Master My Garden Podcast

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I am joined by Dr Una FitzPatrick , Senior Ecologist with the National Biodiversity Data Centre and project co-ordinator of the All Ireland Pollinator plan 2021-2025. The all Ireland pollinator plan is a superb initiative that has just gone into its second 5 year plan. With the aim of halting the decline of pollinators in Ireland initially and with...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Angela Jupe. In this really interesting chat we talk all about peonies, architectural salvage, her love of snowdrops and much more. Angela is a founding member of the GLDA Garden and Landscape Design Association, the professional organisation for garden design in Ireland. Angela's work has been featured in magazines, including Garden...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Hester Forde from Cosheen Garden, Co Cork. In this chat with a superb plants person we talk all about Hester's passion for spring bulbs including her snowdrop and narcissus collections. We talk at length about woodland planting and her exotic collection including gingers and canna which she can luckily leave outside all year round. W...

In episode 061 of Master My Garden podcast which is a solo episode have a look at my latest gardening book called "Moon Gardening" by Matt Jackson. Moon gardening is a subject that I have little knowledge of but it is really interesting and this book is fascinating. In its most basic form the moon gardening involves following the moon's monthly cycle between new moon and full moon a...

School gardening should be part of the school day in my opinion the benefits are many and the skills learned have positive affects on students and teachers alike. In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I am joined by Patrick Hunt who is a garden designer who specialises in school gardens to talk about the benefits of school gardens and what can be done to support teachers to bring this...

This weeks episode 060 is part 2 of a two part episode on companion planting in the garden with Tanguy country school.   Dunmore Country School is the home and garden of Tanguy and Isabelle de Toulgoët. The came to live twenty five years ago in lovely Laois to live their dream life. Tanguy and Isabelle have been immersed in cooking and food producing  since their childhood. To share our experience...

This weeks episode 059 is part 1 of a two part episode on companion planting in the garden with Tanguy country school.   Dunmore Country School is the home and garden of Tanguy and Isabelle de Toulgoët. The came to live twenty five years ago in lovely Laois to live their dream life. Tanguy and Isabelle have been immersed in cooking and food producing  since their childhood. To share our experience...

In this weeks episode I talk to Peter Stam from Stam's Bamboo Nursery all about bamboo's. Bamboo's really are a super garden plant but have suffered with bad press and misinformation over the years. This information stems from people who have had bad experiences with bamboo because the wrong plant has been chosen for a location or they have got either bad or no information at the po...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Marie Hourigan office foreman in the National Botanic gardens in Dublin. Marie was previously Craft Gardener in the gardens looking after the orchid house. We talk about the gardens, their history and then talk at length about orchids. we cover native Irish orchids, the orchid collection the the National Botanic Gardens and how to look af...

In This weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to the superb Charles Dowding No Dig Gardening expert. Charles has been practising no dig gardening for 40 years and has become the go to expert when it comes to No Dig gardening. In this episodes we talk about the principles and benefits of No Dig gardening and how to get started in your own garden. We talk about crop rotation in a no dig s...

In these weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Robert Miller from Altamount plant sales all about snowdrops. We talk about species snowdrops, snowdrop varieties, how to plant and much more. Robert talks about this years snowdrop Gala at Altamount and the up to 100 varieties he has for sale at the moment.  See below all the detail for the snowdrop Gala. Galanthus Gala 2021 To celebrat...

This weeks episode is an answer to a listener question on how to start a vegetable garden from scratch.  Question:  We are thinking of digging a vegetable patch in our back garden. We have ½ Acre out the back and I’m not sure where to start.  It’s a big lawn with few trees in the middle. We are thinking of basic veg – potatoes, onions, carrots, pea’s, scallions etc.   I know we will have to dig up...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I am joined by Des Doyle Garden Fable. Des is  a teacher of gardening skills, a long time plantaholic! and a garden designer. From  restored 19th Century garden close to Kilkenny city he teaches garden design, gardening skills and explores the wonderful world of gardening.  Des has a deep knowledge of plants, how they grow and how to make them perf...

With the harvesting of all peat suspended in Ireland the horticultural and specifically the ornamental nursery sector are at a crossroad. Peat is such an important resource in the production of perennials, shrubs & trees yet the industry finds that this resource may not be available to them for much longer. This will force them to look at alternative which are been touted as being environmenta...

Its January and it the time of year that gardeners start to think about sowing seeds and getting some crops and flowers started. This then leads of to thinking about investing in a greenhouse to extend our growing season and to allow us to get started earlier than if we were just growing outside. In this weeks episode I talk to Brendan Doyle from Dplant Horticulture and we look at what is the best...

In a milestone episode 050 of Master My Garden podcast I wish you all a very happy new year and fill you in on some plans for 2021. If there is any topic you would like covered in future episodes please let me know, you can find me on facebook Master My Garden https://www.facebook.com/mastermygarden/ Instagram @Mastermygarden https://www.instagram.com/mastermygarden/ or email info@mastermygarden.c...

A really short episode to wish all my listeners a happy Christmas and a message of thanks to my family, all the wonderful guests on the podcast in 2020 and of course you my loyal listeners. Your support and messages are much appreciated and really drive me to keep producing a new episode every week. Happy Christmas to you all and I hope you have a wonderful time with your families. Lots of love Jo...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to well known garden designer Dermot Melia. We talk about current trends in garden design including the huge upsurge in outdoor rooms. We talk at length about  garden lighting and Dermot's use of lighting in his designs, we also talk colour schemes, mixing colours and materials in your garden. Dermot tells us all about his involvement i...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I speak to Andy Walsh after sales manager of Husqvarna Ireland about battery powered garden tools. Battery powered garden products will take over from 2 stroke petrol run engines over the next number especially now as the battery products have advanced over the last number of years. The benefits of battery powered products are many. They are more e...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Matt Keane Future Forests. We talk all about bareroot planting, the benefits, types of plants available, tips for success and much more. We also talk at length about hedging including the very popular mixed hedges which look great and are perfect for biodiversity.  Future Forests are a family run business with a passion for growing and ou...

What is the best Christmas Gifts For Gardeners? This is a question I often get asked and its a really tricky question to answer. So in this episode I give some Christmas gift ideas for gardeners. I outline some ideas of great gifts for gardeners which should help you purchase for the gardener in you life. There is a blog on this topic on my website. This blog, previous blogs and all podcast episod...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I talk to Jane Powers about her new book  "An Irish Nature Year" which is a beautiful book. The cover art by Robert Vaughan is superb and inside the book is 366 entries one for each day of the year including leap years. An ideal coffee table book packed full of pieces of information about Irelands amazing wildlife. Jane is also passionate...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast I cover the topic of "how to propagate your own plants" with Kieran Dunne.  Kieran's commercial trade only nursery L&K Dunne will propagate approx 2 million cuttings per year so he was the ideal guest to cover the topic of propagation. We cover all the major types of plant propagation including cuttings, layering,  seed, grafting...

In this weeks episode of Master My Garden podcast which is an open garden feature, I talk to Conall O’Caoimh from Ardán Garden in Howth Co. Dublin. Its a really interesting chat about  Ardán Garden and how it is a series of different gardens within the main garden. Originally the garden was broken up with hedging to provide shelter from costal winds, but this breaking up or dividing also created g...

A bonus episode of Master My Garden podcast with garden designer Peter Donegan. We talk about the recent RTE show DIY SOS The Big Build Ireland presented by Baz Ashmawy a superb show that transforms the homes of three families around Ireland. Peter explains how these homes are transformed over a period of 9 -11 days and the scale of the task involved in doing that. We talk about his own role in de...