This week’s guest is Stephen Hackett, head gardener at Horatio’s Garden South West. We talk about this amazing garden which was designed by Cleve West and is managed by Stephen, with the help of and for the benefit of the staff and patients at the adjacent spinal injuries unit. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Brimstone Butterflies This episode is brought to you The Seed Sistas, who have been community herbalists for over 20 years. Their work took a turn last March and they converted their pass...
Apr 05, 2021•30 min•Ep. 133
This week’s guest is Carolyn Mullet. Carolyn is an author and garden tour organiser. She recently released a book about some of the most beautiful gardens she’s visited in Europe, called Adventures in Eden. In the interview, I speak to Carolyn about the book and (with barely concealed envy) I ask her about the trips she undertakes and the gardens she sees with her company Carex Tours. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Bay Sucker Psyllid This episode is brought to you by our friends at Natural Gr...
Mar 29, 2021•34 min•Ep. 132
This is the first episode in the series and it features Rik Sellwood who along with his business partner Chris Tanner, has launched a company called Harvst. They build greenhouses for home gardeners, which can be controlled via an app. During the episode we talk about Harvst’s products of course, but we also talk about managing crops in greenhouses and how technology can be applied in a garden setting to make our lives easier. Listen to the end for the 15% discount code! Shop Harvst Information ...
Mar 25, 2021•29 min•Ep. 137
Hello. This is a short introduction to a new episode that’s being released on Thursday called Roots and All: Dig In. Dig In is a new series which came about because I’ve been contacted by various companies who would like to come on the podcast and talk about the wonderful products they have to sell. So do drop by on Thursday when I'll be speaking to Rik Sellwood of Harvst about, that amongst other things, a greenhouse you can water and ventilate via an app. Clever stuff!
Mar 23, 2021•2 min•Ep. 138
This week’s guest is forest gardener Anni Kelsey. Anni is an experienced grower of edibles and she follows the principles of forest gardening - if you’re not sure what that means, all will be revealed. Her latest book The Garden of Equal Delights sets out principles for managing a garden in order to maximise its productive yield but it’s much more than that, it’s about gardening sustainably and using techniques that many conventional gardeners might find unusual but which work. Dr Ian Bedford’s ...
Mar 22, 2021•36 min•Ep. 131
Podcast 101 - GrowVeg with Benedict Vanheems This week I’m talking to Benedict Vanheems, gardener, author, editor and face of the popular GrowVeg.com YouTube channel. If you’re thinking about growing veg this year, whether you’re an old hand or new to it, you’re bound to hear something of value from Benedict, who’s innovative approach to growing food takes the hard work out of things. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Black Garden Ants This episode is brought to you by Natural Grower . Launched ...
Mar 15, 2021•32 min•Ep. 130
This week’s guest is Nigel Palmer, an experimental gardener who brings to bear his experience as an aerospace engineer to analyse, identify and organise the various components that make plants grow well. From his research, he’s compiled a recipe book of garden amendments, some easy to make and some involving more complex methods, but all of which you can recreate at home and use on your garden for better plant health and resilience. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Darwin’s Worms This episode i...
Mar 08, 2021•42 min•Ep. 129
This episode I’m speaking to Professor Jeff Ollerton, author of the brilliant new book ‘Pollinators and Pollination’, another must-have to add to your ever burgeoning reading pile I’m afraid! I loved the book and as you’ll hear during the interview, it threw up all sorts of interesting questions about pollinators, their role in our lives and gardens and how much we need them. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Queen Bumblebees This episode is sponsored by gardencourses.com What we talk about: Wha...
Mar 01, 2021•47 min•Ep. 128
This week, I’m speaking to Danielle Draper, Manager of the Cats Protection National Cat Adoption Centre in Surrey and we’re talking about that sometimes contentious issue of cats and gardens. Cats are part of gardeners’ lives, particularly if you live in an urban area. Love them or hate them, you can’t get away from them and Danielle’s here to talk about learning to live harmoniously alongside the neighbourhood felines… Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Narcissus Bulb Fly This episode is brought...
Feb 22, 2021•34 min•Ep. 127
This week I’m speaking to Harriet Gross, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Lincoln. She was part of a team that won a gold medal for the Digital Capabilities garden at the 2013 Chelsea Flower Show and she is the author of The Psychology of Gardening. Harriet talks about our emotional connection to our gardens, what makes people connected to nature and the environment, why we can be territorial over our gardens and just what it is we get from gardening. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of...
Feb 15, 2021•40 min•Ep. 126
This episode is the last one before Valentine’s Day. Of course, you may be thinking about buying some flowers to give on Sunday so I thought, what better person to interview than a British flower grower? So I’m talking to Ben Cross of Crosslands Flower Nursery, a family owned and run nursery specialising in cut Alstroemerias. Ben is an expert grower, public speaker, an ambassador for British flowers and founder of the British Flowers Rock Campaign. As you will find out, growing flowers isn’t all...
Feb 08, 2021•37 min•Ep. 125
In this week’s episode I’m speaking to Fiona Edmond of Green Island Gardens about one of the stars of the winter garden, the Hamamelis aka witch-hazel. Fiona is the holder of the National Collection of Hamamelis and she talks about their cultivation and goes through some of the fool-proof and some of the choicer varieties. I dare you not to buy one after listening! Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Fig Wasps This episode is sponsored by gardencourses.com What we talk about: Fiona’s background an...
Feb 01, 2021•28 min•Ep. 124
This week’s episode features garden designer and horticulturist Jo McKerr, who runs Pratensis Gardens. Jo is particularly interested in designed spaces where soil health, biodiversity and wildlife are encouraged but which still look good to the human eye. I started with a list of questions for Jo but the interview became more of a fireside chat, so pull up a chair and join Jo and I as we wend our way through eco-gardening. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Winter Moths This episode is sponsored ...
Jan 25, 2021•43 min•Ep. 123
I’m kicking off the year on the podcast with an interview with conservationist and wild meadows expert Keith Datchler. We talk about the state of our wildflower meadows, their importance for biodiversity and where we, as humans, fit as part of the biodiversity that feels at home in meadows. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Winter Bumblebees What we talk about: The definition of a meadow How many ancient meadows are left in the UK. When they date from. How they were created. Do we need to protec...
Jan 18, 2021•31 min•Ep. 122
This week I’m talking to Dr Jack Hunter, anthropologist and author of the book Greening the Paranormal: Exploring the Ecology of Extraordinary. The book isn’t about fairies at the bottom of the garden, although they do get a mention in the episode, but looks more at ways of studying and engaging with the super-natural and considers how these might be useful when approaching the environmental crisis. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Holly Leafminer About Dr Jack Hunter Dr. Jack Hunter is an anth...
Dec 21, 2020•32 min•Ep. 121
This week, I’m talking to Anna Soper, a Canadian artist, writer, podcaster and master of too many things to mention really about Kate Crooks, a largely forgotten Canadian botanist whose work Anna uncovered for a project she undertook in 2018. Anna’s research into Kate Crooks has unearthed pieces of a historical jigsaw puzzle which leave us wondering how many other botanists and specimens are out there just waiting to be discovered and how many of these important pieces of the botanical record ha...
Dec 14, 2020•33 min•Ep. 120
This week, I’m delighted to speak to Robert Galster, one of the co-founders of Safe Soil UK, about soil testing. There are many companies offering soil testing but the whole process is incredibly opaque. Companies offering the testing don’t often tell you what to test for, or offer to explain the results they’ll be sending and the process can be very costly. Enter Soil Safe UK, who offer soil tests for gardeners, that make sense and that don’t cost a small fortune! Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the We...
Dec 07, 2020•28 min•Ep. 119
In this episode, I am very pleased to have a double interview with Dan Pearson and Midori Shintani, the two key horticultural forces driving the Tokachi Millennium Forest project in Hokaido, Japan and co-authors of the book Tokachi Millennium Forest: Pioneering a New Way of Gardening with Nature. I speak to Midori first, then Dan, about this vast, 1000 year project, their hopes and intentions for now and the future and about their own places with the timeline of the forest. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug ...
Nov 30, 2020•44 min•Ep. 118
This interview features two guests instead of the usual one and those guests are Lottie and Connor, founders of Earthly Biochar. Maybe you already use Biochar in the garden, maybe you’ve heard of it but aren’t quite sure what it does or how it works, or maybe you’re completely new to it as a concept. In any case, I’m sure you’ll learn such a lot from this interview. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Spiders and their Webs What we talk about: The origins of Earthly Biochar What is biochar Biochar...
Nov 23, 2020•33 min•Ep. 117
This week I’m speaking to scientist and science communicator Dr Anna Zakrisson about green roofs, particularly with regard to their use in urban areas and the important role they can play in water management. Amongst other things, we talk about the functions these roofs can perform, whether they can work in rural as well as urban situations, how self-sustaining we should expect the plants on green roofs to be and if they’re always the best solution. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Allium Leaf ...
Nov 16, 2020•30 min•Ep. 116
This week I’m speaking to Barbara Wilkinson, a Trustee of The Herb Society, which was founded in 1927 in order to promote the use and understanding of herbs and to provide a worldwide forum for the exchange of ideas and information pertaining to these plants. We talk about growing herbs in different garden situations, unusual herbs to grow, why humans seem drawn to them, what Barbara refers to as “generous” herbs and why we seem to enjoy abusing them by cramming them in unsuitable containers and...
Nov 09, 2020•44 min•Ep. 115
This week I’m speaking with Sir Roderick Floud, author of ‘An Economic History of the English Garden’. The book charts the economics surrounding English gardens since the seventeenth century and talks about private gardens, public spaces, professions related to gardening and the often eye-watering amounts of money spent on achieving a bigger and better gardens. Sir Roderick calculates the cost of yesteryears’ gardens in today’s money and it’s worth reading the book alone to find out how much the...
Nov 02, 2020•40 min•Ep. 114
This week I’m speaking with permaculturist, teacher, speaker and author, Graham Burnett. Through his organisation Spiralseed, Graham has been involved with both public and private projects across the globe and has accumulated a huge portfolio of work. We talk about the principles which underpin permaculture and how to implement these in your own garden. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Earwigs About Graham Burnett “In addition to cultivating his own garden and allotments in Southend in Essex, w...
Oct 26, 2020•43 min•Ep. 113
This week’s guest is Caroline Ball, author of a beautiful book called ‘Heritage Apples’. In normal circumstances, this week would have seen lots of events to celebrate Apple Day taking place across the country, but instead, I’m celebrating here on the podcast by delving into some of our lesser known and historic varieties with Caroline, plus there’s a very useful bit at the end where Caroline explains the mysteries of apple tree pollination. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Leather Jackets Abou...
Oct 19, 2020•36 min•Ep. 112
This week I’m speaking to Nick de Rothschild, President of the Nerine and Amaryllid Society and of Exbury Gardens in the New Forest. The gardens play host to a huge range of plants providing interest throughout the year, but one of jewels in the crown of Exbury is the collection of Nerines. There are many types of Nerines planted in the garden and an exhibition is currently underway of one particular species, sarniensis. We talk about the different types, how to grow them successfully and about ...
Oct 12, 2020•27 min•Ep. 111
This week I’m speaking to Sue Allen of Microbz, which produces and distributes probiotics for gardens. The concept of probiotics in gardens is new to me, but it dovetails nicely with previous episodes looking at soil health and mycorrhizal fungi so I was delighted to speak to Sue and find out more about how probiotics work in gardens and what we can do to encourage them. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Woodlice About Susan Allen I’m co-founder and co-director of Microbz Ltd, producers and dist...
Oct 05, 2020•37 min•Ep. 110
This week I’m speaking to Joff Curtoys, conservationist, ecologist and founder of Sloemotion Distillery. Saturday just gone saw the launch of National Hedgerow Day, an annual event launched by Joff to inspire people to undertake their own foraging missions to spot what’s growing and living in their local hedgerows. Hedgerows are historically important, biodiverse and fascinating, as Joff explains. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Fruit Flies About Joff Curtoys Joff is the founder of Sloemotion ...
Sep 28, 2020•28 min•Ep. 109
This week I’m speaking to Adam Kirtland, who began gardening seriously at the start of lockdown. His initial interest has become a full-blown obsession and we talk about the challenges presented by going back to work full time and having less time to garden. For more seasoned gardeners, this episode may be a useful reflection upon how we communicate with newer gardeners. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Flatworms About Adam Kirtland “Bookseller by day, gardener by night. I work as part of the h...
Sep 21, 2020•31 min•Ep. 108
This week I’m speaking to Philip Johnson of Johnson’s Sweet Peas. Philip grows and sells plants and seeds via his website and he sells and exhibits his plants at shows across the country, when they’re on! He judges at major shows and has put in 25 years service as a Sweet Pea judge. He is a former chairman of the National Sweet Pea Society/RHS Sweet Pea trials held at Wisley and is currently serving as a member of the RHS Herbaceous Committee. So what Philip doesn’t know abut sweet peas you coul...
Sep 14, 2020•30 min•Ep. 107
This week I’m speaking to biologist and ecologist Sophie Leguil. Sophie is an outspoken and passionate advocate for nature, plants and wildlife and can often be found on social media, helping make sense of complex concepts that affect gardeners and their outdoor spaces. We talk a bit about public spaces, a bit about gardens and urban areas and we touch upon what can happen when you try to stand up for what you believe in. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Tardegrades About Sophie Leguil: “Traine...
Sep 07, 2020•41 min•Ep. 106
