Talking Gardens

Talking Gardens is back this spring with Stephanie Mahon, and all-new brilliant guests from the world of gardening. We’ve got TV presenter Adam Frost singing Steph happy birthday; and Insta star Pollyanna Wilkinson on loving deeply uncool cottage gardens. Matthew Wilson will be telling us what on earth hydroseeding is and designer Luciano Giubbilei tells us all about how he found his own magical garden; plus there is geranium joy with British designer Cath Kidston and plant perfection with gardeners Matt Pottage and Midori Shintani. Discover what they would all like to include in their dream gardens, from people to places, what they can’t stand and anything else along the way. New episodes drop every Tuesday. Hit follow now so you never miss an episode and don’t miss our extra episodes dropping every day of the Chelsea Flower Show 2026. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This time, Steph is talking to Tom Coward, head gardener at Gravetye Manor garden in Sussex. Now a luxury hotel, it was once the home of gardener and writer William Robinson, who dominated the Victorian gardening scene with his books The English Flower Garden and The Wild Garden. Tom chooses what he would like in his dream garden, his passion for plants and who he would have at his fantasy dinner party. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Horticulturist, author and garden journalist Alys Fowler joins Steph to discuss her dream garden and her new garden in Wales. She discusses the importance of ‘living with your rubbish’ and gives her perspective on rewilding, as well as revealing why she believes she may come from a long line of bog-dwellers. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Hitchmough, planting maestro and Emeritus Professor of Horticultural Ecology at the University of Sheffield joins Steph to talk about his dream garden, and his own new garden he is creating in Somerset. James discusses all the places he has travelled to to see gardens and plants and the people he has met along the way, plus why he likes growing from seed and what started him on his career path in the first place. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jo Thompson, award-winning garden designer, joins Steph to talk about her fantasy garden. From her love of roses to her penchant for romantic gardens and her love of Italy, where she spent a lot of time as a child, in this episode we discover more about how Jo is always juggling so much from her new book to her Substack community and garden designs. Find out what inspired her to come out of Chelsea Flower Show retirement to do one more show garden this year, for The Glasshouse, and what advice she would give to other women designers who are juggling career goals and families. Plus, why she would want to have Vita Sackville-West and Christopher Lloyd on a job-share as her gardeners and why she’d rather grow a carrot than a cactus. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find more gardening inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend and make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Designer Tom Massey joins Steph to talk about his Chelsea Flower Show garden that includes mycelium walls and AI that makes trees talk. He reveals the gardens and landscapes that have influenced him most, from the Cornwall hideaway where he spent his childhood holidays to Richmond Park in London and the special Japanese island he will never forget. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Garden designer Manoj Malde speaks with Steph about his dream garden and his inspirations for it, including Jardin Majorelle in Morocco and Lotusland in California, as well as the landscape of Crete and the work of designers Steve Martino and Juan Grimm. Discover what it was like to get married at the Chelsea Flower Show and what he has in store for his show garden there this year. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Legendary plantswoman and TV presenter Carol Klein talks to Stephanie about her life and career, her hatred of garden makeover shows and miniature plants, her recovery from cancer last year and why Valerie Finnis once gave her a banana as a consolation prize. Find out what and who she would have in her fantasy garden and when she plans on retiring. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Steph talks to lauded landscape designer Dan Pearson about his dream garden and what he would want to include in his fantasy space, from a temple garden in Kyoto and the landscape of Joshua Tree National Park to the architecture of Mexico and the high glades of the Himalaya. He talks through his design process and the plants he would love to grow, and discusses how to manage client’s expectations and some of his new projects plus why he can’t stand tennis courts. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What would you have in your dream garden? That's what we ask our guests on Talking Gardens, the podcast from Gardens Illustrated. We've got more amazing guests this season with top designers going for gold at the Chelsea Flower Show, as well as much-loved gardeners and expert plants people who will be telling all about their fantasy growing spaces. Discover Dan Pearson's approach to garden design, why Manoj Malde left fashion for horticulture, how Tom Massey is bringing AI into our gardens, and what advice Jo Thompson gives to women who want to do a Chelsea Show Garden. We'll also be talking to national treasure Carol Klein, Head Gardener Tom Coward, planting maestro James Hitchmough and Horticulturist Alys Fowler. New episodes drop every Tuesday. Hit follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This special bonus episode was recorded with a live audience at the Garden Museum in London. Stephanie talks to new guest Sarah Raven and returning listener favourite Nigel Slater about their fantasy gardens. Nigel has the chance to add all the small things he forgot when he first constructed his dream garden, including a mossy rill and a climbing plant. We hear why Sarah would also include a rill in her dream garden, but how it would be different to Nigel’s as her space would be set into the hillside in Crete. We hear about why Sarah would love for her father, who passed away when she was 17, to be a part of her dream garden and why an outdoor kitchen would be a must. We also hear why Nigel would love to share his space with someone who doesn’t have access to a garden. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode of Talking Gardens, Stephanie talks to Swedish garden designer Ulf Nordfjell about his fantasy space. From the Villa Gamberaia in Tuscany and the enduring influence of the Renaissance on his work, to his love of the flora local to his home in northern Sweden, we hear about all of the things he would have to include in his dream garden. Learn why he was blown away by the Noguchi Garden in California and why garden gnomes would never be allowed through the garden gate. He also tells us why Penelope Hobhouse would be invited to share his garden and how a sun-lounger would be an essential. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode Stephanie talks to award-winning garden designer Jinny Blom about her fantasy garden. Jinny chooses the plants, places and people that would make up her dream garden, from her experiences exploring Hidcote in the 1960s to why she’d have to include a piece of the Atacama Desert. We learn why a fountain in Italy inspired her so much she’s recreating it in her own garden as a space for birds to enjoy and how she chopped down one of her neighbour’s retirement presents. Learn why Jinny would love to have a begonia house in her fantasy space, and why she’d never allow bad art into her garden. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode Stephanie talks to John Little about his fantasy garden. We learn why community spaces would be a key, even in his dream garden, and hear about the work he’s done to bring greenery to communities in urban settings throughout his career. Listen to John struggling to choose between a sandpit and an industrial site as a landscape he’d like a piece of for his fantasy space and hear him talk about the places he played in as a child that have influenced him. Hear why he’d have to include a shopping trolley in his dream garden and why he wants his council to leave a fly-tip alone to assess its biodiversity benefits. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Floral designer Shane Connolly joins Talking Gardens this time to talk about sustainable floristry, his own garden in Worcestershire and the places he would have to include a piece of in his dream garden, from Villa Cimbrone in Italy and The Mezquita of Cordoba in Spain to Glenarm Castle garden in Northern Ireland. The renowned event florist, who holds the Royal Warrant and was famously commissioned for two royal weddings, Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral and HM The King’s Coronation, also explains which shrub he can’t stand, who he would have as his dream garden designer and why no garden is complete without scent. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find more gardening inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend and make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this episode, award-winning garden designer Butter Wakefield constructs her fantasy garden. From the landscape of Maine to the gardens at Chatsworth, we learn about all of the things she would have to include in her fantasy space. Find out more about Butter’s career, from starting out at Christie’s to her training in garden design and learn how she acquired her unique name. Butter tells us all about her favourite garden plants and why she’s a maximalist and we find out why she would never allow plastic rattan furniture into her dream garden. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

No-dig gardening guru Charles Dowding creates his dream garden from all of the places he has been and seen. We find out why he loves the landscapes of the island of Iona in Scotland, his adventures in growing in France and Wales, and how he discovered the no-dig method. Discover his tips on building your social media and learn about Charles’ tried-and-tested methods of composting - plus, what he would never allow into his dream garden. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Plantswoman Rosy Hardy creates her fantasy garden from all of the landscapes and places that have inspired her. From the sunken garden in Edinburgh owned by her childhood neighbour to Amazon Spheres in Seattle and the Patagonian mountains, we hear about how all of the things would play a role in her dream garden. Find out how her nursery Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants was started out of a car boot and why she dug up her backyard, and discover what it takes to create an award winning plant exhibit at a big show. Plus, can you really hear rhubarb growing? And why she loves dandelions. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gardener and broadcaster Monty Don joins us on Talking Gardens to talk about his fantasy growing space. From the design of Wollerton Old Hall in Shropshire to the character of Balmoral Cottage in Kent, and the dramatic views of a Fernando Caruncho design in Greece, Monty shares his favourite spots with us. Get insights into his never-seen second, secret garden, why he rails against the morality of rewilding and how having an opinion works with presenting the Chelsea Flower Show coverage (spoiler alert - he’s not a fan of beavers). Plus, discover who his gardening hero is and why he likes to know absolutely nothing before visiting a garden. Talking Gardens is created by the team at Gardens Illustrated magazine. Find lots more garden inspiration and planting ideas at www.gardensillustrated.com Enjoyed this episode? Tell a friend, make sure to leave a review, or a comment to let us know who you would like to hear talking about their dream garden next time. Follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What does your fantasy garden look like? That’s what we ask our guests on the Talking Gardens podcast. This season we’ve got an amazing new line up of top gardeners, designers, plantspeople and flower fanatics telling us all about their dream growing spaces and the plants, people and tools they couldn’t live without. Tune in to hear what national treasure Monty Don really thinks about rewilding, and for no-dig guru Charles Dowding's top composting tips. This season, we'll also be talking to lauded designer Jinny Blom, royal florist Shane Connolly, nurserywoman Rosy Hardy and many more. New episodes drop every Tuesday. Hit follow now so you never miss an episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices