The next best thing to having your own personal garden expert on hand, they’re a great way to learn from the best in the business: and the human touch makes them much more engaging than gardening by Google. And unlike TV and radio gardening shows, you can listen to them whenever you want, wherever you want (even in the garden!).
BBC Gardener’s Question Time
On air for almost 70 years, Gardeners’ Question Time is a BBC broadcasting institution. But while producers have remained faithful to the show’s format (a panel of some of the best brains in horticulture answering questions from amateur gardeners across Britain), it has moved into the digital age with a downloadable podcast of every episode. This is a great place to start if you’re making your first foray into gardening and are brimming with questions.
A Way to Garden With Margaret Roach
New York-based gardening author and blogger Margaret Roach has been recording her 25-minute weekly public-radio programme since 2010. Slightly offbeat, it’s also incredibly useful, insightful and utterly addictive. If you’re as mad about gardening as the self-confessed gardening nut herself, you will love this show. Read more useful tidbits from Margaret between shows on A Way To Garden, From Margaret Roach Facebook page.
The Guardian: Ask Alys
The Guardian’s gardening expert Alys Fowler fields questions from readers in this podcast version of her Q&A gardening columns. Head to Ask Alys on the Guardian website and scroll through to find the questions that are most relevant for you. Get her expertise on anything from “What are causing the small mysterious holes in my lawn?” to “What is a colourful and low-maintenance climber?” Or why not get in touch with your own question at askalys@guardian.com?
Gardeners’ Corner with Cherrie McIlwaine
Another BBC stalwart comes from Irish garden aficionado Cherrie McIlwaine for BBC Radio Ulster. Download Gardeners’ Corner and accompany Cherrie as she meanders through beautiful gardens around Northern Ireland. Close your eyes, and thanks to her talent for evocative descriptions, you really will be transported. McIlwaine talks to gardeners as well as imparting her own wisdom and topical advice.
Slow Your Home
After suffering a bout of severe post-natal depression, Brooke McAlary, who lives in the beautiful Blue Mountains just outside Sydney, decided it was time to slow down, cut out excess and reconnect with what was really important to her. Her Slow Your Home podcast is designed to help spread the idea of a slower pace of life – and an important part of that for McAlary is spending time in her garden. This will make you want to jack in work, start an allotment and live off the land.
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