Meet the inspiring Katrina Gelderbloem, a passionate gardener and permaculture enthusiast from East Ayrshire. Katrina, alongside her family, has transformed their quarter-acre plot into a thriving food forest and a productive vertical garden, practicing permaculture principles, reducing and repurposing waste whenever they can. 

Their eldest son, Clayton, is autistic and nonverbal, and Katrina delves into how gardening has significantly impacted Clayton’s home education and development, offering him a unique outdoor classroom experience, and opens up about the triumphs of educating in a gardening context.

Katrina's passion for gardening extends beyond cultivation, she has authored a series of children’s books and a workbook that encourage youngsters to explore gardening and the great outdoors, available on Amazon.

Katrina shares her quest for self-sustainability and tips on integrating permaculture into your own gardening practices in this episode, and shares their daily life in the garden on Instagram, and in the pages of Scotland Grows Magazine as a regular columnist.

Welcome to the Scotland Grows Show, the podcast which celebrates everything that is good in Scottish gardening, as we join gardeners around the country picking up tips, plant recommendations, and stories along the way.

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And of course, you can always find your share of gardening goodness on our website at scotlandgrowsmagazine.com.

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This series is sponsored by ROOTS, a subscription from the National Trust for Scotland which helps both your garden and Trust gardens thrive.

For £6 a month you will be sent a ROOTS pack every six weeks, with gardening gifts, including Scottish seeds six times a year, stories about Scotland’s plant life, and tips from  expert Trust gardeners, as well as an invitation to two exclusive ROOTS events a year with the Trust gardens team.

Whether you buy ROOTS for yourself or as a gift for a loved one, your £6 a month will go towards supporting Trust gardens and designed landscapes in Scotland. Sign up today at nts.org.uk/roots and use the code Grows24 to receive an extra packet of seeds in your first pack.

Find out more here: www.nts.org.uk/roots