HortWeek Podcast

In this episode of the HortWeek Podcast , Matt Appleby speaks to Sara Blair-Manning to discuss the ambitious Growing Our Green Heritage project at the Birmingham Botanic Gardens. Facing the dual challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss, Blair-Manning outlines the transformative £25 million “Growing Our Green Heritage” project, aimed at restoring the historic venue while ensuring 21st-cen...

HortWeek editor Matt Appleby, prospective horticulturist Douglas Newbery and technical editor Sally Drury report on the essential horticulture stories of the week. Topics for this week: National Plant Show product highlights including pre and post-biotics for soil health, a marvellous mulch and a child-size garden centre trolley. Promising news from Aeroplas pot and tray company  An early loo...

This week the tables are turned on Matt Appleby as he guests on The Plant Based Podcast where he fields probing questions from HortWeek columnist and horticulture influencer Michael Perry (aka Mr Plant Geek) and horticulturist, floral designer, broadcaster and author Ellen Mary. Topics up for discussion Has RHS Chelsea Flower Show become too much about spectacle and not enough about gardening? Pea...

Lord Heseltine tells the story of the birth of the European Space Agency. Why post-Apollo, when the US was spending £1.2 billion a year on space, the whole of Europe was spending just £200 million. Why the birth of ESA was driven by the self-interest of three major countries. Why the US general with a $29 billion budget for the Star Wars project wanted to invest in Heriot-Watt University in Edinbu...

HortWeek editor Matthew Appleby discusses the 2026 salaries report on the HortWeek Podcast with Fresh Horticultural Careers director Viki Halkett and Haymarket Recruitment marketing manager Vishnu Kannan. Higher-paid roles are becoming more common across the horticulture sector, as employers respond to rising costs and changing demand. New HortWeek research, drawing on internal sample data from jo...

HortWeek editor Matt Appleby and technical editor Sally Drury report on the essential horticulture stories of the week. Topics for this week: Sports pitches including at and the football World Cup The National Plant Show , new plant awards and Dutch FlowerTrials. Recent business changes such as at Hortipak and Opperman Plants. Finally, Sally and Matt reflect on the recent deaths of John Ravenscrof...

This HortWeek podcast discusses new plant awards with HTA horticulture manager Pippa Greenwood, Frank P Matthews' director Steph Dunn James and Hillier production and amenity director Adam Dunnett. The National Plant Show is at Stoneleigh on 17-18 June. Grower of the Year awards are presented on 24 September with new categories "for every grower there is". Deadline is 3 July. Greenwood said awards...

HortWeek editor Matthew Appleby is joined by Simon Conway and Richard Hopkins to discuss the impact of recent geopolitical events on the fresh-produce sector, covering: Investment and growth Expansion efforts Market challenges Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HortWeek editor Matthew Appleby is joined by Martin Emmett, Ali Capper. Simon Conway and Richard Hopkins to discuss the impact of recent geopolitical events on the fresh-produce sector, covering: Energy prices Fertiliser supply Increased input costs Impact on produce pricing Future outlook Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Andrew Wilson, ICL’s technical manager for ornamental horticulture in the UK and Ireland, explains what are the challenges for growers and manufacturers to overcome with the next generation of fertilisers. He talks about why we need controlled release fertilisers, the benefits of using ICL's new Cal-BOOST product and which other new fertiliser products ICL has in the pipeline. Andrew tell us about...

Created by The Children’s Gardening Coach Lee Connelly and Leigh Johnstone (The Beardy Gardener), The Classroom Garden reimagines what a “classroom” can be, placing nature, creativity and young people’s voices at its core. Lee Connelly tells HortWeek about how the educational garden came about, how children's voices will be heard at Chelsea , about an international tulip festival project and what...

Cosmos and hollyhock grower and Chelsea exhibitor Jonathan Sheppard is preparing for this year's Chelsea Flower Show and is battling the elements to make sure he had enough quality plants available from the thousands he grows for the show.  One big concern is heating oil prices rises caused by the Iran war. He feels for growers bigger than himself who set prices at the start of the season but...

This week Rachael Forsyth talks to the head of gardens at Chiswick House and Gardens Trust, Rosie Fyles. In this wide-ranging discussion they discuss everything from staffing (Fyles let her gardeners work from home in the bleak mid-winter of 2026), to funding, climate change adaptation to dealing with plant thefts. Fyles faces a challenge shared by many historic gardens - how to respect the restri...

HortWeek editor Matt Appleby and technical editor Sally Drury report on the essential horticulture stories of the week. Topics for this week: After a slow start the garden season finally kicks off ! The implications for horticulture of the  conflict in the Middle East How can horticulture combat our vulnerability to global food shocks?  Plastic pot recycling in councils rises to historic...

This week the HortWeek Podcast welcomes Helen Waddington from Perennial and Creepers' head of horticulture, Michael Buck. As the first port of call for horticulturists needing extra support, horticulture charity Perennial is on the front line when it comes to gauging the mental health of the sector as a whole. With an estimated one in five people suffering from a common mental health disorder, Hel...

This week Adrian Bloom makes a welcome return to the HortWeek Podcast to talk about his new book and discuss the ongoing state of horticulture, garden industry and his own Norfolk garden, Foggy Bottom. In February, Bloom was still reeling from some significant plant losses after a long wet winter. His recommendation is Taxodium distichum (Swamp Cypress) from America which "will survive with its ro...

How do we solve population pressure and climate crisis in space? How has GPS allowed us to provide 12% more food globally? How did the UK become a global leader in small satellite manufacture after the British Government said, “there’s no future for the UK satellite industry”? How did Elon Musk turn reusable rockets from science fiction to science fact in less than 20 years? What else are “Elon an...

Steve Chapman, an experienced ex-grower and ICL technical area sales manager, turns his attention to vine weevil — often cited as the number one pest on nurseries in the UK and Ireland.  BASIS qualified, Chapman has many years of experience advising growers on how to keep this pest at bay. Vine weevil are highly topical because spring is a key time to target the larval or grub stage before th...

As part of HortWeek's Parks & Gardens Week held 23 - 29 March 2026, Rachael Forsyth held a Horticulture Question Time session to answer reader questions with a truly expert panel which featured: Jane Moore - award-winning writer and author and a head gardener for more than 30 years Joe Whitehead - head gardener at Burghley House and new Professional Gardeners Guild chair, with more than 20 yea...

What did the Space-Comm Expo conference and exhibition tell us about connecting space and wider business? How does this manifest as tech connectivity in telecoms and why do farmers care about that? What did we learn about the benefits of extreme cold in manufacturing laboratories and why do pharmas care about that? How vulnerable are global logistics to the spoofing of navigation signals? And...

GIMA director Vicky Nuttall retires from the role this spring after 12 years in the role. GIMA's annual big day conference event on 26 March is about future of the supply chain and will include panels on sales agents versus employed staff, logistics, marketplace and Yorkshire Garden Centres' Mark Farnsworth. Talking to Matt Appleby on the HortWeek Podcast, Nuttall says the biggest changes at GIMA...

Long-time HortWeek columnist and nursery business consultant John Adlam of Dove Associates joins the HortWeek Podcast to talk about the latest Government document "A New Vision for Water". Adlam explains the significance of this document to horticulture and raises concerns because "there's no real mention of how [horticulture is] going to be participating in the new vision" and "still does not con...

Joe Whitehead, head gardener at Burghley House and new Professional Gardeners Guild chair, has over 20 years of expertise in garden design, plant care, and landscape management. He talks about harnessing the experience of 850 members via webinars and members' workshops. The PGG turns 50 in 2027 and has a new website and membership system. Celebrations are planned. Founder Brian Hutchinson died in...

As of 2026, the UK space industry is a significant and strategic driver of the national economy, contributing over £19 billion in revenue and supporting tens of thousands of high-skilled jobs. Satellite-based services and data underpin roughly 18% of UK GDP, equivalent to approximately £454 billion of the wider economy. And the sector is growing exponentially. But this is just the tip of the icebe...

Georgie Newbery is chair of Flowers From The Farm and founder of Common Farm Flowers, one of the first of the new artisan flower farmers to establish in the UK. A small scale flower farm and educator, the farm, established in Somerset in 2010, grows up to 100,000 stems annually without the use of chemicals, Newbery is set to feature at RHS Chelsea Flower Show this May in the Great Pavilion wh...