Not Just a Garden

Sweetpea and Bear

A Companion podcast for Gardeners' World viewers, featuring weekly recaps and Chit-Chats with guests & presenters from the programme A name that came about after we laboriously tackled a weed-infested, overgrown, black-run-steep patch of field into something vaguely resembling a garden. Literal blood, sweat and tears were spent in the process but once the beds were built, the plants began to grow and the wildlife took over, we agreed it was not just a garden, but something so much more; a shared achievement, a bonding experience, an escape from screens, a hideaway for tranquil moments, a safe space to sit and put the mad and confusing world to rights. Our continued shared love of gardening has had us avidly watching Gardeners’ World each week, taking notes here, animatedly discussing there, which has in turn lead us to giving a Sweetpea & Bear style recap on our podcast! Just a mother and daughter chewing the fat over Nick, Frances and Adam’s big garden moves, enjoying Monty and Toby’s poetic presenting, learning intriguing garden history from Advolly and hanging off Carol’s every propagating word. The programme has also brought into our living rooms each week a novice, professional, serious, hilarious, quirky, eccentric, inspiring world of guests, all of whom we want to know so much more about. So our Good Ol' Chit-Chats series was born; each episode we chat with a previous guest on Gardeners’ World and find out more about what would make their dream garden. So grab a cup of tea and flask of coffee, a glass of wine, a whisky, a Pimms, an Apple and Pear juice or anything in between, and join us for a Good Ol’ Chit-Chat about Not Just a Garden! Sweetpea & Bear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. Aug 12

    Gardeners' World 2026 Episode 21 Recap

    On Gardeners' World 2026 Episode 21 Recap, we find out what the largest family of flowering plants is, how frogs, newts and snakes are coexisting in the pond, where you can find some interesting, unusual and free plants for your garden, how man's best friend can help on a date, what interesting parterre discoveries are being made across the country thanks to the drought, and we have a very generous offer from the wonderful team at Southport Flower Show. On Gardeners' World this week, Frances Tophill shows Dame Mary Berry around Damson Farm near Bath, before Ekin Karasin and Queen Maggie show us around their wildlife garden in North London. "Top-Tip-Toby" Buckland leaves us feeling thoroughly inadequate as he gives us some more incredible and simple tips for the garden from his place in Devon, and we spend a happy time at the wonderful Smethwick Allotments with Thindi Kaur, her dad Harjinder Singh Rana, and their friends Jagtar Singh and Mohinder Singh Hayer. Finally we visit the beautiful urban garden in Kensington designed my garden designer Michelle Brandon. 🥇🥇We also remind our listeners of @dansplantsuk (from ep35 of Chit-Chats) kind offer of 10% discount on all his award-winning plants available on his website here with our exclusive code NJAG10🥇🥇 🌿Farida Sober (from ep61 of Chit-Chats) is generously offering our listeners 20% discount on her newly released eBook: THE FERMENTED GRASS METHOD – Bring Your Soil Back to Life with Nature’s Own Fertility Cycle. Use the code SWEETPEA at checkout🌿 Relevant links can be found on our website: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/ More Not Just a Garden https://notjustagarden.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/ https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden A companion podcast for Gardeners’ World viewers, featuring weekly recaps and Chit-Chats with guests & presenters from the programme Join the community for episode plant lists, discounts, recommendations, blogs, links, photos, & more by subscribing at https://notjustagarden.co.uk/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  2. Aug 5

    Gardeners' World 2026 Episode 20 Recap

    On Gardeners' World 2026 Episode 20 Recap, we clear up the difference between using Epsom salts versus table salt on your garden, reminisce about Dame Edna Everage, and find out how grandad could throw away his walking sticks with the addition of a certain poppy-seed to his home-made bread. On Gardeners' World this week, Adam Frost takes us to Geoff Hamilton's place at the beautiful Barnsdale Gardens, and Sharon Preddy gives us a tour of her beautiful tropical garden at Seven Sisters in Neath, West Glamorgan. We're left with more questions than answers as Carol Klein chats with Professor Sacha Mooney from Notts Uni about soil physics, and Peter Farrow shares he passion for gladioli from his place in Chesterfield in North East Derbyshire. 🥇🥇We also remind our listeners of @dansplantsuk (from ep35 of Chit-Chats) kind offer of 10% discount on all his award-winning plants with our exclusive code NJAG10🥇🥇 🌿Farida Sober (from ep61 of Chit-Chats) is generously offering our listeners 20% discount on her newly released eBook: THE FERMENTED GRASS METHOD – Bring Your Soil Back to Life with Nature’s Own Fertility Cycle. Use the code SWEETPEA at checkout🌿 Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/ More Not Just a Garden https://notjustagarden.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/ https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden A companion podcast for Gardeners’ World viewers, featuring weekly recaps and Chit-Chats with guests & presenters from the programme Join the community for episode plant lists, discounts, recommendations, blogs, links, photos, & more by subscribing at https://notjustagarden.co.uk/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. Jul 29

    Gardeners' World 2026 Episode 19 Recap

    On Gardeners' World 2026 Episode 19 Recap we ponder interveinal chlorosis and get dates in the diary for some Geoff Hamilton content. On Gardeners' World, we speed 'round RHS Sandringham Flower Show, checking out some of the Show Gardens, Feature Gardens, Grow Forward Gardens, and Long Borders. Tony Kirkham gives us some insight into the future of trees, before ZCSucculents' Chen from Beijing and her husband David from Tunbridge Wells talk chubby and cute succulents. John Cullen gives us a masterclass on his National Collection of Achillea in Boston, and we meet Matt from Gransfield Nursery in Hampshire as he prepares for the show. Finally Ian Limmer from Peter Beale's Roses gives us some tips and tricks for looking after their plants. In our CCCUP, we find out that Peter and Helleentje Walker from Wacks Wicked Plants, Greg Anderton from Leafy Lytham, and Dan Stearne from Dan's Plants all won golds - again!🥇 🥇🥇We also remind our listeners of @dansplantsuk (from ep35 of Chit-Chats) kind offer of 10% discount on all his award-winning plants with our exclusive code NJAG10🥇🥇 🌿Farida Sober (from ep61 of Chit-Chats) is generously offering our listeners 20% discount on her newly released eBook: THE FERMENTED GRASS METHOD – Bring Your Soil Back to Life with Nature’s Own Fertility Cycle. Use the code SWEETPEA at checkout🌿 Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/ More Not Just a Garden https://notjustagarden.co.uk/ https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/ https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden A companion podcast for Gardeners’ World viewers, featuring weekly recaps and Chit-Chats with guests & presenters from the programme Join the community for episode plant lists, discounts, recommendations, blogs, links, photos, & more by subscribing at https://notjustagarden.co.uk/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. Jul 27

    Ep75: A Good Ol' Chit-Chat With... Joshua Sparkes

    https://notjustagarden.co.uk/joshua-sparkes/ Joshua was on Gardeners' World 2024 episode 23 when Frances Tophill visited him at Birch Farm in North Devon and described him as "a horticultural maverick"! Joshua joins us for a Chit-Chat and shares his remarkable transformation of Birch Farm as well as what would make it into his beautifully biodiverse dream garden. We also learn about the importance of polycultures, some major slug management lessons, tree leaf salads from lime trees, to bladder nuts, to Sichuan pepper trees, growing vegetables in rubble and sand, big boy plants, and Joshua's important work trialling perennial vegetables for viable crops for the future of agriculture. Some mentions from our guest, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/ Peter Korns TrädgårdKeith Wiley at WildsideGrass Roof CoMt Cuba CenterChicago Botanical GardensHoward NurseriesThe Field NurseryDe Hessenhof NurseryMount StewartPrickly Nut Wood More Not Just a Garden Website: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden A companion podcast for Gardeners’ World viewers, featuring weekly recaps and Chit-Chats with guests & presenters from the programme Join the community for episode plant lists, discounts, recommendations, blogs, links, photos, & more by subscribing at https://notjustagarden.co.uk/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Ep75: A Good Ol' Chit-Chat With... Joshua Sparkes

Ratings & Reviews

About

A Companion podcast for Gardeners' World viewers, featuring weekly recaps and Chit-Chats with guests & presenters from the programme A name that came about after we laboriously tackled a weed-infested, overgrown, black-run-steep patch of field into something vaguely resembling a garden. Literal blood, sweat and tears were spent in the process but once the beds were built, the plants began to grow and the wildlife took over, we agreed it was not just a garden, but something so much more; a shared achievement, a bonding experience, an escape from screens, a hideaway for tranquil moments, a safe space to sit and put the mad and confusing world to rights. Our continued shared love of gardening has had us avidly watching Gardeners’ World each week, taking notes here, animatedly discussing there, which has in turn lead us to giving a Sweetpea & Bear style recap on our podcast! Just a mother and daughter chewing the fat over Nick, Frances and Adam’s big garden moves, enjoying Monty and Toby’s poetic presenting, learning intriguing garden history from Advolly and hanging off Carol’s every propagating word. The programme has also brought into our living rooms each week a novice, professional, serious, hilarious, quirky, eccentric, inspiring world of guests, all of whom we want to know so much more about. So our Good Ol' Chit-Chats series was born; each episode we chat with a previous guest on Gardeners’ World and find out more about what would make their dream garden. So grab a cup of tea and flask of coffee, a glass of wine, a whisky, a Pimms, an Apple and Pear juice or anything in between, and join us for a Good Ol’ Chit-Chat about Not Just a Garden! Sweetpea & Bear Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.