Episode 256 - Urban Bees

My guest this week is Polly Nicholson. Polly is the owner of Bayntun Flowers in Wiltshire, and holds the national collection of Tulipa (Historica) with Plant Heritage. Polly has also written a book called ‘The Tulip Garden: Growing and Collecting Species, Rare and Annual Varieties’ which is released on the 21st March and today she shares her knowledge of this complex and fascinating group of plants.

About Polly Nicholson

Specialist flower grower and tulip expert Polly Nicholson is the owner of Bayntun Flowers in Wiltshire – growers of organic flowers cultivated in walled gardens and a one-acre field at the foot of the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire. Nicholson holds the National Collection of Tulipa (Historic) with Plant Heritage, and has featured on BBC Gardener’s World, Radio 4, in Gardens Illustrated, Country Life, T: The New York Times Style Magazine, The World of Interiors, and House & Garden.

Links

The Tulip Garden: Growing and Collecting Species, Rare and Annual Varieties by Polly Nicholson

www.bayntunflowers.co.uk

Other episodes if you liked this one:

Historic Roses


Irises

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Hello and welcome to this week’s episode where my guest is Kyo Maclear. Kyo is an author and her latest book is centred around family secrets, her mother and how gardening shaped their relationship and helped her frame their mutual experiences.

About Unearthing

Kyo Maclear's Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love & Family Secrets is published on 7th March 2024. It’s a gripping and emotionally eloquent memoir about a family secret revealed by a DNA test, the lessons learned in its aftermath, and the transformative possibilities of growing plants.

A memoir of inheritance that goes far beyond heredity, Unearthing is about what happens when we give up the watered, weeded, and pruned plots of our family histories and embrace a more expansive view of kinship. Told through the passage of seasons with exquisite illustrations by the author, it is a tender testimony to the ineradicable love between a mother and daughter for readers of Michelle Zauner’s Crying in H Mart and Katherine May’s Wintering.

When Kyo Maclear receives the result of a DNA test showing that she and the father who raised her, whose death she is grieving, are not biologically related, she is suddenly a detective in her own life, desperately seeking answers from her ailing mother whose memories and English are failing.  Maclear no longer speaks Japanese, her mother's first language, so she turns to her mother's second fluent tongue: the wild and green language of gardening, to provide them with a way of connecting. This beautifully constructed, intricate memoir is a work as unique as its author, and yet, movingly, achingly relatable.

About Kyo Maclear

Kyo is an award-winning novelist, essayist, and children's author. Her books have been translated into eighteen languages and published in over twenty-five countries. She is the author of the hybrid memoir Birds Art Life (2017,) and winner of the Trillium Book Award. She holds a doctorate in environmental humanities and is on faculty at the University of Guelph Creative Writing MFA.

Links

Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love & Family Secrets by Kyo Maclear 

www.kyomaclear.com 

Other episodes if you liked this one:

A Rolling Stone Gathering Moss

All My Wild Mothers

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Vicky Chown is a Medical Herbalist, foraging instructor and self taught permaculturist. She’s head gardener at Omved Gardens, a fascinating community garden in London which focuses on food, creativity and wellbeing. 

What we talk about

The idea behind Omved Gardens

How nature factors in to the garden

Where food and creativity fit in

The design of the site and how it feeds into the purpose and the overall experience for visitors

Who uses the site

The activities that take place

About Vicky Chown

Vicky Chown is a Medical Herbalist (BSc), foraging instructor and self taught permaculturist. She is head gardener at Omved Gardens and Coordinator of their Seed Saving Network. 

Links

Vicky Chown on Instagram @handmade_apothecary 

The Seed Saving Network @seedsavingnetwork

Omved Gardens @omvedgardens

Other episodes if you liked this one:

Gardening for your Senses

Permaculture

Support the podcast on Patreon

Caroline & Jon have created the most amazing swimming pond in their back garden and have documented their journey on social media, posting videos of year-round swimming adventures and pond-life. If you need inspiration to tackle a garden project you’ve always thought was just a pipe-dream, listen in as Caroline & Jon offer their refreshingly optimistic and can-do approach.

What we talk about

What made Caroline & Jon install a pool in their garden?

Planning permission

Filling the pond

Cleaning the pond

Swimming year round

Bringing in wildlife

The planting scheme - aesthetic or functional?

Build cost
 
Links

Caroline & Jon on TikTok

Caroline & Jon on Instagram

Other episodes if you liked this one:

Creating Wildlife Habitats

Bats

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Alexandra Steed is a passionate landscape architect with a profound commitment to art, sustainability, and the transformative power of landscapes. Alexandra recently authored Portrait to Landscape and we talk about the possibility of and the necessity for shaping our landscapes so they may help to heal the earth.

What we talk about

Why portrait to landscape?

The biosphere

An overview of Alexandra’s ideas for better landscape design and management?

Urban vs rural landscaping

Can we rely on change that comes from the top down? 

How individuals can make a difference

About Alexandra Steed

Alexandra Steed, a passionate landscape architect and Fellow of the Landscape Institute (FLI) and the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA), has a profound commitment to art, sustainability, and the transformative power of landscapes. In 2013, she founded URBAN to bring joy to people’s daily lives through landscape design that enhances beauty and fosters well-being. Steed actively advises and serves on expert panels for organisations such as the Design Council UK and the Government’s Office for Place. As a lecturer at The Bartlett, UCL, she shares her knowledge and volunteers her time to support community empowerment and inclusive public spaces. Steed’s exceptional contributions to landscape architecture have garnered prestigious awards, including the WAFX Award for innovative global solutions and The LI Award for Excellence in Tackling Climate Change. With a strong focus on preserving biodiversity and ecosystems, Steed’s dedication to integrating natural processes into her designs is evident. Through her work and advocacy, she champions climate change mitigation and inspires others to connect with and appreciate the natural world.
 
About Portrait to Landscape

“Portrait to Landscape: A Landscape Strategy to Reframe Our Future” is a ground-breaking book that calls for a transformative shift in our relationship with the natural world. Written by a renowned landscape architect, this book offers a new perspective on our place in the world and a compelling vision for a regenerative future.
In an era plagued by environmental disasters and global challenges, the book argues that our exploitative and fragmented relationship with nature is at the root of these issues. Drawing upon the metaphor of a self-focused portrait versus a wide-angle landscape view, the book illuminates the profound impact of our narrow perspective. It offers a roadmap for reconnecting with the larger community of life.

Through a captivating narrative, the author explores the interconnectedness of the living world and the urgent need to shift from a human-centric mindset to one that embraces the wisdom of nature. It demonstrates with inspiring examples from around the world how landscapes can become catalysts for healing and regeneration, leading to improved well-being and sustainability.

“Portrait to Landscape” presents a holistic approach to restoring the earth, addressing not only the symptoms but also the underlying causes of environmental degradation. The book outlines practical strategies for policymakers, activists, and individuals to protect and restore landscapes, emphasising collaboration and long-term stewardship.

With passion and expertise, the book calls on global citizens to take action and become active participants in the healing process. It offers a powerful message of hope and possibility, envisioning a future where humanity and all nature coexist in harmony.

This thought-provoking book will inspire readers to reconsider their relationship with nature and join the movement towards a more sustainable and regenerative future. It is a must-read for anyone seeking a deeper understanding of our place in the world and how we can inhabit it with integrity.
 
Links

“Portrait to Landscape” is available here.

 South Essex Estuary Park Project, UK

Sponge City Project, China

Other episodes if you liked this one:

Led by the Land with Kim Wilkie

Responsibly Designing the Built Environment

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Perrine Bulgheroni is a renowned farmer who, along with Charles Herve-Gruyer, co-authored the Living with the Earth series of books and co-founded the famous Bec Hellouin, an ecoculture farm in Northern France. We talk about growing produce, closed loop farming, how food growing helps capture carbon and how to manage your natural environment for maximum benefits for people, wildlife and ecosystems.

What we talk about

What ecoculture is

Does it take up less space than traditional agriculture?

The ecoculture approach to rainfall and soil

Volumes two and three of Living with the Earth

Ideal land area for a plot

The Flow of Organic Matter

How ecoculture contributes to carbon capture

About Living with the Earth: A Manual for Market Gardeners - Volume 1: Permaculture, Ecoculture: Inspired by Nature

by Perrine and Charles Hervé-Gruyer

Living With The Earth is a three volume series bringing together years of hands-on
organic growing experience and research from the world-renowned Bec Hellouin Farm
in France.

In 2006, Perrine and Charles Hervé-Gruyer set out on a mission to discover a new form
of agriculture that provides organic crops, creates healthy soil and brings meaningful
employment to the local community. A combination of biointensive methods and
permaculture design, which they have named ‘ecoculture’, and backed by scientific
research, has resulted in a highly abundant market garden that sequesters carbon and
frees up land for Nature.

This beautifully illustrated, comprehensive first volume shows you how natural
systems work, and explains how a wide range of simple and effective techniques can
create ecologically diverse gardens or highly productive farms. The in-depth chapters
on weather patterns, soil types and ecosystem services, give the reader a sound
understanding of the environment they are growing in.

The book covers everything you need to design a farm and implement a high-yielding
food system from scratch, from understanding permaculture and its tools to the full
design process, using the successful systems at Bec Hellouin as examples. Chapters
on composting, mulching, fertilisers, green manures and working with beneficial
microorganisms offer the reader a selection of tools for creating healthy soil within the
farm ecosystem.

About the Authors

Perrine Hervé-Gruyer pursued a career as a lawyer in Asia before devoting herself to
psychotherapy. She is now a farmer. An educator by training, Charles Hervé-Gruyer
travelled the globe aboard the training sailboat ‘Fleur de Lampaul’ for 22 years. He is the
author of several books. Perrine and Charles became certified permaculture teachers in 2013.

Links

Living with the Earth: A Manual for Market Gardeners - Volume 1: Permaculture, Ecoculture: Inspired by Nature

Other episodes if you liked this one:

Urban Smallholding

The Garden of Equal Delights

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Miles Hayward is a dendrophile and keen plantsman, who discovered a passion for Japanese Maples and soon began to accumulate a wide variety of different cultivars. He started Miles Japanese Maples in 2016 specialising in Japanese Maples, after becoming frustrated by the lack of good quality trees in garden centres and local nurseries. He now grows high-quality trees in relatively small numbers, focussing on quality over quantity.

What we talk about

What is a Japanese Maple?

The different species

Preferred growing conditions

Should you feed your Japanese maple?

Where to site them

Growing maples in containers

Pruning maples

Miles’ favourites

About Miles Hayward

 Miles Hayward is a dendrophile and keen plantsman, having studied Botany at Reading University in the late 1990s before going on to work at a hardy exotic plant nursery for ten years where his love of trees flourished. While exhibiting at various flower shows around the country, he discovered a passion for Japanese Maples and soon began to accumulate a wide variety of different cultivars.

Miles decided to start a small nursery in 2016 specialising in Japanese Maples, frustrated by the lack of good quality trees in garden centres and local nurseries.  We like to think of ourselves as ‘small batch growers’, producing high-quality trees but in relatively small numbers, due to lack of space! Each tree receives a lot of care and won’t be sold to a customer until Miles is completely satisfied that it is the best it can be (or he really likes it and wants to hang on to it!)

Miles Japanese Maples has been peat and pesticide free since inception, although there is always experimenting and tinkering to find the perfect compost mix. The trees have been grown in Air-Pots for the last 5 years or so, to ensure that they have the best possible root systems.

The nursery is open to visitors by appointment or we are at various plant fairs around the south-east at some lovely venues. We were delighted to exhibit for the first time at Chelsea Flower Show last year and will be returning in 2024.

Miles is a member of The Maple Society of Britain and Ireland, The International Dendrology Society and various others too numerous to mention!

Links

www.milesjapanesemaples.co.uk

Miles Japanese Maples on Instagram

Green Heart Horticultural Services on Facebook

Green Heart Community Nursery

The Nursery Fundraiser

Other episodes if you liked this one:

Bonsai with John Hanby

Hardy Eucalyptus

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My guest this week is Catherine Conway-Payne. Catherine is the course director of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh’s diploma in Herbology and an expert on the history of natural remedies. Catherine recently authored possibly the most beautiful book ever, a book called ‘Herbology – A Physic Garden Pharmacy’ where she looks at the origins of the physic garden at RBGE in the mid-17th Century. She recreates and reimagines original recipes from that time, mentioning in the book the historical uses of such ingredients as powdered toads and spiders’ web, but thankfully providing alternatives to those who want to look at growing their own medicine and herbal remedies.

What we talk about

What is the ‘Herbology’ about?

What is green pharmacy?

What are the Materia medica?

What is a vulnerary herb and can you give me an example of one and how you could use it?

What are lunar infusions? 

Some of Catherine’s favourite plants to work with

About ‘Herbology – A Physic Garden Pharmacy’

The practice of referencing and using nature to create remedies, recipes and therapeutic preparations has been around for thousands of years.  Over time, our knowledge of the more traditional ‘green pharmacy’ of this sort has diminished.  Yet today herbology, the study of herbs, is enjoying a renaissance as reconnecting with nature and sustainability surges.
 
To coincide with this renaissance, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has published Herbology – A Physic Garden Pharmacy,  a beautiful, hard-back book filled with natural remedies and recipes, and  showcasing the best practices on gathering ingredients and safely preparing them.
 
Much more than a recipe and remedy book, Herbology is also a history of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, a place where medicinal plants have been grown for hundreds of years, for the benefit of the medical profession and their patients.  
 
The book references four other publications which date from the origins of the Garden in the 17th century. One, the Edinburgh Pharmacopoeia (1699), was discovered in the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh. Originally published in Latin, the contents of the Pharmacopoeia have remained relatively inaccessible to most for over 300 years. 
 
However – with the kind assistance of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh and the dedicated work of one research associate from the Garden, Robert Mill – the work in its entirety has now been translated into English; several extracts of which are being shared, for the first time, within the pages of this book.

Author Catherine Conway-Payne said, “It was an absolute joy to delve in to the Pharmacopoeia and discover which medicinal plants were being grown in Edinburgh during the latter part of the 17th century, which may be regarded as something of a golden age of herbalism. Then, the worlds of plants and medicine were closely aligned and it has been fascinating to find out that some recipes have not changed at all and that others contained extraordinary ingredients such as powdered toad, mouse droppings and even spider’s webs.  Readers of Herbology will be relieved that our modern-day holistic formulations have omitted these from their list of ingredients.”
 
There are many precious botanicals within the pages of Herbology – among them nettle, dandelion, wild garlic and winter blooming witch hazel.  Organised by the seasons, the book is filled with recipes and remedies and readers will join Catherine on a journey into ‘green pharmacy’ making special botanical creams, green ointments, herbal honeys, syrups, juices and teas along the way.
 
Catherine continued, “So much has been lost and forgotten over the years but we have been enjoying a real resurgence of interest in herbology recently.”
 
“There has never been more desire to study all things ‘green’ and to learn how to work as one with nature, understand the precious therapeutic potentials of medicinal plants and nurture the earth that sustains them.  The very nature of herbology is so expansive that once you are immersed within this facet of botanical learning you cannot help but become more aware of its inherently curative and dynamic spirit.  For generations to come, perhaps this age in time might be viewed as a period of great holistic change and life sustaining initiative.”
 
Herbology is illustrated by botanical artist Jacqui Pestell and contains evocative photography by Kate Soltan.

 Links

Herbology – A Physic Garden Pharmacy by Catherine Conway-Payne

www.rbge.org.uk

Other episodes if you liked this one:

Herbs with The Herb Society

Magical Plants & Flowers

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This episode features horticulturist, garden designer, RHS Show Judge and plant guru Nina Baxter. We talk about what garden designers do, why they differ from landscapers, how you can find one and what they might charge for their work. Whether you’re thinking of hiring a garden designer, thinking about becoming one or are just curious about the profession, this is worth a listen. Nina begins by describing her journey into garden design…

What we talk about

What is a garden designer?

Where can you find one?

What might the process look like once you’ve hired one?

What should they possess in terms of qualifications, insurance, etc?

How do they differ from landscapers?

How do they charge for their work and what might you expect to pay?

About Nina Baxter

Nina Baxter is an experienced garden designer and horticulturist who has run her successful practice; Nina Baxter Garden Design Ltd. since 2004. Nina is Director of London College of Garden Design, an RHS Show Judge and a member of RHS Show Gardens Selection Panel.

Links

Nina Baxter Garden Design 

London College of Garden Design

Other episodes if you liked this one:

Hiring a Garden Designer

Hiring a Gardener

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My guest this week is writer, broadcaster, nature observer, citizen scientist and champion of the outdoors, Kelly Brenner. This episode came about off the back of a listener suggestion and begins with a look at Lycoris radiata aka the Death Flower, and its place in nature and culture. This may seem an odd choice of subject for this festive time, but this is the last episode of 2023 and the nearest to the winter solstice, which heralds the death of the sun, so it somehow seemed fitting. 
 
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Overwintering fruit and veg pests
 
What we talk about
 
What intrigues Kelly about Lycoris radiata, and why she thinks it has garnered such dark symbolism throughout history
 
Nature, wildlife, and folklore – how they are seamlessly woven into Kelly’s work
 
The origin story of Kelly’s passion for plants, nature and folklore and how they naturally blend into her writing and explorations
 
How urban dwellers can maintain their connection with nature, and are there specific aspects of urban landscapes that come alive during these colder months?
 
The Sleuth Wood Show
 
Invertefest
 
Links
 
Kelly Brenner’s website
 
Other episodes if you liked this one:
 
The Winter Garden
 
Camellias with Fiona Edmond
 
Support the podcast on Patreon