Why Women Grow

Why Women Grow

By Alice Vincent

'These rich and intimate conversations offer new perspectives on our interactions with nature' - The FT

I’m Alice Vincent and I’ve been on a quest to understand why women go to ground when there’s so much else to do. In Why Women Grow I have inspiring conversations with designers, chefs, entrepreneurs, and writers in their gardens.

This isn’t a podcast about gardening. Sure there’s bit of that but we discuss resistance, motherhood, spirituality, saving the planet and much more. These stories made me think differently about what it is to grow, and I think they’ll do that for you, too.
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Anna Jones on taste in the garden

Why Women GrowJul 23, 2024
00:00
24:19
Jeany Cronk on ripping up the rule book

Jeany Cronk on ripping up the rule book

When Jeany Cronk moved her young family from London to the south of France, she did so on a mission to not only make delicious wine, but shake up the whole rose tradition in the process. The co-founder of Mirabeau, Jeany and her family decided to put sustainability at the heart of their company. 

After waking up on the vineyard, we are treated to a tour of Jeany’s farm, which is the first Regenerative Organic Certified accredited vineyard in France. There, along with meeting a couple of pigs and llamas, we learn more about the risk and reward of taking the plunge to work with the outside world.

A huge thank you to Jeany Cronk, who has recently released At Home in Provence, a book that charts a culinary and family journey in the region along with life on the farm and its regenerative practices. Mirabeau has recently welcomed a new Rose to the family, called One Day. 

This podcast is inspired by Alice's book, ⁠Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival⁠, which is available in all good bookshops. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by ⁠Sophie Epto⁠n on ⁠Alice's website⁠ and instagram account @⁠⁠⁠alicevincentwrites⁠⁠⁠
Use code WWGSUMMER at⁠ ⁠Crocus.co.uk⁠⁠'s checkout to save 20% on full priced plants. The code is valid until 11.59pm on August 31st, 2025, It is valid when you spend a minimum of £50 on full priced plants and / or bulbs. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other codes or offers.  

Jun 10, 202523:32
Louise Pascal on gardening in a time of crisis
Jun 10, 202520:56
Jamie Beck on starting a new life in Provence

Jamie Beck on starting a new life in Provence

It’s easy to dream of building a whole new life, but it’s quite another to actually do it. Jamie Beck is a woman who knows - the American artist, photographer and author swapped her high-flying career as a fashion photographer in New York to live simply and slowly in Provence. 

Since 2016, Jamie has amassed a following of over 400,000 people for her beautiful portrayals of life in the South of France. In the shade of the Chateau de Mille, looking over idyllic rose gardens, we meet Jamie after she has been gathering flowers for one of her shoots. 

Here, she tells us about changing her life in the pursuit of art, how gardens, flowers and nature never fail to inspire her practice and how it really feels to start your life again.

You can enjoy Jamie’s sumptuous original artwork on her website jamiebeck.co, where you can also sign up to her free weekly newsletter, Sunday Flowers. Her New York Times bestsellers, An American in Provence, and its follow-up, The Flowers of Provence are out now. 

This podcast is inspired by Alice's book, Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, which is available in all good bookshops. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by Sophie Epton on Alice's website and instagram account @⁠⁠alicevincentwrites⁠⁠


Use code WWGSUMMER at⁠ ⁠Crocus.co.uk⁠⁠'s checkout to save 20% on full priced plants. The code is valid until 11.59pm on August 31st, 2025, It is valid when you spend a minimum of £50 on full priced plants and / or bulbs. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other codes or offers.  

Jun 10, 202528:00
The French Life: new season trailer

The French Life: new season trailer

Summer is upon us - and the Why Women Grow podcast has gone on tour in Provence. Among the lavender fields, chateaux, rose gardens and town squares of Southern France, we meet three women who have made dramatic and inspiring life choices to work with nature in a different way. 

If you’ve ever dreamed of giving it all up for a wilder way of being somewhere warm, our guests have plenty to offer in this new series: The French Life. 

Stay tuned for new episodes of the Why Women Grow Podcast, with me Alice Vincent, coming on 10th June.

Jun 03, 202501:22
Jo Thompson and Kali Hamerton-Stove on strong beauty

Jo Thompson and Kali Hamerton-Stove on strong beauty

Few Chelsea Flower Show gardens are designed by women. Fewer Chelsea Flower Show show gardens are created by the people they are intended for. And there has never before been a Chelsea Flower Show garden inspired by and made for female prisoners. But The Glasshouse Garden, garden designer Jo Thompson and founder of social enterprise The Glasshouse, Kali Hamerton-Stove, have done exactly that: created a show garden that breaks boundaries. Behind the duo’s beautiful show garden, in the heart of the Chelsea Flower Showground, we were joined by Jo and Kali and a live audience for a special press day recording of this powerful conversation. 

You can find out more about The Glasshouse at theglasshouse.co.uk, or follow them on Instagram, @theglasshousebotanics. Jo Thompson can be found via her brilliant substack, The Gardening Mind, on Instagram @jothompsongarden. She’s also the author of books including The New Romantic Garden and The Gardener’s Palette.

This podcast is inspired by my book, ⁠Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival⁠, which is available in all good bookshops. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by India Hobson on my website and instagram account @⁠⁠⁠alicevincentwrites⁠⁠⁠.

Use code WWGSUMMER at⁠ ⁠Crocus.co.uk⁠⁠'s checkout to save 20% on full priced plants. The code is valid until 11.59pm on August 31st, 2025, It is valid when you spend a minimum of £50 on full priced plants and / or bulbs. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other codes or offers.   

May 20, 202527:31
Ula Maria on making space for loss

Ula Maria on making space for loss

Some people move house for the location, some people move for the fireplaces: for Ula Maria, it was a neglected, overgrown garden in South London that confirmed her future home. The Lithuanian garden designer is arguably the most celebrated of her generation: Ula became the youngest person to ever win Best In Show at Chelsea in 2024 - and only the third woman to take the prize in the Flower Show’s century-long history.

But behind the scenes of a skyrocketing career, Ula was navigating considerable personal struggle and loss - and, all the while, she was building her own garden from that overgrown plot. It’s here that we speak to her about all of it: her achievements, her designs, her life, and what it’s actually like to be in the middle of a Monty Don media storm. 


Find out more about Ula's work on her website,
ulamaria.com, and her instagram, @ulamariastudio.


This podcast is inspired by my book, ⁠Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival⁠, which is available in all good bookshops. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by India Hobson on my website and instagram account @⁠⁠⁠alicevincentwrites⁠⁠⁠.

Use code WWGSUMMER at⁠ ⁠Crocus.co.uk⁠⁠'s checkout to save 20% on full priced plants. The code is valid until 11.59pm on August 31st, 2025. It is valid when you spend a minimum of £50 on full priced plants and / or bulbs. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other codes or offers.

May 20, 202525:39
Sarah Price on inheritance in the garden

Sarah Price on inheritance in the garden

Sarah Price is a landscape gardener who’s always seemed to exist on another plane. Her designs work with the environment to create something that feels both otherworldly and of the earth. 

After undertaking a degree in Fine Art, Sarah went on to design gardens for the London Olympic Park, Manchester’s Whitworth Gallery and a Maggie’s Centre in Southampton. 

But she’s also made some of the most remarkable - and memorable - gardens on the Chelsea Flower Show Main Avenue, winning two gold medals in the process. 

We meet Sarah in her garden at home in Abergavenny, Wales, which once belonged to her grandparents. As we walk the paths, streams and tunnels that she had played in as a child, Sarah tells us some of the stories that her garden has carried, how this precious and magical space informs her practice, and what we often overlook when we make gardens.


Sarah Price can be found online, www.sarahpricelandscapes.com, and her instagram, @sarahpricelandscapes. She is supported by gardeners Keri Schofield, Jacky Mills and Ian Mannal; Rachel Seaton Lucas in her studio, and Crocus, who she has worked with since 2011.


This podcast is inspired by my book, Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, which is available in all good bookshops. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by India Hobson on my website and instagram account @⁠⁠alicevincentwrites⁠⁠.


Use code WWGSUMMER at ⁠Crocus.co.uk⁠'s checkout to save 20% on full priced plants. The code is valid until 11.59pm on August 31st, 2025, It is valid when you spend a minimum of £50 on full priced plants and / or bulbs. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other codes or offers.

May 20, 202530:29
The Designers: new season trailer

The Designers: new season trailer

It’s the biggest gardening show on earth - and this spring, the Why Women Grow podcast is finding out what it’s really like to be a female designer at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. This is The Designers, our Spring miniseries, which has taken us from dappled shade of South London gardens to the foothills of Welsh mountains and straight to Main Avenue. We’re troubling gardening’s toughest glass ceiling - and learning about grief, joy, survival and creation on the way.  Join me, Alice Vincent, for all-new episodes of the Why Women Grow podcast, launching on the 20th May. 

May 18, 202501:00
Hannah Read on making music through the landscape
Feb 25, 202527:31
Manon Awst on being peat compatible
Feb 25, 202528:57
The Land Gardeners on the power of soil
Feb 25, 202534:47
Earthly Matters: new season trailer

Earthly Matters: new season trailer

Introducing Earthly Matters

A new season of Why Women Grow is coming soon - and this time, we’re getting dirty.

After two years of celebrating the bold and the beautiful, we’re back - and we’re going under the surface to explore what lies beneath.

In Earthly Matters, the first of four brand new miniseries for this year, we’ll be exploring the powerful possibilities of soil, peatlands and fungi with some incredible women. And we can’t wait for you to dive in with us.

Join me, Alice Vincent, for all-new episodes of the Why Women Grow podcast, launching on the 25th February.

Feb 18, 202501:12
Hazel Gardiner on gardening to heal
Jul 23, 202430:20
Robin Wall Kimmerer on gardening as love
Jul 23, 202423:08
Anna Jones on taste in the garden

Anna Jones on taste in the garden

Chef and bestselling author Anna Jones has inspired the way hundreds of thousands of people cook for years - and we were delighted to be invited into her courtyard garden in East London for this episode of Why Women Grow.

Anna won’t profess to being a great gardener but her approach to food extends far beyond the kitchen. She works with edible flowers, seasonal produce and has written whole books about cooking in a more environmentally conscious way. Anna spoke about how she navigates the world through her senses, what her garden has held and how she has learned to grow there.

A big thank you to Anna Jones. Anna’s delectable new book, Easy Wins, is out now. We're grateful to our partners at Crocus for making this episode happen. Use code WWG20 to get 20% off plants and products on their website until October 31.

This podcast is inspired by my book,⁠ Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, which is available from all good book shops.  

The Why Women Grow podcast is produced by Holly Fisher, and theme music is by Maria Chiara Argiro. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by Siobhan Watts on my instagram account @⁠alicevincentwrites⁠.

The Why Women Grow podcast is produced by Holly Fisher, and theme music is by Maria Chiara Argiro.  

Jul 23, 202424:19
Why Women Grow: mini series trailer

Why Women Grow: mini series trailer

Why Women Grow is back with a new mini series, featuring three women who have fundamentally changed how I think and live. This summer's mini series features the chef and bestselling author Anna Jones, botanist and Braiding Sweetgrass writer Robin Wall Kimmerer and floral designer Hazel Gardiner.


Jul 18, 202401:38
Jamaica Kincaid on gardening as writing

Jamaica Kincaid on gardening as writing

Bonus episode: Writer and novelist Jamaica Kincaid redefined garden writing with books such as My Garden (Book) and Among Flowers, as well as changing perspectives on the post-colonial experience through titles such as A Small Place and Lucy. We meet the Antiguan-American author in the halls of Charleston House, Sussex, where Bloomsbury Group artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant made art, a home, and a life-long relationship. In a quiet moment away from Charleston’s Festival of the Garden, Jamaica tells us about how gardening sits alongside her writing practice, how she converses with her plants and what they teach her about mortality. 

This podcast is inspired by my book, Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, which is available from all good book shops.  

The Why Women Grow podcast is produced by Holly Fisher, and theme music is by Maria Chiara Argiro. Thank you to Canongate and Uprooting, by Marchelle Farrell, for supporting this episode. We are grateful to our hosts at Charleston House and to Hollie Fernandes for her beautiful photographs of Jamaica Kincaid taken there. 

Oct 03, 202316:25
Paula Sutton on gardening in the pursuit of happiness

Paula Sutton on gardening in the pursuit of happiness

The creative mind behind Hill House Vintage and author of Hill House Living, Paula Sutton is a stylist, writer and - perhaps most of all - a purveyor of joy. After navigating a career in the fast-paced and glamorous world of fashion magazines, Paula relocated from the streets of South London to Hill House, an idyllic Georgian home in Norfolk 12 years ago. There, she decided that she was going to live - and raise her three young children - with a focus on what made her happy. Gardening is something that she has discovered later in life but has, she explains, become a crucial part of living in a more meaningful way.

This podcast is inspired by my book, Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, which is out on March 2nd and available to pre-order now.

The Why Women Grow podcast is produced by Holly Fisher, and theme music is by Maria Chiara Argiro. Thank you to our partners at Seedlip. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by Siobhan Watts on my instagram account @noughticulture.

Feb 27, 202325:07
Margaret Howell on a life inspired by nature

Margaret Howell on a life inspired by nature

Margaret Howell has been designing men’s and womenswear for five decades, prioritising understated quality over trends: she makes beautiful clothes that work well. Fifty years after she started to design and sell clothes from her home in Blackheath, South London, there are now 80 Margaret Howell stores across the globe, from Paris to Tokyo, and she has been appointed a CBE for services to the retail industry.

Margaret has been inspired by the natural world since childhood, citing the impact of growing up in a family that gardened and her fathers’ workwear as influences on her work. I love Margaret’s aesthetic, from her stores to her shirts, and was intrigued to see how this approach translated to her garden. So in this episode we visit Margaret at her home - still in Blackheath - to talk about how and why she grows. On a late spring afternoon we are immersed in the green haven that is her back garden, where Margaret works with nature, rather than against it.

This podcast is inspired by my book, Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, which is out on March 2nd and available to pre-order now.

The Why Women Grow podcast is produced by Holly Fisher, and theme music is by Maria Chiara Argiro. Thank you to our partners at Seedlip. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by Siobhan Watts on my instagram account @noughticulture.

Feb 27, 202320:44
Rukmini Iyer on growing to nurture
Feb 20, 202323:51
Salley Vickers on a life lived in gardens

Salley Vickers on a life lived in gardens

Sally Vickers is a Jungian psychotherapist and the author of books such as Miss Garnet's Angel, The Other Side of You and, most recently, The Gardener. The daughter of two communists, Salley was a teacher before she retrained as a psychotherapist, and her writing delves into the stuff that makes us human. She is also a keen gardener, especially at her country home in Wiltshire. In the midst of the downpours that broke England’s heatwave last summer, we met Salley at Kew Gardens, a place that has held meaning for her from childhood, through raising her children and now, as a woman who fosters a close relationship with her grandchildren. Inside Kew’s steamy Temperate House, we reflected on memory, motherhood and places that make us.

This podcast is inspired by my book, Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, which is out on March 2nd and available to pre-order now.

The Why Women Grow podcast is produced by Holly Fisher, and the theme music is by Maria Chiara Argiro. This episode features additional music by Zion, Salmon Like the Fish. Thank you to our partners at Seedlip. We've also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by Siobhan Watts on my Instagram account, @noughticulture

Feb 20, 202326:24
Sarah Raven on growing a whole new approach to colour

Sarah Raven on growing a whole new approach to colour

If you’ve ever bought plants or seeds online, or through mail order, you’ve probably encountered Sarah Raven. The gardener, writer and teacher is also a nursery-owner and businesswoman, developing, trialling and selling plants to Britain’s home gardeners. Over the course of three decades and seven books, including A Year Full of Flowers, Sarah has changed how British gardens grow, ushering bold colours and flavourful fruit and veg into our homes and kitchens. Today we’re heading to her home and working nursery at Perch Hill in East Sussex in late summer to talk about how gardening has shaped Sarah’s life and career.

This podcast is inspired by my book, Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, which is out on March 2nd and available to pre-order now.

The Why Women Grow podcast is produced by Holly Fisher, and theme music is by Maria Chiara Argiro. Thank you to our partners at Seedlip. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by Siobhan Watts on my instagram account @noughticulture.

Feb 13, 202323:40
Claire Ratinon on growing for reclamation

Claire Ratinon on growing for reclamation

Claire Ratinon is a food-grower, speaker and writer. In 2022, she released Unearthed, a powerful memoir about understanding what it is to become a custodian of the earth as a Black woman, and how the process of doing so helped her gain a sense of belonging in a post-colonial country. In 2012 Claire was working as a documentary producer in New York when she stumbled upon Brooklyn Grange, a rooftop farm in the middle of the city. Having always felt alienated from nature, she embarked upon a journey with growing food that changed her life. Since then, Claire has worked on organic growing sites in London and the English countryside, growing produce to sell to the city’s restaurants. Today we visit her garden in East Sussex, where she grows things including the food of her Mauritian heritage.

This podcast is inspired by my book, Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, which is out on March 2nd and available to pre-order now.

The Why Women Grow podcast is produced by Holly Fisher, and theme music is by Maria Chiara Argiro. Thank you to our partners at Seedlip. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by Siobhan Watts on my instagram account @noughticulture.

Feb 13, 202327:13
Poppy Okotcha on gardening to save the planet
Feb 01, 202325:45
Why Women Grow: guest reveal trailer
Jan 23, 202302:07
Why Women Grow: teaser trailer

Why Women Grow: teaser trailer

The first listen of the forthcoming Why Women Grow podcast, launching February 2023 from Alice Vincent.

This podcast is inspired by my book, Why Women Grow: Stories of Soil, Sisterhood and Survival, which is out on March 2nd and available to pre-order now.

The Why Women Grow podcast is produced by Holly Fisher, and theme music is by Maria Chiara Argiro. Thank you to our partners at Seedlip. We’ve also been photographing our guests and their gardens and you can see the beautiful images captured by Siobhan Watts on my instagram account @noughticulture.

Dec 14, 202200:41