This episode I’m speaking to Jake Rayson. Jake lives in rural Wales on a 2 acre smallholding, which is set up as a working forest garden. In addition to managing his own plot, he also teaches about and designs forest gardens in the UK and beyond. For a long time, forest gardening was one of those terms I’d heard but I’m not sure I fully understood the principles behind it, partly because the term always struck me as a bit if a misnomer. Essentially, it’s a common-sense and ecologically respectfu...
Feb 04, 2020•29 min•Ep. 75
This episode is a double-bill, featuring two interviewees speaking about two historical figures who led lives with many parallels, although they were working almost two centuries apart. The first interview is with Teri Sayers-Copper and we discuss the life and work of Marianne North. Marianne was a biologist and botanical artist who journeyed across the world during the Victorian era, documenting the flora and fauna of the countries throughout which she travelled. Marianne explored and painted i...
Jan 28, 2020•59 min•Ep. 74
Over the past four or so years, experts from many fields have come together to record the biodiversity at Great Dixter and the results have been fascinating. Fergus shares some of the results of this biodiversity audit and talks about how important it is to establish a coherent network of habitats in both public and private spaces across the UK. About Fergus Garrett: Fergus trained in horticulture at Wye College. He worked for Rosemary Alexander and for Beth Chatto before becoming Head Gardener ...
Jan 21, 2020•29 min•Ep. 73
Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of the podcast. This week I’m speaking to Richard Stubbs who currently works as the Trade Manager at David Austin but who’s worked in pretty much every department there, including as the Head Gardener of the 2 acre show garden. Richard lectures, designs and advises all over the world and what he doesn’t know about roses you can write on the back of a stamp and still have room to lick it. I asked him about which roses need pruning and which don’t, when to ...
Jan 14, 2020•31 min•Ep. 72
The National Geographic published an article by Saul on December 9th titled “How to live with mega-fires? Portugal’s feral forests may hold the secret”, which provides an insight into what conditions are needed for mega-fires to occur, the effects they have on humans once they take hold and how we can, and indeed must, be responsible for curtailing these events in the future, however the way forward is not certain and will undoubtedly involve a large amount of individual responsibility. I began ...
Jan 07, 2020•34 min•Ep. 71
Part 2 of the Design Experts Series, kindly sponsored by the London College of Garden Design My guest for this episode is Kim Wilkie. Kim grew up in the Malaysian jungle and the Iraqi desert, before moving to England to attend school. He is a prolific landscape architect who works on large-scale projects in the UK and internationally, in both public and private spaces. He works on a scale that is beyond the experience of many, if not most designers, for example, designing the green spaces around...
Dec 17, 2019•30 min•Ep. 70
This week, I’m speaking to Robin Snowdon who runs Limeburn Hill Biodynamic Vineyard. The vineyard is biodynamic and Robin works closely with the land, managing the estate not just for the vines but also for native flora and fauna. He also uses fascinating methods to produce unique wines that encapsulate the flavour and essence of the site. Robin gives an excellent insight into what can happen when you grow crops in tune with your site, rather than fighting against it. About Robin Snowdon: Robin ...
Dec 10, 2019•37 min•Ep. 69
This is a bonus episode and a follow-up to one I did back in April with Graham, where he spoke about new DEFRA Legislation that comes into effect on Dec 14th 2019. This episode will be relevant if you buy, sell or supply plant material (including plants, cut flowers, bulbs, Christmas trees and so on) in the UK. As you listen, you'll discover that there are no clear-cut answers as to what exactly the new legislation means as it seems very much up in the air, especially for small scale and indepen...
Dec 04, 2019•36 min
Stephen grows a dazzling range of plants, some you probably haven’t even heard of, let alone eaten and more still that you may have heard of but may not have considered to be edible. Stephen’s book Around the World in 80 Plants looks at perennial, leafy plants from around the globe that play a big part in the diet of those living where these plants naturally occur in abundance. He’s grown and studied these in his garden in Norway and selected varieties for taste, growth performance and for nutri...
Dec 03, 2019•46 min•Ep. 68
A warm welcome to new listeners and to those existing listeners who haven't quite got to grips with my wonky episode numbering system - this episode is for you! Join me for a quick whizz through all the previous content. I've split it into areas of interest (sort of!) to help you navigate easily through the back catalogue and discover episodes you may have missed. Thanks for listening. Get in touch; Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk Website www.rootsandall.co.uk Twitter @rootsandall Instagram root...
Nov 27, 2019•11 min•Ep. 76
Part One: The Design Experts Series - Sponsored by The London College of Garden Design This episode features Thomas Rainer, Principal Designer at Phyto Studio in Virginia and co-author of the book Planting In A Post-Wild World. Thomas’s approach to design pays particular attention to establishing new plant communities, especially within urban and suburban environments, where the native flora and fauna has effectively been pushed out. Concentrating on plant selections that work alongside each oth...
Nov 26, 2019•34 min•Ep. 67
This week I’m talking to Catherine Horwood, authorised biographer of Beth Chatto and author of the recently released Beth Chatto: A Life With Plants. Catherine was hugely privileged to be given access to Beth’s personal diaries and I’m sure there are lots more stories she could tell you about Beth that didn’t make it into the book, but the snippets of Beth’s journals and the biographical information that are in the book paint a wonderful picture of Beth as a wife, a mother, an employer, a garden...
Nov 19, 2019•30 min•Ep. 66
This episode we’re discussing apples and I have TWO guests; Naomi Slade who is the author of An Orchard Odyssey and Sassie Yassamee who runs Eve Apple Press, a mobile apple pressing service in East Sussex. We’re just harvesting the last of our apples here in Sussex, so with the tastes and sights of varieties fresh in your mind, what better time to start planning your own orchard? Naomi’s book, An Orchard Odyssey runs through the practicalities of growing apples, but the focus of our chat is the ...
Nov 12, 2019•36 min•Ep. 65
This episode, I’m talking about one of the fundamental cornerstones that underpins everything we do as growers - soil. And to talk about this vital element, who better than soil scientist and international expert on the subject, Tim O’Hare? Tim is the principal consultant of Tim O’Hare Associates and works on a wide variety of domestic and commercial projects, both in the UK and abroad. Tim answers questions about issues that most gardeners have faced at some point; soil compaction, poor drainag...
Nov 05, 2019•37 min•Ep. 64
This week, I’m speaking to Jo Ferguson and we’re talking about bats. As with most of our wildlife, population trends show a decline in bats in the UK in recent times. Loss of habitat, human activities including nighttime lighting and construction and lack of food are all contributing factors. If you’re listening to the Roots and All podcast, in all probability you’re a conscientious gardener who wants to improve the natural landscape, not just for humans but for all species. In this episode, Jo ...
Oct 29, 2019•36 min•Ep. 63
This week, Sarah is talking with Geoff Dann. Geoff is a Hastings based forager with a vast and by the sounds of it, pretty unique understanding of the mushrooms that grow in our landscape. He’s also the author of Edible Mushrooms. Geoff is a pioneer because many of the mushrooms in his book were not classified as edible and he’s taken on the role of a well-informed and cautious taster, but nonetheless has been a human guinea pig in many instances! As he mentions, his book is without parallel in ...
Oct 22, 2019•29 min•Ep. 62
This week, I’m talking garden birds with Kate Risely, Garden BirdWatch Organiser at the British Trust for Ornithology. Kate talks us through the trends that have occurred in our garden bird populations over the past 40 years, what and when to feed them, diseases that are on the rise and how you can attract more birds in your garden. Plus, Kate answers my question; are magpies vandals, living off the fat of our songbirds? About Kate: Kate leads the BTO's Garden Ecology team and co-ordinates the p...
Oct 15, 2019•35 min•Ep. 61
This week, Sarah is talking Peonies with Alec White of Primrose Hall Peonies. If you attended this year’s Chelsea Flower Show, you probably saw the amazing, gold-winning stand Alec put together in the floral marquee - it was the one with the bath, peonies spilling everywhere and the semi-nude model painted all over with peonies. It certainly caused a stir and rightly so, because it was stunning. Sarah was delighted to chat to Alec because, frankly, she has a chequered past with peonies. Under di...
Oct 08, 2019•29 min•Ep. 60
Just how free are we to walk around our cities and countryside? Who owns our parks and public spaces and who makes the decision what you can and can’t do in them and when they can be closed for ticketed events? What can you do to make sure our green spaces stay open and accessible to all? These are all questions I asked Neil Sinden, the Director of the London branch of the CPRE (Campaign for Rural England). I’d seen mention of the Urban Right to Roam, which piqued my interest and made me wonder ...
Oct 01, 2019•28 min•Ep. 59
A New Garden Ethic with Benjamin Vogt Sarah talks to garden designer and author Benjamin Vogt about his book A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future. Benjamin writes in his book how it’s imperative that we take up a new style of gardening, a new garden ethic, and that we do so fast. Benjamin explains what it means for him to garden with every species in mind and what happens when we separate ourselves from the rest of our garden’s community. Benjamin Vogt runs ...
Sep 24, 2019•32 min•Ep. 58
Dr Glenn H Shepard is an ethnobotanist, medical anthropologist and film maker whose work focuses on the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. He speaks eleven languages and has done fieldwork with diverse native groups in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East researching shamanism, medicinal plants, and traditional environmental knowledge. His work features in the documentary Spirits of the Rainforest . We talk about: - Glenn’s work with the indigenous people of the Amazon forest - Biopiracy - Med...
Sep 17, 2019•33 min•Ep. 57
In this episode, I’m speaking to Jan Billington of Maddocks Farm Organics, a flower farm in Devon growing and selling organic edible flowers. We talk about the easiest and tastiest flowers you can grow, colour trends, some more unusual edible flowers and how you can use edible flowers for your own special event. The episode starts with Jan telling us about her farm and why she feels her business needs to give something back. What We Discuss: Where to source edible flowers and what to look out fo...
Sep 10, 2019•34 min•Ep. 56
Alyson Mowat runs her studio out of Shoreditch in London and has been creating botanical masterpieces for the past 5 years. She works with indoor and outdoor plants to make visually stunning green displays and specialises in terrariums, jarrariums, aquascapes and kokedama to stage plants in unique ways. We talk about using plants to create visual statements, finding sources of inspiration and how you can try some of these techniques for yourself. For more information about Alyson, please check o...
Sep 03, 2019•28 min•Ep. 55
This week I’m speaking to Dr Wilson Wall of Bewdley Orchids. Dr Wall is also the co-author of How to Grow Native Orchids in Gardens Large and Small and is a foremost expert on UK native orchids. In this episode, he talks about growing orchids in lawns, borders, containers…they’re much more versatile than you might expect! Not only are they beautiful and versatile, if you grow them, you’ll be doing your bit to conserve these plants as their numbers in the wild diminish. About Dr Wilson Wall Wilso...
Aug 27, 2019•23 min•Ep. 54
This week I’m speaking to John Little. John founded the Grass Roof Company in 1998 and for the past 20 years, he’s been designing and implementing gardens in public spaces that work for people, for plants and for wildlife. Often working in urban locations, he installs wildlife habitats and planting in some unusual places including on roofs and structures such as cycle shelters. He also includes many edible plants in his schemes in order to create beautiful and useful spaces that engage the commu...
Aug 13, 2019•29 min•Ep. 53
This week I’m speaking to Alex Mitchell, aka the Edible Gardener. Alex is the gardening columnist for the Evening Standard and author of five books on gardening, including her latest ‘Crops in Tight Spots’. I speak to Alex about growing edibles when space in tight and she has some brilliant tips and tricks about how to grow, what to grow and what not to bother with. Alex’s book is based on years of experience and I respect her approach of trialling, experimenting (including catching pupae in jar...
Jul 30, 2019•28 min•Ep. 52
This week I chat to Olivia Kirk about low allergen planting. Olivia works on both public and private gardens and has a number of show gardens under her belt, including a gold medal winning garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower show. She specialises in healing gardens and has worked on a number of projects such as hospice gardens, where the effect the garden can have on a person’s physical health is of paramount importance. We often think about the positive effects on mental and physical health that g...
Jul 23, 2019•23 min•Ep. 51
This week I’m speaking to Dave Goulson, who is a Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex. Dave is also the founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and author of three books, the most recent of which is The Garden Jungle: or Gardening to Save the Planet. With the recent interest in wildlife gardens, we talk about how you can create a good environment for wildlife, but more importantly, how you can avoid actively harming the environment with your gardening habits. About Dave Goulson “...
Jul 16, 2019•32 min•Ep. 50
This week I’m speaking to Chris Williams, co-founder of Edibleculture, an inspirational nursery based in Faversham in Kent. From the day the nursery was established 5 years ago, ethically and ecologically sounds principles have been employed to create the brilliant business that exists today. We talk about how the nursery succeeds where so many others are failing to make changes; using peat-free compost, gardening organically without chemicals, eliminating single use plastics from their sales ou...
Jul 09, 2019•20 min•Ep. 49
Forest Bathing, or Shinrin Yoku, is the practice of immersing yourself in nature as therapy. It’s the perfect antidote for those who feel disconnected from the land and unattached from nature, which is increasingly likely to happen in a world where 55% of us live in urban areas. In this episode, I speak to Stefan Batorijs who founded Nature and Therapy UK in 2017, as a response to a growing need to foster a spiritual and psychological connection to the land. If you’ve always wondered what Forest...
Jul 02, 2019•28 min•Ep. 48
