The Gardener Ben Podcast

S3E11 of the Gardener Ben podcast features an in-person informal conversation with Philip Harkness from @harknessroses1879.

Philip is the fifth generation of his family to be at the helm of the Harkness rose company, and it was a real honour to get to know him properly, away from the hustle and bustle of the floral marquees of show season.

During our conversation, Philip shares his thoughts and opinions about organic gardening, the environment, his love of dogs, and a few details of some new upcoming releases which are...

The Gardener Ben Podcast is all about the topic of peat this week. I had the absolute pleasure of talking to @sally.nex from @peatfreepartnership a few weeks ago about this all-important topic, which has raged on in the horticultural industry for the entirety of my horticultural career.

Many of you will be shocked to read that the legal extraction and destruction of peat bogs and habitat is still allowed. And although many of you desperately try to make the correct decisions when you’re buying compost and plants, there is still a lot of...

As we rapidly head towards the festive season and many of us are starting to trim and decorate our homes in preparation for Christmas, I’m joined once again on the Gardener Ben podcast by Dr José Costa @childrensallergy for a conversation about allergies and Christmas trees.

This is always a difficult time in our household with regards to allergies. The Christmas tree, the moving around of the furniture, and the season in general can be really triggering for Mark, and Dr Costa has some great advice about how we can prevent flare-ups and sur...

The Gardener Ben podcast heads off to the Gold Coast of Australia for this week’s episode, where I’m joined by Chloe, a member of @goldcoastrosesociety.

She explains how a trip to a local flower show with her mum sparked a passion for roses, which has taken her down a rabbit hole into the wonderful world of roses. I really hope that you enjoy our conversation, and if you have access to a local rose society like the one Chloe belongs to, make the most of this valuable resource and head over to the...

This week on the Gardner Ben podcast, I’m joined by @ethan__mi

A plant and soil ecologist who is currently located in Edinburgh but Hales from Close by here in the New Forest

A passionate Plants person whose followed his interests through botany and into ecology it was lovely to get to know Ethan more personally, especially as he attended the same horticultural college as myself here on the south coast

I hope that you enjoy this episode and the passion vast knowledge th...

Peter Beales head gardener @mat.nicholas.9 joined me me for a myth busting bare root rose Q&A, where we address and put to bed some of the frequently asked questions and myths I get asked everyday about bare root roses during planting season

#gardenerben #q&a #barerootroses #plantingseason #roses #plantagarden #helpingyougrow #gardener #peterbeales #peterbealesroses #mythbusting

This week on the Gardener Ben Podcast, I’m joined by Kenny @raybould_and_wild, who I’m lucky enough to call a personal friend.

He has one of those jobs within the horticultural trade that I’m positive is incredibly stressful, but which many gardeners can only dream about — bringing together floristry, gardening, maintenance, and buying all in one role.

Officially, Kenny is the Director of Horticulture at Covent Garden. He’s also the founder of Stoke in Bloom @stoke_in_bloom.

We could’ve c...

On today’s episode of the Gardener Ben podcast, I had the absolute privilege of getting to know Gracie from @gracerosefarm.

I’ve been following her on Instagram for so long, and there are some really exciting things happening both personally and with the business as they plan to relocate to the other side of the country, taking their daughter and extended family of animals with them.

We talked about many different subjects, including the processes behind creating her books, how the company strives to offer a rose suitable for...

On episode three of series three of the Gardener Ben podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of sitting down for a face-to-face chat with the infallible, bold, and plain-speaking @ann.russell.3958.

We are lucky enough that Ann lives very close to us here in the New Forest, which presented a real opportunity to have an open and rambling conversation — very much off-topic for me — over some tea and cake here at North Lodge.

If you follow along with Ann’s content on TikTok, Instagram, or YouTube, you’ll know that she...

Joining me on this week’s episode of the podcast is Robin Jennings, Senior Brand and Marketing Manager @heirloomroses.

Robin joins me for a conversation about how the brand is advancing its range into bulbs and specialist perennials, how they are making huge movements to reduce single-use plastic waste with fully recyclable and compostable packaging, and the option to have your roses shipped with or without a plastic pot!

On a personal note, I’m also really excited to hear about their collaboration with Brad from @selectroses, who was a gu...

Welcome back to the Gardener Ben podcast.

I hope that you’ve all had a wonderful summer. It seemed to have never ended here on the south coast of the UK, with temperatures soaring for weeks on end and very little rain for nearly three months.

This has caused autumn to arrive early; the garden is tired and ready for a rest.

In this season, I’m planning to bring you some incredibly interesting conversations, and we start this week with jen_flourishnutrition.

Th...

Catch Episode 19 the finale in Series 2 of Gardner Ben's podcast, now streaming on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and on my YouTube channel. You all enjoyed Episode 1 so much from Season 1, that I invited @mark_hamilton_anderson back to conclude Season 2. He was used AI to form the questions they had for me/ us catch our conversation now!

This has been an incredibly exciting season and special thanks. Go out to all involved.

@meadowandthyme

@cheshire_head_gardener

@urbanfarmandkitchen

@rakeexpectations

@buildingafoodforest_scotland

...

On this week's episode of the Gardener Ben podcast, I’m joined by Matt, one of the gardening team from @peterbealesroses. Mark, Ethel, and I packed up the car and headed to Norfolk last weekend to spend an absolute glorious day walking around the Peter Beales show garden, garden centre, and restaurant.

An utterly extraordinary experience and incredibly inspirational. I’m taking some wonderful ideas away to use in my own garden, so I can’t recommend making the trip to see it yourself enough. However, if you’re short on time, please do look at...

Listen to episode 17 of season two of the Gardener Ben podcast. Now it’s streaming on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and my YouTube channel.

This week, as we head into the month of June, it’s time to change gears with our maintenance in the rose garden. As we see the appearance of our first flowers, it’s time to start liquid feeding every two weeks, and of course, make sure that you’re removing any spent flowers just as quickly as possible to keep hormone levels high and plants producing flowers.

We’...

Listen to episode 16 of season two of the Garden of Ben podcast now. It’s streaming on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, and on my YouTube channel.

This week I’m downloading from the Chelsea Flower Show, and I’m joined by two very special guests, president and vice president of @newenglandrosesociety, @ld_gisel, and @regan305, whom I’ve promised to take whenever they like.

During our chat, we talk about the Gateway Plants, which has opened the door to a lifelong passion and a real sense of community in the rose wor...

The wait is finally over, and the doors to the Chelsea Flower Show have opened—an opportunity for the world to see the gardening trends and new plant varieties that will grace our gardens in the months and years to come.

I’m going to bring you loads of content from the show over the coming weeks.

On today’s episode of the Gardener Ben podcast, I’m joined by @childrensallergy, an expert in airborne allergies and hay fever. If you are suffering from hay fever symptoms that are preventi...

Take a listen to episode 14 of season two of my podcast, now streaming on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and on my YouTube channel.

Don’t forget, there’s also a bonus episode slipped into the schedule that I recorded last week @bbcgwfair.

On this week's episode, I had the pleasure of talking to the very knowledgeable @matt.pottage, who, although being an incredibly busy man, managed to take the time to join me for an informal and very enjoyable conversation.

Mathew is the head of hort...

Episode 13 of season two of the Gardener Ben podcast is available for you to stream on Apple, Amazon, Spotify, and YouTube. It’s been a frustrating week in the garden, with soaring temperatures meaning that keeping up with the watering has been a real challenge. I’ve also been in a personal battle with a local squirrel who’s not only taken to digging in the top of one of my very precious trees, breaking off at least seven or eight of its new fronds, but it also went on a little bit of a rampage, causing utter destruction in the...

Bonus episode brought to you from the BBC Gardeners world Fair, Beaulieu.

I had a marvellous day wandering around the show, admiring some amazing garden concepts, enjoying some great food, and of course, had the opportunity to purchase some amazing plants from specialist nurseries and some of the best growers in the country.

A busy time for everybody, but I wanted to offer my personal thanks to those who spared the time to speak to me about their garden concepts and design processes.

Starting...

On this week's episode, I had to confess that I haven’t managed to spend a huge amount of time in my own garden. Being a full-time garden landscaper, this time of year keeps me on my toes in other people's gardens, and mine has to take a little bit of a backseat. This is one of the main reasons I’m so disciplined and organized with my own schedule—sharing content well before you actually need to be doing things.

I am, however, pressing on with getting in my pea sticks and plant suppor...

Episode 11 of season 2 of my podcast is available to stream on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and YouTube now, covering topics such as organic pest control of aphids, greenfly, and black fly; focused watering of newly planted first-season roses and shrubs; and we’re all about soil as I get to have the most wonderful and enlightening conversation with Becky from the account @sow_much_more.

No matter what point in your gardening journey you are at, whether you’ve been doing it for years or you’re following for hints and tips as you just start...

On this week’s episode of the Gardener Ben podcast, I talk you through the process of lifting and dividing herbaceous perennials, which can be a great way of giving yourself plants to trade with friends and family.

Now the garden is actively growing, it’s very easy to feel that it’s under attack from all sorts of critters such as lily beetles, slugs, and snails, which, as you would expect, is the focus point of conversation with this week’s guest.

I’m joined by Vicky from @newforesth...

Episode 9 of season two of the Gardner Ben podcast is packed full of what I’ve been up to over the last week or so.

With the proper arrival of spring, I’ve unwrapped my tree ferns and given them their first watering and feed of the year. As the spring bulbs continue to flower, it’s important that you not only deadhead them but also give them a good liquid feed to ensure that they will flower properly next year. Never remove the foliage from a plant until it goes yellow or brown natura...

On today’s episode of the Gardenerben podcast, I talk at length about watering and spring feeding as we move into the spring months and things start to really warm up. It’s important if you’ve planted new roses or shrubs over the autumn and winter season you keep a close eye on their watering even if it rains I also share some hints and tips about how you can improve success by watering properly in the greenhouse

My guest this week is @run.dive.jwr who is involved with @tacoma...

On today’s episode, we’re heading up to Shropshire, where I caught up with @our.english.topiarygarden.

This episode could not be better timed, as after many years in their containers, Mark and I have finally got round to planting the huge 8-foot-tall yew pyramids I’ve been growing. They have finally made their way into our newly landscaped Wintergarden, where they’re making the centerpiece and backbone of this new area.

Bee and her husband have spent nearly 30 years creating their perfect topiary garden—a long-term vision that has c...

In this week's episode of the Gardener Ben podcast, I have the absolute pleasure of catching up with Nick, the owner and operator of @gilbertsdahlias, just outside Romsey in Hampshire.

We talk about dahlias, the hybridization of new varieties, and Nick shares with us some really good hints and tips on how a professional grower goes about lifting, storing, dividing, and propagating his stock. Throughout the entire conversation, Nick's passion, commitment, and enthusiasm for the dahlia shine through. What you can’t unfortunately see is the look on his face when he’s talking abou...

As we creep towards the beginning of spring, the garden is slowly waking up. I’ve had my flower press out again to encapsulate and capture just a few of the early spring blooms.

At North Lodge, I'm also pressing on with the new winter garden. The digger has been in and removed the stumps from the laurel hedge we cut down, and it’s now time to start mulching and preparing the area for planting.

On today’s episode of the Gardener Ben podcast, I have the absolute honor...

Episode 4 of my podcast is available for you to download and stream now.

Now that March has arrived, it’s time to really start sowing some seeds. I’ve got some tomatoes and the first batch of peas sown in the greenhouse outside. It’s time for some carrots and some beetroot, which I’ll have to keep tightly covered under cloches to save them from the pesky birds.

On today’s episode, I’m joined by Karen @rakeexpectations on Instagram, who shares with us what she grows in her garden i...

As we head towards March, I finally got the time to weigh my way into the last frontier of the garden. Now celebrating just under seven years in this particular cottage, what will be known as the Wintergarden is going to take quite a lot of work.

I’ve started by removing the very strange laurel hedge, which ran along our drive, opening up the space. I’m going to have to get a mini digger to remove the stumps before I can start thinking about planting and adding lots of soil conditioner.

Duration: 00:27:12

‘My rose has black spot’. What should I do? Is the largest question? I get asked online

The prevention of most pest and disease problems in the rose garden is far better than ever reaching for the cure and with good basic gardening practices you can pretty much avoid most of the issues we face

This video contains many different techniques and nuggets of information regarding to

proper pruning

Deep and focused watering

Organic practices

Mulching and soil cond...

This week’s episode of the Gardener Ben podcast features @cheshire_head_gardener.

I had the most wonderful, relaxed, and enlightening chat with Tristan, exploring his role as Head Gardener @barnston_estate. We talked freely about his gardening style and his passion for repurposing, reusing, and building a garden. Make sure that you head to his Instagram page once you’ve listened, give him a follow, and show his account some love 💚.

This week in my garden, I’ve continued to clear the opulence of last summer. I’ve collected a...

In this week's episode, I had the pleasure of talking to Sarah, the creator behind @meadowandthyme, who creates some astonishingly beautiful, intricate, and detailed pressed flower art.

Having recently become reinterested and taken up flower pressing as a hobby, I was eager to hear her thoughts on her processes and how she got started with her amazing business.

Take a listen now, and make sure to head over to @meadowandthyme and show the account some love!

If you have a question you’d like an...

Season one roundup , Today’s episode concludes season one and I really hope that you’ve enjoyed the podcast so far, I want to extend my sincere thanks to all of you that have listened and I look forward to bringing you season two in February 2025

I’ve been hard at work behind-the-scenes lining up some incredible guests to share with you their gardening and personal journeys

Please head to Instagram and show this seasons contributors some love

sorelle_dorset

misfit_plants

t...

On this week's episode of the podcast, I’m joined by @liamroseconsultant. Liam is the Senior Rose Consultant at David Austin Roses, and I had the pleasure of catching up with him for a relaxed chat after attending one of their bare root rose courses at the beginning of November.

I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as I did, and if you want to book yourself onto one of David Austin Roses' pruning workshops, you can book them through the link in my bio, now running from January 7 to the 1st of Ma...

Todays episode is short and sweet, it’s all about letting the garden and its keeper rest, allow the garden to breath, take some weather and the seasons to properly change before starting the winter tidy up,

On next weeks episode I’ll be joined by David Austin’s senior rose consultant Liam - listen in next week to catch our chat

Welcome to episode eight of the Garber Ben podcast! Over the last few months, an Instagram account has really captivated my attention. In all of the noise and hot air on the Internet, that's a difficult thing to do. Today, I’m joined by Carlos and David, who, in a beautiful part of Scotland, have taken on a massive restoration project. Together, they are renovating their dream home and surrounding it with their dream garden.

Having completed a significant restoration ourselves, I wanted to learn more about what motivates them and their long-term goals fo...

This week's episode is all about autumn sewing sweet peas. The weather has become so changeable, but I used to enjoy putting my greenhouse to bed for the winter and not having to worry about it during the festive period. This year, however, I’m going to sew my sweet peas in October and November and bring them on slowly and steadily in the greenhouse. Follow my step-by-step guide to guarantee success for long, strong, and cut stems next year.

I’m also joined on this week's podcast by Michael Randall of @misfit_plants, who...

In this week's episode of the Garden of Ben podcast, I had the absolute pleasure of having a lovely informal chat with Matilda and Natalie, who together run @sorelle_dorset.

Nestled in North Dorset, just outside of Shaftesbury, the sisters have established not only a café and bistro but also a half-acre flower farm. Head to their Instagram account to show them some love, and be sure to give this episode of the podcast a listen!

Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode Five of the Gardener Ben Podcast!

Today’s episode is all about bare root roses. We’ll cover everything you need to know, from taking delivery and unpackaging to rehydrating, making soil improvements, planting, and aftercare. Our goal is to ensure that your new plants get off to a smooth start and bloom in just a few months, bringing you years of enjoyment.

Next week, I have the pleasure of being joined by Natalie and Matilda, sisters who run a café and event space alongside their flowe...

Episode Four

Hey—where’s my rose……dude!

Today’s episode showcases my abilities, and I am unbelievably pleased to welcome my first guest to the podcast. Today, I’ll be talking to Jeff, who is known across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube as (therosedude). He’s a rose enthusiast and, more importantly, a home rose hybridizer, sharing his passion for creating new varieties from his garden.

I hope you enjoy our chat as much as I did.

Tune in to next week’s episode, which...

Episode three of the Gardner Ben podcast is all about getting the garden ready for winter, and most specifically how you can protect your roses from the worst of the winter weather. If you still have any questions regarding this subject, feel free to watch the video that you can find on Instagram, TikTok, or YouTube; it’s available for you to watch at any time.

This week, we will be off pumpkin picking, adding another wheelbarrow full of these brightly colored fruits to our display here at the Cottage. I grew four varieties my...

Episode Two

In this episode, we focus on preparing your garden for winter. We'll discuss the best practices for lifting and storing Dahlias, as well as providing winter protection for plants like Calla lilies and bananas.

If you have any questions or if there's a specific topic you'd like me to cover in the podcast, please feel free to leave a comment below or reach out on any of my social media platforms. You can find me on Instagram, TikTok, and Threads at the handle @the_gardenerben. In today’s...

The first episode of the Gardener Ben podcast an interview with husband Mark Getting into the gardener Ben a bit better.

Intro to who Gardener Ben is and what his podcast is all about.

Link to Instragram

https://www.instagram.com/the_gardenerben?igsh=ZnJwaHJieHRkZHlt