Sarah Raven’s Grow Cook Eat Arrange
What makes this weekly podcast so perfect is its variety. Plant queen and fount of knowledge Sarah Raven is at the helm but she weaves interesting guests, friends and colleagues through it so that we never tire of her. It is also full of practical tips. The result is endlessly inspirational.
Monty Don On Desert Island Discs
Monty Don has been a cosy presence on our TV screens and bookshelves for decades. While his voice and manner are comfortingly familiar, his backstory is less well-known. So, it is great fun, in this 2006 episode of Desert Island Discs, to hear about the man behind the meadow. A fascinating listen.
Vivaldi: The Four Seasons
Life can get very full of words. Some gardening sessions require music that soothes, others require music that energises. Vivaldi’s Four Seasons does both. It is the perfect music to garden to.
The Newt Podcast
The Newt Hotel in Somerset does everything well, so it should come as no surprise that its new podcast is a sheer pleasure. In it, the hotel’s Head of Programmes joins a roster of varied guests – the psychotherapist Julia Samuel to the chairman of the Financial Times (ft.com), John Ridding – for an evocative walk around the estate. You will learn something unexpected in each episode.
https://thenewtinsomerset.com
Beth Chatto On Woman’s Hour
Beth Chatto was a wildly influential British gardener, who died in 2018. In this Woman’s Hour special, recorded in 2008, Martha Kearney visits her at home in Essex and hears how went from being the young bride of a fruit farmer to the remarkable horticulturalist, wreathed in awards, that she became. Chatty and grandmotherly, Chatto’s passion for plants rings out in every sentence. The interview serves as a potted history of gardening in the UK.
Elizabeth And Her German Garden By Elizabeth Von Arnim On Audible
If you listen to the audiobook of this gorgeous 1898 novel, about a woman so woefully stifled by domestic life that she can only find solace by taming her wild garden into a paradise, you’ll spend hours tending to your pots and beds without even noticing that you have.
Talking Gardens By Gardens Illustrated
This podcast, produced by the magazine, Gardens Illustrated, asks prominent gardeners, designers and plantspeople to describe their fantasy garden down to its last detail. It is a wonderful format that is now in its fourth series. Begin with Nigel Slater, move on to Isabel Bannerman and, trust us, you will then be hooked.
