Gardening with the RHS Pixiu

With the first cold snap hitting the UK this past week, it’s really starting to feel like winter. It’s a time of structural beauty, of evergreen supremacy, of frosty seedheads, and of low but magical light. So this week, we’re focusing in on all the mystery and enchantment of a winter garden. We’re chatting with author Naomi Slade about designing and revamping gardens in the colder months, leaning into year-round grow-your-own with garden manager Sheila Das, and exploring how to bring a bit of the winter charm inside with what’s available now to pick. 

Presenter: Guy Barter
Contributors: Naomi Slade, Sheila Das, Gareth Richards, Hazel Gardiner, and Shane Connolly

Links:

RHS The Winter Garden

Vegetables: growing for winter

Winter Flowers Week

It’s that time of year again… Our annual book special is here! Today, Helen Griffin, RHS Book Publishing Manager, chats with Fiona Davidson, Guy Barter, and Arthur Parkinson about their top gardening book picks of 2023. Tune in for a discussion on the future of GYO and resilient planting, the relevance of gardening history, and wildcard topics like cut flowers, winter gardening, and yes, even murder. 

Presenter: Helen Griffin
Contributors: Fiona Davidson, Guy Barter, Arthur Parkinson, and Matt Pottage

Books Discussed:


Botany of the Kitchen Garden by Helena Dove


Rekha’s Kitchen Garden: Seasonal Produce and Home-Grown Wisdom from One Gardener’s Allotment Year by Rekha Mistry


RHS The Winter Garden by Naomi Slade


England’s Gardens: A Modern History by Stephen Parker


Gardening can be Murder: How Poisonous Poppies, Sinister Shovels, and Grim gardens Have Inspired Mystery Writers by Marta McDowell


Not Another Jungle: Comprehensive Care for Extraordinary Houseplants by Tony Le Britton


Chatsworth: The gardens and the people who made them by Alan Titchmarsh


A Year Full of Veg: A Harvest for All Seasons by Sarah Raven



The Cut Flower Sourcebook by Rachel Siegfried

As the surrounding world starts looking a little bleaker, we’ve decided to explore how to best turn our homes into verdant oases. RHS Digital Editor Jenny Laville chats with Gareth Richards about the best low-maintenance houseplants, fun climbers for indoors, and underrated care tips and tricks. Social historian Catherine Horwood regales us with the history of ever-changing houseplant trends. And finally, author and podcaster Alice Vincent reveals the role houseplants played in her own gardening journey.
 
Presenters: Gareth Richards and Jenny Laville
Contributors: Catherine Horwood and Alice Vincent
 
Links:
 
Picking the right houseplant
 
Houseplants for different locations
 
Houseplants for students
 
Potted History: How Houseplants Took Over Our Homes
 
Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival
 
Rootbound: Rewilding a Life

This week, we’re journeying back through time, taking stock of a few significant moments in botanical history. We’re unravelling their mysteries, considering their reverberations, and imagining what this all might mean for the future. We're starting with a tale on the first flowering of the giant waterlily in cultivation, then discovering how ‘Midwinter Fire’ gave Cornus sanguinea a whole new reputation, and finally, we're taking a look at the life and legacy of Arthur Bulley, founder of Ness Botanic Gardens. Each of these stories draws inspiration from articles in the December issue of The Plant Review.

The Plant Review

RHS A Plant for Every Day of the Year

Foggy Bottom: A Garden to Share

Ness Botanic Gardens

This week, we journey through RHS Garden Wisley, capturing some of its autumnal beauty while also looking ahead as winter edges ever closer. Garden Manager Sheila Das chats with us about her no-dig journey, entomologist Dr. Seirian Sumner fills us in on wasps’ winter preparation, and finally, Wisley advisors provide a seasonal Q&A. 
 
Links:

How to grow a No-Dig Garden
 
How to improve your soil with the ‘No Dig’ technique
 
Endless Forms: Why We Should Love Wasps
 
Leafmould
 
Mulches and mulching
 
Preventing winter damage
 
Autumn-interest shrubs

This month – October – is UK Black History Month – and the theme for 2023 is “Saluting our Sisters,” highlighting the influence Black women have had in shaping history and inspiring change. So for today’s show, we’re exploring a few of the extraordinary stories of Black women gardeners who’ve made and continue to make a difference in the world of horticulture — all while looking ahead to what we can do to create a more equitable future. Award-winning garden designer Juliet Sargeant is sharing the stories behind her designs. We’re getting a look at the life and work of Mrs Annie Vann Reid – an American nurserywoman who built a plant empire almost 100 years ago. And, finally, we’re chatting with floral artist Hazel Gardiner about making an impact through plants. 

Links:

The history of Black British gardeners is one of resistance

The Garden History Podcast

A Short History of Flowers

Juliet Sargeant: Gardens & Landscapes

Hazel Gardiner Design