Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast Talking Gardens

In our final episode from the show, we ask what is going to happen to RHS Chelsea now Project Giving Back funding is ending, Jack Wallington puts forward ideas for an alternative sort of garden show, Tom Massey tells is what it's like to relocate a show garden, we discover who won People's Choice and some top designers tell us why they keep coming back for more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Come behind the scenes with us on today's episode of Talking Chelsea to find out what industry types made of the show this year, what's involved in preparing and building show gardens with multi-Gold winning contractor Crocus, how to get into the show for free - ie volunteer - and the personal reason behind why Arit Anderson created her show garden.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today’s episode of Talking Chelsea is dedicated to plants and planting at the show. Discover which style of planting is dominating the gardens and standout plants across the showground, as well as Rosy Hardy’s top tips for creating a gold winning plant exhibit, Nigel Slater on naming a new sweet pea, Tom Stuart-Smith on the amazing collection of plants for his show garden, Michael Perry’s top picks and plants for 2027, what it’s like to plant up a show garden behind the scenes and what designers wish they had known before doing the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join us at the Chelsea Flower Show today to get the lowdown on all the medals and best in show winners with Lucy Hall, Sarah Eberle on being the most decorated Chelsea designer in history, and Rhoda Parry on what a ‘naturescape’ is. Plus a day in the life of the Chelsea show manager, how Frances Tophill found collaborating with The King and David Beckham, what the Gardens Illustrated team think the major design trends and ideas are this year and some funny disaster stories designers have shared from previous Chelsea outings.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In the first episode of our Chelsea Flower Show miniseries we are coming to you direct from the 2026 show with all the behind the scenes insights, including a hard first look at the show gardens with Chris Young, some AI design controversy with Matt Keightley, the reason why gnomes are (usually) banned at the show with RHS librarian Fiona Davison, who the judges are and how the judging works according to the judges themselves, what the actual medal are made of and insider tips on how to win a Gold with a host of top Chelsea designers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Stephanie talks to Midori Shintani about her time as head gardener for one of the world’s most influential modern gardens, the Tokachi Millennium Forest, and her next move working with Dan Pearson on the Play Earth Naturing Park in Japan, and launching her own plant nursery. Discover what it was like to share the landscape with bears, and the idea of 72 micro-seasons for gardeners through the year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Garden designer, horticulturist and GQT panellist Matthew Wilson is our guest on this episode, and he’s discussing his favourite gardens, from Kent to California. He reveals the things his clients say they don’t want in their gardens, what on earth hydroseeding is and the one temperamental plant he wishes he could grow. Plus, we discuss the benefits of urban greenspace, the sustainability of concrete and why he’s wary of rewilding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our guest this week is the British designer and businesswoman Cath Kidston, whose body care brand C. Atherley celebrates her love of scented pelargoniums. Cath describes the gardens she has created, from a beautiful riverside plot in Chiswick to her current Cotswold garden with a view. She discusses her love of ‘pellies’ and why a greenhouse is an essential in her garden. Plus, we touch on gardening with deer, Cath’s approach to low-maintenance gardens and her surprising dream plant. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plantsman, author and TV presenter Jamie Butterworth joins Stephanie this week, tracing his horticultural beginnings from Young Gardener of the Year on TV to working with Monty Don. Jamie talks candidly about the highs and lows of setting up his own nursery during the pandemic, and his plans for his brand new home and garden in the Lake District. Plus, we find out why Jamie loathes ‘boring’ evergreens and why he harbours serious shed envy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Our guest this week is Matthew Pottage, who became RHS Wisley’s youngest-ever curator aged 29 and is now head of horticulture and landscape strategy at London’s Royal Parks. He reveals his love for Chilean plants and why monkey puzzle trees often struggle in the UK, as well as the controversial return of conifers and pampas grass in our gardens. We discuss why many people are afraid to plant tall trees, and Matthew talks about being challenged as a gardener, how to create a fabulous garden in a rented home, and his own striking houseplant collection.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Landscape designer Luciano Giubbilei joins host Steph to reveal all about his dream garden. He describes growing up in Italy, his own landscape inspirations, including Villa Gamberaia in Florence and Rousham in Oxfordshire, and his own new landscape project at The Field in Mallorca. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This week’s guest is the award-winning garden designer Pollyanna Wilkinson. She reveals her ‘uncool’ love of romantic planting and the literary gardens she’s always admired, and discusses finding space for veg beds, chickens and a football pitch in her small suburban plot. Plus, Polly tells us the one plant she avoids putting in client gardens, and asks: do we actually need our sheds? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gardener, designer and TV presenter Adam Frost talks to host Stephanie about growing up with two very different gardening grandmothers, the advice Terence Conran once gave him at Chelsea and how his world fell apart during Covid. Find out about his new dog-friendly garden he is creating with his wife, his favourite multi-purpose gardening tool and the dangerous TV show he’d make if he had his way. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Talking Gardens is back this spring with Stephanie Mahon, and all-new brilliant guests from the world of gardening.  We’ve got TV presenter Adam Frost singing Steph happy birthday; and Insta star Pollyanna Wilkinson on loving deeply uncool cottage gardens. Matthew Wilson will be telling us what on earth hydroseeding is and designer Luciano Giubbilei tells us all about how he found his own magical garden; plus there is geranium joy with British designer Cath Kidston and plant perfection with gardeners Matt Pottage and Midori Shintani.  Discover what they would all like to include in their dream gardens, from people to places, what they can’t stand and anything else along the way. New episodes drop every Tuesday. Hit follow now so you never miss an episode and don’t miss our extra episodes dropping every day of the Chelsea Flower Show 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This time, Steph is talking to Tom Coward, head gardener at Gravetye Manor garden in Sussex. Now a luxury hotel, it was once the home of gardener and writer William Robinson, who dominated the Victorian gardening scene with his books The English Flower Garden and The Wild Garden. Tom chooses what he would like in his dream garden, his passion for plants and who he would have at his fantasy dinner party. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Horticulturist, author and garden journalist Alys Fowler joins Steph to discuss her dream garden and her new garden in Wales. She discusses the importance of ‘living with your rubbish’ and gives her perspective on rewilding, as well as revealing why she believes she may come from a long line of bog-dwellers. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Hitchmough, planting maestro and Emeritus Professor of Horticultural Ecology at the University of Sheffield joins Steph to talk about his dream garden, and his own new garden he is creating in Somerset. James discusses all the places he has travelled to to see gardens and plants and the people he has met along the way, plus why he likes growing from seed and what started him on his career path in the first place. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jo Thompson, award-winning garden designer, joins Steph to talk about her fantasy garden. From her love of roses to her penchant for romantic gardens and her love of Italy, where she spent a lot of time as a child, in this episode we discover more about how Jo is always juggling so much from her new book to her Substack community and garden designs. Find out what inspired her to come out of Chelsea Flower Show retirement to do one more show garden this year, for The Glasshouse, and what advice she would give to other women designers who are juggling career goals and families. Plus, why she would want to have Vita Sackville-West and Christopher Lloyd on a job-share as her gardeners and why she’d rather grow a carrot than a cactus. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find more gardening inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend and make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Designer Tom Massey joins Steph to talk about his Chelsea Flower Show garden that includes mycelium walls and AI that makes trees talk. He reveals the gardens and landscapes that have influenced him most, from the Cornwall hideaway where he spent his childhood holidays to Richmond Park in London and the special Japanese island he will never forget. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Garden designer Manoj Malde speaks with Steph about his dream garden and his inspirations for it, including Jardin Majorelle in Morocco and Lotusland in California, as well as the landscape of Crete and the work of designers Steve Martino and Juan Grimm. Discover what it was like to get married at the Chelsea Flower Show and what he has in store for his show garden there this year. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Legendary plantswoman and TV presenter Carol Klein talks to Stephanie about her life and career, her hatred of garden makeover shows and miniature plants, her recovery from cancer last year and why Valerie Finnis once gave her a banana as a consolation prize. Find out what and who she would have in her fantasy garden and when she plans on retiring. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steph talks to lauded landscape designer Dan Pearson about his dream garden and what he would want to include in his fantasy space, from a temple garden in Kyoto and the landscape of Joshua Tree National Park to the architecture of Mexico and the high glades of the Himalaya. He talks through his design process and the plants he would love to grow, and discusses how to manage client’s expectations and some of his new projects plus why he can’t stand tennis courts. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What would you have in your dream garden? That's what we ask our guests on Talking Gardens, the podcast from Gardens Illustrated. We've got more amazing guests this season with top designers going for gold at the Chelsea Flower Show, as well as much-loved gardeners and expert plants people who will be telling all about their fantasy growing spaces. Discover Dan Pearson's approach to garden design, why Manoj Malde left fashion for horticulture, how Tom Massey is bringing AI into our gardens, and what advice Jo Thompson gives to women who want to do a Chelsea Show Garden. We'll also be talking to national treasure Carol Klein, Head Gardener Tom Coward, planting maestro James Hitchmough and Horticulturist Alys Fowler. New episodes drop every Tuesday. Hit follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This special bonus episode was recorded with a live audience at the Garden Museum in London. Stephanie talks to new guest Sarah Raven and returning listener favourite Nigel Slater about their fantasy gardens.  Nigel has the chance to add all the small things he forgot when he first constructed his dream garden, including a mossy rill and a climbing plant. We hear why Sarah would also include a rill in her dream garden, but how it would be different to Nigel’s as her space would be set into the hillside in Crete.  We hear about why Sarah would love for her father, who passed away when she was 17, to be a part of her dream garden and why an outdoor kitchen would be a must. We also hear why Nigel would love to share his space with someone who doesn’t have access to a garden.  Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Talking Gardens, Stephanie talks to Swedish garden designer Ulf Nordfjell about his fantasy space. From the Villa Gamberaia in Tuscany and the enduring influence of the Renaissance on his work, to his love of the flora local to his home in northern Sweden, we hear about all of the things he would have to include in his dream garden. Learn why he was blown away by the Noguchi Garden in California and why garden gnomes would never be allowed through the garden gate. He also tells us why Penelope Hobhouse would be invited to share his garden and how a sun-lounger would be an essential. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode Stephanie talks to award-winning garden designer Jinny Blom about her fantasy garden. Jinny chooses the plants, places and people that would make up her dream garden, from her experiences exploring Hidcote in the 1960s to why she’d have to include a piece of the Atacama Desert.  We learn why a fountain in Italy inspired her so much she’s recreating it in her own garden as a space for birds to enjoy and how she chopped down one of her neighbour’s retirement presents. Learn why Jinny would love to have a begonia house in her fantasy space, and why she’d never allow bad art into her garden.  Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode Stephanie talks to John Little about his fantasy garden. We learn why community spaces would be a key, even in his dream garden, and hear about the work he’s done to bring greenery to communities in urban settings throughout his career.  Listen to John struggling to choose between a sandpit and an industrial site as a landscape he’d like a piece of for his fantasy space and hear him talk about the places he played in as a child that have influenced him. Hear why he’d have to include a shopping trolley in his dream garden and why he wants his council to leave a fly-tip alone to assess its biodiversity benefits.  Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Floral designer Shane Connolly joins Talking Gardens this time to talk about sustainable floristry, his own garden in Worcestershire and the places he would have to include a piece of in his dream garden, from Villa Cimbrone in Italy and The Mezquita of Cordoba in Spain to Glenarm Castle garden in Northern Ireland. The renowned event florist, who holds the Royal Warrant and was famously commissioned for two royal weddings, Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and HM The King’s Coronation, also explains which shrub he can’t stand, who he would have as his dream garden designer and why no garden is complete without scent.  Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find more gardening inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend and make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, award-winning garden designer Butter Wakefield constructs her fantasy garden. From the landscape of Maine to the gardens at Chatsworth, we learn about all of the things she would have to include in her fantasy space.  Find out more about Butter’s career, from starting out at Christie’s to her training in garden design and learn how she acquired her unique name. Butter tells us all about her favourite garden plants and why she’s a maximalist and we find out why she would never allow plastic rattan furniture into her dream garden.  Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No-dig gardening guru Charles Dowding creates his dream garden from all of the places he has been and seen. We find out why he loves the landscapes of the island of Iona in Scotland, his adventures in growing in France and Wales, and how he discovered the no-dig method.  Discover his tips on building your social media and learn about Charles’ tried-and-tested methods of composting - plus, what he would never allow into his dream garden.  Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plantswoman Rosy Hardy creates her fantasy garden from all of the landscapes and places that have inspired her. From the sunken garden in Edinburgh owned by her childhood neighbour to Amazon Spheres in Seattle and the Patagonian mountains, we hear about how all of the things would play a role in her dream garden.  Find out how her nursery Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants was started out of a car boot and why she dug up her backyard, and discover what it takes to create an award winning plant exhibit at a big show. Plus, can you really hear rhubarb growing? And why she loves dandelions. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gardener and broadcaster Monty Don joins us on Talking Gardens to talk about his fantasy growing space. From the design of Wollerton Old Hall in Shropshire to the character of Balmoral Cottage in Kent, and the dramatic views of a Fernando Caruncho design in Greece, Monty shares his favourite spots with us.  Get insights into his never-seen second, secret garden, why he rails against the morality of rewilding and how having an opinion works with presenting the Chelsea Flower Show coverage (spoiler alert - he’s not a fan of beavers). Plus, discover who his gardening hero is and why he likes to know absolutely nothing before visiting a garden.  Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does your fantasy garden look like? That’s what we ask our guests on the Talking Gardens podcast. This season we’ve got an amazing new line up of top gardeners, designers, plantspeople and flower fanatics telling us all about their dream growing spaces and the plants, people and tools they couldn’t live without.    Tune in to hear what national treasure Monty Don really thinks about rewilding, and for no-dig guru Charles Dowding's top composting tips. This season, we'll also be talking to lauded designer Jinny Blom, royal florist Shane Connolly, nurserywoman Rosy Hardy and many more.    New episodes drop every Tuesday. Hit follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This time, Stephanie visits HuntingBrook Gardens in Co. Wicklow, Ireland, to chat to owner Jimi Blake about his dream garden. Discover why he wants to live in a glass box and the places his fantasy corridors would lead to, from New Zealand to South America, and Chanticleer Garden to the Dixter plant fair. Find out how Jimi dodges bears while botanising, the ways that HuntingBrook has changed over the years, and how going to train as a gardener was life saving for him. We also hear why his imaginary space would be filled with young, up-and-coming gardeners and why, as an avid plant collector, he finds making ‘nerdy’ plant lists his own personal form of meditation. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and become a member, at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden.  Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Broadcaster, smallholder and author Kate Humble constructs her fantasy garden in this episode. From an origami version of Yellowstone National Park to Dicken from The Secret Garden and Popham’s Arboretum in Sri Lanka, Kate tells Stephanie all about the landscapes, people and gardens that have influenced her.  Find out more about how she became a TV presenter, how she knows that Sharon Stone has a big head and the best thing to do when you come across someone wild swimming naked in a river; as well as why Kate loves baobab trees but will never allow a gazebo in her garden. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and become a member, at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden.  Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, lauded planting designer Professor Nigel Dunnett describes all the things he would have to include in his dream garden, from wildflowers to birdsong, and where Claude Monet and David Bowie would fit into his garden fantasies. We hear about what it was like to create his famous projects including Superbloom at the Tower of London, the gardens at the Barbican, Sheffield Grey to Green and plantings at the Olympic Park, as well as details about his own garden on a north-facing slope. Find out why shrubs are due a resurgence, what his problem is with cats, and why he’s not really in favour of low-maintenance schemes.  Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time.  Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Katy Merrington, cultural gardener at The Hepworth Wakefield gallery garden in Yorkshire, constructs her dream garden - in fact, her dream world, which is a place where the streets of our towns and cities are green and welcoming. Discover who would be on Katy’s ultimate fantasy gardening team; why she thinks we need to reconsider ivy; and what a napping tree is. Tune in to learn how she manages looking after an urban space that’s open 24/7, 365 days a year; why the north of England is the place to be for gardeners right now; about her magical cup of tea that is always the right temperature; and her wish for a hose that never kinks. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, garden designer Andy Sturgeon picks all the things he’d love to have in his fantasy garden - a crazy multiverse of different climate zones and garden styles from a jungle to a desert and a traditional space with topiary and roses… and monkeys. Discover what floral event he’s desperate to see; which international designers he would have help create his dream space; why he wants a fern house; and his thoughts on the sticky subject of sustainability in garden design. Learn about how he is designing his own new garden in the country, and the big question - will he or won’t he do Chelsea Flower Show again? Listen to find out. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and subscribe , at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Garden designer Miria Harris tells us what she would choose for her fantasy garden, from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water in Pennsylvania, to roses and the ocean. Discover how she made the leap to a career in garden design via work experience with Jinny Blom, and why she admires Edwardian garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. Miria recounts her personal story of experience of stroke and explains how it led to her designing a show garden for the Stroke Association at the Chelsea Flower Show. Plus find out why mirrors are her bugbear in the garden and her dream of a never-ending lunch al fresco. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and become a member, at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden.  Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Designer Ann Marie-Powell is our guest this time, talking to Stephanie about the inspirations for her dream garden, including the wild character of the gardens at Waltham Place in Berkshire and her imaginary party ‘camp’ with hammocks, teepees, a hot water tap and chef. Discover what she would grow in her fantasy greenhouse, who she’s got a girl crush on and the inside scoop on her Chelsea Flower Show garden for the National Trust. Plus, who is the latest object of her Insta stalking? Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and become a member, at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden.  Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode we hear from Tayshan Hayden-Smith, the footballer turned community gardener and activist, who tells Stephanie about the landscapes and people that have inspired him, including Meanwhile Gardens and his mum. Discover why he loves the buzz and energy of urban environments, with pavement plants growing in the cracks and crevices, and why he believes we need to rethink what we consider a garden to be. He explains how the fire at Grenfell Tower in London was a turning point in his life that led to him founding the not-for-profit organisation Grow 2 Know, challenging the gardening establishment and creating meaningful gardens in London and at the Chelsea Flower Show to help close the green gap and widen access to nature for more people. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden.  Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alan Titchmarsh MBE - gardener, broadcaster, author and national treasure - talks to Stephanie about the gardens, places, people and plants that he would like to include in his dream garden, from a tiny cottage garden on the coast of Cornwall to York Gate garden near Leeds and the ultimate summerhouse at Wolverton Hall. Discover which famous designer he would like to ask to create his little piece of paradise, what he really thinks of rewilding and why his legs are censored in North Korea. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What would you include in your dream garden? On this season of Talking Gardens, that’s what we asked all new gardening guests, from Alan Titchmarsh to Kate Humble, and Tayshan Hayden-Smith to Nigel Dunnett. Discover who would want a napping tree and a cup of tea that never goes cold; who Ann-Marie Powell has been Insta-stalking; why garden designer Andy Sturgeon would need an entire multiverse to create his dream garden; and how gardener Jimi Blake dodges bears while botanising. That’s the Talking Gardens podcast from Gardens Illustrated magazine, with new episodes dropping every Tuesday. Follow now to make sure you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, garden designer and TV presenter Arit Anderson creates her dream garden, choosing the wow factor of Dan Hinkley’s Wyndcliffe garden on the sea and a West Country sunset. Discover what she thinks about in-between planting, her cold and soggy childhood holidays in the Lake District, how she finds being on TV, and what she means by ‘shade-loving’ people. Tune in to find out why Arit would love a bluebell meadow and the reason she would never allow leaf blowers in her fantasy space, or in her own garden.  Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and subscribe, at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoy this podcast? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, gardener and garden writer Tamsin Westhorpe talks about her dream garden, from the lived-in atmosphere of an old Arts and Crafts garden to the coastal landscape of The Durrells in Corfu. Find out about the horrible old jumper she keeps pristine in a plastic cover in her wardrobe because of who once complimented it, and why she would have to have an outdoor shower, pots of succulents and a daybed. We hear about Tamsin’s varied career, from art-school drop-out to parks keeper and interior landscaper, and why she thinks gardening is vital for mental health. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and subscribe, at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoy this podcast? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Show notes Vann Garden Great Dixter Outdoor showers Succulents Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, designer and gardener Isabel Bannerman - whose projects include the private garden of King Charles at Highgrove, and Arundel Castle - describes what she would have to include in her dream garden, from a woodland stream setting and scented shrubs such as mock orange, to elm trees and rambling roses, a place to sit and a greenhouse. Discover why she thinks naturalistic planting looks like hard work, how she is no good at growing vegetables and where she would go in a time machine. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and ideas, including Isabel and husband Julian’s top garden books, and subscribe at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Show notes: Ribes odoratum Mock orange Philadelphus ‘Manteau d'Hermine’  Rosa ‘The Garland’ Gravetye Manor garden - William Robinson Ninfa Gardens Giverny, Monet’s garden Louise Dowding’s Yews Tree Farm garden Highgrove Keder Greenhouse polytunnel  Arundel Castle garden Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, gardener and writer Arthur Parkinson describes his dream of a walled garden with orangery, and all manner of plants and birds. Hear about his fantasy lagoon filled with flamingos, his orchard meadow and why even in his dream space he would have to have practical elements such as a gate for plant and pot deliveries - but would never allow a windchime to pass the threshold.  Enjoying this podcast? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and subscribe, at www.gardensillustrated.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, world-renowned planting designer Piet Oudolf talks to Stephanie about the projects that have shaped his career and why he has never had time to dream . Discover why he enjoys creating gardens in the public realm more than private spaces, why he closed his nursery and garden and what he has planned for exciting upcoming projects, including the reimagining of his borders at RHS Garden Wisley.  Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and subscribe, at www.gardensillustrated.com  Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would next like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode.  Show notes Piet Oudolf at Work book  Piet Oudolf and Henk Gerritsen’s book Planting the Natural Garden - read our review here. Lurie Garden, Chicago The High Line, New York City RHS Wisley Glasshouse borders being replanted Camden Highline, London Future Plants New plant selected by Cassian Schmidt and Piet at Hermannshof is Schizachyrium scoparium 'Ha Ha Tonka' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, Errol Reuben Fernandes, head of horticulture at the Horniman Museum & Gardens, chooses all the elements he would like in his fantasy garden, from the wonder of Trebah Garden in Cornwall and the sense of discovery exploring a wonderful wasteland near his childhood home, to a swimming pond with jetty and a giant sculpture by Richard Serra. Discover his top picks of shade-loving plants and tips on how to make a microforest, and find out which garden visitors would be banned from his dream space. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find out more about Errol and the Horniman Museum Gardens, as well as more great garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoying this podcast? Tell a friend, make sure to like, leave a review or comment, and let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden. You can also follow us so you never miss an episode. Show notes Trebah Garden, Cornwall Brownfield gardens Plant pick: Hydrangea aspera ‘Koki’  Artist Richard Serra Photographer Juergen Teller  Artist Joan Mitchell Fulham Palace Garden Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Landscape designer Marian Boswall constructs her fantasy garden, the first important ingredient of which would be love. Find out why Marian wants to experience the garden from the perspective of a bug and a bird, as well as in slo-mo and fast-mo, and how being ‘invisible’ is helpful when out beaver spotting. Discover what the secret of quick composting is, how she learned to love yellow… and why she wants a pair of wolves in her dream garden. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more great garden inspiration and planting ideas, and subscribe, at www.gardensillustrated.com Discover Marian Boswall’s top tips on creating a sustainable garden; see a beautiful low-maintenance garden she designed; and learn more about her favourite plants with medicinal qualities. Enjoying this podcast? Why not tell a friend to listen too? Make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would most like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Show notes Books Terry Pratchett book Reaper Man Laline Paull book The Bees Merlin Sheldrake book Entangled Life  People 42 Acres, nature reserve and wellbeing centre, founded by Lara and Seth Tabatznik Thich Nhat Hanh, dubbed the ‘father of mindfulness’ Satish Kumar, peace activist Dr Elaine Inghams Soil Food Web Nicole Masters Integrity Soils Ideas Rewilding (beavers)  The Great Dixter Biodiversity Audit  Making compost Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices