Steve update on what they've been growing, hardening off and planting out as the gardening season picks up pace. In this episode, there's dahlia advice, successional sowing to avoid a glut (hopefully!), uninvited badgers, risky brassicas, a thumbs-up for sphagnum moss in hanging baskets and various structures you can create for clim...

Steve and Claire are back for a second time this month as the growing season hots up - and so does the weather! From their sunny spot on Steve's Adhurst Estate Allotment, they update on what to sow now and what to pot on, various ways to get rid of slugs, the benefits of using vermiculite and making their own plant food.  It could get very smelly. Growing Together is presented by Claire Venni...