Talking Heads - a Gardening Podcast

With Autumn on the horizon, it's time to say a fond farewell to the 2024 garden season. But that's not to say there is still a tremendous amount of gardening to be done. Lucy has been revelling in her Fruit and Veg with Autumn being the crescendo of harvest time, and Saul willed an Indian Summer so his last few exotics could flower before being tucked away for some well deserved winter rest. Otherwise there are still lawns to cut, leaves to be raked and a lot of planning for 2025!Saul and Lucy treat you to weather chat PLUS conifer chat in the opening to this week's episode, and with that horticultural scene set to whet your appetite, we feel this is the perfect time to exclusively announce why Lucy's custard cream intake has rocketed over the past two years - she's written a new book! No surprises for assuming that it's grow your own related -  and in this episode she explains exactly what's in it. Entitled Grow Food Anywhere, Lucy aim's to allow everyone and anyone to experience the unadulterated joy of growing their own food, whether they live in arid Essex, soggy Devon, or, indeed, the windblown hilltops of bonny Scotland.  Book link: Click HereTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulInstagram Links:Lucy lucychamberlaingardensIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

With Summer behind us and the touch of Autumn on the horizon, it's time to say a fond and lengthy farewell to the 2024 garden season. But that's not to say there is still a tremendous amount of gardening to be done. Lucy will be revelling in her Fruit and Veg as Autumn is the crescendo of harvest time, and Saul will be willing an Indian Summer so his last few exotics can flower before tucking them away for some well deserved winter rest. Otherwise there are still lawns to cut, leaves to be racked and a lot of planning for 2025!The final half term of the year is over, with weather that seems to have lost the fact that it's meant to be 'changeable' - a grey, murky sheet of cloud seems to have descended on the UK and it's not budging. But at least it's been dry and that means the Talking Heads pair can get out and start the Autumn clear-up, mow those ever-growing lawns, plant garlic, sow seeds and take cuttings - it's that time of year where one garden season collides with another. Also Lucy takes us back to her trip north of the border and a visit to Benmore Gardens, whereas the least said about Saul's half-term experience the better!Instagram Links:Lucy lucychamberlaingardensTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

With Summer behind us and the touch of Autumn on the horizon, it's time to say a fond and lengthy farewell to the 2024 garden season. But that's not to say there is still a tremendous amount of gardening to be done. Lucy will be revelling in her Fruit and Veg as Autumn is the crescendo of harvest time, and Saul will be willing an Indian Summer so his last few exotics can flower before tucking them away for some well deserved winter rest. Otherwise there are still lawns to cut, leaves to be racked and a lot of planning for 2025!Is Autumn all it's cracked up to be - well Saul doesn't think so, but mainly because he's constantly wet. The rain is continuous in the west, so Lucy tries to tempt him into a move East where the sun is always shining. That doesn't mean the gardening is put on hold as the Talking Heads Pair continue with the tasks of winterising the garden, clean those corners of the greenhouse (a good umbrella on rainy days!) and slowly getting on top of all the yearly growth that now needs removing. Also some sad news about the death of Jim Mcoll - a titan of Scottish horticulture - and Saul gets chased by Wasps. It's never dull in the life of a Modern Professional Gardener!Instagram Links:Lucy lucychamberlaingardensTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

With Summer behind us and the touch of Autumn on the horizon, it's time to say a fond and lengthy farewell to the 2024 garden season. But that's not to say there is still a tremendous amount of gardening to be done. Lucy will be revelling in her Fruit and Veg as Autumn is the crescendo of harvest time, and Saul will be willing an Indian Summer so his last few exotics can flower before tucking them away for some well deserved winter rest. Otherwise there are still lawns to cut, leaves to be racked and a lot of planning for 2025!Well - it's been a while, gremlins and bugs have laid the Talking Heads pair low for a while, but nought can keep the Horti-waffle down for long, so we are back and just when Autumn is finally (we think) starting to kick-in! We've been busy when not being afflicted, and our main focus for the past few days has been in the greenhouse (dodging the rain mostly) to get them ready for their winter 'cost' of overwintering, propagating and protecting us poor gardeners. Lucy also revels in her trip to the Great Dixter Autumn Plant Fair, and we look at some of the work we've both being doing on our respective RHS Plant Committees.Instagram Links:Lucy lucychamberlaingardensTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

With Summer behind us and the touch of Autumn on the horizon, it's time to say a fond and lengthy farewell to the 2024 garden season. But that's not to say there is still a tremendous amount of gardening to be done. Lucy will be revelling in her Fruit and Veg as Autumn is the crescendo of harvest time, and Saul will be willing an Indian Summer so his last few exotics can flower before tucking them away for some well deserved winter rest. Otherwise there are still lawns to cut, leaves to be racked and a lot of planning for 2025!This week Saul and Lucy catch up with some of our loyal listeners' questions - there are plenty to get through! Sian in Ireland has bindweed in her beds, Andrew and Dee want to establish a mini meadow in their garden, Ben's raspberry beds need a re-vamp and Matt's looking for a compact tomato variety for his greenhouse pots. On top of all that, Lucy reports back on her recent RHS committees study tour of the South West, where she found it incredible who you could bump into on a sunny garden bench... Instagram Links:Lucy lucychamberlaingardensTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

With Summer behind us and the touch of Autumn on the horizon, it's time to say a fond and lengthy farewell to the 2024 garden season. But that's not to say there is still a tremendous amount of gardening to be done. Lucy will be revelling in her Fruit and Veg as Autumn is the crescendo of harvest time, and Saul will be willing an Indian Summer so his last few exotics can flower before tucking them away for some well deserved winter rest. Otherwise there are still lawns to cut, leaves to be racked and a lot of planning for 2025!Lucy and Saul have had a very busy couple weeks, mostly away from home, while visiting gardens, attending trails of Tomatoes, PSB and spuds, and meeting up with fellow RHS committees for various study trips and meetings. That means the pair haven't really got on with much gardening - but they have still be indulging in the world of horticulture and seeing it's breadth and diversity throughout the UK! Instagram Links:Lucy lucychamberlaingardensTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

The Summer season has come full circle again, that time of year where everyone enjoys being outside, especially in their gardens on a long, sunny day. Gardeners are still in full flow - planting out new beds, mowing their lawns and cajoling their vegetable gardens into burgeoning yields. It's a great time to be alive in horticulture as the show season reaches a crescendo, plant fairs almost every weekend threaten to empty your savings and open gardens throughout the UK inspire that next bit of work you will be doing in your own plot. As ever Lucy and Saul will bring you tales (and waffle) from their gardens, so join us every week for more horticultural high-jinx on Talking Heads.BBC Gardeners World Autumn Fair brings a nice closing curtain on Lucy and Saul's flower show circuit for the year, as the Talking Heads Pair sing the praises of the Walled Garden and the English Heritage team's Vegetable and Fruit Growing. The show itself is a delightful show case of late-summer colour, bulb planting and ideas to take away and extend your garden season into the Autumn. We also catch up with 'friend of the podcast' David Hurrion who's new book 'The Raised Bed Book' is translated into a wonderful garden showing the versatility and beauty of using raised beds in your garden.Instagram Links:Lucy headgardenerlcTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

The Summer season has come full circle again, that time of year where everyone enjoys being outside, especially in their gardens on a long, sunny day. Gardeners are still in full flow - planting out new beds, mowing their lawns and cajoling their vegetable gardens into burgeoning yields. It's a great time to be alive in horticulture as the show season reaches a crescendo, plant fairs almost every weekend threaten to empty your savings and open gardens throughout the UK inspire that next bit of work you will be doing in your own plot. As ever Lucy and Saul will bring you tales (and waffle) from their gardens, so join us every week for more horticultural high-jinx on Talking Heads.Help Lucy commiserate/celebrate/mark her milestone birthday by, what else? By gardening, of course! With Saul taking a well deserved holiday in Scotland, Lucy describes how many gardeners are working hard - or are we? To show to the masses that, rather than hammocking with a Pimms gardeners love to keep busy at all times of year, she runs through her late August jobs list. From tying in camellias and deadheading dahlias in her own garden, to pruning hedges and collecting meadow seeds in others, is she in denial by implying she's barely got time for candles and cake? (Yes).Instagram Links:Lucy headgardenerlcTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

The Summer season has come full circle again, that time of year where everyone enjoys being outside, especially in their gardens on a long, sunny day. Gardeners are still in full flow - planting out new beds, mowing their lawns and cajoling their vegetable gardens into burgeoning yields. It's a great time to be alive in horticulture as the show season reaches a crescendo, plant fairs almost every weekend threaten to empty your savings and open gardens throughout the UK inspire that next bit of work you will be doing in your own plot. As ever Lucy and Saul will bring you tales (and waffle) from their gardens, so join us every week for more horticultural high-jinx on Talking Heads.With Saul in Devon wrapped up in his autumn clothing, and Lucy barely wearing much due to the Essex heat, the Talking Heads duo are made well aware of the UK's differences in weather patterns. Teetering on the political, the duo talk, too, about the impact leaving Europe is having on UK seed supplies, and Lucy reports back on a pepper trial thus far. With Saul off to Rosemoor, then Scotland, then ultimately Audley End in the next two weeks, Lucy takes up the reins for next week's episode. Instagram Links:Lucy headgardenerlcTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

The Summer season has come full circle again, that time of year where everyone enjoys being outside, especially in their gardens on a long, sunny day. Gardeners are still in full flow - planting out new beds, mowing their lawns and cajoling their vegetable gardens into burgeoning yields. It's a great time to be alive in horticulture as the show season reaches a crescendo, plant fairs almost every weekend threaten to empty your savings and open gardens throughout the UK inspire that next bit of work you will be doing in your own plot. As ever Lucy and Saul will bring you tales (and waffle) from their gardens, so join us every week for more horticultural high-jinx on Talking Heads.Summer continues, although for some it's also been Autumn, Spring and Winter in one week, but is August all it's cracked up to be. Lucy and Saul discuss whether Saul's thought that August is his least favourite garden month is valid. Plus Lucy has been out helping her folks with the garden, we have a listener question on what to do with all those dangly bits on our vegetable climbers and are you thinking about doing a little Garden writing, Lucy gives you a few hints and tips of how to break into the world of horticultural journalism. Twitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulInstagram Links:Lucy headgardenerlcIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

The Summer season has come full circle again, that time of year where everyone enjoys being outside, especially in their gardens on a long, sunny day. Gardeners are still in full flow - planting out new beds, mowing their lawns and cajoling their vegetable gardens into burgeoning yields. It's a great time to be alive in horticulture as the show season reaches a crescendo, plant fairs almost every weekend threaten to empty your savings and open gardens throughout the UK inspire that next bit of work you will be doing in your own plot. As ever Lucy and Saul will bring you tales (and waffle) from their gardens, so join us every week for more horticultural high-jinx on Talking Heads.The Talking Heads podcast duo are glowing! With temperatures well into the twenties, gardening this week for Saul has mainly consisted of watering and seeking shade, whereas Lucy took to contracting Covid to avoid the heatwave! Irrigation can be a time-zapping exercise, so Lucy and Saul discuss their respective water management methods. With playdates aplenty, Lucy also turns her mind towards school holiday activities, and thankfully the RHS and Jane Perrone have come to her rescue. Wormeries, naturecrafts, bug hunts and more will help any family enjoy their garden this summer. Twitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulInstagram Links:Lucy headgardenerlcIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

The Summer season has come full circle again, that time of year where everyone enjoys being outside, especially in their gardens on a long, sunny day. Gardener's are still in full flow - planting out new beds, mowing their lawns and cajoling their vegetable gardens into burgeoning yields. It's a great time to be alive in horticulture as the show season reaches a crescendo, plant fairs almost every weekend threaten to empty your savings and open gardens throughout the UK inspire that next bit of work you will be doing in your own plot. As ever Lucy and Saul will bring you tales (and waffle) from their gardens, so join us every week for more horticultural high-jinx on Talking Heads.Rain in the west and sun in the East, just goes to show how Lucy and Saul's gardening life can differ somewhat from week to week. However gardening aplenty continues, especially for many of our self-employed gardener's who share a few of their experiences with Lucy. Plus Lucy visits RHS Wisley for the first time in many years to taste-test some of the latest beefsteak Tomatoes that are on trial. Saul is also excited because #GingerSeason has started at his home garden, as exotic plants are starting their time to shine!Instagram Links:Lucy headgardenerlcTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

The Summer season has come full circle again, that time of year where everyone enjoys being outside, especially in their gardens on a long, sunny day. Gardener's are still in full flow - planting out new beds, mowing their lawns and cajoling their vegetable gardens into burgeoning yields. It's a great time to be alive in horticulture as the show season reaches a crescendo, plant fairs almost every weekend threaten to empty your savings and open gardens throughout the UK inspire that next bit of work you will be doing in your own plot. As ever Lucy and Saul will bring you tales (and waffle) from their gardens, so join us every week for more horticultural high-jinx on Talking Heads.After a little time apart, the professional duo catch up on Saul's garlic and broad bean trials, and Lucy's recent visit to RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival. Lucy also reveals what veg she's be slathering in butter, and both gardeners comment on how they've noticed lower numbers of bees and birds so far this year. Hopefully with the much anticipated arrival of warmer weather these worrying wildlife trends will slot back into kilter. Lucy also reports back on how 26 little budding gardeners visited her plot last week, in the name of fruit and vegetable education.Instagram Links:Lucy headgardenerlcTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

From time to time Lucy and Saul decided they wanted to record conversations with other Head Gardeners, Curators, Garden Owners and fellow horticulturists across the UK, these will be published as Bonus Episodes alongside their usual format of chatting about their gardening lives. We hope you enjoy.For the Bonus Episode #20 we are joined by Scottish Self-employed gardener Susan Stephen, who as well as being a Talking Heads 'superfan' won out Episode 200 quiz. Susan's life as a career-change gardener was borne out the need to heal her earlier life experiences and a fascination with the natural sciences, coupled with a chance encounter with the garden at her daughter's school, and she's never looked back. Twitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulSusan @susanbwmn_susan Instagram links:Lucy headgardenerlcSusan susanbeegardeningIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

The Summer season has come full circle again, that time of year where everyone enjoys being outside, especially in their gardens on a long, sunny day. Gardener's are still in full flow - planting out new beds, mowing their lawns and cajoling their vegetable gardens into burgeoning yields. It's a great time to be alive in horticulture as the show season reaches a crescendo, plant fairs almost every weekend threaten to empty your savings and open gardens throughout the UK inspire that next bit of work you will be doing in your own plot. As ever Lucy and Saul will bring you tales (and waffle) from their gardens, so join us every week for more horticultural high-jinx on Talking Heads.Join Saul in his back garden, where jungle leaves are the major theme. With Lucy busy with her down-under family, Saul brings you our on a day of looking after his Ginger and Banana friends. He specifically focuses on how he feeds his plants and discussing some of his thoughts on what best feeds to use, how to feed and the frequency with which he adds fertiliser to his various plant collections. He also begins a new chapter in his garden life, the potential for a proper nursery!Instagram Links:Lucy headgardenerlcTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

The Summer season has come full circle again, that time of year where everyone enjoys being outside, especially in their gardens on a long, sunny day. Gardener's are still in full flow - planting out new beds, mowing their lawns and cajoling their vegetable gardens into burgeoning yields. It's a great time to be alive in horticulture as the show season reaches a crescendo, plant fairs almost every weekend threaten to empty your savings and open gardens throughout the UK inspire that next bit of work you will be doing in your own plot. As ever Lucy and Saul will bring you tales (and waffle) from their gardens, so join us every week for more horticultural high-jinx on Talking Heads.Well the Talking Heads pair have just about recovered from the NEC, until a bubble of exceptional hot weather appeared as we're getting down to serious gardening. So the pair try to keep going with ice-creams and dips into the pool or river. The years weird weather has also affected Saul's Sweet Peas, and he's not the only one as the Sweet Pea Society have had similar issues too. Listeners questions on Agretti and (of you live in the north) the need for Waterproof Clothing are also discussed - never a dull moment in the garden!Instagram Links:Lucy headgardenerlcTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

Saul and Lucy are at BBC Gardener's World Live 2024 as the Plant Experts. The show spans the 13th-16th June and is a sprawling show of the finest gardens and plants to grace mid-June (as well as the BBC Good Food Show). As well as early morning tours for the very keenest of gardens, the pair have been on their usual Advice Desk answering the broadest of questions that the public bring with them and for the first time this year giving workshops on growing the best Veg and Fruit in your garden and gaining success with houseplants. So join the Talking Heads pair as they give their opinion on what has been a packed show full on interesting new features and old acquaintances. Instagram link:Lucy @HeadGardenerLCTwitter link:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) Support the show

The Summer season has come full circle again, that time of year where everyone enjoys being outside, especially in their gardens on a long, sunny day. Gardener's are still in full flow - planting out new beds, mowing their lawns and cajoling their vegetable gardens into burgeoning yields. It's a great time to be alive in horticulture as the show season reaches a crescendo, plant fairs almost every weekend threaten to empty your savings and open gardens throughout the UK inspire that next bit of work you will be doing in your own plot. As ever Lucy and Saul will bring you tales (and waffle) from their gardens, so join us every week for more horticultural high-jinx on Talking Heads. Who doesn't love discovering a new plant or rediscovering and old long-lost friend at a plant fair. Saul certainly does, and it is the first weekend in June, when everything must give way to the Tregrehan Rare Plant Fair. A mecca for exotic and unusual plantspeople from all over the UK and beyond, to see what some of the most venerated nursery folk have bought to relieve us of our hard earned cash. So join Saul has he succumbs to a few purchases and has a look at what he has bought and how he will grow them in his home garden.Instagram Links:Lucy headgardenerlcTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

Spring is the time of the gardening year where all gardeners sigh with relief, it's really time to get out and about and enjoy the wonderful world of horticulture.  A garden waking up and showing its early colour and form is a wonderful space to live and work in, an it's no exception that Lucy and Saul revel in this time of year, as their gardening lives start to get busier with sowing, planting, propagation, mowing, mulching and all other gardening tasks. Sprinkle in some early flower shows and the odd plant fair and our gardening life is complete, so thank god for Spring!For those who know Lucy, you'll understand how much joy growing your own food brings her. In the decade of her looking after the walled kitchen garden at East Donyland Hall, along with memories gained via her smallholding upbringing, growing fruits, vegetables and herbs is within her blood. She's applied all she's learnt to a 40 x 40ft space, nestling in rural Essex. And in this episode, she takes you on a detailed tour of this space, discussing edibles you'll certainly know, but also introducing you to some you may not.Instagram Links:Lucy headgardenerlcTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show

Spring is the time of the gardening year where all gardeners sigh with relief, it's really time to get out and about and enjoy the wonderful world of horticulture.  A garden waking up and showing its early colour and form is a wonderful space to live and work in, an it's no exception that Lucy and Saul revel in this time of year, as their gardening lives start to get busier with sowing, planting, propagation, mowing, mulching and all other gardening tasks. Sprinkle in some early flower shows and the odd plant fair and our gardening life is complete, so thank god for Spring!The RHS Chelsea Flower Show is again upon us, as gardening gets its 'Wimbledon' moment where everyone becomes a gardener for one week. Manicured gardens, fantastic flowers and plants, amazing skill and a lot of perspiration is on display as the horticultural world strives to put on the most mesmerising display of Gardening this year. Lucy and Saul are privileged to be allowed to attend the Monday press day for a preview of the show, and as ever the pair are wowed by the efforts that nurseryman, garden designer, landscaper and trade stands put on. So listen in for a few highlights, the odd quibble and lots of seeing our friends (and the odd celebrity )along the way.Instagram Links:Lucy headgardenerlcTwitter links:Saul @GardeningSaulIntro and Outro music from https://filmmusic.io"Fireflies and Stardust" by Kevin MacLeod (https://incompetech.com)License: CC BY (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Support the show