Gardens, weeds and words

https://parisalmaflowers.com/

Dec 17, 2022

00:58:16

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 bringing new and rare experiences – December snow in Kent, and recording the audio version of my new book.

Reading from To stand and stare 2:10

Read by Andrew Timothy O'Brien

To stand and stare: how to garden while doing next to nothing, by Andrew Timothy O'Brien. DK Life, 2023.

https://geni.us/Qs2d

04:35 An introduction to From Seed to Bloom: a year of growing and designing with seasonal flowers, by Milli Proust. Quadrille, 2022

https://amzn.to/3hGlcNg

Reading from From Seed to Bloom 5:15

Read by Milli Proust

09:29 Interview with Milli Proust

10:55 The original plan

12:45 Working with intention – Milli loves a strategy

13:45 The other aspect of Milli's professional life!

Molly Wansell, 42 Management & Production

https://www.42mp.com/

15:18 A sustainable business

Paris Alma Flowers

17:08 Working as part of a team

On the business with Paris, on the book with photographer Éva Németh

https://www.evanemeth.com/

18:54 The visual aspects of the book

Theatre, storytelling, atmosphere.

The human experience of connecting with nature.

23:03 Milli's earliest plants and gardens memories

26:53 A gardening (self)education

29:00 Why grow your own floristry supplies?

30:43 Using foliage, and the stories of plants in weather

34:00 Design principles in floral arrangement

38:00 From Seed to Bloom:

40:51 How becoming a mother might impact Milli's creative practice – new perspectives and opportunites

45:45 A seasonal perspective

48:30 Grower, or gardener? What's the difference?

***

Thank you to Milli Proust for giving up her time to talk to me about the beautiful work she brings into the world from her patch of land in West Sussex.

You can find Milli on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/milliproust/

Or on her website: https://www.milliproust.com/

My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, will be published by DK Life on Feb 2, 2023, and is available to preorder here https://geni.us/Qs2d

A year of garden coaching

If you'd like to find out more about my my 12 month online garden coaching programme, please visit the website, where you can read more details. There will be a few spaces opening up in spring 2023n, so do sign up to be the first to hear when you can book.

http://www.andrewtimothyobrien.com

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09PGM2YBD?binding=hardcover&searchxofy=true&ref_=dbs_s_bs_series_rwt_thcv&qid=1666786266&sr=1-19

Oct 26, 2022

00:50:27

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

The joys of October in the garden.

Reading from A breath from elsewhere, by Mirabel Osler 4:28

Read by Jemma Cooper

A breath from elsewhere, by Mirabel Osler. Bloomsbury, 1997.

https://amzn.to/3Stlvr9

06:52 Gardening in the shade

08:10 Interview with Susanna Grant

08:20 First encounters

Wild about Weeds, by Jack Wallington

https://amzn.to/3FbVU31

09:17 Sharing weeds (and weeds)

10:48 How the name – and the business – 'Linda' came about

12:35 A Jack of All Trades – Susanna's other work

16:11 A Fair Weather Shop

19:26 Susanna's childhood memories of plants and the natural world

Flower Fairy books, by Cicely Mary Barker

Observer Book of Wild Flowers

https://amzn.to/3SxxWCo

21:26 Arnold Circus and the Boundary Estate – the community garden

Radicle, edited by Sui Searle aka @decolonisethegarden

https://radicle.substack.com

Volunteering: a problem and an opportunity? by Joanna Pidcock

https://radicle.substack.com/p/volunteering-a-problem-and-an-opportunity

29:49 From Gardens Where We Feel Secure, by Susanna Grant and Rowan Spray, published by Rough Trade Books and The Garden Museum

https://amzn.to/3Dpdrn4

35:31 Practicalities of window box gardening with perennials

***

Thank you to Susanna Grant for giving up her time to talk to me about her creative nature-inspired practice.

Susanna's book Shade is published by Bloom, 2022, and is available here

https://amzn.to/3F6eGsu

The Rough Trade/Garden Museum pamphlet by Susanna, with photography by Rowan Spray is From Gardens Where We Feel Secure, and is available here

https://amzn.to/3Dpdrn4

Pamphlets in the same series, such as Horticultural Appropriation by Claire Ratinon and Sam Ayre, are also available here

https://roughtradebooks.com/collections/editions

You can find Susanna on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/hellotherelinda

Or on her website: https://www.hellotherelinda.com/

My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, will be published by DK Life on Feb 2, 2023, and is available to preorder here https://geni.us/Qs2d

I'm so grateful to Jemma Cooper for lending us her lovely tones for the reading from Mirabel Osler's A breath from elsewhere. You can find Jem on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/thecountrynurse_

A year of garden coaching

If you'd like to find out more about my my 12 month online garden coaching programme, please visit the website, where you can read more details. There will be a few spaces opening up early in the new year, so do sign up to be the first to hear when you can book.

https://www.gardensweedsandwords.com/garden-coaching

https://www.gardensweedsandwords.com/garden-coaching

Nov 29, 2021

00:52:23

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

The last days of autumn, winter blowing in on the back of Storm Arwen.

Coping with post-COP26 despair and overwhelm.

Reading, 'Sudden Shower', by John Clare 03:22

Read by Lulu Peddar

Interview with Hannah McDonald, Illustrator 6:47

I chat to Hannah about her nature inspired illustration practice from her home and studio in Amsterdam, how life there compares to life in London, and whether the Dutch or the English are better at coping with what the weather has to throw at them. Work/life balance, slow living, and having a garden room on the Dutch equivalent of an allotment are all covered, together with how Hannah decides exactly what to draw, and the character of her own particular lines and dots.

We get through all of this without mentioning Hygge once, though we're deeply in cosy, homely territory throughout, while always bearing in mind the importance of our connection to the natural world outside, both for our own mental health, and that of the planet. I hope you enjoy listening!

***

Thank you to Hannah McDonald for giving up her time to talk to me about her creative nature-inspired practice.

You can find Hannah on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/hannah.mcdonald.illustration/

Or on her website: https://www.hannahmcdonald.co/

And bouquets of gratitude due to Lulu Peddar for providing the reading from John Clare's poetry. I particularly loved the bit about "patted on my hat" – thanks Lulu, please come again!

A year of garden coaching

https://danielkarim.com/the-african-violet-a-teaching-tale-of-milton-h-erickson/

Jan 31, 2021

01:07:18

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

Dawn breaking in the garden

Trees in the landscape

Reading from Wildwood, A Journey Through Trees, by Roger Deakin 2:25

https://amzn.to/3r6geIJ

Read by Richard Chivers

Interview with Jackee Holder 4:54

05:13 'Coach and author and cultural creative' – the scope of Jackee's work, and how it came about

7:57 The path to being a cultural creative – Jackee's career choices, and the common thread

8:43 What is a cultural creative?

10:52 Jackee's South London background

11:26 Avoiding restrictive labels

12:49 'Jack of all trades'. Ouch.

14:25 Drawing influences widely

15:49 A deep connection with nature

17:45 Something bigger. The wonder of it all.

19:24 The parks of London

19:54 The loneliness of the long distance runner

21:05 Making friends with trees

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

"I understood at a very early age that in nature, I felt everything I should feel in church but never did." Alice Walker

22:33 Jackee's tamarind tree in Barbados

24:14 Dressing the trees at Christmas in the Carribean

27:54 Tree books. Tree Wisdom by Jacqueline Memory Paterson https://amzn.to/3csqx5Z

32:07 Jackee's connection to to the elder tree

39:35 The trees in Jackee's city garden

41:30 Listening to nature, mindfulness and being in 'receive mode'.

46:59 Solitude

48:33 Joy in the context of 2021. COVID, BLM.

49:26 Unapologetically celebrating nature.

Charlotte Delbo, Auschwitz and After

50:55 Sorrow and joy interwoven

An account of Milton Erickson and the African Violet Lady

55:24 "Nature was our first mother" Tina Welling

"Nature is not a place to visit. It is home." Gary Snyder

55:36 Being rooted.

57:46 Trees and writing.

Jackee's writing map "Writing with Fabulous Trees"

http://www.jackeeholder.com/tree/writing-with-fabulous-trees-writing-map-for-parks-gardens-and-green-spaces/

59:22 Journal writing (and being a stationery addict!)

101:30 The practice of writing. Using the 'Morning Pages' technique from Julia Cameron's The Artist's Way https://amzn.to/3pErewE

103:00 Making space for mindful practices

104:32 Jackee's mission to connect people with the urban forest

***

Thank you to Jackee Holder for giving up her time to talk to me about her creative plant-inspired practice.

You can find Jackee on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/jackeeholderinspires/ – please note Jackee's Instagram handle has changed since the interview in this episode!

Or on her website: http://www.jackeeholder.com/

Grateful wotnots to Richard Chivers for stepping forward with his usual patient and willing response to my last-minute plea for a reading!

A year of garden coaching

If you'd like to find out more about my my 12 month online garden coaching programme, please visit the website, where you can read more details. Enrolment will open towards the middle of February for one last time at the introductory price, so do sign up to be the first to hear when you can book.

https://www.gardensweedsandwords.com/garden-coaching

https://www.ktrobbinsceramics.com/blog/2020/8/24/beautiful-safe-and-sustainable-packaging

Dec 04, 2020

00:54:54

A plant-inspired practice. With Katie Robbins

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

Pondering the onset of winter, with twinkling lights and fried potatoes.

Seasonal markers, and The Almanac from Lia Leendertz.

Catching up with Lia Leendertz. What's new in the 2021 edition? 03:44

Reading from The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2021 10:28

https://amzn.to/36LqUFH

Read by Milli Proust

The independent plant-inspired businesses bringing cheer and lightening our darkness.

Interview with Katie Robbins 13:22

14:50 A love of the natural world and of ceramics

16:02 The formative planty encounter -- sunflowers, a flat cap and a fag

18:40 Potter... or ceramic artist?

19:52 If not a potter, would Katie have worked with plants in some other way?

Grace Alexander flowers: https://www.gracealexanderflowers.co.uk/

Milli Proust: https://www.milliproust.com/about

Bex Partridge (Botanical Tales): https://www.botanicaltales.com/

21:50 The power of a good parcel, and delighting your customer

Beautiful and sustainable packaging

24:49 A journey to the potter's wheel

26:43 The shortest commute -- working from home. Pluses and minuses of the WfH life

29:12 A tour of the garden studio

34:57 Katie's creative process

40:17 Inspiration from peers

41:48 The inevitabilities of creative cross-fertilisation

44:23 Working in porcelain

46:49 Clay from the ground

50:00 Inspirations

***

Thank you to Katie Robbins for giving up her time to talk to me about her creative plant-inspired practice.

You can find Katie on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/ceramicmagpie/

Or on her website: https://www.ktrobbinsceramics.com/

Thanks also to Lia Leendertz for joining me to talk about The Almanac: A Seasonal Guide to 2021

https://amzn.to/36LqUFH

I'm immensely grateful to Milli Proust for lending us her mellifluous tones for the reading.

And of course, I'm ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at fi.com/andrewtimothyOB">https://ko-fi.com/andrewtimothyOB. Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees.

A year of garden coaching

If you'd like to find out more about my my 12 month online garden coaching programme, please visit the website, where you can read more details and add your name to the waiting list to be the first to hear when enrolment opens up again.

https://www.gardensweedsandwords.com/garden-coaching

https://www.tommassey.co.uk/the-lemon-tree-trust-garden

Oct 23, 2020

00:52:28

Home. With Jennie Spears of the Lemon Tree Trust

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

Why do we build gardens? Looking back to the very first episode of the podcast and Tim Massey's garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show for the Lemon Tree Trust

Reading 05:21

Extract from How to grow your dinner without leaving the house by Claire Ratinon, published by Laurence King in 2020, read by the author. https://amzn.to/2QrpPtD

A quick catch up with Claire since the release of her book, my review of which you can find here

http://www.gardensweedsandwords.com/gwwblog/how-to-grow-your-dinner

Interview with Jennie Spears 09:42

09:42 Bristol community gardens

"Gardening is the most therapeutic and defiant act you can do. Plus you get strawberries." Ron Finley https://www.ted.com/talks/ron_finley_a_guerrilla_gardener_in_south_central_la?language=en

10:24 Sara Venn and Incredible Edible Bristol

https://ediblebristol.org.uk/

11:29 Jennie's background in horticulture

13:09 Childhood plant memories

Border Alpines, her parents' nursery

https://www.borderalpines.co.uk/

Black viola, Viola 'Molly Sanderson'

16:13 The work of the Lemon Tree Trust, and how Jennie became involved

19:10 Bringing plants from home to the camps

25:36 How gardening happens in the camps

30:59 What to do with plant surpluses - a working economy?

35:01 Food and gardening

37:13 Plumbing in the camps

38:49 "At some point, people want to LIVE". The joy of plants

40:27 The impact of COVID on the work of the Lemon Tree Trust in Kurdistan

44:08 Upcoming projects and the best way to support the Lemon Tree Trust

46:49 A call from Jennie to get in touch if you know of any UK based refugee or migrant based gardening projects that would benefit from seeds from the Lemon Tree Trust (see below for contact details

***

Thank you to Jennie for joining me on this episode to talk about the Lemon Tree Trust. You can find the charity's website here with more details of their work, their campaigns and the gardeners in the camps in Iraq. https://lemontreetrust.org/about/

And on instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/lemontreetrust/

You can find Jennie's work for Bloom PR here:

Bloom PR website: pr.co.uk/">http://www.bloom-pr.co.uk/

Bloom's instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloom_pr_insta/

Thanks also to Claire Ratinon for joining me to talk about her book, How to grow your dinner without leaving the house

I’m ever grateful to all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at fi.com/andrewtimothyOB">https://ko-fi.com/andrewtimothyOB. Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees.

A year of garden coaching

https://www.gardensweedsandwords.com/garden-coaching

https://www.gardensweedsandwords.com/garden-coaching

Jul 31, 2020

00:53:59

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

Back after a break for the last episode in the series

Dogs and gardening

Lockdown and #BlackLivesMatter – did these change how you felt about your garden?

Privilege in the gardening world

Telling the stories of plants

Reading 05:30

Extract from 'Science and Colonial Expansion. The role of the British Royal Botanical Gardens' by Lucile H. Brockway in American Ethnologist, Journal of the American Ethnological Society, Volume 6 Issue 3, 1979, read by Sui Searle. https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1525/ae.1979.6.3.02a00030

The book of the same name, available here: https://amzn.to/2PbSC4z

Gardening should be political – more of this in series three.

Gratitude, privilege and responsibility – what that's meant to me in lockdown

Interview with the Ann Marie Powell 11:20

11:48 What's behind @myrealgarden?

15:22 Plants, People, Place

18:37 Living in a horticultural household, and how it effects domestic gardening

22:12 How Ann-Marie became a garden designer

23:16 Horticulture within the education system – being given the choice

25:18 Andrew talking absolute rubbish about "gardening with your ears"

27:10 Ann-Marie Powell Gardens – the vital importance of a great team

31:17 The effect of the Hampshire landscape on AMPG's design work

33:47 Is there anything the RHS needs to learn when it comes to reaching new people with shows like Chelsea?

38:56 Ann-Marie's gardens at RHS Wisley in Surrey

42:43 Pro-bono work for Greenfingers charity https://www.greenfingerscharity.org.uk/

46:03 Quickfire EITHER/OR questions!

Fatsia japonica https://www.shootgardening.co.uk/plant/fatsia-japonica

Schefflera rhododendrifolia https://www.shootgardening.co.uk/plant/schefflera-rhododendrifolia

Crûg Farm Nursery farm.co.uk">https://www.crug-farm.co.uk/

***

Gratitude, privilege and responsibility vs Plants, People, Place. Pick your mantra!

Thank you to Ann-Marie for joining me on this episode. You can find Ann-Marie online here:

AMPG website: mariepowell.com/">https://www.ann-mariepowell.com/

Ann Marie's Instagram https://www.instagram.com/ann_mariepowell/

The @myrealgarden instagram page: https://www.instagram.com/myrealgarden/

And also to Sui Searle for reading from the Lucile H. Brockway paper. You can find Sui on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/thetemperategardener/ and here https://www.instagram.com/decolonisethegarden/

A year of garden coaching

https://www.britishpodcastawards.com/vote

May 21, 2020

00:42:11

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

Gardening without Chelsea.

The RHS Virtual Chelsea Flower Show https://www.rhs.org.uk/shows-events/virtual-chelsea

Lockdown gardening interest

The Independent Plant Nursery Guide http://independentplantnurseriesguide.uk/

Should we look for a silver lining?

Reading 03:20

Extract from The Five Minute Garden by Laetitia Maklouf, read by Emma Jo Real Davies. https://amzn.to/36l871Z

Interview with the Laetitia Maklouf 05:15

05:44 Standard Laetitia Lore and the Sweet Pea Seeds

07:29 Sharing online

08:44 How Laetitia has changed as a gardener

09:28 Gardening in small spaces – the benefits of limits

10:03 Moving to real earth – option paralysis

10:36 Prescriptive approach vs you do you

11:08 Trust in your gardening instinct

12:13 Being ruthless. Or… not…! (Hotbin Darling)

https://www.hotbincomposting.com/

13:10 Lockdown sourdough progress

14:24 Teaching the children through gardening

20:34 Being politely steely

22:00 Gardening overwhelm

26:10 The Five Minute Gardener

31:37 Gardening as a transactional relationship

33:25 On the decision not to have photographs in the new book

36:44 What is Laetitia going to do when she grows up?

***

Lockdown gardening communicators on Instagram

Just some of the folk who have really taken the opportunity to bring people into their own gardens (particularly encouraging and inspiring when some of them are multi award-winning designers) over the past couple of months. Don’t miss Ann-Marie Powell’s lunchtime talks at https://www.instagram.com/myrealgarden/, or Jo Thompson’s daily morning dog rambles through the Sussex countryside in the company of birds and her lovely labrador Rush https://www.instagram.com/jothompsongarden/. And of course, past friends of the podcast Alice Vincent https://www.instagram.com/noughticulture/ and Caro Langton at RoCo https://www.instagram.com/studio.roco/, teaching us about small space gardening and houseplants in their stories. All incredibly generous, and remarkably accessible.

Thank you to Laetitia for joining me on this episode. Laetitia's book The Five Minute Garden, published by National Trust Books, 2020, is available here https://amzn.to/36l871Z

Laetitia's website: https://laetitiamaklouf.com/

Laetitia on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/laetitiamaklouf

And to Emma Jo Real Davies for reading from Laetitia’s book. Emma Jo’s brilliant podcast, The Female Struggle is Real is here https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/the-female-struggle-is-real/id1215423183 or you can find her on Instagram here https://www.instagram.com/emjorealdavies/, or on the airwaves here https://www.kmfm.co.uk/on-air/the-hit-list-with-emma-jo/

PLEASE VOTE FOR THE GARDENS, WEEDS & WORDS PODCAST IN THE BRITISH PODCAST AWARDS LISTENER CHOICE CATEGORY

Lockdown discounts: A year of garden coaching

I’ve been very excited about my new venture – even before the lockdown I’d decided that online garden coaching would be a fantastic way for me to work with more people than I can physically get around to, helping them to make the very best of their gardens in a way that suits the life they lead. With the all the uncertainty around our lives just now I’m holding the the introductory price for the full 12 month programme as well as offering a quarterly payment plan, and there’s 50% off an hour’s Skype consultation call.

https://www.gardensweedsandwords.com/garden-coaching