Sensory Gardens & Autism
Roots and All - Gardening Podcast
Hello and welcome to this week’s episode, where in recognition of World Autism Acceptance Week, I’m speaking about Sensory Gardens, with a focus on design for people with autism. I have three guests; Camellia Taylor who’s designed The Natural Affinity Garden, which will be at the Chelsea Flower Show in May, after which time it will be relocated to Kent, to the charity Aspens where it will be used by residents of and visitors to the site. Next, I speak with Meraud Davis who’s overseeing the project at Aspens and finally, to Alexis Selby a foraging obsessed, nature-loving, all-round...
info_outline
Can Women Save the Planet?
Roots and All - Gardening Podcast
This week I’m speaking to Dr Anne Karpf. Anne is Professor of Life Writing and Culture at London Metropolitan University and is a writer, sociologist and award-winning journalist. In 2021 she released the book ‘How Women Can Save the Planet’, where she looks at how there is gender inequality across the board from how we experience the climate crisis to our ability to effect change. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Queen Bumblebees What We Talk About Why do we need to distinguish between men and women when it comes to environmentalism? Isn’t it fair to say some women are...
info_outline
The Chelsea Fringe
Roots and All - Gardening Podcast
This week my guest is Tim Richardson, who, amongst many other things, is a garden writer, historian and founder of the Chelsea Fringe. The Fringe is an annual event which is a collection of all things horticultural, the quirkier the better, and it runs concurrent to the RHS Chelsea Flower Show each May. Events are held around the world and are an opportunity to celebrate horticulture in an alternative way. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Cabbage Bomb Aphids About the Chelsea Fringe The Chelsea Fringe – the alternative garden festival and established highlight of the horticultural...
info_outline
Seed Balls
Roots and All - Gardening Podcast
My guest this week is Dr Ana Attlee, co-founder of the company Seedball. The idea for Seedball started to germinate in 2010 when Ana and her fellow PhD student Emily Lambert were looking into ways to successful start wildflowers from seed in order to encourage pollinators. 13 years later, Seedballs are stocked in respectable horticultural establishments all over the country and their range continues to grow with new and exciting seed packages being added all the time. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Preparing for Spring What We Talk About What is a Seedball? What different types can you...
info_outline
Soil Bacteria & Rhizophagy
Roots and All - Gardening Podcast
This week, I am delighted to welcome back champion of the soil food web, Jeff Lowenfels. Jeff is the author of the Teaming With series of books which look at what goes on at a micro level in the soil beneath our feet. His new title ‘Teaming with Bacteria’ lifts the lid on new findings about how plants use and interact with bacteria and he’s here to give us the lowdown on this amazing relationship. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Solitary Bees What We Talk About Rhizophagy Bacteria and endophytic bacteria How bacteria helps make healthy soil What bacteria does for plants and vice...
info_outline
Hardy Eucalyptus
Roots and All - Gardening Podcast
My guest this week is Hilary Collins who runs Hardy Eucalyptus at Grafton Nursery. Hilary researches the best way to grow Eucalyptus trees in the UK and also Europe. At the nursery, they run all manner of trials and Hilary writes papers and articles on Eucalyptus plus she has a book called Cut Foliage Eucalyptus – Fantastic Foliage and How to Farm it. She consults all over the world, and also works in the Garden Design and Construction Company advising on planting design. Hilary is here today talking all things eucalyptus and my first question was how she came to specialise in this group of...
info_outline
Making Gardening Accessible
Roots and All - Gardening Podcast
Hello and welcome to this week’s episode of Roots and All, where my guest is garden designer, TV personality and Trustee of the Gardening with Disabilities Trust Mark Lane. Mark talks about the various types of challenges people can face that might impede their activity in the garden, and how gardens and gardening can be adapted to enable people to carry on with these activities. He gives some excellent, practical advice for anyone who may need to adapt horticulture to suit their own needs or those of others. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Stridulation What We Talk About Is gardening...
info_outline
Hedges and Living Boundaries
Roots and All - Gardening Podcast
This week’s guest is Roger Hirons, a horticultural expert and speaker, who’s been in the industry for over 35 years. Roger has just released a really excellent book called the Gardener’s Guide to Hedges and Living Boundaries, which covers preparation and design advice for establishing a new living boundary; advice on dealing with existing boundaries in need of restoration or extension; planting for both your human and wildlife neighbours and also a directory of some really interesting hedging plants, climbers and trees. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: The Swallowtail What We Talk...
info_outline
Hedges & Living Boundaries
Roots and All - Gardening Podcast
This week’s guest is Roger Hirons, a horticultural expert and speaker, who’s been in the industry for over 35 years. Roger has just released a really excellent book called the Gardener’s Guide to Hedges and Living Boundaries, which covers preparation and design advice for establishing a new living boundary; advice on dealing with existing boundaries in need of restoration or extension; planting for both your human and wildlife neighbours and also a directory of some really interesting hedging plants, climbers and trees. Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: The Swallowtail What We Talk...
info_outline
Nature from the Rubble
Roots and All - Gardening Podcast
Hello and welcome to this episode of Roots and All. This week, I’m speaking to landscape architect Sally Bower. Sally has just been awarded the main RHS prize for her Bursary Report titled ‘Nature Rising from the Rubble’ which looks at gravel and recycled aggregate gardens in Essex and London. Specifically, Sally looked at John Little’s Hilldrop garden, RHS Hyde Hall, Beth Chatto’s gravel garden, the Langdon Nature Discovery Car Park and the Horniman Museum Grasslands garden and her findings were invaluable if you’re interested in designing with or growing in these types of media,...
info_outlineMy guest this episode is the super-talented and creative gardener and designer Brent Purtell and we’re talking about the Capitaspring Rooftop Garden in Singapore, which shares the ‘2nd highest’ building ranking along with 3 other buildings, all the same height. There are 3 gardens on the building, covering an area of 10,000 square feet and containing a mixture of ornamentals and edibles, all growing at dizzying heights. Brent was involved on the build and design side before he became the Head Gardener, overseeing the maintenance of Capitaspring Rooftop Garden.
Dr Ian Bedford’s Bug of the Week: Stinky pigs
What We Talk About
What is the Capitaspring Rooftop Garden and where is it located? How much growing space is there in total?
The kind of things which grow in the garden
How productive a rooftop edible can forest be
How the produce is used
The challenges of growing edibles on a rooftop
Who visits the garden?
About the Capitaspring Building & Gardens
The Capitaspring building was completed in early 2022. At 280m high, it shares the ‘2nd highest’ building ranking along with 3 other buildings, all the same height. This is due to Singapore having a cap of 280m on any new building. It's owned by Capitaland, a major property developer in Singapore and the region. Designed by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group, and Carlo Ratti, it is very much a flagship building for the company and Singapore in general, with the relatively unique use of planting throughout the building. Current tenants are the big investment house JPMorgan, for example.
Within the tower are three restaurants. These are:
‘Sol and Luna’ on level 17 - a casual latin inspired theme
‘Kaarla’ on level 51 - Fine dining coastal Australian
‘Oumi’ on level 51 - Fine dining Japanese
Originally there was no concept of a ‘food forest’ or similar from the architects, and indeed, the chef's garden only takes up 50% of the overall rooftop space, with the other 50% planted in typical ornamental, low maintenance fashion. Rather, the addition of the edible section came from 1 Group, who reached out to a local company, Edible Garden City Pte Ltd to help with the design and installation.
Edible Garden City was started in 2012 with the aim of ‘helping Singaporeans grow their own food’. It has 3 pillars to the business, one being food production at 2 ‘urban farms’, which supplies produce to many restaurants through the city, including many Michelin starred. The second pillar is education, which runs workshops for the public at the aforementioned urban farm, along with onsite workshops for teachers in schools across the city. Thirdly, they design and build edible gardens, with over 260 built to date. The majority of these are gardens built within schools so that the students have access to a working garden, however many gardens have been built for commercial/hospitality venues, including the famous ParkRoyal Hotel, Marina Bay Sands etc. The remaining founder Bjorn Low, is a very recognised figure within Singapore for his environmental efforts.
The garden was opened in Feb/march 2022 and so is still quite new and produces approx 70 - 80 kgs of produce a month. For example, here is a breakdown for October:
Apple mint 200gm
Brazilian Spinach 19.6kg
Fame Flower 1kg
Lemon Balm 800gm
Lemon Myrtle 1.5kg
Moringa leaves 10gm
Kaarla Salad mix 12kg
Purslane 3.1kg
Rosemary 280gm
Thyme 50gm
Wasabina Mustard 1.5kg
Wild Water Cress 15.5kg
Mizuna Mustard 1.5kg
Komatsuna 1kg
Oyster Leaf 500gm
Wild Pepper 500gm
Pumpkin x 3
Edible flowers 2kg
And here are a few of the ways the kitchen use them all:
- KAARLA CLOSED LOOP SALAD - ROOF TOP LEAVES AND FLOWERS, TIGER NUT CURD, DAIKON
- WESTERN PRAWNS, GERALDTON WAX, NATIVE TAMARIND
- ARDEN GROWN TIGER NUT ICE CREAM, TIGERNUT NOUGATINE, WHITE CHITOSE CORN, CALAMANSI JELLY, POACHED ORANGES
- AUSTRALIAN MARKET OYSTER, FIG LEAF AND OYSTER PLANT VINEGAR 8PP
- SESAME CRUST TUNA SERVED WITH WOOD-FIRED PADRON PEPPER, LEMON MYRTLE DRESSING
- LOBSTER DONABE - Garden Komatsuna, Tofu, Shungiku, Chestnut, Mitsuba, Seafood Dashi
- KOHITSUJI YAKI - Grilled Australian Lamb, Red Garlic Sauce, Lemon Myrtle, Lemon Balm, Calamansi, Satsumaimo
- UNI IKURA - Sea Urchin, Salmon Roe, Wasabina, Yuzu
- CHIRASHI Sashimi Of The Day, Daily Produce From Our Food Forest
- BUTA KAKUNI - Braised Australian Pork Belly, Fresh Yuzu, Fame Flower, Eringii, Egg Yolk, Mountain Caviar
- SHIO KOJI TEPPAN CHICKEN - Free-Range Chicken , Sansho Koji, Garlic Flower, Curry Leaf
The ‘Kaarla closed loop salad’ in particular is popular as a signature dish.
Links
Other episodes if you liked this one: