Podcast 135 - By Any Other Name with Simon Morley
Roots and All - Gardening Podcast
Release Date: 11/08/2021
Roots and All - Gardening Podcast
info_outlineRoots and All - Gardening Podcast
info_outlineRoots and All - Gardening Podcast
This week I’m speaking to gardener and writer Lulah Ellender about her book Grounding: Finding Home in a Garden. Lulah’s book is about tuning into the unceasing rhythms of nature in order to live with uncertainty and how they can help us become more connected to the places in which we live. We talk about how gardens can root us in time and place, even when those roots seem tenuous and liable to break. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Sentient bugs What we cover The premise behind the book and the circumstances in which Lulah came to write it How Lulah gardened differently when she...
info_outlineRoots and All - Gardening Podcast
Hello and welcome to this week’s episode where I’m speaking to Marion Whitehead from the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden in New South Wales, Australia, part of the Royal Botanic Gardens Sydney. I talk with Marion about one of her areas of speciality; the intersection of plants and human feelings, particularly in the context of 3 books as recommended by Marion; Enid Blyton’s ‘The Magic Faraway Tree’, Frances Hodgson Burnett’s ‘The Secret Garden’ and ‘The Overstory’ by Richard Powers. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Venom What we cover Enid Blyton’s ‘The Magic Faraway...
info_outlineRoots and All - Gardening Podcast
info_outlineRoots and All - Gardening Podcast
This week’s guests are Kenton Seth and Paul Spriggs, co-authors of a book that’s just been released called ‘The Crevice Garden: How to Make the Perfect Home for Plants from Rocky Places.’ This book is immensely detailed and if you’ve ever had an interest in crevice aka rock gardens, or indeed have not but are curious, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the types of plants suited to growing in this style of garden (there are many), the different looks you can create, how to build and maintain them, famous and successful examples and why they are good from an environmental...
info_outlineRoots and All - Gardening Podcast
This week’s guest is veg growing expert Huw Richards. Huw grows a vast range of plants in his garden in mid-West Wales and is always trialling and experimenting with new ways of growing. He has an enormously popular YouTube channel and has authored a number of books, the latest of which is ‘The Vegetable Grower’s Handbook’ which draws on his experience as very much a thoughtful and philosophical gardener. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Flower Crab Spiders What we cover Gardening with a mission statement Being organised in the garden; keeping checklists, batching jobs, planning...
info_outlineRoots and All - Gardening Podcast
This week’s guest is Clare Keller, a fashion designer and stylist who’s previously work at Ralph Lauren, Gucci, Pringle, Chloe and Givenchy. Clare is currently a Trustee and spokesperson for the British Iris Society, a society dedicated to promoting and preserving UK irises and providing resources to iris growers. We talk about these picturesque, perpetually popular flowers. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Organic recyclers What we cover How Clare became involved with the British Iris Society and interested in irises Species of iris Ideal iris growing conditions Iris hardiness...
info_outlineRoots and All - Gardening Podcast
info_outlineRoots and All - Gardening Podcast
info_outlineThis week’s guest in Simon Morley, a British artist and art historian. Simon is the author of several books on modern and contemporary art and is a keen rose gardener. Simon’s latest book was released a few weeks ago and is called ‘By Any Other Name: A Cultural History of the Rose’. During the interview I ask Simon about the cultural significance of roses throughout history, their symbolism, their origins and what how we use roses in gardens today says about us as a society.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Cluster flies
Please don’t forget to rate, review and share the podcast!
What we cover
Why the rose is a meme
Why the rose has been so enduringly beloved by humans
The origins of Valentine’s Day and why roses are intrinsically linked to it
Why roses in religious symbology fell out of favour during protestantism
Of all the concepts or beliefs that the rose signifies, which most resonates with Simon
Which nations were the most important players in the development of the rose varieties we know today?
Simon writes "aesthetic horticultural considerations were often coupled with a theoretical component, and the selection and arrangement of plants were determined by the botanical theory of the period, which in its turn reflected the way the world was perceived to be ordered”. What does Simon think the way we use roses today tell us about how we perceive the world to be ordered?
The lack of a role for roses in movements such as rewilding and the new perennial movement
About Simon Morley
Simon Morley is a British artist and art historian. He is the author of several books on modern and contemporary art, and has contributed reviews and essays to a number of publications. His artworks have been exhibited internationally. He is currently writing a new history of modern painting, to be published in 2023. Simon lives in France and South Korea, where he teaches at Dankook University. He is also a keen rose gardener.
Links
By Any Other Name: A Cultural History of the Rose by Simon Morley - Oneworld Publications, 2021