S01 Episode 05: Gardening for wildlife. With Kate Bradbury
Podcast |
Gardens, weeds and words
Publisher |
Andrew O'Brien: gardener, blogger, podcaster
Media Type |
audio
Podknife tags |
Games & Hobbies, 
Gardening, 
Interview
Categories Via RSS |
Home & Garden, 
Leisure, 
Society & Culture
Publication Date |
Dec 20, 2018
Episode Duration |
00:41:53
A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing.
 
These notes may contain affiliate links. 
 
 
Garden soundtrack
 
 
Winter reading, micro reviews.
 
The Well-Tempered Garden, by Christopher Lloyd, paperback edition published 2014 by Weidenfeld and Nicolson https://amzn.to/2UVFJNX
 
Home Ground, by Dan Pearson, published 2011 by Conran Octopus
 
 
Using #betwixtmas to plan the garden for the coming year – a chance to think about making provision for wildlife.
 
 
Interview with Kate Bradbury
 
08:42 Plant memories
 
11:16 What are gardens for?
 
16:05 The buddleia incident
 
22:21 Planning wildlife into built environments
 
24:15 The Bumblebee Flies Anyway – what's in a name?
 
26:09 Lawns, are they really so bad?
 
 
NHS Insect bites and stings advice
 
33:08 Placing an economic cost on "environment services"
 
34:06 What hope going forward?
 
 
 
 
Review of Kate’s latest book, The Bumblebee Flies Anyway: a year of gardening and (wild)life https://amzn.to/2K9wF2U, on the Gardens, Weeds & Words blog, here:
 
Kate’s previous book, The Wildlife Gardener, available here: https://amzn.to/2zY1cvH
 
 
 
Hydrangeas with better wildlife value
It’s true, the ubiquitous mophead Hydrangea macrophylla has a flower head packed with sterile florets, which offer no food for pollinating insects. But those with the flower structure known as “lacecap”, where small, tightly furled fertile florets are surrounded by a thing ring of their sterile counterparts, are much richer in nectar. These include varieties of paniculate hydrangea, such as Hydrangea paniculata ‘Vanille Fraise’ or ‘Limelight', the climbing hydrangea Hydrangea anomoloa subsp. petiolaris, and the impressive oakleaved hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia, with its wonderful autumn colouration. Varieties of Hydrangea arborescens, including the popular ‘Annabelle’, are also worth including in your pollinator-friendly plantings.
 
 
With thanks to Richard Chivers for providing his Welsh tones for the reading. You can find Richard’s acclaimed blog at sharpenyourspades.com, and the gent himself lurks on social media here: 
 
 
That’s it for 2018! Thank you for all your support and lovely messages. Looking forward to bringing you more slow gardening radio and conversations with creatives and plant-inspired makers next year.
 
 
 

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