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© Sweetpea and Bear
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Welcome to Not Just a Garden!
A name that came about after we laboriously tackled a weed-infested, overgrown, black-run-steep patch of field into something vaguely resembling a garden. Literal blood, sweat and tears were spent in the process but once the beds were built, the plants began to grow and the wildlife took over, we agreed it was not just a garden, but something so much more; a shared achievement, a bonding experience, an escape from screens, a hideaway for tranquil moments, a safe space to sit and put the mad and confusing world to rights.
Our continued shared love of gardening has had us avidly watching Gardeners’ World each week, taking notes here, animatedly discussing there, which has in turn lead us to giving a Sweetpea & Bear style recap on our podcast! Just a mother and daughter chewing the fat over Nick, Frances and Adam’s big garden moves, enjoying Monty and Toby’s poetic presenting, learning intriguing garden history from Advolly and hanging off Carol’s every propagating word.
The programme has also brought into our living rooms each week a novice, professional, serious, hilarious, quirky, eccentric, inspiring world of guests, all of whom we want to know so much more about. So our Good Ol' Chit-Chats series was born; each episode we chat with a previous guest on Gardeners’ World and find out more about what would make their dream garden.
So grab a cup of tea and flask of coffee, a glass of wine, a whisky, a Pimms, an Apple and Pear juice or anything in between, and join us for a Good Ol’ Chit-Chat about Not Just a Garden!
Sweetpea & Bear
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120 Episodes
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It's our half century episode and to celebrate we have our very first Gardeners' World presenter!🎉🕺 Nick Macer from Pan Global Plants presented a series of episodes in 2016 and he joins us as we travel back in time to a little schoolboy Nick still finding his feet, through to a big adult Nick owning one of the most celebrated specialist plant nurseries in the UK. We also hear about plant hunting, why Mexico and south west China have such rich flora, poison dart frogs, forest bathing, Nick's until now unrealised love of fairy-lights, and some very good news for bamboo.Some mentions from Nick, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/George’s Jungle Garden Video with Dr Simon Olpin, SheffieldKells BayAlan Mitchell Trees of Britain and Northern EuropeWestonbirt ArboretumHillier ArboretumThe Hillier Manual of Trees and ShrubsCowley ManorPainswick Rococo GardensEdulis Nursery Paul BarneySlimbridge Wildlife and Wetland CentreMore Not Just a GardenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/NotJustaGarden/homeWebsite: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
In this podcast episode we find out who's been stealing all the walnuts. We also learn about the use of dandelion root extract in medicine, plastic stuffed birds, bluebell glue, cheeky parrots, Advolly's yellow dress, and butt-breathing.And on Gardeners' World, we see a very speedy Monty Don, Carol Klein shows us around RHS Rosemoor in Devon and we meet Andy Farrington and Liz Dalby-Webb at The Plant Co-operative in Manchester. Advolly Richmond tells us all about Gertrude Jekyll at Hartland Abbey in North Devon before John Grimshaw shows us around his autumn garden in North Yorkshire.Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Liz Zorab was on Gardeners' World last year and joins us for a Chit-Chat about her autumn inspired dream garden. We find out how Liz's dad instilled her initial happy curiosity in nature from a young age, which has taken her from reading books on gardening before she even had a garden, to her incredibly beautiful and productive space at Byther Farm. We also find out about "Horsefly Alley", how to install hedgehog friendly fencing, the importance of perennial vegetables, the virtues of seed and plant swaps, and her packed deep-freezer full of fruit and veg from the garden, which she probably needs to bolt to the floor before we visit.Some mentions from Liz, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/RHS The Vegetable Garden DisplayedDoctor Hessayon BooksLiz's before and after videoAberglasney GardensThe Copper dragon Llysdinam GardensMore Not Just a GardenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/NotJustaGarden/homeWebsite: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week we find out some good news about Martin Dohrn and some potentially even better news about the availability of his film, My Garden of a Thousand Bees. We also hear about what exists under the Antarctic, cancer-curing honeybees, fig trees turning carbon dioxide into stone, the lesser known yet intrepid plant hunter and botanist Dora B Stafford, and how seagulls are even more evil that we first thought.On Gardeners' World, Frances Tophill gives an update on her pretty garden in Devon, Peter & Helleentje Walker show us some stunning carnivorous plants from their nursery in Scampston, Nick Bailey meets with Professor Craig Sturrock and Professor Malcolm Bennett to talk plant roots at the University of Nottingham, and Eleanor Cochrane shows us her beautiful modern garden in Cranbrook.Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Gokul Asokan was on Gardeners' World 2025 episode 21 - a landscape architect without his own garden but that hasn't stopped him gardening! He joins us for A Good Ol' Chit-Chat where we hear how a classmate first inspired him to venture into the world of plants, battling home sickness, the power of perseverance, how helpful pet bunnies are (on many levels), Gokul's VERY sociable dream greenhouse, and the magic of manifesting.Some mentions from Gokul, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/WentworthHarlow CarrWisleyChatsworthWisteria GardensMore Not Just a GardenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/NotJustaGarden/homeWebsite: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week on our recap we hear how as a result of her appearance on Gardeners' World, Violet Croll is now involved in an exhibition in Paris! We talk about Dan from Dan's Plants' online shop, trees growing gold, the deadly chemical found in our water pipes, what it means if you have an impressive rosemary bush, and the empathy of humpbacks. We also ponder, if we could put all the angry world leaders on a plug-plant growing trainee course in Bristol, would the world be a happier place.On Gardeners' World this week, Carol Klein is in her stunning garden at Glebe Cottage, Sally Morgan shows us her resilient garden in Somerset, Dwayne Black gives us a tour of his gorgeous garden in Isfield, East Sussex, and Joe Swift takes us to St Werburgh's allotments in Bristol.Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Clematis Queen Alla Olkhovska was on Gardeners' World 2025 episode 20 showing us her stunning collection of 140 different clematis which she grows in her garden, despite being at the centre of a war zone in Kharkiv, Ukraine. During this Chit-Chat we hear how Alla is handling relentless drone strikes and blackouts, her incredible family history through world wars, the October Revolution, exile to Siberia, the important role Linden Grove Gardens has played in their lives, especially when it comes to apples, and Alla's secret ingredient for successfully growing garden orchids.Some mentions from Alla, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/Alla's documentary, Gardening in a War ZoneAlla's eBooks Clematis and Clematis PassportsAlla's PatreonAlla's Go Fund MeV.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University Botanical GardenFrosch Garden OrchidsSoaked apple recipeMore Not Just a GardenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/NotJustaGarden/homeWebsite: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Rajat Jindal was on Gardeners' World 2025, episode 22 showing us his magnificent Great Dixter inspired garden in Suffolk. On this episode of Chit-Chats we find out about hornbeam topiary, accidental Claire Voies, death row meals, Oxbridge potato wars, and how you can have a greenhouse that authorities may deem "too polite".Some mentions from Rajat, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/Garden Museum, LondonTania ComptonCapability BrownEmorsgate SeedsRousham House & GardensMore Not Just a GardenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/NotJustaGarden/homeWebsite: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We risk being cancelled this week by giving the BBC a piece of our minds, but we also talk about micro-hydro units, the ecosystems of belly buttons, edible six-pack rings, the perils of planting parsley if you're a woman, and the huge part snails play in the beauty industry.This week on Gardeners' World, Frances hosts from Damson Farm with Rua Tophill and Alison and Twiggy Jenkins. We meet Ashleigh Whiffin, Curator of Entomology at the National Museums Scotland, and Nick Bailey takes us to Cambridge University Botanic Garden to hear from Professor Beverley Glover about the science of how plants make colour. Edmund, Alice, Arlen and Rufus show us around their pretty garden in Kent and Rekha talks all things veg from her beautiful hillside plot in the Peak District.Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Greg Anderton was on Gardeners' World 2025 episode 17 during which he gave a behind-the-scenes look at his preparations for the first RHS Wentworth Woodhouse show - where he won a gold! In this episode of Chit-Chats we find out about the judging of such shows, how he starts preparing for them, and the accommodation challenges involved - especially if you suffer with ovinaphobia! We also hear about running a business since primary school, swimming with frogs, and Greg and Sweetpea's shared love of gardens with cake.Some mentions from Greg, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/Chorley Flower ShowSouthport Flower ShowJeremy Hastings Water FeaturesTrebah GardensLamorran HouseEast Ruston Old Vicarage GardenLincolnshire Pond PlantsPotting Shed with Martin and Jill FishMore Not Just a GardenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/NotJustaGarden/homeWebsite: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Two weeks since the last episode of Gardeners' World and we've been experiencing withdrawal symptoms. We have a good ol' chit-chat about the awesome courses at The Sustainability Centre, South Downs National Park, including clay oven building for Sweetpea, building compost toilets for Bear and, previous Chit-Chats guest, Tom Nielsen's Creating Wilder Gardens. We also talk sleep hygiene, the women's rugby world cup, paddy fields in the UK, the positive impact of living amongst greenery on children's IQ, snail water🤢, frog stomachs, and how does Monty express anger?Rachel de Thame meets Rachel Seigfried at her beautiful flower farm in Oxfordshire, and Andrea Benson and Jenny Mercer show us their dye garden at Glyndebourne Opera House in East Sussex. Kerry and Neil Littleales give us a tour of their pretty garden in Okehampton and Adam Frost show us the spectacular Mount St John in Thirsk where we meet Head Gardener Tim Marshall, and Jake Clarke shows us the stunning stock ponds.Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Is the lack of Gardeners' World causing Sweetpea to spiral into the depths of despair? This week we talk separation anxiety, love stories, imposter syndrome, the bleak reality of all those pandemic masks, how awesome Morgan Freeman is, Layla Robinson's incredible Bird Of Peace flower sculpture, and Ann Makosinksi's revolutionary body-heat powered torch.This week Toby Buckland takes us to the stunning Corsley House gardens in Warminster, Wiltshire where we meet one of the owners Keith Johnson and head gardener Jo Downes, before Sophia Gray shows us her beautiful allotment in Swindon brimming with cutflowers. Frances Tophill visits Cornwall to meet with Artist Alexandra Daisy Ginsburg and ecologist Dr Christopher Kaiser-Bunbury to understand more about Pollinator Pathmaker where we see it being implemented in the gardens of Phil & Becky and Elphie & Bobbie. Finally Chris D’Agorne shows us around his inspiring Pocket Wilderness Garden in Weston-Super-Mare.Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A little more emotionally stable this week, we learn a bit about Jamie Butterworth's wedding, Adam Frost's tour, Sweden's exemplary recycling, one of Time Magazine’s 10 Girls of the Year and her fantastic invention, and (definitely not more importantly) her Lego figure, record-breaking sunflowers, the risk-taking Scottish botanist David Douglas, and 192 year old Jonathan.This week Monty Don's at Longmeadow before Adam visits Rye to meet Emma Burrill in her beautiful prairie garden transformed from a horse-paddock. Steve Buckley & Liz Roberts show us around their wonderful tropical garden in Crouch End, and Joe Swift takes us to Bristol to the most spectacular community garden - Heart of BS13 - where we meet Sol Harmsworth, Gill Carpenter, Vicky, Jamie, Jenny Liggitt, and Clem Richards. Finally we get to wander around Flo's fantastic Het Ruige Riet inspired garden in Deal in Kent.Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
An emotional week as empty-nest syndrome sets in but we still have time to chit-chat about the benefits of pineapple leather, the lung capacity of the ancient Romans and Asian sea nomads, electric blue pigs in California, honeybee superfoods, and rock swallowing crocs.This week on Gardeners' World, Adam Frost is looking 21 again as he shows us his garden with his co-presenters Buster, Ash and Isla, and Frances Tophill is in Mirfield visiting Dr Stephen Medley's Piet Oudelf inspired prairie garden. Rajat Jindal shows us his absolutely stunning garden in Suffolk, and Advolly Richmond gives us some history on Vita Sackville-West and Harold Nicolson's garden at Long Barn Garden in Sevenoaks. Finally, Darryl Taylor shows us around his office in the beautiful kitchen gardens of Thyme Estate in the Cotswolds.Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dean Charlton was on Gardeners' World Episode 17 when he was preparing for his exhibit at the first ever RHS Wentworth Woodhouse. In this final episode of series 3 of Chit-Chats, we find out about the history of Hooton's Walled Nursery, Dean's as yet unpatented drystone skip walls, his very happy memories of 6 years at Great Dixter and some of the skills he learned there, power scything, wassails, Morris Dancing, and his Bavarian friend's Guess the Organ Soup.Some mentions from Dean, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/WildsideOuseburn FarmThe Northern Fruit GroupHalls of HeddonCharlotte Molesworth's Balmoral CottageLe Jardin Plume, NormandyPuzzlewood, Forest of DeanDe Hessenhof, Netherlands More Not Just a GardenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/NotJustaGarden/homeWebsite: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week we have a bit of a chit-chat about Germany's salt-and-air batteries, the mysterious return of the large copper butterfly to the British countryside, the importance of keystone species such as cassowaries and their E number fluorescent eggs, the bizarre history of when Australia went to war with the local emu population, the world's northern most botanic garden in Tromsø, Norway, and plans to air-lift Carol Klein's trough.Joe Swift takes a trip to Nottingham to chat with Paul Saxton, as well as Ann, Roger and Val at the magnificent Bagthorpe Gardens, and we meet the inspiring Gokul Asokan in Sheffield. Carol Klein plants up a stunning late flowering trough, and Pippa Chapman in Keighley, Bradford (2025 UK City of Culture) talks to us about permaculture, food forests and forest gardening.Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555857724677 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
It was a real pleasure Chit-Chatting with Nate Moss from Goldwell Flowers on episode 43. We saw Nate on Gardeners’ World ep18 a few weeks ago when he showed Arit Anderson around his beautiful flower farm before rustling up the most spectacular flower display. During our chat we hear about isolated cabins in the mountains, Kew Gardens waterlily house style greenhouses, moth trapping, some disappointing tulip news, and does Virgil the tortoise survive to see another day?Some mentions from Nate, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/The Minack ChroniclesSpencer HouseKew Gardens Waterlily HouseNo-Name NurseryHeale GardensChiltern SeedsEmorsgate SeedsMore Not Just a GardenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/NotJustaGarden/homeWebsite: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555857724677 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
On our Gardeners' World recap this week we talk about coconut husk pallets, the palm house at Kew Gardens closing, awesome lego sets, what Troublesome Trump has done to the rose garden, Californian super-blooms, and the unique echidna appendage.Back with Monty Don at Longmeadow, on GW this week, Jamie Butterworth has a look at the spectacular RHS Bridgewater and chats to Curator Marcus Chilton-Jones and Garden Manager Tracy Snell. We meet Pippa and Steve Temple in their incredible garden, equipped with its own functioning mill - Impington Mill. Rekha shows us some of her home grown veg and recipes - plot to plate, and Alla Olkhovska is in her garden Linden Grove Gardens where she displays some of her many clematis.Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555857724677 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
George Lowther; presenter, director, head of production, researcher, series editor, dubbing mixer, cameraman, and runner of YouTube channel George’s Jungle Garden, was on Gardeners’ World way back in 2022, ep11 and we were delighted that he joined us for ep42 of Chit-Chats. We find out how his appearance on Gardeners’ World came about, how he planned his tropical garden, the trials and tribulations of running a successful YouTube channel, his beautiful wife’s plans for that kitchen extension, and that he’s a man who really can’t make up his mind about what his dream garden boundaries would look like.Some mentions from George, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/Dan Pearson’s GardenMark’s Crazy Tiki GardenPan Global PlantsTremenheere Sculpture gardensClumber ParkChatsworthMore Not Just a GardenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/NotJustaGarden/homeWebsite: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555857724677 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week we chat about our trip to Cerney House Gardens, and we also look at the Via Verde project “turning Mexico City’s grey to green”, the drone discovery of a 40,000 strong turtle nesting site in the Amazon, the removal of 80 tonnes of duckweed from Stourport Basin, ballooning spiders, and the surprising nutritional value of figs.Gardeners' World is at Adam, Ash and Buster Frost's place this week, and Sue Kent visits Sharon Darlington’s stunning millpond garden in Anglesey. Neil Duncan, champion rose grower from Appleshaw in Andover, shows us some of his hybrid teas and Inspirational gardener Jamie Quince-Starkey, founder of Down to Earth, talks to us about Electric Daisy. Finally Frances Tophill meets Landscape architect and garden designer Matt Evans to have a look at his green and tranquil garden in Bath.Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61555857724677 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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