Roots and All - Gardening Podcast

This week, I’m speaking to Danielle Draper, Manager of the Cats Protection National Cat Adoption Centre in Surrey and we’re talking about that sometimes contentious issue of cats and gardens. Cats are part of gardeners’ lives, particularly if you live in an urban area. Love them or hate them, you can’t get away from them and Danielle’s here to talk about learning to live harmoniously alongside the neighbourhood felines… Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Narcissus Bulb Fly This episode is brought to you by our friends at Natural Grower. Launched in 2019, their award winning liquid fertiliser and plant feed and soil conditioner is made entirely from maize.  Naturally rich in nitrogen, potash, phosphate and other trace elements that plants and vegetables love, it is approved by the Soil Association, Vegan Society and Organic Farmers and Growers. Their concentrated natural fertiliser can be poured around the base of plants, whilst the plant feed and soil conditioner can be mixed into the soil or compost and used as a mulch on the surface as a long-term slow-release fertiliser. The fertiliser can be used for all outdoor and indoor plants. As a special offer for listeners, Natural Grower are offering 15% off all of their range. Simply go to naturalgrower.co.uk and enter ROOTS15 on checkout. What we talk about: How many cats there are in the UK - is cat ownership growing or declining in popularity? Where do cats factor in the big picture of wildlife decline? Can we exclude the neighbourhood cats from our gardens? Or deter them? Is it myth that cats don’t use their own gardens to go to the loo? Can we deter them from doing it?  What can we do if all the neighbourhood cats choose to use our garden as a battleground? What can we do if we want to feed the birds but keep them safe from cats? What about if we put food out for foxes, hedgehogs?  Ways to avoid wildlife casualties  Plants cats particularly like/don’t like What benefits can cats bring to a garden? About Cats Protection Cats Protection is the UK's largest feline welfare charity in the UK and helps around 200,000 cats and kittens every year. Formed in 1927, when it was known as the Cats Protection League, Cats Protection (CP) has grown to become the UK's leading feline welfare charity. Its vision is a world where every cat is treated with kindness and an understanding of its need and it has simple and clear objectives to help cats: •             Homing - finding good homes for cats in need •             Neutering - supporting and encouraging the neutering of cats •             Information - improving people’s understanding of cats and their care More information about the work of the charity can be found at www.cats.org.uk. To make a donation, please visit https://www.cats.org.uk/donate Advice about cats and gardens: https://www.cats.org.uk/help-and-advice/home-and-environment/garden-and-outdoors https://www.cats.org.uk/help-and-advice/home-and-environment/keeping-cats-out https://www.cats.org.uk/help-and-advice/home-and-environment/dangerous-plants

This week I’m speaking to Harriet Gross, Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Lincoln. She was part of a team that won a gold medal for the Digital Capabilities garden at the 2013 Chelsea Flower Show and she is the author of The Psychology of Gardening. Harriet talks about our emotional connection to our gardens, what makes people connected to nature and the environment, why we can be territorial over our gardens and just what it is we get from gardening. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Stridulation This episode is sponsored by the London College of Garden Design Melbourne. Based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne the college brings together unique Australian design and horticultural expertise with the training experience of Europe’s leading garden design college. The College delivers professional skills training for those aiming for a career in landscape design and from 2021 will offer a real-time online option for those who want to study from anywhere in Australia or New Zealand. To find out more visit lcgd.com.au What we talk about: What led Harriet to write the book Is the amount of research conducted into the psychology of gardening commensurate with its popularity in the UK? People who are more connected to natured and concerned with the environment and their personality type Personality traits that are generally common to gardeners Why people become so emotionally attached to their gardens Taking refuge in our gardens during the pandemic Emotional attachment to allotments Fractals and their significance in landscapes and to our appreciation of these landscapes About Professor Harriet Gross Harriet Gross is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at University of Lincoln. She was part of a team that won a gold medal for the Digital Capabilities garden at the 2013 Chelsea Flower Show and she is the author of The Psychology of Gardening.  Harriet Gross on Twitter @Harriet_Gross  Links The Psychology of Gardening by Harriet Gross - Routledge, 2018  

This episode is the last one before Valentine’s Day. Of course, you may be thinking about buying some flowers to give on Sunday so I thought, what better person to interview than a British flower grower? So I’m talking to Ben Cross of Crosslands Flower Nursery, a family owned and run nursery specialising in cut Alstroemerias. Ben is an expert grower, public speaker, an ambassador for British flowers and founder of the British Flowers Rock Campaign. As you will find out, growing flowers isn’t all roses but Ben loves what he does and he starts by giving some background on the nursery and his involvement… Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Tobacco Whitefly What we talk about: The history of Crosslands Flower Nursery and how Ben came to be involved Specialising in growing Alstroemerias - why them? The scale of the nursery operations Organic and sustainable flower farming Some of the biggest challenges facing British flower growers  The British Flowers Rock campaign About Ben Cross Ben is a 4th generation grower at Crosslands Flower Nursery which was established in 1936 in West Sussex and is one of the last flower nurseries producing cut flowers in a full colour range all year-round.  Ben’s British Alstroemeria is a very sustainable crop. His flowers are not sprayed with any chemicals after being harvested and go into recyclable, reusable boxes and arrive with customers the next day. No soil cooling techniques are used to force production and some flower beds are over 20 years old, still producing premium quality stems. Under 5% of the crop is replanted a year so sterilizing the soil is kept to a minimum. The British Alstroemeria is known as a ‘Cool Crop’ and a ‘Dry Crop’ so doesn’t take much heat input or watering. Optimum heat at night through the winter is just 13°C via a biomass boiler and the crop is watered for just 20 minutes once a month in the winter and just 20 minutes once every 10 days in the summer unlike flowers grown in warmer countries that use a lot more water resource. When Ben’s flowers have been picked they don’t go into big freezers, the cooling storage system at Crosslands is usually turned off between November and March. When the flowers need to be stored in warmer weather they’re only chilled at about 6°C instead of 0.5°C like most imported flowers. They are only stored for a couple of days before they are with the customers. They are a lot fresher than flowers that go all around the world. Most importantly all the stems are harvested at a ‘ripe’ big fat bud stage giving a bigger more vibrant flower unlike the imports that are harvested too tight so more can be transported in boats and planes. Ben also only employs local people and more importantly does apprenticeship schemes with local horticultural colleges and goes into floristry colleges to give his British Flowers Rock Talks. Next to being a full time grower, Ben is an avid campaigner for British Flowers and takes any opportunity he can to spread the word that British Flowers Rock! Ben won the Grower Award in 2019 and won the Gold Sussex Environmental award in 2020. Links Crosslands Flower Nursery Barnham Lane Walberton Nr Arundel West Sussex BN18 0AX M: 07712332241 Email: crosslandsflowernursery@gmail.com Follow on Twitter @AlstroemeriaBen Follow on Instagram @AlstroemeriaBen Find Us on Facebook at Crosslands Flower Nursery  

In this week’s episode I’m speaking to Fiona Edmond of Green Island Gardens about one of the stars of the winter garden, the Hamamelis aka witch-hazel. Fiona is the holder of the National Collection of Hamamelis and she talks about their cultivation and goes through some of the fool-proof and some of the choicer varieties. I dare you not to buy one after listening!  Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Fig Wasps This episode is sponsored by gardencourses.com What we talk about: Fiona’s background and that of Green Island Gardens How Fiona came to have the National Collection of Hamamelis Their preferred soil and aspect and their hardiness Pruning Propagation Potential pests and diseases (hint: this is short answer!) What can they be underplanted with? Do they look particularly good in one sport of setting/against a certain type of plant as a background? The flower colour spectrum  Easy to grow cultivars and Fiona’s favourites About Green Island Gardens Green Island Gardens are private gardens, open for the public. Professionally designed by its owner Fiona Edmond, they are laid out as a series of structured gardens displaying a huge range of unusual trees, shrubs, perennials, and bulbs - 'A Plantsman’s Paradise’. Surely one of the best gardens open to visit in Essex. Recommended in Great British Gardens 2019 and Essex Days Out. 20 acres of Water Gardens, Seaside Garden, Japanese Garden, Gravel Garden, Woodland Gardens, Island beds and stunning colour everywhere. There is a tearoom serving light lunches, home-made teas and cream teas. The nursery offers plants all seen growing in the gardens. We now offer mail order service for the nursery during the lockdown period. We also run different courses and special events. Visitors will be able to enjoy flat and easy walking throughout the gardens. Links Green Island Gardens Youtube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCuTfQ6Aq6evRmBZ0fjfqwdA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenislandgardens Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/greenislandgardensuk/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/greenislandgdn  

This week’s episode features garden designer and horticulturist Jo McKerr, who runs Pratensis Gardens. Jo is particularly interested in designed spaces where soil health, biodiversity and wildlife are encouraged but which still look good to the human eye. I started with a list of questions for Jo but the interview became more of a fireside chat, so pull up a chair and join Jo and I as we wend our way through eco-gardening. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Winter Moths This episode is sponsored by the London College of Garden Design Melbourne. Based at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne the college brings together unique Australian design and horticultural expertise with the training experience of Europe’s leading garden design college. The College delivers professional skills training for those aiming for a career in landscape design and from 2021 will offer a real-time online option for those who want to study from anywhere in Australia or New Zealand. To find out more visit www.lcgd.com.au What we talk about: Jo’s background and the type of projects she is currently working on. Rewilding has been a buzzword for a few years and is creeping over into gardening. Can we rewild our gardens? Jo wrote an article for Bloom magazine about creating natural gardens and stated that due to our lack of real knowledge about gardens and their wild inhabitants, “I’ve come to the conclusion that if we are to garden in a way that’s kind to the planet, we need to be conscious protectors and regenerators, with good instincts.” Jo explains what she means by this and talks about how it can be at odds with the way many currently garden. Younger generations or people new to gardening - are they are alienated by certain practices or traditional methods of thinking? The place of gardens in a climate crisis. The future of horticulture.  About Jo McKerr “Horticulture and garden design is my second career. Before I had children and a mortgage I worked as a TV producer and director and dreamed about writing and performing in the theatre. Plants and garden-making snuck up on me. I initially just wanted to save some stag beetles and create bit of an oasis in London. I found life in London challenging, I was used to space and quiet and contact with the elements, and I ended up becoming homesick (what we now understand as “biophilia”). It was my little London garden with two trees and birds and insects and the feel of the soil that made me sane at the weekend. I have all the requisite qualifications that make me both a garden designer and trained gardener: a Garden Design Diploma from Merrist Wood and a RHS2 in Practical Horticultural Theory from Bristol University. However, it has been my fortunate ability to constantly fiddle in my own gardens that has allowed me the space to develop and grow. I am always looking to collaborate with fellow landscapers, soil scientists, entomologists, gardeners, architects, designers and artists. Please don’t hesitate to get in touch – my gate is always open!” - https://jomckerr.com/about/ Links www.jomckerr.com www.lcgd.com.au

I’m kicking off the year on the podcast with an interview with conservationist and wild meadows expert Keith Datchler. We talk about the state of our wildflower meadows, their importance for biodiversity and where we, as humans, fit as part of the biodiversity that feels at home in meadows.  Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Winter Bumblebees What we talk about: The definition of a meadow How many ancient meadows are left in the UK. When they date from. How they were created. Do we need to protect them from a wildlife and a human perspective? How meadows are region and ecosystem specific  Why we should consider the locale when choosing plant species to add to or to create a meadow Can meadows work on a small scale? How long do they take to establish? What are the major hurdles to implementing one? Whether it’s desirable to encourage people to visit meadows and interact with them in terms of footfall and conservation What’s being done to preserve ancient meadows and create new ones About Keith Datchler OBE Keith Datchler started his career as a dairy farmer, before moving into estate management, with his latest position being Estate Manager at the Beech Estate in Ashburnham, East Sussex. He is a Trustee of the Weald Landscape Trust and of People Need Nature and he works as a conservationist and wild meadows consultant.  Links www.peopleneednature.org.uk www.highwealdlandscapetrust.org

This week I’m talking to Dr Jack Hunter, anthropologist and author of the book Greening the Paranormal: Exploring the Ecology of Extraordinary. The book isn’t about fairies at the bottom of the garden, although they do get a mention in the episode, but looks more at ways of studying and engaging with the super-natural and considers how these might be useful when approaching the environmental crisis. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Holly Leafminer About Dr Jack Hunter Dr. Jack Hunter is an anthropologist exploring the borderlands of ecology, religion and the paranormal. He lives in the hills of Mid-Wales with his family. He is an Honorary Research Fellow with the Alister Hardy Religious Experience Research Centre, University of Wales Trinity Saint David and a Research Fellow with the Parapsychology Foundation, New York. He is a tutor on the MA in Ecology and Spirituality and the MA in Cultural Astronomy and Astrology with the Sophia Centre, University of Wales Trinity Saint David.  He is the founder and editor of Paranthropology: Journal of Anthropological Approaches to the Paranormal, the author of Spirits, Gods and Magic: An Introduction to the Anthropology of the Supernatural (2019) and Engaging the Anomalous (2018). He is the editor of Strange Dimensions: A Paranthropology Anthology (2015), Damned Facts: Fortean Essays on Religion, Folklore and the Paranormal (2016), Greening the Paranormal: Exploring the Ecology of Extraordinary Experience (2019) and is co-editor with Dr. David Luke of Talking With the Spirits: Ethnographies from Between the Worlds (2014). Links Dr Jack Hunter's website  Greening the Paranormal: Exploring the Ecology of Extraordinary Experience by Dr Jack Hunter, August Night Press, 2019  

This week, I’m talking to Anna Soper, a Canadian artist, writer, podcaster and master of too many things to mention really about Kate Crooks, a largely forgotten Canadian botanist whose work Anna uncovered for a project she undertook in 2018. Anna’s research into Kate Crooks has unearthed pieces of a historical jigsaw puzzle which leave us wondering how many other botanists and specimens are out there just waiting to be discovered and how many of these important pieces of the botanical record have been lost forever. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Fleas About Anna Soper “Anna Soper has a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from OCAD University, where she won the OCAD University Medal in 2011. She has studied abroad at the Glasgow School of Art, and has a Master of Library and Information Science degree from Western University. Soper has exhibited her work in Toronto, New York, and London, UK. She lives and works in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, where she has created two public art works for the City of Kingston.” https://www.annasoper.ca/about Links Anna Soper’s Article on Kate Crooks in Atlas Obscura www.annasoper.ca Flora150Project on Twitter Teen People Podcast on Twitter Teen People Podcast on Instagram Botanical Society of Canada - Biodiversity Library https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/kate-crooks-botany-collection-lost-1.5249427 https://news.westernu.ca/2019/08/alumna-searches-for-botanists-trailblazing-work/

This week, I’m delighted to speak to Robert Galster, one of the co-founders of Safe Soil UK, about soil testing. There are many companies offering soil testing but the whole process is incredibly opaque. Companies offering the testing don’t often tell you what to test for, or offer to explain the results they’ll be sending and the process can be very costly. Enter Soil Safe UK, who offer soil tests for gardeners, that make sense and that don’t cost a small fortune! Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Indoor Plant Pests What we talk about: What does a soil test involve? Are all soil tests the same? When might we need one? Is it a legal requirement in some cases? What does it measure? What might it reveal about your soil? What are some typical results we might see?  What are some common problems that might be revealed? About Robert Galster & Safe Soil UK “At Safe Soil UK, our aim is to make the testing and analysis of soil easy. Whether it’s to check that soil has all the nutrients it needs to grow great veg or to investigate for potential serious contamination (the UK’s industrial heritage has left behind much that can have a negative impact on our health), we offer a straightforward approach to soil testing. Because while growing and eating local, even homegrown, should ideally be what we do as often as possible, it definitely shouldn’t be dangerous. Britain’s proud industrial and farming history left behind a legacy of contamination, with countless substances and waste products that have the potential to harm human health being discharged into the ground. Our testing packages can give you peace of mind that your growing space is safe - so why chance it? We’re big fans of gardening in general and growing vegetables in particular. Have been for as long as we can remember. Robert, one of our cofounders, tells of his early childhood memories annoying his mum by “planting” exotic fruit in various plant pots around the family home. This involved making a little hole in the soil using a toothpick and dropping orange, grapefruit and lemon seeds into the holes. Not a great deal came of these early efforts - Robert blames the climate - but he got better with time. And lots of practice. Since then his interest in gardening has remained with him and flourished as it expanded to include growing his own fruit and veg.  And that interest played a part in launching Safe Soil UK. That and curiosity.  A few years ago we came across a local rumour that a site near our urban house was once a battery factory. At this point, our interest started to extend beyond soil basics like pH and texture and on to toxic elements that may have been lurking beneath our feet. So we started to root around (pardon the pun) for a way to check the soil. What if our little annual harvests of veg and flowers were actually serving up a cocktail of lead, arsenic, chromium and other unsavoury (to say the least) elements while our time tending the fledgling crops was exposing us to airborne samples of dioxins, hydrocarbons and even asbestos? Posing that question marked the germination (again, sorry!) of Safe Soil UK, which aims to make the testing of urban soils easy, affordable (the scientific analysis involved in the testing is never going to be cheap but we’re doing our best) and also help interpret the results using UK government standards where they’re available and relying on international guidelines to fill in any blanks. There’s no disputing that the UK’s industrial heritage has left behind a legacy of contaminated land. We are descendants of a people who were at the sharp end of the industrial revolution and while this played an important part in establishing the living standards we now enjoy, there was a darker downside as the very industrial processes and activities that made Britain one of the wealthiest nations on earth also released substances and waste products into the environment that have the potential to have a detrimental impact on our health. When we started our journey in search of peace of mind that our little patch of land was not slowly killing us, we hit a roadblock. There is no shortage of laboratories capable of testing soil but many of these charged a fortune. Then there was the problem of what we actually wanted to test for. The list of harmful chemicals and elements that a lab could test for is a long one. Which ones should we be testing for? And finally, how much of something is too much?  The answers to these questions required extensive research but we got there in the end. And while no health authority can make a definitive call on the precise level at which something becomes harmful or even lethal, most agree on ranges. We use these to interpret results and where conflicts exist, we point them out to allow our customers to make informed decisions and, hopefully, provide peace of mind. When that’s not possible, we are happy to share recommendations on potential remediation approaches. We’re happy to report that we’re now in position to make everyone’s journey of discovery markedly easier than the one we had to take.” Links www.safesoil.co.uk

In this episode, I am very pleased to have a double interview with Dan Pearson and Midori Shintani, the two key horticultural forces driving the Tokachi Millennium Forest project in Hokaido, Japan and co-authors of the book Tokachi Millennium Forest: Pioneering a New Way of Gardening with Nature. I speak to Midori first, then Dan, about this vast, 1000 year project, their hopes and intentions for now and the future and about their own places with the timeline of the forest. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Ivy Mining Bees What we talk about: The history of the site of the Tokachi Millennium Forest The idea behind the project The challenges on site, posed by flora and some big fauna! Influences on the design The future of the site About Dan Pearson & Midori Shintani Twenty years ago, Dan Pearson was invited to make a garden at the 240-hectare Tokachi Millennium Forest in Hokkaido, Japan. Part of the intention was to entice city dwellers to reconnect with nature and improve land that had been lost to intensive agriculture and this was achieved along with much more. By tuning into the physical and cultural essence of the place and applying a light touch in terms of cultivation, this world-class designer created a remarkable place which has its heart in Japan's long-held respect for nature and its head in contemporary ecological planting design. The bold, uplifting sweep of the Meadow Garden mixes garden plants with natives while the undulating landforms of the Earth Garden bring sculptural connection with the mountains beyond.  Under the skilful custodianship of Midori Shintani, the garden has evolved beautifully to reflect principles that lie at the heart of Japanese culture: observation of seasonal changes, practical tasks carried out with care and an awareness of the interconnectedness of all living things. This beautiful, instructive book allows us all to experience something of the Tokachi effect, gain expert insights into how to plant gardens that feel right for their location, and reconnect with the land and wildlife that surround us. Links Tokachi Millennium Forest: Pioneering a New Way of Gardening by Dan Pearson & Midori Shintani - Filbert Press, 2020 www.danpearsonstudio.com