Our Plant Stories

Buddleja davidii is Jess's 'spirit' plant and I think if you listen to this episode it will be obvious why.Also known as the Butterfly Bush it's the purple buddleja that you see growing in the cracks of pavements and walls, along the railway sidings. It comes from China and the first seeds arrived at Kew gardens, 130 years ago.Jess Turtle is the co-founder and director of the Museum Of Homelessness in Finsbury Park in North London and this plant story was recorded in the museum garden which has been built by the community. People and plant communities have more in common than we might think.Signup here so all episodes of the podcast arrive in your inbox on the day I publish them.Mentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeMuseum of Homelessness The museum's new exhibition: Criminal - An Untold Story of Homelessness, Resistance and Survival runs for 10 weeks from the 21st May - 25th July.Our Plant Stories website This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

We're following the charity Plant Heritage as they take their first show garden to the RHS Chelsea flower show. This charity was formed almost 50 years ago and for those of us who are plant lovers, it is as important today, if not more important, than when it started.Plants go in and out of fashion, but how do we ensure that those garden plants that we love will still be available for future generations to enjoy?Well you could be part of the solution...Can I dig into more plant stories?YES! You can check out the website where there are lots of photographs of plants and how to grow instructions. Our Plant Stories website You can also follow the weekly blog where you will get the behind the scenes lowdown on making the podcast and you could also contribute - readers have suggested gardens to visit, plants to feature, experts to contact. Our Plant Stories blog And you can follow more plants over on my Instagram account Instagram Every month I will make a plant story but stories often lead to more stories and I end up publishing Offshoot episodes. So if you 'Follow' the podcast on your podcast app you will never miss an episode.It also makes a real difference if you can spare the time to rate and/or review an episode after you have listened. Spotify and Apple look at these ratings and it helps to get the podcast promoted to other plant lovers. This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

For this episode we are in New Zealand. Luke Gardner wrote to me saying he had been listening to Our Plant Stories since day one and he had a plant story he wanted to share.Luke's childhood memories are of a cottage garden with roses and peonies and tulips - 'exotics' and in the garden there were blackbirds and thrushes. He has now created his own cottage garden and plants thousands of tulip bulbs each year, opening his garden for a tulip festival.Yet the plant he wanted to talk about was a New Zealand native - Harakeke, swamp flax. It is the soul of his garden, giving a sense of place, woven in amongst the cottage plants.Luke admits he is still learning about native plants so his conversation with Edith Rolls a Māori weaver focus on the significance of this plant to the Māori and I think connections are forged again through plants.If you enjoy this episode and want to hear about another native New Zealand plant then seek out the episode called Mona's Corokia.Can I share my plant story with you? YES PLEASE! I called this OUR Plant Stories for a reason and that is that I love to hear from listeners wherever you are in the world!You can email me [email protected] and tell me your plant story. That's all you need to do - I'll do the rest. I'll work out who we can talk to. Can we find someone who shares your passion for the plant, they maybe in the same country as you or the other side of the world. Independent podcasts like Our Plant Stories depend on their listeners for help with the costs of making the podcast such as the hosting platform and the editing programme.Using the Buy Me A Coffee platform you can make a one off online donation of £5 and that money will go towards making more episodes. Everyone who buys a 'virtual coffee' will get a shout out on the podcast. The support of listeners means a lot to me. Buy Me A Coffee Mentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Our Plant Stories has its first mini series.I love following journeys - a venture undertaken over months even years. If you are a regular listener you will know this from my return visits to the Castlefield Viaduct and the proposed Camden Highline each season.The Offshoots for the next few months will follow the journey of the Plant Heritage Missing Collector Garden from sketches on paper to a show garden at the RHS Chelsea flower show.The garden will showcase the work of the charity Plant Heritage at the heart of which are the National Collection holders; conserving plants for all of us, ensuring they don't disappear from cultivation. Over the next few months we will learn all about this work.The show garden is possible thanks to Project Giving Back which has sponsored 63 charity gardens since 2022.So in Part 1 we find out how this garden came about and the crucial call from the hairdressers. I think I could have named this episode 'seize the moment'.Can I share my plant story with you? YES PLEASE! I called this OUR Plant Stories for a reason and that is that I love to hear from listeners wherever you are in the world!You can email me [email protected] and tell me your plant story. That's all you need to do - I'll do the rest. I'll work out who we can talk to. Can we find someone who shares your passion for the plant, they maybe in the same country as you or the other side of the world. Independent podcasts like Our Plant Stories depend on their listeners for help with the costs of making the podcast such as the hosting platform and the editing programme.Using the Buy Me A Coffee platform you can make a one off online donation of £5 and that money will go towards making more episodes. Everyone who buys a 'virtual coffee' will get a shout out on the podcast. The support of listeners means a lot to me. Buy Me A Coffee Mentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

In this first episode of a new series of Our Plant Stories we are searching for Miriam. To be a bit more precise since this is a podcast filled with plant stories, we are searching for Clematis 'Miriam Markham'.Our search will take us from a graveyard in Sussex to a gardener's cottage on the Gravetye estate where once thousands of clematis were being propagated by Miriam Markham's husband Ernest and the owner of the estate William Robinson.We piece together this story with thanks to Sam Fry, a gardener at Gravetye and Raymond Evison a multi-award winning clematis grower. They'll also teach us how to grow these plants.And we're asking you - have you seen Miriam?Can I share my plant story with you? YES PLEASE! I called this OUR Plant Stories for a reason and that is that I love to hear from listeners wherever you are in the world!You can email me [email protected] and tell me your plant story. That's all you need to do - I'll do the rest. I'll work out who we can talk to. Can we find someone who shares your passion for the plant, they maybe in the same country as you or the other side of the world. Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally FlatmanThe music is Fade to Black by Howard LevyMentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Happy New Year.The Royal Horticultural Society have just announced that this year in the RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2026 - the charity Plant Heritage has an All About Plants garden. It is sponsored by Project Giving Back and supported by the Shanly Foundation.Plant Heritage is the home of the National Plant Collections and plant conservation is going to be taking centre stage in this Missing Collector garden and we'll be meeting the designers, finding out about the plants, watching the build.Our first Plant Story of this new series is the tale of a plant that has disappeared but could it be growing somewhere, in someone's garden?Remember that there are over 60 episodes of the podcast available to listen to now!Can I share my plant story with you? YES PLEASE! I called this OUR Plant Stories for a reason and that is that I love to hear from listeners wherever you are in the world!You can email me [email protected] and tell me your plant story. That's all you need to do - I'll do the rest. I'll work out who we can talk to. Can we find someone who shares your passion for the plant, they maybe in the same country as you or the other side of the world. Every month I will make a plant story but stories often lead to more stories and I end up publishing Offshoot episodes. So if you 'Follow' the podcast on your podcast app you will never miss an episode.It also makes a real difference if you can spare the time to rate and/or review an episode after you have listened. Spotify and Apple look at these ratings and it helps to get the podcast promoted to other plant lovers. Mentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

I know it is a bit of a strange title. But bear with me this is the last episode of Series 3 (Series 4 will start in February 2026) and we have a couple of loose ends to tie up and an amazing idea to share.Back in November 2024, I visited the Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester and the route of the proposed Camden Highline in London. Now regular listeners will know that I love high lines and I have walked the ones in Paris and New York. (For the latter check out episode 17)I promised in 2024 that we would revisit both the UK projects, one year on and in this episode we catch up with Kate Picker and Simon Pitkeathley. And treacle features quite a lot!Then there is the amazing idea of twinning your garden with a farmer in rural Africa thanks to the charity Ripple Effect. I worked with this charity under its former name 'Send a Cow' when I was the BBC Radio 4 Appeals Producer and I was thrilled to learn, thanks to Claire - the Garden Editor, that the charity has another brilliant idea.So enjoy this episode and perhaps any others you have missed during this series; they feature Napolean, Adam Frost and Poppy Okotcha, alongside a million daffodil bulbs, ancient seeds, enormous yucca plants and tiny snowdrops - there are lots to choose from.Ripple Effecthttps://rippleeffect.org/get-involved/giving/garden-twinningClaire - The Garden Editorhttps://www.gardeneditor.co.uk/aboutIndependent podcasts like Our Plant Stories depend on their listeners for help with the costs of making the podcast such as the hosting platform and the editing programme.Using the Buy Me A Coffee platform you can make a one off online donation of £5 and that money will go towards making more episodes. Everyone who buys a 'virtual coffee' will get a shout out on the podcast. The support of listeners means a lot to me. Buy Me A Coffee Can I share my plant story with you? YES PLEASE! I called this OUR Plant Stories for a reason and that is that I love to hear from listeners wherever you are in the world!You can email me [email protected] and tell me your plant story. That's all you need to do - I'll do the rest. I'll work out who we can talk to. Can we find someone who shares your passion for the plant, they maybe in the same country as you or the other side of the world. Every month I will make a plant story but stories often lead to more stories and I end up publishing Offshoot episodes. So if you 'Follow' the podcast on your podcast app you will never miss an episode.It also makes a real difference if you can spare the time to rate and/or review an episode after you have listened. Spotify and Apple look at these ratings and it helps to get the podcast promoted to other plant lovers. Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally FlatmanThe music is Fade to Black by Howard LevyMentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

If you find yourself in a gathering of gardeners today they are unlikely to break into a glee...a song, as their predecessors might have done. I think its a bit of a shame!As part of the Being Human Festival - the UK's national festival of the humanities , historian Francesca Murray and musician Osnat Schmool gathered a group of people to explore these glees. A chance to be transported back to a lost world of gardening.And I composed a glee!Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally FlatmanThe music is Fade to Black by Howard LevyEvery month I will make a plant story but stories often lead to more stories and I end up publishing Offshoot episodes. So if you 'Follow' the podcast on your podcast app you will never miss an episode.It also makes a real difference if you can spare the time to rate and/or review an episode after you have listened. Spotify and Apple look at these ratings and it helps to get the podcast promoted to other plant lovers. Independent podcasts like Our Plant Stories depend on their listeners for help with the costs of making the podcast such as the hosting platform and the editing programme.Using the Buy Me A Coffee platform you can make a one off online donation of £5 and that money will go towards making more episodes. Everyone who buys a 'virtual coffee' will get a shout out on the podcast. The support of listeners means a lot to me. Buy Me A Coffee Mentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Sal Demain has her dream job and in this Offshoot episode she shares why she loves it so much.Working as the Supervisor of the Arboretum Nursery at Kew Gardens, she has many plants to look after though she does have her favourites!Her curiosity about how plants spread goes back to childhood. And she would love everyone to have a go at propagating. Just: "don't come after my job".In this episode we learn about the tree gang who go out collecting seeds and the landscape succession plan for trees we might be growing in the UK in 50 to 90 years time. And we learn the definition of 'naturally sourced material.' Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally FlatmanThe music is Fade to Black by Howard LevyEvery month I will make a plant story but stories often lead to more stories and I end up publishing Offshoot episodes. So if you 'Follow' the podcast on your podcast app you will never miss an episode.It also makes a real difference if you can spare the time to rate and/or review an episode after you have listened. Spotify and Apple look at these ratings and it helps to get the podcast promoted to other plant lovers. Mentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

"If you grow plants you are inherently an optimist".I love this thought from Richard Hayden, shared as we wandered along the New York High Line, this summer. Richard is the Senior Director of Horticulture on the High Line. We talk about the magic of this garden in the sky, it's history - the trains that were once delivering the ingredients for oreo cookies to Nabisco and the plants - of course the plants.Richard explains Pete Oudolf's vision for the High Line and his regular visits to edit and add new plants. Don't tell anyone but Richard reveals a few weeding secrets too!If you like the idea of green spaces in urban places then this is for you. And next month we'll catch up on the Castlefield Viaduct in Manchester and plans for a High Line in London, which we first visited last year.And if you want to some photographs then do take a look on the Our Plant Stories website.Every month I will make a plant story but stories often lead to more stories and I end up publishing Offshoot episodes. So if you 'Follow' the podcast on your podcast app you will never miss an episode.It also makes a real difference if you can spare the time to rate and/or review an episode after you have listened. Spotify and Apple look at these ratings and it helps to get the podcast promoted to other plant lovers. Independent podcasts like Our Plant Stories depend on their listeners for help with the costs of making the podcast such as the hosting platform and the editing programme.Using the Buy Me A Coffee platform you can make a one off online donation of £5 and that money will go towards making more episodes. Everyone who buys a 'virtual coffee' will get a shout out on the podcast. The support of listeners means a lot to me. Buy Me A Coffee Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally FlatmanThe music is Fade to Black by Howard LevyMentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

In the last episode Anne Harrap told us the story of how she came to build a series of wildlife friendly gardens on a field in Norfolk. At the heart of the plant story was a book - How to Make a Wildlife Garden by Chris Baines. In the episode she met the author for the first time and they talked about their approaches to wildlife garden.In this Offshoot episode, I wander around the gardens with Anne, accompanied by many buzzing insects which you will hear as they whizz past the microphone!She picks out some of her favourite plants to attract butterflies and bees and I'll share the names of them on the website - Ourplantstories.com Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally FlatmanThe music is Fade to Black by Howard LevyCan I share my plant story with you? YES PLEASE! I called this OUR Plant Stories for a reason and that is that I love to hear from listeners wherever you are in the world!You can email me [email protected] and tell me your plant story. That's all you need to do - I'll do the rest. I'll work out who we can talk to. Can we find someone who shares your passion for the plant, they maybe in the same country as you or the other side of the world. Mentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Sometimes in life you come across a book that just speaks to you - you and the author are on the same page and they have articulated all the things you have been thinking.This plant story is about such a book and the influence it had on a young woman who was just starting out in business in Norfolk.The book is called How To Make A Wildlife Garden and it was written by Chris Baines. It has been republished several times - perhaps you have a copy. The young woman was Anne Harrap and this is her plant story.Every month I will make a plant story but stories often lead to more stories and I end up publishing Offshoot episodes. So if you 'Follow' the podcast on your podcast app you will never miss an episode.It also makes a real difference if you can spare the time to rate and/or review an episode after you have listened. Spotify and Apple look at these ratings and it helps to get the podcast promoted to other plant lovers. Can I share my plant story with you? YES PLEASE! I called this OUR Plant Stories for a reason and that is that I love to hear from listeners wherever you are in the world!You can email me [email protected] and tell me your plant story. That's all you need to do - I'll do the rest. I'll work out who we can talk to. Can we find someone who shares your passion for the plant, they maybe in the same country as you or the other side of the world. Can I dig into more plant stories?YES! You can check out the website where there are lots of photographs of plants and how to grow instructions. Our Plant Stories website You can also follow the weekly blog where you will get the behind the scenes lowdown on making the podcast and you could also contribute - readers have suggested gardens to visit, plants to feature, experts to contact. Our Plant Stories blog And you can follow more plants over on my Instagram account Instagram Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally FlatmanThe music is Fade to Black by Howard LevyThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

I think we're in for a real treat. Listening to Poppy Okotcha and Adam Frost talking about their gardens, their 'safe spaces', their connections to nature. And in the best traditions of the podcast - the stories of plants and people are entwined. This conversation was recorded at the British Library in July as part of the events programme for an exhibition called Unearthed - The Power of Gardening. (Sadly now over) Both Poppy and Adam have recently published books about their own gardens. Poppy's is called A Wilder Way - How Gardens Grow Us and Adam's is called For the Love of Plants. With thanks to the British Library for allowing me to share this with you as a podcast episode. I'll put links to Poppy and Adam's books on the podcast website.Independent podcasts like Our Plant Stories depend on their listeners for help with the costs of making the podcast such as the hosting platform and the editing programme.Using the Buy Me A Coffee platform you can make a one off online donation of £5 and that money will go towards making more episodes. Everyone who buys a 'virtual coffee' will get a shout out on the podcast. The support of listeners means a lot to me. Buy Me A Coffee Every month I will make a plant story but stories often lead to more stories and I end up publishing Offshoot episodes. So if you 'Follow' the podcast on your podcast app you will never miss an episode.It also makes a real difference if you can spare the time to rate and/or review an episode after you have listened. Spotify and Apple look at these ratings and it helps to get the podcast promoted to other plant lovers. Mentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Back in July I was lucky enough to host a conversation at the British Library between Poppy Okotcha and Adam Frost. Hear a trailer for the episode which will be out next Tuesday. Poppy's new book is called A Wilder Way and Adam's is called For the Love of Plants and over the course of an hour and a half they discussed how they came to be gardeners, safe spaces, foraging, special plants, special people and compost.I learned so much both from reading their books and sharing this conversation and thanks to the British Library, I am excited to be able to share it with you next week as a podcast episode.Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally FlatmanThe music is Fade to Black by Howard LevyEvery month I will make a plant story but stories often lead to more stories and I end up publishing Offshoot episodes. So if you 'Follow' the podcast on your podcast app you will never miss an episode.It also makes a real difference if you can spare the time to rate and/or review an episode after you have listened. Spotify and Apple look at these ratings and it helps to get the podcast promoted to other plant lovers. Mentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

The joy of making this podcast is that sometimes I just get to be curious which Adam Frost says is key to our enjoyment of gardening. I know that any day now Autumn bulb catalogues will start to drop through my letterbox and garden centres will soon start to sell daffodil bulbs again but I wanted to know where are those bulbs in July? And how do you grow them commercially?My thanks to Ian Clark, the very patient Marketing Manager of Taylors Bulbs who answered all my questions so you too can discover how the bulbs are grown and harvested, how to store them, where to plant them and how to choose them for a long lasting 5 month display in 2026!Independent podcasts like Our Plant Stories depend on their listeners for help with the costs of making the podcast such as the hosting platform and the editing programme.Using the Buy Me A Coffee platform you can make a one off online donation of £5 and that money will go towards making more episodes. Everyone who buys a 'virtual coffee' will get a shout out on the podcast. The support of listeners means a lot to me. Buy Me A Coffee Every month I will make a plant story but stories often lead to more stories and I end up publishing Offshoot episodes. So if you 'Follow' the podcast on your podcast app you will never miss an episode.It also makes a real difference if you can spare the time to rate and/or review an episode after you have listened. Spotify and Apple look at these ratings and it helps to get the podcast promoted to other plant lovers. Mentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

In 1976 Fay Ballard had just finished her first term at university and heading home for Christmas she was looking for a gift for her father who was the author J.G. Ballard. This episode is the story of that gift! It may have started as a small Yucca pot plant but almost 50 years on - it has a great story to tell.For those of us of a certain generation, the Yucca plant will be familiar. Back in the 70's and 80's Marks and Spencer had shelves full of them. But why?And along with the story of Fay's Yucca and the answer to the question why M&S were selling them, we have Colin Smith, who holds a National Collection of Yuccas. He knows so much about these plants and shares with us how to grow them.Every month I will make a plant story but stories often lead to more stories and I end up publishing Offshoot episodes. So if you 'Follow' the podcast on your podcast app you will never miss an episode.It also makes a real difference if you can spare the time to rate and/or review an episode after you have listened. Spotify and Apple look at these ratings and it helps to get the podcast promoted to other plant lovers. Independent podcasts like Our Plant Stories depend on their listeners for help with the costs of making the podcast such as the hosting platform and the editing programme.Using the Buy Me A Coffee platform you can make a one off online donation of £5 and that money will go towards making more episodes. Everyone who buys a 'virtual coffee' will get a shout out on the podcast. The support of listeners means a lot to me. Buy Me A Coffee Can I dig into more plant stories?YES! You can check out the website where there are lots of photographs of plants and how to grow instructions. Our Plant Stories website You can also follow the weekly blog where you will get the behind the scenes lowdown on making the podcast and you could also contribute - readers have suggested gardens to visit, plants to feature, experts to contact. Our Plant Stories blog And you can follow more plants over on my Instagram account Instagram Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally FlatmanThe music is Fade to Black by Howard LevyMentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

Did you buy a Yucca from Marks and Spencer in the 1970s or 80s...many of us did!If you still have it, it could by now be very large. This months plant story is a beautiful one about a Yucca plant that Fay bought in 1976, for her dad, who was the writer J.G. Ballard. She wasn't sure if he would manage to keep it alive - he didn't have any other pot plants. If you can't wait for this story remember there are over 50 plant stories from the first three series of Our Plant Stories podcast for you to listen to. From fig tree cuttings sewn into the hems of skirts in preparation for the journey to America to passion flower cuttings, in South London, secreted in a handbag. There are stories of passions for dahlias, hostas, snowdrops and peonies. There are walks along viaducts and hoped for highlines. Stories from Australia, New Zealand, America and France.And with every plant story we learn how to grow the plant from generous gardeners who share their knowledge.If you have a plant story you would like to share you can contact me:[email protected] in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy

In this offshoot episode of Our Plant Stories, we step into Garden Futures - Designing with Nature — an imaginative new exhibition at the V&A Dundee. With help from one of the curators, Francesca Bibby, and one of the exhibitors. Andrew Flynn, we hear about garden design from both historical and futuristic perspectives; from knitted sculptures embedded with seeds by Alice Marie Archer to flat pack plant pots by Potr.Our Plant Stories is presented and produced by Sally FlatmanThe music is Fade to Black by Howard LevyEvery month I will make a plant story but stories often lead to more stories and I end up publishing Offshoot episodes. So if you 'Follow' the podcast on your podcast app you will never miss an episode.It also makes a real difference if you can spare the time to rate and/or review an episode after you have listened. Spotify and Apple look at these ratings and it helps to get the podcast promoted to other plant lovers. Independent podcasts like Our Plant Stories depend on their listeners for help with the costs of making the podcast such as the hosting platform and the editing programme.Using the Buy Me A Coffee platform you can make a one off online donation of £5 and that money will go towards making more episodes. Everyone who buys a 'virtual coffee' will get a shout out on the podcast. The support of listeners means a lot to me. Buy Me A Coffee Mentioned in this episode:Buy Me A CoffeeThis podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis: OP3 - https://op3.dev/privacy