The Scottish Garden Podcast (Julianne Robertson)

Karen Wilkieson and Sue Rabjohns are the growers behind East Neuk Perennials - Based in the East Neuk of Fife, they’re experienced gardeners, both having worked in a variety of estates and gardens of all sizes - but their passion is for propagation.  I spoke to them about how they met up and realised their shared dream to grow perennials and run a nursery.  East Neuk Perennials now operates from Karen's back garden, growing and selling a wide variety of herbaceous perennials which are completely hardy and suitable for the Scottish climate.

Links:

East Neuk Perennials website

The Secret Garden Facebook page

My Corner of Earth IG grid and hashtag #mycornerofearth 

juliannerobertson.com

Music: 'If I Only Had a Brain' by Harold Arlen, arr. Iain Robertson

Extra bonus episode for May! 

Ahead of Scotland's big horticultural show, Gardening Scotland, I’m chatting to students from Scotland’s Rural College about their current project - designing a show garden for this year’s event and talking to their tutor, Heather Munro, about what the opportunity means for them and how it can be a really valuable learning experience.  

This year, is the 20th anniversary of Gardening Scotland and part of the celebrations will see the introduction of College Street, a series of show gardens created by local horticultural students from the Edinburgh, Elmwood and Oatridge campuses of SRUC (Scotland’s Rural College).  

A chat with the Director of Terrill Dobson, director of Scotland's Gardens Scheme.  We discuss the criteria for opening your garden to the public, the theme for this year, the fundraising element of the scheme and which gardens are a must-see! 

Scotland's Gardens Scheme website has details of all the gardens open throughout 2019 and contact details for each one, as well as details of plant sales and links to buy the SGS Guidebook. 

You can also find Scotland's Gardens Scheme on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

I can be found on Instagram @mycornerofearth and using the hashtags #mycornerofearth and #scottishgardenpodcast

More stuff about me and contact details at juliannerobertson.com

Music: 'If I Only Had a Brain' by Harold Arlen, arr. Iain Robertson

Interviewing Jim Jermyn, Head Gardener and Property Manager at Branklyn Garden in Perth.  We talk about plant hunters, blue poppies, horticulture training and gin!

Branklyn Garden is a National Trust property and features a lovely tearoom with a fantastic view of the garden and beyond.

You can find it on Facebook and Instagram and I can recommend visiting at any time of year when it's open (closed late autumn/winter) but especially in May when you'll see the blue Meconopsis!

You can can find me on Instagram @mycornerofearth and using the hashtags #mycornerofearth and #scottishgardenpodcast.

More stuff about me and contact details at juliannerobertson.com.

Music: 'If I Only Had a Brain' by Harold Arlen, arr. Iain Robertson

A chat with Ken Cox, woodland plant expert, horticulturist, author and Glendoick Garden Centre owner.  We discuss peat, pots and plant hunting, and I take advantage of Ken's expertise to ask him how best to look after my rhodedendrons!

Glendoick Garden Centre's environmental policy is here, along with how-to videos, Ken's books and more information on the Cox family and their plant hunting expeditions.

The list of Scottish Gardenplant awards can be found here on The Caley's website and in Garden Plants for Scotland, which I can highly recommend.

Oh and there's gin!

Sign up for the new Scottish Garden Newsletter or email the podcast at scottishgardenpodcast@gmail.com if you want to get in touch.  

Follow me on Instagram @mycornerofearth or Twitter @_julesrobertson

Music: 'If I Only Had a Brain' by Harold Arlen, arr. Iain Robertson

A conversation with Monica Straughan, Treasurer of the group Beautiful Perth, the winners of the RHS Britain in Bloom Champion of Champions Award.

We discuss what it takes to receive such an accolade, the rewarding work done by the dedicated team of volunteers, and their Zero Waste Perth project. 

You can find Beautiful Perth's website here - their presentation to the RHS judges is here and the video of the judging day is here.

You can contact the Scottish Garden Podcast by email - scottishgardenpodcast@gmail.com or find me on Instagram @mycornerofearth.

We're getting ready to return for 2020!  

In the meantime, here's a trailer for the Scottish Garden Podcast, highlighting some of the topics we've discussed on the show so far.  

If you haven't listened to Scotland's only gardening podcast yet - give it a go! 

A chat with Keri Ivins, the Development Manager at Cambo Heritage Trust.  We talk about the Scottish Snowdrop Festival, Cambo's recently redeveloped Stables Visitor Centre and how they support young horticulturists and volunteers. 

Cambo Gardens website

Cambo's Facebook Page

Cambo on Instagram

VisitScotland's details of the Scottish Snowdrop Festival

You can contact the Scottish Garden Podcast by emailing scottishgardenpodcast@gmail.com

You can now also follow the Scottish Garden Podcast on Instagram and Twitter - search for @scotgardenpod!  

A conversation with Susie Walker-Munro, a founder member of the Tea Gardens of Scotland collective, producers of the first 100% Scottish-grown tea.

We discuss how the project began, how they grow and make their tea and their hopes for the future of Scottish tea. 

**Please note - because my conversations with guests are informal and usually recorded at their home or places of work, there can be some background noise - in this case, Susie's lovely dog!  There's also a little bit of a buzz in the recording.  Sorry this isn't up to the usual audio quality and I hope it won't put you off listening - it's a really interesting chat :)

The Tea Gardens of Scotland website has details of all of the gardens and growers, or visit  The Scottish Tea Factory for tea tasting and blending courses.

Here's a direct link to Kinnettles Tea Garden where Susie grows and you can buy Kinnettles Gold here. 

Social media links: Tea Gardens of Scotland on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow @scotgardenpod on Twitter and Instagram! 

A conversation with Simon Milne, the Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.  We talk about its 350th anniversary celebrations, its history and wealth of plant material, education, community and the future - plans for restoring and renovating its historic glasshouses. 

The RBGE website has links to its Virtual Spring tours and those of its partner gardens.

RBGE can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. 

You can contact the Scottish Garden Podcast on scottishgardenpodcast@gmail.com or message via Instagram or Twitter - both @scotgardenpod.

We're back after a break to bring you a conversation with Ray Cox, a photographer based in Perthshire and specialising in plants and gardening.  

His images are frequently published in newspapers and magazines like Scotland on Sunday, The English Garden, Scottish Gardener - and he also contributes to many gardening books.

We discuss the process of locating and capturing plants and gardens - and we also talk about how he got into the profession, as well as some of the demands garden photography and the vast amount of planning which goes into a shoot. 

You can see his work at www.rcoxgardenphotos.co.uk or follow him on Facebook or Instagram.

Contact the Scottish Garden Podcast by email or find updates on Twitter and Instagram. 

The guest for this episode is Brian Cunningham, one of the regular presenters on the BBC Scotland TV programme Beechgrove and Head Gardener at Scone Palace in Perth.

We discuss his career in horticulture, how he puts his stamp on the Scone Palace gardens, how he ended up on Beechgrove and we also talk about a brand new project - the Scottish Garden Show due to take place next May at Scone Palace. 

You can find Brian aka @gingergairdner on Instagram and Twitter or watch him on Beechgrove on BBC iPlayer. 

Beechgrove can also be found on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. 

The Scottish Garden Show is scheduled to take place on 29th, 30th and 31st of May at Scone Palace - you can find more details and updates on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.


Email the Scottish Garden Podcast: scottishgardenpodcast@gmail.com

Episode 14 is a chat with MT O'Donnell, editor of the Scottish Gardening Magazine, a new,  free, digital, bi-monthly publication aimed directly at gardeners in Scotland. 

Our discussion is a celebration of Scottish gardening!  We talk about why MT created the magazine, its content and format.  We also discuss her gardening background and her love of local community gardening, as well as being an RHS Schools mentor - and the importance of encouraging new gardeners of all ages. 

You can find the Scottish Gardening Magazine at its website, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.  

An episode for daffodil-lovers everywhere!  A chat with Caroline Thomson of Backhouse Rossie, location of Scotland’s Daffodil Festival and the National Collection of Backhouse daffodils. 

Caroline Thomson is a direct descendant of the Backhouse family and in our conversation we talk about the family history with daffodils, as well as their surprising links with science, and her efforts to rewild part of the estate. 

Full details about the online Daffodil Festival are on the website here and you can also follow Backhouse Rossie on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

You can also follow the Scottish Garden on Instagram and Twitter.

Episode 16 of the Scottish Garden Podcast is a chat with Sallie Sillars, Head Gardener at Horatio’s Garden Scotland, which is located within the grounds of Queen Elizabeth National Spinal Injuries Unit at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow.  The charity Horatio’s Garden works across the UK and creates beautiful, accessible gardens in NHS spinal injury centres.  

We discuss the planting and design of the garden in Glasgow, which was designed by James Alexander-Sinclair and opened in 2016.

Horatio's Garden Scotland website is here and they also have a Facebook page, Twitter feed and they're on Instagram and YouTube.

For details of how to get involved, donate or volunteer, visit this page.  

A chat with Serena from Seeds of Hope Scotland, which supplies wildflower seeds to good causes.  It was developed during lockdown in 2020 and has grown into a social enterprise with a focus on biodiversity and mental health. 

We talk about how Seeds of Hope Scotland started up and how we can all garden and grow more sustainably. 

Seeds of Hope website, Facebook page, Instagram & Twitter.

In the first episode of My Corner of Earth I speak to Rosie Burgon from Scottish Cut Flowers to find out more about her job.  Scotland isn’t a place you might naturally associate with cut flower growing but there’s a growing industry here and Rosie is proving that you can achieve a lot in the Scottish climate in a small area of land.  We talk about how she became a flower farmer, some of the demands of the role and we discuss dahlias! 

Links: 

Scottish Cut Flowers - Instagram and website 

My Corner of Earth - Instagram and blog

Flowers for the Future - Facebook group and #flowersforthefuture on IG

juliannerobertson.com

Music: 'If I Only Had a Brain' by Harold Arlen, arr. Iain Robertson

In this episode I find out more about Ninewells Community Garden, based at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee and run for the benefit of patients, staff, volunteers and the wider community of the city.  

The garden has several different areas, growing a huge variety of plants, as well as hosting various workshops and activities.  I find out some of the groups who get the most from visiting, as well as some of the challenges of running a charity garden staffed mainly by volunteers.  There’s also an introduction to Dundee’s Green Health Partnership and the work being done in the city to encourage people to improve their health by getting outdoors.

We hear from Sarah Griffiths, the garden facilitator, and Mary Colvin from NHS Tayside, who is on the board of the charity which runs the garden, having helped set it up from the beginning.  

Ninewells Community Garden - website and Facebook page

Dundee’s Green Health Partnership - website 

My Corner of Earth - Instagram and blog

Music: 'If I Only Had a Brain' by Harold Arlen, arr. Iain Robertson

Contact the show - mycornerofearth@gmail.com or visit juliannerobertson.com