Mike The Gardener - Gardening Podcast

In this episode I chat with garden designer, broadcaster, TV presenter and author, Mark Lane.

Hello!

In this episode of the Mike the Gardener – Gardening Podcast, I chat to award-winning garden designer, writer and author, Juliet Sergeant. 

Juliet's new book, ‘The importance of soil’ is published by Frances Lincoln in association with Kew Botanic Gardens.

In this episode we chat about:

• The book and how it came about.
• When did Juliet's interest in soil first come about?
• Why Juliet’s walked away from a successful career as a Hospital Doctor 
• Her award-winning Gardens at Chelsea and Hampton Court. Flower shows
• Her Sussex Gardens school
• Radio and television work, and lots more

In this episode of the Mike the Gardener - Gardening Podcast I chat with writer, author and the inspiration behind the Middlesized Garden Youtube Channel and Blog, Alexandra Campbell. 

Alexandra’s YouTube channel and blog has attracted a phenomenal 212K subscribers and it’s packed with timely, helpful and interesting plant, garden and design content. 

We chat about:

- Alexandra’s fascinating career to date

- How the Middlesized Garden YouTube Channel and blog came about

- The intricacies of recording, editing and presenting

- Alexandra’s books, and of course lots more

In this week’s episode of the Mike the Gardener - Gardening Podcast I chat with garden writer, author, garden designer and broadcaster Naomi Slade about her new book, Daffodils - Beautiful varieties for home and garden’, published by Pavilion on 11th March 2025. 

We chat about:

Her new book

The writing process

Her career

And, of course, much more

In this week's episode of the Mike the Gardner - Gardening Podcast I chat with garden writer, podcaster, gardener and author, Lucy Chamberlain.

Lucy's new book, 'Grow Food Anywhere' - published by DK Books and the RHS is out now.

We chat about:

• Her new book & how it came about
• How Lucy writes
• Her career in gardening and garden media
• Her own garden, and, of course lots more

In this episode of the Mike the Gardener - Gardening Podcast, I chat with Josie Lewis, the Head Gardener at Sarah Raven’s garden, Perch Hill in East Sussex.

We chat about:

• Josie’s career to date
• How she became Head Gardener at Perch Hill
• Her role and responsibilities
• The split between admin and gardening 
• Dahlias, of course, including selection and trialling
• And much more

In this weeks, episode of the Mike The Gardener - Gardening Podcast, I chat to Lucy Butler (@mindful.gardener) from Instagram.

Lucy lives with depression, anxiety and low self esteem, but gardening has been her saviour since her late teens.

We chat about:

• Lucy's journey and how living with depression impacts her life
• How gardening has helped Lucy
• Smiling depression
• Lucy's plans for the future

In this episode, we go back to Otis and Ben's allotment to talk about:

• How the weather has impacted growing this year
• What crops they've grown, what has done well, and not, and why
• Things they've learnt after three years of growing on the allotment
• Some useful and helpful hints, tips and hacks

You can follow me and Otis on Instagram by clicking the following links:

Join me in the second episode of Series 8, when I share what I'm doing here in my own garden on the south coast of the UK.

I talk about:

• What plants I'm growing including tithonia, and ornamental grasses
• How to care for hostas
• Overwintering hardy and Abyssinian bananas
• How to plant a garden effectively
• Lots of gardening hints, tips and hacks

In this episode I head to the nursery of Sienna Hosta to chat about:

How to get the very best from your hostas

How to win the war with slugs & snails

Sienna Hosta's incredible success at nationwide flower shows and their exciting plans for Chelsea 2025, and of course lots more.

In this week's, episode, I head back to the Cotswolds for what is fast, becoming my annual get together with garden writer, Val Bourne.

The weather, not on our side, this time, meant we had to record this episode in the lounge of Val's beautiful cottage.

We chat about:

• Writing for a living
• Val's pretty cottage garden
• Erythroniums
• Dahlias
• Ed Sheeran (!), and,
• Lots more as always

Please don't forget to follow/subscribe as there are more episodes to come. And please do leave a review if you are able.

In this week’s episode of the Mike the Gardener - Gardening Podcast, I chat with garden writer, veg grower and author, Rob Smith. 

In this week's episode of the Mike the Gardener - Gardening Podcast, I chat with award-winning garden designer, Manoj Malde.

We chat about his new book 'Your Outdoor Room' published by Frances Lincoln on 21 March 2024.

We chat about:

• His childhood
• His career in the fashion industry
• The book and how it came about
• Manoj's Chelsea Flower Show Gardens
• His TV work, and lots more

Hello and welcome back to this week's episode of the Mike The Gardener - Gardening Podcast.

This week, I speak to garden, owner and author, TJ Maher.

In this week's episode of the Mike The Gardener - Gardening Podcast, I chat with Scotland Grows Editor and Podcaster and freelance writer M.T. O’Donnell. 

Amongst many topics, we discuss:

MTs, role as Editor and Podcaster for Scotland Grows.

The Scotland Grows magazine.

The challenges of gardening in Scotland. 

The TRELLIS charity - Gardening for Well-Being, and lots more. 

In this week's episode of the Mike the Gardener - Gardening Podcast, I return to Kingston Maurward, horticultural college, where I learnt my trade many, many years ago.

Nigel Hewish, the Head Gardener there, is responsible for the national collection of salvias held within the grounds of the college. What Nigel doesn't know about salvias frankly, isn't worth knowing.

In this informative episode, we chat about:

• Where salvias originate from
• How to grow them
• How to propagate them
• How to get the very best from them
• Planting companions
• Pests and diseases, and much more

My thanks to Nigel for taking time to come and talk to us today.

In this weeks episode, I chat to another Head Gardener, Nigel Hewish of Kingston Maurward college in Dorchester.

I completed my horticultural training at Kingston Morwood many years ago, and it was a delight to catch up with Nigel to talk about the gardens and his career.

In this chat, we cover:

• Nigel's career to date
• His love of trees and shrubs
• The plant collections at Kingston Maurward
• The impacts of climate change, and lots more.

There's also some very handy gardening advice and tips about caring for penstemons and salvias.

In this episode of the Mike the Gardener - Gardening Podcast, I go back to a garden, that's not too far from me, the Harold Hillier Gardens in Ampfield near Romsey to chat to Head Gardener, Fran Clifton.

I last visited Fran a couple of years ago, when we talked about the stunning winter garden, but today, we talk about:

• Fran's role as head gardener
• What the role entails
• How much time does she actually get to spend in the garden as opposed to looking after the paperwork in the office
• How has her role as head gardener changed over the years and more. 

We also touch upon the very important topic of climate change and Fran shares how she is responding to the challenges of an ever-changing weather pattern.

And for those of you, who think that gardening comes to an end in winter, Fran tells us exactly how she and her team get ready for next year's season and what jobs need to be done.

We also talk about dahlias, tulips, the Chelsea Flower Show, re-wilding, National Collections and lots, lots more.

I think it's fair to say this episode is crammed with helpful information.

Hello, and welcome to this weeks episode of them Mike The Gardener - Gardening Podcast. 

This week I chat with Harry Baldwin, the Head of Horticulture at the beautiful Borde Hill Gardens near Haywards Heath, West Sussex, UK. 

In this current series of the podcast, I've been chatting to a number of Head Gardeners & Heads of Horticulture about their roles, their careers and the gardens they work in. 

I met with Harry in late September to talk about his career, his job at Borde Hill, the gardens, the challenges they face and lots, lots more. 

In this episode I travel to Abbotsbury Subtropical Gardens near Weymouth in Dorset (UK) where I chat to Curator, David Pearce.

We chat about:

• His role as Curator.
• The gardens and how they're looked after and maintained.
• The historic plant collection
• Gardening jobs for autumn and winter.
• David's own plant passions.
• Why people should go to Abbotsbury Gardens.
• The joy and passion that working in the garden, and within the horticultural industry brings about.

Hello, and welcome back to episode two of series 6 of them Mike The Gardener - Gardening Podcast.

In this episode, I chat with Roz Chandler, a cut flower farmer and teacher, writer, speaker, and fellow podcaster. And, if that were not enough, she is also an award-winning wedding florist based in Milton Keynes.

I chat with Roz about everything you could possibly need to know about growing cut flowers from how she started to how to keep the business running successfully.

Hello and welcome back to Series 6 of them Mike The Gardener - Gardening Podcast. The eagle eyed amongst you will have noticed the title of the podcast has changed very slightly. I'm ditching the 'MIC' (which was a nod to the microphone element) in favour of MIKE.

And, in a further change for this series, I will have an occasional co-host who I introduce you to in today's episode.

Going forward, there will still be your favourite content, including:

• Interviews with great, gardening, personalities, gardeners, garden, designers, broadcasters, and more.
• In-depth plant specials
• The ever-popular Slot From the Plot, and
• Much, much more

Hello and welcome to this last episode in the current series of a Mic The Gardener - Gardening Podcast.

As I said last week, we have a great final guest today, in fact, it's my youngest guest on the podcast ever. 

Now, one day, when I was whiling away time on good old Instagram, I stumbled across an account in the name of The First Time Gardener. Now, there are two people behind this particular account, one of whom is probably more in charge of the shall we say administration, whilst the other person is the face of the account. So, completely bowled over by the contents of their page, I contacted them to ask if they would come and have a chat on the podcast.

So, today, I'm absolutely delighted to be joined by Joanne and her son Charlie. We talk about:

• How the account came about?
• What Joanne was hoping to achieve through the account?
• How Charlie became the face of the account?
• Their plans for the future (gardening and Instagram), and
• Charlie's plans for the future, and lots more.

In this week's episode, I head back to Otis and Ben's allotment to see how things are progressing so far this season.

I'm delighted to advise that for the first time in the series, so far, the weather was absolutely gorgeous. Clear blue skies, a very gentle breeze and temperatures soaring, especially in the tunnel.

Today we chat about:

• Some nifty little hacks, including how to make more cuttings from tomatoes
• Companion planting
• The impact of the current and prolonged dry spell in the UK and across Europe, and there's some food tasting along the way!

And of course, we have a good look around the plot to see what's cropping, what is due to crop and discuss any little problems along the way.

In this week's episode of the Mic The Gardener - Gardening Podcast, I chat with friend and nursery owner, Ruth Goudy.

In this week's, episode, I chat to gardener, cook, writer and author, Mark Diacono. 

We talk about Mark's career and how he first got into gardening and became a foodie. We also chat about music, which is a strong theme in Mark's life, photography and Mark’s love of the written word and of course lots lots more. 

In this week's, episode of the Mic the Gardener - Gardening Podcast I chat with gardener, writer, podcaster, garden coach, and now author, Andrew Timothy O’Brien.

In his own words, Andrew says he is the owner of a too-loud laugh. I disagree, it’s great to hear the sound of people laughing in a world where there’s too much sadness and bad news, don’t you think?

I chat to Andrew about his new book 'to stand and stare' published by DK books. There's a lot of gardening advice out there. But none that invites you to think about how to be while you're in your garden. With increasingly busy lives, yet another list of chores seems like the last thing we need when it comes to our own practice of self-care and relaxation. After all, aren't these the things we wanted to escape to the garden for in the first place? What if there was a more low-intervention way to garden, some reciprocal arrangement through which both you and your soil get fed - with minimum fuss, effort and guilt on your part, and the maximum measure of healthy, organic growth for your garden?

We chat about: 

• How the book came about
• Andrew’s love of the writer and spoken word
• Andrew’s podcast, Garden Weeds & Words,
• Our thoughts on gardening on social media and of course, lots more

In this week's episode of the Mic The Gardener - Gardening Podcast, I chat with hardy geranium expert, Gary Carroll of the Cranesbill Nursery.

Geraniums are a fantastic, genre with plants that fit into so many different aspects within our gardens and indeed in containers. In this episode, Gary tells us about:

• Geraniums for different places (dry and damp locations in sun, shade and containers)
• How to look after hardy geraniums
• Pests and diseases
• How to propagate hardy geraniums, and much, much more

In this week's episode of the Mic the Gardener – Gardening Podcast, I chat with best-selling novelist, Erica James.

Erica's latest novel, ‘A Secret Garden Affair' has just been published and unsurprisingly is already heading towards the top of the charts.

We chat about:

• Her career to date.
• How she first got published.
• How she writes.
• Her new novel, A Secret Garden Affair, and lots, lots more  

And, did we really record the second half of our chat in the shower? You'll just have to listen to find out more.

In this special bonus Slot From the Plot episode recorded on 29th March we head back to a cold, wet and blowy allotment for our second visit of the season to chat with Otis.

Sadly, all is not well at the allotment. And this I'm sure will be familiar to many allotmenteers who sow seeds for this seasons crops, only to find that something has got in there and nibbled their plans for successful seedlings. However, in better news, Otis tells me what has been planted, what is growing along well and what their plans are for the next few weeks.

We start this episode by reviewing the frustrating developments in the polytunnel. If you have any tips for success, especially around keeping mice away from your prize seedlings, do drop me a line and let me know, so we can share your tips on the next episode.