BBC Gardeners’ World Magazine Podcast

The view from the window of the Hall of Mirrors will literally take your breath away. Manicured lawns, perfectly trimmed trees, ornate fountains, and a natural verdant green funnel stretching into the distance. This is one of the most iconic and jaw dropping gardens in the world: the Palace of Versailles Gardens in France. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tending to houseplants through the winter months is a great way to carry on gardening when there’s less to do outside. Some indoor plants even flourish at this time of year showcasing colourful flowers or uplifting foliage. To find out more about all things houseplants – how to choose them, where to place them, and that all-important care – tune into this week’s episode with former BBC Gardeners' World presenter and indoor plant expert Anne Swithinbank. With a houseplant collection of over 70 plants or more, including some winter favourites, she has lots of insightful tips and advice to share.Do you have a gardening question you'd like Alan Titchmarsh's help with? Submit your question in the comments below or go to www.gardenersworld.com/podcast/questions/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What can we do to ensure next year’s growing season is the best yet? With the frenzy of the growing season now behind us, lost to the memory of warm, summer days and bountiful harvests, and while our vegetable patches and flower beds lay bare, ecologist and botanist Becky Searle shares advice and tips for how to care for our soil over the winter months. Do you have a gardening question you'd like Alan Titchmarsh's help with? Submit your question in the comments below or go to www.gardenersworld.com/podcast/questions/ Alan will answer a selection in the Ask Alan podcast series from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine in February and March. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Imagine you’re in danger. Your home has become a warzone – bombs and bullets are a daily occurrence. What would you do? Astonishingly, the answer for many people is to create a garden. War correspondent Lalage Snow has travelled to Israel, Gaza, Ukraine and Afghanistan to document the gardens that people create to provide peace and respite from the wars around them. She shares how gardening can be an act of hope and defiance. Do you have a gardening question you'd like Alan Titchmarsh's help with? Submit your question in the comments below or go to www.gardenersworld.com/podcast/questions/ Alan will answer a selection in the Ask Alan podcast series from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine in February and March. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Imagine discovering a garden oasis while seeking out world-famous sculptures. This expansive park is famous for the Vigeland Sculpture Park, featuring over 200 of Gustav Vigeland’s works. Frogner Park has expansive lawns, majestic oaks, maples and lindens and seasonal flower beds. The garden layout invites leisurely wandering, with benches for relaxation and offers plenty of inspiration, blending formal garden elements with naturalistic plantings. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Tony Kirkham, a renowned British botanist and former Head of Arboretum at Kew Gardens, dives into the pivotal role trees play amid climate change. He shares insights on how trees are adapting globally and discusses the emotional connections we have with them. The conversation highlights the importance of tree diversity in combatting pests and diseases, while emphasizing careful planting strategies to ensure their survival. Listeners can also learn about seed conservation and the personal experiences that inspire tree preservation efforts.

Fungi are some of the most important organisms in our gardens, partnering with plant roots to help them access nutrients, processing dead material and nurturing countless vital processes – but most of the time they are completely invisible to the naked eye. In this episode we meet fungi expert and author of the bestselling book Entangled Life, Merlin Sheldrake, to find out more about these extraordinary organisms.Do you have a gardening question you'd like Alan Titchmarsh's help with? Submit your question in the comments below or go to www.gardenersworld.com/podcast/questions/ Alan will answer a selection in the Ask Alan podcast series from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine in February and March. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Established in 1863, the gardens cover 21 hectares and feature a diverse collection of plants from around the world. As well as a Rose Garden and Herb Garden, the botanic garden is home to majestic trees, including the giant sequoia. Standing beneath these giants is a humbling experience. The New Zealand Garden showcases native flora like the silver fern and Pohutukawa tree, creating lush, natural landscape. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Christopher Hart, an expert and author of "Hedgelands, A Wild Wonder Around Britain’s Greatest Habitat," dives into the fascinating world of hedgerows. He reveals their crucial role in biodiversity and wildlife habitats, highlighting their historical decline from 700,000 kilometers to 400,000 due to farming. Hart discusses the ecological benefits of dead hedges and shares insights on traditional hedge laying, emphasizing native plants' importance in gardens. He also shares tips on selecting and managing diverse hedge plants for both beauty and ecological balance.

For years, gardeners have been told to provide supplementary food for garden birds. Reasons for this include helping to compensate for a lack of food during a hard winter, increase competition for food at fledging time, and help to get adults into good breeding condition in spring. But is feeding birds all it's cracked up to be? And if not, how else can we support our feathered friends? Join award-winning author and wildlife gardening expert Kate Bradbury as she talks to naturalist, conservationist and author, Nick Atchison. Do you have a gardening question you'd like Alan Titchmarsh's help with? Submit your question in the comments below or go to www.gardenersworld.com/podcast/questions/ Alan will answer a selection in the Ask Alan podcast series from BBC Gardeners' World Magazine in February and March. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices