Plants Grow Here - Horticulture, Landscape Gardening & Ecology

It's time to learn about how plants defend themselves! This episode will give you a peek under the hood so that you can understand why plants behave the way they do in the face of biotic and abiotic sources of stress. We talk about how plants defend against sucking and chewing insects, including releasing chemicals that make them less appetising and even call in predatory friends to eat their...

Ever wondered how to get the lines in turf like they have on a sports field? Sure, you can make them with an ordinary push mower or ride-on with a rotary blade system, but it just never quite looks the same. In this episode, Scott Smith explores the usage of a greenkeeper's best friend: the cylinder mower! Connect with Scott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-h-smith-mcihort-dipho...

Sure, we need to plant more trees. But they aren't lasting as long as they should, so what are we getting wrong? In this episode, Jason Summers comes on the show to fill in a few knowledge gaps for us. Whether it's above ground or below, trees have their own needs and quirks, and it's up to us as horticulturists, arborists and foresters to ensure that we're giving our trees the...

Earwigs: friend or foe? Or both? In this episode of Bug Bites you'll learn about how earwigs can be a beneficial predator or a crop-eating pest, depending on the environment you're working with. You'll also learn how to deal with excess numbers if they're behaving as a pest in your garden, without using chemical pesticides. This is the third Bug Bites episode with entomologist...

If you want to design and create gardens for wider access, belonging and wellness, this episode is for you. Dr Kate Neale and I speak about ways that we can practically make our gardens a more inclusive and fun place to be. Kate is a childhood studies and disability studies researcher with a particular interest in the individual, social and societal benefits of time spent in greenspaces for vulner...

Grafting is a wonderful horticultural skill that lets us combine the benefits of one plant with the benefits of another. For example, we can use the resilient roots of one type of apple tree, and also gain the benefits of a spectacular fruiting apple that may not have the same resilience beneath the ground genetically. In this episode, Scott Smith teaches us how to successfully graft dicots, just...

Chemicals are a part of modern life. But should we be concerned with the modern use of pesticides and other types of chemicals? Frank Von Hippel is a Professor of Environmental Health Sciences at the University of Arizona and the author of The Chemical Age: How Chemists Fought Famine and Disease, Killed Millions, and Changed Our Relationship with the Earth. In this episode, we discuss historically...

Slugs are some of the worst plant pests around. Not only do they cause damage to our plants, but they're also just gross... or are they? Learn about how closely they're related to insects, the conditions they thrive in,and control methods with and without using chemicals. This is the third Bug Bites episode with entomologist Dr Ian Smith on the Plants Grow Here podcast, where he explores...

Have you ever wondered what it's like to live and work in the UK? Scott Smith is a regular guest on the Plants Grow Here podcast, and is a head gardener at Beechgrove gardens near Aberdeen in Scotland. Tyler Howard and Ash Walker both won a sponsorship to work in some of the most prestigious gardens in the world, including at Kew, Chelsea and Monet's Garden in Giverny. Together we have a...

Have you ever been asked by a client to order mulch or gravel to fill a particular garden bed? Sure, it's easy when it's a small, flat rectangular bed. But what about irregular shapes and larger, sloped areas? In this episode of Hort Skills, Scott Smith explores some of the theory around measuring garden beds so that you can confidently order the correct amount of soil, mulch and other g...

I love growing leafy greens. You get a yield faster than root and fruit crops, they don't require as much sunlight as other crops, and best of all you can use them in a variety of dishes, from salads to broths. In this episode, Instagram gardener Michael Homan comes on the show to teach us his tricks of the trade to grow abundant leafy green veg easily, whether you're growing from seed o...

Thrips: tiny but devastating. How can we be sure plant damage is due to thrips? What are some ways to control them without using chemical pesticides? How do we apply pesticides when it really is necessary?  This is the second Bug Bites episode with entomologist Dr Ian Smith on the Plants Grow Here podcast, where he explores one horticulturally relevant insect each episode, whether it's a pest...

What a year! In this episode, we reflect on 2022 with the Hort Journal's editor Karen Smith's pick of her favourite articles throughout the year from all 11 issues. Hear about articles from guests of the Plants Grow Here podcast who also write for the magazine, including Denis Crawford, Michael Casey, Gabby Stannus and many more. This episode is sponsored by Hort Journal Australia. EPISO...

Growing seeds is a core horticultural skill, and yet many of us have never successfully done it before! And even if we have done it successfully, there's a good chance that we've not done it as successfully as we possibly could have. In this episode of Hort Skills, Scott Smith explores some of the theory around seed propagation off the back of his last episode about propagating by cuttin...

Are you sure the plants you're installing aren't breaking free from the garden and naturalising in your closest national park? There are several examples of cultivated plants that have escaped into the wild and continue to cause significant ecological damage in Australia. In this episode, Aimee Freimanis from Gardening Responsibly tells us how plants sold at our local nurseries can often...

Citrus gall wasps: where do they come from, and how do we manage them or even get rid of them completely? This is the first Bug Bites episode with entomologist Dr Ian Smith on the Plants Grow Here podcast, where he explores one horticulturally relevant insect each episode, whether it's a pest or predator. Follow Ian on Twitter: @Ecologian Follow the Plants Grow Here podcast on Twitter: @Plant...

Do you think that we can talk about plants for very long without speaking about animals? We can't, because they are entangled within the web of life together and so this episode is a reflection upon the importance of biodiversity. Particularly the importance of animals, and how the work we perform as horticulturists and natural resource managers is integral to the prevention of biodiversity c...

Learn how to propagate plants by cutting, which is a way of cloning plants that are identical to their mother plant. Scott Smith discusses why we propagate by cutting, different times of the year to take cuttings, and how to pot them up and grow them into a new plant. This is the first episode in a new series on the Plants Grow Here podcast! We'll be releasing an episode each fortnight for a...

Tim Entwisle is the Executive Officer at the Royal Botanic Gardens of Victoria, and he's the creator of the Talking Plants blog and podcast. He's also written a brand new memoir. In this episode, we discuss the benefits of botanic gardens (and gardens in general), his experiences working in several botanic gardens throughout his life, and much more. EPISODE LINKS Buy Evergreen: The Botan...

Do you dream of a permaculture career, working in a food forest? In this episode, Jamie Sweetman, head horticulturist at Yarra Valley Estate's one acre edible forest comes on the show to explain what, why and h ow they do what they do in their hugelkultur-inspired garden, and how she got into this line of work after over a decade's experience working in different horticultural roles. EPI...

It's coming up to Xmas, so here's a non-sponsored gift recommendation for your family, especially if their thumbs aren't quite as green as yours. The Vegepod is a raised garden bed that comes in multiple sizes, which is designed to retain moisture and nutrients in the potting medium, create a humid micro climate, and repel pests using a physical barrier that doesn't block too m...

Victoria's native Aussie botanic gardens at Cranbourne, just South-East of Melbourne, are the best place to view our native plants in the state. Listen to head horticulturist Russell and horticulturist Marie as they take us on an audio tour around the site. Whether or not you're planning to visit the gardens any time soon, this episode is pure plant love from start to finish. EPISODE LIN...

I was featured on the Green Industry Perspectives podcast to speak to their landscape industry business owner audience about staff. I tried to bring my experiences as a horticulturist of 10 years and remind business owners of what it's like to be a staff member. EPISODE LINKS Connect or follow Jay Worth on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jay-worth Green Industry Perspectives by Single O...

Parks and gardens jobs are fun. You get paid to garden with your buddies in the sunshine. But how do we enter the industry, or advance our careers once we're already in a parks and gardens job? In this episode, Troy Mansell, CEO of GreenLife Group (GLG) and Heath Appleton, operations manager for Urban Maintenance Systems (UMS) come on the show to shed some light on a career in parks and garde...

Drones are a handy piece of tech in any large scale outdoor production horticulture or agricultural operation. Sure, they're great for taking photos from above. But what are some of the other applications, and how can somebody incorporate drones into their career or business? In this episode, drone educator Fiona Lake discusses why she rolls her eyes when someone says "do what you'r...