Talking Heads - a Gardening Podcast

Its been a long old summer of heat and drought - and although that may be great for those of us visiting the beach, our gardens (especially in the south) have taken a hammering. Gardening hasn't been much fun either. So its nice to get to the cooler and moister end of the year and enjoy the 'mellow fruitfulness' that will surround us for a few months. And as we prepare for the winter, its a lovely time of year just to take a stroll onto the plot, cup of tea in hand and revel in the the changing angle of the sun and the light that just makes the garden seem so magical at this time of year. But as a dedicated gardener don't spend to long dawdling - there still plenty of work to be done and time waits for no person!

The storms may have blown through like any other, but the weather in this country becomes more and more a subject for discussion in this country with sever drought declared in parts of Devon and large amounts of rain falling, its hard to know what to plan for in the garden. The storms also cauded the tragic death of Richard Baines, curator at Logan Botanic Gardens and Saul's friend, so he pays tribute to an amazingly knowledgeable and generous man, and big loss to the gardening world.

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Saul plantsmansaul

Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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Its been a long old summer of heat and drought - and although that may be great for those of us visiting the beach, our gardens (especially in the south) have taken a hammering. Gardening hasn't been much fun either. So its nice to get to the cooler and moister end of the year and enjoy the 'mellow fruitfulness' that will surround us for a few months. And as we prepare for the winter, its a lovely time of year just to take a stroll onto the plot, cup of tea in hand and revel in the the changing angle of the sun and the light that just makes the garden seem so magical at this time of year. But as a dedicated gardener don't spend to long dawdling - there still plenty of work to be done and time waits for no person!

In this episode we pay tribute to the energy, passion, knowledge and warmth that encapsulated Ruth Hayes - Amateur Gardening magazine's gardening editor, who passed away this autumn. We hope that gardening brings you some comfort at these times of great sadness. With Storm Austen approaching, Lucy also reminds us that we need to take action if we own any tender plants - winter cold AND wet is not their friend.

Instagram links:
Saul plantsmansaul

Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Ah, Autumn Bliss. Its been a long old summer of heat and drought - and though that may be great for those of us visiting the beach, our gardens (especially in the south) have taken a hammering. Gardening hasn't been much fun either. So its nice to get to the cooler and moister end of the year and enjoy the 'mellow fruitfulness' that will surround us for a few months. And as gardens we prepare for the winter, its a lovely time of year just to take a stroll into the garden, cup of tea in hand and revel in the the changing angle of the sun and the light that just makes the garden seem so magical at this time of year. But as a dedicated gardener don't spend to long dawdling - there still plenty of work to be done in the garden and time waits for no person!

Weather - and its effect on the garden - is the main topic of conversation for this episode. Lawns, trees, shrubs and perennials are all in various stages of recovery (or not) since the UK's drought this summer, so gardeners are waiting to see what happens. But luckily they're not being idle with their time: tidying, edging and (especially for Lucy) mulch making have brought the smiles back to their faces - thank goodness for that.

Instagram links:
Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Saul plantsmansaul

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

h Autumn Bliss. Its been a long old summer of heat and drought - and though that may be great for those of us visiting the beach, our gardens (especially in the south) have taken a hammering. Gardening hasn't been much fun either. So its nice to get to the cooler and moister end of the year and enjoy the 'mellow fruitfulness' that will surround us for a few months. And as gardens we prepare for the winter, its a lovely time of year just to take a stroll into the garden, cup of tea in hand and revel in the the changing angle of the sun and the light that just makes the garden seem so magical at this time of year. But as a dedicated gardener don't spend to long dawdling - there still plenty of work to be done in the garden and time waits for no person!

Many apologies dear listeners - everytime Lucy and Saul beleive their gardening lives have got a bit quieter the amount they have to do just increases - so episodes at the moment are a little delayed and unorganised but never fear we'll keep the #HortiWaffle going somehow. So Saul just checks in with the you all to fill in what he has been up to recently including the end of the Hedychium Trial at East Ruston Garden and the amazing EuroPom - a celebration of apples (and other fruit) from around Europe, and the most mind blowing experience!

Instagram links:
Saul plantsmansaul

Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Ah Autumn Bliss. Its been a long old summer of heat and drought - and though that may be great for those of us visiting the beach, our gardens (especially in the south) have taken a hammering. Gardening hasn't been much fun either. So its nice to get to the cooler and moister end of the year and enjoy the 'mellow fruitfulness' that will surround us for a few months. And as gardens we prepare for the winter, its a lovely time of year just to take a stroll into the garden, cup of tea in hand and revel in the the changing angle of the sun and the light that just makes the garden seem so magical at this time of year. But as a dedicated gardener don't spend to long dawdling - there still plenty of work to be done in the garden and time waits for no person!

Finally Lucy and Saul are in the same room, if not in the correct counties to snatch a bit of time together to catch up and resume the #HortiWaffle. Saul has still be on his travels catching up on Hedychium trials, Plant Heritage work and enjoying the countryside of the British Isles from various train windows. Lucy has been enjoying a little more of the normal 'local' work with plenty of Autumn mulch to prepare and Chocolate Custard Creams to consume - isn't it nice to have a little normality back!

Instagram links:
Saul plantsmansaul

Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious - but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardener's tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

Saul returns to the Talking Heads Podcast after a small sabbatical travelling up and down the M4, M5 and A303 taking in the many landscapes of Southern Britain while visiting many a garden, plant paradise and the occasion flower show. His gardening life is a busy one especially this year, but the fact that he gets to see so many wonderful floral delights plus meet the gardeners and growers behind them makes the every increasing fuel bill bearable!

Instagram links:
Saul plantsmansaul

Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious - but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardener's tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

Whist Saul is busy gathering up his braincells for the walled kitchen garden tours at Audley End, Lucy talks you through her Make a Metre Matter commitments for the BBC Gardeners' World Fair. There have been metres, they have ALL mattered - and if you are able to pledge one of yours to support this campaign Lucy and De-Graft will both be eternally grateful. Bring on the sausages!!

Instagram links:
Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Saul plantsmansaul

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious - but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardener's tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

The end of summer drought doesn't mean that we aren't still to face the real consequences of this years weather - there's much more weather to come. But what does the future hold for gardening? Well Saul and Lucy get the grey matter working to bring you some of their future predictions of what gardeners maybe doing in the next decade to start adapting to what the weather throws at us - much of it means evolving how we garden and what our gardens may look like - but if there is one thing for certain we'll still be gardening a lot (maybe more in Winter!?)

Instagram links:
Saul plantsmansaul

Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious - but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardener's tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

This week, Lucy and Saul encourage us all to let go of our inner control freak, and welcome the fact that in gardening, every year, some plants thrive where others fail, certain machinery will test our patience, design ideas may materialise as a triumph or a flop - and that's just part of the marvellous melting pot that is gardening. So, take Saul's lead (yes! He's embracing the silver lining), remember that the future is still yet to be decided, and dip your little toe into 2027. Because: "There's always next year!"

Instagram links:
Saul plantsmansaul

Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious - but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardener's tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

During the fifth Heatwave of the year, Saul is soloing it while out and abut in the South East of the UK working for Plant Heritage and visiting some gardens with the RHS Tender Ornamental Expert Group in Norfolk. Felbrigg Hall (NT) was a surprise of exotic and Mediterranean planting in a Walled garden space that included lush borders, some big pumpkins and lots of interesting metal sculptures. East Ruston Old Vicarage Garden, lived up to the hype of being one of the UKs premier gardens, with Hidcote-like garden rooms, stuffed with exotic and traditional plantings and a fantastic 'Desert Wash' dry garden that looked just right in the sweltering heat, transporting you to other warmer parts of the world. We also took part in the Hedychium trial being held there, and also being Saul's favourite part of the whole trip!

Instagram links:
Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Saul plantsmansaul

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious - but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardener's tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

We give a long overdue shoutout to our wonderful listeners in this episode - and in doing so discuss raptors, buddleja aphids, petrichor (Lucy is NOT jealous...), chilli peppers, fuchsia gall mites and tropical tree selection in a Lancashire garden - in doing so we inadvertently fill the whole 30 minutes when we actually had planned to also discuss summer gardening 'funk' (which we have now moved to next weeks episode). If this isn't evidence that this podcasting duo are the king and queen of hortiwaffle, I don't know what is!

Instagram links:
Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Saul plantsmansaul

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious - but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardener's tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

The lack of rain in many parts of the UK (not all) has been the number one issue for weeks now - rain dances, water bowsers and talk of changing plantings are now a regular feature of conversations throughout gardens as the Environment Agency declares half of the UK to be in official drought status! But although there have been many losers in this hot, dry weather its not all bad and Saul and Lucy wanted to bringing a little positivity in this weeks podcast with talk of juicy peaches, luscious exotic planting and of course, the wood-fired hot tub!

Instagram links:
Saul plantsmansaul

Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious - but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardener's tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

It's been yet another week of dry weather, and with no end in sight the gardening duo ponder what this might mean for the survival of certain insect species - friend and foe. Saul also reports back on his travels, and some exciting news for Plant Heritage, while Lucy turns her (tired) brain towards the Gardeners' World Autumn Fair at Audley End, Essex.

Instagram links:
Saul plantsmansaul

Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious - but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardener's tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

Wow it is dry out there and the temperatures are well above the norm for long periods - so both Lucy and Saul are, to say the least, continuing in good British form - 'mad dogs and Englishmen' comes to mind. Gardening still needs to be done though - if just the watering - so Lucy has been continuing to shape her client's plots and Saul has spent almost 12 days getting ready and then half-wilting at RHS Badminton - so listen in to find out how that goes - and if the worse happens at least we can all go for a dip in Lucy's new hottub!

Instagram links:
Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Saul plantsmansaul

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious - but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardener's tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

With Saul attending to his Plant Heritage duties at RHS Badminton, Lucy takes this opportunity to give you an audio tour of her modern kitchen garden. Summer is now at its peak, so naturally her thoughts are focused on how to create recipes with all those homegrown fruit, veg and herbs. If you have an aversion to butter, turn your ears away now...

Instagram links:
Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Saul plantsmansaul

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious - but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardener's tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

Wow, what a scorcher last week was in the UK - and beyond! Of course, this gets the weather obsessed podcast duo thinking: what will we need to do to adjust our mindset towards working in and taking pleasure trips to, gardens. A flexible mindset is key. We also pay tribute to show veg master Terry Porter, who sadly passed away in recent days. It's guaranteed that if you visited gardening shows these past few decades, you'll have seen his phenomenal work first hand.

Instagram links:
Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Saul plantsmansaul

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious - but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardener's tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

Well every year the NEC beckons the Talking Heads Duo back to BBC Gardeners World Live to share their garden wisdom on the Plants Expert Desk, as well as show people around the Floral Marquee when no-one else is there and this year, Lucy builds her Make a Metre Matter border. Altogether it keep the Talking Head duo incredibly busy, so recording a podcast can be a bitty affair, but join us as we share some of the sights and voices at this years show!

Instagram links:
Saul plantsmansaul

Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious - but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardener's tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

After many weeks apart, Lucy and Saul finally catch up with each other (via Zoom) to discover what's been going on in their respective gardening lives. Saul is still recovering from The Chelsea Flower Show, and Lucy is busy prepping for her Beautiful Border at BBC Gardeners' World Live at the NEC. In the meantime, the dry spell has ended with rain falling in both Devon and Essex - giving the duo's gardens a much needed rest from the scorching conditions. If any listeners want to similarly refresh Lucy and Saul at the NEC, all biscuits are welcome!!

Instagram links:
Saul plantsmansaul

Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

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Summer is here - we enter the long days and sultry nights with the garden looking glorious but always looking to the horizon for a little bit of rain to keep things looking green and lush. Herbaceous borders are set to maximum colour, vegetable beds seem to multiply in growth weekly and the gardeners tan is ever present. So enjoy the long summer days, take some time to appreciate time in your garden and join the Talking Heads pair as they continue to look after their planty spaces, as well as enjoying their gardens at home.

Saul had an incredible experience at the #RHSChelseaFlowerShow, very different for his usual Monday Press Day jolly with Lucy, but instead a full on fortnight of Pavilion , Garden promoting, media-hunting, volunteer wrangling while keeping his energy levels high (not always successful) and his brain ticking 9definitely not always successful). SO join him in this episode as he looks back at the the Flower show process and some of his highlights from the week in May where everyone talks about gardens and plants.

Instagram links:
Lucy lucychamberlaingardens

Saul plantsmansaul

Intro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io
"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)
License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Support the show

On Thursday 21st May, we learnt of the passing of Matt Biggs - horticultural everyman, incredibly nice guy, and titan in both knowledge of our industry and hobby, but also fabulous communicator as well. Matt's career spanned all mediums from Tv, Book, Press and also Radio, where he spent 30 years delighting Garden Question Time audiences with his passion and wit for horticulture. Lucy and Saul count Matt as a true garden friend having spent a lot of time with him during the show season and elsewhere - where all we can say is he truly was Gardening's Nicest Guy. Matt was battling cancer till his death, and was very vocal about the support he wanted to make to the Mount Vernon Sanctuary Garden project that he was spearheading. If you have the chance to donate in his memory, please click here

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