The first episode of the Gardener Ben podcast an interview with husband Mark Getting into the gardener Ben a bit better.

Intro to who Gardener Ben is and what his podcast is all about.

Link to Instragram

https://www.instagram.com/the_gardenerben?igsh=ZnJwaHJieHRkZHlt

Episode Two

In this episode, we focus on preparing your garden for winter. We'll discuss the best practices for lifting and storing Dahlias, as well as providing winter protection for plants like Calla lilies and bananas.

If you have any questions or if there's a specific topic you'd like me to cover in the podcast, please feel free to leave a comment below or reach out on any of my social media platforms. You can find me on Instagram, TikTok, and Threads at the handle @the_gardenerben. In today’s episode, I also address a question from YouTube about the measures and precautions I'm taking in my garden to combat climate change.

Join me again next week as I delve into winterizing the rose garden and preparing for Bare root roses, along with the exciting planting season ahead!

Episode three of the Gardner Ben podcast is all about getting the garden ready for winter, and most specifically how you can protect your roses from the worst of the winter weather. If you still have any questions regarding this subject, feel free to watch the video that you can find on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube; it’s available for you to watch at any time.

This week, we will be off pumpkin picking, adding another wheelbarrow full of these brightly colored fruits to our display here at the Cottage. I grew four varieties myself this year, and over the coming weeks, slowly but surely, these will be cooked into a multitude of different dishes, including pumpkin macaroni cheese, where the roasted flesh is added to the cheese sauce, pumpkin pie, and of course, everybody’s autumn favorite: pumpkin, sweet potato, and parsnip soup.

Now is also not the time to let up on your autumn lawn care routine, and if possible, you need to keep up with not only the mowing of the lawn but also the clearing of any fallen debris and leaves.

On next week's episode, I have the pleasure of talking to Jeff, who is known as ‘therosedude.’ You will find him operating social media channels across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Like me, he’s a huge rose enthusiast and home rose hybridizer.

I hope you enjoy today’s episode. Feel free to leave me a comment below and follow along on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

Episode Four

Hey—where’s my rose……dude!

Today’s episode showcases my abilities, and I am unbelievably pleased to welcome my first guest to the podcast. Today, I’ll be talking to Jeff, who is known across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube as (therosedude). He’s a rose enthusiast and, more importantly, a home rose hybridizer, sharing his passion for creating new varieties from his garden.

I hope you enjoy our chat as much as I did.

Tune in to next week’s episode, which is all about unpacking, rehydrating, planting, and caring for bare root roses.

Happy gardening!

Welcome to Episode Five of the Gardener Ben Podcast!

Today’s episode is all about bare root roses. We’ll cover everything you need to know, from taking delivery and unpackaging to rehydrating, making soil improvements, planting, and aftercare. Our goal is to ensure that your new plants get off to a smooth start and bloom in just a few months, bringing you years of enjoyment.

Next week, I have the pleasure of being joined by Natalie and Matilda, sisters who run a café and event space alongside their flower farm in North Dorset. Be sure to check out their Instagram, and if you’re local, consider popping by to either buy yourself a seasonal, locally grown bunch of flowers or treat yourself to brunch or an exquisitely made cup of coffee. You can find them on social media using @sorelle_dorset.

In this week's episode of the Garden of Ben podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of having a lovely informal chat with Matilda and Natalie, who together run @sorelle_dorset.

Nestled in North Dorset, just outside of Shaftesbury, the sisters have established not only a café and bistro but also a half-acre flower farm. Head to their Instagram account to show them some love, and be sure to give this episode of the podcast a listen!

Enjoy!

This week's episode is all about autumn sewing sweet peas. The weather has become so changeable, but I used to enjoy putting my greenhouse to bed for the winter and not having to worry about it during the festive period. This year, however, I’m going to sew my sweet peas in October and November and bring them on slowly and steadily in the greenhouse. Follow my step-by-step guide to guarantee success for long, strong, and cut stems next year.

I’m also joined on this week's podcast by Michael Randall of @misfit_plants, who brought his collection of weird, wonderful, and unusual plants to our open garden event back in June 2024.

Welcome to episode eight of the Garber Ben podcast! Over the last few months, an Instagram account has really captivated my attention. In all of the noise and hot air on the Internet, that's a difficult thing to do. Today, I’m joined by Carlos and David, who, in a beautiful part of Scotland, have taken on a massive restoration project. Together, they are renovating their dream home and surrounding it with their dream garden.

Having completed a significant restoration ourselves, I wanted to learn more about what motivates them and their long-term goals for their beautiful space.

Head over to their Instagram and show their account some love: @the_boys_at_whiteside.

I hope you enjoy our rambling chat as much as I did!

Todays episode is short and sweet, it’s all about letting the garden and its keeper rest, allow the garden to breath, take some weather and the seasons to properly change before starting the winter tidy up,

On next weeks episode I’ll be joined by David Austin’s senior rose consultant Liam - listen in next week to catch our chat

On this week's episode of the podcast, I’m joined by @liamroseconsultant. Liam is the Senior Rose Consultant at David Austin Roses, and I had the pleasure of catching up with him for a relaxed chat after attending one of their bare root rose courses at the beginning of November.

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did, and if you want to book yourself onto one of David Austin Roses' pruning workshops, you can book them through the link in my bio, now running from January 7 to the 1st of March

https://tidd.ly/3OtdyCU.

Season one roundup , Today’s episode concludes season one and I really hope that you’ve enjoyed the podcast so far, I want to extend my sincere thanks to all of you that have listened and I look forward to bringing you season two in February 2025

I’ve been hard at work behind-the-scenes lining up some incredible guests to share with you their gardening and personal journeys

Please head to Instagram and show this seasons contributors some love

sorelle_dorset

misfit_plants

the_boys_at_whiteside

liamroseconsultant of david_austin_roses

And therosedude

I hope that you have a wonderful festive holiday whatever you get up to.

Relax and just let the garden rest,

In this week's episode, I had the pleasure of talking to Sarah, the creator behind @meadowandthyme, who creates some astonishingly beautiful, intricate, and detailed pressed flower art.

Having recently become reinterested and taken up flower pressing as a hobby, I was eager to hear her thoughts on her processes and how she got started with her amazing business.

Take a listen now, and make sure to head over to @meadowandthyme and show the account some love!

If you have a question you’d like answered on the podcast, don’t hesitate to drop a message.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #newepisode #streamnow #gardener #gardenpodcast #helpingyougrow

This week’s episode of the Gardener Ben podcast features @cheshire_head_gardener.

I had the most wonderful, relaxed, and enlightening chat with Tristan, exploring his role as Head Gardener @barnston_estate. We talked freely about his gardening style and his passion for repurposing, reusing, and building a garden. Make sure that you head to his Instagram page once you’ve listened, give him a follow, and show his account some love 💚.

This week in my garden, I’ve continued to clear the opulence of last summer. I’ve collected and started working with this year's Hazel supports, getting myself ready for the season ahead.

I’m preparing the ground to plant out the sweet peas, mulching it heavily and constructing the supports that they will need to climb and be successful over the next few months. These need to be at least seven or eight feet tall.

It’s also time to start thinking about chitting potatoes. Starting and growing them in a cool, bright greenhouse or windowsill can get them ahead by a few weeks before going in the ground. You don’t have to buy expensive seed potatoes; ones that have been in the cupboard for a little too long and have naturally started sprouting are just as good and can be a great way of reducing food waste.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardener #gardeningpodcast #gaygardener #grow #helpingyougrow #listennow #streamnow #gardenersofinstagram

‘My rose has black spot’. What should I do? Is the largest question? I get asked online

The prevention of most pest and disease problems in the rose garden is far better than ever reaching for the cure and with good basic gardening practices you can pretty much avoid most of the issues we face

This video contains many different techniques and nuggets of information regarding to

proper pruning

Deep and focused watering

Organic practices

Mulching and soil conditioning

Incorporating natural habitat into the garden

Disposing of infected waste

And how having a hands off approach can really let nature in and allow the garden to find proper balance

If you have any questions regarding the subject of avoiding pest and disease problems, don’t hesitate to ask

As we head towards March, I finally got the time to weigh my way into the last frontier of the garden. Now celebrating just under seven years in this particular cottage, what will be known as the Wintergarden is going to take quite a lot of work.

I’ve started by removing the very strange laurel hedge, which ran along our drive, opening up the space. I’m going to have to get a mini digger to remove the stumps before I can start thinking about planting and adding lots of soil conditioner.

It’s time to start thinking about planting your daily tubers undercover, and on this week's episode, I’m joined by Luay Ghafari, who’s somewhat of a massive inspiration known as @urbanfarmandkitchen on Instagram and TikTok. He also maintains and writes a successful food blog and is a published author. I really don’t know how he finds the time to keep it all in the air.

Specializing in garden-to-table produce, he shares his love for tomatoes and cooking during our brief conversation.

If you don’t follow along already, head over to his Instagram account and show it some love now!

Episode 4 of my podcast is available for you to download and stream now.

Now that March has arrived, it’s time to really start sowing some seeds. I’ve got some tomatoes and the first batch of peas sown in the greenhouse outside. It’s time for some carrots and some beetroot, which I’ll have to keep tightly covered under cloches to save them from the pesky birds.

On today’s episode, I’m joined by Karen @rakeexpectations on Instagram, who shares with us what she grows in her garden in Fife, Scotland.

As well as tales and stories of Trevor and Dorian's garden antics, head to Karen’s profile now and show it some 💚!

As we creep towards the beginning of spring, the garden is slowly waking up. I’ve had my flower press out again to encapsulate and capture just a few of the early spring blooms.

At North Lodge, I'm also pressing on with the new winter garden. The digger has been in and removed the stumps from the laurel hedge we cut down, and it’s now time to start mulching and preparing the area for planting.

On today’s episode of the Gardener Ben podcast, I have the absolute honor of talking to Katrina, Clayton’s mum, who shares with us her and Clayton’s journey into gardening, most specifically permaculture, and how the family is now building a food forest in Scotland.

Clayton has autism and is homeschooled by his mum. He developed a keen interest in growing, tending, and harvesting his own food—a story that resonates strongly with my own personal journey and is a testament to how finding the spark that ignites your child’s imagination can really unlock an entirely different world of learning.

Head over to their Instagram channel now and show them some love 💚 @buildingafoodforest_scotland.

We had so much to talk about in a limited time scale, but I’ve already invited Katrina back if she has time to talk to me in season three.

If you grow dogwood for their colorful and vibrant stems, it is now time to cut these back to their permanent framework, which will stimulate strong and vigorous growth and brightly colored stems for next winter. Make sure that you give them a thoroughly good mulch and head to Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube to see my full tutorial.

On next week’s episode, I’ll be talking everything dahlia with Nick, owner and proprietor of Gilbert’s Dahlias near Romsey.

In this week's episode of the Gardener Ben podcast, I have the absolute pleasure of catching up with Nick, the owner and operator of @gilbertsdahlias, just outside Romsey in Hampshire.

We talk about dahlias, the hybridization of new varieties, and Nick shares with us some really good hints and tips on how a professional grower goes about lifting, storing, dividing, and propagating his stock. Throughout the entire conversation, Nick's passion, commitment, and enthusiasm for the dahlia shine through. What you can’t unfortunately see is the look on his face when he’s talking about his favorite varieties and walking around the dahlia field at sunrise during high summer.

Please head across to their Instagram channel and show it some love 💚

And if you’re ever near Romsey, make sure that you pop into Gilberts to not only take a look at the dahlias in August, September, October, and into the very beginning of November, but also to grab yourself a good slice of cake or a hearty ploughman in their café.

Something that Nick said during our conversation has got me a little scared, so I’m off out into the garden now to see whether I can dig up this enormous dahlia imperialis I have - wish me luck!

On the next episode, we’re talking all things toy when I get to catch up with Bee Wilson of @our.english.topiarygarden.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardenerben #gardenchat #gardener #dahlia #listennow #streamingnow #helpingyougrow

On today’s episode, we’re heading up to Shropshire, where I caught up with @our.english.topiarygarden.

This episode could not be better timed, as after many years in their containers, Mark and I have finally got round to planting the huge 8-foot-tall yew pyramids I’ve been growing. They have finally made their way into our newly landscaped Wintergarden, where they’re making the centerpiece and backbone of this new area.

Bee and her husband have spent nearly 30 years creating their perfect topiary garden—a long-term vision that has come together in an absolutely astonishingly beautiful, stylish, and timeless garden that looks great in all four seasons.

Bee talked me through where they gain their inspiration and some hints and tips for keeping box and yew healthy and happy. It’s lovely to hear that through their Instagram account, they’ve met some wonderful real-life gardening friends and have found a real sense of community from building their social media account.

Head over to @our.english.topiarygarden now and show their account some 💚.

Next week, I’m slingshotting it back across the Atlantic Sea, where I’m talking to Justin from @tacomarosesociety.

On today’s episode of the Gardenerben podcast, I talk at length about watering and spring feeding as we move into the spring months and things start to really warm up. It’s important if you’ve planted new roses or shrubs over the autumn and winter season you keep a close eye on their watering even if it rains I also share some hints and tips about how you can improve success by watering properly in the greenhouse

My guest this week is @run.dive.jwr who is involved with @tacomarosesociety , i’ve said it several times before but I’m incredibly jealous of the amount of community spirit and joy that are American friends share within their rose growing communities

listen to the full conversation on Apple Spotify, Amazon and now on YouTube, next week we’re staying on the other side of the Atlantic and I get to talk to Brad from @selectroses

#gardenerben #gardener #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #roses #listennow #streamingnow #helpingyougrow #chat

Episode 9 of season two of the Gardner Ben podcast is packed full of what I’ve been up to over the last week or so.

With the proper arrival of spring, I’ve unwrapped my tree ferns and given them their first watering and feed of the year. As the spring bulbs continue to flower, it’s important that you not only deadhead them but also give them a good liquid feed to ensure that they will flower properly next year. Never remove the foliage from a plant until it goes yellow or brown naturally.

This week’s guest is Brad from @selectroses, who joined me for a most informative and enjoyable chat from British Columbia. Brad and his team run a specialist rose nursery, retailing hundreds of different varieties of roses. He’s also responsible for hybridizing many brand-new varieties, and as you can see from the pictures, he is a very talented gardener who, like myself, grows many different things apart from roses.

Please make sure that you give the episode a good listen and head to Brad’s profiles both on Instagram and on YouTube, and show his accounts some 💚.

Next week, we’re heading back to The New Forest, and I get to catch up with Vicky from @newforesthostas ahead of their first open days of the year.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcasts #listennow #streamingnow #gardener #gardeningpodcast #helpingyougrow #gardenersofinstagram #selectroses

On this week’s episode of the Gardener Ben podcast, I talk you through the process of lifting and dividing herbaceous perennials, which can be a great way of giving yourself plants to trade with friends and family.

Now the garden is actively growing, it’s very easy to feel that it’s under attack from all sorts of critters such as lily beetles, slugs, and snails, which, as you would expect, is the focus point of conversation with this week’s guest.

I’m joined by Vicky from @newforesthostas, who, together with her husband Steve, runs a nursery specialising in foliage plants and has multiple awards from Chelsea and Hampton Court Palace flower shows.

The nursery is packed full of plants—in fact, I’m very confident in saying that Vicky is utterly obsessed with hostas. I could talk to her all day. She shares with us some expert advice on how to deal with slugs and snails, and why you should not surround them with slices of cucumber, which seems to be very much this year’s ridiculous online trend!

Next week, the podcast heads off to Devon, where I have the pleasure of chatting to Becky (@sow_much_more), who is a botanist, ecologist, gardener, and author of a brand-new book just released: Grow a New Garden.

#gardenerben #gardener #podcast #gardeningpodcast #podcaster #listennow #streamingnow #helpingyougrow #gardenersofinstagram #gardengram #spotify #amazonmusicpodcast #applepodcasts

📱📻🎙🎧

Episode 11 of season 2 of my podcast is available to stream on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube now, covering topics such as organic pest control of aphids, greenfly, and black fly; focused watering of newly planted first-season roses and shrubs; and we’re all about soil as I get to have the most wonderful and enlightening conversation with Becky from the account @sow_much_more.

No matter what point in your gardening journey you are at, whether you’ve been doing it for years or you’re following for hints and tips as you just start out, this is a must-listen episode. Becky is a garden writer, soil expert, ecologist, and botanist, and like me, is incredibly passionate about no-dig organic gardening and the health, condition, and biodiversity of soil.

Proving that if you really pay attention to your soil, you can really grow a garden. Look out for her newly released book ‘Grow a New Garden’ or ‘The Seed Collectors Kit,’ both of which are out now.

In next week’s episode, I’m joined by @robsallotment, whose garden focuses very heavily on tasty and useful produce to cook and eat, while you know it’s completely the opposite here at North Lodge in my garden, which is just roses, dahlias, and sweet peas.

#garderben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #listennow #streamingnow #gardener #organicgardening #helpingyougrow #gardenersofinstagram #grow #ecologist #botanist #gardenwriter

On this week's episode, I had to confess that I haven’t managed to spend a huge amount of time in my own garden. Being a full-time garden landscaper, this time of year keeps me on my toes in other people's gardens, and mine has to take a little bit of a backseat. This is one of the main reasons I’m so disciplined and organized with my own schedule—sharing content well before you actually need to be doing things.

I am, however, pressing on with getting in my pea sticks and plant supports to ensure my herbaceous perennials stay exactly where I want them to during the coming months.

I’ll also be going around the garden placing in some marker sticks so I know where I have holes in my spring bulb display. This saves me from disturbing any existing bulbs when I come to bed out bulbs at the end of the year.

This week's guest is Rob Smith (@robsallotment). Rob is a garden writer and the author of the book Grow to Eat. He is also on the RHS Fruit, Vegetable, and Herb Expert Group panel, helping decide the varieties that we all grow every year in our gardens.

Gardening in a very different way to me, if it’s not tasty, edible, or useful, Rob pretty much doesn’t grow it. This proves that even with a relatively small space, you can still have a highly productive garden producing something for the table for pretty much every meal.

Next week’s guest is John Williamson (@johnwilliamson.dartmoor), basket maker extraordinaire.

Don’t forget to get involved if you’ve enjoyed listening and leave a comment on your favorite platform.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #listennow #gardener #organicgardener #helpingyougrow #gardentotable #growtoeat

Bonus episode brought to you from the BBC Gardeners world Fair, Beaulieu.

I had a marvellous day wandering around the show, admiring some amazing garden concepts, enjoying some great food, and of course, had the opportunity to purchase some amazing plants from specialist nurseries and some of the best growers in the country.

A busy time for everybody, but I wanted to offer my personal thanks to those who spared the time to speak to me about their garden concepts and design processes.

Starting with @david_long_gardens. His garden really needed to be enjoyed from on the stage, where its cool, fresh, dense planting mixed beautifully with wood, corten steel, and woven willow.

I also had the pleasure of talking to Una from @kingstonmaurwardcollege, part of a team of four students bringing together a stunning installation centered around a path made of grey engineering bricks and laid with hazel rounds, carefully planted with snowball bushes and juvenile birch.

Special thanks go to Lizzy from @capelmanor, a mature student part of a larger group approaching their project from a different angle, displaying a garden very much of two sides: a north-facing aspect, damp and lush, full of decaying timber and ferns.

And on the reverse, the south side is arid and dry, featuring alpine gravel and a structural yucca. Both equally beautiful in their design and execution.

Last up was a very enjoyable chat with Emma, who’s head of horticulture @hilliergardencentres. There was a stunning installation depicting four very distinctive styles of gardening in one space, proving that even on not a very average plot size, you can create a multitude of very different feeling spaces within one.

Episode 13 of season two of the Gardener Ben podcast is available for you to stream on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and YouTube. It’s been a frustrating week in the garden, with soaring temperatures meaning that keeping up with the watering has been a real challenge. I’ve also been in a personal battle with a local squirrel who’s not only taken to digging in the top of one of my very precious trees, breaking off at least seven or eight of its new fronds, but it also went on a little bit of a rampage, causing utter destruction in the greenhouse. This week’s guest is John Williamson, @johnwilliamson.dartmoor, maker of the very endangered and beautifully crafted Devon Stave basket. This dying Bushcraft is more than just an art form, and talking about the process all the way from the selection of timber to the construction of the actual basket and its use was really inspiring.

Listen to the full episode now, and make sure that you head over to John's profile and show his account some love 💚

Next week, I’m joined by @matt.pottage, talking about his new role as head of horticulture and landscape strategy @theroyalparks.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #listennow #streamingnow #helpingyougain #gardener #craft #woodcraft

Take a listen to episode 14 of season two of my podcast, now streaming on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and on my YouTube channel.

Don’t forget, there’s also a bonus episode slipped into the schedule that I recorded last week @bbcgwfair.

On this week's episode, I had the pleasure of talking to the very knowledgeable @matt.pottage, who, although being an incredibly busy man, managed to take the time to join me for an informal and very enjoyable conversation.

Mathew is the head of horticulture and landscape strategy @theroyalparks, an author and writer on @scribehound_gardening, and like me, a massive houseplant enthusiast who loves the rare, different, and unusual.

He’s taken on a massive public task, which many would shy away from. Listening to him talk about his new role, his journey into gardening, and his long-term approach to maintaining these beautiful public spaces gives me hope for horticulture's long-term future.

In my own garden, I’m having to dial back how much physical gardening I’m doing in favor of creating the massive body of work I’ve set out for myself this year.

Next week, the podcast takes us in a very different direction, and I’m joined by @childrensallergy. I will be talking at length about hay fever and airborne allergies, so if these are affecting your ability to garden and impacting your life, make sure to listen next week.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardener #gardeningpodcast #listennow #streamingnow #helpingyougrow #gardenersofinstagram #growgram

The wait is finally over, and the doors to the Chelsea Flower Show have opened—an opportunity for the world to see the gardening trends and new plant varieties that will grace our gardens in the months and years to come.

I’m going to bring you loads of content from the show over the coming weeks.

On today’s episode of the Gardener Ben podcast, I’m joined by @childrensallergy, an expert in airborne allergies and hay fever. If you are suffering from hay fever symptoms that are preventing you from fully enjoying your garden, this is a must-listen.

There are several a-ha and mic-drop moments contained here, along with more information that Mark and I have gathered from our local GP in almost 40 years on the subject. I hope you enjoy it, and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment below.

Next week, we’re heading back across the Atlantic to Boston, where I’m talking to the president and vice president of @newenglandrosesociety, whom I met in November 2023.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardener #Allergies #airborneallergies #hayfever #gardeningpodcast #listennow #streamingnow #helpingyougrow #gardenersofinstagram #growgram

Listen to episode 16 of season two of the Garden of Ben podcast now. It’s streaming on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, and on my YouTube channel.

This week I’m downloading from the Chelsea Flower Show, and I’m joined by two very special guests, president and vice president of @newenglandrosesociety, @ld_gisel, and @regan305, whom I’ve promised to take whenever they like.

During our chat, we talk about the Gateway Plants, which has opened the door to a lifelong passion and a real sense of community in the rose world, the triumph of showing roses, and the heartbreak and disappointment at the loss of treasured plants to the hands of Mother Nature.

Next week, I have the pleasure of talking to @santacruzdahlias. Make sure that you tune in again next week.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #helpingyougrow #garden #rosegarden #listennow #streamingnow

Listen to episode 17 of season two of the Gardener Ben podcast. Now it’s streaming on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and my YouTube channel.

This week, as we head into the month of June, it’s time to change gears with our maintenance in the rose garden. As we see the appearance of our first flowers, it’s time to start liquid feeding every two weeks, and of course, make sure that you’re removing any spent flowers just as quickly as possible to keep hormone levels high and plants producing flowers.

We’re heading across the Atlantic once more, where I get to share with you a conversation with Kristine from @santacruzdahlias, an Instagrammer, hybridizer, and author of two dahlia books that are available for us to buy on Amazon.

They’re responsible for growing some amazing varieties, which have now made their way all the way here to the UK and make up firm favorites in my cutting garden.

I hope that you enjoy listening to our conversation, and join me again next week when we’re back in the UK, and I’m joined by @peterbealesroses for the penultimate episode of this season.

Until then, happy gardening!

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #gardener #listennow #streamingnow #listenalong #dahlias #dahliachat

On this week's episode of the Gardener Ben podcast, I’m joined by Matt, one of the gardening team from @peterbealesroses. Mark, Ethel, and I packed up the car and headed to Norfolk last weekend to spend an absolute glorious day walking around the Peter Beales show garden, garden centre, and restaurant.

An utterly extraordinary experience and incredibly inspirational. I’m taking some wonderful ideas away to use in my own garden, so I can’t recommend making the trip to see it yourself enough. However, if you’re short on time, please do look at some of the videos created while I was there to see which you can take and incorporate into your own growing space. Listen to my conversation with Matt on this week's episode.

Next week, season two is a wrap, and I’ll be catching up with my long-suffering husband @mark_hamilton_anderson.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #listennow #streamingnow #gardener #gardenersofinstagram #roses #rosegarden #helpingyougrow

Catch Episode 19 the finale in Series 2 of Gardner Ben's podcast, now streaming on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and on my YouTube channel. You all enjoyed Episode 1 so much from Season 1, that I invited @mark_hamilton_anderson back to conclude Season 2. He was used AI to form the questions they had for me/ us catch our conversation now!

This has been an incredibly exciting season and special thanks. Go out to all involved.

@meadowandthyme

@cheshire_head_gardener

@urbanfarmandkitchen

@rakeexpectations

@buildingafoodforest_scotland

@gilbertsdahlias

@our.english.topiarygarden

@tacomarosesociety

@selectroses

@newforesthostas

@sow_much_more

@robsallotment

@johnwilliamson.dartmoor

@matt.pottage

@childrensallergy

@newenglandrosesociety

@santacruzdahlias

@peterbealesroses

@hilliergardencentres

@david_long_gardens

@capelmanor

@kingstonmaurwardcollege thank you to everybody for being so generous with your time.

I’ll be back in October with season three.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcasts #podcast🎧 #gardener #gardeningpodcast #thatsawrap #seeyounextseason #listennow #streamingnow

On today’s episode of the Gardener Ben podcast, I had the absolute privilege of getting to know Gracie from @gracerosefarm.

I’ve been following her on Instagram for so long, and there are some really exciting things happening both personally and with the business as they plan to relocate to the other side of the country, taking their daughter and extended family of animals with them.

We talked about many different subjects, including the processes behind creating her books, how the company strives to offer a rose suitable for everyone — from bare roots to larger, more mature plants that offer instant gratification — and how, with the move, they’ll be launching their own independent garden centre brand.

I hope you enjoy listening to our conversation. Next week, I’m joined by the absolutely wonderful Kenny (@raybould_and_wild), Director of Horticulture in Covent Garden.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcastsofinstagram #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #helpingyougrow #listennow #streamingnow #roses #roseexpert

On episode three of series three of the Gardener Ben podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down for a face-to-face chat with the infallible, bold, and plain-speaking @ann.russell.3958.

We are lucky enough that Ann lives very close to us here in the New Forest, which presented a real opportunity to have an open and rambling conversation — very much off-topic for me — over some tea and cake here at North Lodge.

If you follow along with Ann’s content on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, you’ll know that she is unfazed and unafraid of rolling up her sleeves and delving into some of the most challenging subjects and topics circulating on the internet on a day-to-day basis, as well as sharing the tricks of her trade with pragmatic and useful cleaning hints and tips.

Our conversation takes many twists and turns and was one of the most stimulating face-to-face conversations I’ve had in many years. It’s presented to you exactly as it was recorded — just two people chatting over tea and cake. I hope you enjoy our conversation, and if you don’t already, make sure to follow @ann.russell.3958 on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, and get your hands on any one of her three published books, the latest of which is How to Be an Adult.

Next week, we’re heading back to America to talk roses once again — enjoy!

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #listennow #annrussell #timefortea #streamingnow #podcastshow #podcastsofinstagram #offtopic

Joining me on this week’s episode of the podcast is Robin Jennings, Senior Brand and Marketing Manager @heirloomroses.

Robin joins me for a conversation about how the brand is advancing its range into bulbs and specialist perennials, how they are making huge movements to reduce single-use plastic waste with fully recyclable and compostable packaging, and the option to have your roses shipped with or without a plastic pot!

On a personal note, I’m also really excited to hear about their collaboration with Brad from @selectroses, who was a guest on Season Two. @heirloomroses are going to be stocking some of his beautiful creations in the coming years, and it’s lovely to hear that some of those roses are going to be making their way into the gardens of a wider audience all across the USA and Canada.

To celebrate this really special episode, @heirloomroses have issued me with a personal discount code to be used on all roses and bulbs ordered before the end of 2025 (USA and Canada only).

Use the code GARDENERBEN at checkout for 20% off all roses and bulbs when ordered before the end of 2025.

Don’t worry if you’re not ready to have your roses delivered before the New Year—simply go online, make sure that you use the discount code, and book your roses to be delivered within the next eight months at a time that is suitable for you or perfect for your growing zone.

#gardenerben #roses #heirloomroses #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #listennow #streamingnow #gardenersofinstagram #helpingyougrow #rosegarden #plantagarden

Welcome back to the Gardener Ben podcast.

I hope that you’ve all had a wonderful summer. It seemed to have never ended here on the south coast of the UK, with temperatures soaring for weeks on end and very little rain for nearly three months.

This has caused autumn to arrive early; the garden is tired and ready for a rest.

In this season, I’m planning to bring you some incredibly interesting conversations, and we start this week with jen_flourishnutrition.

The inspiration for this conversation came about after I posted a rose review to YouTube a few months ago, and I was really quite surprised by the comments that it attracted.

The rose in question is the Menopause Charity Rose from Harkness Roses, and the issue didn’t seem to be around the quality of the presentation or the plant itself, but in fact the name and the stigma that goes with discussing the menopause openly.

Jen specialises in women’s health nutrition and advises businesses and individuals on how they can feel better, especially when experiencing the symptoms of menopause, through paying attention to their diet, exercise, and understanding their bodies.

The last part of the conversation is incredibly personal to me and was difficult not only to have in person with Jen but also to edit and put into the podcast, a real glimpse into why I have been a gardener working independently and self-employed for so long.

I hope that you enjoy our conversation and head across to Instagram to show Jen’s account some love.

This week on the Gardener Ben Podcast, I’m joined by Kenny @raybould_and_wild, who I’m lucky enough to call a personal friend.

He has one of those jobs within the horticultural trade that I’m positive is incredibly stressful, but which many gardeners can only dream about — bringing together floristry, gardening, maintenance, and buying all in one role.

Officially, Kenny is the Director of Horticulture at Covent Garden. He’s also the founder of Stoke in Bloom @stoke_in_bloom.

We could’ve chatted for hours about plants, the environment, peat-free compost, and the challenges of gardening in such a public space visited by tens of thousands of people every year.

I really hope you enjoy listening to our conversation and that you tune in again next week, as we’re heading up to Scotland, where I’ll be talking to Ethan, a plant and soil ecologist.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #streamingnow #listennow #gardenersofinstagram #podcastsofinstagram

Peter Beales head gardener @mat.nicholas.9 joined me me for a myth busting bare root rose Q&A, where we address and put to bed some of the frequently asked questions and myths I get asked everyday about bare root roses during planting season

#gardenerben #q&a #barerootroses #plantingseason #roses #plantagarden #helpingyougrow #gardener #peterbeales #peterbealesroses #mythbusting

This week on the Gardner Ben podcast, I’m joined by @ethan__mi

A plant and soil ecologist who is currently located in Edinburgh but Hales from Close by here in the New Forest

A passionate Plants person whose followed his interests through botany and into ecology it was lovely to get to know Ethan more personally, especially as he attended the same horticultural college as myself here on the south coast

I hope that you enjoy this episode and the passion vast knowledge that seems to ooze from every sentence Ethan says

Next week, the gardener Ben podcast is heading all the way around the world for a really lovely conversation with Chloe a member of the @goldcoastrosesociety

The gardener Ben podcast is brought to you in association with Peter Beales roses winner of 30 Chelsea gold medals and creating timeless roses since 1968

go online and shop at www.atpeterbealesrose.com and make sure that you’re following along on Instagram and TikTok

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #listennow #gardener #stremingnow

The Gardener Ben podcast heads off to the Gold Coast of Australia for this week’s episode, where I’m joined by Chloe, a member of @goldcoastrosesociety.

She explains how a trip to a local flower show with her mum sparked a passion for roses, which has taken her down a rabbit hole into the wonderful world of roses. I really hope that you enjoy our conversation, and if you have access to a local rose society like the one Chloe belongs to, make the most of this valuable resource and head over to the @goldcoastrosesociety Instagram page to show the account some love.

Next week, with Christmas looming around the corner, I’ve invited the wonderful @childrensallergy back to the podcast to guide us through how we can all survive the festive season, navigating allergy flare-ups when it comes to decorating the house and festive feasting.

The Gardener Ben podcast is brought to you in association with @peterbealesroses, winner of 30 Chelsea gold medals and creators of timeless roses since 1968.

Go online and shop at peterbealesroses.com now, and make sure that you’re following along on Instagram and TikTok.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #listenow

As we rapidly head towards the festive season and many of us are starting to trim and decorate our homes in preparation for Christmas, I’m joined once again on the Gardener Ben podcast by Dr José Costa @childrensallergy for a conversation about allergies and Christmas trees.

This is always a difficult time in our household with regards to allergies. The Christmas tree, the moving around of the furniture, and the season in general can be really triggering for Mark, and Dr Costa has some great advice about how we can prevent flare-ups and survive the festive season if this is an issue in your household.

Next week, in a change of schedule, I’m joined by @sally.nex from the @peatfreepartnership to discuss the ongoing issue of the use of peat in the horticultural industry. The Gardener Ben podcast is brought to you in association with @peterbealesroses, winner of 30 Chelsea gold medals and creating timeless roses since 1968. Go online and shop at www.peterbealsroses.com.

Edited by mark_hamilton_anderson

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The Gardener Ben Podcast is all about the topic of peat this week. I had the absolute pleasure of talking to @sally.nex from @peatfreepartnership a few weeks ago about this all-important topic, which has raged on in the horticultural industry for the entirety of my horticultural career.

Many of you will be shocked to read that the legal extraction and destruction of peat bogs and habitat is still allowed. And although many of you desperately try to make the correct decisions when you’re buying compost and plants, there is still a lot of hidden peat being used within the horticultural industry. This still stacks up to be a vast quantity, hidden in things like houseplants, the packaging of bulbs and tubers, as well as live herb plants purchased from supermarkets. I was also shocked to find out that peat is added to manure for the production of mushrooms, proving that you’re never too old to learn something new.

@peatfreepartnership is currently gathering signatures on a petition to present to government to bring the legal extraction of peat in the UK to an end. If this is something that is important to you as a gardener or environmentalist, please follow the link and make sure that you sign the petition and share it with all of your online friends and followers.

Next week on the Gardener Ben Podcast, I’m joined by Philip Harkness of @harknessroses1879, chatting about many different topics, including, obviously, roses — so tune in next week.

The Gardener Ben Podcast is brought to you in association with @peterbealesroses, winner of 30 Chelsea Gold Medals and creating timeless roses since 1968. Make sure that you’re following along on Instagram and TikTok.

The Gardener Ben Podcast is edited by @mark_hamilton_anderson.

Until next week, happy gardening.

#gardenerben #podcast #gardeningpodcast #helpingyougrow #listennow

S3E11 of the Gardener Ben podcast features an in-person informal conversation with Philip Harkness from @harknessroses1879.

Philip is the fifth generation of his family to be at the helm of the Harkness rose company, and it was a real honour to get to know him properly, away from the hustle and bustle of the floral marquees of show season.

During our conversation, Philip shares his thoughts and opinions about organic gardening, the environment, his love of dogs, and a few details of some new upcoming releases which are becoming available over the next few months. Head to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, or my YouTube channel to listen now!

I hope that you enjoy listening to our conversation and join me again next week for one more episode before Christmas, featuring @david_long_gardens.

The Gardener Ben podcast is brought to you in association with @peterbealesroses, winner of 30 Chelsea Gold Medals and creating timeless roses since 1968. Go online and shop at www.peterbealesroses.com.

The Gardener Ben podcast is edited by @mark_hamilton_anderson.

#gardenerben #podcaster #gardener #gardenpodcast #streamingnow

S2E11 of the GardenerBen Podcast features @david_long_gardens.

As I’ve been doing lots of shuffling about and redesigning here at North Lodge, and after meeting David at the BBC Gardeners’ World Spring Fair, I thought who better to catch up with and talk us through his design process when he takes on a professional garden project.

David covers all areas of Dorset, Hampshire, and Wiltshire in his work, so please do head to his page and show his account some 💚

The GardenerBen Podcast will return on Monday 5th of January after a belief festive holiday, when I’ll be joined by Conrad, known as @thatbotanicguy. The GardenerBen Podcast is brought to you in association with Peter Beales Roses, winner of 30 Chelsea Gold Medals and creating timeless roses since 1968. Go online and shop at www.peterbealesroses.com

Edited by @mark_hamilton_anderson

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #listennow

After a short festive break, the Gardener Ben Podcast is back with season three and episode 12. I would like to stress there is absolutely no pressure and no rush to be getting on with tasks in the garden whatsoever at this time of year. The garden is slumbering quietly, and winter is doing its thing, breaking organic matter down and cleansing the garden of harmful fungal spores, pathogens, and disease problems.

There’s no rush to be getting seeds sown, pots washed, or to rush out and start clearing the beds, borders, or doing your winter pruning. I’ll be touring you through my schedule in the weeks to come, so I hope if you take nothing else away from this week’s episode whatsoever, it’s someone else giving you the permission to take things easy, slowly and gently, for the beginning parts of the year.

This week on the podcast, I have the pleasure of talking to Conrad, the name behind @thatbotanicguy, an account I followed on Instagram for a very long time, coveting his large collection of tree ferns and tropical plants he gets to grow outside in his garden. I hope that you enjoy our conversation.

Next week, I’m catching up once again with @buildingafoodforest_scotland. We had so much to talk about on our first episode together that I wanted just to touch base and catch up to see how the growing season of 2025 turned out in the end.

The Gardener Ben Podcast is brought to you in association with @peterbealesroses, winner of 30 Chelsea Gold Medals and creating timeless roses since 1968. Go online and shop at www.peterbealesroses.com.

The Gardener Ben Podcast is edited by @mark_hamilton_anderson.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #listennow

S3E13 this week, I’m rejoined by the amazing Katrina from @buildingafoodforest_scotland. We spoke last year on season two but had so much to catch up on. I thought it would be wonderful to invite them back to the podcast to see how the 2025 growing season ended and see how Clayton and the rest of the family were getting on.

Katrina juggles a busy family life while wearing many different hats, including homeschooling Clayton, who has severe autism and has found a real passion for gardening and being outside with his mum. She also manages, unbelievably, to squeeze in a little time for some crochet every now and then, and has also written a few books.

Please do head over to her channels, either on Instagram or on YouTube, and show the account some love, especially if you have a young person in your life who has expressed an interest in gardening.

The Gardener Ben Podcast is brought to you in association with @peterbealesroses, creating timeless roses since 1968 and winner of 30 Chelsea Gold Medals. Go online and shop at www.peterbealesroses.com.

Next week, I’m excited to bring you a conversation with @soulfulwisdomacademy, who I’ve visited for Reiki therapy several times, which I have found really helps with my overall well-being, mindfulness, and mental health issues over the last 15 months.

The Gardener Ben Podcast is edited by @mark_hamilton_anderson.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #listennow #gardeningpodcast

S3E 14 of the Gardener Ben Podcast is about mindfulness, self, and the quest to be present. It features a conversation with Nicola from @soulfulwisdomacademy.

Nicola is a shamanic dragon priestess who I have visited several times for Reiki healing. It’s no coincidence that this particular podcast episode is scheduled, as it marks one year exactly since I visited Nicola for the first time.

At the end of 2024 into 2025, I was really struggling with my mental health. I was incredibly depressed, lost, and weighed down, carrying pain, grief, and anxiety that I didn’t know how to let go of. I had lost the ability to hear the voice in my head. I couldn’t decipher which way was up or which way to turn next. Luckily, I had people around me to guide and help me, and although I had started personal therapy, I was determined to do as many things as possible to make myself feel as well as I could.

One of these things was to try Reiki healing. The experience was beyond moving, and even if you’re sceptical, as I was when I first visited Nicola, the experience could not be doubted.

So, at a time of year which is traditionally dark, depressing, and challenging for many of us that struggle with mental health issues, I wanted to bring you this personal conversation with Nicola, who shares with us the gifts that she has and her journey into using those gifts to help others like me.

I really hope that you enjoy the conversation, and if there’s something that you’re struggling with, you reach out and ask for the help that you need.

The Gardener Ben Podcast is brought to you in association with @peterbealesroses, winner of 30 Chelsea Gold Medals and creating timeless roses since 1968. Go online and shop at www.peterbealesroses.com.

The Gardener Ben Podcast is edited by @mark_hamilton_anderson.

Next week, we’re swinging back to the topic of horticulture and gardening, and I’m joined by Charles Carr from @hilliergardencentres. Until then, happy gardening.

#gardenerben #podcast #podcaster #mindfulness #wellbeing

On S3E15 of The Gardener Ben Podcast, I get to speak to Charles Carr, Head of Production at @hilliergardencentres.

Home-growing all of their stock, supplying 22 garden centres and their online store with peat-free grown stock 50 weeks of the year, Charles and I explored his journey into the world of horticulture and the challenges faced by the garden centre group going fully peat-free. We discussed how some plants that we have been used to purchasing have really struggled with the changeover, while others, such as ferns, have become much easier to produce and therefore more readily available.

If you haven’t yet registered your vote to lobby the UK government into taking action and banning the use of peat in the horticultural industry — which sees enough peat removed from the environment to fill 300 Olympic-sized swimming pools each and every year — head over to @peatfreepartnership now and make your voice heard.

The Gardener Ben Podcast is brought to you in association with @peterbealesroses, winner of 30 Chelsea Gold Medals and creating timeless roses since 1968. Go online and shop at www.peterbealesroses.com.

The podcast is edited by @mark_hamilton_anderson.

Next week, I have the pleasure of being joined by Anna from @seed_ball. So until then, happy gardening!

#gardenerben #podcast #gardeningpodcast #listennow #podcaster

Episode 16 of season three of The Gardener Ben Podcast is available for you to listen to now. This week, I’m joined by Ana, co-founder of @seed_ball.

With a love of wildflowers and a background firmly set in conservation, Seedball set out to make wildflowers easy to grow and have since diversified into herbs and salads, wrapping seeds in a mixture of clay infused with chilli to protect them from insect damage and make them easy to grow just about anywhere.

Listen to the full episode on Spotify, Apple, Amazon Music, or my YouTube channel now, and make sure that you head to their account and show them some love 💚

The Gardener Ben Podcast is brought to you in association with @peterbealesroses, winner of 30 Chelsea Gold Medals and creating timeless roses since 1968. Go online and shop at www.peterbealesroses.com, and make sure that you’re following along on Instagram and TikTok.

The Gardener Ben Podcast is edited by @mark_hamilton_anderson.

Next week, I’m joined by one of my personal gardening accounts on Instagram, @richardgrows, sharing with us his passion for rare, unusual, and different plants.

#gardenerben #podcaster #gardeningpodcast #listennow #growgram