Roots and All - Gardening Podcast

Just how free are we to walk around our cities and countryside? Who owns our parks and public spaces and who makes the decision what you can and can’t do in them and when they can be closed for ticketed events? What can you do to make sure our green spaces stay open and accessible to all? These are all questions I asked Neil Sinden, the Director of the London branch of the CPRE (Campaign for Rural England). I’d seen mention of the Urban Right to Roam, which piqued my interest and made me wonder about how much freedom we do have to roam across our cities and indeed our countryside. I had always assumed we had inalienable rights across public land but it seems it’s not as clear cut as I thought.  As Neil mentions in the interview, 2.6million people in the UK live more than a 10 minute walk from a green space. That’s hugely important as our country becomes more urbanised and it’s important if, for you, your local green space is your only garden.   We talk about: The CPRE and why it’s needed, even in towns and large cities like London   The Urban Right to Roam Rights of Way Privately owned public spaces Protecting and improving our green spaces   Links  www.cprelondon.org.uk   www.lfgn.org.uk Go Parks London How to register an unrecorded Historic Right of Way  Blog post by Groundsure about the implications for our Historic Rights of Way of a 2026 deadline to register them by.    Get in touch; Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk  Website www.rootsandall.co.uk  Twitter @rootsandall Instagram rootsandallpod Facebook @rootsandalluk   Patreon Link; Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall 

A New Garden Ethic with Benjamin Vogt   Sarah talks to garden designer and author Benjamin Vogt about his book A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future. Benjamin writes in his book how it’s imperative that we take up a new style of gardening, a new garden ethic, and that we do so fast. Benjamin explains what it means for him to garden with every species in mind and what happens when we separate ourselves from the rest of our garden’s community.  Benjamin Vogt runs Monarch Gardens, a prairie garden design practice. His own garden was named a top outdoor space of 2012 by Apartment Therapy and has been featured in Fine Gardening, Garden Design, Nebraska Life, the Omaha World Herald, the Lincoln Journal Star, and on KOLN (Lincoln's CBS affiliate).   Benjamin wrote an award-winning garden column for Houzz for five years and has contributed to books such as Lawn Gone! and Pollinator Friendly Gardening. His book A New Garden Ethic: Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future was published in 2017 by New Society Publishers.     We talk about:   What is A New Garden Ethic Why it’s important that we feel part of the entire community that’s specific to where we live The effects of a disconnect from nature Benjamin’s definition of native plants Benjamin’s design work and plant palette  Objections to using native plants   Links    Benjamin Vogt - Monarch Gardens www.monarchgard.com  Benjamin on Twitter @BRVogt  A New Garden Ethic:Cultivating Defiant Compassion for an Uncertain Future by Benjamin Vogt (2017)    Get in touch; Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk  Website www.rootsandall.co.uk  Twitter @rootsandall Instagram rootsandallpod   Patreon Link; Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall     

Dr Glenn H Shepard is an ethnobotanist, medical anthropologist and film maker whose work focuses on the indigenous peoples of the Amazon. He speaks eleven languages and has done fieldwork with diverse native groups in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East researching shamanism, medicinal plants, and traditional environmental knowledge. His work features in the documentary Spirits of the Rainforest.  We talk about: - Glenn’s work with the indigenous people of the Amazon forest - Biopiracy - Medicinal/Psychoactive plants, in particular ayahuasca  - How psychoactive plants may be used in the West vs the countries they originate from - The ecological and legal consequences of exporting psychoactive plants - The fires in the Amazon forest   Links  Dr Glenn H Shepard Jr Blog - Notes from the Ethnoground  Glenn on Twitter @tweettropiques  Spirits of the Rainforest Documentary  The Ethnobotanical Assembly www.tea-assembly.com   Get in touch; Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk  Website www.rootsandall.co.uk  Twitter @rootsandall Instagram rootsandallpod   Patreon Link; Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall 

In this episode, I’m speaking to Jan Billington of Maddocks Farm Organics, a flower farm in Devon growing and selling organic edible flowers. We talk about the easiest and tastiest flowers you can grow, colour trends, some more unusual edible flowers and how you can use edible flowers for your own special event. The episode starts with Jan telling us about her farm and why she feels her business needs to give something back.    What We Discuss: Where to source edible flowers and what to look out for Using them in a variety of ways Flowers you can grow yourself Flowers for insects Colour trends Unusual flowers   Links Maddocks Farm Organics - www.maddocksfarmorganics.co.uk The Scented Kitchen: Cooking with Flowers by Frances Bissell  Botanical Baking : Contemporary baking and cake decorating with edible flowers and herbs by Juliet Sear Jekka’s Herb Cookbook by Jekka McVicar    Get in touch; Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk  Website www.rootsandall.co.uk  Twitter @rootsandall Instagram rootsandallpod   Patreon Link; Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall 

Alyson Mowat runs her studio out of Shoreditch in London and has been creating botanical masterpieces for the past 5 years. She works with indoor and outdoor plants to make visually stunning green displays and specialises in terrariums, jarrariums, aquascapes and kokedama to stage plants in unique ways.  We talk about using plants to create visual statements, finding sources of inspiration and how you can try some of these techniques for yourself. For more information about Alyson, please check out her website www.alysonmowat.com and her book Terrariums and Kokedama  Get in touch; Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk  Website www.rootsandall.co.uk  Twitter @rootsandall Instagram rootsandallpod   Patreon Link; Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall 

This week I’m speaking to Dr Wilson Wall of Bewdley Orchids. Dr Wall is also the co-author of How to Grow Native Orchids in Gardens Large and Small and is a foremost expert on UK native orchids. In this episode, he talks about growing orchids in lawns, borders, containers…they’re much more versatile than you might expect! Not only are they beautiful and versatile, if you grow them, you’ll be doing your bit to conserve these plants as their numbers in the wild diminish.   About Dr Wilson Wall Wilson Wall is the Director of Bewdley Orchids, provider of native British orchids for individuals and groups to grow in their garden or meadow. Elected Fellow of the Institute of Biology (now the Royal Society of Biology) and Chartered Biologist, Wilson has a PhD in genetics and a long interest in growing orchids from seed. He has written several books before, of both single and joint authorship and was editor of The Clematis, journal of the British Clematis Society.   What We Cover:   The relationship between orchids and fungi Which orchids are suitable for growing in gardens Orchids that work in containers Soil requirements The sourcing of plants Common pests and diseases   Links Bewdley Orchids www.bewdleyorchids.com How to Grow Native Orchids in Gardens Large and Small - by Wilson Wall and Dave Morgan. Published by Green Books. https://www.greenbooks.co.uk/how-to-grow-native-orchids-in-gardens-large-and-small    Get in touch; Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk  Website www.rootsandall.co.uk  Twitter @rootsandall Instagram rootsandallpod   Patreon Link; Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall 

This week I’m speaking to John Little. John founded the Grass Roof Company in 1998 and for the past 20 years, he’s been designing and implementing gardens in public spaces that work for people, for plants and for wildlife.  Often working in urban locations, he installs wildlife habitats and planting in some unusual places including on roofs and structures such as cycle shelters. He also includes many edible plants in his schemes in order to create beautiful and useful spaces that engage the community.  Maintenance and management is a key focus, and is vital to the success and longevity of his projects. We also talk about the need to revise traditional maintenance practices in order to reduce costs, save time and preserve wildlife.    About John Little “John’s life with green roofs started when he self built his own home in Essex. The green roof on John’s new house consisted of the standard green roof structure, onto which he literally dumped soil from the foundations. That was 17 years ago and the roof is still growing strong. A few years ago a colony of Bee Orchids appeared from nowhere!! He has since designed and built small green roofs buildings throughout South Essex and London over the last 20 years. often combining the living roofs with habitat walls made designed to support solitary bees. John’s company the Grass Roof Company does landscape contracting and green roof construction in Essex and London. John also part owns Green Roof Shelters, a company that produces modular design bike, bin and freight container green roofs.."   What We Cover: How John creates gardens that mimic brownfield sites Green roofs The Clapton Park Estate project Including edible plants in a community garden John’s favourite trees and herbaceous plants for wildlife    Links John’s Design Practice - The Grass Roof Company https://www.grassroofcompany.co.uk  Green Roof Shelters - the sister company to The Grass Roof Company, specialising in buildings and structures incorporating green roofs of all types https://greenroofshelters.co.uk  Online Guide to building Green Roofs - co-authored by John Little & Dusty Gedge https://greenrooftraining.com  John on Twitter @grassroofco https://twitter.com/grassroofco?lang=en   Get in touch: Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk  Website www.rootsandall.co.uk  Twitter @rootsandall Instagram rootsandallpod   Patreon Link: Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall   

This week I’m speaking to Alex Mitchell, aka the Edible Gardener. Alex is the gardening columnist for the Evening Standard and author of five books on gardening, including her latest ‘Crops in Tight Spots’.  I speak to Alex about growing edibles when space in tight and she has some brilliant tips and tricks about how to grow, what to grow and what not to bother with. Alex’s book is based on years of experience and I respect her approach of trialling, experimenting (including catching pupae in jars and observing them as they hatch!) and just giving things a go. As a result of this hands-on experimentation, she’s developed some nifty time, money and space-saving methods and she shares some of those with us in the episode. For the rest, you’ll just have to buy the book!   About Alex Mitchell   “Alex Mitchell is a gardening writer who has been obsessed with growing things she can eat for about 20 years. Before this, she was obsessed with television. On balance, gardening is healthier. Alex is the weekly gardening columnist for The Evening Standard and has written five books about gardening and growing food. Previously she wrote a column for The Sunday Telegraph about growing fruit and vegetables, first in a polytunnel in a muddy field, which often made her cry, then in a little south London garden, which made her happy. She now gardens in a large space in Kent which makes her ecstatic though often overwhelmed. She has written five books, The Girl’s Guide to Growing Your Own – Or How to Grow Fruit and Vegetables Without Getting Your Hands Too Dirty, The Edible Balcony, The Rurbanite: Living in the Country Without Leaving the City, Gardening on a Shoestring and Crops in Tight Spots."   What We Cover:   Crops to grow indoors Crops for pots Recycling compost Essential crops for ease and high yield Creative training of tomatoes   Links   www.alex-mitchell.co.uk http://alex-mitchell.co.uk Crops in Tight Spots - Alex Mitchell, 2019 https://www.waterstones.com/book/crops-in-tight-spots/alex-mitchell/9780857835925 Alex’s Previously Published Books http://alex-mitchell.co.uk/alex-mitchell-the-edible-gardener/books/ Alex on Instagram @alexmitchelleg https://www.instagram.com/alexmitchelleg/   Get in touch: Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk  Website www.rootsandall.co.uk  Twitter @rootsandall Instagram rootsandallpod   Patreon Link: Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall   

This week I chat to Olivia Kirk about low allergen planting. Olivia works on both public and private gardens and has a number of show gardens under her belt, including a gold medal winning garden at the RHS Chelsea Flower show. She specialises in healing gardens and has worked on a number of projects such as hospice gardens, where the effect the garden can have on a person’s physical health is of paramount importance. We often think about the positive effects on mental and physical health that gardens and green spaces can provide, but we don’t often stop to think about the harm they might cause. Olivia explains how with a little bit of knowledge and a few relatively simple steps, we can make our environment a much better place for everyone, especially those suffering from allergies. Check out Olivia's work at www.oliviakirkgardens.com  Instagram: oliviakirkgardens   Get in touch; Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk  Website www.rootsandall.co.uk  Twitter @rootsandall Instagram rootsandallpod   Patreon Link; Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall 

This week I’m speaking to Dave Goulson, who is a Professor of Biology at the University of Sussex. Dave is also the founder of the Bumblebee Conservation Trust and author of three books, the most recent of which is The Garden Jungle: or Gardening to Save the Planet. With the recent interest in wildlife gardens, we talk about how you can create a good environment for wildlife, but more importantly, how you can avoid actively harming the environment with your gardening habits.    About Dave Goulson “After a childhood chasing butterflies and collecting bird’s eggs, I studied Biology at Oxford University, and then did a PhD on butterfly ecology at Oxford Brookes University. Shortly afterwards I got a lectureship at University of Southampton, where I stayed for 11 years. It was there that I began to specialize in bumblebee ecology and conservation.  In 2006 I became Professor of Biology and Stirling University. In 2006 I also founded the Bumblebee Conservation Trust, a charity devoted to reversing bumblebee declines. In 2013 I moved to Sussex University. I have published over 200 scientific articles on the ecology of bees and other insects, and am author of Bumblebees; their behaviour, ecology and conservation (2010, Oxford University Press) and A Sting in the Tale (2013, Jonathan Cape), a popular science book about bumblebees and The Garden Jungle: or Gardening to Save the Planet (2019, Jonathan Cape). I am a Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. In 2010 I was BBSRC "Social Innovator of the Year" and in 2013 I won the Marsh Award for Conservation Biology from the Zoological Society of London.”   What We Cover: What you need to look out for when buying plants and seeds  Plants for wildlife Native vs non-native plants The effects of pesticides and fungicides on wildlife   Links The Garden Jungle: or Gardening to Save the Planet - Dave Goulson https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Dave-Goulson/The-Garden-Jungle--or-Gardening-to-Save-the-Planet/23728420 A Sting in the Tale - Dave Goulson https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Dave-Goulson/A-Sting-in-the-Tale/22927310  A Buzz in the Meadow - Dave Goulson https://www.hive.co.uk/Product/Dave-Goulson/A-Buzz-in-the-Meadow/17156479  The Bumblebee Conservation Trust https://www.bumblebeeconservation.org Follow Dave Goulson on Twitter - @DaveGoulson https://twitter.com/davegoulson?lang=en RosyBee - Plants for bees http://www.rosybee.com    Contact: Stefan Batorijs 3 Barnsey Gardens  Ashburton Devon  TQ13 7GA UK  stefan@natureandtherapy.co.uk  +44 1364 652162  Nature and Therapy UK on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/shinrinyokuUK/  Common Farm Flowers on Twitter: @TheFlowerFarmer https://twitter.com/TheFlowerFarmer Common Farm Flowers on Instagram: @commonfarmflowers https://www.instagram.com/commonfarmflowers/?hl=en    Get in touch: Email podcast@rootsandall.co.uk  Website www.rootsandall.co.uk  Twitter @rootsandall Instagram rootsandallpod   Patreon Link: Help us keep the podcast free & independent! Donate as much or as little as you like at https://www.patreon.com/rootsandall