This week I’m speaking to Adam Kirtland, who began gardening seriously at the start of lockdown. His initial interest has become a full-blown obsession and we talk about the challenges presented by going back to work full time and having less time to garden. For more seasoned gardeners, this episode may be a useful reflection upon how we communicate with newer gardeners.

Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Flatworms

About Adam Kirtland

“Bookseller by day, gardener by night. I work as part of the head office team at Waterstones looking after some of the gifting products rather than books, but it’s still the love of books that got me here in the first place.

Gardening has always been something that I’ve used as a tool to relax and wind down but it’s only this year, during lockdown that I really found what it was to be a gardener. For me it’s not just mowing the lawn every fortnight or doing a bit of weeding, it’s become so much more. Making a garden for both me and my family that can be used in all season.

Lockdown opened my eyes to the world of Instagram and how huge the community is there and that’s where my gardening journey has taken me now.”

What we talk about:

Sources of gardening information

Catching the gardening bug

Gardening post lockdown and post-furlough

Gardening social media 

Links:

Adam’s Instagram account - @viewfromthepottingbench 

Episode 20 - Container Planting with Harriet Rycroft 

Episode 1 - Dahlias