Sarah Raven is launching a new gardening podcast, Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange, suitable for gardeners of all ages and levels of experience, whether you have a window box or acres of land to tend.
Gardener, writer and teacher Sarah, along with her friend and colleague, Arthur Parkinson, will host lively discussions from their favourite flowers to pick and sow, to the best edible plants relevant to the season – ultimately helping us all to find the joy that gardening brings to the home and kitchen, and to maximise our outdoor space.
It comes at the perfect time, as since the pandemic, we’ve spent more time than ever before in our gardens, consequently making our outdoor spaces extensions of the home. The pandemic has also created a new generation of enthusiasts who have joined the ‘grow your own’ trend.
‘Gardening has had a real image makeover in recent years, becoming popular with city dwellers and younger people,’ says Arthur, who trained at Kew Gardens, was head gardener at the Emma Bridgewater Factory garden, and is now releasing his second book, The Flower Yard: Growing Flamboyant Flowers in Containers, this year.
Arthur Parkinson
Arthur Parkinson
With a new book,A Year Full of Flowers, out this spring, Sarah, who runs her own cookery and gardening school at Perch Hill in East Sussex along with her mail order gardening company, says the podcast aims to demonstrate that gardening really is for everyone.
‘Each week I’ll tell you what I’ve loved, liked and hated in my garden over the last 25 years. We’ll be talking colours and colour combinations, recipes full of home grown produce, growing tips and personal experiences,’ she says.
‘Arthur and I hope that listeners will find the podcast helpful in maximising their outdoor space, and will join us each week to discover how gardening can help transform their lives for the better!’
Sarah Raven
Sarah and Arthur will not only share their love for gardening but also their sometimes conflicting opinions – and we can expect some guest appearanceslater in the series too.
Arthur comments: ‘Sarah and I have very similar tastes in gardening and I have admired her work since I was a child – but we don’t always agree on everything. For example, white flowers are a real no-no for me, but I just can’t win Sarah round on this one! Who knew gardening could be so controversial?’
Grow, Cook, Eat, Arrange launches on all major streaming platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and Soundcloud on 12th February 2021.
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16 great books for gardening and indoor plant inspiration
Garden book
RHS How to Create your Garden: Ideas and Advice for Transforming your Outdoor Space
Adam Frost’s practical, no-nonsense approach will help you plan and build a garden that works for you. The Gardeners’ World presenter takes you step by step through the whole process, from simple garden design ideas to a full garden makeover.
Garden book
Modern Container Gardening: How to Create a Stylish Small-Space Garden Anywhere
Isabelle Palmer shows you how to make the most of every little space with a series of projects for small gardens, singular containers and window boxes, that can be completed in a day or weekend. Perfect for novice gardeners, Modern Container Gardening offers beautiful photography and clear step-by-step instructions.
Garden book
National Trust School of Gardening: Practical Advice from the Experts
National Trust amazon.co.uk
£15.15
The National Trust employs over 500 gardeners with an extraordinary wealth of expertise. And now, in this in-depth guide, they pass on their wisdom and provide the answers any new and seasoned gardener is looking for. This book is intended to give you inspiration and confidence to make the most of your garden, without being overwhelmed with unnecessary technical detail.
Garden book
Veg in One Bed: How to Grow an Abundance of Food in One Raised Bed, Month by Month
Veg In One Bed explains how to build your bed and grow from seed, as well advice on planting, feeding, and harvesting. YouTube gardening star Huw Richards shows how to guarantee early success by starting off young plants on a windowsill and suggests what to grow in each part of the bed.
Garden book
The Complete Gardener: A Practical, Imaginative Guide to Every Aspect of Gardening
Monty Don offers straightforward gardening advice in this book, revealing the secrets of growing vegetables, fruits, flowers, and herbs, while respecting the needs of the environment by gardening organically. You can also enjoy a tour of his Herefordshire garden, including his flower garden, herb garden, kitchen garden, and more.
Plants book
RHS Practical House Plant Book
The Practical House Plant Book by the RHS contains a dozen step-by-step projects to help you assemble an eye-catching terrarium, create a floating kokedama ‘string garden’, or propagate succulents. Complete with 175 in-depth plant profiles, this is an essential practical guide for indoor gardeners.
Garden book
Small Garden Style: A Design Guide for Outdoor Rooms and Containers
Ten Speed Press amazon.co.uk
£13.59
A small garden space – an urban patio, a tiny backyard, or even just a pot by your door – doesn’t have to sacrifice style. In Small Garden Style, garden designer Isa Hendry Eaton and lifestyle writer Jennifer Blaise Kramer show you how to use good design to create a joyful, elegant, and exciting yet compact outdoor living space.
Garden book
Charles Dowding’s No Dig Gardening: From Weeds to Vegetables Easily and Quickly: Course 1
No Dig Garden amazon.co.uk
£19.49
Charles Dowding, innovator of no dig, teaches you everything you need to know about this method of organic gardening. With 19 chapters, you’ll learn how to use no dig on different soil types, recognise and massively reduce the different types of weeds, know the difference between soil and types of compost, and grow an abundance of vegetables using the no dig method.
Plants book
In Bloom: Growing, harvesting and arranging flowers all year round
Kyle Books amazon.co.uk
£18.26
Get all the inspiration you need for planting cut flowers, and fill your home with colour and the gorgeous scent of the garden year-round with In Bloom. Clare Nolan reveals her secrets for growing a bountiful harvest as well as styling spectacular homegrown displays in this beautifully designed book.
Garden book
RHS Complete Gardener’s Manual
The RHS’ Complete Gardener’s Manual will help you choose plants that will thrive in your space, design a border for year-round colour, grasp different pruning techniques, discover how to protect your veg patch from pests, and make the best compost.
Garden book
Wildlife Gardening: For Everyone and Everything
Bloomsbury Wildlife amazon.co.uk
£10.21
Do you want to attract more bees, birds, frogs and hedgehogs into your garden? In Wildlife Gardening for Everyone and Everything, Kate Bradbury teams up with the Wildlife Trusts and the RHS to help you discover how you can make your garden, balcony, doorstep or patio a haven for garden wildlife. You’ll find handy charts, practical projects and fact files.
Plants book
My House Plant Changed My Life: Green wellbeing for the great indoors
Gardener and TV presenter David Domoney is a firm believer that indoor plants can make ‘a practical and emotional contribution to our wellbeing’. In this book, David explains the hard science behind the positive effect of the humble houseplant on wellness, and provides expert tips on how to keep your plants thriving, plus shares his top 50 life-enhancing houseplants.
Garden book
RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Design: Planning, Building and Planting Your Perfect Outdoor Space
If you’re looking for new garden ideas, the RHS Encyclopedia of Garden Design will guide you from planning to planting, such as choosing the correct materials for your structures and assessing your drainage, to laying patios, making ponds, and planting perennials.
Garden book
How to Create an Eco Garden: The practical guide to sustainable and greener gardening
Lorenz Books amazon.co.uk
£12.53
This planet-friendly book is filled with ideas for creating your own eco garden on any scale, from a small courtyard to a large garden or allotment. Discover organic techniques that improve biodiversity, learn the value of using recycled and reclaimed materials for landscaping, and take on simple projects such as making a pond and a wildlife hotel.
Plants book
RHS Encyclopedia Of Plants and Flowers
Drawing on expert advice from the RHS, this best-selling reference book – organised by colour, size, and type, rather than as an A-Z directory – will help you select the right varieties for your outdoor space.
Garden book
Build a Better Vegetable Garden: 30 DIY Projects to Improve your Harvest
Frances Lincoln Publishers Ltd amazon.co.uk
£12.27
Joyce and Ben Russell have devised 30 kitchen garden projects, devised to either extend the season, protect crops from pests or improve yields. These projects transform your vegetable plot into somewhere more productive, more attractive and more secure.
Olivia Heath Digital Editor, House Beautiful UK Olivia Heath is the Digital Editor at House Beautiful UK, uncovering tomorrow’s biggest home trends all while delivering stylish room inspiration, small space solutions, easy garden ideas and house tours of the hottest properties on the market.
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