The James & Joe Garden Show

James Alexander-Sinclair & Joe Swift
  • 4.7 (22)
  • Home & Garden

Welcome to The James & Joe Garden Show - the podcast that rips up the horticultural rulebook and plants something far more entertaining. Join James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift every week where they tackle a garden topic, from the sensible to the completely ridiculous, armed with sharp opinions, 40 years’ worth of stories and a habit of wandering wildly off-topic. Listeners can also send in their weird and wonderful garden questions for the chance to win our treasured mascot - the Scribehound gnome, Jekyll. Our only two rules? No dead plants and no dull questions. As part of The Garden Collective - a place where leading experts share unfiltered gardening wisdom every single day - you can subscribe to get ad-free listening, bonus episodes, special access to live events, written articles from garden experts and so much more. Got a burning garden question, or a bizarre problem you just need to share? Email us at gardening@scribehound.com and we’ll get stuck in. Follow The Garden Collective on ⁠⁠Instagram.⁠⁠

  1. 1d ago

    Snoozing in the Garden

    Is a nap in the garden the highest form of horticulture? James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift are prepared to argue yes — provided you've had a decent lunch first. This week the boys abandon anything resembling actual gardening to become world experts in the ancient art of the garden snooze. Joe declares himself "a world expert in snoozing" and plays his Joker; James counters that he can drop into a perfect ten-minute kip on command, even at the wheel (parked, he insists). Between them they cover the lot: the three-chair sleeping technique with proper lumbar support, why you ring the speaking clock so it looks like you're still on a sales call, and the correct way to lie in a Mexican hammock so you don't end up a banana in a banana skin. Along the way — the caravan Joe emerged from mid-Chelsea to a baffled crowd, the foundation he left on James's hotel pillow, Salvador Dalí's plate-dropping nap trick, Winston Churchill's daytime pyjamas, Phil "The Cat" Tufnell asleep on a bar stool, and Ellen MacArthur's iron rule: under 20 minutes or over two hours, anything in between is fatal. Plus the grand launch of the James & Joe Napping School (paid, obviously) and a jingle that may or may not now involve a 64-piece orchestra. No dead plants. No dull questions. And absolutely no staying awake. To ask us a question email gnome@jamesandjoegarden.com or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com About our hostsJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective.Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: gnome@jamesandjoegarden.comwww.jamesandjoegarden.com

  2. Aug 4

    Question Time: Botanical Tattoos, Bribing the Judge & Which Gardener to Eat First

    You send us the questions no other garden podcast will touch — and this week you've properly outdone yourselves.James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift dig into the mailbag and hand out perfectly unreasonable answers to: what your next botanical tattoo should be (and where Joe's swift tattoo has been hiding for 35 years); whether putting on a show garden is only for the well-off; the most desperate bribe a designer ever slipped James on judging day; which Gardeners' World presenter would build a veg patch first if they were all marooned on a desert island — and, more importantly, which one you'd eat first; whether it's ever acceptable to take a saw to your neighbour's tree for a better sunset; and the single most offensive garden trend currently dominating social media.Two rules, as ever: no dead plants and no dull questions. Get yours in for a chance to win Jekyll, the most coveted prize in horticulture.To ask us a question email gnome@jamesandjoegarden.com or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.comAbout our hostsJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022.Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular.For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective. Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories.Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: gnome@jamesandjoegarden.comwww.jamesandjoegarden.com

    Question Time: Botanical Tattoos, Bribing the Judge & Which Gardener to Eat First

  3. Jul 28

    Garden Parties: Glorious Fun or a Disaster Waiting to Happen?

    Is the only reason anyone has a garden now… to throw a party in it? This week James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift take on the great British garden party — and James goes full grumpy old codger about outdoor kitchens, outdoor rugs, and the terrible idea that a garden is just an extra room with a bar in it. Joe, of course, is having none of it. Along the way: the impossible dilemma of balancing a cucumber sandwich, a cup of tea AND shaking the King's hand at a Buckingham Palace do; James eating his way through Le Manoir as a wandering MC; watching England on a bedsheet in the middle of a Welsh woodland; Joe's straw-bale 60th that turned into a festival; the perils of the damp fire pit and the friend who set his hair alight on a Green Egg; Arne Maynard's amphitheatre; a Japanese roof garden with motion-sensor music; and, inevitably, James's unstoppable march towards pop stardom. Tell us about the best garden party you've ever been to — and the worst (the one that ended in A&E). To ask us a question email gnome@jamesandjoegarden.com or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com About our hostsJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022.Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective. Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: gnome@jamesandjoegarden.comwww.jamesandjoegarden.com

    Garden Parties: Glorious Fun or a Disaster Waiting to Happen?

  4. Jul 14

    Question Time: Are You Killing Your Plants… or Just Buying the Wrong Ones?

    Question Time is back! Which means James and Joe are once again diving headfirst into your gardening dilemmas—with absolutely no guarantees that the answers will be sensible... This week they tackle one of gardening's biggest myths: does spending more money on a plant actually improve its chances of survival? (Spoiler: one very expensive fern says otherwise.) They also discuss whether black fences and Japanese-style charred timber are timeless or just another passing trend, debate the pros and cons of keeping a garden journal, and help a listener navigate the diplomatic nightmare of sharing a holiday garden with a sister who loves bargain-bin begonias. Plus: Why expensive plants sometimes die the fastest. Joe's YouTube milestone... almost. James unearths his gardening notebook from 1990. Should gardeners embrace winter hibernation—or keep pottering all year round? A surprising amount of chat about reading glasses, tree ferns and Kellys. As always, expect plenty of laughs, questionable accents, gardening honesty and the occasional ripping up of the rulebook. And don't forget... if you've got a gardening question, send it in. It might just feature in the next Question Time! If you're enjoying the podcast, we'd love it if you could leave us a review on Apple Podcasts—it really helps more gardeners discover the show. Happy gardening! https://www.thegardencollective.uk/the-james-joe-garden-show/ This is an important Public Service announcement: we will not be here next week as we are shaking things around.. Nothing too dramatic but we thought we would up our game. Thank you to all of you who tune in to listen to us burble on every tuesday - see you on 28th July. To ask us a question email gnome@jamesandjoegarden.com or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.com About our hosts James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV’s Gardeners’ World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective. Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories. Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegarden Follow The Garden Collective on ⁠⁠Instagram: / garden_collective_ Contact us: ⁠gnome@jamesandjoegarden.com www.jamesandjoegarden.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  5. Jul 7

    Feeling the Heat? Cool Off with a Garden World Cup

    When temperatures soar and the football takes over the TV, what better way to settle one of gardening's biggest debates? In this week's episode, James and Joe take a tongue-in-cheek trip around the globe, comparing Britain's gardens with some of the world's greatest horticultural traditions. Inspired by the World Cup, they imagine gardens going head-to-head in an international knockout tournament—complete with unlikely winners, controversial refereeing decisions, and plenty of laughs along the way. From the elegance of Japanese gardens and the grandeur of France's formal landscapes to the bold planting of Brazil, the colourful displays of Canada's Butchart Gardens, and the unique character of gardens in Australia, New Zealand and Mexico, the pair explore what makes each country's gardening style distinctive. Along the way they ask whether British gardening has influenced the world a little too much, and whether every country should embrace its own landscape, climate and native plants instead of copying traditional English designs. With Britain emerging from a sweltering heatwave, the conversation naturally turns to gardening in a changing climate. James and Joe discuss the importance of planting more trees, designing gardens for shade, choosing drought-tolerant plants, and why establishing young trees has never been more important. It's a thoughtful discussion wrapped up in their usual mix of humour, personal stories and gardening wisdom. As always, there are plenty of entertaining detours—from cricket, banana splits and AI translation to Roman topiary, Christopher Lloyd's love of bold planting, and even the possibility of launching their own international Gardening World Cup. Whether you're cheering on your favourite football team or simply looking for inspiration to make your own garden more resilient this summer, this episode is packed with ideas, laughter and plenty of horticultural debate. Which country would lift the Garden World Cup? You'll have to listen and decide for yourself. 🌍🌿⚽ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  6. Jun 30

    Question Time: Garden Marriages, Retired Gardeners, and Bent Cucumbers

    This week, James and Joe tackle the big questions: Do TV gardeners ever actually retire, or are they just doomed to keep trundling on forever? We dive into the absurdity of professional aging, campaign for Dame Carol Klein, and address the existential crisis of a "bent" cucumber. Plus, we offer some much-needed relationship counseling for a couple caught between a wildlife meadow and minimalist paving. In this episode: The Retirement Myth: Why self-employed creatives—and TV gardeners—don't "retire" in the conventional sense. The Campaign for Carol: Why it’s high time for Dame Carol Klein. Rebel Plants: James and Joe name their favorite "free-spirited" plants that refuse to stay where they’re put (spoiler: it involves Seseli and Foxgloves). The Cucumber Straightener: A Victorian relic or a show-stopper? We weigh in on the "polite society" of show bench vegetables. Relationship Counseling: How to manage a garden when your partner wants a concrete jungle and you want a wild meadow. This episode is sponsored by Kress, leaders in robotic lawnmowing and battery landscaping tools. Learn more here: https://www.kress.com/en-gb/ About our hosts James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. He is the RHS Ambassador for Garden Design and a Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV’s Gardeners’ World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. Support James and Joe by becoming a member of The Garden Collective - a community for anyone who loves plants, gardens and sharing what they love - a place where experts and fellow gardeners all come together to inspire, entertain and keep us company whilst we’re weeding (or staring out of the window at the rain). You'll get access to articles written by some great gardeners, live Q&A sessions, livestreams, podcasts and loads more. It’s more than a platform - it’s a place where we can answer questions, offer biscuits and share our triumphs and disasters.⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe now⁠: https://join.scribehound.com/gardening?ref=share&sharer=uu4ouXbbErgc54CBD&shareType=SbzpSgeEBK&channel=gardening%E2%81%A0 Follow James & Joe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesandjoegarden/ Follow The Garden Collective on ⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garden_collective_/ Contact us: ⁠gardening@scribehound.com⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  7. Jun 23

    Light Up Your Garden or Keep It Dark?

    Garden lighting is a divisive subject, and James and Joe are owning the controversy this week. From the "feral" beauty of a well-lit tree to the absolute horror of bright, cold security lights that turn your backyard into an office complex at midnight, we’re ripping up the rulebook on how to light your space effectively. We discuss the delicate balance of creating drama through light and shadow, the importance of "warm white" over harsh blue LEDs, and why James thinks the future of garden lighting is actually… solar-powered path lights that make your garden look like a runway. Plus, we dive into the circadian rhythms of local blackbirds, the perils of "carefully" sexing hedgehogs, and why you should never, ever light a tree at 3:00 AM. This episode is sponsored by Kress, leaders in robotic lawnmowing and battery landscaping tools. Learn more here: https://www.kress.com/en-gb/ About our hosts James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. He is the RHS Ambassador for Garden Design and a Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV’s Gardeners’ World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. Support James and Joe by becoming a member of The Garden Collective - a community for anyone who loves plants, gardens and sharing what they love - a place where experts and fellow gardeners all come together to inspire, entertain and keep us company whilst we’re weeding (or staring out of the window at the rain). You'll get access to articles written by some great gardeners, live Q&A sessions, livestreams, podcasts and loads more. It’s more than a platform - it’s a place where we can answer questions, offer biscuits and share our triumphs and disasters.⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe now⁠: https://join.scribehound.com/gardening?ref=share&sharer=uu4ouXbbErgc54CBD&shareType=SbzpSgeEBK&channel=gardening%E2%81%A0 Follow James & Joe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesandjoegarden/ Follow The Garden Collective on ⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garden_collective_/ Contact us: ⁠gardening@scribehound.com⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

  8. Jun 16

    Question Time: Etsy Witches, Rainy Weddings, and Garden Etiquette

    We’re back with another listener Q&A! As always, James and Joe are answering your most urgent (and slightly unhinged) gardening questions. This week, we tackle the "elephant in the room": what is the official etiquette for bathroom breaks when you’re working in a client’s garden? (Spoiler: It involves a lot of "feral weeding" and shed-related anxiety). We also dive into the ethics of urban gardening—is it botanical cruelty to cram 30 cosmos into a tiny window box?—and take on a listener’s challenge: for every new plant you buy, you must purge one household item. Plus, we discuss the efficacy of paying a witch on Etsy to save your wedding day weather. In this episode: The Bathroom Protocol: How to handle the lack of facilities without ruining your client relationship. Urban Gardening Ethics: When does "abundance" cross the line into plant torture? The One-In-One-Out Rule: James and Joe try to decide which household junk to bin for their latest plant haul. Witchcraft & Weddings: Should you demand a refund from an Etsy witch for a rainy wedding day? Reality TV Dreams: Which reality shows would James and Joe actually survive? Got a question for the next Q&A? Drop it in our DMs. This episode is sponsored by Kress, leaders in robotic lawnmowing and battery landscaping tools. Learn more here: https://www.kress.com/en-gb/ About our hosts James Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022. He is the RHS Ambassador for Garden Design and a Fellow of the Society of Garden Designers. Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV’s Gardeners’ World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular. Support James and Joe by becoming a member of The Garden Collective - a community for anyone who loves plants, gardens and sharing what they love - a place where experts and fellow gardeners all come together to inspire, entertain and keep us company whilst we’re weeding (or staring out of the window at the rain). You'll get access to articles written by some great gardeners, live Q&A sessions, livestreams, podcasts and loads more. It’s more than a platform - it’s a place where we can answer questions, offer biscuits and share our triumphs and disasters.⁠⁠⁠⁠ Subscribe now⁠: https://join.scribehound.com/gardening?ref=share&sharer=uu4ouXbbErgc54CBD&shareType=SbzpSgeEBK&channel=gardening%E2%81%A0 Follow James & Joe on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jamesandjoegarden/ Follow The Garden Collective on ⁠⁠Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/garden_collective_/ Contact us: ⁠gardening@scribehound.com⁠. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

See All (68)

4.7
out of 5
22 Ratings

About

Welcome to The James & Joe Garden Show - the podcast that rips up the horticultural rulebook and plants something far more entertaining. Join James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift every week where they tackle a garden topic, from the sensible to the completely ridiculous, armed with sharp opinions, 40 years’ worth of stories and a habit of wandering wildly off-topic. Listeners can also send in their weird and wonderful garden questions for the chance to win our treasured mascot - the Scribehound gnome, Jekyll. Our only two rules? No dead plants and no dull questions. As part of The Garden Collective - a place where leading experts share unfiltered gardening wisdom every single day - you can subscribe to get ad-free listening, bonus episodes, special access to live events, written articles from garden experts and so much more. Got a burning garden question, or a bizarre problem you just need to share? Email us at gardening@scribehound.com and we’ll get stuck in. Follow The Garden Collective on ⁠⁠Instagram.⁠⁠

Information

  • Creator
    James Alexander-Sinclair & Joe Swift
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    68
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © James Alexander-Sinclair & Joe Swift
  • Show Website
    The James & Joe Garden Show