Gardens, weeds and words

A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. With Andrew O'Brien.

S03.5 Episode 4: What your garden wants from you 04/15/2025

S03.5 Episode 4: What your garden wants from you Gardens, weeds and words podcast, S03.5 E04 show notes A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. These notes may contain affiliate links. Garden soundtrack 00:40 spring settling in, and it’s been a warm, dry start 02:34 what your garden wants from you, the last in my series of readings on how to find yourself in a state of harmony with your garden reading 08:00 ‘Cow Parsley’ from Jack Wallington’s , read by interview 10:52 Jack joins us to talk about the impact of his book five (now six!) years on, how practical it really is to incorporate weeds purposefully into our gardens, and whether a gentler, more natural approach to planting has any cut through beyond the garden media. 12:08 Did Jack’s pro-weed stance feel like a lonely position to be adopting back in 2019? 13:28 The effect on Jack’s garden design practice 13:54 The manifesto approach to writing your first book 14:42 Has there been a noticeable change in the attitude of gardeners towards weeds since the publication of the book? 17:50 Has there been any trickle down to the general public from a wilder look embraced by top garden designers at shows like Chelsea? 22:54 A plant in the wrong place? Weren’t they here first? But gardening is largely about declaring what we want to grow and where. How does Jack find a middle ground? 25:25 Managing a weedy population – regular culling 26:22 Jack’s wildflower meadow and help with weeding 27:15 Practical steps with embracing weeds – where do you start with becoming wild about weeds? 29:22 A weedy through-line – how weeds flow through all of Jack’s work *** Thank you to for her delightful reading from Jack’s book, , published by Lawrence King in 2019. My own book, , is published by DK Life, and is available here I’m ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at . Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. substack: website: email: [email protected] instagram: /episode/index/show/gardensweedsandwords/id/36151200

S03.5 Episode 3: the picture perfect garden 02/13/2025

S03.5 Episode 2: What we want from our gardens 11/06/2024

S03.5 Episode 2: What we want from our gardens Gardens, weeds and words podcast, S03.5 E02 show notes A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. These notes may contain affiliate links. Autumn is settling in and, if we’re honest, we start to spend less time actively gardening. More time for the soil to grow what it really wants, more time for us to start dreaming next year’s garden into being. In this episode, we hear how weeds have evolved to depend upon us making room for them to exploit, with another reading form Jack Wallington’s Wild About Weeds. And I bring you the second instalment of my series on easing into harmony with your garden. Garden soundtrack 00:40 How we could use our gardens more all year round 02:00 Essential kit for experiencing a soggy garden 03:20 Assessing the garden in autumn, and making a habit of showing up 04:20 What the weeds are getting up to, and how humans and weeds go hand in hand reading 05:55 from Jack Wallington's , read by Rose White 08:29 Purpose and intention in the garden – weedy, or not so weedy? It's up to you! 09:23 What do you want from your garden? The second instalment of my series on easing into harmony with your garden. 18:48 A special quality to gardening at this time of year – read more on , my publication on Substack (you can listen there, too) , Andrew O'Brien, on Bramble & Briar *** Thank you to Rose White for reading so beautifully from Jack's book, , published by Lawrence King in 2019. (You can order Rose’s own book of her poetry, Songbird, . 10% of all proceeds from the sale of this book will be donated to the charity BEAT Eating Disorders. My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, is published by DK Life, and is available I’m ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at . Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. website: email: Instagram: Twitter: /episode/index/show/gardensweedsandwords/id/33809617

S03.5 Episode 1: Wild About Weeds 08/30/2024

S03.5 Episode 00: Trailer 08/13/2024

S03 Episode 10: Rosemary for remembrance. With Maya Thomas 02/08/2024

S03 Episode 09: Gardens for Good Causes. With Hattie Ghaui 10/10/2023

S03 Episode 09: Gardens for Good Causes. With Hattie Ghaui Gardens for Good Causes, with Hattie Ghaui A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. These notes may contain affiliate links. Garden soundtrack The glory of October 3:25 Reading from Kew Gardens, by Virginia Woolf. Written in 1919, available in hardback from Kew Publications, 2018 Read by Milli Proust 8:19 Interview with Hattie Ghaui 9:00 A summary of Project Giving Back’s work... 10:56 … and how Hattie became involved 11:25 How PGB is funded 12:13 The original goal 12:30 Me, failing to get Hattie to preempt the announcement (made in late September) about the extension of the original remit 14:35 Hattie, repping the business world on Gardens, Weeds & Words! 15:00 Hattie’s own childhood memories of plants and gardens 22:20 Hattie’s present garden and gardening style 24:29 An unexpected plug for To Stand and Stare 25:15 Hacking Big Money for charities at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Can philanthropy really help? 31:02 PGB's due diligence process for charities and corporate partners 34:45 What kind of difference can Chelsea make to a charity? Gardens for good causes, the PGB podcast 40:27 The variety of different charities supported 41:36 Sustainability at Chelsea, and the legacy of a PGB show garden 45:23 Keep asking the questions, PGB and the RHS 47:20 A few stand out PGB projects 50:09 The long term impact of the gardens 53:41 Book writing – To Stand and Stare, and what comes next from me *** Thank you to Hattie Ghaui for joining me on this episode of the Gardens, Weeds & Words podcast. You can find Hattie on Instagram here and Project Giving Back here and on the web here With thanks once again to Milli Proust for this episode’s reading. Milli’s beautiful instagram is here My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, is published by DK Life, and is available here I’m ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at . Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. A year of garden coaching If you'd like to find out more about my my 12 month online garden coaching programme, please visit the website, where you can read more details. There will be a few spaces opening up after Christmas, so do sign up to be the first to hear when you can book. website: email: Instagram: Twitter: /episode/index/show/gardensweedsandwords/id/28277366

S03 Episode 8: Designing with flowers. With Hazel Gardiner 08/08/2023

S03 Episode 8: Designing with flowers. With Hazel Gardiner Designing with flowers. With Hazel Gardiner A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. These notes may contain affiliate links. Garden soundtrack Over the hump of the year 1:56 Vita Sackville west struggling with summer Readings from In Your Garden, Vita Sackville West. Oxenwood Press, 1996 Read by Andrew Timothy O'Brien 5:30 Interview with Hazel Gardiner 5:55 Creating in relationship with others – elevating and encouraging. 8:25 Hazel’s career path. Dealing with burnout and serious illness 13:11 Retraining in floristry. Transferable skills. 18:50 Choosing the floristry path, rather than gardening or garden design 21:50 The through-line in a varied career 24:00 Fearless. A parental gift of confidence 27:10 Building a team 29:23 A typical week 30:45 Incorporating artificial flowers 33:15 Hazel’s early gardening memories 40:46 Creating installations that flummox – Hazel’s ideal brief 43:12 A ‘chewy’ style – texture, layer and story 46:15 How people interract with the work 48:00 The place of sustainability, seasonality and a responsive approach 51:28 Natural mechanics 52:22 Hazel’s own garden 56:38 Bramble & Briar, the Substack for the more confessional side of my gardening content. Sign up at 57:28 An extract from my book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, DK Life, *** Thank you to Hazel Gardiner for joining me on this episode of the Gardens, Weeds & Words podcast. You can find Hazel on Instagram here and on the web here My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, is published by DK Life, and is available here I’m ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at . Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. A year of garden coaching If you'd like to find out more about my my 12 month online garden coaching programme, please visit the website, where you can read more details. There will be a few spaces opening up in September 2023, so do sign up to be the first to hear when you can book. website: email: Instagram: Twitter: /episode/index/show/gardensweedsandwords/id/27690123

S03 Episode 7: To Stand and Stare. With Andrew Timothy O'Brien 02/16/2023

S03 Episode 7: To Stand and Stare. With Andrew Timothy O'Brien A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. These notes may contain affiliate links. Garden soundtrack Cracking ice while walking through the fields – is it too soon to say, or is winter beginning to think about handing over to spring? A great time for mulching. Reading from To stand and stare 3:02 Read by Andrew Timothy O'Brien To stand and stare: how to garden while doing next to nothing, by Andrew Timothy O'Brien. DK Life, 2023. 05:47 Interview with Andrew, by Alice Vincent 06:40 role reversal 07:35 Introducing the book – Andrew 09:14 Introducing the book – Alice 10:00 A book that grants permission 11:12 on the plus side of getting it wrong 11:46 jumping to the book's Acknowledgements 14:00 how the book came to be 17:56 Alice on 'looking' 20:48 Alice on gardening as 'a tiny altering' 21:52 being empowered to garden the way you want to, rather than the way you feel you *should* 22:33 Andrew on the pros and cons of lists 26:08 Pottering A breath from elsewhere, by Mirabel Osler. Bloomsbury, 1997. https://amzn.to/3Stlvr9 28: 41 How much the soil holds – memories, stories, our selves 33:15 Bill's place in the book 38:15 The 'how to' sections 43:19 The research – the 'science stuff' 46:30 Andrew's recent standing and staring – and Andrew answer to an Alice question *** Thank you to Alice Vincent for her table-turning stint in coming to interview me on my own podcast! Keep an eye out for Alice's upcoming book, Why Women Grow: stories of soil, sisterhood and survival, published by Canongate on 2 March 2023. You can find Alice on Instagram here and the Why Women Grow podcast here My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, is published by DK Life, and is available here I’m ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at . Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. A year of garden coaching If you'd like to find out more about my my 12 month online garden coaching programme, please visit the website, where you can read more details. There will be a few spaces opening up in spring 2023, so do sign up to be the first to hear when you can book. website: email: Instagram: Twitter: /episode/index/show/gardensweedsandwords/id/25953645

S03 Episode 6: Flower & Story. With Milli Proust 12/17/2022

S03 Episode 6: Flower & Story. With Milli Proust A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. These notes may contain affiliate links. Garden soundtrack Winter bringing new and rare experiences – December snow in Kent, and recording the audio version of my new book. Reading from To stand and stare 2:10 Read by Andrew Timothy O'Brien To stand and stare: how to garden while doing next to nothing, by Andrew Timothy O'Brien. DK Life, 2023. 04:35 An introduction to From Seed to Bloom: a year of growing and designing with seasonal flowers, by Milli Proust. Quadrille, 2022 Reading from From Seed to Bloom 5:15 Read by Milli Proust 09:29 Interview with Milli Proust 10:55 The original plan 12:45 Working with intention – Milli loves a strategy 13:45 The other aspect of Milli's professional life! Molly Wansell, 42 Management & Production 15:18 A sustainable business Paris Alma Flowers 17:08 Working as part of a team On the business with Paris, on the book with photographer Éva Németh 18:54 The visual aspects of the book Theatre, storytelling, atmosphere. The human experience of connecting with nature. 23:03 Milli's earliest plants and gardens memories 26:53 A gardening (self)education 29:00 Why grow your own floristry supplies? 30:43 Using foliage, and the stories of plants in weather 34:00 Design principles in floral arrangement 38:00 From Seed to Bloom: 40:51 How becoming a mother might impact Milli's creative practice – new perspectives and opportunites 45:45 A seasonal perspective 48:30 Grower, or gardener? What's the difference? *** Thank you to Milli Proust for giving up her time to talk to me about the beautiful work she brings into the world from her patch of land in West Sussex. You can find Milli on Instagram here Or on her website: My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, will be published by DK Life on Feb 2, 2023, and is available to preorder here I’m ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at . Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. A year of garden coaching If you'd like to find out more about my my 12 month online garden coaching programme, please visit the website, where you can read more details. There will be a few spaces opening up in spring 2023n, so do sign up to be the first to hear when you can book. website: email: Instagram: Twitter: /episode/index/show/gardensweedsandwords/id/25359888

S03 Episode 5: Where the sun don't shine. With Susanna Grant 10/26/2022

S03 Episode 5: Where the sun don't shine. With Susanna Grant A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. These notes may contain affiliate links. Garden soundtrack The joys of October in the garden. Reading from A breath from elsewhere, by Mirabel Osler 4:28 Read by Jemma Cooper A breath from elsewhere, by Mirabel Osler. Bloomsbury, 1997. https://amzn.to/3Stlvr9 06:52 Gardening in the shade 08:10 Interview with Susanna Grant 08:20 First encounters Wild about Weeds, by Jack Wallington 09:17 Sharing weeds (and weeds) 10:48 How the name – and the business – 'Linda' came about 12:35 A Jack of All Trades – Susanna's other work 16:11 A Fair Weather Shop 19:26 Susanna's childhood memories of plants and the natural world Flower Fairy books, by Cicely Mary Barker Observer Book of Wild Flowers 21:26 Arnold Circus and the Boundary Estate – the community garden Radicle, edited by Sui Searle aka @decolonisethegarden Volunteering: a problem and an opportunity? by Joanna Pidcock 29:49 From Gardens Where We Feel Secure, by Susanna Grant and Rowan Spray, published by Rough Trade Books and The Garden Museum 35:31 Practicalities of window box gardening with perennials *** Thank you to Susanna Grant for giving up her time to talk to me about her creative nature-inspired practice. Susanna's book Shade is published by Bloom, 2022, and is available here The Rough Trade/Garden Museum pamphlet by Susanna, with photography by Rowan Spray is From Gardens Where We Feel Secure, and is available here Pamphlets in the same series, such as Horticultural Appropriation by Claire Ratinon and Sam Ayre, are also available here You can find Susanna on Instagram here Or on her website: My own book, To Stand and Stare; how to garden by doing next to nothing, will be published by DK Life on Feb 2, 2023, and is available to preorder here I'm so grateful to Jemma Cooper for lending us her lovely tones for the reading from Mirabel Osler's A breath from elsewhere. You can find Jem on Instagram here I’m ever appreciative of all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at . Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. A year of garden coaching If you'd like to find out more about my my 12 month online garden coaching programme, please visit the website, where you can read more details. There will be a few spaces opening up early in the new year, so do sign up to be the first to hear when you can book. website: email: Instagram: Twitter: /episode/index/show/gardensweedsandwords/id/24805710

S03 Episode 4: Ready for the weather. With Hannah McDonald 11/29/2021

S03 Episode 3: Writing with trees. With Jackee Holder 01/31/2021

S03 Episode 2: a plant-inspired practice. With Katie Robbins 12/04/2020

S03 Episode 01: Home. With Jennie Spears of Lemon Tree Trust 10/23/2020

S02 Episode 11: Gratitude, privilege, responsibility. With Ann-Marie Powell 07/31/2020

S02 Episode 10: The Five Minute Garden. With Laetitia Maklouf 05/21/2020

S02 Episode 9: Practical, useful & pretty. With Katie Rushworth 04/23/2020

S02 Episode 9: Practical, useful & pretty. With Katie Rushworth A blend of slow radio, gardening advice and conversation, and readings from the best garden and wildlife writing. These notes may contain affiliate links. Garden soundtrack Birdsong, and gardening in the new normal. Gardening in one place over time. Reading 04:00 Extract from The Garden Log Podcast, episode 74, read by the host, Ben Dark. Interview with the Katie Rushworth 05:51 06:21 Not the only Yorkshire-born gardener on the telly… 07:00 Katie’s experience of nature and plants growing up 09:29 Chomping for wood! 10:12 The place of the Yorkshire landscape in Katie’s garden design work 11:44 Gardening is about a feeling 12:43 Before gardening… 16:32 Juggling gardening, TV schedules and being a mum 17:43 Transferrable skills – an appreciation of colour, shape, form and texture 19:11 Garden coaching and mentoring 26:35 Domestic gardens 27:21 Practical, useful & pretty 30:42 The biggest obstacles people face in their gardens 32:54 Plants – just pretty window dressing, or more than fluff? 36:25 Productively using our time in the garden *** Thank you to Katie for joining me on this episode. Katie’s book Plants, Beds & Borders is available here Katie's website: Katie on Instagram I’m ever grateful to all my listeners for your continued support and reviews, I really do appreciate them. You can support the podcast by buying its producer a virtual cup of coffee for three quid, at . Proceeds will go towards equipment, software and the monthly podcast hosting fees. Lockdown discounts: A year of garden coaching I’ve been very excited about my new venture – even before the lockdown I’d decided that online garden coaching would be a fantastic way for me to work with more people than I can physically get around to, helping them to make the very best of their gardens in a way that suits the life they lead. With the all the uncertainty around our lives just now I’m holding the the introductory price for the full 12 month programme as well as offering a quarterly payment plan, and there’s 50% off an hour’s Skype consultation call. website: email: Instagram: Twitter: /episode/index/show/gardensweedsandwords/id/14115302