Gardening with the RHS

Royal Horticultural Society

'Gardening with the RHS' offers seasonal advice, inspiration and practical solutions to gardening problems. Trusted gardening professionals give you the latest horticultural advice, scientific research and tried and tested techniques to bring out the best in your garden. Topics covered include: growing your own vegetables, flowers, garden design, lawn care and gardening with children. Plus expert masterclasses in topics ranging from cottage garden plants, growing orchids, to pest control and eco-friendly gardening. Plus we’ll have behind the scenes reports from the country’s most prestigious flower shows. There’s something in these podcasts to interest every gardener, whatever your level of expertise. For more info see www.rhs.org.uk/podcast A Pixiu production. read less

Our Editor's Take

Gardening with the RHS is the podcast of the UK's Royal Horticultural Society. The podcast answers listener's gardening questions and offers advice about garden management. The show gives practical advice for gardeners of all experience levels. This podcast may be helpful to anyone interested in garden design. Hosts have included Gareth Richards, Guy Barter, and Jenny Laville.

The RHS is a British gardening charity. The organization aims to enrich the gardens of the UK and make the British landscape greener. It offers gardening advice and hosts events, including the annual Chelsea Flower Show. This podcast continues the conversation.

The RHS gardening podcast has a variety of hosts, each with a high level of expertise in gardening. For example, Richards has more than 20 years of experience in gardening, as both a horticulturist and a writer. His gardening books include Weeds: The beauty and uses of 50 vagabond plants. Another host, Barter, is chief horticultural advisor at the RHS. He has written a variety of gardening books for the organization. These include How Do Worms Work? and The Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopedia of Gardening. Host Laville is an RHS digital editor who has written for BBC Radio 4. She joins the show to discuss a range of topics gardening professionals might need to know.

Each episode is a detailed exploration of a gardening topic. The show has plenty of seasonal advice, such as an episode about winter gardens. The podcast gives listeners with small spaces advice on growing houseplants. Another episode discusses how to grow herbs in a kitchen garden. The hosts chat about upcoming flower shows and recommend gardening books.

The show also discusses helping the planet through eco-friendly gardening and organic gardening. Another episode goes back in time to explore the history of botanical gardens.

Vegetable growers and garden plant lovers can discover something fascinating. New episodes of the Gardening with the RHS podcast blossom every Thursday.

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Highlights from the RHS Urban Show 2024

Highlights from the RHS Urban Show 2024

Gareth Richards, Jenny Laville and Guy Barter bring a jam packed show of highlights from the inaugural RHS Urban Show in Manchester - a festival of ideas focussed on greening up small spaces, looking after houseplants, and opening discussion about better urban planning. Amanda Grimes talks us through her easy-to-replicate designs for small (often concrete) spaces, including a Punk Rockery! Jason Williams aka The Cloud Gardener showcases seven innovative gardens designed with local communities that take on the challenges of urban gardening and development. Jacob James from Grow Tropicals talks us through his amazing display of rare and intriguing houseplants, with tips for different growing environments. And award-winning young designer Nathan Webster gives us a tour of his Urban Forest design, created to provoke conversation around the importance of woodland management in built up areas. Presenter: Gareth Richards, Jenny Laville, Guy Barter Contributors: Amanda Grimes, Tom Massey, Tinie, Jason Williams, Nathan Webster, Jacob James Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk Links: The RHS Urban Show 2024 Pop Culture Planting: Punk Rockery RHS City Spaces: Cloudspaces Happy Houseplants with Grow Tropicals RHS Urban Forest Chase presents: Inspired by the wild with Tom Massey and Tinie

Episodes

Highlights from the RHS Urban Show 2024

Highlights from the RHS Urban Show 2024

Gareth Richards, Jenny Laville and Guy Barter bring a jam packed show of highlights from the inaugural RHS Urban Show in Manchester - a festival of ideas focussed on greening up small spaces, looking after houseplants, and opening discussion about better urban planning. Amanda Grimes talks us through her easy-to-replicate designs for small (often concrete) spaces, including a Punk Rockery! Jason Williams aka The Cloud Gardener showcases seven innovative gardens designed with local communities that take on the challenges of urban gardening and development. Jacob James from Grow Tropicals talks us through his amazing display of rare and intriguing houseplants, with tips for different growing environments. And award-winning young designer Nathan Webster gives us a tour of his Urban Forest design, created to provoke conversation around the importance of woodland management in built up areas. Presenter: Gareth Richards, Jenny Laville, Guy Barter Contributors: Amanda Grimes, Tom Massey, Tinie, Jason Williams, Nathan Webster, Jacob James Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk Links: The RHS Urban Show 2024 Pop Culture Planting: Punk Rockery RHS City Spaces: Cloudspaces Happy Houseplants with Grow Tropicals RHS Urban Forest Chase presents: Inspired by the wild with Tom Massey and Tinie

Single-colour planting, GYO tips (for radishes, peas, cardoons), and a floating greenhouse

Single-colour planting, GYO tips (for radishes, peas, cardoons), and a floating greenhouse

In the stunning Colour Gardens at The Newt In Somerset, Joe Dransfield explains how a monochrome approach to flowers can deliver dazzling impact. Liz Mooney shares grow your own tips from the World Food Garden at RHS Garden Wisley, including peas, radishes and cardoons. And we hear the inspirational and unconventional story of Roka Brings Flowers – a grower and florist who started a wonderful cut flower business from a narrowboat with a floating greenhouse in tow. Presenter: Gareth Richards Contributors: Liz Mooney, Joe Dransfield, Roka Brings Flowers Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk Links: How to grow peas How to grow radishes Cynara cardunculus Cardoon The Newt in Somerset – an RHS Partner Garden Roka Brings Flowers RHS Urban Show

GYO tips from Rosemoor, plant hybrids, and shrubscapes

GYO tips from Rosemoor, plant hybrids, and shrubscapes

Desert roadcuts, abandoned pasture, heathland and marshy thickets inspire naturalistic planting ideas from Kevin Philip Williams and Michel Guidi, whose new book Shrouded in Light draws from wild shrubscapes. We also visit RHS Garden Rosemoor in North Devon, where Peter Adams gives us a tour of the extensive fruit and vegetable gardens with top tips for growing parsnips, shallots, cloching potatoes and protecting peas. Jenny Laville and James Armitage return to the podcast to debunk more plant terminology – this time talking about “hybrids” – what they are, how they occur and how they can be used to your advantage. Presenter: Gareth Richards Contributors: Peter Adams, Jenny Laville, James Armitage, Michael Guidi and Kevin Philip Williams Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk Links: RHS Garden Rosemoor How to grow parsnips How to grow shallots How to grow potatoes F1 Hybrids Shrouded in Light

Sustainable plant combos, GYO tips (for tomatoes, beetroot, squash), flowering shrubs

Sustainable plant combos, GYO tips (for tomatoes, beetroot, squash), flowering shrubs

Do you ever fall in love with a plant, buy it, but then not know what to pair it with? Principal Horticultural Advisor James Lawrence introduces his guide to creating planting combinations that don’t just look good, but have a sustainability impact too. Guy Barter shares seasonal tips for establishing tomatoes, beetroot, and winter pumpkins and squash – helping you to set up for the Grow Your Own season. And Jack Aldridge, a horticulturist who looks after Oakwood at RHS Garden Wisley, will be singing an ode to his favourite flowering shrub, the Stachyurus. Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: James Lawrence, Jack Aldridge Links: Oakwood at RHS Garden Wisley How to grow tomatoes How to grow beetroot How to grow pumpkins Stachyurus praecox Stachyurus chinensis RHS Gardening advice / ChatBotanist

The Piet Oudolf Landscape, Bumbles on Blooms, Plant Propagation

The Piet Oudolf Landscape, Bumbles on Blooms, Plant Propagation

Often referred to as “the greatest living landscape designer” and a leading figure of the New Perennial movement – Piet Oudolf joins curator Matthew Pottage to talk about his new landscape at RHS Garden Wisley. Helen Bostock also introduces the new Bumbles on Blooms project, and the plants you should choose to help support over 250 species of bees in the UK - some with rather particular tastes. Plus, Sam Gallivan, Leader of the Nursery and Propagation team at Wisley talks about propagating plants at scale. Presenter: Gareth Richards Contributors: Matthew Pottage, Piet Oudolf, Helen Bostock, Sam Gallivan Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk Links: Bumbles on Blooms iNaturalist Oudolf Landscape Dividing perennials

Greener Containers, Plant Name Changes, and Chaenomeles

Greener Containers, Plant Name Changes, and Chaenomeles

Garden designer and writer Ann Treneman shares ideas from her new book RHS Greener Gardening: Containers, explaining how you can create sustainable ecosystems whatever size your space. Jenny Laville speaks with RHS botanist James Armitage to untangle taxonomy, and discuss why plant names keep changing. And Gareth Richards meets David Ford, the holder of the National Plant Collection of Chaenomeles in Surrey, to talk about his love affair with the plant and why they’re due a mainstream revival. Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Ann Treneman, Jenny Laville, James Armitage, Gareth Richards, David Ford Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk Links: Greener Gardening Containers RHS Plant Finder Plant Heritage: National Plant Collections

Garden Carbon Footprints, Wasps in Springtime, and Pruning Shrubby Hydrangeas

Garden Carbon Footprints, Wasps in Springtime, and Pruning Shrubby Hydrangeas

This week Guy Barter and RHS Sustainability Fellow Chloe Sutcliffe react to a recent study published in the journal Nature Cities that claims that urban agriculture has a carbon footprint up to 6 times bigger than conventional agriculture – discussing what this means for allotmenteers and community gardeners, and how we should be thinking about our environmental impact. Entomologist and wasp defender Serian Sumner explains why spring is the perfect time to make peace with yellowjackets, as the queens emerge from hibernation. And the RHS’s Adrian Thorne gives us a practical guide to pruning shrubby hydrangeas. Presenter: Gareth Richards Contributors: Guy Barter, Chloe Sutcliffe, Serian Sumner, Adrian Thorne Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk Links: Nature Cities: Comparing the carbon footprints of urban and conventional agriculture Endless Forms by Serian Sumner Shrubby Hydrangeas The Garden Magazine

Blight-Resistant Tomatoes, Harmonious Borders, and the Women Who Shaped the RHS

Blight-Resistant Tomatoes, Harmonious Borders, and the Women Who Shaped the RHS

This week, we’re trying to honour March in all its glory. We’re delving into tasty and blight-resistant tomato varieties. We’re exploring how to build and renovate harmonious and colourful borders. And finally, to celebrate International Women’s Day and the 220th anniversary of the RHS, we’re turning back the clock to honour a few of the women who’ve shaped the organisation. Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Simon Crawford, Susie Pasley-Tyler, Fiona Davison Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk Links: How to grow tomatoes Tomato blight Gardening with Colour at Coton Manor An Almost Impossible Thing

Apple Pruning, Allotment Preparation, and the Thinking Behind Plant Names

Apple Pruning, Allotment Preparation, and the Thinking Behind Plant Names

This week we’re exploring small but useful nuggets of information that have the potential to change the way we interact with our surroundings this growing season. We’re getting seasonal tips on GYO – things like training and pruning apple trees and preparing allotments for the busiest time of year. And, we’re delving into plant names – and the system behind our classifications. Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Andy Lewis, Jenny Laville, James Armitage Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk Links: Apples and pears: winter gardening The Newt in Somerset – an RHS Partner Garden Allotments: getting started RHS Practical Latin for Gardeners Untangling Latin Names

Notes on Hardiness

Notes on Hardiness

This week, we’re investigating what exactly makes a plant hardy, how tropical plants survive British winters, and the ways in which what thrives here may be changing – especially in urban environments like London. Presenter Gareth Richards and RHS botanist James Armitage take a tour of weird and wacky tender trees that have survived here against all odds. And, Hillary Collins of Grafton Nursery gives us a behind the scenes look at what you can do to help your eucalyptus withstand British winters. Presenter: Gareth Richards Contributors: James Armitage and Hilary Collins Contact: podcasts@rhs.org.uk Links: Mediterranean garden plants RHS hardiness ratings Hardy Eucalyptus (Grafton Nursery)

This week’s show is all about growing something new. We’re spreading the word about exciting plant species, cultivars, and hybrids from those that love them most. Legendary plantsman Roy Lancaster chats about shrubby honeysuckles, Canadian horticulturist Grahame Ware makes the case for a curious genus called Syneilesis, and Wisley horticulturist Jack Aldridge shares the stories behind flowering dogwood hybrids. All the stories in this show are based on articles from the March issue of The Plant Review. You can find information on how to subscribe here. Presenters: Gareth Richards & James Armitage Contributors: Roy Lancaster, Grahame Ware, and Jack Aldridge Links: Shrubby honeysuckle Flowering dogwood

Alpine Delights, Wisteria Pruning, and the Great RHS Award Snub

Alpine Delights, Wisteria Pruning, and the Great RHS Award Snub

For this week’s show, we take a behind the scenes look at the ways spring is fighting its way into the picture at RHS Garden Wisley. We go behind the scenes at the Alpine Display House, we get a masterclass on pruning wisteria, and we dive into the life and work of the eccentric and influential horticulturist Ellen Willmott – and explore a theory for why she may have missed her Victoria Medal of Honour ceremony. Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Alex Hankey, Matthew Pottage, Suzanne Moss Links: Visiting Wisley Narcissus bulbocodium How to get wonderful Wisteria: Buying, planting, pruning and care tips “Gardens have provided solace, opportunity and inspiration for LGBTQ+ people” Miss Willmott’s Ghosts: the extraordinary life and gardens of a forgotten genius

Growing on a Budget

Growing on a Budget

In this week’s show, we’re zeroing in on how to stretch the money we spend on our gardens as far as possible. We hear from gardening influencer Anya Lautenbach - aka Anya the Garden Fairy – on her money-saving tips. We explore the science behind cuttings with botanist and editor James Armitage. And we take an inside look at the RHS apprenticeship programme. Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Anya Lautenbach, James Armitage, Sheila Das, Rory Doyle Links: The Money-Saving Gardener Propagation techniques New Shoots RHS Apprenticeships

Guerrilla Gardening, Seasonal Advice, and Maintaining a World-Famous Laburnum Arch

Guerrilla Gardening, Seasonal Advice, and Maintaining a World-Famous Laburnum Arch

This week’s show is all about cultivating change – whether in your own garden, in your local neighbourhood, or in a magical National Trust property. We’re chatting guerrilla gardening with Ellen Miles, getting top tips from Wisley advisors, and taking a look at all the work that goes into maintaining the laburnum arch at Bodnant Garden (one of our most beloved partner gardens!) Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Ellen Miles, James Lawrence, Becky Mealey, Michaela Freed, and Lucy Bidgood Links: Guerrilla gardening and reclaiming urban spaces Get Guerrilla Gardening Nature is a Human Right The Laburnum Arch at Bodnant Garden Horticulture Careers Discovery Week Diploma in Horticulture Practice

As gardeners, we all have plants we love to hate – think aucubas or heathers. And in winter, especially, it seems that these common but unpopular plants play a really important role in our gardens, adding structure, berries, or cheery variegated leaves when we need it most. So today, we’re addressing the overlooked. We’re giving mahonias a well-deserved second chance. We’re revisiting houseplants, which may or may be looking worse for wear after the chaotic holiday season. And finally, we’re taking a look at the work The Glasshouse, a nursery in Kent, does to give women in prison a fresh start. Presenter: Gareth Richards Contributors: Jack Aldridge, Tony Le-Britton, The Glasshouse Team Contact us at podcasts@rhs.org.uk Links: Mahonia Not Another Jungle: Comprehensive Care for Extraordinary Houseplants Growing hope and houseplants in prison The Glasshouse

Winter-Flowering Camellias, Cold Weather Inspiration, and Gardening Questions Answered

Winter-Flowering Camellias, Cold Weather Inspiration, and Gardening Questions Answered

We’re past the solstice, so it’s time to both revel in the present and prepare for what's to come as the days get longer and warmer. So, in this week’s show, we’re doing exactly that, taking note of winter wins – like winter-flowering camellias and snowdrops– and addressing RHS members’ questions as we look ahead to the growing season to come. Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Jack Aldridge, Naomi Slade, James Lawrence, Becky Mealey, Michaela Freed Links: Autumn and winter-flowering camellias RHS The Winter Garden Wisteria: pruning Snowdrops

A Sustainability Health Check for the Garden

A Sustainability Health Check for the Garden

To start off the new year right, we decided to begin with a practical and sustainable guide on what you can get up to outdoors this year – it’s what we’re calling a sustainability health check for the garden. We’ll be chatting about the state of play on peat-free growing, hearing from a range of RHS experts for some top garden sustainability tips, and exploring the future of grow-your-own in our ever-changing climate. Links: Peat-free gardening Peat- free nurseries 10 ways to be more sustainable in your garden Edible: 70 Sustainable Plants That Are Changing How We Eat

2023 Highlights and Trends

2023 Highlights and Trends

For our final episode of 2023, we’re taking a look back at some of our favourite moments on the podcast and across the RHS from the year, exploring emerging trends, new beginnings, and time-honoured advice. Stay tuned for highlights from Director General Clare Matterson, Head of Editorial Tom Howard, Head of Libraries and Exhibitions Fiona Davison, and more. Presenters: Gareth Richards & Guy Barter Contributors: Clare Matterson, Tom Howard, Fiona Davison, Jenny Laville, and Jenny Bowden Links: Rewilding Small Spaces The Winter Garden Maximising Minimal Space

A Gardener’s Recipe for Christmas

A Gardener’s Recipe for Christmas

As we approach the most festive time of year, we’ve decided to share a recipe for a plant-filled Christmas. In this episode, we’ll be returning to Bristol with Naomi Slade to hear how she decks her halls with things from the garden. We’ll then be making our way to the Frenchay Christmas Tree Farm to get a feel for life at the busiest point in their calendar. And finally, we’re exploring the curious world of parasitic plants, including a festive favourite: mistletoe. Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Naomi Slade, Simon Maughan, Alex Summers Links: RHS The Winter Garden Frenchay Christmas Tree Farm How to grow your own mistletoe Christmas with the RHS

For the Love of Birds

For the Love of Birds

This week, we’re wrapping up warm and heading out into our gardens to take a moment to really appreciate our garden birds. Wildlife sound recordist Gary Moore gives us a masterclass on recognising the calls of common birds at this time of year. Writer and wildlife gardening guru Kate Bradbury shares her top tips for making a bird-friendly garden. And finally, we delve into the story behind the remarkable number of American songbirds that made it across the Atlantic this autumn. Presenter: Guy Barter Contributors: Gary Moore, Kate Bradbury, and Rob Jaques Links: Birds in your garden Plants for birds RHS Wildlife Gardening for everyone and everything, RHS How to Create a Wildlife Pond Garden BirdWatch BTO’s BirdTrack Migration Blog