Horticulture Week Podcast
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HortWeek is delighted to present the Cultivate Your Future podcast, in partnership with the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation and sponsors MorePeople. At a time when horticulture needs to encourage a new wave of young people to come into the industry, this podcast is designed to highlight the multiple and varied career opportunities available. Hear from people who have found their way into their chosen career through different paths, what their job involves and what it means to them. This week Neville Stein speaks to Phil Tremayne is the general manager of The Association of Professional Landscapers with more than three decades in the horticultural industry. Trained as a grower, Phil has moved through many aspects of the industry, but has spent the last 10 years with HTA and eight of those managing The Association of Professional Landscapers. In this podcast Phil describes the landscaping industry and discusses what opportunities are available in this exciting sector. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
ICL's Sam Rivers discusses the key issue of water quality with HortWeek editor Matt Appleby. We discover why water quality is so important and what characteristics you look at to determine water quality. Sam gives vital information on how you determine your water chemical properties and why is conductivity so important. He also relays important insight about pH, including the main differences between growing media pH and water pH. Sam gives us the lowdown on the main considerations when using hard water and any options for people who have it. He also discusses the main considerations when using soft water and options for people using that more preferable type of water. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
HortWeek is delighted to present the Cultivate Your Future podcast, in partnership with the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation and sponsors MorePeople. At a time when horticulture needs to encourage a new wave of young people to come into the industry, this podcast is designed to highlight the multiple and varied career opportunities available. Hear from people who have found their way into their chosen career through different paths, what their job involves and what it means to them. This week Neville Stein speaks to Anna Mcloughlin, a recent graduate from the College of Agriculture Food & Rural Enterprise (CAFRE) in Northern Ireland. Anna took home the Gold award at APL WorldSkills national finals which took place in November 2023 in Oldham, Greater Manchester. Very recently Anna has also been recognised by the Association of Professional Landscapers as a 'rising star' in the sector. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Four Oaks Trade Show is the UK’s leading international exhibition for the whole of commercial horticulture. From production to point-of-sale, the breadth of exhibits on display is the show’s strength, attracting a broad visitor base. The event takes place on a 23-acre nursery site in Cheshire UK, close to the Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope, covering an area of 13,000m² under glass with additional outdoor areas. The 52nd show takes place this September 3rd & 4th and organisers urge potential exhibitors to contact them about space ASAP because they expect to sell out. HortWeek editor Matt Appleby talks to Zelari Piante's Stefano Sogni and Wyevale Nurseries' Kyle Ross about the benefits of participating at the Four Oaks Trade Show, what exhibiting entails as an overseas exhibitor and a UK nursery, and their top tips for getting the most out of the show. They give recommendations for logistics, marketing, restaurants (Stefano reveals he's a big fan of British food) and accommodation. Kyle tells a story about a top footballer he met at the show. The nurserymen talk about their plans for Four Oaks 2024, to be held at Lower Withington, Cheshire on 3-4 September 2024. https://www.fouroaks-tradeshow.com/ * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
The Youth Environmental Service, which is backed by the National Heritage Lottery Fund, has won backing for a 'national service' for the environment. Dubbed a "green jobs guarantee" for a post-secondary school-age young people. Programme director Billy Knowles explains: "The Youth Environmental Service is an organisation that we set up with the idea that what would happen if every young person had the opportunity to do a year of paid environmental work. "It's a great way to give something back, it's a great way to develop skills, and it's a great way to build connections to all of the other young people who are also worrying about the same problems [climate change, nature degradation and biodiversity collapse]. After more than two and half years of campaigning, delegates at a Royal Parks Guild Annual Discovery Day voted 48-6 in favour of the idea of a green jobs guarantee. Knowles acknowledged some do not like the idea of national service because they think it would be mandatory, but he said it would be volunteer-based and would pay living wage for a year's work. The first pilot New To Nature pilot helped 97 young people into work and a new pilot will focus on the North West. One of horticulture's key challenges, Billy says, is improving access and diversity: "Sometimes we aren't sensitive enough to the variety of different needs and challenges there might be. A great example of this is physical access. If you're a young person who's grown up living in a city, and you might come from a sort of socioeconomically disadvantaged background, parents haven't got a huge amount of money to spend there, you might not have your access to your own form of transport, you might be used to taking public transport. How are you then going to go out and work in a sort of fairly rural role and an opportunity that would be fantastic otherwise, but you just can't physically get to?" The scheme aims to create "10,000 paid opportunities per year for young people working across nature, net zero and circular economy organisations and the Labour Party has already shown support for the plan. But Billy says "neither party has any real clear idea on how they're going to do that. What we offer is the answer to that question, how you create those green jobs and you start building that workforce. "The policy isn't to fund every single one of the 10,000 jobs, it's to fund a small number and to create the framework around which other organisations are able to create their own. "We're not building something that we want to last for two years, we want this to last for 50 years, and so what we need to do is have a really strong base and a strong foundation from which we can do that. And we need champions within parliament. We need champions within the civil service who can help us make that happen." Find out more at www.youthenvironmentalservice.co.uk http://www.youthenvironmentalservice.co.uk/. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Vine Weevil control is one of the biggest issues for many growers and ICL deals with many queries about the pest. In this podcast, ICL's Sam Rivers explains what vine weevil is, what the pest's life cycle is and what plants they feed on. He highlights their effect on heuchera, primula and Portugese laurel. Control options start with cultural control. Products available for vine weevil control include nematodes and Lalguard https://www.hortweek.com/icl-lalguard-m52-gr-%E2%80%93-new-bioinsecticide-vine-weevil-control/ornamentals/article/1839395. Rivers explains how these work and gives tips and advice on application. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Veteran, and very proud 'Parkie' Paul Rabbitts (currently working at Norwich City Council) fell into parks work after qualifying as a "really bad" landscape architect. Finding "everything was going down the route of being computer aided design and CAD - that sent a cold shiver down my back" he thought "I don't want to do this...which is one of the reasons why I moved into managing parks. Thank God!" His latest tome, , continues where the late parks historian Hazel Conway's left off. It explores parks "beyond the Victorian era, right, through the Garden Cities movement, right up through austerity, Covid" and on. "I just felt it was timely to bring what she'd done up to date but also kind of reinvigorate...interest in the kind of history and heritage of parks and why we have them, why we enjoy them and why they're so important". Among the fascinating facts unearthed during the research of the book was the vast difference in staffing of parks, with hundreds of qualified gardeners and park keepers employed in the days of London County Council. He also explores "Parkitecture" over the years, the marked change in the number and design of children's play areas, changes in parks management, tendering, and of course, funding leading to "a decline and eroding of what we do in parks." As ever on the Horticulture Week Podcast, the issue of labour shortages arises: "How is it you will attract somebody to work in parks these days? There's no pathway like they used to be. No career pathway at all...We're not getting the applications and where we are getting them, the quality is not very good." He speaks with characteristic passion about his love for the work he does and the work being done by Parks Management Association, APSE and other organisations to "make parks sexy again!" He also discusses severe local authority budget cuts and financial constraints which have forced some, such as Birmingham, into bankrupcy plus the myriad of pressures post Covid and arising from the 'cost of living crisis'. The logical consequence of all this is, he says, "there is going to be a greater emphasis on the third sector and on volunteers" and a "greater emphasis on commercialization". So, times are hard, he says, "but actually there's some really good stuff going on out there. I mean, the number of friends groups that we've got across the country are just incredible. As a Green Flag awards judge, Paul gets to see the best of parks and sometimes the most curious, like a bear pit "in the middle of the Wirral" There are plenty of reasons to be cheerful as some local authorities are "really making a difference". * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
The requirement for developers to implement minimum Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) standards became law on 12 February https://www.hortweek.com/world-first-move-sees-housing-developments-legally-required-deliver-least-10-biodiversity-net-gain/landscape/article/1861067, and having already worked on projects this week's Horticulture Week Podcast guest already has considerable experience in the field. Although Alexandra Steed was speaking from Vancouver for the podcast recording, her landscape practice is based in London and South East England. Highlights include developing green and blue landscape infrastructure strategies for South Essex Estuary Park and masterplanning a 25% increase of footprint of Canterbury. The latter is a project that reflects the aims and concerns of BNG: "It's really looking at how we can improve the landscape while we're bringing about new development. So you know the two can happen hand in hand. Development doesn't necessarily have to mean that a landscape is harmed in any way or brings about negative consequences. In fact, if we plan in a landscape-led sort of way, then we can actually bring benefits to that landscape." Now that BNG is here, with the hope it will help reverse a rapid decline in biodiversity in UK landscapes, Alexandra nevertheless has a number of concerns: "I would say my biggest concern is that biodiversity net gain is being considered on a plot by plot basis. So rather than looking at a landscape in its kind of regional capacity, or you know, at a watershed level, where all of its natural processes and systems are taken into account - instead, we're dividing it up and trying to apply improvements on a plot by plot and piecemeal basis. And nature just doesn't work that way...so right from the start, that brings about a lot of problems" She explains her fears that measures taken could become a 'box-ticking' exercise, potentially "a homogenisation of habitats that are easy to deliver" and improvements restricted to the plot boundary, leading to disconnected islands of green space and "not getting the benefits of enriching the larger landscape". Alexandra is also concerned there will be a lack of governance and ongoing management and stewardship exacerbated by a lack of funding for in-house expertise within local authorities. More broadly, Alexandra is passionate about interconnectedness and people's connection with nature as a necessary means to heal the planet. Her book, "Portrait to Landscape: A Landscape Strategy to Reframe Our Future" explores the role policy makers, developers, landscapers through to individual citizens. As she says, it is "about how we deal with our landscapes because it expresses everything that we as humans believe about nature and our relationship to nature. So it's not just important for those of us working in the landscape industries, it's important for everybody to understand this and to understand the power held there and the power for rehabilitation within our landscapes." PRESENTER: HORTWEEK SENIOR REPORTER: RACHAEL FORSYTH PRODUCER: HORTWEEK DIGITAL CONTENT MANAGER CHRISTINA TAYLOR * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Former corporate lobbyist/political adviser Jonathan Shepherd is tentatively "proud to be called a bit of a horticulturist". But horticulturist he very much is. The National Plant Collection holder is a veteran of Hampton Court Palace Flower Show in 2022 and 2023 where he won silver gilt for his Cosmos collection display (he also has a hollyhock national collection). In 2024, he makes his exhibiting debut at RHS Chelsea Flower Show https://www.hortweek.com/chelsea-flower-show. So with all the work of growing and nurturing some 3,000 Cosmos to select 100 in peak condition in May 2024, what's in it for him? "Commercially it's a ridiculous decision because doing flower shows, it costs a fair amount of money. He is conscious, if a tad sceptical about the need to address sustainability as a grower. He grows in peat-free compost, favours terracotta pots over plastic ones, but he tries not to "over-egg what I do". But in the run-up to Chelsea, his plant collections are recovering from a severe flooding event which will provide a dramatic narrative backdrop to his exhibit at Chelsea. He narrates the events of 20 October 2023 in the wake of storm Babette: "By 4.30 in the morning we heard the upstairs toilet start bubbling, which I think was a sign that all the drains had been overloaded. And we literally packed the car and kind of evacuated...filling the car with my precious seeds for the National Plant Collection." "I think that part of the flower show is actually focusing on flooding and resilience this year...well what better story to say that a grower that's been flooded out can come back, can come to Chelsea and show award-winning flowers?" The experience chimes with his interest in water conservation; his two plant collections survive solely on the 20,000 litres of the rainwater he stores over winter. It's a far cry from his former life when Jonathan was, he jokes, "one of those nasty lobbyists that people imagine" working for clients such as Royal Mail, Boots and the Woodland Trust - "essentially working in the political arena to either guard against threats that come from Government because all legislation has unintended consequences, or indeed spotting opportunities". He says he is actually proud of some of the work lobbyists do, "keeping Government in check and ensuring that perhaps some decisions that they take, that can be quite ludicrous and ridiculous because they haven't got all the information, perhaps get amended or changed or influenced". He contemplates what horticulture should be lobbying for: "If I was the industry, I'd be gearing up for the next election...what are you going to be wanting from whoever forms the next Government? What are your five asks?" He asks for "certainty" on peat and a more joined-up approach. Despite the recent attention lavished on the industry during the Lords Horticulture Enquiry and subsequent report https://www.hortweek.com/lords-report-horticulture-overcoming-poor-support-government-become-world-leader/ornamentals/article/1846129, the work is not over, he says. "There has to be a realisation...that once you've had a big piece of work, right, we're there, we're done...but politics doesn't work like that.. "It's following through on that and ensuring that you don't let Government off the hook. As for the future, as his "hobby" takes an ever greater hold of him, Jonathan is contemplating possibilities, maybe even a third national plant collection. Watch this space. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Lee Stiles, Lea Valley Growers' Association https://www.hortweek.com/supermarket-shortages-will-continue-2024/fresh-produce/article/1847845#:~:text=Lea%20Valley%20Growers%20Association%20secretary,and%20food%20rationing%20will%20continue. secretary, has been outspoken about the state of the UK protected salads sector, which saw market failure in 2023, with empty supermarket shelves and reduction in UK production. Stiles sees energy, labour and prices as the big three problems facing UK tomato and cucumber growers. Until recent years energy and labour were more controllable, he says, but those factors have fallen away and now "price is king", regardless of anything else. Government policies seem to work against each other in areas such as labour, though Defra strives to do the right thing. With an increasingly high profile in the media, he has not had to pitch a story for two years. The media wants to know what is happening on the ground rather than what the BRC, supermarkets or the Government is saying, so Stiles gets daily calls from around the world. And on the ground, he predicts there could be more empty shelves this year due to ongoing issues in Europe and North Africa with viruses and market prices. One certainty, he says, is that production volumes from British growers have not increased: "There will be a gap. Retailers will either pay more or have empty shelves." But he adds that there is a fine line between warning about problems and "spooking" the retailers and the public: "UK growers are stable now after two years of decline and small business closure." He says the is the same as in Europe. Few can invest in new machinery and are just concentrating on keeping their heads above water. Government help for smaller producers has been too little too late and any help "avoids the underlying problem of low prices". Meanwhile primary producers are not making money he says, intermediaries deal with the retailer, so loyalty and service standards matter less: "We're 10 years into a supermarket price wa and it seems to be getting worse. There's not enough profit in the supply chain at the moment which means the trend for British producers closing will accelerate, reducing self-sufficiency and food security." He would like to see loss leader legislation to stop retailers selling at less than the cost of purchase. It is used to protect producers in France, Canada and Germany, for instance. But regardless, Lee says, whoever comes in next politically, "will inherit quite a mess". * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Garden designer and professional gardener Alan Mason was a founder member of the Professional Gardeners’ Guild. He became chairman 45 years later, taking over from Tony Arnold in September 2022. "I avoided being chairman for as long as possible", he says. " I was vice chairman. I had been treasurer. I had been secretary, but it was never my desire to become chairman. It just happened." He has enjoyed the support of the "fabulous team" on the committee around him and says "in the last 12 months particularly there have been some very exciting developments. It's a great place to be at the moment." He talks about the focus for the Guild, which, as with all trade associations, is how to drive up the membership and also how best to serve it. The importance of visiting each others gardens and learning ways to cope with pest and diseases, planting tips and the like from other head gardeners is still key: "There's more information to be gleaned from other head gardeners than there is from Google." He wanted to be a footballer, but while waiting for his break, began a four-year horticultural apprenticeship and studied with the Institute of Groundsmanship and later Askham Bryan College. "I thought I might become a groundsman. I'll get spotted kicking a football at lunchtime. I'll be playing for England in a fortnight. It never happened." After completing his studies he landed the job of head gardener at Bramham Park, a French style garden where in some ways, his learning was just beginning: "I always said I learnt more in the first six months as a head gardener than I had in eight years at college. And that's not meant to be a slur on what they taught me at Askham Bryan. It's just that when you're in position, you have to learn." Castle Howard's Brian Hutchinson formed the Professional Gardeners Guild around this time and Alan was offered the gardener's manager's job at Harewood House which is where he got his TV break when Yorkshire TV started filming there. After leaving Harewood in 1987 he set up a garden design business, got a contract in France, bought a 14th century manor house set in eight and a half acres and decided to create a garden there which Yorkshire TV (later on Channel 4) turned into - "and this was 25 years before ". Alan talks about PGG's work with horticultural charity Perennial and how he's looking to make links with other garden organisations including National Trust and Historic Houses. He's also involved with encouraging people into the industry via traineeships in collaboration with English Heritage, Historic and Botanic Gardens Trainee Programme and the MacRobert Trust. "It's so easy just to become an insular little group for head gardeners. And we don't want that at all. We want to be what Brian Hutchinson thought we should be at the very start, great for our own members, learning from each other." Alan talks about his view on pay grades for gardeners, financial pressures and how, post-Covid, many places have replaced professionals with volunteers. "What the PGG does is offer a salaries and rates guideline...you can use that guideline to show to your employer...and very often it does help with negotiation. "It is a negotiating tool, but it will never be perfect. But it is a great assistance. And I know that other professional bodies look to the PGG for our salaries and rates guideline and use it as a good example. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Annabelle Padwick is a professional gardener, well-being practitioner and founder of Life at No.27. Her first experience of horticulture was growing on her allotment in 2015. She was having psychotherapy at the time and "hoping that I could learn some new skills, but also [hoping] it might help with my mental health at the same time". She soon quit her marketing career and founded her social enterprise CIC organization, Life at No 27 which supports children and adults from as young as five by combining horticulture therapy and counselling and "trying to give people of all ages access to mental health support that works". The organisation receives referrals from the NHS, works with school children and in schools, and has therapeutic sites in Northamptonshire and Wales. Annabelle is fundraising to try and open more sites and operate in more schools. A "child-led sort of approach" allows young people to learn how to grow their own food and "connect with the environment and wildlife". It runs after-school clubs and liaises with schools to help children with "challenging behaviour, (as much as I don't like that word)", anxiety, and poor self-esteem and helps them stay in mainstream education. Her biggest goal, she says, is to gain sponsorship from a horticultural firm on an ongoing basis and to garner more general support from the sector. Regards mental health support within horticulture, more could be done Annabelle says: "I'd be interested to know... how many organisations in the industry do have a mental health support policy...there's definitely value in companies investing in this area". A witness at the 2023 Lords horticulture enquiry https://www.hortweek.com/seasonal-labour-lords-hear-concerning-stories/fresh-produce/article/1827486 Annabelle argued "we need to up our game in terms of horticultural therapy", training, defining what is horticultural therapy and of course, funding. There is an irony, she says, in "the amount of people that are isolated as horticulturists within the industry that are struggling with their mental health" which "doesn't add up either with how much in the media we're saying gardening can help". Getting horticulture on to the schools National Curriculum would also "massively help kids mental health and just the knowledge of where food comes from" as well as offering time outside the classroom. Annabelle set up Growing for Wellbeing Week https://lifeatno27.com/national-growing-for-wellbeing-week/ (3 - 9 June 2024) to help with fundraising and "where we can really push our messaging on a bigger scale, but also offer resources to... colleges, secondary schools, universities, care homes." With access to mental health services for adults and young people severely stretched, she would like to be able to have more qualified professional councellors and offer a "wraparound service". The project has a partnership with Prince and Princess of Wales' Royal Foundation which she hopes will help, "if anyone's interested in supporting us then them coming forward." Annabelle admits frustration with the "definite lack of interest [from the horticulture sector so far], which is frustrating on many levels. But I think there's a lot more for industry to do because it makes sense, doesn't it?" * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Landscape industry veteran of 53 years, there's little Alan Sargent hasn't seen when it comes to landscape and garden projects. And now he's decided to write some of the more curious, humourous and even scandalous ones in his latest book, "Confessions of a Landscape Gardener". With a career spanning 5 decades, he reflects on how his stories take readers back to a time pre-internet, pre mobiles, even pre-telephone! So part of the challenge of relating the stories was "trying to describe to somebody how different world was, 50 years ago, in the world of landscaping". Although the industry is making strides towards being more environmentally friendly, with electric vehicle fleets and sustainably-sourced landscape materials, Alan says he sees a new "butter mountain" on the horizon in the form of ceramic paving as it is not recyclable. He says: "I probably condemns about 800m a year" of artificial turf, thereby consigning vast amounts of plastic to landfill because of poor installation practices. Legal hot spots include peat-free alternatives as growers sue growing media producers as their products fail to perform as promised and "wipe out whole batches of plants". He forecasts that it will become "quite an issue". A prolific self-publisher of books, Alan's next opus, due just in time for Christmas 2023, will be the "A-to-Z of Paving" which will cover all aspects of paving projects. Alan is of course a HortWeek man through and through having written more than 100 articles for the title over his tenure. Find his impressive and essential catalogue of advice for landscapers and gardeners, his Sargents' Solutions, at HortWeek.com https://www.hortweek.com/alan-sargent. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Garden designer Lee Burkhill - better known as the Garden Ninja - is a career changer (from law in an IT setting). After a part-time RHS garden design course (which he thought of as a passtime), couple of competitions and RHS shows later, his career took off, "like being strapped to a rocket! "I suppose it has been incredibly rapid compared to people that maybe went to horticultural college or university to study design. But having said that, it really feels to me like it was always my passion." He advises entrants to horticulture to take maximum advantage of any opportunities to gain knowledge: "If you can volunteer for someone, do it, you'll learn something. If there's a competition, if there's something, something or some way you can get involved, you never know what's going to come of it. Lee never planned a career in TV, but the opportunity on BBC's Garden Rescue programme (co-starring Charlie Dimmock) came about after Lee had built a profile on YouTube with gardening advice. But gardening TV is not a bed of roses he says: "It's been a tough year for garden media...The fact there's a cost of living crisis, all of these things impact on a huge level because for a lot of people hort design plants are a luxury. They're not a necessity. So it's the first thing to go. "There's , there's - that's still the two main garden shows that have funding...looking at the viewing figures and the response from the public, it seems to be a show that has a really good feel-good factor." Lee explains what inspires him to keep coming up with fresh design ideas, the working dynamic with Charlie Dimmock, and what he hopes to add to the show: "Since I've joined, I've been really pushing for more knowledge. Like, let me explain the 'why' about these plants, the why about the design, so that people can then interpret that to their own gardens rather than just showing them lots of nice things, nice plants, nice layouts. He is also passionate about the need to improve diversity in horticulture, to get horticulture into schools and address career issues such as wages: "We should open our doors a bit more, explain things more, help people, welcome them in. You know, there's enough cake for everyone in terms of hort and gardening." While he's not planning any more shows for now, "when I next do one, I'd like it to be sort of a bit left field, the next level of Garden Ninja",he says. "I'd love to create a garden that looks like Mother Nature's finally got revenge on what we've done to the planet...kind of like scary garden [with] flame and smoke and a crevasse and stuff like that." And he's got a few ideas for his own show: "not necessarily a makeover show like garden rescue, but something that just gets me really hands deep in design and plants and the why - why does this work?" * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sue Beesley is owner of Bluebell Cottage Gardens and nursery in Cheshire. She grows and propagates 700 different perennials at the nursery which she took over in 2007. From an IT background Sue came into horticulture "as a complete amateur" at the age of 45. "I think one of the great things about horticulture is it's a fabulous industry for people to come into as a second, third or even fourth career", she says. The nursery, which works in tandem with the gardens and a tea room, sells plants on site but also sells by mail order and online. Sue also exhibits at shows and is active on social media. It is a lot of work and Sue discusses how she manages the workload - a mixture of effective training, delegation and being a very capable multi-tasker. She talks about the challenges and benefits of shows and her experience of using X (formerly Twitter). Initially reluctant, she soon found that "Twitter for me was a way of engaging with both a gardening audience online, but critically, with the media. Facebook I think is wonderful for engaging with your immediate customers and direct followers." She speaks about the barriers to expansion, and the specific challenges of horticultural businesses: "You need land and you need structures and land is expensive and under huge competition for potential other purposes...even if you get over that hurdle, you've got planning permission over polytunnels and structures. She has abandoned her own plans to build "a cracking wholesale nursery of good hardy perennials. There's huge capacity missing from the UK in that arena" due to lack of funds and a partner to share the risk. Instead Sue is expanding her growing area and she has a great interest in renewable energy which she says is a "no-brainer". She also discusses how horticulture has not been "embraced" UK as it has in Netherlands to the UK's detriment. Sue is also active with the RHS at Bridgewater and is vice chair of the Herbaceous Plant Committee. She became a Council member this year which is "seriously exciting" and she is "seriously impressed" with the people and the way it is run. "What I'm trying to bring is that connection between horticulture and business and sustainability and hopefully come at it from a multi-dimensional point of view." * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
HortWeek is delighted to present the Cultivate Your Future podcast, in partnership with the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation. At a time when horticulture needs to encourage a new wave of young people to come into the industry, this podcast is designed to highlight the multiple and varied career opportunities available. This week HortWeek writer and business consultant Neville Stein interviews Scott Smith, head gardener at Beechgrove and presenter on BBC Scotland to talk about his career path and route into a career in professional gardening. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
HortWeek is delighted to present the Cultivate Your Future podcast, in partnership with the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation. At a time when horticulture needs to encourage a new wave of young people to come into the industry, this podcast is designed to highlight the multiple and varied career opportunities available. Hear from people who have found their way into their chosen career through different paths, what their job involves and what it means to them. This week we focus on botanical gardens management with interviews with RAOUL CURTIS-MACHIN, director of horticulture at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, interviewed by HortWeek writer and business consultant Neville Stein. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
HortWeek is delighted to present the Cultivate Your Future podcast, in partnership with the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation and sponsors MorePeople. At a time when horticulture needs to encourage a new wave of young people to come into the industry, this podcast is designed to highlight the multiple and varied career opportunities available. Hear STEVE BARROW, plantarea manager at British Garden Centres. He talks to HortWeek writer and business consultant Neville Stein about what his job involves and how he came to the role. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
HortWeek is delighted to present the Cultivate Your Future podcast, in partnership with the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation and sponsors MorePeople. At a time when horticulture needs to encourage a new wave of young people to come into the industry, this podcast is designed to highlight the multiple and varied career opportunities available. Business consultant and HortWeek writer Neville Stein interviews LIAM BEDDALL, senior rose consultant at David Austin Roses. He talks about how he was able to bring his passion for modern languages into his work to create a unique career in horticulture. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
HortWeek is delighted to present the Cultivate Your Future podcast, in partnership with the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation and sponsors MorePeople. At a time when horticulture needs to encourage a new wave of young people to come into the industry, this podcast is designed to highlight the multiple and varied career opportunities available. HortWeek writer and business consultant Neville Stein interviews Lucy Lewis, horticultural lecturer at Sparsholt College, about the courses they offer and the career opportunities that can open up after you have qualified. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
HortWeek is delighted to present the Cultivate Your Future podcast, in partnership with the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation and sponsors MorePeople. At a time when horticulture needs to encourage a new wave of young people to come into the industry, this podcast is designed to highlight the multiple and varied career opportunities available. Hear from people who have found their way into their chosen career through different paths, what their job involves and what it means to them. This week we focus on HORTICULTURAL EDUCATION with an interview with Sarah Hale, horticultural courses officer at the RHS. Hear about options for training and qualifications with the RHS and how it can be a 'passport' to an exciting career in horticulture. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
HortWeek is delighted to present the Cultivate Your Future podcast, in partnership with the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation. At a time when horticulture needs to encourage a new wave of young people to come into the industry, this podcast is designed to highlight the multiple and varied career opportunities available. We hear from people who have found their way into their chosen career through different paths, what their job involves and what it means to them. Every two weeks, for the next two months, we will be releasing two episodes covering a particular job area. This week we focus on PLANT BREEDING AND horticulture consultant NEVILLE STEIN interviews SIMON CRAWFORD, plant breeder a Burpee. Hear about what the world of plant breeding offers, what the opportunities are and the skillset required. In a world that is facing significant climate change challenges, the need for plants that can adapt to heat, drought and other abiotic stresses has never been more important, and the work of plant breeders who are in high demand. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
HortWeek is delighted to present the Cultivate Your Future podcast, in partnership with the Colegrave Seabrook Foundation. At a time when horticulture needs to encourage a new wave of young people to come into the industry, this podcast is designed to highlight the multiple and varied career opportunities available. We hear from people who have found their way into their chosen career through different paths, what their job involves and what it means to them. Every two weeks, for the next two months, we will be releasing two episodes covering a particular job area. This week we focus on PLANT BREEDING AND horticulture consultant NEVILLE STEIN interviews TIM KERLEY, plant breeder at Kerley & Co. Hear about what the world of plant breeding offers, what the opportunities are and the skillset required. In a world that is facing significant climate change challenges, the need for plants that can adapt to heat, drought and other abiotic stresses has never been more important, and the work of plant breeders is in high demand. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Head gardener Scott Smith is one of a growing number of horticulturists-turned TV stars as co-presenter Beechgrove Garden https://www.beechgrove.co.uk/ for the BBC. Smith explains how the show works and the challenges of keeping the garden shipshape around the filming schedule for the show, which includes the 'Back to Basics' feature helping gardeners demystify some of the projects shown on TV shows and to produce features in their own garden. "You don't actually see [on garden makeover shows] how they do it...the thing I love most is to go into the 'who, what, why, when, where' - and really explain a topic, even if it's something simple", he says. He hopes the approach will help encourage more people to take up gardening and even enter the industry. Smith discusses his route into horticulture - which was not direct - and he says there should be more promotion of careers in horticulture at school to showcase options to school leavers. He studied cyber security before finding his first gardening role at the job centre. He got the job at National Trust Scotland Kellie Castle "because nobody else showed up to interview! "And my boss at the time, who's still a horticultural hero to this day, Mark Arber, he's still the head gardener there - he really made me see that horticulture is a career path... he was so passionate and enthusiastic and funny and I actually really looked forward to going to work...and that was me well and truly bitten by the horticultural bug and stuck in ever since." If horticulture is to attract and keep people, it must be more highly valued by society and crucially, better paid, he says: "Sadly I've known a couple of people who have been horticultural students and have done their full apprenticeship, and because they need the money, they've actually left horticulture and going into selling cars and things like this." By way of example he explains the range of tasks, skills and knowledge needed to do his job and but he adds "I always feel for those people in production horticulture because there must be so much pressure on them...I'm vastly reliant on production horticulture specialists because you know if I don't have them I don't have plants. It's a very, very skilled, area for sure." He talks about climate change and using peat free growing media which he has found to be "very unpredictable". "The B&Q Verve range is very different to MiracleGro, which is very different to Sylvagrow, which is different to the next one. And none of them seem to have a standardised recipe. And you can find that even between batches of the very same brand, it can be different as well." He feels the pressure on growers to go peat-free is too high, that more research is needed: "You can't expect, as a government, to click your fingers and say 'right everybody's peat free in two years' - it's such an ill-educated way of looking at it, I think." Though one of his favourite phrases - "What's for you won't go past you" - implies a touch of fatalism, his best advice for those looking to make a success of horticulture is more positive: "It's by saying yes to things that you'll suddenly find it opens another vista, another door opens and you'll say yes to that. And then another avenue opens; you'll say yes to that. Before you know it, you're miles away from where you were at the beginning." His other mantra is to keep learning and pushing yourself: "Horticulture is so vast, you're never gonna know everything". * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Landscape architect and trustee of Brogdale Collections T https://www.hortweek.com/brogdale-farm-sale-visitor-centre-plans-move-forward/fresh-produce/article/1829459om La Dell discovered very early in his career, a passion for, and conviction in the importance of ecology in landscape architecture schemes. Brought up with artistic background, he was more interested in breeding plants and after a botany degree did his post graduate in landscape architecture which enabled him to combine his interest in ecology and design: "Particularly now, we're in a sort of 'disaster zone' of biodiversity and possibly even of human survival if that's not repaired very quickly". He discusses his extensive professional history in local authorities where he had a hand in planting extensive woodland areas that he is proud to be able to see on Google Earth: "Because the approach we took started to create much higher land values, everybody left us alone of course!" Tom reflects on developments in the landscape architecture sector and standing of the profession. He argues that biodiversity and ecological considerations need to be "completely integrated into the design process...but as far as I can see, its sort of talked about but it doesn't really seem to be" and instead reduced to a "box-ticking exercise". "There should be a complete integration of ecology and design in most projects." His involvement in the National Fruit Collection in Kent at Brogdale Farm in Kent started 30 years ago when he designed a series of gardens to tell the story of fruit in their historical context. Big developments are afoot - the whole farm (of which a third is the National Fruit Collection) is up for sale. https://www.hortweek.com/brogdale-farm-sale-visitor-centre-plans-move-forward/fresh-produce/article/1829459Defra has a long-lease on the land so, depending on the new landlords, "the collection should be secure - particularly as it's got international status with the FAO". Brogdale is fundraising for a visitor information and learning centre and to help to keep the centre going. It remains the only fruiting collecton open to the public with 4,000 cultivars including apples, pears, plums, cherries, quince, medlars and wine-making grapes. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Sam Rivers of ICL talks to HortWeek editor Matt Appleby about new vine weevil control product Lalguard. They discuss how Lalguard works, what its ingredients are, and how to use the product. Lalguard works in an IPM plan and Rivers details how to include the product in integrated pest management and what plan support ICL has available. Vine weevils are one of the most problematic pests ornamentals growers face and since the withdrawal of Exemptor, many growers have relied on nematodes to control the insect. Rivers says the armoury is now better for growers thanks to Lalguard. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
Dr Neil Bell is a bryologist at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh. Much of his research is focused on quantifying, understanding and promoting Scotland’s globally important bryophyte flora, of which mosses are part (along with liverworts and hornworts). This year is a big year for the bryophyte world: the British Bryology Society celebrates its centenary and in tandem Neil has published his book, (published by RGB Edinburgh) which, with the help of exquisite photography, he hopes will open people's eyes and minds to the topic: "People see moss as a substance, as almost as a sort of amorphous green stuff, which is growing on top of the wall, they tend to have a negative approach to it. Because they're not seeing the difference between the individual plants, they're not seeing how interesting and actually how beautiful they are." A biologist and taxonomist, Neil is also editor-in-chief of the Journal of Bryology and in this podcast he relates exactly why he finds bryophytes so fascinating, including the role they play in peat creation and carbon capture: "Certain bryophyte-rich ecosystems represent massive carbon sinks. "[Peat] is basically undecomposed organic matter. It's undecomposed moss. And on the top layer... is a layer of living sphagnum moss. Sphagnum species are adapted to maintain this habitat in this particular state and prevent decomposition of the peat underneath which would lead to the release of this carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It creates a sort of wet blanket over the soil. It also keeps it very acidic, which prevents decomposition. "About 20% of the carbon stored on land in natural habitats is actually in the form of peat, so it's really quite a huge amount. So it's really important that we maintain peatland ecosystems." He outlines the role mossy habitats can play in flooding mitigation: "All these bryophytes, when it rains, are very quickly ...absorbing a lot of this water and keeping it in their tissues, and then over then a space of days gradually releasing again into the rivers. It just basically means that the flow of water through that habitat is slowed down and buffered and thus flooding is less likely than it would be otherwise." Neil has a particular fascination for the habitats in Scotland - including a richly biodiverse temperate rain forest - which hosts extremely rare, even unique species. And there is much much more to discover: "Once you discover that diversity is there, and it's not something you ever heard about before, it's sort of like another world opens up, a veil is taken away from what was previously a completely hidden area of biodiversity." * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
There are a few well-known Edwardian lady gardeners - Gertrude Jekyll, Ellen Wilmot are two. They tended to be wealthy and able to forge their trade in their own large gardens. "Less well known are the professional gardeners and particularly women professional gardeners", says Fiona Davison, the head of libraries and exhibitions at the RHS. While looking for stories of gardeners at RHS Garden Wisley, she "uncovered a bundle of letters in the Lindley Library... [telling of a woman] claiming a scholarship which was the prize for coming top in the RHS's professional exam in 1898. And the letter said you can't have the scholarship because you're a woman and the scholarship was to train at the RHS garden at Chiswick, and Chiswick didn't train women." Her curiosity piqued, she set out to uncover this fascinating and hidden history and has compiled her findings in her book, . The book captures stories from the 1890s to the First World War, "when this kind of little golden moment, this boom in women wanting to start careers in gardening happened". She documents reaction to these women at the time: "There was a big, strong, negative pushback from the horticultural establishment... most male gardeners were not receptive to this idea at all. And there's some absolutely corking letters in and in the ... lots and lots of outraged letters." The discussion covers the social context of those pre-war years but moves to reflect on present day concerns regarding opportunities for women in horticulture: "There's a kind of common pattern that women do child care and go part-time and that does make it harder to progress to the very top of professions." Reflecting on the lack of female Gold award-winners at RHS Chelsea Flower Show, she says: "There is a kind of conservatism with the little scene that you recognise and reward what you're familiar with. If a sponsor is sponsoring a big garden they want a gold medal at the end of it, almost guaranteed. So what do they do? They look around it in the past: Who's won a gold medal? And so it becomes self-perpetuating," but with women heading up the NFU, the Landscape Institute, the RHS and Defra she agrees, "it is changing and it will change more". * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week Rachael Forsyth speaks to Borde Hill's managing director Jay Goddard, and head of horticulture Harry Baldwin. Borde Hill, a country garden set with in 383 acres of heritage-listed parkland in West Sussex is celebrating its 130th anniversary. Jay is the fifth generation of the Stevenson-Clark familly and she spent an her childhood in that idyllic setting. After a period away during which she developed a career in corporate PR and marketing, she has moved back to the estate with her young family to take care of the gardens, first established in 1893 by Colonel Clark. Harry brings experience from Kew background with specialism in trees and history. He speaks about the extensive Borde Hill archive which has artefacts, drawings, photos and letters from plant hunters writing to the Colonel. It "keeps everyone on their toes...telling us more and more about our special garden", Harry says. And there are still plants hidden to be discovered: "Every now and again, we're finding new old garden diaries which are detailing plant names, some of which, these plants no longer are sadly with us, but there are plants still hidden away in those crevices waiting to be found, which of course then informs us about propagation and then sharing that material with other important gardens." The garden recently drew the attention of Adam Frost who came to explore some of that plant history to be featured on BBC Gardeners' World and BBC Radio 4's Gardener's Question Time also paid a visit yielding questions on more contemporary gardening preoccupations. Jay explains how she plans to carry forward the legacy of her parents (who collaborated with Chris Beardshaw and Sophie Walker) to try and "connect communities more closely with nature ... there's so much written now and so much research that shows the mental and physical benefits of being outdoors in nature" which forms part of the "hugely ambitious" Reinventing Borde Hill project, supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. A key part of this involves opening up the South Lodge entrance which will that will enable people to walk or cycle from Hayward's Heath station [the largest commuter rail station in the South East] to Borde Hill. "It will make Borde hill one of the few Sussex Gardens that will be accessible via green transport in terms of foot or bicycle", Harry explains. Enhancements to the heritage-listed landscape must be sensitively implemented and include improving existing paths and building an 'eco lodge as a community hub offering swimming, yoga, walking trails and other mindful activities. Younger visitors can also enjoy the well-being and educational benefits of enjoying the great outdoors via a dedicated learning space in Dinosaur Wood. "What I really want to get across to the visitor is there's always so much more than just a flower or ornamental value. There's a whole back story about how these plants came into cultivation and have been used medicinally, they've been used ethnopotentically for so many, many years. As a tree specialist, Harry is excited about the work preserve and propagate the champion trees. He tells the tale of the coveted first brought back from China by Ernest Wilson. But the tree did not flower for 3 generations: "It actually flowered almost 100 years later in 2011, which is a real curiosity. No one really knows why it's taken so long to flower in a British climate." The tree was selected as the emblem for Borde Hill "as a demonstration of celebrating that heritage, but really thinking about how we stay fresh and relevant for the future", and it is central to one of the garden's missions to preserve rare species for future generations. * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
This week we welcome Blenheim Palace head gardener Andy Mills to the Horticulture Week Podcast. A year into the role, Andy says he is still getting his bearings with the garden: "A place as diverse as Blenheim takes quite a while to get your head around - ask me the same question in about 3-5 years!" Andy is merging hands-on gardening with garden history in his role at Blenheim, with plans to restore and transform the Formal Gardens, which aims to reinstate many of features and elements which have disappeared across the last three centuries. "It would be really nice to go back through 300 years of history and speak to every single Duke and the designers and say 'Why? When? How?'" he says. The 10-year-plus project will be the biggest change to its 90 acres of gardens in over 100 years and Andy has been told the Oxfordshire gardens "have been in aspic for the last 40 years...it is time for a change". But with changing climate conditions, the updates to the garden will involve a degree of evolution: "Gardeners have always had to roll with it and evolve with it. Blenheim is such a big influential property, what we do here, hopefully echoes what other people do, because it always has." He waxes lyrical about the hundreds of charming details he is discovering daily as he wanders the estate: "I'm finding new interesting details all the time" But as well as delighting in hidden wonders, Andy has discovered that what would have been an "amazing plant collection...has slowly disappeared" and species he would expect to see "are just not there". Andy talks about how he is reviving a "rewilding" approach at Blenheim, and has left some 60 acres of the grass uncut rather than "mowing it tight as a billiard table". He is making the Secret Garden "more secret", refining the hedges in the Italian Garden which currently look like "office carpet", introducing some "big drifts" of plants in the borders inspired by his work at the National Trust's Packwood House. Longer term Andy hopes his work will elevate the gardens on the world stage: "I'd see Blenheim very firmly established on the world gardening map...I mean this is the English Versailles! He adds: "I'd like to see not just Blenheim Palace but Blenheim Palace Garden...because the garden is way more important!" * Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy https://acast.com/privacy for more information.
