Not Just a Garden

Helleentje and Peter Walker from Wack’s Wicked Plants showed us their beautiful collection of carnivorous plants on Gardeners’ World 2025 episode 28. They join us for a Good Ol’ Chit-Chat and take us on a stroll down memory lane from the UK, to The Netherlands, to Azerbaijan, before settling in Scampston. We also find out about the science of growing melons and chrysanthemums, Capability Brown’s lime tree that sounds like a plane, their national collection of Mexican butterworts, and Uncle Charlie’s oranges.Some mentions from our guest, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/ScampstonNational Collection of Mexican ButterwortsCites More Not Just a GardenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/NotJustaGarden/homeWebsite: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden

The third of our Not Just a Garden Bonus episodes and this week we look at cigarettes with asbestos filters, how London Bridge was once inhabited, which guests were on the latest Gardeners' World compilations episode, drunk Australian bees, how the term "horse power" really came about, the fascinating world of fungi, the efficient mechanics of "Josh" and The Ocean Cleanup, and the varied and unpredictable subject of animal gestation periods.In the Quazy Quiz we find out about another highly skilled but also dangerous career in science, and Who Am I? looks at another of the Gardeners' World presenters. We also hear where Frances Tophill and Joe Swift can be found this late winter/early spring.Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden

Dwayne Black was on Gardeners’ World 2025 episode 27 showing us his stunning garden packed with lavender paths, grasses and immaculate dahlias. He joins us for A Good Ol’ Chit-Chat and we talk about how Dwayne prep’d for the big day, how the decision was made to add a fountain to the garden, the experience Dwayne has had with social media when it comes to the gardening community, what impact the seasons have on mental health, and a slightly violent technique for opening peonies!Some mentions from our guest, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/All Sorts Youth CharityFountainsPorter HardyArundel CastleAlitex GreenhousesMore Not Just a GardenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/NotJustaGarden/homeWebsite: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden

Another Not Just a Garden Bonus episode and this week we look at which jobs are threatened by AI and which are safest, pursuing careers in arts or sciences or both, which country in the world gets to celebrate the new year first, clever things to do with sunflower stems, a biotechnology company that uses fungi to improve tree growth and their survival rates, some interesting - and funny - gardening books, what slug, snail, cone-snail and squid tongues have in common, clever birds laughing in the face of man-made anti-bird devices, sweating trees in the Amazon, and fish that can produce buckets of slime in an instant.On this week's Quazy Quiz, Sweetpea debuts her new game, Plant Name or Sweetpea Being a Pain and we have another Gardeners' World presenter Who Am I? We also hear some fantastic news about Advolly Richmond.Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden

Curator of Entomology Ashleigh Whiffin from National Museums Collection Centre in Edinburgh was on Gardeners' World 2025 episode 26 where she showed us the transformation of surrounding land from lawn to floral diversity. She joins us for a Good Ol' Chit-Chat and we find out about how Ash became curator, the intriguing world of forensic entomology (not necessarily for the faint-hearted☠️), the ingenuity of leafing mining insects, the lesser known migratory habits of marmalade hoverflies, and how bee-flies aren't quite as cute and cuddly as we first thought.Some mentions from our guest, links can be found here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/gardens/National Museums Collection CentreButterfly Conservation websiteAsh's butterfly Get Ready With MeIllustrator Ed HarrisonNational Museum of Rural LifeNational Museum of Flight, East LothianMore Not Just a GardenPatreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/NotJustaGarden/homeWebsite: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden

The first of our bonus episodes to tide us over until Gardeners' World is back on our screens. This week we discuss the absolutely mind-blowing attributes of the Eastern Emerald Elysia sea-slug, the serious concern with golden oyster mushrooms all over the world, a lesser known but world-changing Chernobyl event, plants that can count, interesting careers in the natural world, and some fun-facts about the Gardeners' World presenters - who is it this week?👀Relevant links can be found on our website here: https://notjustagarden.co.uk/recaps/To help make this podcast happen, please visit our Patreonhttps://www.patreon.com/notjustagardenMore Not Just a Gardenhttps://notjustagarden.co.uk/https://www.instagram.com/notjusta_garden/https://www.facebook.com/notjustagarden/https://www.youtube.com/@NotJustaGarden