292 episodes

Do you want to know how to grow plants and get the best out of your outdoor space? Do you find traditional gardening media baffling and/or boring? Then you’re in the right place, because the Roots and All podcast is here to dig deep into how to create a successful garden.

If you want honest information and insider knowledge about how to get results, join irreverent horticulturist Sarah Wilson as she chats to the best people from the world of plants and gardens. Sarah is on a mission to help you create your own beautiful green environment, with a focus on saving resources and working with nature.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast to make sure you don’t miss an episode.

Roots and All - Gardening Podcast Sarah Wilson

    • Leisure

Do you want to know how to grow plants and get the best out of your outdoor space? Do you find traditional gardening media baffling and/or boring? Then you’re in the right place, because the Roots and All podcast is here to dig deep into how to create a successful garden.

If you want honest information and insider knowledge about how to get results, join irreverent horticulturist Sarah Wilson as she chats to the best people from the world of plants and gardens. Sarah is on a mission to help you create your own beautiful green environment, with a focus on saving resources and working with nature.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast to make sure you don’t miss an episode.

    Sustainability Matters

    Sustainability Matters

    My guest this week is Nadine Charlton. Through her business Home Spring Gardens, Nadine provides specialist services to the horticultural and landscape construction industry, advising on sustainable best practice and creating beautiful gardens and landscapes with an environmental conscience. We talk about the importance of sourcing sustainable garden products, how you can tell whether what you’re buying is sustainable and whether enough is being done on this front.
    About Nadine Charlton & Home Spring Gardens
    Nadine provides specialist services to the horticultural and landscape construction industry
    with commitment to sustainable best practice and creating beautiful gardens and landscapes with an environmental conscience. 
    She has exhibited personally at RHS shows, and has project managed and advised on multi award winning gardens at RHS Chelsea Flower Show.
    Nadine has an ability to see a vision and make it happen, connecting people and bringing
    teams, partners as well as commercial objectives together with demonstrable results. She
    has a lifelong passion of historic landscapes and architecture and is an advocate for using
    traditional methods with the benefit of modern insights and techniques.
    A passionate lover of outdoor living, Nadine is committed to innovation and education;
    inspiring the next generation.
    www.homespringgardens.co.uk
    Nadine is currently working with Landscape Architect Michael Lote on his debut show garden ‘It doesn’t have to cost the Earth’ which will be featured at RHS Malvern Spring Festival 9-12 th May 2024 showcasing innovative sustainable construction products and methods. 
    The garden will be repurposed to Woodoaks Farm which is owned by the Soil Association Land Trust to create a permanent training and educational space to facilitate learning for school children and adults, growing together with the horticultural and agricultural industry.
    Other episodes if you liked this one:
    Historic Roses
    
Irises
    Support the podcast on Patreon

    • 23 min
    Historic Tulips

    Historic Tulips

    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
    Support the podcast on Patreon

    • 18 min
    Unearthing

    Unearthing

    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
    Support the podcast on Patreon

    • 24 min
    Episode 275 - Community Gardening

    Episode 275 - Community Gardening

    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
     

    • 19 min
    Episode 274 -Natural Swimming Ponds

    Episode 274 -Natural Swimming Ponds

    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
    Support the podcast on Patreon

    • 24 min
    Episode 273 - Landscape Led

    Episode 273 - Landscape Led

    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 wi

    • 27 min

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