The James & Joe Garden Show

Can you be a good gardener when it’s cold, wet and utterly miserable? And would anyone in their right mind eat a marmalade sandwich in the bath? Cue a deep sigh.It’s Question Time, and James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift are back with your weird and wonderful garden questions. First, a listener has written them a theme tune. There’s just one problem: she wants them to sing it.Then it’s winter kit (agricultural waterproofs held up with baler twine, technical trousers you can hear from the other end of the garden, and James’s dream of owning a pair of combinations), a mad scientist’s laboratory in Bridport where Joe breeds the terrifying Quercus horribilis, why a fresh bag of farmyard manure might be the best smell in the garden, exactly what percentage of their lives they spend thinking about their gardens, and which garden designer has had the most influence on gardening. James also has a theory about the indoor toilet that may change how you look at your back garden forever.This week’s questions:Hannah: Winter is coming. How can I be a good gardener in the cold and wet?Hallie Mae: Which two plants would you combine to make an even better plant?For the Record 1983: Why is a new bag of farmyard manure the best smell in the garden?Gillian Moorhead: What percentage of time do you think about your garden?Stephen Farr: Which famous garden designer has had the most influence on gardening, for better or worse?Timestamps00:00 Intro01:40 A listener writes us a theme tune05:11 How to garden in the cold and wet08:18 The best waterproof trousers for gardening11:52 Long johns, combinations and layering up15:54 Biscuits and sandwiches in the bath16:58 Which two plants would you combine?20:59 Could you breed an evergreen rose?24:17 Why does farmyard manure smell so good?30:43 The voiceover line Joe couldn’t say31:43 How much do gardeners think about their garden?36:58 Most influential garden designer ever42:06 How the indoor toilet changed garden design44:19 Central Park, Birkenhead and Frederick Law Olmsted47:04 Is everyone a garden designer now?Got a question? Send it in for the chance to win the most coveted prize in horticulture (no, not a Chelsea gold medal).To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.comAbout our hostsJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022.Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV’s Gardeners’ World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular.For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective.Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories.Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: [email protected]: no dead plants and no dull questions. See you back in the garden.

Is the most important thing in garden design... a chair? James thinks so. Joe, alarmingly, agrees. Cue a deep sigh from the plants.This week James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift sit down (eventually) to argue that every good garden starts with where you put your bottom. Where should a seat go? Sun or shade? How many friends do you need before you're allowed a terrace? And is a garden bench really just a sculpture you occasionally sit on?Along the way: a fish that grows a few centimetres every time it's mentioned, James's garden building with a pretentious Spanish name, a reclaimed teak table flattened by a falling tree the day after it arrived, Joe's claim to have invented the plastic rattan sofa, a deck chair stand-off over a Ritz biscuit, and a radical proposal for trousers with the cushion built in.Timestamps00:00 Intro03:25 Joe's big fish in Ireland04:26 James's West Coast tour of Canada06:20 Is sitting the key to garden design?07:32 Where to put a seat in your garden08:37 How big should your terrace be?12:39 Why a garden bench is a sculpture17:04 Designing a bespoke garden bench20:02 Sun or shade: where to sit now23:16 How comfortable should garden seating be?27:13 Why garden chairs need arms30:54 Built-in seating for small gardens37:05 Wood, metal or plastic rattan?41:23 Bring back the deck chair44:42 The cushion: the most important partFor ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective.Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories.To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.comEvery question is in with a chance to win Jekyll, our garden gnome and the most coveted prize in horticulture.Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: [email protected] our hostsJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022.Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular.Our only two rules? No dead plants and no dull questions.

What underwear should a professional gardener wear? Nobody at Gardeners' Question Time is going to touch that one. Luckily, you have us.James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift hand the podcast over to you, and this week's postbag is long. Very long. One listener has had enough of pants that fall apart, fall down or cut off the circulation, which leads to a full design brief for the James and Joe gardening undergarment: rib cage to knee, built-in knee pads, a hori hori holder and a warm pocket for toffees.Also in the bag: a lavender hedge crisis delivered as a tragic ballad in rhyming couplets (it wins a gnome), what to wear when judging a horticultural competition in North Carolina, and the plants you'd choose for a garden designed for your absolute nemesis... the ones that look like thoughtful luxury and turn into an endless maintenance hellhole. Bamboo, Japanese knotweed, mind-your-own-business and a walnut tree that poisons its neighbours all get a mention. Somewhere in there is an actual fact about allelopathy.Plus: the correct way to pronounce scarifying, why Dr Seuss was never a doctor, and what Joe would do if he were ever sold to Tottenham.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Welcome to The James & Joe Garden Show01:40 James sings the intro02:47 How to send us a question04:32 What underwear should gardeners wear?10:18 Designing the perfect gardening pants13:39 The Lavender Conundrum: a poem16:31 When to rip out a lavender hedge17:00 How to prune lavender19:50 What to wear to judge a flower show24:50 A uniform for flower show judges27:32 Designing a garden for your nemesis31:11 Invasive plants: knotweed, balsam and bamboo32:21 Allelopathy: plants that poison their neighbours35:52 Why is Dr Seuss a doctor?To ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.comFor ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective.Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories.About our hostsJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022.Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular.Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: [email protected] us a question for the chance to win the most coveted prize in horticulture. Poems welcome. Only two rules: no dead plants and no dull questions.

Is a swimming pool in a British garden a brilliant idea or a very expensive mosquito pit? With summers getting hotter, the phone is ringing with people who suddenly want one. Cue a deep sigh.James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift wade in on pools versus natural swimming ponds: what they cost, why water is always trouble, and why the Florida blue rectangle with a cover on it has no business sitting outside your kitchen window. There is, for once, some actual information... how deep to dig, how much of a swimming pond should be planting, and what happens to it all in a hosepipe ban.Also this week: a listener complains that he learned nothing from the last episode, Joe confesses to a pool in France and a strict nine-stroke length, James goes into a 1975 pool party in a velvet jacket, a pair of pants turns up in a Chelsea show garden, and a body double does Joe's swimming for him on the telly. Plus the launch of a bold new business venture: the adult paddling pool.TIMESTAMPS00:00 Welcome to The James & Joe Garden Show01:14 A Hammer Horror intro02:06 A listener says he learned nothing05:46 Cold water swimming and ice baths08:33 Is a swimming pool worth it in the UK?09:19 What colour should a swimming pool be?10:59 Kidney shaped and guitar shaped pools14:02 Natural swimming ponds explained15:20 How deep should a swimming pond be?17:20 How to keep a swimming pond clean20:55 Swimming ponds at Chelsea Flower Show27:54 James, a pool party and a velvet jacket30:44 Swimming pool running costs and maintenance33:52 Where to put a pool in the garden40:26 The adult paddling poolTo ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.comFor ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective.Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories.About our hostsJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022.Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular.Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: [email protected] week it's questions, with a chance to win the most coveted prize in horticulture. The rules have not changed: no dead plants and no dull questions.

Where would you go to see great landscape architecture, and is there any difference between that and a good garden? James thinks there is, and his definition is not going to win him friends.James Alexander-Sinclair and Joe Swift are back on mailbag duty. Hannah in Dorset is starting a Masters in Landscape Architecture and wants to know where to go and look. Corinne in Dublin asks which single gardening problem they would magically abolish forever. Sarah in Manchester wants to know whether garden magazines are still worth buying, or whether we are all just addicted. And Bruce and Felicity Summers need a golden tree for their golden wedding, after the silver birch they were given for their silver one gave up in the drought.Also in this one: five unbroken minutes on the cornet, an etymology lesson nobody asked for, three wishes from a genie who lives in a brass instrument, a full costing of the James and Joe house band, and Joe's appearance on the cover of Sea Angler, which he is thinking of turning into wallpaper.James's phone dies with one question to go. Joe carries on regardless.TIMESTAMPS00:00 The two rules01:39 James invents a theme tune04:18 Should James learn the cornet?05:03 Where the word Cornetto comes from07:55 Three wishes from a genie09:48 Where to see great landscape architecture10:55 King's Cross and Coal Drops Yard12:30 Garden designer or landscape architect?16:52 Why the High Line works19:19 One gardening problem solved forever24:53 Gardening on TV is always wrong26:13 Are garden magazines worth buying?33:06 Getting a job from a magazine photo36:51 A golden tree for a golden anniversary38:45 James's phone gives upTo ask us a question email [email protected] or go to our website www.jamesandjoegarden.comABOUT OUR HOSTSJames Alexander-Sinclair is a garden designer, writer and broadcaster. He is an RHS Vice-President and was awarded the Veitch Memorial Medal for outstanding contribution to horticulture in 2022.Joe Swift is a familiar face on television as a presenter of BBC TV's Gardeners' World and other gardening programmes. He is a garden designer, broadcaster, writer and design director of Modular.For ad free listening and bonus content then join us at the Garden Collective.Not only will you get us but new articles every week from some of the best garden writers around and access to a bulging archive from (without wishing to drop names) the likes of Alan Titchmarsh, Ann-Marie Powell, Tom and Sue Stuart-Smith, Advolly Richmond, Jan Etherington and many others. Come and join the Collective for essays, seasonal notes, reflections and stories.Follow James & Joe on Instagram: @jamesandjoegardenFollow The Garden Collective on Instagram: garden_collective_Contact us: [email protected] dead plants. No dull questions. Jekyll the gnome is still up for grabs.